"Don't squeeze in front of me."
- Quang!
I counted the Holy Sword Bugal on the ground.
"Do you think you deserve to cry to him? All you have to cry about is the people and their families who have been deceived by you until now."
It is those victims who have died here that should truly cry.
"That's right...! That's right...! It's all our crimes! But we!!!"
The chief swallowed his tears and buried his face on my back.
"I couldn't have chosen such a right...! We are people too! Whenever we hurt our victims, we think of his family to be left behind! But, but...!"
"How dare you say you had no choice in front of me?"
I had no choice.
That's what the chief says.
The lives of the villagers have been taken hostage. Manticore slaughtered the inhabitants, killed the runaway or heartless inhabitants, and killed more people as an example each time such a person happened.
These villagers became Manticore's slaves.
A humane neighborhood that succumbed to the threat of monsters. So he sacrificed his life as a sacrifice to the outsiders.
"Yes...! I had no choice...! If you don't, we're all gonna die!"
"Yes, he's dead. So you have sacrificed people."
If you don't do what Manticore says, they'll all be dead.
"Then why."
But I have a question.
"When the Crusader came, you didn't try to help him solve the problem, did you?"
"Well, that's..."
Crusaders are strong.
If you helped him with the uprising, you might be able to break through this situation and kill Manticore.
However, the residents did not do so.
Because the will to resist is completely gone? Or because you couldn't be sure the Crusaders would help you?
"Answer the question. Why didn't you seek his help when the Crusaders came? If he was a paladin of all time, he could have fought Manticore."
If not.
Because you couldn't guarantee victory?
"So... if Manticore finds out that you asked for help..."
"You're going to kill all the villagers?"
"Yes... and I don't know if I can help you or not... but if we fight and lose, we'll all die..."
If they ask for help, they might kill us. The Crusader may or may not help. Above all, there is no guarantee that we will fight and win. There will even be multiple casualties during the fight.
The chief said he couldn't fight for it.
"Hm."
Coward.
"Uh-huh."
It is also calculated.
"As a result of the 'reconstruction of this thing`, I don't think it should be used as a paladin."
I looked down at the chief's face and said,
"Now, if you choose wrong... we're all dead... so I had no choice..."
The chief who dances for a while can't help it again.
"Selfish."
It's a selfish calculation.
"It is a selfish decision to ignore those who are dead to you and to think only of your comfort."
"Well, that's..."
"If we wanted to break this, we would have to make a determination, even if we were expected to make sacrifices."
I can't help being a slave.
If life is mortgaged, man is weakened and forced to swing by the man who holds the lifeline.
However, it does not act as a disclaimer.
"But I didn't."
If you're human.
If you know this is wrong.
You should resist.
"Chief. You just made a convenient choice."
"..."
The Chief bows and is silent.
"No one dies if you cooperate with Manticore. You just have to sacrifice an outsider and keep living. Honestly, there won't be many who can go out strong to threaten extermination. If that's an acronym, it's even worse."
It is natural.
"So you have lived like that."
So I lived like that.
"But even though you had a chance to break it, you didn't even think about taking that chance just because you had no guarantees and a sacrifice was expected. Why? Because I don't want to be dangerous. It's risky to just sacrifice outsiders so that everyone can live."
Intimidation is no excuse.
"You should have made up your minds for the people you had killed. At least that's what atonement should be."
More than the resolution of the crisis, more than the lives of the victims.
Prioritized their lives.
"As you have sacrificed the lives of others, you must also make sacrifices."
"Why...!"
The chief shouted again.
"Why!! Why!!! Why did we have to make that choice!! I didn't do anything wrong until Manticore showed up, why!!"
It was Innocence until Manticore appeared.
"Unreasonable!!!"
Irrational.
"Just that monster appeared...! Why are we forced to make this choice...! Until then, we lived well...!!!"
The chief cried out unreasonably.
I was forced to live an inhuman life because of the monsters that appeared, and I became corrupted.
"A person cannot be free from external effects. It's not just silk manticore. The situation of the world always forces human choices. That's the world and life."
I looked down at him and said,
"Do you think that there is no sin, that there is nothing wrong, that you can whine?"
"..."
Just because you're innocent doesn't mean you didn't do anything wrong. There's nothing I can live happily without worrying about except the Teletoby Movement.
The world is not a paradise for Teletoby, nor are those who live there.
This world is not an ideal.
Anything unreasonable happens.
And if you're a person, you have to confront that irrationality.
It's the only way to be a television.
Ah. Here, Teletoby is just a symbol.
However, if you turn away from it because it is unreasonable, and do evil by throwing away judgment and morality, it is no different from paganism.
"So you are Guilty."
I sentenced him to death.
"Guilty..."
"Tell me, chief. Since Manticore showed up, have other monsters killed villagers? Have bandits or raiders ever come in and hurt you?"
"Well, that's..."
"Tell me!!!! I asked him if he was there!!!!"
In an outburst of anger, I shouted.
"Uh, nothing...!"
"Manticore enslaved you while protecting your lives!! Chief! You thought it was comforting and made a comfortable choice!!!!"
"...!"
"All you said is an excuse!!! Are you crying about that and insulting the victims?!!"
These bastards just made a convenient choice!
I took the risk, so I just made the choice to kill outsiders!
"I, I... made that choice...! I can't...!"
The chieftain cried out with a face soaked in tears.
"There was no...! More important than the lives of travellers who didn't know who they were, they were the people of our village...! Paladin was right! I didn't try to take any chances! I didn't want to risk my life for something uncertain and put the villagers in danger!"
Tell me the truth.
"You made a convenient choice...! You were right to think calculatively...! Sorry! I'm sorry! I know my sins!!"
"..."
Yeah, that's what a weak human being is.
After all, what matters is not the outsiders, but themselves and their own people. But since you're a person, killing outsiders creates guilt. Of course, I do it because I don't want to die even though I know I shouldn't do this.
Only the strong can cry for morality and justice.
However.
Being weak doesn't mean corruption is forgiven.
The chief's soul was wrong.
That's why it's Gilti.
"Chief. I understand your weakness. I understand the lieutenant said your choice was inevitable. But you know it's unforgivable, cowardly, selfish, cursed."
"... I know."
The chief, who covered his face with his hands, cried and replied.
"I know it's wrong, I have a guilt for him, and I told me everything. Why did you make this choice?"
- A moment of silence.
"I just... I just wanted to make atonement..."
The chief wanted to make atonement.
"Good."
If so, as paladins, as pastors of fusion.
I have to answer.
"Equipment used by Crusaders. And where are all the belongings that have been held by the people who have been sacrificed so far?"
"... in the cave Manticore was crawling in."
Some kind of loot.
It looks like they put it in there.
"When someone came to town, I went to tell Manticore who was hiding there."
"..."
The chief nods.
"Is there anyone else in charge of the mission to get the word out?"
"... yes."
"Get up."
As he instructed, a young man who was penetrating his knee stood up carefully.
"Come forward."
"... I understand."
A young man who answered came forward.
It was also a stubborn face and had no strength in its voice.
"And the one in charge of the drug ride. Get up and come out."
One young man rose again.
"Arise, the man in charge of escorting outsiders to the village."
A middle-aged person happens.
"Arise also, those who have concealed the truth by introducing them to the village."
Another young man arose.
I knelt down beside the chief, who summoned the inhabitants.
- Boom.
Then he pulls out the knife he put in the ground.
"Whatever it is, Manticore is here tonight."
Risha and Manticore were in the room, and Manticore came by.
"That means we've informed Manticore that we're here. It means you sold me out. It means you put a knife in my neck."
"..."
If someone seems strong, they say they ignore it. Did the villagers or Manticore or anyone else misjudge? Or did you gain more confidence by eating paladins?
I don't know about that, but it was true that they put a knife in me.
"... that's right."
The chief admitted it purely.
"So I will execute you five by my hand. The chief is responsible for this, while the other four are the most deeply involved."
I came here as a paladin, and I have to take revenge and follow-up on the Crusader.
That was the target of the town and Manticore all the way to me.
So this was something I should do. `
"You who want to make atonement. Is there a disagreement?"
"... nothing."
"Nothing."
The chieftain and four young men shake their heads.
"I'll buy you a high price for trying to be punished."
At the end, they tried to make atonement and be punished. They were cowardly and selfish, but still had guilt.
From a futuristic point of view, it sounds like you haven't forgotten the human mind. The criminals I've seen trembled to death, saying there's no harm in losing.
This is the situation as opposed to it.
- Gross.
I lifted the Holy Sword to break the temptation and establish the right justice.
"... Paladin."
"Do you have something to say?"
The chief lowered his head.
"Who else but us... will you spare?"
Last question.
From the moment I thought of the inhabitants to the moment of my death, there were quite a lot of people who felt responsible. That was the problem.
"I will not punish children."
"..."
"The rest of the people will be taken to a nearby church, where they will be informed of this and will be punished justly."
"Then... are you going to be executed there?"
"Well."
The Saint said that there is a labor system in the Bronze Heavenly Society to punish criminals in addition to prison.
Many criminals are still working in church-owned schools or relief facilities.
"I executed the master myself, so I will leave the rest to the judgment of the Church. Still, the Crusader is dead. Half of them will die here."
It will be judged by the Church about the Crusaders.
Those who are not dead will go to the workplace.
"It's a good way to go anyway, which means you'll live about half the time."
"That's..."
The chief with his head sadly smiled.
"... thank you."
"Yes."
- Thistle!
So I cut off the heads of five masterminds, including the chief.
Since the early screening of the master was a very neat execution, it took less than three seconds for the heads of the five men to fall, and my verdict was final.
"Argh...!"
"Argh, argh...!"
"Argh...! Chief...!"
The villagers on their knees cried out.
The only people these people could trust were the chiefs.
My verdict is over, but the Church's verdict remains.
Half will die, half will be in slavery.
I will drag them away so they can be punished properly. That is the duty as a paladin, and the final verdict of Fusion.
"Don't cry."
I instructed them.
"Don't cry, if you don't want to die, go quickly to Manticore's lair and get all the items there. And when the sun rises, you will be transported to the nearby church. The fugitive does not forgive. Running away means I don't even make a minimum atonement, so I will crush my limbs and throw them into the forest."
- Ugh, Ugh...!
- Argh...!
- Ugh...!
The hard-earned villagers started walking to the back of the village crying.