Seeing that the man was not deterred and was even looking down on him, Sir Revus wasn't going to back down. The old man actually narrowed his eyes and released his aura to suppress Cygnus.
"Young people nowadays are so arrogant. By staying silent you are only proving that you admit to all of these accusations. What do you think about it, Major Ginehart? They looked like ordinary magic users but in fact they are dark magic users who are only disguising themselves as people who are righteous." The old man was laughing while uttering those words but the accused man was not amused at all.
They may not have felt it but Astrophos could tell that the master was not having any of this. Nina and the butler also stiffened when they heard those words. It may not be bothersome for others, but for people who have gone through something similar, they'll be more sensitive to words that hint at those experiences.
It was only a short silence but at that short moment, something changed inside the room. Ginehart tensed as his gaze wandered around the room even the laughing old man stopped. Revus shivered as he looked around but nothing was amiss. The room remained the same, even the soldiers who still had their swords up did not move.
Revus shook his head to rid himself from the unwelcomed fear that he suddenly felt when the soldiers moved in unison and raised their swords towards their necks and in one swift motion, they all fell down with their throats bleeding.
Everything happened so fast that the major and the old man didn't have the time to move when they were suddenly pinned on their seats. Their bodies, from their head to foot, were glued to the chairs with their heads facing Cygnus who had his head bowed.
The room started to smell of blood and it made the situation worse because nobody knew what would happen next. Ginehart could help but feel that he might be next.
"Ah, I'm really not good at this," Cygnus's voice echoed within the room. He was shaking his head and finally raised it to face his guests.
The man in front of them completely changed, gone was the meek and scared guy just a while ago or the man who was still looking at them with arrogance. This person in front of them was now someone different.
Cygnus brushed back his short black hair and stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders before completely relaxing in his chair. He sat as if he was a ruler and the pressure coming out of him was something the old man had only felt when he faced the kingdom's king once.
"What's the meaning of this?" The old man still had the energy to question Cygnus despite his current situation.
"Meaning? There's no meaning to any of this. I just figured out that I'm not good at pretending to be somebody else. It is still refreshing to act and just to be who I am," was Cygnus's simple answer. "And what's more, the real me is petty and could kill anyone with just a snap."
"As I have suspected, you are the person behind all of this! You killed Ignus as an act of revenge and covered it up with putting up those ridiculous dark magic circles to confuse the authorities. You even used civilians just to cover up your crime! You demon!" The old man wasn't done yet and spoke without any concern for himself or the situation he was in.
Cygnus furrowed his brows and covered his mouth with his right hand, like he was thinking of something. "You know, you need to be more creative when giving me a name. I've been called a demon so many times now that I'm already so bored with it, that I might puke." He was sighing and shaking his head at how uncreative the other person was.
"Sir Rigel, what's happening?" This time it was Ginehart who asked a question. Cygnus looked at him and was impressed that the man was now calmly looking at him even though his heart was still beating fast.
"Ah, yes, major, you see you've been observing me this whole time so I played along with you but now I think that I am not suited with this kind of game. And now, I'm being slandered for a crime I didn't commit." Cygnus looked at the major and gave him a pout. Ginehart flinched when he saw that the person was still acting.
"Enough! Release us now! Or else the whole of the kingdom's militia stationed in this place will come after you, even the mages will come and kill you!" The old man started to scream in anger as he started to struggle and pull his body from being glued by a hidden force.
"I can't," Cygnus's voice went down a notch. "You are not someone who can afford to order me around."
The room was suddenly filled with screams from the old man. Blood started to pour out from his nose as he continued to thrash around even though he was restricted by the invisible chains used by Cygnus.
"Master!" Astrophos panicked when he saw how the man was bleeding and thrashing. They even heard some of his bones breaking because of how much he was resisting to whatever the master was doing to him. "You should not do this master!" He looked at Cygnus, almost pleading but the man ignored him.
"Why should I, when he was the first one to run his mouth without stopping? These kinds of people need to feel pain before they can learn their lesson. If you don't want to follow him, then take a step back and stay out of this." He tilted his head to the side while looking at the grand mage who was shaking from what he was seeing.
The grand mage clenched his fists and took a step back with his head bowed. They did not know how long the old man had been screaming but it finally stopped. He was still alive but he was breathing so hard like he was about to lose air anytime now.
"You, how could you do this?" Major Ginehart can't still believe what was happening to them. He was only there to see how things would progress but now everything's upside down.
"You know major, there are only a few things that can offend me and one of them is accusing me of a crime I didn't do. I really, really, really hate being accused." His voice turned into a whisper as his eyes turned red. "And there's a price to pay if you offend me."
He snapped his finger and the old man was suddenly healed but before he could utter another word, an inexplicable pain tore through his body. He could feel it in every fiber of his being up to his bones. It was like his body was being torn apart and his bones were being broken inside his body. He could feel them all but all he could do was scream.
Each scream that came out from his mouth made the remaining people inside the room shudder except for Nina and Mr. C who only watched with straight faces. Astrophos and Ginehart endured this ghastly scene as Cygnus continued to heal and torment the old man.
