Chapter 11:

Punishment of The Sinners

The Reaper of Carnage


Saga panted for air, he was now right in front of his house. The field was still empty, devoid of life. He could see the repairs his mother made to the house. The Moon was now clear in the sky. The ground muddy and wet, his feet sinking into it with each step. A small lamp light was on in the master bedroom.

“Something’s wrong.” Saga could feel a terrible atmosphere surrounding the house.

“Please be safe.”

Without waiting any longer, Saga ran into the house, barging through the front door, and quickly yelled out,

“Myra, Mama!”

There was no answer, he could see the light from the bedroom, leaking into the hallway. And a terrible smell, the smell of cigarettes. A smell that had never introduced itself into this home before. Had they already made it here? Impossible, the nearest soldier barracks was at least a day's worth of walking away. Fear spread across Saga’s face, as he continued yelling,

“MYRA! MAMA, WHERE ARE YOU?” He rushed into his parents room, expecting to see the worst. To his surprise, his father was sitting there, turned away from him, face down, still in his armor. The smell of cigarettes grew stronger as he went inside the room. The cigarettes… from Father?... He had never smoked before, what happened? Saga looked around, he could see his Mother and Myra sitting on the bed, the light making them only barely visible, they didn’t say anything as he entered the room.

“You guys, you’re… safe, and… F-Father..? What happened? What are you doing here?” Despite their apparent well being, Saga could not shake the feeling of unease growing in his chest. Not good, not good at all. No reply came out of him, he didn’t even turn around to face him. Several seconds passed, but no one said anything at all. Confused, Saga asked again,

“Mama, Myra, Father… what’s going on?” He walked towards his father, reaching his hand out to his shoulder.

“Don't touch me.” A breath escaped from Saga’s father. Saga froze in place.

“What are you..?” The voice took a tone he had never heard before.

“... Huh?” He replied. His father turned around, his angry eyes red from dried tears.

“What the hell are you?” The words rang through Saga’s mind.

“What… Do you mean?”

“WHAT ARE YOU?” Saga’s father started to breathe heavily, more tears formed in his eyes.

After another long pause, Saga’s father continued.

Blasphemer.” Realization struck Saga.

“Father… How-”

“What have you done?” Saga had never seen his father this angry before.

“...Father… listen to me-”

SILENCE!” A quiet sob could be heard from the bed.

“Father, please…” Saga couldn’t think of any more words to say, his eyes began to blur with tears.

“Your eyes Saga… Those eyes are not those of a human.

“What do you mean? Father… Do you not see my as your son?”

His father’s eyes became blind with rage. After a short pause, he spat,

“Bastard…” Saga stepped back in shock, tears began to fall from his face.

“Fath-”

“DO NOT CALL ME YOUR FATHER, BLASPHEMER!”

He raised from his chair, his chest heaving with every breath, his hands itching for his sword. Saga pressed himself to the wall, frightened.

He turned to his mother, looking for some sort of defense.

“M-Mother…” Her sobbing grew even louder as he called for her. She wrapped her arms around Myra and hugged her tightly, as if she was in the face of mortal danger. He could just barely see her turn her head away from him. Saga was now hyperventilating, unable to find a way out of this disaster, looking for any type of hope. He turned towards Myra, sitting there silently, her silhouette unmoving. Myra, as long as Myra trusts me… I’ll be fine. He called out to her,

“Myra…” She curled her legs up and covered her head, ignoring Saga.

Saga’s heart dropped, he chuckled with disbelief. Not Myra… Even her… I did this all for her… It can't be real. He began to walk towards Myra, hand outstretched to touch her.

“DO NOT TOUCH MY CHILD!”

Saga’s father unsheathed his sword and put it to Saga’s chest, stopping him in his tracks. He looked into his father’s rage-filled eyes, the infection of hatred swelling inside his lungs with each and every breath.

“Father… What are you doin-”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?... Saga… You’ve sent our entire family to the pits of Hell, to the sorrows of damnation.” Saga’s confusion returned.

“What do you mean?” He stepped back from the sword, careful not to anger him any further.

“Saga, if you have any shred of humanity left in your heart, you will surrender yourself to God.”

Saga’s father pointed his sword to the window behind him, urging Saga to look. Still confused, he hesitantly walked towards the window, staying away from the blade. Surrender myself… To God? What does he mean? He looked out the window, squinting his eyes as he stared down the fields, dark and empty. What am I supposed to be looking at? There’s nothing-

Suddenly, The clouds revealed the Moon, its beautiful white light illuminating the long and distant path, the same path Saga had come from.

Walking along that path were dozens of soldiers, approaching the house steadily. Many had spears in their hands, most of them armed with swords and shields. Every inch of their body was covered in metal armor, gleaming in the Moonlight. Their helmets covered their faces, with small eye holes punched into them. A huge golden cross was stamped onto their chestpiece, glorifying God.

“What… Is this?” Saga turned to face his father with a panicked expression.

“Saga… You’ve sent our entire family to Hell… For what?” He put his sword down, a teardrop escaped his eye as his mouth distorted in sorrow.

“To Hell?... Father, What are they here for?... Father, father, FATHER!” Saga stepped up to his father, shaking him as he begged for an answer.

“What are they going to do to us?”

“God,” He could barely say anything through his tears. “God is here to punish us.”

Saga stepped away, panic and fear spreading through his veins with every heartbeat. Impossible… Impossible… How? How were they able to make it here so quick? And that armor, those weapons… These were soldiers from the Capitol, hundreds of miles away, how have they made it here so quickly?.

“Father… Mama… We can still r-run, right?” Saga started towards the door, when a blade met his shoulder, freezing him in place.

“Saga, die with repentance… And maybe God will forgive your sins.”

Before Saga could turn around, the front door exploded, flying through the hallway and just barely missing Saga’s face. The soldiers rushed inside the house, swords drawn and shields up. Myra screamed, embracing her mother in fear. Saga turned around just as one of the soldiers kicked him, sending him to the ground instantly. Two guards pinned him down, one of them sticking a blade to Saga’s chest, right on top of his heart. The others rushed the room, forcing everyone to their knees and tying them up. Three more soldiers came into the room, picking Saga up to his knees and forcing him to stay still.

“G-Get off of me, bastards.” Saga struggled against the ropes. Until one of the soldiers stuck his blade to his skin. It was cold, the blade was freezing cold, yet it seemed to burn his skin; Saga could see a faint white glow on the blade.

Another pair of footsteps entered the house, this time much louder, impacting the wooden floor with great force. Appearing in the doorway was a man in black robes, a balding head, a bible in his hand, and a golden cross dangling from his neck. A Priest: a very rare sight. Many have been assassinated during the war, most of the surviving ones moved to the Capitol to guarantee their safety.

“Which one is the Blasphemer?” He called out to his guards.

“This one here, father.” One of the guard’s restraining Saga called out.

He quickly studied the room before making his way in front of Saga, sitting on his knees, looking him directly in the eyes. A moment of silence passed, before the Priest finally said:

“What disgusting eyes you have boy, pray to God that he forgives your Blasphemous soul.”

He reached out with his free hand and tore off the rags on Saga’s chest, revealing the Heretic’s Mark.

What… is that? Saga asked himself as he saw The Mark. When did that ever get there? The Priest’s face instantly changed as he saw it, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He reached out with his hand and touched it.

“This Mark… I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Saga pulled away from the Priest’s touch, quickly being met by a blow to his head from the watching soldier. He could only give out a short yell in retaliation. The Priest did not investigate any further, and pulled his hand away, standing up to face Saga’s father, his eyes now dropped to the ground.

The Priest slowly made his way across the whole room, staring at each family member intently, before making his way back to the father.

“You’ve made a fine soldier John.” He kneeled down and caressed his hair.

“It is a shame your own kin was the one to forsake you.” He stood up again.

“However, there is no mercy to those who abandon God… And thus, I must do this.”

He took a deep breath in, and yelled out across the house:

“For the crime of parenting and birthing a Blasphemer, I now sentence the Mocker family to death.” The Priest crossed his chest.

“What-” Saga couldn’t believe his ears.

“What do you mean death..?” The Priest pulled out a knife from inside his robes, a golden blade that danced in the light.

“Wait…” Saga leaned forward, still unable to believe his ears.

Wait… they didn’t do anything wrong.”

The Priest, deaf to Saga’s cries, silently mouthed a prayer as he walked behind his father and pulled his neck up. His eyes now visible, staring straight into Saga.

“What are you doing..? He did nothing wrong, LET HIM GO!”

Saga tugged at his tied hands, trying to stand up, a blow to his head put him straight back down. The sob in the corner of the room grew louder.

Why? Why are you doing this? I’M THE ONE YOU WANT! STOP!

Another blow to his head, blood dripped onto the floor. The Priest placed the blade onto the Father’s neck.

“Stop it, please… Why do they have to die? LET HI-

“Saga… this is all your fault.” Saga watched on in disbelief as he saw his father mouth the words.

“May God forgive your soul, Heathen.”

The Priest sliced his neck swiftly, instantly letting go as the body dropped to the ground. Saga’s eyes widened with horror. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. But all he could do was stare. All he could do was curse his powerlessness.

“Papa…” Saga heard Myra call for her father.

A soldier took a torch to the dark corner, illuminating their faces. The mother’s face was a mess, her eyes closed, tears flooding down her face as she awaited death. She tried her best to silence her cries as the priest lifted her neck. He started mouthing another prayer, placing the blade on her soft neck. Myra’s eyes were wide in fear as she could not stop staring at the corpse. Saga snapped out of his shock.

“DON’T TOUCH HER, LEAVE HER ALONE!

Saga tried to stand up, the soldiers struck him three more times, once again sending him back to the ground.

“Mama… Damn it…” Saga cursed himself through his breath.

“May God forgive your soul, Heathen.”

Saga screamed in desperation as he stared at the shower of blood. “STOP IT!” His father’s words repeated in his ears, “This is all your faultIt's all your fault… It's all your fault.”

Myra had tears in her eyes, unable to believe what was happening before her eyes. The Priest studied her, then lifted her neck up.

MYRA!… Stop it, STOP IT!” Saga scorned the Priest. He put the knife on her neck and looked at Saga.

“A Blasphemer’s threats mean nothing to me.” He replied as he started audibly chanting the prayer.

Saga grew hysterical. How could a Priest kill such a small child? How could God want this to happen?

“Let her go… please… kill me instead, how could God allow you to kill such a small child?” The Priest stopped chanting and looked at Saga, anger in his eyes.

Do not question the Church’s antics, Blasphemer! You have no right to judge our actions when you yourself have abandoned God.” The Priest looked back at Myra, caressing her shocked face.

“This child… Killing her is mercy… Living any longer will only bring her misery… A Hell on Earth.”

“You bastard… Don't kill her, don't fucking touch her.”

The priest resumed his chant, Saga could do nothing but watch. More soldiers grabbed Saga, pinning him face down on the ground, he could barely breathe from the pressure. He choked out,

“Myra… Myra… Don't touch her… Don't take her from me… Please.”

Myra sat there, unblinking with wide eyes, empty tears dropping from them. An image that buried itself into Saga’s mind, she was already gone. Completely traumatized and scarred for life, her mind was already lost in the abyss of insanity.

“May God forgive your soul, heathen.”

The Reaper of Carnage


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