Sudden Turnabout

 “We don’t have time for such interruptions. Who do the two of you think you are to interrupt this trial?” He exclaims.

Arte walks in smiling and bows.

“I represent Dr. Milq.” She states.

“A bit late, isn’t it? We were about to move on to sentencing.” He states.

“Hm… Moving on to sentencing without evidence… That’s rather premature, don’t you think?” She questions.

“Considering you were late, I should have the guards remove you.” The Mayor shot back, veins appearing in his forehead.

“Who am I?” She repeats. She dramatically reaches for the necklace around her neck and raises it into the air. Energy begins to form at its surface like tiny lightning bolts before it glows a bright blue for everyone in the room. “I’m a hero.”

The silence in the room turns to surprise. Gasps fill the air left and right, and even the Mayor is stunned.

“If a hero is standing up for him, doesn’t that mean he’s innocent?”

“I never thought I’d see the day a hero appeared!” The townspeople whispered.

In Crystal Quest, the title of hero was revered by all. Many looked up at heroes as being synonymous with justice itself since the title of hero wasn’t something one could confer; it had to be given by the very gods themselves.

“Even if you are the hero, we can’t make an exception for you.” He says.

“Even if I have new evidence that could overturn this entire trial?” She says aloud.

“N-new evidence?” He questioned.

“I got it from the guard post, it’s why I was late.” She says.

“It’s definitely not because we overslept…” She thought.

“It’s definitely because of that,” Leo adds.

“The guard post you say…” He trailed off. Under his desk, he was gripping his thigh tightly. “A-alright fine, go ahead and add this evidence.”

“Leo, the reports, if you will.” She says.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out several sheets of paper.

“The evidence listed here… Incriminates you as the one who poisoned your daughter!” Leo points.

The crowd turns their attention to the Mayor, and some cover their mouths in shock. Leo hands the report over to Arte. She taps the paper with the back of her hand.

“You wanted to save your daughter from illness, but in doing so, you used an illegal medicine. A medicine made from Malady’s essence!” She shouts.

“Malady’s essence?!” A townsperson shouts.

“That nasty stuff?!”

“Gross.”

“And just what is that evidence you’ve brought?” He says. “We can’t just believe your word, bring it here.”

“Doesn’t it seem a bit strange to have you be a person of interest in this case, but also the one handling it?” Arte asks.

“Nonsense? Who else but I could handle such a role in this town of…” He stops abruptly.

“Town of what?” Leo asks.

“A-anyway, hand over the evidence.” He states.

“If you insist.”

Arte hands the file to a nearby guard, who runs it over to the Mayor. He read the file and sweat dripped down his forehead.

“A-as expected, this was nothing but drivel.” He tears the evidence up into tiny pieces, letting them fall to the ground.

Leo grins, then shakes his head while wagging his finger.

“You just tore up crucial evidence in this case. Evidence that incriminated you, which was believed to be the only copy.”

“B-believed?!” He repeated.

“The guards were kind enough to make several copies for us, just in case something like this happened.

“What?!” He exclaimed.

“And that’s to mention nothing of the sort of your involvement with the assassin.” She added.

“A-assassin?! I had no such involvement!” He exclaims.

Leo haughtily raises his arms while grinning and shaking his head.

“This letter proves otherwise,” Leo says.

“L-letter?!” He exclaims.

“We found it on the assassin. For someone so worried about being found out, it wasn’t wise of you to put your family’s wax seal on it.” Arte revealed.

The crowd was beyond belief and turned their attention back to the Mayor.

“So you’ve been lying this whole time?!”

“You’re a liar!” Another pointed at the mayor.

“Calm down, everyone, this could easily be a ploy. Hand over the letter.” He says.

“Why, so you can rip it up?” Leo asks. “Would someone from the crowd like to volunteer to read this letter?”

Emerald shot up from her seat, raising her hand.

“I’ll do it!” She says.

She’s handed the letter and reads it from the top.

“I need you to handle that meddlesome medic; he knows too much. Make sure he can never speak again. I need it done tonight. Do this for me and I’ll open our trade routes to you in exchange for a cut of the profits.” She read.

“In exchange for the assassination of the doctor, he was planning to open the town’s trade routes to the black market!” Arte exclaims. “This mayor… he never cared about your town! He used his excess wealth to donate here and there, build up rapport, and take his place as the leader of this town, while taking advantage of you all just to increase his own net worth!”

The townsfolk in the room begin getting restless, with some standing in support of Arte and Leo.

“Are you gonna let someone like that lead your town?” Leo shouts. “You built this town with your own sweat and blood! You don’t need a shady mayor to live fantastic lives!”

With Leo’s chant, the rest of the room was riled up. People rising from their seats and actively bad-mouthing the mayor. Some grabbed their chairs while the guards tried their best to stop the riot, but it was too late. The mayor gritted his teeth and squeezed the corners of the desk so hard they snapped. He pulled out a black bottle from his coat, surprising Milq, Emerald, Arte, and Leo. Leo threw a knife at his hand, and he swatted it away like a fly. In one gulp, he downed the entire bottle. The bottle fell to the floor, clinking as it hit the ground. He nearly fell over as boils began forming all over his skin, filled with black liquid. A sickeningly sweet scent filled the air as his body grew larger and larger.

“If I can’t have this town, no one will!” The Mayor shouted.

“Everyone get out!” Leo shouts.

Citizens and guards pour out of the building like a swarm of ants. Leo grabs Milq, breaking his bindings with his knife. He and Emerald are the last two out of the building, leaving only Arte and Leo with the Mayor’s bulbous form. Hundreds of boils continue growing from his body, increasing his size till he bursts through the ceiling. Leo and Arte begin slashing through the growths on his body, carving away large pieces through horizontal and vertical slices to get to the Mayor’s actual body.

“It’s no use, it keeps regenerating too fast.” Arte sighs.

“Keep cutting! There’s nothing else we can do!” He shouts.

“We won’t be able to stop it in time; we’re missing a key element.” Arte realizes.

“What element?” Leo asks while continuing his rapid slashes.

“It’s weak to fire. The hero had a flame blade when he cut through!” She exclaims.

“So fire’s what you need!” Milq says near the entrance. “I-I’ll get some oil and liquor!”

The mayor’s body continued to grow, making the outer walls thicker and thicker. The guards came rushing back in and started assisting with the cutting.

“We’ll help too! This is our town!” The captain shouted.

With the combined might of the soldiers and the duo, it still wasn’t enough to stall the growing. The ceiling was pierced by his body, and rubble collapsed on top of them. Leo slices some of the rubble, but some of the other guards are buried.

“We need to get out of here now!” A guard shouts in fear.

“Hold the line!” The guard captain shouts.

“Where’s that oil?” Arte groaned.

Sweat was dripping from their faces, heavy breathing filled the air, and some were keeling over from the continuous slashing.

“Arte, Leo! Here!” Milq threw a brown bottle with a cork in it at Arte. She jumped off a boil using it to grab the bottle. She poured the oil down her blade and tossed the rest to Leo. He coated his daggers as well, and using nearby debris, they created sparks and lit their weapons ablaze. Leo and Arte began attacking with renewed vigor, carefully guiding each of their slashes to the same spot, alternating attacks between one another. The flames were shrinking and burning the boils, causing them to shrivel and shrink. With every slash, they were brought closer to the center of the mass.

Their arms shook, their muscles screamed with searing pain, lungs enflamed, but they couldn’t stop attacking. Leo threw out two quick slices, tearing through the flesh and revealing the mayor. Arte pulled her blade back, and with everything, she jabbed straight through the mayor's chest. But it was already too late. The boils began to vibrate heavily, causing what remained of the building to shake. The boils began bursting one after the other as they all coalesced into a giant pillar of ichor that flew miles above the town.