Salvation of the Scum Fifth Prince

"Punishment?" Hazel looked at him in confusion. "I thought you said it was up to Leader to decide the boy's punishment?"

"He wasn't talking about the boy." said Raphael with his arms crossed, walking over to pull a chair himself as he leaned back. He looked at Soren with a raise of his brows. "The culprit that you suspected, it wasn't just the boy, but him."

Soren blinked at him, and shuffled the chair away slightly. Raphael looked at him, a little offended, they hadn't even been sitting that close to begin with, and anyway, wasn't this a serious conversation? Did this foolish prince really have to continue bothering him even at this time? 

Raphael almost said something, but decided against it. He simply sighed and said, "Well?"

"Yes." affirmed Soren at his comfortable distance. 

"Him? Who?" said Hazel in confusion, swinging her head to Damien in hopes of an answer.

Damien glanced at her vaguely and said, "Who just left the room?"

"Ah... what? No, no, look questioning that boy was ridiculous, but Sage...!" she turned to Soren with a scowl, frustration in her every movement. "You can't just walk in here and—"

"Hazel."

The tone was the same as always but heavy, hammering against her ears. She bit her lip as she looked at Damien whose eyes showed a warning gaze and immediately silenced her argument, waiting for everything to unfold. The idea of accusing Sage, the Leader's most loyal subordinate, was absolutely ridiculous. But if the Leader himself told her to stand down, she could not refuse.

Raphael could understand her feelings, but it wasn't the time to be rash. Although Soren's accusation of the child had been surprising, he also suspected Sage.

In a tribe of skilled assassins, it was true that the boy would be able to move as he pleased without any suspicion. But who introduced the boy to such a crime to begin with, and kept everything under wraps so that Damien wouldn't catch wind of the activities?

It could only be one of those Damien trusted the most. To be exact, the person who trusted everybody the most.

"He tricked you." said Raphael bluntly, crossing his arms. "You two hold the most power in this tribe after Damien, yet things still turned out this horribly. You're either blind, or the other was covering up the little tracks you could've found."

Hazel anxiously nibbled at her lip as her ears drooped at the realization. Even if everything made sense, it was immensely difficult to accept such a fact. Suddenly, she glanced at Damien's indifferent face, eyes searching for any signs of emotion. The person who would be the most disappointed in this betrayal... it was no other than this teenager himself.

After losing his parents at a young age and being burdened with a mountain or responsibility in order to become the Leader, he had suffered a lot. In a sense, Hazel and Sage were like second parents, or older siblings he relied on, despite his maturity. 

Damien wasn't emotional, but he wasn't emotionless. He acted rationally and yet freely, but all his actions seemed to carry some sort of meaning. It was easy to forget he was still a youth that hadn't even reached adulthood.

But in forgetting that, they overlooked his emotions.

Damien felt her piercing stare and his eyes softened by a fraction as he understood her thoughts. "Are you worried about me, Hazel?" asked the teenager in his usual tone. 

"Well..."

"Do I look as fragile as you seem to perceive me as?"

"No! That's not it."

It was true that the betrayal was surprising, even if Damien had begun to connect the dots from the moment he found something suspicious brewing. However, he was still the leader of the fox tribe, and he had accepted that title along with the requirements behind it. "Then, what should you be doing?"

Hazel looked away, lips pursed. "Listening."

"Good."

Although his methods of comfort were strange, Hazel understood her Leader's point. There was a manner in which he behaved and spoke that compelled people to listen, even if his words were often vague and questioning.

The fox turned back to Soren quietly. "Is there a punishment you have in mind, master?"

"No." said Soren immediately with a small frown. Why would he ask if he already had one in mind? With his character, he'd clearly go ahead and do it the moment he decided on something.

"I think—" started Raphael on the side.

"No."

"....." Raphael squinted at him accusingly and shook his head with a sigh. "I thought you were asking for opinions, little prince?"

"Your opinions aren't good."

"That's pretty unfair to say, isn't it?"

Soren couldn't say anything against that and frowned a little more. "Ok. What?"

Raphael grinned. "I think we should question him before thinking of a punishment."

"That's why I told you to shut up."

"I'm pretty sure you didn't say it that rudely." said Raphael, leaning forward a little further. "Here's a lesson for you, little prince. You want to punish him for what he did, just as whatever was done to that other guy. But what you're forgetting, is that Sage was that fox's most trusted person."

It was at times like this that Soren's lacking EQ came into question, especially when facing emotional situations like betrayal. For him, Sage was somebody who committed unspeakable deeds, so he wouldn't show any mercy to him. But for Damien, Sage was a man who was like family, turning his back on the entire tribe for an unknown reason. 

Soren could understand that, logically. But not in a way he could empathize, or understand entirely.

On the other hand, Damien wasn't offended. Raphael's words were true, but the fox understood his master to some extent after the time and knew of his lacking comprehension of emotions. His emerald gaze moved between Soren and Raphael, finally landing on Hazel.

"I'll speak to him first." said Damien finally, after much consideration. 

Raphael and Soren had personally witnessed the horrible crimes, so he had waited to hear their opinions. But in the end, there were things still left unknown, and Damien wasn't a fan of not knowing.

"Ok." nodded Soren without hesitation. Although he couldn't completely understand, he didn't intend to go against anything Damien chose either. 

"Well, now that we've decided, let's go down," said Raphael, standing up from his seat with a stretch, walking to the door before waiting. Soren frowned and stood up, walking besides him.

Damien didn't move.

He paused and said calmly, "Hazel. Stay here."

"What...?"

"Do you think you're in the state to witness Sage's interrogation?"

If he hadn't said anything, the woman would've undoubtedly insisted on following. However, for a person who still could t completely believe in the betrayal, influenced heavily on their emotions, it wasn't the right time to see Sage. If worst came to it, he'd be able to use her care for him to his advantage and turn the situation around.

Not that the other three scary characters would sit back and allow that to happen though.

The woman clenched her fists tightly, nails digging into her palm. As a fighter, she was one of the strongest, and as a partner, she was one of the most trustworthy, but in situations which required her to put aside her emotions — that was her weakest.

But after looking at Damien's constant indifference, she wondered, how would he be feeling instead, even if he didn't admit to it? She attempted to insist,  "I can..."

"Do you think it was a request?"

"...no, Leader." She sat back down and lowered her head respectfully, brows furrowed in reluctant obedience. "I will await further orders."

He gave her one last glance before turning out the door and heading down the hallway. "Follow me."

It was a quiet walk to the area they kept prisoners, two of them not being very talkative to begin with and the other not bothering to say anything. There was a curtain draped over the atmosphere, heavy and unrelenting as it made every step drag. Soren had almost forgotten, but the main theme of the original novel was 'betrayal'.

In the novel, Sage's involvement had eventually been revealed, but only after the man was suddenly found dead. It was unclear of how he died, and Damien's reaction had been briefly covered. Soren suspected that it would've delved more into it in the latter chapters, within the missing pages.

Damien pushed open a door at the end of a long winding hallway, separate from everywhere else. Few rooms stood behind closed doors along the walls, giving the sense of abandonment and emptiness.

"Leader?" Sage looked up with a trace of confusion in his eyes, sitting in a chair besides the bed. A sleeping child slept by him, breathing unsteady and body so fragile, hidden underneath the thick blankets that seemed to weight more than he boy himself. 

"Sleeping?" asked Soren as he looked at the boy. At a glance, that seemed to be the case but after observing the boy, Soren found something strange.

Before he could say anything, a certain protagonist stole his lines. "He's not. Hey kid, wake up. It'll only go worse for you if you keep pretending."

Damien walked up directly, his flowing aura looming over the child. "Are you asleep? If not, do you dare lie to your leader like this? Are you scared of what'll happen if you wake up? Don't you realize that the consequences for going against me are much, much graver?"

The bombardment of questions coated in subtle threats with every syllable was too much for the boy to bear. He trembled and Soren narrowed his eyes, but didn't sharpen his tone as he normally would, speaking mildly.

"Wake up."

His words were never a request, but the bluntest of orders. If Damien's questions couldn't be refuted, then Soren's demands couldn't be refused. Both holding their icy edge, directly piercing through the listener's mentality with every word.

Sage stood up. "I don't know what you're doing, but—"

"If you wake up, I'll save you." continued Soren in his bland tone, staring straight at the boy. "If you don't, I'll kill you."

This was the reaper whose weakness was children and fluffy animals. This was the reaper who showed mercy to none once they turned their backs on him.

His voice seemed to echo through the room, rumbling off the walls.

"Choose."

Sage flinched and swung his head to the boy who slowly opened his eyes, revealing two tired orbs filled with a sense of helpless desperation that few could understand. Soren looked at him patiently, watching as the youthful eyes slowly reached his own.

“Please,” mumbled the boy weakly, even as his eyes never strayed. “Save me.”

“Ok.”

The next moments happened in a blur, the speed too fast for the human eye. Sage’s eyes immediately twisted, his facade collapsing as he stretched his hand out towards the boy whose eyes widened fearfully, body immobile.

Spiraling chains spun in a whirlwind in the room, dancing in the air like beautiful blades of death as Soren flicked his wrist. They tangled around Sage’s arm, lashing out and swinging him against the wall with a loud crash, blood trickling down the man’s lips as Soren stared down at him coldly.

“Injuring somebody under my protection,” said Soren as the chains clattered, twisting around him threateningly. “Is not allowed.”

Sage coughed on the ground, pain roaring in his body as he glared. The gentle, respectful man that had been seen from earlier was nowhere to be found. Raphael stepped forward and pulled Soren to the side, as if handling an unruly child. Well, an annoying, foolish and indifferent child, that was.

“Put your chains away for now.” said Raphael in a low tone, long fingers wrapped around the other’s arms. 

Soren scowled, narrowing his eyes. “Let go.”

Raphael paused and said, “Chains away first.”

“…..” Soren stared at him in annoyance before retracting the chains, allowing them to flow back into his tattoo. “Let go.”

The protagonist held his hands up in surrender, turning his gaze to Sage who was on the floor, and Damien who now stood in front of him. “You tend not to show mercy, little prince. But right now, it’s that kid’s turn to act.”

Soren glanced at him and then fixed his gaze on the scene playing before him. His arms dropped by his side and he stepped back, allowing for the other two to get some closure. Not intentionally, though, moving back only after watching Raphael move as well, copying that man’s movements.

He sat down in the bed, ruffling the boy’s hair as he felt the child relax. “It’s fine now. Sleep.” 

An interrogation could wait for another time, but nothing could be gained from forcing an injured person who could barely talk to speak. The boy blinked up at him with wide eyes before closing them once again, relaxing against Soren’s hand. When Soren tried to pull it away, he found that’s it wouldn’t move.

“…..” he pulled his hand again, only for the boy’s hand to wrap around tighter. “…he’s suppose to be injured.”

Raphael stifled a laugh, amused at the sight. Soren squinted at him with another scowl, as if blaming him for the whole situation. After trying to pull his hand, he gave up and lazily sunk onto the bed, making himself comfortable and looking as if he never really tried to leave to begin with. 

He was the very definition of the popular saying, ‘if you can’t beat then, join them’.

At the other end of the small room, Damien lowered his eyes in silence at this man who he had trusted during all these years. Despite his caution, necessary as a member of the fox tribe, he had put kept his guard up with Hazel and Sage, the two that had been by his side since birth.

“Is there a reason for your actions, Sage?”

“Not the excuse that you’re looking for.” responded the man with a wry grin.”You just wouldn’t understand, Leader.”

“Are you involved with the third religion?”

Sage seemed surprised for a second before he laughed. “Nothing escapes you, does it, Leader? It was quite hard to keep everything under wraps, so I was lucky that you were gone.”

“Was Tonio involved with the third religion as well?”

“He wasn’t.” Sage coughed, slumping against the wall. “I introduced the idea to him, and then that child’s involvement was my own doing as well.”

The clear confirmation lingered in the air, like a slap in the cheek to any faint hopes left. But Damien didn’t have any hope, not from the moment he saw Sage after returning. To hide subtle emotions of guilt or worry from somebody who spent his time observing others was near impossible, and Sage had known that as well.

He just hadn’t predicted those strange, powerful companions of his lonely Leader, who spent most of his time in solitude. In a way, he was thankful that this teenager he had watched grow up wouldn’t be alone anymore.

“Will you confess to everything?”

Sage smiled. “There’s no point in hiding it from you, even if I wanted to. I involved the child because it was necessary to, and he agreed for the sake of his family’s safety. I’m a supporter of the third religion, and there is nothing I can say to defend myself.”

Damien closed his eyes, taking a slow breath before wondering, “What temptation did they have that would make you turn your back on the tribe?”

“If you could bring somebody back from the dead, wouldn’t you be tempted?”

Damien wasn’t fazed. “What do you think?”

“I expected that answer. But it was tempting, to me, to many. Still is, always will be. That’s why I have nothing to say to defend myself… I made my choice.”

Sage was no fool, so Damien couldn’t understand. There were many people who could make promises of reviving the dead, but the dead would always be dead. Necromancers could only do so much, and humans had little power to do anything at all. So why did Sage speak with so much certainty that this religion could revive the dead?

Of course, if he was curious about something, he would ask.

“Why do you trust them?”

Sage already expected the answer. “It’s not blind faith. I only trust what I witness with my own two eyes.”

Damien frowned. “They brought somebody back from the dead?”

“The leaders are two people. A man, and a woman. The woman heals injuries that are impossible to heal, and the man can bring back the dead.”

His body tensed as he spoke, and Soren made a guess. Just as Lock wasn’t allowed to think thoughts of betrayal, there were limits to what they could say after being branded with their sign.

“What is their goal?”

A confident smile spread cross Sage’s lips as he said,

“He intends to become a God.”