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The red and silver centaur by Palan’s feet stirred and groaned. His eyes fluttered open as he placed his hand on his head. He screamed—for a second. A layer of foam trickled from his lips as his body shuddered. Justitia raised an eyebrow and prodded the archbishop in the stomach with her foot. “You alright?” she asked. The centaur whimpered while wincing. Justitia raised her head. “Looks like he overdrew his mana.”
“I only used three boosted abilities,” Palan said and frowned at the archbishop. He ignored the centaurs that were picking themselves up from beneath the mountain of rubble that he created with his powers.
“Maybe he used too much mana while he was fighting you earlier,” Justitia said.
“No,” the archbishop said and groaned. “That isn’t it. He’s a terrorist. I barely used any while healing and boosting my tribesmen, but Palan used a third of my mana with every attack. Either his power is so strong that I can barely support it, or he’s highly inefficient at using his mana.” The centaur gasped for breath as his eyes closed. Just when they thought he passed out, the archbishop’s eyes half opened. He asked, “What happened?”
The ceiling was still on fire from Raea’s previous outburst. A cacophony of groans and wails filled the air. Rumbling noises echoed through the habitat as boulders and rocks were rolled off of companions. Some centaurs cried as they held their unresponsive family members while others stared at Palan with grim faces. But there was a difference from before: The defiance and anger in their eyes were replaced by bitterness and fear. Palan didn’t care. He approached the wreckage and crossed his arms over his chest, using his tails to elevate his feet off the floor.
“I’m strong, aren’t I?” Palan asked with a smirk, looking down on Vasher. The green centaur was bleeding from gashes on his chest, and his lower body was covered with blue and yellow splotches of bruised skin. One of his legs was bent at an unnatural angle.
Vasher gritted his teeth. “You’re a freak,” he said. “A natural disaster. Someone like you shouldn’t be allowed to exist.”
Palan’s smile widened. “That’s one of the nicest compliments I’ve heard so far,” he said and clapped his hands. “I’ll spare you for that, little goat.” He ignored Vasher’s glare and angled his body towards Mathias who was still on top of the mountainside with Cherri. He beckoned with his finger. “Come here.”
Mathias exchanged a glance with Cherri. She bit her lip and nodded. Mathias walked to the edge of the mountain after hiding Cherri behind a rock. He stepped off the edge, and a platform extended out of the mountainside, forming an earthen bridge in the air. He wasn’t quite sure how he felt about Palan and Cherri’s interference. It was true he didn’t have many allies—none at all actually—and the faction heads were also evolving to the level of archling, but he never felt like he’d lose his position as tribe leader. On the other hand, all the faction heads were now scared shitless, and he could easily dispose of them while they were still disheartened. Since Solra died, he didn’t have to spend time outside of the tribe anymore—he could run it properly.
“Friend of the insane benefactor,” Mathias said when he reached the end of his bridge, nodding at Palan. He made sure the bridge didn’t touch the ground so he could maintain eye contact without looking up. “How can I help you?”
“I heard Cherri say you ordered her to tell everyone that Solra died and Pyre was becoming the new commander,” Palan said. He crossed his legs and waited.
Mathias furrowed his brow. “That’s right,” he said. “What about it?”
Palan stared into Mathias eyes until the four-armed centaur turned his head away. “Is it the truth?” Palan asked with a smile as he leaned back, sitting on his throne of snakes.
Mathias fixed his composure and made eye contact with Palan again. “It is the truth,” he said. “I personally witnessed the commander’s death.”
“How did he die?” Palan asked.
“The insane benefactor placed a collar around the commander’s neck,” Mathias said. “He said it was an experimental model prone to exploding. After a short tiff, the collar exploded and killed the commander.”
Palan’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying,” he said. His hand flashed and seized Mathias’ neck, lifting him into the air. “I can tell—can almost taste the fear coming off your body.”
“I’m … not,” Mathias wheezed. He clawed at Palan’s arm with his four hands, but his nails didn’t even break the demon’s skin. His eyes bulged as a spear of earth rose out of the ground. Palan ignored it and tightened his grip, causing Mathias to spasm and lower his arms. The spear stopped advancing. Palan loosened his hand and dropped the centaur to the ground. Mathias gasped for breath as he climbed to his knees and massaged his neck while staring up at Palan.
“There are many ways to make you speak. You won’t like any of them,” Palan said. “Just tell me, what are you hiding?”
“I swear I’m telling the truth,” Mathias said and knocked his forehead against the ground. “I don’t dare lie to you. I’m not ashamed to admit you terrify me. You ripped my arm off after all.”
Palan frowned as his tails bent, lowering his body to hover above Mathias. “Are you saying I made a mistake?” he asked and raised an eyebrow.
Cold sweat ran down Mathias’ back. He really wasn’t lying, but if he didn’t admit he was lying, Palan would torture him. If he sent someone to the insane benefactor to prove his claim, Palan would kill him for embarrassing him in front of everyone. Did that mean he had to make up a lie to appease the tyrannical demon? What if he didn’t believe that one either? While his thoughts raced, someone discovered a way to save him.
The archbishop cleared his throat. “Palan,” he said. “I know you’re strong and amazing and intelligent and highly capable, but I can’t believe you’re not able to see the truth.”
Mathias and Palan turned their heads towards the centaur who was propping himself up on Justitia’s shoulder. With a dumb expression on his face, Mathias stared at the silver-tattooed elder. What truth? He told the truth.
“What do you mean?” Palan asked.
The archbishop cleared his throat again. “Well,” he said. “You know how Mathias is: perverted, lustful, impulsive. He’s the kind of centaur who wants to experience everything in life … even if they might be a bit taboo. The only times Mathias lies are when he’s trying to hide his own shame. It most likely is true that Solra died, but the cause of death must’ve been for some other reason. An exploding collar? Even a child could come up with a better excuse. Clearly, Mathias did some unspeakable deeds on Solra’s frail body.” The archbishop shook his head as Mathias’ face flushed crimson. The surrounding centaurs’ ears perked up as they came closer. “Think about it. Someone with the lower half of a horse. A century-old angel on the verge of dying in his sleep. The result was inevitable.”
“So you’re saying…,” Palan said and furrowed his brow. He took a step away from Mathias and gave him a strange look.
“Exactly,” the archbishop said and nodded. He winced from the action.
“Despicable,” Justitia said.
Raea pursed her lips. “I know I don’t have the right to judge someone for their preferences, but…. Until he died? Really?”
“N-no,” Mathias said and shook his head. “That’s not what happened. That’s not what happened at all.” His head swiveled as he attempted to explain to the surrounding centaurs. “Do you really think that I would do something like that?”
The centaurs murmured amongst each other. “Yes,” Vasher said and nodded. Mathias’ expression darkened. Was he that badly thought of amongst his people?
“Dad…,” Cherri said. Mathias turned around and met Cherri’s judgmental gaze. He wasn’t sure when she had gotten behind himself.
“You believe me, right?” Mathias asked. She stayed where she was while biting her lower lip.
Palan cleared his throat and lowered his feet to the floor. “Well,” he said. “I don’t blame you for lying to me. Solra’s dead. I found out what I wanted to know. Bye.”
“W-wait,” the archbishop said as Palan turned to leave. “What about helping Cherri become leader?”
“Didn’t you hear me when I said centaurs weren’t worthy of being my underlings?” Palan asked.
“He was passed out,” Cory said. She stuck her tongue out at the archbishop and whispered, “Harpies are specialer than centaurs.”
Poor poor Mathias even his own daughter was willing to believed that did perverted things to Solra that killed the angel. Even Palan didn’t want to stand too close and stepped away from him.