House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Chapter 160: Chapter 159 – The Blood Tears of the Faith of the Seven (V)

Maekar smiled, hearing Clarisse’s words. The High Septon was arriving, and with him, a hard blow to the reputation of the Faith of the Seven.

Looking at the crowd, wanting even more blood. He simply did what the people wanted. The loyal Morning Sword brought forth another Septon; this one went by the name Erick, was young, about thirty years old, handsome, and gentle, at least that was how he appeared.

However, under the investigation of the Blood Children, Erick was only a little worse than Eugene. He was an emotionless monster who liked to satisfy his morbid curiosity on people.

In simple terms, he was a psychopath with a superiority complex.

In Maekar’s past life, science had estimated that 1% or 3% of humanity were psychopaths. That is, 70 or 80 million people. However, being a psychopath did not mean you were a monster; after all, if 80 million people were serial killers, the world would already have descended into complete chaos.

Erick was a psychopath, a mad, murderous psychopath who liked to kill his victims by cutting them open alive. After Eugene, he was the hardest to gather evidence against, but, like any serial killer, the fool kept trophies and even a diary commenting on his victims and methods of murder.

Yes, it was stupid, but in a world where 99% of murders went unsolved, keeping a diary was not really dangerous, especially for a member of the clergy.

Erick did not seem sad or desperate; on the contrary, he looked like a curious cat about what was about to happen. Especially after seeing Eugene’s headless body casually tossed aside as though it were nothing.

Erick was locked into the guillotine, but he did not try to escape or struggle; he only smiled gently, as if everything before him were something interesting.

“You are going to die,” Maekar said in a calm tone, looking at the man who had reaped the lives of twenty-four women. All mothers were cruelly torn from their families.

“I have a question, my prince,” Erick asked with a smile. “What does the smell of burning human flesh smell like? Or the smell of the ashes you made in Myr?”

Typical of a psychopath, using someone’s feelings to manipulate them. These people, though mad, were intelligent, especially in certain specific areas, such as observation, human manipulation, and human psychology.

How could he let this worm try to manipulate him? Maekar kicked the man in the jaw, breaking his teeth, and blood ran down his mouth. Looking at the man before him, the prince spoke with a cold smile.

“Let me guess what you mean by that. You mean we are alike, but the difference is that you accept yourself as a monster, and I hide that side behind a mask of charisma, justice, and honor.”

Erick looked at Maekar without words; it was exactly what he wanted to say, but when those words left his mouth, they did not produce the feeling he had expected them to.

“I know you feel no fear of death, so I prepared something quite specific for you, Erick.”

Maekar knew these people were not afraid of just anything, but, in Maekar’s past life, scientists had run some tests and found that psychopaths also felt fear if a certain condition was met.

Suffocation, or rather, drowning.

It was human instinct to breathe; when that did not happen, the human brain simply stopped functioning correctly, and even the mind of a psychopath filled with fear. It had also been nearly proven that drowning was one of humanity’s most primal fears.

Clarisse waved her hand, and two city watchmen brought a wooden basin containing water and placed it beneath Erick.

“Drown him.” Maekar gave the order in a cold tone.

The city watchmen obeyed, seized Erick’s head, and submerged it in the water. The man remained calm at first but soon began to feel something he had never felt in his life. Fear. Erick began to thrash in panic, but he was pinned down and his head forced to stay underwater.

Maekar ignored the noise behind him and began reciting the man’s crimes to the whole crowd. These people, thirsty for blood, simply applauded, listening to the man’s drowned screams on the wooden platform.

Minutes later, Erick no longer moved, his body went slack, and he had stopped breathing entirely. Maekar looked at the scene with indifference and pulled the lever a second time. The guillotine fell in an instant, decapitating Erick.

Grabbing the head by the hair, Maekar raised it and won the crowd’s screams. These people called him a hero even as he held a decapitated head.

Erick’s head joined Eugene’s, just as his body did.

“That was too cruel.” Theo, Lord of Highgarden, spoke in a trembling tone. Honestly, he felt he would have nightmares tonight. That weapon that beheaded people would be the torturer in his mind in the world of dreams.

The one on the guillotine was not the criminal, but he himself. Touching his neck, Theo shrank back when he met Maekar’s eyes, looking at him for a moment.

“This weapon is interesting, fast, and, best of all, does not waste much energy.” Ellard remarked, looking at the guillotine with a gleaming look. The North dealt with the death of criminals with its own hands. Having a weapon like this would not disrespect that tradition; after all, the one pulling the guillotine’s lever was still the lord himself.

“Putting this in the city could reduce crime.” Ellard added with a loud laugh. He looked at Jaehaerys with a provoking look full of sarcasm. “Perhaps there would not be so many murderers and rapists in your noble city, my king.”

Ellard did not hide what he felt, making Jaehaerys snort coldly. Of all his vassals, Ellard was the one who dared defy him the most. Not just him; the Lords of Winterfell were more stubborn than bulls.

All this over a fief they could not even defend. Though Jaehaerys himself was disappointed in the Night’s Watch for not properly protecting the Gift, leading to the fief’s abandonment. After all, he had given that fief to help the Night’s Watch gain more financial independence and even the ability to recruit members.

Yet, the Lord Commanders of the Night’s Watch had proven to be a bunch of incompetents.

Ser Ryam approached Jaehaerys and whispered in a calm tone. “My king, the High Septon is arriving.”

Jaehaerys narrowed his eyes; the last piece of the conspiracy had arrived. Whether the High Septon intervened or not, the reputation of the Faith of the Seven in King’s Landing was already tarnished, and now, with Maekar setting a precedent for judging the clergy, the people could go to the castle and report any assault or threat by the clergy.

As Jaehaerys was thinking deeply, he heard a roar that made even the crowd fall silent.

“IN THE NAME OF THE GOD OF THE SEVEN FACES, STOP WHAT IS HAPPENING AT ONCE!!!”

The crowd looked at the approaching palanquin with apprehensive looks. Despite the earlier madness, this was the High Septon, one of the most respected humans in Westeros. The Bridge Between the Divine and the Mortal. The Voice of the Seven on Earth.

“Continue the trial,” Maekar spoke calmly and completely ignored the High Septon. Clarisse obeyed and brought forth the third septon, placed him in the guillotine, and stepped back to stand behind Maekar, her hand on the hilt of her sword to protect him from any danger.

Seeing this, the High Septon’s eyes blazed with fury. He stepped out of the palanquin, and his crystal crown shone with seven colors. His immaculate white robes looked especially sacred. Unfortunately, all that gravity vanished the moment one looked at the High Septon’s immense body and round, ball-like face.

“What is the meaning of this!?” The High Septon demanded. “They are Septons and cannot be killed!”

“Does Your Holiness not see? This is a trial, and they have been sentenced to death for their heinous crimes. I am cleansing the demons that lurk in the sacred halls of the Sept of King’s Landing.” Maekar spoke in a polite tone, wearing a righteous, sacred look, as though he were carrying out an extremely important mission.

“I am not blind, you filthy bastard!” The High Septon shouted, finding his own words especially sarcastic and full of irony. He looked at Maekar and said in a cold tone. “But, regardless of his crimes, it is not you who should judge, but I myself.”

As if expecting those very words, Maekar gestured to Clarisse, and the knight understood what he meant by that gesture. Stepping forward, she handed over the pouch containing all the scrolls detailing the crimes of every Septon.

“Please, begin the trial before everyone.” Maekar said with a cold smile.

The crowd looked at the High Septon with a gaze full of hope and expectation. In their eyes, someone so sacred would surely condemn all the criminals to death.

Judge? The High Septon only wanted to put an end to this whole farce and hide it all. If he dared judge the septons, he could forget about being remembered kindly in the history books. He would be torn apart by the septons themselves and even the faithful.

“I will hold a closed-door trial regarding these crimes and will personally investigate whether they truly committed such crimes.” The High Septon said in a calm tone while thinking about how he would burn that scroll.

A deafening silence hung over the square when the High Septon spoke those words.

“LIAR!!!” A scream full of fury broke the silence, and a stone was hurled toward the High Septon. The stone missed but came close, passing near one of the High Septon’s arms.

That was enough to make the High Septon furious. How dare they!? He, who was used to being treated as a god, was being accused before a gigantic crowd.

“ARREST THAT HERETIC!” The High Septon shouted, pointing out the arrest of whoever had just thrown a stone.

Maekar wanted to laugh at such a scene. The man had forgotten he was human, and people were not exactly reasonable, especially in a moment of great stress. The first feeling born of stress is fear, and then anger.

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Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard