I had to admit, if this potion of Rory's worked the way he said it did, that was an incredible stroke of luck on our part as there would be no questions about its legitimacy. This dude was an S- ranked Alchemist, so I didn't really doubt that it was possible, but I also had my issues with it as well. However, before I could voice anything, Delphia responded.
"I'll do it. It's not like I have anything to hide." She said without hesitation.
"Mom... are you sure?" Serena asked, finally speaking for the first time with everyone around.
Delphia just smiled at her daughter, and nodded.
"Yes my dear. Nothing I will be saying will be different regardless of if I take this potion or not." Delphia said confidently.
"Hold on," I said, cutting in as I gestured over to the person everyone seemed to be forgetting about. Garreth. "What about him? I don't have necessarily have an issue with this if it won't hurt Delphia, but why not just give it to him? They are the ones that did this, after all."
"He is the one being accused, and so far, you haven't let him say one word to defend himself against these accusations. I want to hear what Delphia has to say, even if I do think the potion is unnecessary." Kharie said, in defense of her brother's suggestion, "I don't want to believe any of this, but Delphia has been kind, collected, and doesn't strike me as the kind of woman to tell untruths."
"Yeah... why haven't you let Garreth say or do anything? And how can you have a skill that strong?" Vikoss growled, although I was impressed with him actually holding in his temper fairly well.
I thought about it for a minute, then I sighed. I released my power on Garreth, but not completely. I just undid it enough to let him speak.
"HE'S A MONSTER! PLEASE DON'T LET HIM KILL ME! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG! HE KILLED EVERYONE, AND NOW, HE'LL KILL ALL OF US! HE'LL-" He shouted almost immediately, and just as fast, I clamped my power back down on him, cutting him off mid yell.
The three siblings looked at him with wide eyes, and then turned to look at me, and their gazes were less than amused. Kharie looked torn between what had been said, and what Garreth had just blurted out. Vikoss still looked like he wanted to kill me, and the only reason I hadn't smacked him upside the head was because he actually didn't really direct his anger towards any of the women with me. Rory just looked pale, like Garreth was confirming his own thoughts about me. I cleared my throat.
"As you can see, he's fucking annoying. I think he's also losing his mind a bit. If I let him keep screaming like that, he'll blow out our eardrums." I said, and I didn't miss the wince on Delphia's face, as that little display really didn't help matters much.
"My point stands. He's terrified of you." Kharie said, a bit of ice in her tone.
I stared back at her with an even stare, making her flinch from my gaze.
"Good." I said, my voice a low growl that made the table rattle, "Being called a monster by people like him is a compliment. I will happily be the monster that evil fears."
Kharie, as well as her brothers, blinked several times at my words. I was being completely serious. If these fucked up assholes saw me as some kind of boogeyman to be feared, then I'd happily be that person. People like Garreth, like Raizen and his goons, and like the Baron before them... they all deserved to wallow in fear, pain, and misery before they died.
"Elias?" Delphia asked, causing me to look at her, her stern face getting my attention, "While I do appreciate you and what you stand for dearie, none of this helping us right now. I think it would just be best for me to do this, and prove to them that we are telling them the truth."
All I could do was just nod at her. I wouldn't apologize for me... well, being me. That being said, I could at least recognize my own flaws. I was just not always good with people, and despite being powerful, Delphia still had years of wisdom and social interaction above me. Delphia gave me a sweet little smile as she saw I understood, her eyes holding thanks for letting her take care of this. Despite everything she went through, she was still taking so much responsibility on her shoulders. It was no wonder that Serena was such a wonderful woman with a mother like this.
"Rory dear." Delphia said, turning to the man, who I was surprised to see turned a tad pink from her gentle tone directed towards him, "I will take your little potion now."
"Of-of course, ma'am. Here you are. Please, make sure you don't spill any of it." Rory said nervously, Delphia smirking with amusement at him as he reached over the table with the vial in hand, with Delphia reaching over and taking it gingerly from his hand.
Before Delphia opened it, she looked at her daughter, and gave her a gentle smile.
"I'm sure they'd let you step out. Some of the things I have to say, they aren't pleasant." Delphia said, but Serena just shook her head.
"No... I'm staying right here. Whatever it is... I can handle it. It's the least I can do... so please." Serena said with a guilty look in her eyes.
It was clear that she was still putting some of the blame on herself, despite nothing being her fault. Her running away with Benji was honestly the smartest choice she could have made, but unfortunately logic and reasoning doesn't make your brain stop thinking such thoughts when you're in an emotional state. Delphia understood too, and she just smiled sadly at her daughter, before leaning down and giving her forehead a quick kiss.
"You didn't do anything wrong, my sweet girl, but I understand." Delphia said softly, her words and action making Serena's eyes water.
I didn't miss the sadness or look of longing on Kharie's face, and once again, it made my chest hurt for her. Just like me, I knew she was missing those same actions, those same words from her own mother... yet unlike me, her mother was gone. Thinking about it that way, her and her brother's had lost their mother, lost their father, and now, their brother as well. If only Raizen hadn't went down such a dark path, things wouldn't be like this. I wouldn't feel bad for him, or for what had to be done, but I could feel bad for these three, and despite Vikoss getting on my nerves to no end... I would attempt to be a little more... nice, I suppose.
Once Delphia was done comforting Serena, she turned to Kharie, and gave the girl a kind smile.
"I am... sorry for what comes next, sweetheart." Delphia said, her words making Kharie show a brief flash of gentle softness in her eyes, before she schooled her emotions just as quickly as they appeared. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who noticed it.
With that being said, Delphia uncorked the bottle, and sniffed the liquid. Her nose wrinkled a bit, before she decided to just rip the bandaid off, wrapping her lips around the bottle, and tilting her head back. The contents quickly flowed into her mouth as she swallowed the whole thing in only a few short seconds. Once she was done, she removed the bottle from her mouth and grimaced.
"That's... not the greatest tasting thing in the world." She admitted, and Rory gave her a nervous shrug.
"I'm... still working on ways to improve the flavor." He said, and Delphia just smiled at him, making him blush once more.
"So, how does this work?" I asked, seeing that Delphia still seemed like herself, which was good.
Rory glanced at me nervously.
"It should be taking effect as we speak. Even if she has the inclination to lie about something, she won't be able to. It also works to have those affected share more information about what they are saying." Rory said, and I nodded my head.
"In that case, how about a quick test." Kharie said, then looked at me, and then at Delphia. That gave me a small sense of dread, but I wasn't sure why. That is, until Kharie continued, "What is your opinion on Elias here? What kind of man do you think he is."
"Oh boy..." I muttered, looking at Delphia as she began to speak much faster than I expected.
"I think he's a very sweet boy. He can seem scary, but he really strikes me as a big softie. The way he acts is honestly adorable. He saved all of us without asking for anything in return except to make sure that we were okay. He healed our wounds, and has treated me and everyone else with the utmost respect. He can be a little quick tempered, but he's truly passionate about his ideals and what he believes in. I also really love seeing how he treats his mates, and I'm very hopeful that he will make my Serena one of his mates in the future, and fill her with my grandbabies." Delphia said in a rush.
I will admit that I shrank back in my seat just a bit, my face actually feeling red hot. Serena tried to hide her face behind her hands, whimpering with a look of horror and embarrassment on her face the more Delphia had spoken. Valerie had wide eyes as she listened to Delphia speak, and my girls? Well, Clarissa did pretty well at hiding her giggles behind her hand, but Cici did not. She just laughed happily.
"That works a little too well." Cici said, laughing the words.
"Oh... oh my." Delphia said, putting her fingers against her lips as her eyes opened a bit wider.
Rory and Vikoss looked like they couldn't believe it, although their facial expressions kept morphing due to the fact that they literally had to believe it, thanks to Rory's potion. Kharie's cheeks had turned red, and she actually stammered as she responded.
"I-I see." She said, coughing as she tried to move the conversation along, "W-well... that's reassuring. You still think very highly of him even after ingesting the truth potion. My brothers and I know for a fact that it does indeed work like he said... so... now, maybe we can get to the part about my brother... and what you claimed happened to you and your village."
Delphia cleared her throat, and I did feel a bit better seeing the dusky shade of pink on her cheeks as well at her own words. Once she composed herself, she began speaking. She got right into it, not skipping over any details.
She talked about how they were all just living peacefully like everyday, until they all showed up in their village, and turned everything upside down. Them taking over by force, them taking and locking up the children, and how Raizen went around and picked the women he liked best for himself, while telling his men to have their pick at any of the women he didn't want.
She mentioned how her children had gotten away, pissing off Raizen to no end, but was content with the fact that he at least could have her. She went into more detail than even I was comfortable with, explaining how he would take many of them at once, make them all preform sex acts on each other, and how he could be very rough with them if they didn't please him to his liking.
Kharie's brothers stared in disbelief, their eyes wide as Delphia spoke the harsh truth that was unmistakable due to the potion she had taken. Kharie though? She was taking it the worst, her eyes filled with horror as tears fell from her eyes at hearing what everyone in the village had gone through. It only got worse when she mentioned how Raizen had broken her leg, and ripped off Alina's ear for daring to talk back to them.
Serena looked distraught the whole time as she listened to everything her mother had gone through, guilt and tears in her eyes. As Delphia spoke, Serena had reached out and grabbed her mother's hand, and Delphia grabbed hers back, holding it reassuringly. And Valerie? She was glaring at Rory, who shrank back from the Dhampir's gaze, making it clear what she thought of his potion and the pain it was no doubt causing Delphia as she continued to speak, and relive what she had gone through.
Meanwhile, I felt anger settling into me. She had been through enough, and while I understood their want to know the truth, it was at the cost of Delphia's emotional state and mental wellbeing. I wanted to respect Delphia's determination to help, because despite everything, she stayed strong, but there was still only so much someone could take. That moment came soon enough.
"There was one day when I snapped at Raizen. I told him that I've never hated anyone more than I hated him. That I just wanted them all gone, and that I wanted my husband back." Delphia said, her voice trembling as tears now fell from her eyes, "Raizen beat me, slammed me into the walls and the floor, whatever he could do to hurt me. Then, he has his friend go and find my husband. They brought him into that house, beat the hell out of him, and then he had his friend hold him down and then he... he made him watch as he..."
"STOP!" I yelled, but surprisingly, so did Kharie.
The woman was tear stricken, grief and guilt marring her face. Out of these three, she definitely had the most respect from me right now, but this had gone on long enough. The brothers were shaking from what they just heard, and the fact that they knew it to be true. Clarissa had turned around to comfort Delphia, while Cici stood and walked behind Delphia, wrapping the woman in a hug along with Serena. I glared at Rory, who shrank back from my gaze.
"There. You got what you wanted... I hope you're fucking happy." I growled, my anger leaving me in a physical force that caused the room to darken with the blackness of my aura.
I stood, taking my attention away from Rory, and walked over to Delphia. I pulled a cloth from my storage, and Cici moved over as I leaned down, and began to wipe the tears from Delphia's face. I had no doubt she would be one of my mother-in-laws in the future, and just like Anya and my own mother, I'd do my best to take care of her and her family. Delphia looked at me, and I was relieved to see a genuine smile make its way back onto her face.
"Thank you, dearie." She said softly, and I just nodded, putting the wet cloth back into my storage, and handing her a new one.
"I'm... so... so sorry. I can't... I don't know what to think..." Kharie said, her voice cracking as she spoke, "But... I can't deny what was said... it seems Raizen truly... was a monster."
"All of them were, and they all paid the price for what they did. There are no chances, no atonement for stuff like this. Taking over their village by force is one thing. Enslaving them was worse, treating those poor children like animals was evil... but if you force yourself on someone, then that's it. You deserve a fate worse than death." I said, my voice a low rumble.
Kharie looked down at the table, seemingly unable to meet my gaze as her tears dripped onto the wooden surface. I was angry, but not at her. Ultimately, I even knew her brother wasn't truly to blame, he just wanted to hear the truth, and well... he got it. Still, the poor woman had been through enough, and her having to relive those moments, in such detail, had been enough. The fact that Raizen made Benarious fucking watch as he did that... I wanted to mutilate his corpse. She hadn't told anyone that, and I definitely understood why.
"FUCK!" Vikoss suddenly shouted, his teeth bared as he looked at me, with surprisingly less anger in his eyes directed at me, before he looked over at Garreth, and his eyes burned with fury, "ELIAS, RELEASE ME AT ONCE!"
I looked at the man, and saw that he was fucking furious, but none of it was actually directed at me or the women with me. I nodded as I understood, and released the grasp I had on his body. The moment I did, he stood, and looked down at his brother.
"Give me one of those potions." He said, making Rory flinch as he stared at Vikoss. After a few seconds of him not moving, Vikoss roared, "NOW!"
Rory started, and then began fumbling as he began looking through his spacial storage. After what felt like 10 seconds, he pulled out a potion that looked the exact same as the last, and began bringing it forward with a shakey hand. Vikoss snatched it quickly, and Rory shrank back in his seat as his brother walked around him, around the table, and arrived in front of Garreth with heavy steps.
"Elias... let him speak." He said, and given the look on the man's face, and who his rage was no aimed at, I saw no reason not to.
"LORD VIKOSS! PLEASE! YOU HAVE- AGH!" Garreth screamed almost immediately as I gave him back use of his voice, but he was cut off as Vikoss grabbed the man's face while leaving his mouth exposed.
Vikoss brought the vial up to his mouth and ripped out the cork with his teeth. He then shoved it into Garreth's mouth upside down. Garreth immediately tried to spit it out, but that's when Vikoss grabbed the man's chin, and forced his mouth shut. I heard the sound of the small vial breaking, and Garreth's eyes widened in fear as he was made unable to spit the liquid out. At first, I wondered where the blood was, or how Garreth would be able to talk with a shredded tongue, but then felt stupid as I doubted simple glass could cause any harm to someone with even decently high Strength.
Once the liquid was all down the man's throat, Vikoss brought their faces together so close that their noses almost touched. The fear in Garreth's eyes was always nice to see.
"Now, Garreth," Vikoss began, his voice about as low as mine got when I was pissed, "Even though I don't doubt it, is any of what this woman said true?"
Garreth began shaking, but his mouth opened almost unconsciously as words began to spill out.
"Yes... all of it is true." Garreth said, then he grunted as Vikoss punched him in the face, the crunch of his nose breaking sounding throughout the room.
"Was it all of you!?" Vikoss asked, and once again, Garreth answered.
"Yes! All of us followed Raizen's lead! We were all stronger than the other villagers, so we did what we pleased, just as he said! Some were worse than others! Jerrion was one of the worst ones! He was close to killing a few of the women many times!" Garreth said in a rush, and I heard a small sob escape Kharie's mouth as he talked. She was not taking this well.
Once again, Vikoss's fist greeted Garreth's face, his nose flattening against his face as blood leaked from it in a stream of red.
"AND WHAT ABOUT YOU??" Vikoss screamed, his spit flying from his mouth and hitting Garreth in the face.
Garreth looked like he was actually attempting to fight the effects of the potion, but it was clear that he could not.
"I... did take what I wanted most days. I only hurt them if they fought back! If they just accepted what was happening, then-"
Vikoss's fist crashed into Garreth's face so hard this time that it flattened his nose against his face. I knew what these fuckers had done. I seen it for myself, but it still pissed me off to no end. Truth potion or not, the fact that this asshole was talking about this so causally, like it was just another fucking day, was disgusting.
"YOU'VE SULLIED THIS VILLAGE!" Vikoss said, more spittle splattering across Garreth's face, "DID THEIR SUFFERING MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU?"
Despite the rocky start, I felt that Vikoss was a man I could respect. He clearly felt the way about this that any decent person should.
"I... we..." Garreth said, blood flowing out of his broken nose like a faucet, "That's the way of the world. The strong take, and the weak have no choice but to accept it. That's what Raizen told us! It was our right to do what we did!"
I was about two heartbeats away from braining this guy, but it was unnecessary. Vikoss wrapped his hands around Garreth's throat, and began to squeeze. Garreth's eyes widened, and he began choke as he tried to scream, but he was unable to.
"THE STRONG TAKE, IS THAT?!? IS THAT WHAT YOU LEARNED??" Vikoss roared as his grip tightened, his fingers digging into the man's neck so hard they began to draw blood, "WE HELP PEOPLE! WE PROTECT THOSE WHO CAN'T PROTECT THEMSELVES! THAT'S THE WAY OUR PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN!"
Vikoss stared into the man's eyes, burning hot rage filling those brown eyes, and just like when he looked at me, there was only fear and despair in Garreth's eyes. When Vikoss spoke next, it was with a calm rage that reminded me of myself when I had taken my Transformation into the True Abyssal Flame Patriarch.
"I guess you have no choice but to accept this then. Like you said, the strong take, right?" Vikoss asked, and Garreth's eyes almost popped out of his skull as he squeezed with finality.
There was a loud crack as Vikoss twisted, breaking the man's neck like a weak tree branch. Vikoss stood there, breathing heavily as he looked at the now dead form of Garreth. The room was silent in the aftermath of the very justified killing of the degenerate asshole. I was a little surprised that he actually went through with it, but given what Garreth had said, I would've snapped the man's neck too. Hell, I was going to do worse later, but now it wasn't even necessary. The man had temper, but he had good ideals.
"V-Vik?" Kharie asked in a shakey voice, and that caused Vikoss to blink out of his sort of trance he had fallen into.
Vikoss released Garreth's neck, and the man's body immediately fell to the floor with a thump. Vikoss turned to look over a the puffy eyed form of his sister, who looked at him with an almost unreadable expression. However, there was one thing that was easy to see in her beautiful brown eyes. She was not upset in the least over the death of Garreth. She just looked lost, like she couldn't quite grasp everything that was just duscussed, hearing it from not only Delphia, but Garreth as well. Vikoss looked at the body, at his sister and brother, and then at his hands.
"How could you become like this...?" Vikoss asked in a weak voice, before he turned, and quickly walked towards the exit.
"Vik!" Rory said, followed by Kharie as well, but he didn't listen.
I didn't miss the tears I saw falling to the floor as he slammed the door open, and stormed out of the room. Rory quickly stood, grimaced as he looked at the body, and then turned to Kharie.
"Sis?" Rory asked, voice shaking along with his body.
"Go..." Kharie said, her voice weak and filled with pain, "Go and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
Rory nodded, but before he did anything else, he turned towards Delphia, and lowered his head.
"Ma'am... I am truly sorry for everything that happened, and... I hope you'll forgive me for making you drink that potion." He said with guilt lacing his voice, but Delphia just smiled at him.
"You have nothing to apologize for. You did nothing wrong, Rory. Don't blame yourself for any of this." She replied, and the man nodded stiffly, before turning and walking out of the room as he went to find his brother.
"I... did not expect that." Cici admitted, with Clarissa, as well as the others, nodding in agreement.
"I kinda did. I saw it in his eyes. He reminds me of..." I said, hesitating to finish the sentence.
"Of yourself..."
The voice that spoke was Kharie, and I turned to look at her, my chest aching at the sight of her tear stricken face, and quivering lips. Before I could say anything else, Delphia extracated herself from Serena, stood, and walked over to the woman.
"It's okay, sweetheart." Delphia said, as she reached Kharie, and placed her hand on top of the woman's head as she began gently stroking her hair, "I know that was tough to hear... it was hard for all of us, but it'll be okay."
Kharie choked out a small sob, closing her eyes as more tears fell.
"I feel like... this is my fault. Like it's all our fault. If only we had known... if we didn't let Raizen leave... then maybe..."
Before Kharie could finish her sentence, Delphia bent down, and put her arms around the woman. Kharie froze, but she did not pull away. Delphia, the wonderful woman that she was, just continued stroking the back of Kharie's head.
"I'll keep saying this as much as I have to. You did nothing wrong. None of you did. You are not your brother. His choices were his and his alone. And I'll keep reassuring you as much as I have to." Delphia said softly, her words causing something inside of Kharie to crack.
Kharie's voice cracked as she sobbed, before she brought shakey arms up and clutched at Delphia, who just smiled as her own eyes filled with tears again. The sight was both wholesome and heartbreaking at the same time.
"That's it, sweetheart. Just let it all out." Delphia soothed, and Kharie did just that as she cried her eyes out into Delphia chest.