New law of Beast Taming

The silence in the gathering was tense. Everyone looked at the priest and her bowed head.

Even now, they could not accept what they had just heard coming out of their queen's mouth. But neither the queen nor the priest was going anything to deny what was happening.

"Oi, do you seriously think the priest was behind everything that happened the past few days? Those beast attacks and the recent increase in the outsider activity?"

"No way. The priest has been nothing but loyal to us all this time. There is no way she is the one responsible for what happened."

Another heretic spoke up in defense of the priest. She had been a friend of the priest for a long time now.

But even she could see how hollow her words were when the priest stood before her like a criminal.

"Oh, come on. The queen announced what the priest did with her mouth. Are you still foolish enough to defend the priest even now? You should be ashamed of yourself."

Another heretic spoke these words. It was clear to say that the opinions were rather divided in the community. No one knew that they should think about the priest.

"Everyone, calm down. I have decided what to do with the priest. She will be made to undergo the same trial as everyone else does. If she survives, we will take her back, if not then this will be her end."

Everyone gasped after hearing this. They had not expected the queen to give such a difficult verdict to the priest.

Not only was this a death sentence but the implications of this would be massive. This was the first time their generation had seen a guardian being punished like this.

The priest said nothing and jumped down into the arena. She had lost all hopes of being able to live a calm and happy life.

She looked up at the beast in front of her with hollow eyes and it attacked. The priest could not even move if she wanted to.

After all, there was a powerful energy keeping her bonded in place and the priest could not help but resent Yoko Tsurugi in her heart just a little more.

But even that hate was exhausted when the beast bit the female's head off. And that was the end of it all for the priest.

Above her, Amane looked at the scene in front of her with a calm and solemn expression. She had not meant to get the priest killed in such a manner, but it had been inevitable.

She had used her powers to hold the priest immobile to ensure that she died. Amane could not risk letting someone as dangerous as the priest go freely. It would come back to bite her in the end.

"Hey, are you alright? I know this brings back bad memories for you but you need to brave it through. It will be over soon."

The scout looked at Amane's pale face and ended up reaching the wrong conclusion. Amane did not bother correcting her mistake since there was no point in it.

She looked down at the dying priest in front of her with a solemn expression.

'The priest reaped what she sowed. This end was coming for her anyway.'

Amane knew this. And yet, she felt nothing to see the priest die. This was how things ended up if you went against her. So, it was better to give up before you even tried to do anything.

...…

"My lady, are you going to trial the vial you were given by young master Morris? You should before it's too late."

Sakura looked at her maid and her insisting expression. She tried not to look too deeply into Layla's actions but the maid was making it too obvious what she wanted.

'Lynn is a fool if she thinks I will put an unknown substance in my mouth. But I better keep an eye on her as well.'

It was already the second day of delegations and the divine guild had gone back. Charlie Suzuki had declared that she did not want to take care of anything here and she had swiftly left the place.

Sakura had opted to stay behind just in case she found something she could use later. But she regrated that decision more and more as time passed.

Not only were these people stupid, but they also tried to flatter Sakura in the worst way possible.

"I am sure you are the rightful owner of the Tsurugi household, Lady Sakura. We never liked your cousin and were always rooting for you."

"True. As soon as you take your intended role, we will help you out. So, you just need to stick on a little bit longer for our sake."

The people around her flattered her unnecessarily and they even tried to turn Sakura against Yoko. They did not know what Sakura thought about everything but they still tried to make it seem like they did.

'Tsk, these people are all useless. And now they are infesting my maid as well.'

Sakura was about to take her leave and leave this hopeless meeting when she decided to give them all a last chance.

Suddenly, yells erupted from around the corridor. Sakura was surprised to hear the yelling and everyone else stood up as well.

"R-Run away. A beast has invaded these halls. Hurry up and save your life."

The people who heard this news quickly stood up and started to run as well. By the time the news reached Sakura, the rest of the rooms were already empty.

The people in the room around Sakura looked beyond shocked. They looked as if their lives were ending.

"W-What are we going to do now? We will all die because of the beast. Is there nothing that can save us?"

People cried and whispered as they looked at each other with frightful eyes. Their eyes looked spooked and Sakura felt a headache coming over her.

"Everyone, calm down. The crisis is not that big and we are only dealing with a beast here. I will lead you all since I have more experience against these beasts."

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Everyone looked shocked after hearing Sakura's words.

They had seen her grow up and they knew her nature well. She mostly stayed in the background and did not like to make flashy entries. She was also more of a background manipulator.

But for the first time, she had not only stepped forward to help everyone out but also taken active charge of the situation.

And despite all this, everyone inside the room could not help but be doubtful of Sakura's potential. She was good at what she did, but she was also a coward most of the time and had no powers.

"Lady Tsurugi, I cannot allow you to do anything of this sort. You don't have the power to control beasts like your cousin so you need to stay down."

Sakura bit her lip as soon as she heard these words. She knew that the person commenting on this said the truth, but it hurt to hear it nonetheless.

She knew she was powerless in this situation and there was nothing she could do to rectify this situation.

'But maybe there is something I can do to gain power. I have the medicine I can take an…'

As soon as that thought came to her mind, Sakura shook it away. She could not afford to get distracted by her feelings here.

"Everyone, I know that you are afraid for my safety and want to help, but I will not cower behind you. Now, you can either follow me or stay in here."

Sakura commanded everyone and they looked uncomfortable. Finally, one of the people in the room stepped forward and looked determined.

"I agree with Sakura. We cannot sit in this room and wait for the best to find us. We need to get out of here as soon as we can."

Once one person spoke, more and more people began to agree with her. Only a few people looked uncomfortable now and that had more to do with their personality than their trust in Sakura.

Sakura took a deep breath before she opened the door. It was time for her to show what she could do.

The first corridor was empty and she was easily able to guide everyone outside. The second one was clear as well.

But the third corridor had a giant mantis-like beast crying out in alarm as it noticed the group. It quickly charged toward the group and brought its massive arms above its body.

"Everyone, duck toward the right side quickly. We need to make sure we stay safe."

The arm was swung down and the beast cleaved through the wall behind the group. It had been a close call but no one was injured this time.

"What do we do now? What do we do now in front of this beast? What the hell do we do now?"

The stress of the situation was diluting everyone's ability to think. Fear was gripping their hearts and Sakura cursed what was happening.

She looked in her pocket to find something she could use, but there was nothing she had. Only a small vial of liquid reached her hand and Sakura looked at it with an uncomfortable expression on her face.

She did not want to use this vial of unknown liquid. But there seemed to be no other way for her to get out of this situation. The beast was getting more and more deadlier by the second.