A suit made of interlocking chains of gold with an inlay of feathers, A helm carved from the skull of a beast, and a face filled with confidence laced with cruelty. Makeup across the cheeks and diagonal on the brows made him look like he was smiling and angry at the same town. A clown whose hands held the lives of everyone on the galley with him.

The crowd no longer moved and attentively watched as this was a rare time of entertainment. Though, the content was anything but funny. On one side were those accused of being demons while the other had those who had committed crimes. "Criminal" and "Demon" hung over their respective groups and now was the time for their punishment, whether guilty or innocent.

Out of the demons, of which there was a dozen, only one held the red eyes that betrayed their identity as a true demon while the rest were pure humans. One can only imagine the accuracy of the criminals having actually sinned with statistics like this. In fact, with a distinguishing feature, it was surprising more demons weren't caught. Only the blind man from before could see properly in this mad town.

One by one, they were pushed into the pit in the center of the plaza, which flared up with every sacrifice. Within the pit was something of unimaginable heat. Just the offset from this was enough to make the area sweltering, possibly the reason why this town was so hot in comparison to the rest of the lands. In the middle of the desert, these people embraced even greater heat than what would cause unlivable conditions.

For what reason? As the last demon was pushed in, the plume of smoke took on a darker hue and the sound of metal hitting upon itself could be heard. Two chains attached to the execution stand dropped down into the depths of what seemed like hell itself. The man dressed as in a clownish way lifted up his arms and let out a roar, seeming more like a demon than the one he had just pushed down.

More were pushed down, this time from the side of the criminals. With every one pushed in, the temperature rose by a few degrees. The crowd stood rooted to the ground as if the heat did nothing to them. One would expect a few to faint from the heat or leave. Instead, they mutely watched the ongoing events like mannequins.

The man on stage slowed down, savoring each push and making more of a show with each push. Things were heating up in more ways than one. Like a reflection of the crowd, the so-called criminals remained rooted in a seated position right on the edge of the abyss. To them, their fate was inevitable and they long lost the spirit to fight back. Even if they regained freedom, they would be dead men walking. Virtually broken and executed before in mind, here was just a drama to show off.

A crowd so mum about things that they felt more like background characters than the audience. A man onstage who was both the entertainer and entertained.

Meanwhile, the humanoid demon was smiling as he enjoyed the show, not even flinching when the real demon was pushed down, perhaps smiling a bit more at that moment. Unluckily, the tortoise's head level was too low and couldn't see anything over the crowd. It only felt the eerie silence from the surroundings and the ever increasing temperature. A demon it was, but even it got uncomfortable and wished to move away. Its only consolation was that all the smoke filled the skies and covered up the sun so it would not have to take cover when noon came.