Arthur's Point of View

Town Guard's Cells

"This is them?" I asked as we were in the bottom of the mountain.

Greigh nodded as we looked inside the cells. "Yes, Sir." A light hung behind us, so I imagine it was difficult to make out my facial features, which I planned to use to my advantage.

Ziah then moved over them. "Most of them are Northern Zugal that appear to be from the Falcon Clan."

"The Falcon Clan!" I repeated in a fake impressed manner. "Fancy!" That earned me several glares from the prisoners. "If you two could wait outside, I'd like to have a few words with the prisoners alone."

"Uh, that's not exa-" Ziah began, but I looked over my shoulder at her.

"That wasn't a request." I told them, and a few of the caged Zugal started chuckling. "Something amusing to you?"

Who I assumed was the leader, quickly replied. "You think we're afraid of some no-name Human?" He asked in a mocking tone. "Not a single one of you is willing to go against the Zugal Clans!" Then he gestured to Ziah and Greigh. "If this was reversed, you'd already be dead! Weak is all you Doves will ever be!"

Stepping forward, I turned back to my Captain and Sergeant before closing the door slowly. "Do not enter this room until I'm done."

Greigh frowned. "Sir, I'd like to remind you that torture is illegal no matter how high your rank."

"Thanks for the heads up." I replied as I closed the door on the two of them.

My back was still turned when I heard more chuckling from the cell. "So, what kind of fool put a stupid piece of shit like you in charge? I mean, a Human as a commanding officer!? It's almost laughable!"

Naturally, they all started laughing. However, the group quickly came to a stop when I stepped in to face them, and they saw my eyes. Each of them shuttered away in shock, fear, and surprise. Moving over to the cell, I eventually crouched down where all of them were sitting and stared at them wide-eyed.

"I'm going to ask your little band of birds one time. Who are you working for?" I said in a low tone.

Unfortunately, things can never be easy. "What do you mean?" The leader replied after a moment as he leaned forward cockily. "We're merely-"

Before he could finish, my arm shot through the bars and grabbed him by his cheeks. My palm covered his mouth as his friends shouted in alarm. Slowly, I began to squeeze without blinking. His eyes showed panic as his eyes started to water.

"Nothing but a bird that fucking squawks." Pulling him closer to the bars, I leaned in as I glared at him while soft waves of killing intent flowed from my body. "If this beak isn't going to help me, why should you keep it?"

Slowly, my fingers squeezed down harder and harder. Since he was cuffed, he thrashed about as best he could, but there was a clear difference between us. His buddies certainly yelled for help and for me to stop, but I put a barrier of my energy between us and the rest of the world. A crack rang out as I felt his jaw dislocate from the pressure. He screeched into my palm, but I still didn't let go. Instead, I kept putting on more pressure. His friends shimmied over to him, but their hands were bound behind their backs, so there was little they could do.

"It was a simple question." I continued in an emotionless tone as I continued to squeeze, and I felt his jaw begin to break in several places. "It only needed a simple answer. A name would've sufficed."

Soon, his teeth began to pop out as his jaw could no longer be considered a jaw. He went limp from the pain as I imagine the nerves in his teeth overloaded his senses. Letting him go, he fell to the cold stone floor with a thud as teeth escaped from his motionless body.

"What're you doing!?" One of his friends asked in horror.

"Taking his wings next." I replied casually as I grabbed one wing.

His friends quickly jumped on my arm, but it did little to stop me as I hefted his limp body against the bars and carefully fit his wings through. Standing, the leader's body was lifted off the ground as I gave his wings a tug. Everyone in the cell looked on in fear as I started to slowly pull. It didn't take long for the pain to wake their fearless leader, and he began letting out a horrid screech of pain.

Keeping his wings in place, I slowly moved closer to the bars while keeping his wings taut. "Do you feel like talking now?"

Tears streamed down his face, and he nodded softly with a pained expression. "Mfpyef."

Keeping my glare as I dropped his wings, I reached my arm through the cell bars once again before grabbing his face. "Then you'd better hope I can fix your jaw." He screamed in pain again as I activated my energy and began to pump it into his face. "Because if I can't, I'm going to drop you off at Elincia's feet and let you explain how this came about."

I wanted to see how I could handle such wounds on others. Healing myself was clearly simple if I boosted my own energy. That was proven when I tore out my own heart. But what about if I were to injure others? Was it possible to heal them? My powers were likely limited, but I needed to know how limited, and I felt no remorse for using this lot as test subjects.

"Well, shit…" I mumbled.

It would appear that healing others, to such an extreme, was outside of my expertise. His jaw popped back into place, but the jaw itself was still destroyed. A small frown came to my lips as I let him go, and he flopped to the floor once more. From what I could gather, my energy increased the natural healing elements in one's body but not heal them myself. Small wounds would heal, but the damage I did was far too extreme.

It's likely I could heal Elves and Dragons more directly due to their specific natures, but Humans and Zugal were likely a no-go. Maybe if I had more control or experience, that would change. Stepping back as I eyed the cell, I narrowed my eyes on the group who looked up at me fearfully. I needed to fix this. That meant I needed someone to heal this, and I really didn't want it to be either Priestess. Someone who owed me a favor and wouldn't ask any questions would be perfect.

"If any of you speak a word, you can expect the same treatment." They nodded or merely watched me fearfully as I moved to the door and opened it. "Greigh, I need you to fetch me Ayda Farro. I need her help with something."

He tried to peek into the room. "Is it something I could aid you with?"

"Doubtful. Just a little accident, but I assure you, no one is being tortured. Tell Ayda it would mean a lot to me if she could lend a hand." I stated before closing the door once more.