I followed the commander along the hallways until down to the fortress basement. I thought that I was being led to the observation tower, but he took a different turn from the path that led to that awful spiraling staircase. The basement path became darker and darker as we kept walking.

The commander stopped in front of a large steel door. As he opened it, a faint foul odor surged out. Behind that door was an almost pitch black damp area that felt colder than the rest of the floor.

I felt something gently pushing into my body.

"Could you please light this torch?"

I had to feel around me a little in order to get a good grip on the torch, and also to figure out which end of the thing I was supposed to light up. Because of the dampness of the torch, the fire I lit with basic magic was quite small. I passed the torch back to commander Mavuto after confirming the flame wouldn't die out any time soon.

Its dim light was still sufficient for lightening up the vicinity, and I could spot small cells with metal bars blocking their entrances around me. Cobwebs riddled the cells, several of which had what appeared to be bloodstains on the ground. It was rather odd that there were no captives inside any of these prison cells, but what I found creepier was the eerie silence of the place. Not a single sound other than the echoes of our own footsteps could be heard from this underground prison.

I couldn't help but think that what I was going through currently was bad for my heart. After making so many unexpected things happen in this town, getting interrogated by the military police, and being led down here into a cold empty prison, I really felt like I was going to be punished in some way. Was he planning on imprisoning me here?

I followed the commander all the way to where the prison hallway ended, where there was one cell with a lone prisoner inside. It was a young blonde human knight, who looked to be in his late twenties. He wore tattered bloodstained armor, and had several cuts and lacerations all over his body. The knight was sitting on the floor with his back leaning on the wall behind him, and his empty eyes were staring listlessly at the shackles on his feet.

… Was it really necessary to lock him up this deep inside the prison? It would have been impossible for him to escape with the shackles there on his feet, so wouldn't it be more efficient to have him be a little closer to the entrance?

Nonetheless, the young knight looked up slightly when he noticed the faint torchlight in front of his cell, then looked back down at his shackles after catching a glance of us.

"This is the one who provoked the dragon two days ago."

So he survived in the end, after getting flung off of the dragon and onto the observation deck. Unfortunately, he was inside enemy territory, so getting captured by the troops here was inevitable. The cuts and lacerations on him appeared to be too light compared to what a dragon could have done to him, so I reckon he was tortured and beaten in some way after being imprisoned here.

It's somewhat relieving to know that he was still alive despite being an enemy of the Demon King's army, but why was the commander showing me this prisoner of war?

"This isn't a warning for me not to rebel, is it? I have no intentions of acting against others."

At least not unless I'm repeatedly requested to do something that goes against my sense of morals.

"What? No, we trust you enough that you're being given a citizenship card, remember?"

"Then… why am I being shown this captive knight?"

"We're giving you the honor of deciding this person's fate."

"Huh?"

Commander Mavuto took out the large sword behind his back out of its sheath, then shoved its handle into my hands. The sword was so heavy that I almost dropped it after holding on. Its blade did hit the ground hard, though, since I could not hold it upright.

"You can choose to either grant him a quick death, or to prolong his suffering."

"… Why does it have to be me, though?"

"Because a captive is considered the same as a spoil of war."

"What?"

"And because you contributed so much to the fight against that dragon, it's only natural that you should get the biggest spoil."

"…"

The commander opened the cell door, then lightly patted my back to nudge me inside.

"Do I really have to do this? Aren't there others who contributed more?"

"Denato's rotation ended, and he's long gone now. That means this guy is now your responsibility."

I didn't feel any bit of hostility or negativity in commander Mavuto's tone of voice. It did not seem like he was pushing me to make certain choices.

In any case, it was too late to turn back now. I was deep inside a cold empty prison with just the commander and a prisoner present. Even though the commander was currently unarmed, there was no telling what he could do to me if I chose to act against him. He could probably snap my bones in half with his raw strength alone.

Should I rebel, then even if he were to spare my life, it would be very easy for him to get to the prison entrance before I could and simply lock me inside this pitch black place until I went mad. It didn't seem like I had any choice other than to heed to his demand of deciding this prisoner's fate…

After a brief moment of silence, I slowly walked inside the cell, dragging the heavy sword along. It made a very discomforting sound as the blade scraped across the floor. In front of the young knight, I stood there looking at him quietly, at an impasse at what to do. The man suddenly looked up once more, his eyes now staring blankly into mine.

"So this is your decision?"

"I don't think I had much of a choice to begin with…"

"You're going to betray our god."

"Sorry, I never believed in any gods in the first place."

The state religion of Kitrod was one that worshipped the god of fortune, which I lacked thereof, so I never had faith in such a god. The orphanage I lived in was managed by the clergy, so we were often required to take part in activities that any believer would like do, such as reciting prayers, listening to sermons, and so on. I only did such things because I was at the time a child who knew nothing better, and when I left the orphanage I eventually stayed away from those religious activities that I found pointless and time consuming.

Minor religions were also present in Kitrod, but without any state funding, they would constantly call for their worshipers to donate money, so I stayed away from those as well since I didn't have much spare change to give away. Currently, Badoth was officially a secular state, so the thought of finding a god to worship was never in my list of priorities. I see nothing wrong with remaining non-religious for the rest of my life.

"No wonder why you sold your soul to the devils."

"…"

"Just finish it quickly."

The young knight's face did not show even the slightest bit of fear. Was it the spirit of a gallant warrior or of hopelessness that allowed him to look at this deathly scenario with such a calm face?

I, on the other hand, was on the verge of trembling in fear. I have taken the lives of countless enemies before during my time as an adventurer, but all of them were what was considered unintelligent species that were collectively referred to as "monsters". The thought of having to take away the life of something that could speak its thoughts and feelings was terrifying, and even more so when that something was another human.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

I wanted to live. I couldn't turn against the commander. I have to decide this person's fate.

After a short chant, I cast a strength boosting buff on myself.

"Please forgive me."

Using both hands, I slowly lifted up the large sword until it was pointing upwards, directly above my head. I turned myself a little bit to the right, so that my gaze was now in the direction of the man's heart rather than his face. I could not bear to look him directly in the eyes.

With all my might, I swung the sword down. With both the effect of my strength boosting spell and of gravity, the heavy sword arced downwards with such a high speed that one could even hear the sound of it slicing through the air.

I had a feeling the sword would hit my intended target, so I closed my eyes as the blade was moving downwards. There was always the slight possibility that I would be off the mark, and I did not want to let myself see any gruesome sight for long.

I felt a slight jolt in my palms as the sword landed a hit. My grip was firm enough that I could prevent the sword from leaving my hands as its fast moving blade cut through its target.

A shattering sound rang out as the sword crushed through the hard surface and sliced deep into what was underneath.

When the sword cut cleanly through its target, it hit the ground with a loud clink that echoed within the prison cell.

The sword ricocheted off the ground, lost its momentum, and finally came to a stop.

Silence ensued.

With my eyes still closed, I felt like I could hear my own rapid heartbeats.

At this point, it was too late for regrets.