>>5312406>>5312475>>5312628>>5312635"All crimes will be paid for, Guts, but now is the least fitting moment to act rashly." You tilt the dragonslayer and bring Bolzack down to the floor by lowering Guts' fist. Closing your eyes and feeling for the impaired women's presence, you feel Anette and Casca conjoined into the same hotspot, sharing the same space within the top of the Mandragora's head.
While still submerged in chlorophyll, they are still alive and breathing. The tree is being powered by human life force z instead of the other way around in Mandragoran possession.
"Are you sure about that?" Guts shouts into your ear, doubting your claims.
"Absolutely. While his acts were indeed villainous, killing him will accomplish nothing. Instead, Bolzack should live and pay for letting the blood of this halfdemons run free like rivers on this castle, so that we may save the ones we hold dear as well as your people. Punishment is not felt in death, and neither is retribution."
"Now that much I can agree with... Maybe killing him is being too merciful, we should start by breaking his bones and hearing how he screams..." Guts places his sword away and cracks his knuckles, eager to punch him until his face was swollen.
"Wait, Guts! Vlad has a point! If we kill him now, we could miss some important information about how the cure works!", Rita starts siding with you, rather seeing him being punished by authority rather than with violence.
"Don't jeopardize the mission, captain! You'll betray the law!" Puck goes against Guts and his morals, wearing an officer hat and a police baton.
Seeing how many people were against him, his reason was slowly taking over the beast of darkness once again.
"I'll give you a few minutes. If you still haven't gotten anything out of him, I'll killing him and anyone that goes against me." Guts forces authority by being aware of how he's the strongest in the room, his cooperation being as disingenuous as his patience.
"Bolzack, you’ve studied the Mandragora. What weaknesses does it have? Surely you researched such in your pursuits of a cure and an army. We need your help to rescue the girls without harm. Any quick way to get there would be appreciated too."
"Anette got caught by the Mandragora when she found the secret passage behind my bookshelf." He points to a rectangle away from his throne room. "There is still time to extract serum from it's bulb. If you inject the liquid they are submerged in directly into their veins it's possible they might show symptoms of recovery."
"They why didn't you do it? Wasn't the Mandragora here?"
"The tree is gigantic, Vlad. I couldn't get near it even if I tried. Several Mandragoras grow out if it's stems like peas in a pod. I was too cowardly to sacrifice my life for Anette's, for my people! I am not the ruler I used to be all those years ago..." He closes his eyes, demonstrating genuine guilt.
