While My Mage Wife Grinds, I Power Up Idly-Chapter 87: Your Mother

"Everyone,"

Ashu stepped onto the stage, looking out at the seated citizens before him.

They all knew that it was Ashu and Vivita who caused the Divine Mother Goddess statue to shine with light. Even if they didn’t know Ashu personally, they still showed respect.

Immediately, the crowd quieted down.

"I, Ashu, Bishop of the Riven branch and the Divine Mother Goddess’s certified luminous saint, hereby officially announce the temporary takeover of Cultivator Guild affairs in Kakase. I will oversee the punishment of criminals involved in this recent turmoil. I will listen to your grievances. I will bring the gospel of the Divine Mother Goddess."

At these words, the crowd erupted in excitement. Some of them might not fully understand what a luminous saint was, but since he was willing to uphold justice, they were ready to speak out.

"Lord Ashu, there is something that causes me great pain. Please hear me out: Kakarim has protected his son Kakayather for many years. That son stole my daughter! He stole my beloved daughter!"

"Lord Ashu, I want to report the Holy Cultivator Guild’s negligence. Kakayather’s actions have long been a public issue, but no one dares to intervene!"

"Lord Ashu, I am the old Goth from Goth Manor." A familiar face stepped forward from the crowd. Holding his granddaughter, he spoke, "I am here with my granddaughter to report officially that Kakarim neglected his duties, and Kakayather’s demon hunting operations are mere showmanship. My young granddaughter suffered from demon possession, but Kakayather never even looked at her and wanted to burn her alive. But now, everyone, my granddaughter is safe. She is not what Kakayather claimed. I don’t know how many people Kakayather has killed using these same methods over the years, but I strongly demand that Kakayather be severely punished."

As he finished, murmurs spread among the people around the old Goth.

"Kakayather was already dead, wasn’t he?"

"Nonsense! I saw that kid just last night. I thought he had come back from the dead, but turns out he’s still alive!"

"But I remember, it was this very luminous saint who eliminated evils at Goth Manor’s gate, right? Was that also just for show?"

"Lord Ashu, please give us an explanation!"

Facing the crowd’s accusations,

Ashu calmly replied, "I did execute Kakayather once. However, he was resurrected by the former Cardinal Kakarim. Because of this, Kakarim’s soul fell into the Netherrealm. The answer I can give is this: Kakayather is indeed alive now."

"How can this be? That bastard Kakarim abused his power to such an extent!"

"Luminous saint, please listen to our voices. We demand the reckoning of Kakayather!"

"Divine Mother Goddess, you must still be listening—please bring us justice!"

Feeling the anger from the crowd below, Ashu almost struggled to keep the corner of his mouth from twitching.

"Silence, please!" Ashu shouted. At once, his words quelled the crowd. Then he continued, "I will follow divine guidance to carry out the following: First, I will oversee the execution of the criminals involved in this upheaval, by burning at the stake; second, I will thoroughly investigate Kakayather according to your demands. If the evidence proves true, severe punishment will follow, and those with grave offenses will also face execution by fire; third, until the new Cardinal takes office, I will lead the Paladins to maintain the safety of Kakase."

Hearing this, the crowd cheered enthusiastically.

Ashu was the speaker, while Vivita supervised from behind.

Of course, she was overseeing the Paladins and other high-ranking Church officials, to ensure their cooperation.

Soon,

Two squads of Paladins swiftly escorted a person toward the execution ground in Kakase.

The frontier city of Kakase had a large open execution ground, comparable to a plaza.

At its center stood a platform about one and a half meters high. On that platform still lingered a dark shadow.

It was the only mark left by the last person burned alive there.

When Ashu and Vivita arrived at the scene,

The Paladins had already stacked the firewood and securely bound a plump middle-aged woman to the stake.

The middle-aged woman’s face was pale and lifeless.

Most people would feel an uncontrollable fear when facing death. As the wife of a former Cardinal, she had lived a lavish life.

Now, with her plans ruined, she was to be burned alive.

Her hair was messy and unkempt. Though clearly overweight, her expression gave an illusion of extreme emaciation.

With Ashu’s arrival, the executioner in charge lit the torch.

The smell of burning oil spread with the wind; the firewood had been soaked beforehand to ensure a quick blaze.

Citizens who came to watch the execution surrounded the ground so tightly that not a drop of water could get through.

"Kakase hasn’t used burning at the stake for a long time. Who’s this fat pig?"

"You don’t know? That’s the wife of the former Cardinal Kakarim. She was arrogant all the time—just like mother, like son!"

"Damn fat pig! Relying on that cursed Cardinal, ruining so many lives!"

"Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her!"

On the execution ground, no one showed pity for Kakarim’s wife.

And those who dared to watch the burning at the stake were all people with strong mental fortitude.

Instead, they urged the execution to proceed.

Ashu was not in a hurry.

He walked to the foot of the stake and said, "This person, the wife of Kakarim, openly hired assassins to kill and carried out covert assassinations within the Church, showing blatant disrespect for the sanctity of the Church. Today, she shall be burned at the stake—immediate execution!"

After finishing,

He silently stepped away. Only then did the executioner step forward, taking the prepared torch and setting the firewood ablaze.

With a whoosh, the flames spread rapidly, fueled by the oil, the fire roared fiercely.

The firewood surrounded the stake, but when it ignited, it did not immediately burn the condemned.

Instead, it began with smoke.

That smoke poured into the nostrils, burning and blinding the eyes.

The whole process was long and agonizing.

The reason burning at the stake is called burning at the stake is because it is a form of torture.

Unlike beheading, which is merely execution, burning at the stake carries the meaning of execution but also serves as punishment.

Although Kakarim’s wife was already desperate and had given up all hope, under the torment, she couldn’t help but wail.

A life of luxury and ease was not something one could withstand when engulfed by choking smoke.

"No! No! Stop it! I can’t breathe! I was wrong! I’m sorry! I was wrong! My gods, please forgive me, I beg you to forgive me, I’m willing to give all my money!"

Money is important, indeed.

To be honest, when she said she was willing to give all her wealth, surely some among the crowd felt tempted.

But under the watch of the Paladins, no one dared act recklessly; they didn’t even dare to show it.

No one responded to Kakarim’s wife.

The only reply was the ever-growing flames.

The flames spread upward, moving from smoke to searing heat.

The fire formed a ring, burning close.

For any mortal, just being near the flames caused such pain that they would instinctively pull back immediately.

She was now surrounded on all sides by the blaze, with nowhere to hide.

The continuous, excruciating pain—though not immediately fatal—made her scream uncontrollably.

"Ahhh! It hurts so much! Please spare me, spare me! I was wrong! It was all Kakarim’s doing! It has nothing to do with me! Gods, have mercy!"

No one would respond to her now.

From the edge of the execution ground, the flames had already reached her knees.

Many watching began to turn and leave.

Then her clothes caught fire, followed by the flames engulfing her completely.

In that extreme agony, her voice gradually faded.

Eventually, she was reduced to a twisted corpse.

The flames did not stop until she was burned to ashes.

...

After executing Kakarim’s wife, Ashu wasted no time and began investigating Kakayather.

At this moment, Kakayather was locked up in the Church’s confinement chamber.

The place of his resurrection was right before Ashu’s eyes.

Naturally, Ashu could never allow this man to escape.

Kakarim thought Ashu had no reason to kill Kakayather a second time.

In reality, that was not the case—if there are no conditions, create conditions; if there is no reason, make a reason.

Ding-ling—

The lock on the confinement chamber door was unlocked.

Kakayather, who was kneeling inside, wore only a thin, dirty set of clothes.

Seeing that the person opening the door was Ashu, Kakayather immediately panicked a little, but he forced himself to stay calm.

Because when they parted in the Netherrealm, his father told him that he must atone; Ashu had no reason to kill him a second time.

At this moment, what he was doing was confessing to the Divine Mother Goddess—he believed this was part of his atonement.

"Oh? You’re chanting prayers here?" Ashu said.

"Dying once has changed you a lot, huh? You’ve really toned yourself down."

Feeling Ashu’s pressure, Kakayather couldn’t stop trembling.

He felt an inexplicable chill, even his breathing became constrained.

Before this, he couldn’t defeat Ashu and was beaten to death by him in broad daylight.

Now, Ashu had been to the Netherrealm and returned with even greater aura.

Just a few words from Ashu scared Kakayather terribly.

"I—I, I’m sorry. It was my fault before. I hope you can forgive me. If you can’t forgive me, I’ll keep praying to the gods until you do."

"Your mother is dead." Ashu said coldly without warning.

"Huh?"

"Your mother is dead. I personally ordered her to be burned at the stake. The fire started with smoke, step by step burning her alive until she was just a lump of blackened charcoal."

These words struck Kakayather’s heart like a heavy hammer.

Goosebumps broke out all over his body.

His body trembled violently, and his eyes were not angry—they were filled with terror as if he had seen the Grim Reaper itself.