It was an all-white building.
The interior was very high, but the floors weren’t divided, and three judgment seats were arranged at the front of the first floor.
In the middle, tables were arranged so that the secretaries could sit facing each other,
and in front of that, the audience seats were tightly packed.
The courtroom was very quiet.
The silence was so thick that even the smallest sound could be heard, as it was filled to the brim with people,
because today marked the long-awaited trial of heresy, held after nearly 50 years.
Since this was a place where acts shameful to the divine were taking place, trials were always held at night.
Even now, in the deep of night, at a time when the moon was high, the trial was being held.
And the accused—
an adventurer from Evian, Alex.
An adventurer with no surname, only a name, Alex.
However, his true identity was Johannes Spillburn.
The youngest cathedral knight in history,
and also the most powerful cathedral knight ever.
But now, his charges were apostasy.
And, concealing that apostasy.
Only the Pope and a few elders—the very individuals who placed the ban on him—knew his true identity,
and most of those who knew him were unlikely to recognize him due to the cognitive impairments from the spell.
The ornate wooden door, adorned with elaborate designs behind the judgment seat, opened silently.
Being a courtroom watched over by the divine, the door was small in size despite its grandeur, and through the gap emerged three figures.
The first judge, Pope Akzel IV.
The second judge, Elder Ceres Olkamaine.
The third judge, the chief inquisitor, Abigail.
Clad in black robes and with hoods drawn over their heads, they slowly ascended to the judgment seats in order,
taking their places one by one, starting with Akzel IV.
“I express my deepest regrets that this courtroom, under the watchful gaze of the divine, must convene once more.”
The resonant voice of Akzel IV echoed.
The gaze of everyone present, who had been wrapped in thick silence, abruptly turned towards the Pope.
“As all of you know, just two days ago, a horrific situation occurred within this Church Region.”
The apostasy incident that erupted during a banquet welcoming the hero and the saint.
That incident, which led to the collapse of the banquet hall and harmed many, plunged the entire Church Region into a state of extreme tension.
“And today in this courtroom, a trial will be held for the accomplice of the heretic who instigated that situation. But before that, I wish to offer repentance and apologies to the divine for all that transpires here in this courtroom.”
With Akzel IV’s words, the curtain that had been covering the right side of the judgment seat slowly drew back.
A choir composed of children around ten years old.
The girls wore snowy white dresses,
and the boys wore white shirts with black shorts.
Clad uniformly, the children awaited the accompaniment with nervous expressions.
“O divine one, we, these foolish creations, beg forgiveness for showing such an inadequate display before you due to our lacking faith, so let the choir sing of their faith towards you with their beautiful voices.”
“Please sing of faith.”
With the words of Pope Akzel IV, the melody of the organ flowed.
Standing at the forefront of the choir, Rubina also began to sing slowly, her face tense as she matched the accompaniment.
The hymn was not very long.
After singing three songs in accordance with the law, the choir hurriedly retreated, the sound of their footsteps fading as soon as the curtains fell back into place.
“Now, let us begin the trial.”
Pope Akzel IV closed his mouth.
Then, the second judge, Ceres, opened hers with an expressionless face.
“Bring forth the sinner.”
The rusty iron door in front of the Judgment Seat creaked open.
From beyond the door emerged a cathedral knight dressed in silver armor and helmet — Scarlet.
Holding a chain in his hand, the chain was taut, not dragging across the floor, as if it was pulling something along.
As Scarlet approached the courtroom, the chain grew even tighter.
At the end of that chain—
Alex was being dragged in, his hands bound by the chain.
Blood was not flowing from the stake embedded in his thigh, but it was clear that he was in no condition to walk, and his face was smeared with blood, with no unscathed areas left. His bald head was battered and devoid of any shine, covered in wounds, and he was marked with scratches and bruises from being dragged all the way from the interrogation room.
And watching this, Priest Vigrind, who was seated in the front row of the Audience Seats, involuntarily gasped.
Ludvik, too, was at a loss for words at the sight of Alex’s horrific state.
“The sinner has been escorted.”
Scarlet, now at the center of the courtroom, pulled the chain hard.
Alex, who had been rolling on the floor, was dragged to the Judgment Seat with a grunt and practically thrown into the sinner’s seat. Scarlet, still gripping the chain, sat down coldly in the chair behind the sinner’s seat.
“Sinner, Alex.”
With his eyes closed, Alex struggled to lift his head.
His swollen eyes could barely see, but he at least realized that he was in the courtroom.
‘…Well, who would’ve thought I’d end up here one day.’
He couldn’t help but smirk bitterly inside.
How twisted had his life become that the once-promising Cathedral Knight Johannes Spillban would find himself standing trial for heresy?
“Do you acknowledge the charges of having forsaken the Celestial God, apostatizing from the Church of the Celestial God, and protecting the demon follower?”
A voice, one he didn’t recognize, echoed.
With a vision that barely allowed him to see and ears barely able to grasp what was being said, Alex still smiled faintly.
It was clearly a mockery.
“Whether I acknowledge it or not, does it really matter…?”
“You have acknowledged it. You, the apostate, protected Yona, even knowing she had turned to the demon, and facilitated her escape. This is indeed a grave crime.”
“Mighty Holy Father, this interrogation is already meaningless. Everyone who was in the Banquet Hall witnessed the apostate Yona embracing the demon, and everyone saw that pitiful adventurer facilitating her escape.”
“I clearly witnessed her escape.”
Pope Akzel IV silently surveyed the courtroom.
Everyone’s expressions pointed to one undeniable truth.
To the one who forsook the divine, a righteous faith.
To uphold that righteous faith, death.
To prove one’s faith through death.
To boldly die for the sake of proof.
Everything pointed to the death of Alex—Johannes Spilban.
“…A confession isn’t even necessary, is it?”
Indeed, it was.
Everything pointed to death.
Only the judge’s gavel was needed to decide that death.
Pope Akzel IV slowly picked up the judge’s gavel.
Now here, once the sentence of death was pronounced and the gavel struck thrice, everything would be over.
The once-named knight of the cathedral, Johannes Spilban, would meet his end under the name of Alex, disappearing from everyone’s memory.
Ceres’s gaze turned towards the ceiling.
However, the glance was so fleeting that even Pope Akzel IV right next to her didn’t notice.
“…W-wait. I have something… to say…”
A thin voice.
A voice that wouldn’t have been heard on any other occasion.
At the sound from Alex, Pope Akzel IV hesitated, halting the gavel.
“Are you going to confess, then?”
“…Confession… isn’t… the case… but.”
Alex crawled onto the chair for the condemned with his elbows.
At least for this moment, he didn’t want to grovel pitifully on the floor.
Having barely pulled himself up to sit on the chair, Alex began speaking.
“Heretical… heretical… whatever you call it. I’m willing to accept it all—everything—”
“But… just one thing, just one…”
“Yona… is…”
Pope Akzel IV’s eyebrows twitched.
He never expected to hear that name again after coming this far.
“Yona—”
A slight gulp from parched lips and a dry throat.
“I absolutely… did not… forsake… my faith. This is the truth…”
And in that moment, the ceiling came crashing down.
Boulders flew through the sky, and clouds of dust billowed up.
In a frenzy, the courtroom, completely engulfed in dust, turned into chaos.
Screams filled the once-serene courtroom like a symphony as the ceiling shattered.
“Saintess—!”
Ludvik, already aware of the strange energy rapidly increasing, felt it too.
At the same moment, when Vigrind turned to him, Ludvik had somehow pulled Vigrind closer and dove away, rolling aside.
“Saintess, are you alright…?”
The tightly embraced Vigrind trembled like a aspen tree.
Not just her; Ludvik too felt a shivering sensation that felt as if his skin was being sliced by a knife, pressing down on him.
“…What the hell is going on…?”
Ludvik slowly tried to turn toward the source of the energy.
But his body wouldn’t obey.
His instincts screamed that he shouldn’t look at it.
That it was something incomprehensible,
Something he mustn’t witness.
“It can’t be…”
“It’s something I can’t handle…”
His instincts were screaming at the top of their lungs.
“———!!!”
Suppressing his whole body trembling like a aspen tree under the weight of fear, Ludvik turned to face that way.
And even faster than him, Priest Vigrind stood up first.
“I came to take back what’s mine.”
Her orange eyes glowed with an ominous light.
Gray hair, murky and devoid of any shine.
A snake tattoo was clearly visible on her burst left arm.
In a low voice, she said—
“Yona. What are you doing?”
At Vigrind’s feet lay a golden seal.
A golden glow burst out from below.
Vigrind’s gaze turned towards Yona.
Yona too faced Vigrind squarely.
No longer could she be seen as human—she had already ceased to be human, yet it was even more so now.
Black magic was swirling around her mouth.
Without even bothering to conceal the magic dissipating into the air, Yona stepped over the debris of the banquet hall and said to Vigrind.
“—My… Alex, please… give me back Alex…”
“Yona.”
Vigrind slowly opened her mouth.
No longer could she deny it.
That very appearance was proof that Yona was no longer a nun of the Church of the Celestial God.
Any doubts Vigrind had felt about having done something wrong were burning away.
“You, really, to the Demon…”
Yona’s gaze was hollow.
With that vacant look, Yona quietly stared at Vigrind and said.
“Give me Alex back—Vigrind. Then… I’ll quietly vanish.”
“Yona.”
The golden glow was intensifying.
The golden light, which could be called the very blessing of the celestial god, was ramping up as a storm of divinity swept around Vigrind, blowing her hair wildly.
“You, truly, really.”
“I told you to give me Alex back, Vigrind.”
Her eyes, once bright, were now transformed into an ominous orange.
Black magic constantly flared up at her mouth.
Vigrind bit her lips.
Suppressing a scream that felt like it could burst forth any moment, Vigrind began to unleash divinity one after another.
Yona—whether she wanted to deny it or not, she had now become the enemy.
Yona, who had become the Demon herself.
Then at the very least, she would need to breathe her last here.
A vivid cross appeared in Vigrind’s eyes.
And Yona silently stared at that sight.
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