"PROSECUTOR, PLEASE MAINTAIN PROPER ETIQUETTE AND CONDUCT IN THE COURT!"
The voice said, stopping Zypher from his rampage.
"I'm sorry, I just don't want someone lying to my face."
"HMPH! IF YOU DO ANOTHER ONE, WE MAY ARREST YOU FOR MAKING THIS TRIAL CHAOTIC! PLEASE MIND YOUR MANNERS!"
The voice boomed as it echoed a few times inside the chamber.
"All right, all right, I'll sit down."
Zypher then walked towards the end of the platform, and like a hawk, his eyes wandered as he overlooked this place.
This was the best thing he have right now.
When he entered the place, a sudden notification entered his eyes.
[Welcome to the Soul Trial Court.]
When he read the procedures, he was shocked, and even the word flabbergasted can not contain what he learned.
The Soul Trial Court is a court that judged someone based on their own souls.
And the judges, are the sins of the defendant.
To activate it, it has three conditions.
One, is that the victims of the defendant must be in the place where the court will be held.
Second, the defendant's blood must be poured over the platform.
And third, the one who activated the court must become the prosecutor.
It was a good thing that Marcuz killed all of the knights here, making it easier as the first condition is already unlocked.
"COMMENCE THE SECOND TRIAL!"
"The second Trial is the Trial of Ears."
"Did you ever think that you are better than humans because of what you experience in the past?"
....
The trial went on.
All of Marcuz' answers were the same:
"I am better than humans, so it's fair that I killed them."
When the seventh judge, the judge of soul, finished, the court went silent.
After a moment of silence, the voice then again said.
"DUE TO THE TRIAL, FOUR OUT OF SEVEN CHAINS WERE NOT NAILED. IT MEANS THE DEFENDANT, MARCUZ THE BLOOD MONGER, IS FOUND NOT--"
"Wait, Mr. Judge."
Zypher then took the stage.
Marcuz' smile went pale when he remembered that this human is still here.
"MR. PROSECUTOR, THE TRIAL IS AT END, WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT?"
Zypher walked towards Marcuz and smiled.
"The defendant said that he is better than humans, right?"
"YES, AND SO?"
"You see, the defendant has no lawyer to prove that he is better, right?"
"YES, BUT THE PEOPLE HE KILLED IS A PROOF-"
"Yes, that's understandable. What I mean is, he is saying that humanity is lower than him, right?"
"YES, AND SO-"
"So, the trial doesn't end."
"WHAT? ARE YOU SAYING THAT THIS COURT IS UNFAIR IN TRIAL?"
"No, you are fair."
"THEN WHAT--"
"That's why I am stopping you from saying your verdict, because you will be letting a criminal go."
"INSOLENCE!"
"Let him speak."
The green judge said, and even the other judges looked at Zypher.
"Thank you, Kind Judge."
The green judge nodded, and he continued.
"He said that he is better than humans, so that means he is generalizing it all, right?"
"YES!"
"So then, there is a flaw in his statements."
"AND THAT IS?"
"What if a human stronger than him appears, is he still innocent by then?"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME, BOY? DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO IS THE DEFEN--"
BANG!
A sudden kick went Marcuz flying across the platform.
"YOU IMBECILE!"
"Stop! Let him." The green judge said, and the other judges agreed.
"This is a prosecutor's statement. We will leave it to him."
Zypher smiled and walked towards Marcuz.
"Marcuz the Blood Monger, I challenge your statement!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! YOU, CHALLENGE ME? HEY JUDGE, I AM NOT GUILTY, RIGHT?"
Marcuz said as he looked at the judges.
They were just lookin at him.
And the main judge who was holding his trial, is also silent.
"HEY, DID YOU NOT HEAR ME, I AM NOT GUILTY!"
"Then prove it."
The green judge subtly said, but that made Marcuz stop.
Zypher smiled as he saw it.
"Start now, Zypher."
Old Dev said, and Zypher nodded.
"Marcuz Marklay, son of Julius and Sandra Marklay."
"Youngest son, who was the epitome of wisdom in the family."
He stepped forward, but slow this time.
"You were the only one who had mana in a lineage filled with aether, so they called you bastard son."
"Still, even after that, you still made progress in magic."
"You found a way to control mana like how your family used aether, but you found it slow, and useless."
"Yet, you did not stop. You made progress, but stopped because you realized that the body's state cannot be changed."
"And for the first time in your life, you dabbled in black magic."
"That's why we're here today."
Zypher said as he pulled out the two Greed Scythes.
"You were a human once, and you just became a Deviant because of what you did."
"So, you're not better than yourself."
Zypher stopped and pointed a scythe towards Marcuz.
"..ty"
"What?"
"..ty"
"I gues you're admitting to your guilt."
"I SAID. I. AM. NOT. GUIL.TY!"
With a sudden force, he stood up, and his face became contorted
Two sharp horns grew on his forehead, and the blackness made it so terrifying.
His red eyes began to change colors as it became green, and the arms that he lost started to grow.
"Life Sacrifice! Stop him!"
BANG!
Zypher delivered a kick, but what happened next shocked everyone.
Marcuz, was standing there, with his black wings and horns, and empty eyes, holding Zypher's foot.
He opened and closed his hand, and smiled.
He then vanished and delivered a kick towards Zypher.
BANG!
He was sent to one of the steps of the thrones.
"I am stronger."
With one second, he appeared behind Zypher and delivered a punch.
"Faster."
He then delivered super fast punches and kicks towards Zypher.
Beating him up, he started to laugh maniacally.
"I said I am not guilty!"
As he punched Zypher, he repeated the phrase "I am not guilty."
He then punched him down the ground.
"DIE NOW, AND PROVE I AM NOT GUILTY!!"
Falling down, Marcuz pulled his fist so hard that he travelled through the air fast and made it to Zypher.
BANG!
Dust and soot exploded, and the platform almost fell.
The hooded judges, as well as the judges, just took their time watching.
The place was falling apart, but they did not care.
The trial is what counts.
As the dust settled, what others expected was not what happened.
In the face of pure strength of Marcuz, Zypher..
Is...
BANG!
A punch flew forwards. Marcuz' face bent, and he was sent to the other side of the platform.
"My bad, Old Dev."
He said as his power grew larger.
"No need to be sorry, kid, his hands are the sacrifice this time."
Zypher then walked out of the crater where the collision of their forces exploded.
Seeing this, Marcuz couldn't help but feel mixed emotions. He was winning, then why is that this monster is here again?
"Are you forgetting something?"
Chills ran down his spine as he heard the voice spoke directly behind him.
BANG!
It hit him squarely in the chest.
Marcuz used his feet to stop him from sliding away, but Zypher saw it, and in one swoop, a limb flew out of the way.
"I got one again."
Yes, his arm was taken out again, and the small scythes are now spinning at his hands.
"I only have three minutes left, so I will go all out."
With that said, seven chakrams appeared behind Zypher, and each one is spinning crazily.
And so, he ran towards the opponent with much vigor.
He threw three chakrams, which Marcuz bounced off, but Zypher just used the scythes to hook the chakrams and throw it again to Marcuz.
Seeing this, Marcuz' horns grew larger, and three more sets of arms appeared on him.
His now seven arms are holding sabres, but the funny thing is, the chakrams just got faster.
Using the momentum from the sabers, Zypher will then use aether to control each and every one of the chakrams to go back to Marcuz like a boomerang.
Feeling the heat of the battle, Marcuz' body started to slow down as fatigue crept in.
And in one fell swoop, three arms flew out.
Old Dev hungrily devoured the arms inside the Orb of Wishes, but did not use it to fuel Zypher.
Three minutes is enough.
And with another move, the remaining arms of Marcuz was gone.
As well as his legs, and his torso have seven chakrams embedded in it.
Limb after limb, Old Dev took it, and when he was finished, Zypher's wish also was gone.
He walked towards the now heaving Marcuz.
"Huff..huff.. now.."
He said as he put his feet on Marcuz' face, while holding one of his horns.
"The jury did prove.."
He pulled the horn with all his might, and it came off, plus one of Marcuz' eyes.
"...that the defendant is guilty."
Old Dev laughed inside the Orb of Wishes, but then, Zypher stored the horn on his inventory.
"Please deliver the verdict."
The main judge nodded.
"THE JURY HAS NOW CONCLUDED! MARCUZ MARKLAY, ALSO KNOWN AS MARCUZ THE BLOOD MONGER, IS GUILTY!"
"THE SENTECE IS--"
"I'll be the one responsible for that!"
Zypher shouted as he pulled another horn from Marcuz, but this time, he broke it.
He then leaned over, and talked to Marcuz.
"Choose, be tortured by me.."
He stored the horn and took Marcuz on his neck.
"..or be killed by them?"
As they were talking, the main judge opened his hood, and in that, Marcuz' face grew pale.
"TAKE ME! PLEASE TAKE ME! DON'T LET THAT MONSTER GET ME! TAKE ME!"
"Sure! Old Dev!"
And with that, Marcuz was reunited with his limbs, but now, he is broken beyond reason.
Zypher also looked over to the judge, but all he saw in his face is a somewhat familiar face.
He had forgotten about it, but he knows that he know the face.
"PROSECUTOR ZYPHER."
It said as it looked at him.
"THANK YOU."
And with that, the judges, oney by one, began to fade out. The hooded judges also vanished, and before they were completely gone, the main judge went down to Zypher.
"Thank you again for saving the court."
"That's my job as the prosecutor."
"HAHA. That's true. Anyways, this is my token of appreciation."
The judge gave him a small buckle. It is an iron buckle, but it is light. The buckle has a long strip of a crystal in the middle, and a rune is on the crystal.
"Thank you."
"Until we meet again, Zaon."
And with that, he vanished completely.
Zypher sat down, and breathed out. He almost closed his eyes, when he remembered what the judge had said.
Zaon. He didn't call him Zypher.
Zypher smiled as he took it down to his mind. There still more to this game that he did not meet in his past life.
He then walked towards the knight who are now under the awe and fear towards the court.
He looked at them one by one, and saw some familiar faces.
The one with a bobcut is Siv, a spear user. He thought Zypher the spear, but only for a moment because Zypher cleared the Encampment so fast that they were annihilated.
There's also Alyana that uses bow, Rika the healing mage and Roken that is the tank.
They looked younger now, and the one thing that made his heart warm is seeing that his bestfriend, who he fought with for a very long time, still has his own two hands.
Breathing in, he walked towards them with familiarity, longingness and pride.
These people stood with him for a long time, and he found them whole this time.
Scarred, but they are still fighting for their freedom.
As he walked over, they stood upand greeted him..
"Who are you? Are you also judging us?"
..using their weapons aimed at his neck.