Chapter 279
“Young Master….”
Alicia gazed at Vargan, who was confined in the center. Her eyes seemed to plead for him to say “no.” It was desperate and pitiful, as if begging him to swallow the word “unfair.”
However, Vargan didn’t spare a glance at Alicia. Paula, who had confirmed the shocking fact, also remained silent, doing her best to appear composed.
“Thus, we conclude the interrogation of Witness Alicia.”
And just like that, Alicia’s testimony came to a brutal end.
“Wait… just a moment…. Just a second….”
Alicia began to repeat the same words like a broken toy. She was being escorted away, supported by the heroes on either side.
“Y-Young Master Vargan…! Young Master…!”
Alicia called out to Vargan, repeating his name regardless of whether he turned around.
“Y-Young Master! Young Master…!”
Tears welled up in Alicia’s big eyes. She only needed one word. Just a single, short sentence of denial would have allowed her to believe in Vargan.
No matter how others investigated and what results came back, if he would just say one word to negate it, she could firmly hold onto her trust in him.
She could stand proudly in her feelings for him.
“Young Master—!”
But Vargan didn’t turn his head for even a moment, and the door closed.
In the space where Alicia had departed, her pitiful voice echoed in the courthouse, and that echo transformed into the wrath of the jurors.
“That damn bastard.”
As much as Alicia expressed her affection for Vargan, and as strongly as she asserted his innocence, the jurors naturally empathized with her, as if they were watching a play, and they were enraged at the true culprit, Vargan.
“Hey, you bastard! Are you even human?!”
“We don’t need trials or anything! A guy like that deserves to be ripped apart and killed!”
“Look at that shameless face! There’s no such thing as normal emotions! Clearly, he’s infatuated with the goddess!”
Overcome by his emotions, some couldn’t hold back and hurled books, clothing, and various items into the courthouse.
Some of these objects even reached Vargan, causing blood to drip from his head, but he merely observed the situation without flinching.
—Bang, bang, bang!
The judge calmed the agitated jurors and barely managed to continue the trial.
Paula sought permission from the judge and gained the opportunity to question.
“Vargan, let me ask you something.”
“…….”
“Did you initially plan to use Chancellor Gulemashia to capture Cardinal Gamigin?”
“…….”
“Before the war! When you were alone with Gulemashia, was it you who incited him…?”
She thought that Gulemashia wouldn’t act without the Central Church’s command.
Let alone acting independently in the heat of battle. The mere thought of it was hard to imagine.
How could someone act so unilaterally in the midst of all this? It was hard to imagine at all.
If it weren’t for ‘someone’s’ influence, that is.
“Answer me! How long do you plan to keep your mouth shut? You know that the longer you drag this out without explaining, the worse it gets for you!”
“……”
As her shouting erupted, Vargan slowly lifted his head and glanced at Paula.
From head to toe. After leisurely scanning her, he spoke.
“It seems Gulemashia’s unique spell has turned out quite well.”
“…What?”
“I can’t handle it perfectly yet, and it can’t even be compared to Gulemashia’s heyday. Even so, the legacy of a once-celebrated hero is remarkable. Most of the achievements have grown to the point of being unrecognizable.”
“You… you…!”
Vargan was spouting off completely unrelated nonsense.
Paula was filled with rage at Vargan’s attitude, which showed no remorse or even interest.
“How much longer are you going to dodge the question? Who asked you to critique my current state? Just answer the damn question!”
“……”
Having confirmed Paula’s achievements, Vargan turned away as if he had lost interest.
The slightest hint of boredom lingered in his eyes, as if the whole ordeal with Gulemashia, whatever it was, was now too tiresome to think about.
While Paula was fuming, Clemens interrupted her, saying there was a method.
In fact, the verdict was practically already decided.
“Your Honor, may I bring in the defendant Vargan along with additional suspects?”
“Go ahead.”
As soon as Clemens finished speaking, the courthouse door swung open again.
Thirteen people lined up and entered.
Clemens, the prosecutor’s assistant, introduced them to the jury.
They were quite familiar faces to Vargan.
“These are the individuals suspected of leading to the collapse of Academia along with the defendant Vargan, and they are adherents of the Goddess Church who remained in Academia.”
Twelve students and one professor.
Thick chains were placed on their wrists and ankles.
Among them was Frieda, the fox-eared Einon, but the one who had been spreading bad rumors about Vargan, Borg, was nowhere to be found.
“The defendant Vargan claimed to be acting under the pretext of ousting the Goddess Church from Academia since last year’s festival, but in reality, he has secretly maintained and managed these forces.”
Clemens asserted.
The forces that Vargan claimed to have ousted were merely a facade for external appearances.
It was likely a means to control the remaining forces of the Goddess Church.
“There have been eyewitness reports of a student named Frieda frequently coming and going from the Grand Clock Tower, but unfortunately, a considerable amount of time has passed, and no traces of any curse magic or Vargan’s mana were found by the guards at the Grand Clock Tower.”
“Prosecutor’s Assistant, how did you prove that they are followers of the Goddess Church?”
“I requested assistance from Ferangis and directly examined the suspects’ brains. During this process, two students underwent altification and died, and I have documented this process.”
“Understood.”
The judge reviewed the additional documents received.
From the contents, it was clear that Clemens had had no trouble capturing and investigating the suspects due to the indirect assistance of an ‘internal whistleblower.’
The moment the Formists within Academia were publicly revealed had arrived.
“The Goddess Church! They really are followers of the Goddess Church!”
“See? What did I tell you? I’m getting chills! Vargan has been hiding the Goddess Church’s forces!”
“Kill Vargan! Execute the Goddess Church!”
“Finish the trial and put that wicked person on the execution platform right now!”
The hall instantly erupted into chaos.
It got noisy.
With the influence of the Goddess Church now revealed, all accusations had basically turned into truth.
Public opinion had completely shifted towards executing Vargan.
It seemed irreversible.
—Bang! Bang!
The courthouse silenced the jurors and then asked Vargan.
Both the old judge and the swordsman, who had known all along, couldn’t help but smirk.
“Defendant. Will you make a final statement?”
“……”
No one could deny it was a dire situation.
Yet, whether it was bravado or not, Vargan remained calm.
Vargan surveyed his surroundings.
Except for himself and the Formist members, most of the attendees were in higher positions.
The circular space he stood in felt like a stage.
A play meant to amuse the spectators.
“If you choose not to speak, the judgment will be rendered immediately. I will ask one last time: Do you wish to make a final statement?”
The stage of this play wasn’t meant for them; it was where Vargan once thrived.
He couldn’t lose face by letting someone else take the lead.
His life had always been like this.
“I confess.”
At that moment, everyone’s senses sharpened.
A single line echoed within the courthouse.
The speaker was the defendant, Vargan.
His eyes were as alien and chilling as Altife’s, not human at all.
He grinned slightly and said, “All my charges are undeniable facts, and I, Vargan, acknowledge them.”
The crowd collectively stared in disbelief.
They questioned their own ears.
And then their own eyes.
In such a dire situation, one could confess their crimes.
It was clear he was sentenced to death, but maybe he could leave in peace.
However, Vargan’s demeanor didn’t suggest someone facing imminent death.
If he were, he wouldn’t be smiling so cheerfully.
“Wait, wait! Did that guy just confess? He’s admitting to his crimes, right?”
“That bastard! He should have his head chopped off immediately!”
“No need for a gallows! Kill that wicked criminal Vargan right now! Tear him apart!”
“He’s the traitor who ended the long history of Academia! Rip out his eyes and cut off his fingers before throwing him into the flames!”
“The hero of Dortmund can freeze to death! Investigate everyone who collaborated with him and punish them thoroughly!”
The jurors, regaining their senses, could no longer contain their fury.
Even if he cried and begged for forgiveness, it wouldn’t be enough. To see the criminal brazenly holding his head high only infuriated them further.
“……”
Regardless, Vargan chose to look at the key figures leading the trial, not the jurors.
Most were high-ranking officials from the Central Church, who had intervened every time he achieved something or obtained the judgment artifact.
They were nothing but obstacles.
“Before this trial ends, I have one question.”
Vargan addressed them.
“Am I really that frightening?”
That statement contained many meanings.
Unlike ordinary heroes or students, Vargan had never bent his will or actions.
The more he grew, acquired the judgment artifact, and built his influence.
Some high-ranking officials from the Central Church had tried to restrain and control him.
Yet, Vargan never complied and continued to advance.
He often made them frown with his proactive strides.
To them, a force they couldn’t restrict was both a threat and a target for elimination.
He was no hero.
“…No answer to my question, huh? You used to yell and scream about me not speaking.”
Vargan snickered.
The end.
He then began to directly admit to his accusations.
Hiding some truths and peppering it with lies, his crimes were only compounded.
“I forcefully purchased the servant Alicia for 100 gold. It is true that the curse of enchantment was included among the curses placed on Alicia, to make it easier for me to manipulate her to my liking.”
“I pretended to kill the Goddess Church’s Francesca, who was suspected to be the mastermind behind the incident during last year’s Academia Festival. At this time, I forcefully utilized my fiancée Erica’s Warp Magic and subjected her to various forms of torture and threats in the process.”
“I protected the Goddess Church’s forces within Academia from external threats. Using them, I was able to unlock the device in the Grand Clock Tower and lay the groundwork for the collapse of Academia.”
“During the war with Gamigin, I cast hallucination magic on the warp user Tom to ensure he failed his mission. Tom operated entirely under my control, and his warping me and Erica to Academia was also my will.”
“I lured Gulemashia into mutual destruction with Gamigin. What I gained from this was Gamigin’s powers. I tried to erase Erica’s memories of the collapse of Academia with those powers, leaving no evidence behind.”
Vargan smiled broadly while looking at everyone.
As he mentioned each crime, the jurors hurled horrific insults and curses at him.
Those closely related to Vargan, like Paula, wore miserable expressions.
As Vargan admitted all of the previous charges, the judge stroked his beard in satisfaction and rapped the gavel to pronounce the verdict.
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Silence! I will now announce the verdict of Yggdrasil.”
A voice unusually grave.
The judge cleared his throat to beautifully wrap up the script they had concocted, preparing to shout, “The arch-criminal Vargan!”
No longer merely the defendant or suspect, but a true criminal.
But before the judge could even open his mouth, Vargan made his move.
His sins were not yet finished.
“Furthermore, I will overthrow the city of Quelle where this trial is taking place, starting with this judge.”
Kuooooooom—!
“Guahhhhh!”
Suddenly, a massive and ominous force pressed down on the judge.
It felt as if gravity had ridiculously amplified, causing commoners to squish into the ground, while even high-ranking heroes struggled to hold their ground, their legs planted firmly.
The 5th-ranked hero in the rankings, Tauro, who was in charge of guarding the judge, hastily aimed his bow and shot at Vargan.
An arrow adorned with extremely solid mana.
However, the arrow did not reach Vargan but vanished due to an emerging alien sphere.
—Swoosh!
The floor of the courthouse where Vargan stood.
What was once a normal floor suddenly split open with sharp teeth emerging, and countless Altife teemed forth.
Soon, white hands reached out from within and gently enveloped Vargan.
A chilling laughter echoed.
Among the Altife, one particularly prominent being smiled brightly after a long time.
“You arrogant child of man, I shall acknowledge you.”
It was the Cardinal.
One who is said to rule over space.
Beled.
“Though you were born a detestable human, you lack nothing to become my child.”
The white hands, akin to a corpse, gradually drew Vargan into the maw of a monster.
It was gentle, not rough, as if a mother was handling her baby.
Beled welcomed Vargan, who had betrayed humanity and achieved great feats.
“Come here now, my new child.”
