An Ancient Trial (This Episode Is a Little Somber)
"THIEF!"
Good grief, lady — is that voice for real? It's ringing across the entire marketplace.
They were right beside me. Ah. Ahh. I think my ears are ringing.
"Run for it!"
Three young fellas? What's with the stealing, though? It's not like anyone here has trouble making a living. But now I'm curious, so I guess I'll follow.
Well, well — these kids really do have great bodies. They're insanely fast. Even I, kicking off the ground with telekinesis, can barely keep up.
I've used telekinesis so long it's second nature, so to everyone watching it just looks like I'm running normally.
"Get back here, you punks!"
Oh! There they are.
Every city in our empire has its own guards. They patrol the streets and handle police work, and these fellows are no ordinary friends.
Humans are seriously strong. Our people were already a robust bunch, and on top of that, they've gathered those who are even stronger.
Up ahead, one of the guards swings his palm down toward a young thief's head like he means to split it open—
THWACK!
"Gwahk!"
Whoa? The kid actually tried to dodge, taking a step back — and the guard followed the movement and smacked him anyway. Heh. That strapping young man, two heads taller than me, went spinning through a triple somersault and dropped unconscious from a single blow.
Shouldn't his neck have snapped first, at that speed? Or his head gone flying? Honestly, that young man deserves credit for surviving it at all.
Thwack.
"..."
Whump.
"Gkk."
The other two go down just as fast. Once they've been caught, there's no escaping anyway — there were five guards.
One took a hit to the skull and dropped without even a scream. Another got slammed in the gut and folded at the waist like a hinge.
They seem to still be alive, but wow. Our sons of Daehan are something else.
This is where the young men have been dragged.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
They're beating a drum, but what kind of drum makes a sound like that instead of a nice rolling boom-boom-boom?
"SILENCE!~"
At the judge's single word, everything goes quiet. Whoa! Look at those forearms — and the drumstick in his hand. One hit from that and you're a goner.
It's my first time seeing one of these trials up close? We do mandate public trials as a rule, but this looks more like a performance venue. Less a court, more a spectator sport.
SPLASH.
Enter the three stooges from earlier! Still unconscious, huh? Thrown around like that, you'd think they'd wake up.
"Wake them!"
WHOOSH!
Huh? Are they dead? A bucket of water and still nothing?
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
"Kghkk. cough cough."
Oh. They woke up because they couldn't breathe. So that's another way to wake someone. I've learned something new today. Might have to try it sometime.
"Ah, damn it all! We got caught."
SMACK!
"Gkk."
He opened his mouth and got hit again. Quietly would've been the smarter move, kid.
"Answer only what you are asked."
"..."
What's this? The judge's eyebrow is twitching, twitching?
SMACK-SMACK!
"Gwahk! Why!?"
Oh. He came down and beat him himself.
"You are supposed to answer."
Didn't you say answer only what you're asked? What is this? Did I mishear?
The trial itself was utterly fascinating. These young men were straight-up thieves. Then came the summary judgment: choose between losing a hand or hard labor — and one of them refused.
"What right do you have to cut off my hand!"
"I have none. But Haneul-nim does."
Wait, why me all of a sudden? I don't have any such right either?
"Then bring Haneul-nim here!"
"Look at this insolent whelp. Fine — I'll give you one more option. Beat me in a fight, and you go free."
Hm? Mr. Judge, you may be built like an ox, but perhaps consider your age? Your hair's going gray — you sure about this?
See, even that young man is smirking unsteadily.
"PWAHAHA! A fight it is!"
"Very well. Release him!"
"I'll be sending you to your grave today. PWAHAHA!"
Is this okay? The guards actually step back once he's freed. Apparently this sort of thing happens often enough. It must just be how this judge does things.
"Come at me."
First strike matters most, old man — aren't you being a little too relaxed?
"You'll regret this, you fossil!"
THUD. WHACK! THUD-thud-CLACK
Oh? Is he keeping a drumbeat or something? The blows land with real rhythm. Turns out the judge was no ordinary man.
"Don't you know he was the old guard captain? And that punk, honestly..."
"No kidding. Anyone living in this city would've seen him around. Outsider, I guess?"
WHAM WHAM THWACK THWAM-THWAM
Ah. So he really was a guard captain. Heh heh. The way he dances in and out, battering the man so he can't even fall — it's a work of art.
"..."
"What's this? All that yapping, and it's over already? Drag him off!"
The two friends who'd been watching from the side are trembling like leaves. Scary, sure. Your buddy's getting pounded into paste right in front of you.
Those two will never so much as think about stealing again.
Shall we move on, then?
CLANK. CLANK.
Another one? What on earth happened that he was dragged in covered in blood? Looks like he took a blade, too...
"Hoo... why did you do it?"
An acquaintance of the judge's? The man who was gleefully pounding people a moment ago — why does he look so troubled now?
"..."
"Even if you must die, shouldn't you at least speak before you go?"
Seems to be a death-row prisoner. Even in the Middle Ages, executions were treated as entertainment...
"I only took my revenge."
"Saying that won't bring your daughter back..."
"But they—! ...Hhk! Hnn..."
Ah... there's a heartbreaking story here. Did he lose a child?
"It simply galls me that those men are still breathing."
He must truly be at his limit — the veins in his eyes have burst. Blood tears are streaming down his face.
"Bring those men here!"
Five men are dragged in. Judging by their gold and silver jewelry and fine clothes, they come from considerable wealth.
"What is your crime?"
"..."
The judge is a terrifying man and they're still not answering? Are they asking to get hit?
"Nothing to say? Then all five of you shall be put to death."
"No! Your Honor! Eight of the thirteen are already dead! Why must we die too?!"
Whoa? That man has already killed eight of them? Eight against one? What on earth happened?
"That's right! Far too many have died already!"
Someone steps forward from the gallery, and things are getting interesting—
"That woman joined us willingly, I tell you!"
...Huh?
"You damned wretches! Didn't you drug her?! And you were thirteen men!! Hhk—!"
CLANK-CLANK
The father is beside himself with rage. He looks ready to snap his chains and lunge at them.
By the way — so there are drugs in this world? Something like that...
"The drugs were the woman's! She carried them!"
"He's right! Didn't we find them in her clothes?"
"Release my son! One person died, and eight have already been killed! Shouldn't he be punished for taking seven lives?!"
Damnable wretches, the lot of them.
Tap. Tap.
"Miss, you cannot enter the judge's chamber."
As if I could hold back.
Swish.
"Gahk!"
So this is what being in the capital means — the moment they see my face, they clear the way.
Tap. Tap.
"Ohhhh! Haneul-nim!"
"It's Haneul-nim!"
"!#$!"
People are dropping to their knees in every direction. This isn't what I came for.
"Quiet, please."
"..."
One raised hand and one sentence, and the crowd falls silent instantly.
"Judge? May I ask some questions?"
"Of course. Please, do as you will."
I simply couldn't contain my curiosity. I turned to the man sitting there, drenched in blood.
"I have a question for you. What kind of girl was your daughter?"
"She was... kind. Hnn. Beautiful, and honest..."
Is this what a voice steeped in years of grief and bitterness sounds like?
"She was going to enter the Temple!"
"She was preparing to serve Haneul-nim!"
"She was absolutely not the kind of girl who would carry drugs!"
Acquaintances from every corner of the gallery rise to testify. Seems she truly was a good girl.
This time I turned to the five young men.
"Then let me ask you. What is your crime?"
"..."
Nothing to say now, is there?
"Sh... she enjoyed it too!"
"Th... that's right."
"It was mutual consent..."
Oh, so now the dogs have found their voices?
"Then where is she? Why is she nowhere to be seen?"
"..."
"..."
She's gone because she's dead, obviously. Dragging out every last detail would only make the poor dead girl suffer more.
"And what you call 'drugs' is narcotic poison. The devil's medicine."
"Gahk!"
"It was that kind of drug?!"
The murmuring around the chamber suggests plenty of people had been quietly dabbling after all.
We told everyone to be on guard against exactly this...
"Enough. You five cannot be allowed to live. Any last words?"
The gallery begins to seethe.
"This is too much! This isn't fair!"
"Come on, then!"
"Save the children, quickly!"
"Out of the way!"
Even the dead girl's parents storm the courtroom, and all hell breaks loose. Even guards, it seems, can't win against sheer numbers.
"Grab that woman, quick!"
Do I look easy to you?
"Enough—"
CRASH. CRASH.
I press down, ever so gently, with telekinesis — and everyone collapses to their knees.
"My... my body..."
"Nnngggh."
"Daddy! Help me!"
"Why won't my legs move?!"
What to do... Well. First things first.
"You parents, who failed to guide your children rightly, bear guilt as well. I will take your tongues, which could not speak truth, and your ears, which refused to hear it."
Rip. Rip.
"Ngh—! NNNGH!"
"MMMMPH!"
The tongues and ears of these people called 'parents' drop to the floor, and blood spatters in every direction. They should be grateful I stopped at that.
"Next. You five — we begin with the things you used to do your wickedness."
SPLAT.
"GRRGH!"
"MMMMPH!"
All five of them burst at once, in unison. Their mouths are held shut, so they writhe and thrash in a frenzy.
"And the eyes that beheld wicked things. The tongues and ears. The arms and legs, all of it."
With the severing of the tendons in their arms and legs, I finally release them.
"Give these men neither water nor food, hang them in the plaza, and post signs declaring their crimes for all to see."
"Yes. As you will..."
Hoo... what am I to do about that poor father? The law allows no exceptions, so there's nothing for it.
"Father. Are you satisfied?"
"Thank you. Thank you."
Blood tears still streak his face, but his whole face is full of smiles.
"Your crime is a heavy one as well. You know that?"
"I do. I will accept my punishment gladly."
"You will likely go before they do. Are you all right with that?"
"I will go ahead and wait for them."
To the man who bowed his head silently until his forehead touched the ground, I granted the greatest mercy I could offer.
One clean stroke of the blade. May he have gone without pain.
Tap. Tap.
"If anyone here objects to this trial, speak now."
"No objections."
"Then this court is adjourned."
So many thoughts on the walk back to the Temple. Plenty of people recognized me, but perhaps because I was spattered with blood, no one approached.
Murder, assault, fraud — I decreed the harshest punishments for those three crimes, and yet they never fully disappear. Such is the world of humans, I suppose. All I can do is keep whittling them down.
"KYAAAAAH! Haneul-nim!"
"..."
Huh? Maybe I should've changed clothes before coming back. My head secretary has fainted.
"Hup!"
Oh, impressive. She came to mid-fall, while toppling over.
"It's my blood, so don't make a scene."
"Did something terrible happen?"
"Nope? Not really?"
Right. It was nothing, really. Nothing at all. Then why is the head secretary hovering around me with a face like she's about to cry again?
"You're covered in blood."
"And you're shaking."
Huh? I'm shaking?
The moment her words sink in—
"Huuuaaahh..."
The tears come. A whole lot of them. Everything just now — it had all been so cold, so terrifying.
Looks like it was harder on me than I thought.
Plip. Plop. Plip. Plop.
Soaking in a warm bath, I feel a great deal better.
"Aigoo? And why are you smiling now?"
"Me?"
"For once you came to me first."
Somehow my face has ended up buried in the head secretary's chest. Me? Did I like chests this much?
Soft and squishy. Jiggly and plush. This feels really nice. So that's why everyone loves big chests, man or woman alike. Even the kids can't keep their hands off them!
And the head secretary's chest is honestly enormous?
Word has it there's room for three of my faces.