Chapter 471: Proof of Existence (59)
Chapter 471: Proof of Existence (59)
A vast clearing stretched across the mid-slope of Mount Siendel.
It was a precipice said to have been carved out by the Heavenly God in the distant past. The steep slope, which had transformed more than half the mountain into flat land, naturally gave the impression of having been shaped by an artificial hand.
It was a great plateau atop a mountain, capable of holding tens of thousands of people.
Before it, several tiers of steps were divided as if to attest to the dignity of a god. The lowest tier was wide and comfortable; the tier above it was narrow and cramped; and at the highest tier, there was barely enough room for a single person to stand.
That was the Seat of Judgment.
The masters of those seats, endowed with the sacred authority to distinguish between good and evil, truth and falsehood, and beauty and ugliness on behalf of the Heavenly God, were entering one by one.
There were twelve individuals seated on the lowest tier.
Every one of them was a renowned figure among the common folk, evaluated as having the deepest faith in the Holy Kingdom. The selection included not only local notables and central power players but also those who performed good deeds in solitude in remote areas.
They were the 'Jury.' If they unanimously judged a person guilty or innocent, the priests would then determine the severity of the crime.
Three clergymen were seated on the second-highest tier.
They were the priests representing Knowledge, Mercy, and Judgment, respectively. They played the role of leading the trial in practice, guiding the proceedings toward a balanced verdict according to what each symbolized.
The Priest of Mercy would defend the sinner, while the Priest of Judgment would interrogate them.
In addition, the Priest of Knowledge would mediate the opinions of the two based on the doctrines of the Heavenly God Religion.
Finally, at the highest tier, in a position overlooking the entire trial process, stood an old man.
The crowd filling the clearing whispered as they looked up at him with reverence. His face, looking down at the ground with his hands clasped behind his back, possessed the contradictory qualities of benevolence and majesty simultaneously.
He was the 'Pope.'
The fact that the highest-ranking priest in the Holy Kingdom had appeared meant that today’s trial held a monumental significance.
And how could it not?
In front of the sheer, steep cliff, a woman of celestial beauty knelt upon a small, protruding circular rock.
With her hands bound, she was forced to face the dust of the parched mountain head-on. Though she might have looked haggard after being imprisoned in the underground dungeon, her beauty could not be hidden.
She was the virgin most beloved by the Heavenly God—the 'Saintess.'
Her pale pink eyes, looking up at the sky, were exceptionally rebellious. Nevertheless, the Pope merely looked down at the sinner in silence.
Complex emotions flickered across the old priest's face. To think that only a few weeks ago, they had been sitting at the Round Table sharing opinions, only for things to turn out like this.
The Pope squeezed his eyes shut and muttered inwardly.
Immanuel, please lead us on the righteous path.
Soon, solemn declarations began to ring out.
"All jurors are seated!"
"Knowledge is ready."
"Mercy is ready."
"Judgment is ready."
As the firm voices followed one after another, the noise from the crowd subsided.
The sight of tens of thousands of people keeping silent while looking up at the sky was nothing short of magnificent.
The Pope’s eyes drifted slightly behind him. The summit of the mountain was located there.
Several shadows were cast upon the old priest's retinas. The elders of the Holy Kingdom had come to observe the trial.
From Archbishop Aindel to the true power players who moved the Holy Kingdom from behind the scenes.
At the center of them all was a boy.
Dressed in neat clerical robes, he looked to be in his mid-to-late teens at most. However, even the veteran clergymen hesitated to stand beside him.
And for good reason.
He was the pinnacle of all martial artists, the Master who had symbolized the military might of the Holy Kingdom for hundreds of years.
The title of 'Saint' existed specifically for that boy.
He was the only one in the Holy Kingdom with the authority to look down upon the Pope.
The Saint himself, however, seemed to have little interest in the trial, keeping his eyes closed and his hands folded.
All the actors were already on stage.
There was no reason to hesitate any longer.
The Pope’s heavy proclamation echoed through the Mountain Court.
"Praise be to Arus, the Heavenly God, our Lord, who is the Light and the Truth! Before Him, we swear to deliver a fair and just verdict without a shred of prejudice or falsehood. Is there anyone who will follow this will?"
"Immanuel!"
The shout of thousands of people in unison shook the mountainside.
Despite that oath, the Saintess only wore a cold sneer.
Without a shred of prejudice or falsehood? A fair and just verdict?
It was nonsense. The jurors, the priests, and even the Pope were nothing more than clowns dancing to a clumsy script.
The ending had already been decided.
Today, the Saintess would become a traitor to humanity and be hung on a cross. Then, the Papacy would shed tears, claiming that justice had been served, and the crowd would cheer as they watched the fall of a noble being.
She didn't even feel anger anymore.
Ugly natures, false faith, and irrational trials.
The world had always been like this. Had the Saintess not known this already?
"Is there anyone to read the charges against this pitiful sinner?"
"Judgment, a faithful servant of the Heavenly God, dares to request the floor."
A priest wearing gray robes and a bird-beak mask bowed and shouted. It sounded like a low suggestion, but his voice boomed through the clearing so loudly that no one could fail to hear it.
"Speak."
"The sinner received the name of Saintess by the grace of the Heavenly God. However, she dared to betray that righteousness! Under the pretext of helping the weak, she seized control of an orphanage and sacrificed parentless children as offerings! Furthermore, the sinner's closest associate who led this was a priest of the Dark Cult, and it is clear that a terrible object created by sacrificing orphans was utilized by the sinner's own hands."
As the Priest of Judgment continued, the murmuring of the crowd grew louder. Some of them looked on with disbelief, some sneered as if they had expected it, and others looked at the Saintess with eyes full of loathing.
'See? All those high-ranking clerics are the same. They're a bunch you can't trust.'
The Saintess closed her eyes, trying to escape the accusations reaching her ears.
"Is the evidence certain?"
"Yes, it is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt. The number of orphans sacrificed so far is in the hundreds!"
An index finger clad in a pure white glove pointed at the Saintess. Soon, the bird-beak mask trembled as a roar erupted.
"That person is a sinner who deserves to die! Let us soothe the souls of the sacrificed children by hanging her on the cross!"
The crowd responded to the shout, which was transparently intended to incite them.
"Kill her! Kill her!"
"Traitor to humanity! She deceived us!"
"Hang her on the cross, burn the corpse, and hang it on the main road!"
Those were likely the shouts of plants mixed into the crowd.
However, it wouldn't take long for those cries to become genuine. A crowd is a formless entity that follows the flow, and once it starts moving in one direction, it is impossible to stop.
The Saintess took a shaky breath, trying to calm herself.
She was already prepared. Yes, she should have been prepared.
But her pounding heart made her body go stiff. Her body, facing death, was trembling and pleading with her.
Do something.
I don't want to die.
However, she saw no way to live. If so, she would at least refuse to die looking pathetic.
It was then that a solemn voice echoed across the mountainside.
"…Enough!"
With that single word from the Pope, the murmuring of the crowd subsided once more.
The old priest looked down at another priest with a cold gaze. This one wore pure white robes and a flat, round mask.
"Does Mercy have something to say?"
"As the Saintess, the sinner has made many contributions to the Holy Kingdom. Even if her intentions are questionable, is it not an undeniable fact that countless sick people regained their lives through her hands? Furthermore, if the sinner truly entered into a contract with the Dark Cult, there are aspects of her past actions that become difficult to explain."
It was a flat but fluent defense.
The Priest of Mercy continued speaking amidst the silence of the crowd.
"As you know, the Saintess, along with the Divinity of the Empire, has thwarted numerous plans of the Dark Cult. If she were in a collaborative relationship with them, would there have been any need to do that?"
"It was to secure her position in the Holy Kingdom!"
The Priest of Judgment spat out a sharp rebuttal without even obtaining the floor.
"In fact, most of those achievements were accomplished by sacrificing the products of the Dark Cult known as 'Blood Essence.' As a result, the Saintess's support base and political standing were solidified! If they could dominate the politics of the Holy Kingdom, the Dark Cult would have been more than willing to sacrifice a few minor plans."
"This is a matter that still requires investigation. Furthermore, the death penalty is an irreversible punishment that no one can take back!"
The Priest of Mercy also shouted with emphasis in response.
"A capital sentence is excessive! Is this not a matter that should be observed with a reprieve of at least a few months?"
"What naive nonsense!"
Of course, the Priest of Judgment was not one to back down easily. He continued his argument, the veins in his neck bulging.
"The Dark Cult has already spread throughout the continent! What if some incident occurs during those few months and the sinner is spirited away? We already have substantial evidence gathered to prove her guilt!"
"But the dead do not come back to life!"
"That is exactly why we must sentence her to the ultimate penalty… because hundreds of lives have already been sacrificed at the hands of that sinner!"
It was just as the debate between the two priests reached its boiling point.
A roar that erupted from somewhere drowned out the voices of the two priests.
"That is enough!"
It was the Pope again. He looked down silently at the two priests who had fallen quiet, then turned his gaze to the final priest.
It was the priest wearing a sun-shaped mask.
"What is the will of Knowledge?"
"The crime of betraying humanity carries a minimum sentence of death. There are no exceptions to this provision."
In a calm tone, the priest wearing the sun mask looked down.
The twelve jurors were located there, whispering to one another.
"If guilt is confirmed, the ultimate penalty cannot be avoided. However, considering the circumstances, I believe a more humane execution can be ordered."
In the end, it meant leaving it to the judgment of the jury.
If the jury decided on guilt or innocence, the priests would determine the sentence. But since the crime of betraying humanity could only be repaid with death, there was no need to weigh the severity of the crime.
It was death, without question.
A heavy groan escaped Mercy's lips. He already knew the conclusion.
The atmosphere of the crowd was ominous, and the jury was the same.
The betrayal of the Dark Cult was a major incident.
The crowd had fallen into anxiety and developed a strong distrust of the clergy, which would eventually affect the leadership of the Papacy in the long run.
Someone needs to be the scapegoat.
Everyone realized this instinctively. And a delicious prey was right before their eyes.
Could they possibly resist?
Leaving Mercy's question behind, the Pope asked the Saintess with a cold gaze.
"Does the sinner have anything to say?"
At that, the expectant gazes of the crowd turned toward the Saintess all at once.