True Condemnation

"Of course it's possible."

Sally sent a clear affirmation in response to Bagan's words.

"This actually works?"

"Naturally. Sinners must suffer. That too is part of condemnation. I recreated every sensory experience from their living days to make full use of that aspect."

Bagan's smile stretched so wide it looked like the corners of his mouth might split.

"I see."

Staring at the wretches locked behind the iron bars with an expression that had crossed from wicked into outright vicious, he felt every ounce of built-up stress evaporate.

He promptly wrapped mana around his fist, preparing to make them suffer as much as humanly possible.

Whirring!

"Sally."

"Yes?"

"The Room of Truth."

"Huh? Oh, understood."

Reading the intent behind Bagan's expression and clenched fist, Sally opened the iron cage that held the prisoners. It was astonishing to watch the bars simply melt into the ground without any physical mechanism, as if her thoughts alone could command reality.

It resembled the final moment when the most heinous criminals stood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in court awaiting execution.

The looks on their faces after hearing Bagan and Sally speak were truly something to behold. They couldn't utter a single word, as though their right to speak had been stripped away entirely.

Bagan addressed them directly.

"Tell me everything you know about the underworld."

"I-I-I don't know anything!"

"Huh? But your boss knows it all, doesn't he?"

Thud! Thud!

"Still don't know?"

The interrogation that followed employed everything from light violence to the kind that flirted with death, tormenting them in every conceivable way. At first they clung to some twisted sense of loyalty, mixing lies into their answers, but before long they were spilling every secret like loyal dogs desperate to please their master.

"Whew. I'm finished."

"It was fascinating. Seeing just how much a human can change."

Bagan gave a nod and moved to the seat Sally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had prepared for him.

"Then I shall begin their judgment."

"Go ahead."

Since the actual process of condemnation was hers to carry out, Bagan had nothing left to do but watch.

Her judgment began at once. Sally flipped through the Study of Sin that Spia had granted her, scanning the crimes of the two souls with her eyes.

"Now then, human Caliban."

"Yes."

His mind had already shattered so thoroughly that expressing any personal will beyond mechanical answers was nearly impossible.

Sally studied him with eyes like cold, bottomless abysses.

"Murder sixty-three times, intimidation one hundred twenty-three times, violence three hundred sixty-four times, lies five thousand six ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hundred eighty-four times, profanity five hundred twenty-one thousand four hundred twenty-one times. This... there's no point in recycling him. Annihilation confirmed."

Sally struck the wooden gavel that lay before her.

Bang. Bang.

Bagan watched with genuine fascination; he hadn't expected to see that gavel here.

"Do you consent?"

She even asked for the sinner's consent to annihilation, as though it were the final gateway for those guilty of unimaginable crimes.

"Yes."

Even after hearing the shocking word, his expression remained blank.

Annihilation was the ultimate punishment Sally could impose through condemnation. Souls born from death were normally sent straight to Pandemonium without facing judgment, but she disregarded that law. As the Goddess of Spirits and of Space, wielding Spia's power, she could do so.

This world was divided into four realms. First came the human world of Pangea, a collaboration between the Goddess of Light Priya and the God of Creation Bin. Then Harmonia, the sanctuary of spirits, created solely by the Goddess of Space Spia. Next was Yubarium, the heavenly realm where the power of all gods resided. And finally Pandemonium, the underworld forged by the God of Shadows Nocturnus.

Yet every space ultimately answered to Spia's authority. That was how Sally could annihilate souls destined for Pandemonium, erasing them from existence in any realm whatsoever.

"Human, Drake."

Sally called the next name, once again observing him with eyes that pierced truth itself. She was likely measuring the precise, blatant weight of sin radiating from him.

"Two hundred forty-two murders, three hundred twenty-five acts of intimidation, one thousand twenty-seven instances of violence, one thousand two hundred forty lies, and six hundred fifty-two thousand three hundred seventy-seven profanities. If anything, the numbers could be higher. Still, I will acknowledge that he lived a less dishonest life than Caliban."

Sally let out a small sigh.

"Annihilation confirmed for both. They are judged as souls with no value to exist. Do you acknowledge this verdict?"

"Yes."

Drake's response was just as hollow as Caliban's.

"However, we cannot perform the annihilation ritual in their current state."

She turned to Bagan with a serious expression.

"Why not?"

"Annihilation is the greatest punishment and the most sacred of rites. It circumvents the very laws of the gods. They must first be restored to wholeness."

"Uh... should I use recovery magic or something?"

Bagan looked apologetic, wondering if he'd beaten them too thoroughly.

"No need. This is my domain. Restoration will require a considerable amount of spirit power, though. Are you certain it's all right?"

"Of course. No permission needed."

Sally nodded in understanding and turned back to the two sinners. She extended a hand toward them. Her slender, snow-white fingers were so elegant it was hard to believe they belonged to the Spirit King of Condemnation.

Threads of spirit power spun out from her fingertips and wove themselves into clockwork shapes before each cage. The threads halted once the mechanisms were formed.

"This may feel somewhat exhausting."

Bagan nodded confidently, certain it wouldn't be a problem.

No way...

He had absorbed the power of two Spirit Kings; there was no chance he would run short.

Sally twisted her hand, turning the spirit-powered clockwork backward.

Tick. Tock.

The mechanisms rotated with audible clicks, winding time in reverse.

'Unbelievable.'

Bagan was startled to feel nearly half his spirit power vanish in an instant.

"So that's why you were concerned."

Once the clockwork finished turning, Caliban and Drake regained consciousness.

"Huk!"

"What the hell happened?"

"Where are we? D-Drake, sir!"

They reacted exactly as they had upon first arriving, only to quickly remember their reality.

"Ah... right. I was being judged."

"You committed sins. Punishment is inevitable."

It was astonishing how completely a person could change. At that moment, Bagan almost believed that even if they were revived, they wouldn't commit any further evil.

"Bagan? Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Losing half is no small thing, but it's manageable."

A profound emptiness followed the loss of half his spirit power, yet he felt no resentment, only deep respect for the weight of her duty.

"I'll begin now."

After confirming his condition, Sally moved to carry out the annihilation ritual. Bagan simply observed in silence.

She approached the iron cage directly. As she walked across the seal ringed by blue flames, the fire parted in a perfect circle to create a path. When she reached the prisoners, the bars sank into the ground and vanished like melting snow, just as before.

The two men knelt without a sound, fully grasping their fate. Caliban and Drake quietly accepted the seemingly excessive sentence of complete annihilation.

Sally placed her pure white hands atop their bowed heads. The moment her fingers touched their hair, Bagan felt something strange. It was as if their very existence was being expelled from the world.

They had already been cast out. Having entered the courtroom as souls, they were now slowly fading from existence.

Srrk.

By the time they had completely vanished from Bagan's sight, he could no longer sense them at all. Only Sally could still perceive them.

She offered a prayer.

Sally prayed to each god who governed a fundamental concept, returning everything the sinners had received at birth.

Click!

The white wooden scales, which had been tilted since the moment they entered the courtroom, slowly returned to perfect balance.

Sally opened her eyes. The annihilation was complete.

At that instant, a certain energy rose from the sand.

Sally showed no reaction, as if the aura was unknown to her.

What is that?

It felt strangely warm. Almost against his will, Bagan found himself drawn toward it. He hadn't meant to move, yet it seemed as though the energy would vanish if he didn't seize it immediately.

"B-Bagan?"

Sally called out, thinking he was approaching her. But Bagan didn't hear her. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠His entire mind was captured by the energy.

"Absorption."

He spoke the word clearly. The energy was calling to him. It flowed into his Absorption trait.

When Bagan regained his senses, he realized Sally had been calling his name.

"Ah, did you call me?"

"Yes. You were walking as if possessed. What was it?"

Bagan described the indescribable sensation as best he could.

"Hmm. It seems they didn't reclaim the blessing after all."

"Blessing?"

What Sally called a blessing was, to Bagan, a trait. Yet the Absorption he knew had never possessed such a function before. Absorbing traits? Still, his ability had long since surpassed its original limits.

He could now feel Drake's former C-rank trait, Acceleration.

"It really was absorbed into me."

"That's wonderful news."

In the end, it was indeed a good thing. It meant he could continue acquiring even more traits in the future.

As Bagan pondered this, Sally spoke again.

"Shall we leave?"

"Yeah, let's go."

With that, Sally dismantled the space around them.