Chapter 146: The Tin Knight and The City of Scales (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 146: The Tin Knight and The City of Scales (6)
The necromancer's expression shifted through a spectrum of emotions.
Bewilderment. Disbelief. Understanding. And finally, rage.
“Don't be absurd! I didn't kill anyone! I just fiddled with a few corpses, and for that, I have to rot in prison for life!? Where in the world is there a judgment so unreasonable!?”
“It simply means the Lord deems the act of desecrating the dead to be that grave an offense,” the priest lord continued in a solemn tone.
“However, sin must be weighed with solemnity and punished with gravity. If you cannot accept this verdict, then appeal to the Scale. State that you have more to say in your own defense regarding this case.”
“Of course I can’t accept it! Do you think I would!?”
The priest’s gaze turned to the giant emerald Scale.
-Vwooom!
The Scale trembled with a low hum.
Seeing this, the priest shook his head.
“You have spoken a falsehood. You have already exhausted every possible excuse. Any further defense would be but a futile string of words.”
“Y-You…!”
The sinner, who had been grinding his teeth in livid fury, suddenly let the tension drain from his shoulders and gave a dry laugh.
“Ha, right. I was an idiot to take any of this seriously in the first place. I’ll pay the fine. I see now that’s what you wanted all along. Business must be booming.”
“I believe you misunderstand. The value placed upon the Scale does not enter my hands.”
“Enough! I’ll pay the fine, so just get this damn play over with!”
“Hmm.”
The lord glanced at a nearby official, who began to read from a document with a deferential air.
The document was a list of the sinner’s assets, which had been seized by the city guard.
“—That is all, my lord. Confiscating approximately ninety percent of his assets should balance the Scale.”
“I see. Carry it out.”
“Hah, you’re no better than daylight robbers. See if I ever set foot in this damn place again.”
The sinner ground his teeth but did not contest the verdict any further.
Perhaps he had decided it was useless to try.
Just as the spectators thought it was all over.
“Then, we shall commence with the second trial. You are accused of harming others and exploiting souls through the corpses and offerings you acquired. If you deny this, please present your counterargument.”
The sinner’s eyes flew open.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! That, that’s—!”
“Are you denying the charge?”
“That is, well, I mean.”
The sinner’s eyes darted ceaselessly between the ground and the Scale.
He wanted to deny it, but he seemed unable to speak, fearing the Scale’s power would expose him.
“……”
The sinner’s choice was silence.
The official’s eyes narrowed.
“My lord, this man persists in his petty tricks. His inability to deny it verbally is tantamount to an admission of guilt. Let us proceed with the sentencing.”
“Calm yourself. Before the Lord, all things must be brought to light. We cannot pass judgment rashly on mere suspicion.”
The lord said, gently placating the official.
“Escort him to the castle as a person of interest.”
“Understood.”
At the official’s nod, the city guard seized the necromancer and began to lead him away.
The necromancer went along with them compliantly, as if he had given up.
More accurately, it only looked like he had given up.
“Hup!”
“Kugh!”
The two guards holding the necromancer suddenly clutched at their own throats and chests and collapsed to the ground.
Simultaneously, a green aura flared around the necromancer’s body, and the ropes binding his hands and feet instantly disintegrated.
Thwip!
While the crowd was still trying to process what had just happened, the necromancer plunged his hand-blade into his own thigh.
The hand-chop, imbued with mana, tore through the flesh, and he pulled something out from within.
It was an orb, soaked in red blood, about the size of a ring made by touching the thumb and index finger.
He crushed it slightly in his palm and hurled it toward the center of the courtroom.
The Tin Knight decided his time as a spectator was over.
Honestly, a part of him wanted to keep watching to see what would happen, but he had a gut feeling that the ‘something’ the necromancer had thrown could endanger even Adelaide and Sophia.
A leap, and a downward strike.
Before the orb could touch the ground and activate, unleashing its ominous mana, the Tin Knight’s shield smashed it, burying it in the earth.
Kuuuung!
The ground shook violently.
He vented mana from his back to counteract the shockwave that erupted from the orb, trying to blast him upward, and continued to press down with his shield.
The attack, which should have spread in all directions and swept through the area, could not get past the Tin Knight’s shield. The poison and curses that leaked out with the explosion also had no effect on the Tin Knight’s metal body.
“This, this is impossible—”
The necromancer’s curse, steeped in astonishment, was cut short.
The priest lord had somehow moved behind the necromancer, grabbed the back of his head, and slammed it into the ground.
Kwoong!
It wasn’t quite as powerful as the necromancer’s secret weapon, but it was strong enough to crack the ground.
When the lord lifted his hand again, the necromancer’s face was a ruin.
His nose was completely shattered, few of his teeth remained intact, and blood oozed freely from all over his face.
But that was only for a moment.
A white light emanated from the lord’s hand, and the necromancer’s body healed at a rapid pace. His missing teeth didn’t grow back, but otherwise, he was almost fully restored.
While the people were still reeling from the sudden turn of events, the lord declared:
“O, Scale! Though there was no testimony, the sinner has proven his guilt not with words, but with deeds. Had it not been for the actions of this valiant knight, his attack would have injured, or worse, killed, innocent and virtuous citizens! I beseech you to weigh his sin!”
The emerald Scale, which had been balanced after the first trial, began to tip once more.
The white pan shot up. The black pan plunged down.
The lord opened a book with his free hand, confirmed its contents, and then proclaimed in a loud voice:
“Death!”
The necromancer, still in the lord’s grasp, struggled, but the lord didn’t budge.
The white light enveloping his body protected him completely.
The lord spoke to the necromancer.
“Sinner. Will you accept the verdict, or will you substitute it with value?”
It seemed like a question that required no thought at all.
The necromancer, his speech slurred from his missing teeth, replied.
“I… I’ll pay! I’ll pay the fine, j-just spare me!”
“Very well. First, we shall place all of your remaining assets upon the Scale.”
A faint look of relief flickered in the necromancer’s eyes, as if he believed he had escaped death.
It was far too premature.
The lord announced.
“The sentence has been amended. One year of imprisonment, at the end of which, the execution will be carried out. Will you accept the verdict, or will you substitute it with value?”
The necromancer’s lips trembled.
“I… I choose to substitute!”
He was likely thinking of something along the lines of ‘working later to pay off the remainder.’
But he should not have made that choice.
The priest lord gazed down at the necromancer, then, with a soft thud, he pushed off the ground.
The lord stepped onto the Scale, placed the necromancer on the white pan, and cried out.
“O, Scale! The sinner has denied his punishment and chosen to pay with value! I request a settlement!”
The emerald Scale trembled as if in response.
And in the next moment.
The necromancer’s right leg, resting on the pan, began to unravel.
Because the Scale itself was so massive, it was difficult for the people on the ground to see what was happening on the pan.
Thus, the only one who witnessed it clearly was the Tin Knight, who had swiftly moved to a nearby rooftop.
The Tin Knight’s will-o’-the-wisp eyes narrowed in question.
The necromancer’s leg was bizarre.
It wasn’t being crushed, nor was it being eaten away or melting.
As if his very body had turned to thread and was being drawn out, his leg disintegrated into countless strands that vanished into the air as motes of light.
“Hic, hieeek!”
The necromancer screamed in terror and confusion.
There seemed to be no physical pain, but the mental shock appeared to be beyond description.
As his right leg dissolved into light, the high-raised white pan descended, and the low-set black pan rose.
But one leg was not enough to achieve equilibrium.
The left leg. Both arms. The torso.
The parts of the necromancer’s body unraveled one by one, turning into light.
He raged, begged for mercy, and spewed curses.
But no matter what he felt or did, the Scale impassively carried out its sentence.
The Scale achieved a perfect balance only when nothing of the necromancer remained but his head.
“Heh, h-heh, hehehehe.”
Amazingly, the necromancer was still alive.
He no longer had a body to move at will, and his mind had shattered, causing him to drool uncontrollably, but he was still alive.
In a way, it was only natural. After all, he had refused the death penalty.
“The execution is complete.”
The lord spoke in a flat tone, then lifted the necromancer’s head.
Just moments before, he had been manhandling him by the back of the head, but now, the lord’s touch as he handled the remaining head was exceedingly polite and careful.
It was as if he were asserting that, with the punishment complete, the man could no longer be treated as a sinner.
“You have endured much.”
With that short farewell, the lord placed the necromancer’s head on the ground.
Those who had been astonished to see the lord descend from the Scale carrying a man’s head were horrified to realize the head was alive and giggling.
As the Tin Knight leaped from the roof and landed on the ground, the lord bowed to him.
“Thank you. Because of you, we were able to prevent the innocent from being harmed.”
The Tin Knight did not answer.
He ignored the bowing lord, picked up the head that was rolling on the ground and laughing like a madman.
Then, without a word, he left the courtroom.
Adelaide, flustered, and Sophia, silent, followed behind him.
Despite being so blatantly ignored, the lord showed no anger.
He simply watched the party’s retreating backs, his usual kind and gentle smile on his face.