Chapter 348: Star, the Reunion (5)

[You have brought the defendant before the court as the judge, Ksitigarbha King.]

[Defendant]

Divine Name: New Tian Shi Yuan (Previously Iron-Blooded Lion.)

Faction: Purple Star Astrology.

Real Name: Richardus the Grain Star.

Swooosh―!

With the sound of Divine Steel chains quickly tightening around Richardus, the world around him changed. Even until that moment, however, Richardus still smiled bitterly instead of looking terrified.

[The ‘eye in the darkness’ has opened!]

Paaah―!

The gigantic eye of Thanatos, the King of the Underworld, opened in the vast sky.

『I see that the outstanding second leader of has been caught, huh? I’m very happy because of my partner’s hard work.』

Unlike the previous time, Thanatos did not take part in this Divine Trial; thus, he was present as a mere spectator, not a judge. Of course, he could become a juror if necessary, but he did not plan on it.

This Divine Trial was Chang-Sun’s first time acting as a judge, and Chang-Sun was a partner of the , not their weapon. Thus, Thanatos had to help Chang-Sun solidify his footing in the public eye. Only then would people experience proper fear when Chang-Sun made a move in the future.

『I believe it is not really good for me to be the only audience of such an important trial, so I would like to turn this trial into an open court and give people the opportunity to repent for their crimes.』

Thump!

It sounded as if Thanatos had slammed his armrest.

[The Divine Trial has changed from a closed trial to an open trial!]

[The news has been announced across .]

[The Celestials and who heard the news have requested to watch the trial.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ rushes over, successfully becoming the first to attend the trial.]

[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ enters the courtroom with a bucket of popcorn, saying that she cannot possibly miss an interesting opportunity like this.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ applies to attend the trial on behalf of the Society .]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ applies to attend the trial on behalf of the Society , avoiding her noisy siblings.]

[The Celestial ‘Sky’s and Earth’s Connecting Wing’ nonchalantly follows his sister.]

[The Celestial ‘Madness Infuser’ attends the trial, making some noise.]

…

[The Celestial ‘Tsunami Bringer’ attends the trial.]

[The Celestial ‘Plague Monarch’ furtively attends the trial, looking around.]

…

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ disapprovingly attends the trial on behalf of the Society .]

[The Celestial ‘Malignity-Drinking Saturn’ wishes to watch the trial on behalf of the Society .]

…

[A total of 263,995 Celestials have applied to attend the trial as audience members.]

[A total of 6,412,543 Celestials are waiting to have their application approved.]

…

[The Channeling is unstable due to too many applications.]

[The Channeling is unstable.]

[Many Celestials send complaints about the crappy server to the !]

[Some Celestials are considering the option of attacking the .]

…

[The has declared a state of emergency. The employees are quickly moving to get the server restored.]

Many chaotic events happened at once. The stars in the sky shone down in the direction of the courtroom; they were the Celestials attending the trial as audience members.

The trial of Sangwon had concluded behind closed doors, and there was not much the Celestials could do about it. However, the ongoing trial was about the leader of , so of course, it was only natural for it to catch many people’s attention. Some Celestials stayed on high alert because the order of could change completely depending on the trial’s result.

“I feel like a monkey in a zoo,” Richardus remarked as he looked back at the numerous Celestials, who were watching him with interest. Despite his words, however, he did not seem to care too much. He held his head high, resembling a true lion; there was no indication that he was merely acting tough.

[The Celestial ‘Easy-Laughing Eunuch’ watches the defendant, laughing oddly!]

‘I knew it. He’s here.’ Richardus chuckled lightly after reading the Eunuch Star’s Divine Name.

[Many Celestials argue about whether or not the Celestial ‘Divine Twilight’ has the right to become a judge, considering that he was a criminal himself in the past.]

Some of the audience members were paying more attention to Chang-Sun than Richardus. Chang-Sun had been the greatest war criminal of the , so the Celestials had put him through a Divine Trial. However, that very same war criminal was sitting on the opposite side of the courtroom now. Most of the audience members who made the complaint held a lot of grudges against ‘Divine Twilight’ after losing comrades or lovers to him.

Rumble…!

The Divine Class exuded by the Celestials protesting shook the entire courtroom, which trembled so violently it seemed as if it could crumble at any moment.

Thump! Thump!

Thanatos scowled at the sky, slamming his armrest a few times.

『Silence! Silence! Order in the court! This is a sacred courtroom, so if anyone continues to disturb the trial, I will expel all those people from the courtroom as the chief judge!』

Silence immediately fell upon the area as if no commotion had occurred in the first place. That was how powerful the Divine Class Thanatos exuded was; additionally, the Celestials who had protested were also worried about ending up on the wrong side of the over this matter.

『Since many people seem to be confused, I’ll take this opportunity to clarify it. ‘Divine Twilight’ has served his sentence through labor, and based on the principle of prohibition against double jeopardy, he shall no longer be held accountable for his past crimes.』

The courtroom was still silent, but the Celestials’ confusion also remained.

『On the other hand, many pieces of evidence proving the multiple allegations against and have already been discovered, and additional evidence is being found as we speak. The chief judge has reached a conclusion that ‘Divine Twilight’ is the only one with the qualifications to prosecute and convict them of their crimes.』

At that moment, Thanatos was referring to himself as the chief judge, and of course, the audience knew what he meant.

『The chief judge hereby declares that any objections regarding the currently appointed judge shall be viewed as a challenge against the . 』

Thanatos looked at all the starlight shining down on the courtroom.

『Are there any objections? If there are, come forward.』

When Thanatos asked his question, most of the Celestials stayed silent, but some of them chuckled dumbfoundedly.

[The Celestial ‘Malignity-Drinking Saturn’ says that the chief judge would not be willing to sustain the objections even if there were.]

『Of course I wouldn’t.』

[The Celestial ‘Malignity-Drinking Saturn’ answers that, in that case, he is not interested in raising objections.]

It did not seem as if Satan was going to interrupt Chang-Sun’s trial.

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ frowns in discontentment.]

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ says that he will not raise any objections because the has full authority over Divine Trials according to the .]

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ warns that the will have to take responsibility for any potential outcomes.]

『Yes, that seems to be a matter I’ll have to hold responsibility for and take care of… Then is there anyone else?』

Now referring to himself as ‘I’ again, Thanatos waited for the others to make a comment, as if he were urging them to give it a shot if they could.

[The Celestial ‘Garden Gatekeeper’ turns away and leaves the courtroom.]

[The Celestial ‘Tsunami Bringer’ says that he has no objection.]

[The Celestial ‘Antlered Animal King’ says that he has no objection.]

[The Celestial 'Plague Monarch’ says that she has no objection.]

…

[Among the 263,994 Celestials in the audience seats, no one has raised an objection.]

[Resuming the Divine Trial!]

『It seems there is no objection, so why don’t you proceed with the trial, judge?』

After listening to Thanatos’ suggestion, Chang-Sun turned back to look at Richardus. Kali and Baek Gyeo-Ul were also watching Richardus, and the five Dragon Monarchs still maintained their birdcage. Even at that moment, it was difficult to read RIchardus’ expression.

“Does the defendant know the charges against him?” Chang-Sun asked.

Richardus did not answer.

“Does the defendant admit that he violated the as the king of ?”

“…”

“Does the defendant admit that he abused his authority to defy the law of causality and exploit mortals’ Faith?”

“…”

“Does the defendant admit that he framed and conspired against his comrades for his own personal greed?”

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“…”

As Chang-Sun listed the charges one by one, Richardus did not answer, exercising his right to remain silent. Although Chang-Sun wanted to hear the story of someone he had once believed to be his comrade, he had not thought it likely for Richardus to respond, so he did not press Richardus.

“Lastly…” Chang-Sun inhaled and exhaled sharply. With blazing eyes, he asked, “...is there anything you would like to say, defendant?”

“…I,” Richardus began after a long time. “I once idolized and respected you for having things I lacked, and I think that was why I was obsessed with you.”

What was he trying to say?

Chang-Sun replied, “So?”

“But I now realize that I don’t need to do that anymore,” Richardus finished.

Chang-Sun was the one who did not answer this time. Many memories flashed through his mind, from their first encounter to the time when Richardus had tried to stop Chang-Sun from leaving his comrades. Chang-Sun had thought that he got along with Richardus best among his comrades. If he thought about it, Richardus was acting very much in character right now.

“As the Ksitigarbha King, I give Grain Star, the defendant, the following verdict,” Chang-Sun shouted loudly. At the same time, the air within the courtroom seemed to freeze. Chang-Sun continued, “Seal the Celestial.”

That was all it took.

Swoosh!

The pulleys turned, and the gate to the Bottomless Void opened wide underneath Richardus’ feet. Even as he sank, Richardus remained smiling in spite of the fact that even Sangwon had looked scared before the Bottomless Void. It was as if he had something he was counting on.

‘Something he’s counting on…?’

The thought suddenly crossed Chang-Sun’s mind, but the process of sealing Richardus in the Bottomless Void was almost over. At the last moment, Richardus moved his lips at an angle only Chang-Sun could see.

See you again, my friend.

‘…What?’

After realizing what Richardus was saying, Chang-Sun intended to ask Richardus what he meant by that, but...

Thud…!

…the gate to the Bottomless Void was already closed after Richardus sank completely into it.

‘See you again?’

Chang-Sun could not understand what Richardus had said. Was Richardus going to break out from the prison? That was impossible. Since Richardus was bound in Divine Steel chains, his divine power was sealed, so he would be stuck in the Bottomless Void for eternity. There had not been a single incident in which the prisoners of the had escaped. The prisoners were called Fallen Stars for a reason. Perhaps Richardus was just asking Chang-Sun to meet again the next time he visited the . Chang-Sun concluded that Richardus was simply acting tough.

[The Celestial ‘New Tian Shi Yuan’ has been incarcerated in the Bottomless Void!]

[The Divine Trial has been completed.]

[The courtroom has closed.]

…

[The Society has weakened significantly!]

[The Celestials are greatly shocked]

[Many of the troops in battle are shaken up after hearing the news.]

[The United Army troops are fighting back more fiercely.]

…

[The Society is having an emergency meeting about the trial’s outcome.]

[The Seven Demon Kings of the Society wish to discuss how to respond to the Society .]

…

Despite the fact the Divine Trial had come to an end, Chang-Sun could not get rid of the uneasiness he was feeling.

‘Come to think of it, why did he come to Earth all on his own without bringing any of his subordinates?’

Chang-Sun’s gaze turned sharp, but he did not have time to linger on the thought.

Rumble…!

Even after Richardus was sealed, the birdcage did not disappear and continued to shrink.

[15 minutes and 42 seconds remaining until the birdcage’s complete shutdown!]