She was always a compassionate and gentle woman. Was she not a flower blooming in a place that one could not even dare to approach?
What disgrace might this noble flower display in the face of death?
Would she kneel and plead for her life? Would she shed tears and beg for forgiveness just once? Or if not that, would she do anything to avoid execution?
The Lady Virgin Saint did not meet any of those expectations.
She merely asked in a calm tone.
“Are you considering hearing my words?”
“The criminal must respect the honor of the Mountain Court.”
At the Pope’s warning, the Lady Virgin Saint rose from her unsteady position, which had been propped up by her knees.
Her hands were bound behind her back, creating an unstable pose. Nevertheless, she stood tall and proud.
The judges standing high above were all looking down at her.
It was so high and steep. The authority of the law, the existence of the divine, and the walls of reality.
A knight approached and loosened the restraining device binding her wrists. It was the last courtesy shown to a criminal before her final plea.
With a sigh, the Lady Virgin Saint’s chest rose and fell.
“I have no name. I have been living under the guise of ‘Lady Virgin Saint’ for a long time. I have done so without a trace of shame for that title.”
It was a straightforward confession.
Both the crowd and the judges remained silent. A single gaze was felt from the high peak.
Sky-blue eyes floated in the void.
The arbiter of life and death, the gatekeeper of heaven.
The Gender-neutral figure was looking down at the Lady Virgin Saint.
“I may be of humble orphan origins, but I have strived to fulfill the mission given by the Lord. I lived for the weak, gave my best in healing the ill, and while I turned a blind eye to the injustices before me, I have never crossed the line.”
“……Lies!”
From among the crowd, a harsh accusation burst forth like a struggle.
It was a voice trembling with hatred and betrayal.
“Then why did you sacrifice an orphan?! Your knight was a priest of the Dark Cult!”
“How dare you bear false witness in the Mountain Court!”
“Kill her, kill her!”
Amidst the outcry of malice, the Lady Virgin Saint placed her trembling hands over her chest.
She had been prepared.
After all, the outcome would not change.
So the Lady Virgin Saint let out a cry filled with anguish.
“……This is the price!”
With that shout, a momentary silence enveloped the surroundings, drawn from the depths of her being.
The Lady Virgin Saint had never revealed her true feelings in front of the crowd before.
It was the first time. It felt unexpectedly light.
“I did my best… I have never once neglected my duty! Yet, my only family betrayed me, and everything I achieved has been reduced to hollow glory!”
“Is it truly that you have no sin?”
“What does the Heavenly Deity say?”
There was little delay in the exchange.
At the Lady Virgin Saint’s retort, the judges’ silence deepened. Their gazes narrowed sharply, glaring at her.
Still, the Lady Virgin Saint did not hesitate.
“Is there still no answer? The maiden you love most is standing here! Regardless of whether I am a criminal or not, should you not say something?!”
“Criminals must be cautious of their words and actions!”
In the previously solemn voice of the Pope, rage began to emerge.
This was no exception for the other judges either. Gradually, even the priests and jurors’ eyes began to show resentment.
Meanwhile, among the crowd, the sound of swallowed dry saliva echoed, as if everyone was holding their breath.
After all, it was the ‘Lady Virgin Saint.’
No matter how much of a criminal one became, the weight of her words could not be compared to that of mere congregants.
“Be cautious, you say? What exactly do you want me to be cautious of?”
“Are you not irreverently speaking the name of the Lord?”
“Then punish me!”
The Pope’s eyes widened, and chaos spread among the jurors.
The Gender-neutral figure maintained silence, as they always did.
“What is the purpose of this farce?! If you’re going to punish me, then punish me yourself! Not with hollow decorum backed by authority, but rather, let the Lord personally… Is even that too much to ask?!”
“……How dare you!”
The anger that leaked through the Pope’s clenched teeth was palpable. In his wide-open eyes, blood vessels were beginning to show.
While the tide of emotions surged beyond reason, the Lady Virgin Saint’s outpouring continued without delay.
“Answer me!”
It was a very small step.
In comparison to a vast cliff, it was a minuscule move that could hardly be seen.
It was a meaningless rebellion. A question whose answer would likely not come back.
Nevertheless, the Lady Virgin Saint did not hesitate to raise her voice. With every unfiltered outburst, the crowd fell silent and listened intently to her words.
It was almost a desperate cry of anguish.
“Am I a sinner?! If I have committed a sin deserving of death, then strike me down here! If you would forsake me, then tear me apart with your own hands! Do not hide behind this trivial game!”
“How dare, how dare, how dare……!”
As though witnessing the unbelievable reality, the Pope’s gaze flitted about in confusion, unable to find a place to land.
Veins were popping from his straining neck as he shook his head in every direction.
But this was only the beginning.
What the Lady Virgin Saint truly wished to cry out was something else.
“Does the Lord truly exist?!”
A chilling silence enveloped the room.
It felt as if water had been splashed onto a roaring flame. No one could open their mouths in the suffocating stillness that settled upon the court atop the mountains.
Before long, the Lady Virgin Saint was kneeling, swallowing tears. Her wet plea continued with a sob.
“If you do exist… why do you not look upon us?! Why have you never answered even once! I have believed and devoted my life to you……!”
“……Jury!”
The Pope, who could no longer bear it, shouted in a voice filled with malice.
At that, the startled jurors began to sweat as they continued their discussions. In truth, a verdict had already been practically set.
Ever since before this trial started.
“The criminal not only fails to repent but is also committing sacrilege! What’s your verdict?”
“Guilty!”
As if waiting for that moment, one juror shouted loudly.
“The jury’s judgment is guilty! The criminal has committed an unforgivable sin!”
“It must be so!”
With a thud, the Pope stomped his foot, making the entire mountain tremble.
That was the unique aspect of the Mountain Court. Even an old man who could hardly stand could shake the ground just once.
The worshippers referred to this as the “Hammer of the Heavenly Deity.”
“Do the priests have any dissent?!”
Naturally, all eyes turned to the Priest of Compassion.
He hesitated for a moment with a terrible look in his eyes before letting out a long sigh.
It was a declaration of surrender.
“……I have no objections.”
“Then, in the name of our great Lord, we will declare the judgment here!”
With another thud, the earth quaked again and all eyes were focused.
It was a gaze filled with fear. To think that the shaking of even the ground alone would cause the entire mountain to tremble, the power was on another level.
Everyone was looking up at the Pope.
The sun was at its zenith. The light shining down from the sky seemed to uphold the sacred authority of the court.
The cold eyes of the judge looked down upon the woman who had collapsed in tears.
“……Death!”
It was a predetermined conclusion. No one opposed.
Only the tens of thousands in the crowd exchanged glances, their faces filled with shock. They had predicted blood would flow today, but now that the Lady Virgin Saint was sentenced to the death penalty, they appeared bewildered.
Yet the authority of the court did not permit even a moment of hesitation.
“She not only betrayed humanity but also committed the grave sin of blasphemy against the Heavenly Deity! The criminal shall be nailed to a cross and hung at the peak of the mountain, left to die without food or water! Once her life expires, the sinful life shall be burned on the pyre to comfort the vengeful spirits!”
In an instant, the Lady Virgin Saint’s fate was sealed.
A judgment that even disrespected the dead was truly a rarity. Even among the crowd who had once shouted for her execution, it was shocking.
Just as the murmurs were about to grow louder.
Boom! The entire mountain shook again.
Among the crowd, some screamed and fell to the ground.
“If anyone has objections to the judgment of this Mountain Court, let them speak now!”
The Lady Virgin Saint wept silently, gnawing at her lips.
There could be no existence.
To challenge the authority of the court by retracting a matter already decided was akin to defiance against the law. Throughout the long history of the Holy Kingdom, only a handful had ever contested the decisions of the Mountain Court.
And those who did were all met with dreadful ends.
She knew this. So there was no feeling of grievance.
The only sad point was the realization that the god she had believed in and relied upon her entire life still remained unresponsive.
Was I nothing more than that?
She had even cast aside her name. Had she not dedicated everything to the name ‘Lady Virgin Saint’ bestowed upon her by the divine?
But after shedding the guise of ‘Lady Virgin Saint,’ this was what remained.
A pitiful girl who could do nothing but weep.
Naturally, the court had no interest in a woman who lay alone, weeping.
“Very well. Then, in accordance with the ancient laws, we shall confirm the judgment of the criminal…!”
Snap.
The body of the Pope, about to announce the verdict, froze in place. His eyes slowly followed the sharp trajectory that passed him by.
An axe was embedded in the cliff.
The stunned old priest let out a scream.
“What is this… Hark?!”
But it was too early to be startled.
The silvery light that had danced upon the blade of the axe began to delve into the cliff. To the right of the Pope, cracks appeared across the cliff, followed by powerful explosions.
Bang!
Part of the cliff collapsed.
Some jurors below gasped and frantically dodged for cover, while the Pope remained dazed, unable to comprehend the situation.
Who could dare commit such an insulting act in this holy court?
As if to answer that question, heavy footsteps reverberated.
Clomp, clomp.
It was an astonishingly clear presence. As the multitude of people parted, a man wearing a hood stepped forward.
Eyes filled with rage, astonishment, and terror converged upon him all at once.
The body of the Lady Virgin Saint, who had been lying limply, trembled at that moment.
Was that not a voice she recognized all too well?
This couldn’t be happening.
She had promised that he would not do such a thing.
Yet even as she could not abandon a glimmer of hope, the Lady Virgin Saint’s reddened gaze turned to see behind her.
“……I have an objection.”
A howl fled the Pope’s throat, filled with rage.
“Do you dare to defy the authority of this court?!”
“Yes.”
“Then reveal your identity, foolish one!”
At that, the man willingly lowered his hood, and once again, silence fell upon the Mountain Court.
Black hair, golden eyes.
The axe embedded in the cliff, and a strength capable of shattering rocks with a single throw.
Few could meet these criteria.
Indeed, there was only one such individual across the entire continent.
“……I am Ian Fercurus.”
Bards say he is one who stands at the forefront of humanity, enduring the darkness.
He is also the rising star of the Empire and the most revered holy figure in the continent.
Ian Fercurus stood at the very heart of the Mountain Court.
To respond to a challenge that no one had ever achieved.
