At the midway point of Siendel Mountain, there was a vast open space.
It was said to be a cliff carved by the Heavenly Deity long ago. The steep slope, which flattened more than half of the mountain, left one with the impression that it had been touched by human hands.
The vast plain on the mountain could accommodate tens of thousands of people.
In front of it, several steps divided as if to testify to the majesty of the divine. The lowest step was wide and comfortable, while the higher steps were narrow and uncomfortable, and at the very top only one person could barely stand there.
It was the seat of the Judge.
One by one, the owners of that seat, granted the sacred authority to distinguish between good and evil, truth and falsehood, beauty and ugliness on behalf of the Heavenly Deity, were entering.
There were exactly twelve individuals seated on the lowest step.
They were all prominent figures from civilian life, those recognized as having the deepest piety in the Holy Kingdom. This included not only local elites and central figures but also individuals who performed good deeds alone in remote areas.
The ‘jury’, once they unanimously determined guilt or innocence, would have the Priest decide the severity of the crime.
On the second-highest step sat three clerics.
They were priests, each symbolizing knowledge, mercy, and judgment. They played a practical role in leading the trial and guided balanced judgments according to what each symbolized.
The Priest of Mercy defended the criminal, while the Priest of Judgment interrogated them.
Additionally, the Priest of Knowledge mediated the opinions of the two priests according to the doctrine of the Heavenly Deity Sect.
Lastly, at the very top step, overlooking the entire trial process, stood an old man.
The crowd that filled the open space whispered as they gazed up at the old man. With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked down at the ground, his face embodying conflicting traits of mercy and majesty simultaneously.
It was the Pope.
The emergence of a priest holding the highest position in the Holy Kingdom indicated how significant today’s trial was.
How could it not be so?
In front of the sharply steep cliff, on a small circular stone, sat a woman with celestial beauty, knelt down.
With her hands bound, she faced the dry mountain dust directly. Despite having been imprisoned in a brain stone, her beauty could not be concealed.
The maiden most beloved by the Heavenly Deity, the ‘Lady Virgin Saint’.
Her light pink eyes, looking up at the sky, were notably rebellious. Nevertheless, the Pope merely looked down at the image of the sinner in silence.
Complex emotions flickered across the elder priest’s face. Only a short while ago, they had been sitting around a round table exchanging opinions, and now, in just a few weeks, things had escalated to this.
The Pope shut his eyes tightly and muttered inwardly.
“Emmanuel, please guide us on the right path.”
Soon, a solemn declaration began to resonate.
“All jurors, please take your seats!”
“Knowledge, readiness complete.”
“Mercy, readiness complete.”
“Judgment, readiness complete.”
As firm voices followed one another, the noise created by the crowd quieted down.
The sight of tens of thousands silently gazing up at the sky was majestic.
The Pope’s eyes briefly turned behind him. There, the peak of the mountain was situated.
Several shadows appeared in the old priest’s retina. The elders of the Holy Kingdom had come to observe the trial.
Starting from Archbishop Einadel, the true powers who maneuvered the Holy Kingdom from behind the scenes.
At the pinnacle stood a boy positioned centrally.
Dressed in immaculate priestly robes, he appeared to be no older than his mid-teens. However, even the seasoned clergy hesitated to stand beside him.
And rightfully so.
He was the pinnacle of all martial artists and the Master, who had symbolized the military might of the Holy Kingdom for centuries.
The title ‘Saint’ existed solely for that boy.
He was the only one who held the authority to look down upon the Pope.
Yet, the Saint seemed utterly disinterested in the trial, sitting with his eyes closed and hands clasped.
All the actors had already taken the stage.
There was no reason to hesitate any longer.
The Pope’s heavy proclamation rang out in the Mountain Court.
“Praise the Heavenly Deity Arus, the Light and the Truth, our Lord! Before him, we swear to render a fair judgment without a hint of prejudice or falsehood. Is there anyone willing to follow this decree?”
“Emmanuel!”
The voice of thousands resounded, shaking the mountainside.
Yet, the Lady Virgin Saint merely wore a smirk in response.
No hint of prejudice or falsehood? A fair judgment?
It was nonsense. The jurors, the priests, even the Pope were nothing more than clowns dancing to a poorly scripted play.
The conclusion had already been decided.
Today, the Lady Virgin Saint would become humanity’s betrayer, crucified. The Papacy would shed tears, claiming that justice had been served, while the crowd cheered at the fall of a noble being.
There was no longer any room for anger.
The ugly nature, false faith, and unreasonable trials.
The world had always been this way. The Lady Virgin Saint knew that as well.
“Is there anyone to recite the charges against that wretched sinner?”
“The faithful servant of the Heavenly Deity requests the right to speak, your Honor.”
A priest in a gray robe, wearing a beak-shaped mask, bowed his head and shouted. Though it appeared to be a soft suggestion, his voice echoed through the open space, making it impossible for anyone to miss.
“Proceed.”
“The sinner received the name of the Lady Virgin by the grace of the Heavenly Deity. Yet, daringly subverting that righteousness, under the pretext of helping the weak, seized control of the orphanage and sacrificed parentless children as offerings! Moreover, it is clear that the sinner’s closest aide was a priest of the Dark Cult, and the horrifying objects created by sacrificing orphans were utilized by the hands of the sinner.”
As the Priest of Judgment continued speaking, the murmurs of the crowd grew louder. Some looked on in disbelief, while others scoffed as if they had foreseen it, and many glared at the Lady Virgin Saint with loathing.
‘See? All clergy are the same. They are untrustworthy folk.’
The Lady Virgin Saint closed her eyes, striving to escape the criticisms she could hear.
“Is the evidence concrete?”
“Yes, it is undisputedly clear. The number of sacrificed orphans counts in the hundreds!”
A gloved finger pointed toward the Lady Virgin Saint. The beak-shaped mask soon trembled, and a roar burst forth.
“That person is a sinner deserving of death! Let us crucify her, calling upon the souls of the sacrificed children!”
The crowd responded to that transparently inciting call.
“Kill her, kill her!”
“A betrayer of humanity, she deceived us!”
“Crucify her, burn the corpse, and hang it on the main street!”
Surely, these were the shouts of instigators.
However, it would not take long for those cries to turn genuine. The crowd was an amorphous entity that flowed with momentum, and once a direction was set, it could not be stopped.
The Lady Virgin Saint took a shaky breath to calm her trembling exhale.
Her resolve was already complete. Yes, she had been prepared.
Her pounding heart stiffened her body. The body on the brink of death trembled, pleading with the Lady Virgin Saint.
Do something, somehow.
I don’t want to die.
But no way to survive was in sight. Rather, she would not die in a pitiful state.
It was then that a solemn voice echoed through the mountainside.
“……Enough!”
At the Pope’s words, the crowd’s murmurs subsided once more.
The elder priest cast a cold glance at another priest. A priest clad in white robes, wearing a flat, round mask.
“Does Mercy have anything to say?”
“The sinner has made many contributions to the Holy Kingdom as the Lady Virgin. Though her intentions may be questionable, it cannot be denied that many patients regained their lives through her hands. Additionally, if the sinner truly had entered into a pact with the Dark Cult, it would also make her recent actions difficult to explain.”
It was a smooth and unobstructed argument.
The Priest of Mercy continued to speak amidst the crowd’s silence.
“As you know, the Lady Virgin has thwarted countless plans of the Dark Cult alongside the divine mandate of the Empire. If she was in cooperation with the Dark Cult, would there have been any need to do so?”
“For her standing in the Holy Kingdom!”
The Priest of Judgment interjected sharply without even obtaining the right to speak.
“In fact, most of her deeds resulted from offerings made using the product known as the ‘blood stone’, created by the Dark Cult. Consequently, the Lady Virgin’s political standing and support base were solidified! If she could dominate the political landscape of the Holy Kingdom, the Dark Cult would probably have been willing to sacrifice a few trivial plans.”
“This is still a matter requiring further investigation. Furthermore, the death penalty is an irreversible punishment!”
The Priest of Mercy also shouted back forcefully.
“The death penalty is excessive! Shouldn’t this matter warrant at least a few months of postponement?”
“What naive words!”
Of course, the Priest of Judgment would not back down easily. He continued to argue passionately, veins bulging from his neck.
“The Dark Cult is already spread across the continent! What would happen during those months—would we allow an incident to unfold that leads to the sinner’s escape? We already have substantial evidence proving her guilt!”
“But the dead do not return to life!”
“Precisely because of that, we must issue the harshest penalty… for hundreds of lives have already been sacrificed at the hands of that sinner!”
It was when the heated debate between the two priests had risen to its boiling point.
A roar broke out from somewhere, drowning out the voices of the two priests.
“Enough!”
Once again, it was the Pope. He quietly looked down at the two priests who had sealed their mouths and then turned his gaze to the last priest.
It was the priest wearing a sun-shaped mask.
“What is the will of Knowledge?”
“The crime of betraying humanity is a minimum of death. There are no exceptions to this.”
The priest in the sun mask looked down calmly.
Below, the twelve jurors, whispering among themselves, were situated.
“If confirmed guilty, there is no escape from the death penalty. However, it may be possible to impose a more humane form of execution considering the circumstances.”
In the end, it implied that they would have to leave the judgment to the jurors.
If the jurors determined guilty or not, the priests would decide the sentence. However, there was no option but death for the crime of betraying humanity, so there was no need to weigh the severity of the sin.
It was an absolute death penalty.
A deep groan escaped the lips of Mercy. He was already aware of what the conclusion would be.
The mood among the crowd was tense, and the jurors felt it too.
The betrayal by the Dark Cult was a major incident.
The crowd fell into unease, harboring deep distrust of the clergy, which would have long-term implications for the Papacy’s leadership.
Someone needed to be a scapegoat.
It was instinctively realized by everyone. And the delectable prey was right before their eyes.
Could they truly hold back?
Leaving aside this question from Mercy, the Pope asked the Lady Virgin Saint with a cold look in his eyes.
“Does the sinner have anything to say?”
At that, the expectant gazes of the crowd all turned to the Lady Virgin Saint.
