The guards holding Sylas were blown away, a blazing green flame threatening to burn the dungeon to the ground. The chains on Sylas’ wrists and ankles rattled so hard that one would have thought that they might completely shatter, but Sylas himself stood in place as though nothing at all had happened.
His Will became sharper and more concentrated, so much so that his thoughts practically became tangible. He didn’t move, but the guards, who had already picked themselves up, found it difficult even to get close.
It wasn’t a physical restraint, but it was like if they got any closer, their minds would completely collapse.
He finally understood.
—
[Your Comprehension of Madness has deepened]
[Madness has reached Silver Mastery]
—
[Madness (F) – Silver]
[The Madness consumes you, but does not control you. Instead, it becomes your tool to both control yourself and others. You, while steeped in Madness, maintain your wits about you. Your enemies, though, are not so lucky]
[+400% Charisma]
[+250% Will]
—
[Tickets: 451]
—
He could feel his Gluttony Seed thrumming with life as though a mysterious force had suddenly begun to feed it. His aura became sharper, more savage. Though his expression remained indifferent, there was something more real about it… as though he was more assured in the man he was.
It was the kind of confidence that couldn’t be faked, the kind of confidence that even the most incompetent of laymen could feel to the depths of their very souls.
Sylas exhaled a slow breath and shook his body. Shards of ice poison fell from him and the guards shivered.
It was a long while before they finally collected themselves enough to escort Sylas. However, the fear on their expressions never faded.
…
Sylas walked into a simple court before he was escorted to an odd banister of sorts. In reality, it was just a small enclosure in the middle of the court where everyone could look down toward him. He wasn’t exactly caged since there was no ceiling, but it was also clear that he wasn’t meant to move around freely… well, if the ankle and wrist chains weren’t enough.
Looking up, Sylas saw that there was a panel of five people, including a familiar Captain Bas. It seemed that this form of court martial wouldn’t be tried by a single judge, but rather by this panel of people.
Sylas couldn’t help if they were truly so incompetent that in these days, none of them had questioned his team about what had happened, or if they had made him wait for so long in order to come up with a different contingency plan.
If it was the latter, things could still get troublesome. But Sylas was calm… something that surprised the panel.
They had heard that Sylas had been showing signs of losing his mind in the last few hours, and that was part of why they chose to convene now. Well, there was only one person who could decide the when… and that should be a certain City Lord who had yet to show his face.
Outside of the panel, there were many more that Sylas didn’t recognize. They should be military men and women, a lot of whom also should have Noble Titles as well. These people were essentially the elites of Guiz City, and they were the reason Sylas dared to do this.
A gavel was brought down and a man with a handlebar mustache cleared his throat.
“Are you aware of your crimes?”
“No.” Sylas replied.
This question wasn’t a forceful one. The rules of the city were odd, at least for court martials. They could arrest one first and wouldn’t bother with due process. Normally, for a court martial to be triggered, something significant had to have happened, and the party in question would already understand what they were being tried for.
Regardless, Sylas’ answer had essentially decided that this trial would begin with a list of Sylas’ crimes instead of jumping into a defense.
Sylas found this a bit odd, but sometimes he recalled that often the system was quite game-like even though it also liked to remind him that this was very much not a game. This process seemed a lot like skipping endless dialogue in a video game… instead, Sylas decided not to skip at all.
“You, Captain Sylas Grimblade of our Guiz Corps, have been accused of mishandling resources, falsely claiming missions, and abusing your status for personal gain. This trial will be overseen by a panel of your peers. I am Colonel Hulk, this is… and finally, here is Former Captain Bas.
“Do you have any misgivings about the current selection?”
“I do.” Sylas nodded.
The audience shifted, but Sylas’ expression didn’t change. He knew that his words would actually displease the neutral judges on the panel; that was because they tended to believe in the process. They were military men and women, after all. Asking for a change to the panel was written into the law, but it was practically a taboo to use it.
“State them.” Colonel Hulk replied indifferently.
“Can I have more details about why I’m being accused of such things first?”
Colonel Hulk nodded and continued in a colder voice. The things he said weren’t too surprising to Sylas at all… which in and of itself was a surprise.
That was because Colonel Hulk only cited the fact that he had claimed a mission he didn’t complete and that he had taken advantage of the list of missions to line his pockets. The only thing that was somewhat unexpected was him being accused of slowing down the logistics of the army because several teams had attempted to complete missions he already had.
Was this really all they prepared? In fact, if Sylas was correct, they only left him in his cage for so long because they were waiting for teams to stumble onto his already completed missions.
But Sylas felt like this was a joke. He had come prepared with so many contingency plans, and this was the best they had? Did they look down on him that much? Or did they just look down on Earth in general that much?
Sylas opened his mouth and began to speak. His first words sent the court into an uproar.
“You are trying me for a mission I’m being accused of not completing? But I have.”
