"From my knowledge, I believe that the Vympir toxin takes away the soul of its victims and leaves them at the mercy of the Grim Reaper. But from what I can sense, you are still in possession of your soul. It is faint, but it is there. How can we be sure that you were even bitten in the first place if you still possess your soul?"
Jason hummed as he stared up at Rak’hael in irritation. Jason could tell that Rak’hael was just looking for any way to discredit his claims right now! Rak’hael was literally grasping at straws, and Jason decided that it would be best to just remove all suspicions once and for all. Jason closed his eyes and let out a calm breath, and in the next moment, an intense tension suddenly fell over the entire hall!
DOON!
The spectators all shifted in their seats uncomfortably, and the council members narrowed their eyes as they felt the aura of a predator pressing down on them! The next time Jason opened his eyes, they were a blood red that stared right through you like a knife, and when he spoke, his long canines peeked through his lips like daggers. Jason grinned calmly and spoke in a mysterious tone.
"I can assure you that I am most definitely a Vympir. And as for the matter of my soul, I’ve been close to Death for quite some time now, so let’s just say that Death and I came to an... agreement."
Jason’s smile widened into something sadistic, and some of the people in the room actually started to reach for their weapons as they felt a bloodlust rising from Jason! The Faceless Keepers were all standing in the shadows of the room while waiting patiently for what would happen next, and C’thlyanu was about to speak up to try to calm everyone down. But before things could get out of hand, Jason suppressed his Vympir Gene once again, and his eyes turned back to their regular black as the tension in the room vanished immediately! Everyone in the room seemed to take one collective deep breath, and Jason just continued to watch calmly as he waited for the next question from the council. This time, it was Hesabeth who spoke up.
The entire hall turned towards the Prideful Queen, and Hesabeth used her fan to cover her lower face from the peasants as she spoke.
"There is no need to question the legitimacy of Jason’s claims so desperately. After all, I was there when Jason killed Gillian, and I held Gillian’s dead body in my own arms. Jason is not lying."
"And what of the massacre?"
C’thlyanu spoke up curiously, and Hesabeth scoffed before she answered in an irritated tone.
"Do any of you believe that Queen Gillian, the woman that I took as my closest friend, and the previous leader of the Vympir race, was so weak that she would not be able to enslave the mind of any creature she wishes to? If Jason was bitten by Gillian and infected by her toxin, then there is no doubt that she took control of him. His ability to retain his soul is as a result of his own ingenuity, but there is no denying his claims for innocence."
The hall was filled with some more murmuring as people seemed to be accepting Hesabeth’s words. At the side, Rak’hael scoffed in irritation, and she spoke in a low voice so that only the council members could hear her.
"Of course you would defend him, Hesabeth. After spending an entire week with him in Morive’s Paradise and with the entrance you made earlier, we all know what sort of relationship you have with Jason. Are we sure you two haven’t struck some sort of agreement?"
"You’d better watch your mouth, Rak’hael. I will only warn you once."
Hesabeth turned towards Rak’hael with a sharp gaze, and the entire building seemed to shake as the world responded to Hesbeth’s anger! Rak’hael stared right back at Hesbeth with a scowl of her own, but Rak’hael knew better than to antagonize someone who could destroy the world, and she simply turned to the person who had been sitting silently beside Hesabeth all this time. Rak’hael leaned forward in her seat and spoke.
"And what of you, Queen Lamina. You have been silent for quite some time, although this trial has a lot to do with your world. Or are you incapable of speaking up against your new lord?"
Queen Lamina had been sitting quietly while listening to the proceedings, but the moment Rak’hael spoke up, Lamina scowled and spoke up in an irritated voice.
"I don’t see any reason to involve myself with this trial. Gillian was no longer the Queen of Nox when she attacked the Machina, so any action she carried out was by her own free will."
"And what of your free will? Are you sure you are capable of dishing out sound judgment when the person on trial is the wielder of your Blood Oath?"
Rak’hael was not backing down at all as she brought up another big issue, and Lamina’s eyes narrowed in anger as she turned to Rak’hael with a sneer, but Jason spoke up before Lamina could say anything.
"I already absolved Lamina of her responsibilities towards me, and I gave her back her authority as the leader of Nox. I might hold Gillian’s Blood Oath, but I’m not interested in using it to rule Nox or any of the Vympir in it. Any decision Lamina makes now is of her own free will."
The council all watched Jason closely as he spoke, and they were surprised when the rune under Jason didn’t activate. This meant that Jason was telling the truth, and Rak’hael huffed as she leaned back in annoyance.
"Easier said than done."
Rak’hael muttered this in irritation, and Jason just decided to ignore Rak’hael for now. Jason already knew that Rak’hael would be one of the more difficult people today, so he decided not to allow any of her remarks to get to him. Once things began to settle down, C’thlyanu spoke up once again.
"Very well, it appears we have been given a rough idea of what happened on the day of the Machina Massacre as well as the true perpetrators of the crime. It is my judgment that Jason Marc was not in control of his faculties during the time of the massacre, and therefore, he cannot be held responsible for the killing. But although he is not fully responsible for what happened, that does not mean he can be absolved of all his crimes. Therefore, I propose the following punishments. Jason Marc, as the sole remaining participant in the massacre, will bear responsibility for the massacre and pay a fine of five hundred million gold coins to the survivors of the Massacre to aid them in rebuilding their world. Also, according to the Primordial Treaty, the actions of Jason Marc shall be regarded as an interworld crime of the first degree, therefore the world PDM-235213-Alpha, also known as Earth, will be required to set out a suitable residential section where the remaining Machina who survived the massacre will be able to take refuge until their world is rebuilt."
"WHAT!?"
Sexes suddenly stood up angrily when he heard C’thlyanu’s decision, and he glared at the council as he shouted!
"Is that all!? This is what you call justice!? My people were massacred! My family! My friends! Children watched as their parents were murdered in cold blood! And you want us to accept a fine and a glorified slap on the wrist as a punishment!? What sort of justice is this!?"
Sexes was obviously not happy, and for once, Varon didn’t bother to stop Sexes from expressing his anger! Varon could also feel a surge of intense anger rising from his heart after hearing C’thlyanu’s judgment, and Varon had the urge to charge the stage and stab Jason through the heart for what he had done! There were murmurs from many of the people sitting around Varon and Sexes, and they were all wondering if this sort of punishment was really suitable for a crime of this magnitude.