The following morning, the prison cell opened.
Clang!
Simon slowly opened his eyes and looked at the three Shadow Inquisitors standing outside his cell.
None of them spoke.
A second later, one of them simply tossed a pair of black chains into the cell.
"Put them on."
Simon calmly picked up the chains and locked them around his wrists.
The moment he did, he felt his connection with his demonic energy become even more restricted.
"Move."
Simon stood and walked out of the cell.
The three Inquisitors surrounded him and escorted him through the prison.
Neither side spoke.
Soon, they emerged from the underground prison and stepped into the open air of the Shadowgrave Clan.
The moment Simon appeared, countless gazes landed on him, but his expression remained calm.
His eyes slowly swept across his surroundings, and they could not help but flicker with visible surprise and disbelief.
’Damn. It feels like I’m an animal in a zoo.’
All around him were demons.
They were on every bridge, every balcony, every platform, and every terrace.
Simon could see initiates, slaves, instructors, Veilmasters, Shadow Blades, and normal clan members.
They were all looking at him, and to Simon, it felt like the entire clan seemed to have gathered.
’I never knew that there were so many demons in the Shadowgrave Clan. Are they so jobless that they’ll rather watch my trial?’
Simon’s lips curled into a slight smile as he had this thought.
Meanwhile, whispers spread through the air like wildfire.
"That’s him."
"The one that killed the Grey Pact."
"I heard he butchered all five of them."
"They were Half-Step Greater Demons."
"How did a Fiend do that?"
"I don’t know."
"Maybe he’s hiding his strength."
Some of the gazes were fearful.
Some were excited.
Some were mocking.
Some were filled with killing intent.
But Simon ignored all of them.
The Inquisitors escorted him across one of the massive stone bridges suspended above the endless sea of mist.
The cold wind brushed against his face, and far below, the ravine disappeared into darkness.
Meanwhile, ahead of him was the Central Plaza.
The enormous circular platform hovered at the center of the clan like the heart of the entire ravine.
Thousands of demons had gathered around it.
The moment Simon stepped onto the Central Plaza, the whispers intensified.
At the center of the platform stood a raised black stage.
Several chairs rested upon it.
And seated upon those chairs were three judges, some clan members who were going to act as witnesses to the trial, and Caesar.
Simon glanced at Caesar before looking at the judges.
The judges looked like a normal clan member, and there was nothing that distinguished them as judges aside from where they were seated.
’Probably doing it as a precautionary method or something.’
Every single judge wore a different mask.
One wore a white mask with countless eyes.
Another wore a black horned skull.
Another wore a mask resembling a weeping demon.
They were not showing off their auras, but Simon knew that every single one of them was terrifying.
’These judges... They might be Half-Step Demon Lords like Ormon.’
Simon’s expression became solemn.
The three Shadow Inquisitors escorted Simon onto the stage, the one of them stepped forward.
"The accused has arrived."
The Central Plaza and the clan itself gradually became silent.
The judge wearing the mask with countless eyes nodded.
"Begin."
Immediately, one of the Shadow Inquisitors waved his hand.
Five corpses appeared before everyone.
Vexa.
Silith.
Noctis.
Gorr.
And Morrow.
A wave of whispers spread throughout the plaza the moment they saw the corpses.
Simon glanced at the corpses before looking back at the judges.
He wanted to take note of their reactions.
The Inquisitor’s cold voice echoed throughout the Central Plaza.
"Five valuable members of the Shadowgrave Clan."
"Five talented Initiates."
"The five demons who created the Grey Pact."
He pointed at Simon.
"They were discovered inside the room of the accused."
The whispers became even louder.
The Inquisitor continued.
"The accused was also the only surviving member of the mission team."
Another Inquisitor stepped forward.
"The accused also possesses a history of violence."
Demonic scripts suddenly appeared in the air, and when Simon went through the demonic scripts, he could not help but raise a brow.
’Really?’
The demonic scripts had records of his fights and the things he had done in the first week of his time at the academy.
The fights, disputes, challenges, extortion, and bullying... Everything that he did was open for everybody to see as the demonic scripts floated in the air.
Simon’s classmates and those who had long heard of Simon’s tyranny nodded amongst themselves.
The grievance they buried in their hearts was slightly alleviated after seeing the Inquisitors talk about Simon’s tyranny.
"Based on the accused’s history in the academy, we have concluded that he does not like working with other demons. In fact, he prefers to bully them, extort them, and use them for his own gain."
"If the team does not have his interest at heart, it’s most likely that he’ll dispose of them."
The image of Simon as a troublemaker had long since spread throughout the academy, and right now, Caesar was using it against Simon.
The third Inquisitor stepped forward after the second Inquisitor finished speaking.
This time, the atmosphere became much heavier.
"We also examined the corpses."
The Inquisitor gestured at the corpses, and the judges looked at the corpses with indifferent gazes.
The formation on the plaza glowed, and a projection of the corpses and their injuries shown to all.
Those that could previously not see the corpses could now see everything.
The deep claw wounds.
The pierced hearts.
The torn flesh.
They saw everything.
And some of them came to the same realization.
"The wounds were caused by claws." The Inquisitor said with a cold tone.
Many demons immediately looked toward Simon.
The Inquisitor continued.
"Furthermore..."
His gaze shifted toward Simon.
"We discovered traces of the accused’s demonic energy inside the wounds."
Silence.
Then...
The entire Central Plaza exploded into an uproar.
"What?!"
"They found his demonic energy?"
"Then isn’t that proof?"
"Damn!"
"So he really killed them?"
"But how?"
"Was it planted? Is it fake?"
"Damn. This is getting interesting."
"Hehehe. Broken Halo has finally bitten more than he could chew."
The judges remained silent.
Simon narrowed his eyes slightly.
The judge wearing the horned skull mask finally spoke.
"Broken Halo... Do you have anything to say?"
Simon calmly looked at the judges, then he nodded.
He was about to speak, but a voice suddenly rang out.
"My Lords. I have undeniable evidence that Broken Halo is the murderer of the Grey Pact."
Everybody including Simon looked at Caesar.
"And what evidence is that, Caesar?" The judge with the weeping demon mask asked, causing Simon to look at him with slightly narrowed eyes.
’Why are you allowing him to speak when I’ve already been asked a question?’
Simon had a bad feeling, so he quickly spoke before Caesar responded.
"I have something to say. I didn’t kill the Grey Pact. First Blade did. There’s no way I can kill five Half-Step Greater Demons as a Fiend."
The judges looked at Simon, then Caesar suddenly chuckled.
"You really are from the Wildlands, Broken Halo. You lack manners. As an accused, aren’t you meant to call them ’My Lords’ before you defend yourself?"
Simon looked at Caesar, and his gaze became cold.
’I have to call them My Lords before I’m able to defend myself? Bullshit. You’re just feeding their ego and you’re just trying to get on their good side.’
Before Simon could make a response, Caesar bowed before the judges.
"My Lords, as I said earlier, I have proof that Broken Halo is lying."
Caesar calmly opened his right hand, and an object appeared in his hand.
The moment Simon saw this object, his pupils constricted violently.
’What the fuck? Why does he have a video camera from earth?’