Chapter 203: Between Certainty and Bereavement [2]
The situation was a mess.
Under ordinary circumstances, a Crusade order would have been enough to bring Vanitas Astrea to justice.
His crimes were staggering, the murder of Lance Ableton, bloodshed in a sacred sanctuary, the slaughter of several clergymen, and, worst of all, the assassination of a high-ranking Cardinal.
These acts were not merely offenses against the Empire of Aetherion. They violated the very sanctity of the Theocracy and the Holy Church of Lumine, and constituted a direct affront to the Goddess Lumine herself.
"Can anyone even speak for this bastard?! Why can’t we just hang him?! There hasn’t been a crime of this scale in centuries!"
The outburst came from Hughes Bolton, one of the Great Powers hailing from the Celestine Hegemony. Known across the continent for his divine archery and his mastery over High Tier-ranking spirits, bearing the title of the Divine Archer.
To him, Vanitas Astrea was nothing less than a heretic.
He slammed his fist against the armrest and turned toward a man who had remained silent throughout the meeting.
"Glade! Isn’t Axenburg part of the North? Ravage his land! Show him everything has its consequences!"
"...."
But the one he addressed, Friedrich Glade, offered no reply.
The man known as the Wolf of the North, a Great Power, and Duke of nearly the entire northern region of Aetherion, simply remained silent.