Chapter 474: Trial (3)
Chapter 472
"Call in the next Aspirant!"
The doors opened, and another Aspirant stepped forward, taking the same position Marcus had occupied moments earlier.
"State your name."
"Brandon, sir."
Jack nodded.
"So, Brandon, do you know the accused personally?"
Brandon glanced in Ray’s direction for a second before looking back at the head of the Kyre family.
"Yes. I’ve been in his class since the first day of our time in the Corps."
Jack then pointed toward Ray.
"What can you say about the accused?"
Brandon looked at Ray.
The Tribrid didn’t even bat an eyelid at the whole process.
He simply remained quiet.
His perception flooded the entire hall, allowing him to sense the positions of the drones scattered around the chamber.
For some reason, two of them had remained focused on him the entire time.
Brandon continued.
"I don’t know much about his transformation, but what I do know is that Aspirant Ray is a good fellow.
"I haven’t interacted with him much during our time in the Corps, but on the battlefield, Aspirant Dawson proved invaluable."
Jack lifted a brow.
"Invaluable? How?"
Brandon gulped as he glanced toward the jury.
The jury consisted of both present and former Captains and Generals, all of them seated while taking notes as though this were a class.
"... Despite being occupied, Aspirant Dawson helped us by identifying the locations of the Abberants’ hearts."
Brandon paused.
"Initially, we wanted to doubt him, but when we took the risk and followed his information, we found out he was telling the truth.
"Without him and his strange ability to locate the positions of those creatures’ hearts, more than half of all the Aspirants would have died that day."
The jury members whispered amongst themselves for a few seconds as their gazes shifted toward the accused, who remained on his knees.
Meanwhile, the livestream chat was already blowing up.
[Proud Hater: That’s cap. How can he locate the hearts of those Abberants? Their hearts are always in different locations for each one. This whole trial is bogus.]
[Jimmy_Parker: In case you are forgetting, he is a werewolf. Are you an expert on that race? How can we know if this is real or not?]
[Anime Weeb: Based on all I have seen and watched, werewolves do have great tracking senses and strange skills that could help, most especially a vision that could allow them to see through walls.... Oh wait. That’s Vampires I’m thinking about.]
[Bonny’s Lover: I wonder if Vampires are real too. I would hate to get my blood sucked right now.]
Jack nodded at the Aspirant.
"So basically, Aspirant Dawson has not harmed his comrades in any way possible?"
Brandon thought for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"Not that I can think—"
"—Oh, please! You all are just dick-riding him now because he saved your damn lives and you want to cover up for him?!"
The entire chamber fell silent.
All eyes turned toward the person who had spoken.
Even Ray slowly lifted his head and stared in the direction of the stands where his friends were seated.
And that was when Berg could be seen standing up, a deep frown etched across his face.
Jack tilted his head.
"Do you have something to say?"
Berg stepped out of the stands and walked forward until he was standing beside Brandon.
"Yes, I do."
A smug smile slowly appeared on his face.
"In fact, I have a lot to say about the accused."
He turned his gaze toward the jury.
"And unlike these cock suckers..."
His eyes shifted toward Brandon.
"...I do have evidence and witnesses to back up my claims."
The jury’s gazes flickered between themselves as they whispered quietly, their attention now fully focused on Berg.
Jack remained silent for a few moments.
Then he finally spoke.
"Go on."
"That sneaky bastard."
Felix growled silently, staring icily at Berg’s back as though he were ready to pounce on the Legacy the moment he said something he didn’t like.
Ray’s teeth tightened as he glared in Berg’s direction.
’So that’s your plan.’
Jack gestured for Brandon to move away.
"Fine, then. Say what you want to say."
Berg’s grin widened.
"Thank you, sir."
He gave a slight bow.
Then his gaze flickered toward Ray.
A wicked smile slowly curved across his lips.
Ray’s hands instantly balled into fists.
"Good morning, great head of the Kyre family, esteemed members of the jury, and my distinguished audience, both here and at home."
Berg bowed dramatically, first toward Jack, then toward the jury, and finally toward the surrounding audience.
Then he straightened himself.
Jack’s brows drew closer.
"Say what you have to say. We don’t have all day."
"Of course. Of course."
Berg opened his hands wide, a small smile resting on his face.
Then—
His expression darkened into a deep frown.
"You see, Aspirant Dawson here has always been a dangerous type of person. Easily irritated, easily furious, and always threatening those around him."
He paused.
"Before, I thought maybe it was simply mood swings. But now that I know what he truly is..."
Berg’s gaze landed on Ray.
The Tribrid stared daggers at him through the long strands of silver hair falling over his face.
"...I now know that he is truly a threat to all of humanity and could get us all killed if care isn’t taken."
"How so?" Jack asked with a raised brow.
"Ahem..."
Berg cleared his throat.
"According to the reports, Ray Dawson was once human, and he was one of the survivors of the Wall Rose incident."
He paused for a moment.
"A werewolf of his caliber would definitely not stand down and simply watch his family die like they did."
Berg slowly turned his head toward the jury.
"So it would be reasonable to say that the trip from Wall Rose to Wall Steel was what changed him."
"Yes?" Jack questioned. "Your point exactly?"
Berg glanced toward the stands where Ray’s cohort sat tensely before turning his gaze back toward Ray.
"Even despite being previously human, Ray Dawson has threatened humanity countless times, both openly and secretly."
He shook his head.
"One would have mistaken the trauma he endured for the fuel that changed him."
His expression hardened.
"But no."
"It was his monster nature."
Berg’s voice grew louder.
"Because he is a flesh-eating monster, he is always looking for opportunities to kill humans and probably eat their flesh. He is constantly furious over even the slightest of things."
As he spoke, his voice rose higher with every passing second.
"The very first day he was admitted into the Corps, Aspirant Dawson tried to kill a fellow Aspirant."
The audience immediately began murmuring.
"And when the others tried to stop him, he even went as far as trying to attack them until one of his friends had to step in and knock him unconscious!"
Gasp!
The audience gasped in unison.
Ray’s blood began to boil as he listened to the accusations being thrown at him.
His fists tightened against the restraints.
Jack, however, displayed no emotion whatsoever.
"Do you have proof of this?"
The moment Jack asked the question, Berg’s lips curved into a wicked smile.
He turned toward the stands where he had been sitting alongside Ray’s friends.
"Why, of course I do."
Berg raised his hand and pointed toward the stands.
"The very same Aspirant Ray attacked."
One of the teenagers slowly stood.
"...Aspirant Flinn."