Chapter 477: Trial (6)
Chapter 475
"Like I previously said, Aspirant Dawson has threatened humanity countless times. He even threatened me specifically and attacked me on various occasions. One notable instance was the day he walked out of the Red Gate with his friends."
"...."
There was a brief moment of silence across the online community as they heard Berg’s words.
Nobody could type a word. Everyone was paying rapt attention to the trial.
From Wall Steel to Wall Diamond.
From home to home, every single soul was witnessing what was happening, and they barely said a word in the community as they listened.
"... Aspirant Marcus, please step forward again."
Berg’s words caused the Aspirant to look towards Jack for permission.
With a nod of his head, Marcus stepped forward.
"On that day, we got the notification that a Gate was opening up. You were with us on that journey, right?"
Marcus nodded.
"Yes. I was."
"Good. And when Aspirant Dawson and his cohort came out of the Gate, what happened precisely?"
Marcus thought for a few seconds before giving his answer.
"They were filled in by Sergeant Lincoln, who told them that five months had passed since they had been swallowed by the Gate..."
"... And?"
"And the rest of us, along with Sergeant Lincoln, were leading the survivors they had brought from the Gate towards the transport when we heard a loud sound. When we turned around, Aspirant Dawson had suddenly attacked you.
We saw him smash your face into the ground."
"That’s it." Berg uttered before looking in Brandon’s direction.
"... Was that exactly what you saw too?"
Brandon thought for a few seconds before nodding.
"Yes."
Berg lifted his hands into the air.
"Aspirant Dawson here is known for his short temper. He would barely listen to anything being said before throwing his fist.
And after the reveal of what he truly is, I went to do my research and, based on all I have seen in fantasy books so far, werewolves tend to have bad tempers.
They are always in rage mode and wanting to snap the heads off their foes. Less talk, more fists.
And we definitely know a werewolf like that, yeah?"
Berg smiled as he pointed in Ray’s direction.
Trisha’s eyes flashed with a murderous glint.
Van’s hands squeezed so tightly that his nails were about digging into his palms.
"Fuck this man! Why do you keep twisting the truth? You attacked him first, and Ray only acted out of self-defense."
"Strike two, Aspirant." Jack warned with a furious glare.
"But sir, I can’t sit down and watch while Berg slanders his name through the mud. Aspirant Berg was the first to attack Ray that day and—"
"—And did I throw the first blow?" Berg questioned with a raised brow.
Van paused for a moment.
Ray sighed inwardly while subtly shaking his head.
"Uh... you were about to do so, hence Ray reacted."
"About to? But I didn’t throw the first blow, did I? For all you knew, I could have wanted to pat him on the back or something, but Aspirant Dawson decided to sweep me off my feet like I was a princess of sorts and then buried my face into the dirt.
You want to fucking justify that? I was furious too, and like he said, we tend to do stupid things when we are furious.
I tried defending myself, and things escalated with him knocking me out cold. If it wasn’t for Sergeant Lincoln’s presence that day, he could have finished me off.
Want to defend that?!"
Kai sighed deeply with a shake of his head.
"Van, you are beginning to make things harder for Ray." He breathed out tiredly.
"Aspirant, sit back down." Jack ordered sternly.
Van gritted his teeth angrily and glared daggers at the arrogant Legacy.
"You will pay for this, Berg. I promise you."
Berg made a shocked expression.
"You can all see? Birds of the same feather do truly flock together. In everybody’s presence, Aspirant Van just threatened me.
Not like he has the power to do anything, though, but a threat is still a threat. And even Ray has threatened me on countless occasions.
Not just me, he threatened humanity. And what did he say? Hang on, guys."
Berg cleared his throat and then tried his best to mimic Ray’s voice.
{"... I do not aspire to be humanity’s saviour because this world doesn’t deserve saving. None of you all deserve saving."}
"Those were his exact same words. Aspirant Dawson has always openly expressed his hatred for humanity, even going as far as saying he doesn’t care about his comrades and that we could all die for all he cares.
He had even threatened to burn the whole world once if anything happens to those he cared about.
So, should someone as dangerous as this be allowed to live? Someone who could explicitly be prepared to destroy the world should anything happen to those they care about?"
Raising his hands in front of his face, Berg shook his head.
"... And before you all say it was a figure of speech, it wasn’t. He meant every single word he said. And you—"
He shouted as he looked towards Marcus and Brandon.
"You said he helped you locate the location of where the Abberants’ hearts were?"
The two Aspirants nodded.
"Yes."
"And did it occur to you all that he might have been after something all along?"
Turning his head from left to right to stare at the Aspirants in the spectating stands, he continued:
"You all were there a lot of times when Aspirant Dawson threatened humanity and openly admitted to not caring if the world burned at all, yet he helped you all, and none of you questioned why?
Think it was from the goodness of his heart that the race he openly hated suddenly needed to be saved?
Because if so, why didn’t I receive that same help despite being his ’enemy’? All of you were informed, but I wasn’t.
I had to fight with everything I had and almost died for it. Why? Because I’m the only one challenging his words all the time and keeping him in check?
He wanted to get me out of the way, and what better way than to have an Abberant finish me off?"
"...."
Everybody quietly turned their heads towards Ray, whose head was bowed, teeth grating loudly against one another.
Berg drew in ragged breaths, calming himself as he looked all around him.
"A few months ago, an incident occurred in the Aspirant Corps. Captain Jake over there will remember it vividly."
Berg pointed towards the jury stands.
The Captain’s brows drew closer in confusion.
"You see, a few months ago, Bryce Jackson, the owner of Jackson Tech LTD., paid a diplomatic visit to the Aspirant Corps, and he was attacked—half his guards were killed that day."
On hearing this, Ray, Van, Kai, and Felix’s gazes sharpened in worry, their hearts pounding as one.
"And you all will never guess who did it."
Berg’s grin widened as he looked towards Ray, who was on his knees.
"... Our very own werewolf Dawson. You know what? Listen to the story from the horse’s mouth."
Berg slammed his palms together in a clap a few times.
Soon, the double doors could be heard cracking open.
"Welcome, my special witness, you all—Bryce Jackson."