Beware... and Beware
Everyone in the hall stared at Jinsu in confusion.
His words had set the entire courtroom ablaze.
Yet no one understood what he was talking about.
What is this killer talking about?
Is he insane?
He said they were hiding... but the Council Leaders are right in front of him!
Suddenly...
Terrifying laughter echoed from above.
Cold laughter that seemed to make the very walls tremble.
Everyone raised their heads.
Then...
They froze.
Extremely tall chairs appeared.
Far taller than they should have been.
They stood above the chairs of the Council Leaders sitting below.
In fact, they were so high that the people sitting upon them seemed to be looking down upon the entire court.
And beneath white curtains...
Silhouettes appeared.
They had been there.
The entire time.
Throughout the entire trial.
Everyone had believed that the true Council Leaders were the ones sitting below.
But no one had seen them.
Except two people.
One whom everyone considered a killer...
And another who hated being noticed.
Yet noticing things was his curse.
Jinsu.
And Ivo.
A heavy silence descended upon the hall.
Someone tried to speak, but no words came out.
Yorlis turned toward the Gaya members.
"Why isn't anyone saying anything? What's going on?"
He looked toward the lower chairs.
"Are those... fake Council Leaders?"
Tsukiro answered calmly.
"Yes, Yorlis."
He paused.
"Those are the real leaders."
Yorlis raised his head even higher.
And there...
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A woman was sitting in a chair above all the others.
In fact, her chair stood higher than the chair of the fake Council Leader himself.
Yorlis's eyes widened.
He slowly raised a finger.
"W-What...?"
He swallowed.
"Is the head of the Council... a woman?"
Jinsu smiled.
"You finally showed yourselves."
One of the figures behind the curtain moved.
Then his voice came from above.
"I never expected anyone to see us here."
He turned slightly.
Then looked toward Ivo.
"Well... we did expect one of you to notice us."
He paused.
"But you?"
A smile appeared beneath the curtain.
"You weren't even within one percent of our predictions."
Then he asked,
"Is it Kaizen's power?"
Jinsu answered without hesitation.
"No."
He looked toward the curtains.
"You simply didn't hide yourselves well enough."
Silence.
"I don't need that bastard's power to see you."
Whispers spread throughout the hall.
"Did he just insult Kaizen?"
"He called Kaizen a bastard!"
"Isn't he the King?"
Quiet laughter came from behind the curtains.
One of the leaders spoke.
"You really are amusing."
He continued,
"To call a King whom humans were once afraid to even mention... a bastard?"
He laughed.
"That takes quite a bit of courage."
The woman raised one finger.
Immediately...
Everyone fell silent.
Even the other leaders.
It was nothing more than a simple gesture.
Yet it was enough.
Then she spoke.
"Let the real trial begin."
The smile disappeared from Jinsu's face.
She looked directly at him.
"Jinsu."
Silence.
"Do you admit to the crimes committed by your hands?"
Jinsu looked at her.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I wasn't the one who did it."
She stared at him for several seconds.
"But it was your hands that committed those acts."
She continued,
"It doesn't matter who was controlling you. You could kill anyone you wanted and simply claim that Kaizen was the one responsible."
She paused.
"So how can you prove that it was Kaizen?"
Silence filled the courtroom.
Jinsu didn't answer.
One of the leaders sneered.
"Ha."
He smiled.
"That's what I expected."
He looked at Jinsu.
"You won't speak because deep down, you know you deserve punishment."
Jinsu didn't respond.
He merely stared at him.
But the leader continued.
"My Lady, I've just remembered something."
He turned toward the woman.
"Weren't there three people before Kaizen appeared?"
He paused.
"What guarantees that all three of them weren't working together?"
Anger erupted among the Gaya members.
Tsukiro shouted,
"What did you say?!"
He rose from his seat.
"The others did nothing!"
He looked toward the woman.
"My Lady, the others truly did nothing."
Then he continued,
"All that happened was that they were caught in the middle of the incident after that man, Gerudo, appeared and broke Kaizen's seal."
His voice grew sharper.
"They were harmed because of him."
He continued,
"How could Kaizen attack them if they were working with him?"
The leader replied,
"Don't defend them."
Then he continued,
"Kaizen doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. He does whatever he wants."
"Perhaps he deliberately harmed them so it wouldn't look like they were on his side."
Tsukiro immediately responded,
"If that's the case..."
He stepped forward.
"If he truly doesn't distinguish between friend and foe..."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Then why would he go out of his way to clear the accusations against them?"
Silence.
The leader had no answer.
Yorlis raised an eyebrow in admiration.
As for the woman...
She raised one finger again.
The leader immediately returned to his seat.
She spoke.
"Then who are the accused?"
The leader answered,
"A man named Kenji..."
He paused.
"And a girl... I believe her name is..."
"Yuna."
Suddenly...
Everything changed.
A terrifying aura exploded from Jinsu's body.
An overwhelming pressure swept through the courtroom.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
The very air began to tremble.
Some of the civilians collapsed to their knees.
Their bodies simply couldn't withstand the energy.
Jinsu raised his head.
His eyes were fixed directly on the true Council Leaders.
No one else saw it.
But behind the white curtains...
The leaders' expressions changed.
Fear appeared on their faces.
The pressure had reached them.
Then Jinsu spoke in a low voice.
"I swear..."
He paused.
The aura around him intensified.
"If you lay a hand on Yuna..."
He raised his eyes.
"I will make you regret it."
His gaze remained fixed on the leader who had mentioned her.
The man stepped backward.
But his foot slipped.
"What...?"
He lost his balance.
And fell from his elevated seat.
Everyone gasped.
He crashed onto the floor.
He raised his head...
And found Jinsu standing before him.
Jinsu stared directly into his eyes.
In that moment...
The leader didn't see a man.
He saw an endless abyss.
And before him stood a massive dragon, staring at him as though it were waiting to devour him.
He froze.
Then—
BAM!
A foot slammed into Jinsu's face.
Jinsu staggered backward.
Ivo.
He stood in front of him.
Then he grabbed Jinsu and began beating him.
One strike.
Then another.
In front of everyone.
Until blood began to spill from Jinsu's mouth.
Ivo shouted,
"You bastard!"
He struck him again.
"You think you're strong?!"
Another blow.
"Have you forgotten your place?!"
He continued.
Everyone watched.
Ivo...
beating Jinsu without stopping.
Until Jinsu was covered in blood.
Jinsu raised his head.
And smiled.
Ivo paused.
"You're smiling?"
He grabbed Jinsu by his clothes.
"I must have hit you too many times. You've finally lost your mind."
Jinsu raised his eyes toward him.
"No."
The bloodied smile remained on his face.
"But..."
He paused.
"You're beating someone who's shackled and can't even defend himself?"
Silence.
Then he added,
"You're more of a coward than I thought."
Ivo's expression changed.
He raised his fist.
"What did you say?"
Before the blow could land...
The woman's voice rang out.
"Ivo."
He stopped.
Then turned toward her.
"Stop."
Ivo lowered his hand.
"Understood, My Lady."
Then he looked at Jinsu.
His smile changed slightly.
"But from now on, I'll speak for Jinsu."
Jinsu looked at him.
He said nothing.
As for the woman...
"Very well."
Silence descended upon the hall once again.
But this time...
No one was looking at Jinsu.
They were looking at Ivo.
Because the trial...
had entered a new stage.