Karl gave a faint smile as the resurrected Immortals cowered in terror at the sight of him.

That was a much better response.

Rae smirked at him, wholeheartedly agreeing. There were many things to learn about this world, but the fact that they didn't need a body to resurrect people was a huge revelation. It must be an advantage of the Immortal Spirit.

[Karl, the power imbalance between the beasts is messing with your thoughts again.] Dana warned.

[Right. I will keep an eye on that. Just... wait patiently when we get to the court. I think that they're going to insist on some intensive questioning.]

That thought also interested Rae. She knew pain. Everything about it, in fact.

Perhaps they had other methods of interrogation?

The flight was a short one, and Rae passed Karl a fresh set of Mythic Ranked robes, closer to the style of the locals, as they landed. They were red and black, embroidered with gold, and looked suitably impressive for a formal court hearing, she thought.

The Elders who had brought Karl and Dana to the Clan were seated behind a desk with unimpressed looks.

"Less than twenty-four hours and you're already here? I had thought that you were a bit smarter than that."

"My apologies, Elder. It was a lapse of judgment."

The arresting Elders handed over a single sheet of paper, which lit up to project an illusionary scene when the Peak Immortal Elder tapped it.

The scene of the altercation replayed, complete with quiet voices.

The judges' scowls turned from one member of the detained group to another, but Karl caught a slight smile when he saw Rae repeatedly stabbing the man on the ground.

"Starting with you, as you were alive for all of it. What motivated you to get involved in this idiocy?" The Elder demanded of the man with the shredded robes, where Rae's legs had punched holes in him.

"Elder, it was just an initiation. The newbie got a load of Clan Credits from the Alchemy Elder, we just wanted to shake him down for some resources, remind him of his place in the hierarchy."

The Elder's smile didn't reach his eyes. "It seems that you misjudged."

"Yes, Elder. We misjudged. My injuries were the result of my own mistake."

"And you, Jin. You should know better."

"Sorry, Elder."

The arresting Elders shrugged. "In his defence, there was not much time to react and stop the escalation."

"You four, do you agree with your companion's version of events?"

The strongest of them shook his head. "Elder, it was just a prank, we didn't do anything, and we were brutally murdered by the newcomer."

Karl glared at him and the man whimpered in fear.

With Rae now an Immortal, his aura had gotten extra murderous, and Karl was not in a good mood at the moment, which the defeated Immortal was playing up, to make himself look like the victim.

The other three nodded in agreement. "Elder, it was completely uncalled for. Hazing new arrivals is a time-honoured tradition. Violence is prohibited outside the Arena. We certainly wouldn't have done anything violent."

The elder watched the video again, then turned to Karl. "You claim they attacked, but I don't see them taking any violent actions."

"I only struck after he ordered his man to stab Rae. It was defensive, and they entered as one attacking group, not as individuals."

The Elders watched it again.

"No direct orders were given. Your attack might have been provoked, but it was preemptive."

Karl shrugged. "When a single strike is the difference between life and death, hesitation is suicidal."

The Elder looked ready to retort, but a meaningful look at the replay by his counterpart made him pause. One strike had indeed been the difference between life and death. Karl's estimation was correct, if you viewed the conflict entirely through the lens of his own power level.

{Request a grudge match.} Jin whispered in Karl's ear.

"Now, how do we settle this? We can't have more fights in the Clan, and there is no consensus between parties." The Peak Immortal Elder pondered.

"We could have the Interrogators get the truth of their intent. That would tell us if it was a misunderstanding." The arresting Elder suggested.

Again with the Interrogators. The threat of them made the other five, plus Jin, all go pale in fear.

"Elder, if I may?" Karl began.

"You have a proposal?"

"I would like to settle this with a grudge match. Let power decide the truth."

That made the men go even more pale than the threat of the interrogators did. Karl had already killed four of them in a single strike, and now he wanted to challenge them one at a time?

Wasn't that just bullying?

The arresting Elders both smiled at the thought. They had a pretty good idea what had happened. The five men had come up with a brilliant plan to shake down the newbie to put him in his place, only to walk into a brick wall and get one hit wiped by the World Dragon's Avatar.

It would serve them right if the Clan let Karl beat them senseless and make them pay him reparations.

The Peak Elder scoffed. "I won't force that. Though you're technically both Spirit Immortals, your unique advantages effectively put you a Rank over the defender.

He would have to agree to the challenge, it is his choice."

Karl noticed that a group of Clan members had gathered behind them, silently filling the seats to watch the outcome of the trial.

Word spread fast through the Clan, and many had felt the healing magic that brought someone back to life. Fortunately for them, the scene was still replaying from the parchment.

{Did you see that? Four kills with one hit, and he didn't even move. The newbie is a monster.}

{What the hell did he even hit him with? It shook me out of meditation from halfway across town. Did he set off a nuke in the shopping district?}

{Forget that, he doesn't even flinch when his partner gets stabbed, just goes straight for the kill. Do you think he came from a Death Cult?}

{Nah, he doesn't smell like the Black Dragon. The woman in black is a Spider, though.}

{Spider Goddess isn't a death god. Not really.}

{Nobody's going to ask what's up with the bird? That Demonic Crow is creeping me out.}

Hawk fluttered his wings a little as he fell asleep and almost fell off Karl's shoulder. He had gotten too used to being in his space all the time, where he could nap freely.

[Are we in big trouble? That blast was glorious. Even the Immortals must admit to the supremacy of fire.]

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.