"...Having the intention to do something is entirely different from doing that thing.

I want to punch the prosecutor in the face." Devon raised a clenched fist, "But I don't do it.

Intention is entirely different from the crime. The law does not punish a man for the intention. It punishes for the action.

Which brings us to the problem we will be facing. Your Shade, for whatever reason, showed the intention. But you had no right to be the executioner."

Soren frowned. "Murder?"

Devon nodded. "Yes, murder. But of course she won't entirely frame it that way. She will let some other thing(s) accompany it. That's the only way it will stick."

"What... what are we going to do?" Soren asked.

"We?" Devon chuckled lightly. "Not you. Me. Don't worry, kid. After all, I am still a Lamington."

What does that even mean?

Soren asked himself.

...

The court session resumed.

Soren was brought to the stand again.

The prosecutor looked like she had recovered from the earlier shock of losing the previous round.

In fact, she looked refreshed, her eyes carrying that renowned vigor of a wounded animal coming back for revenge.

Soren had his guard up.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the court," the prosecutor began. I'd like to pull your attention to this CCTV footage of the incident prior to the death of instructor Ivory. A Soul Mecha Pilot anointed to her position by the current Emperor."

The holographic screen came on.

It was the view of the event from an angle.

It showed Soren pulling back the briefcase that had the Eldritch in it before Ivory released her soul energy.

The video was passed here.

And the prosecutor stepped forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, Instructor Ivory did not attack the cadets regardless of the situation. I want to point out that for a person of her position and power, mere cadets would not suffice as a threat, and she intended to leave.

Now, while she had very nefarious intentions, it stands to say that unless needing to defend themselves, the cadets, or shall I say, Cadet Soren, had no reason to take the laws of the land into his own hands and strike an anointed knight of the empire."

Soren could feel it. She was about to make her mark.

The punch in the gut.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a law system for a reason. Those tasked with maintaining the law should maintain the law, and those in school should do as required." Her eyes landed on Soren.

"Cadet Soren went outside the law to establish justice. This is an act of vigilantism and is clearly against the law.

And we all know what we call a person that kills another outside the jurisdiction of the law; it is murder.

But not just that. It is the murder of a noble and one blessed by the emperor himself.

This is going against the will of the emperor. It is treason."

She stated clearly and then went to take her seat.

The court whispered amongst themselves.

"She is right... it is treason."

"To touch one anointed to knighthood by the emperor is to touch the emperor himself."

The whispers continued.

Soren knew this was what Devon had been talking about.

Lawyers had a talent for bending the narrative. Or, as Devon called it, seeing the invisible strings connecting one to another.

The prosecutor had somehow done three things.

Firstly, she had called Soren a vigilante.

Secondly, she used the justification of the first accusation to name him a murderer.

And thirdly, she used the second accusation as a basis for tagging him as a traitor and an enemy of the empire.

All of which were very unforgiving.

Any one of these was grounds for hanging, and no doubt, the rest of the courtroom agreed.

Just then Devon stood up and walked before the court.

He took a small device with him, and at the press of it, the image of the holographic projection changed to an insignia.

A mecha head sitting above a Glassheart that had two diagonal swords going through it on either side.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the court. I believe you all know this insignia. After all, it is all around us." Devon gave a quick twirl.

"It is also the reason we are where we are today and have fought against the Eldritch souls for so long.

This is the insignia of the Imperial Soulforge Academy. The lifeblood of the empire. Home to where all Soul Mecha pilots are born."

Devon paced around the room. "For many years, the academy has consistently taken in promising younglings from around the empire in order to turn them into useful warriors we all respect and look up to for guidance.

Every year it has done this, and for over fifty years now. Every year—except last year." Devon paused a bit for impact.

"We know the situation with the glass was the worst it had ever been last year, and as a result the Imperial Soulforge Academy was unable to admit any student.

What most don't know... what was well hidden is that this year, the Soulforge Academy faced its greatest crisis yet."

Devon pressed the remote, and the image on the screen changed again and again.

All of it was of terrible train crashes filled with blood or destroyed homes.

The moment the images came up, the council members frowned.

The head council member whispered to another. "How the hell did he get those images?"

"He is a bloody Lamington," she replied.

"The deaths you see are not the only thing these images have in common." Devon continued, intentionally ignoring the violent stares coming from the council members.

"For you see, all these deaths happened not to random citizens, but to all potential first-year cadets of the Soulforge Academy."

Devon stepped forward. Ready to drop the bombshell.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what I am saying is this. Amongst the thousands chosen this year. The only train that made it to the academy with first-year cadets was the train that my client defended.

All the others died."

(Author's note: Please send gifts and golden tickets, please. The story is getting juicier. Also, we are reaching the end of New Rising Star event.

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.