22 The True Culpri

The investigation team was formed of three people. One was the woman who had supported Tom. Another was a random man from the crowd. The last was Dupe! The three investigated each of the murder scenes as the day went on.

The next morning. Ed stood atop the stage once more. His hands were held behind his back as he eyed the crowd with a slight smile. 'It feels rather good being the center of attention. I've never experienced this before.' Gunther stood next to him while wearing handcuffs. A large crowd of people had already gathered below the stage. The investigative team showed up and the trial began.

"I am here today to judge the innocence of Gunther as the primary murder suspect of the guards. I will judge solely based on evidence provided to me during today's trial." Ed turned towards the investigative team. "Please begin."

"Yes!" The woman stepped forward. "I would like to call our 1st witness to the stand."

A man stepped out of the crowd and walked onto the stage. He was chubby and covered in sweat. He pointed at Gunther as he trembled, "I saw him standing with a spear covered in blood outside the apartments of the guards! He was the only one there and he was breathing heavily as if he was exhausted!"

Ed nodded. "Gunther, does this man speak the truth?"

"He does." Gunther nodded. "I was in the hallway as he described. I was chasing after the esper that left my weapon covered in blood in my apartment. As I explained yesterday, he left by making a hole in the wall which closed behind him."

'Somehow, this doesn't really feel like a real trial… Perhaps I should study up on law when I get some spare time in the future.' He turned towards the investigation team and spoke, "Please provide your next piece of evidence. A single witness isn't enough to convict him."

"Right." The man in the team stood forward. "I have both of Gunther's weapons here. The spear is covered in blood as the witness described. We also found a bullet in Tom's body which we believe to have come from Gunther's steam rifle."

"I see." Ed looked towards Gunther. "Do you have any evidence of the esper? Surely there must be some trace left behind if things are as you say."

"I don't." Gunther ground his teeth as sweat covered his forehead.

"I present the final piece of evidence." Dupe stood forward. He revealed a shark tooth necklace. "Tom was clutching this as he died. We've confirmed this necklace belongs to Gunther. Many in the audience have seen him wearing it previously. None of the other guard's weapons had been fired nor did their spears have any blood. Therefore, it is clear who the murderer is."

"Have you figured out his motive?" Ed questioned.

The woman screamed, "He wanted power! With no other guards to oppose him, then he could easily take over the base and receive a high position when Sinless HQ arrives!"

"Nonsense!" Gunther yelled. "If I wanted power then why would I commit the crime in such a stupid method?! All evidence points to me. How could I possibly take power in those circumstances?!"

"Easy." Dupe smiled. "You didn't think anyone would challenge you for the position. You would be the last remaining guard and the people would want some form of order. They'd suck up to you for a higher position and a new guard position. Unfortunately, you severely underestimated us."

"Mm. All evidence points to you Gunther." Ed frowned. "I truly wish to believe you. If you can provide me with even a little evidence of an esper then I'll investigate it fully. Please think carefully back on that night's events."

Tears began to appear in his eyes. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "I have no evidence your honor. Only my word and my pride."

"I see." Ed sighed while shaking his head. He rose a hand in the air, "This trial is hereby concluded. It pains me to say it, but I find the defendant guilty of all charges."

"WAIT!!!" A loud voice echoed from the audience. A man wearing a brown cloak that covered his entire body stepped forward. "I can vouch that it was an esper that killed those guards."

"What?!" Ed's eyes widened in shock. Surprised shouts sounded from much of the audience as well. 'How could he know it was me? Is he an esper that can track other espers? Or maybe Dupe sold me out?' He frowned, "Please do tell us the evidence. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to remove your hood when doing so."

"No need for that, haha." The man chuckled. "I have definite proof. After all, I am the esper that murdered those guards!"

The crowd of people began to scream and panic as they tried to get away from the man. Some stood still while staring stupidly at him. 'What kind of game is this guy playing?' Ed ground his teeth in frustration. "Is that so? I'm relieved you've let us know the truth before we made a horrible mistake. I imagine you're not here just to confess, right?"

"Indeed." He nodded. "I am here simply to pass a message. Who is the highest-ranking member of Sinless here at the moment?"

The crowd looked back and forth between Ed and Gunther with confusion in their eyes. Ed was just a temporary judge, but some believed he would be the next leader. On the other hand, Gunther was now cleared of his crimes. Logically, he was the highest in command at the moment.

Dupe stepped forward, "The temporary leader is the man on stage in the handcuffs. You can hand the message to me and I'll pass it to him."

"Sure." The man stepped forward and passed a note to him. Nick took the note and stepped back from the mysterious esper.

"DAMN ESPER!" The woman on stage grabbed the steam rifle the man in the investigation team was holding. She aimed towards the esper and squeezed the trigger. *Bang!* A loud sound rang out as the esper's head exploded. Black muck flew in every direction.

"GAHHH!!!" Several people rolled on the floor in pain as the muck landed on them. Their bodies quickly melted into black puddles with nothing left behind. Black smoke slowly lifted in the air from each puddle. The people near the puddles breathed in the smoke and grasped their throats tightly. Their veins protruded from their necks and faces as they desperately gasped for air. They soon fell to the floor dead.

The crowd screamed in panic as they ran from the puddles and the esper. Some were injured in the stampede. The esper that had been shot slowly regrew his head. He quickly covered it with his hood and turned to leave. No one dared to stop him.

…

It took several hours to calm everyone down. Over fifty people died in the chaos caused by the esper. 10 died from the muck, 43 died from the smoke, and a single person died in the stampede that followed. Ed and Dupe had worked to calm the crowd while Gunther ordered an early curfew. The woman that fired the steam rifle was placed under house arrest. It would be decided if she would be held responsible at a future date.

Ed, Dupe, and Gunther were currently sitting down within Dupe's apartment. Ed sighed, "What a disastrous result. We lost a huge chunk of manpower and now the people are living in fear."

"Mm." Gunther nodded. "It would have been better had he not shown up. My life cannot compare in value to the many we've lost today."

"Heh." Dupe chuckled. "Pretty noble for a man that pays women to sleep with him in exchange for food."

"Shut up, Nick!" He yelled. "A man has needs to. Besides, it was completely consensual."

"Enough." Ed held his hand up to interrupt the two. "Let's focus. Our current agenda resolves around three key issues. First, we need to decide an official new leader. Second, we need to go over the note the esper left with Nick. Third, we need to decide on our next series of actions to stabilize the base."

"Mm." Dupe nodded. "For the new leader we have three options. We can have Gunther take over, have Ed take over, or hold an election."

"I don't wish to lead." Gunther sighed while shaking his head. "I never wanted that much responsibility." He looked Ed straight in the eyes. "You should do it. You managed to keep the peace despite the chaos after the murders. You're also the only one that treated me fairly. I know you sentenced me as guilty before the esper arrived, but at least you gave me a chance. That damn mob was on the verge of tearing me apart that day. I'd probably be dead now if it wasn't for you."

Ed closed his eyes as he pretended to think about it. Then he nodded his head. "Alright, I'll do it. However, I'll leave you in charge of the guards."

"Good!" Nick smiled. "Onto the next item. Here's the note." He set it atop the table that the three were sitting at. "All it contains is an address on the other side of the city. The esper said to send the leader to meet him in three days."

"That…" Gunther frowned. "Let me go instead. We can just say I'm the current leader. He'll probably believe it."

"No." Ed shook his head. "I'll go personally. We need you to stay behind to train the new guard. You're the only one with formal training in that regard."

"But!" He tried to dissuade him.

"Let him." Dupe interrupted. "He'll probably be fine. He's the newest member of our base. Look how long he survived out there on his own despite what the espers did to him."

"Fine…" He replied.

"Okay then." Nick smiled. "We're almost done. We can announce the new leader tomorrow morning and start working to calm things down. Now we just need to choose new guards and figure out what to do with the woman that shot the esper."

"I'll leave choosing the new guards to Gunther." Ed turned to look at him. "You'll be the captain. I want you to take thirty men as new guards. Alternate their training with the steam rifles. Rotate them in groups of three. The murder incident from last time wouldn't have happened if the guards weren't alone. I'll work on making us some new steam rifles in the meantime."

"You can make steam rifles?!" Gunther replied in shock.

"Mm." He nodded. "I'm an engineer. I can even make us mechs if I have the right supplies and facilities. I'll change our base from its pathetic state to something worth protecting. HQ will value us more when they arrive if we prove what we can do."

"That just leaves the woman that shot the esper. What should we do?" Nick questioned.

"Assign a judge and a jury." Ed replied. "There's no point in an investigation team since we all witnessed it. Leave it to her peers to handle."

"Okay then!" Nick stood up and stretched his back. "That's everything then. I'm going to bed."

…

Two days later. The woman who shot the esper was sentenced to death by the jury. She was executed by the new guards. Nine of them were given steam rifles, but only one was loaded. None were told which held the bullet. They all fired at once to kill her. No one knew which guard actually killed her, which helped ease the guilt the new guards felt.

Ed was lying on a couch while deep in thought. 'I've already supplied 20 new steam rifles to the guards. I could easily make hundreds of them, but that would be to suspicious. The citizens are quite satisfied having an engineer as a leader. It helps them overlook my young age. I wished to secure a better source of food next… but I suppose that will have to wait until I get back from my meeting with the mysterious esper.'

He stood up and yawned. 'About time to head out. Should take me around 12 hours to get there. I should arrive six hours early if nothing unexpected happens.' He left the apartment complex and headed outside. The sun was just rising, so not many people were awake yet. Only a few witnessed him leave the base while holding an ordinary steam rifle.

The Sinless base was located on the east side of the city near the ocean. He had to head to the west side where his old home and school used to be located. He ran into a few mutants on the way, but they were weak. He easily burned them to ash. 'Hmm… The flesh around the palm gets ruined by my flames. I'll have to repair them before I return. Perhaps I can find a fire-resistant mutant's flesh to use.'

He soon arrived at the destination. 'This is the place… I wonder if it's a coincidence or not.' Standing in front of him was his old high school. Parts of it were burned and destroyed, but other parts were mostly fine. He could see the location of the shed where he had awoken his powers. It had completely burned down. Only some metal scraps remained in a black heap.

The esper wearing the brown cloak walked out from the main school building. He saw Ed and spoke, "I figured you'd meet me at the front entrance. It's rather odd to go around the side towards the gymnasium."

Ed looked at the esper and frowned. "That's not important. Let's get down to business. What do you want? I can't think of anything our small Sinless branch could provide you."

"Haha, sure. You'll know soon. Follow me." The esper turned around and headed for the school entrance.