1479 The Trial of The Century.
Felix hadn't forgotten about Asna and he had no plans of leaving the spirit realm without her. However, he feared that she wouldn't want to accompany him anymore for the sake of his safety, which was something he absolutely abhorred.
At the moment, he could do nothing about it as even setting a meeting with Asna was impossible.
Lord Hades would know for a fact that he had his memories restored if he dared even utter her name out loud...So, he could only wish for the best and see how the situation develops.
Suddenly, Felix received a call from his captain, requesting his immediate attendance. Unable to refuse his orders, Felix left the hospital room.
When he arrived at their office, he noticed that Miss Sanae and Mr. Atticus were also there.
"We have just received a court date and the assigned juridical officials in the trial." Captain Charleson informed with a faint smile. "Luckily, Gravus has been picked as the prosecutor and he is known for his merciless treatment of such criminals."
"What if he is also part of the organization?" Miss Sanae shook her head, "At this point, I don't doubt the organization has infiltrated the juridical system and planted moles in it."
"I also think the same, but this is Sir. Gravus we are talking about." Hazel uttered with a tone of utter reverence, "Someone as upright as him can't be part of that organization."
"Haven't you already learned your lesson?" Ravager said coldly, "Even the respectable Sharky turned out to be the nastiest monster in the realm. I don't trust anyone anymore in the government and it's best if we focus our effort on forcing Sharky to confess his peers' identities plus the method to void the fallen transformation."
Ravager was more interested in the second goal as he wished for nothing but to have his little sister return to normal again.
He didn't want to give her new memories and a new personality through the reformation system as it meant losing his sister once and for all.
Plus, he had seen how Arion became after he was given new memories.
He still behaved like a robot and listened to orders perfectly, the only difference was that he had a new set of skills, nothing more, nothing less.
"Making Sharky confess will be difficult, I believe he will keep stalling and stalling for the sake of his..."
Vrrr Vrrr...
Captain Charleson was cut off by his device, causing him to peek at its screen...When he saw the details of the message he received, his pupils were enlarged to the limit.
Before the others could ask him what it was, they all received the same message from Sharky's lawyer.
-Sharky has decided to confess everything for some leniency during the trial.-
"Well, that was a bit too quick." Mr. Atticus chuckled, "I guess my purpose here is done, I am out."
Without awaiting their response, he walked away, not bothering himself anymore with the case.
His entire existence was to testify against Sharky in the trial, but if he was willing to plead guilty, then he didn't need to be summoned as a witness anymore.
Understanding this, they let him go. But, they didn't understand Sharky's reasoning for wanting to confess so quickly.
"I smell something fishy about this." Nidam said with a solemn tone.
"We all do." Captain Charleson ordered, "Let's go see if he is for real or plotting something."
Unfortunately for them, Sharky didn't entertain their request to meet them without his lawyer. His lawyer refrained from giving them any details about what he would confess and his decision to do it.
Unlike the cases in the living world, the law enforcers' job was considered done the moment the trial date was set.
So, they couldn't really force themselves to do anything to Sharky.
Now, it was a battle between the lawyer and the prosecutor, one would try his best to get a good sentence while the other would do the opposite.
Unbeknownst to everyone, both sides were seeking the same result...
***
Days went by and before long, the day of the trial had arrived...It was set seven days after the imprisonment, which was considered quite early.
The courtroom was a sea of unbroken silence, every present spirit was hanging on the precipice of anticipation, the air thick with the weight of unsaid words.
Sharky was seen surrounded by light chains as he stood in front of a three-judge panel. Marcel was the leading judge and his eyes seemed as cold as anyone else in the courtroom.
Anyone who saw him would have a feeling that he would not show an ounce of mercy to Sharky.
Felix, Ravager, and the rest of the squad were sitting at the back of the courtroom...Even Elder Kraken and many other governmental officials decided to attend the trial.
It was the biggest event to happen in the past century and no one wanted to miss it.
"Defendant, how do you plea of your charges?" Judge Marcel asked calmly.
Sharky took a deep breath and uttered with his eyes closed shut.
"Guilty."
The moment the word left his lips, the entire courtroom collapsed into a massive chaos with spirits cursing, and insulting, and some seemed like they were about to rush him down.
"YOU MONSTER!!"
"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO YOUR FELLOW SPIRITS!"
"KICK HIM OUT!"
"Order! Order in the court!" Judge Marcel banged the gavel twice as he yelled, causing everyone to break from their emotional response and return to their seats.
After the ruckus was controlled a bit, Sharky's lawyer stood up and requested, "Honorable ones, my client has decided to trade crucial information for the sake of a lenient punishment."
"No mercy!"
"Kick him out!"
"We don't need his information!"
Many spirits didn't like the sound of it very much, but the majority understood that if Sharky opened his mouth, it would help a lot with the dismantling of the syndicate and such.
"It's up to the prosecutor." Judge Marcel passed the baton to his friend.
Gravus stood up while fixing his suit, his charisma and reputation made everyone quiet down as a sign of respect.
"The prosecution team agrees to the deal based on the effectiveness of the information provided." Gravus shared.
Not many spirits were surprised by his decision as it was the right one to make. Soon, everyone focused back on Sharky.
"Speak up." Judge Marcel ordered.
The first words emerging from his mouth caused Felix and the others to have ugly expressions.
"I have founded the Fallen Specters organization all alone," he admitted, his words like poison seeping into the very foundations of the courtroom.
"I discovered the secret... the method to bind spirits into servitude using the essence of negativity."
'Negativity?'
'What's that?'
The assembly erupted into a cacophony of whispers and exclamations, the shockwave from his words rippling through the essence of every spirit present.
Sharky continued, his voice gaining strength, "I transformed this knowledge into a flourishing business, a clandestine market dealing in the shadows of the heavenly realm." He detailed the vile intricacies of his operations, painting a picture of a hidden empire thriving on pain and subjugation, "I've sold these captivated spirits, these 'Fallen', across the entire realm. Their agony, their submission... it was all just a product, a currency for to seeth my greed."
This wasn't all, to make his claims more believable and trustworthy, he revealed many hidden locations, the secret chambers where spirits were chained, their essence slowly poisoned with darkness.
When he was asked about the spirits tortured under his mansion, he confessed that they were called negativity fuelers, explaining that their negative energy born out of despair and pain was the main source of energy to create fallen specters.
This confession didn't fly well in the courtroom as some spirits weren't able to maintain their anger and threw many objects at Sharky's body.
While their anger and reaction was understandable, they were still kicked out of the courtroom.
Uncaring and unbothered, Sharky continued confessing to one crime after another.
The courtroom was turned into a battlefield, each disclosure a blow striking at the hearts of the warriors of light, the defenders of justice.
The images Sharky painted were vivid, the shadows he revealed lurking in every corner, every unturned stone.
He was the architect of this hidden empire, the mastermind behind the shadows corrupting the realm of light.
After he concluded his confession, no one had the energy to speak or react anymore. The atrocities they heard were enough to give them nightmares for decades.
Yet, Felix and his squad didn't seem pleased in the slightest.
'They turned him into a scapegoat.' Felix uttered coldly, 'The noble heading the entire operation must be watching, hiding somewhere.'
If it wasn't for Karra, he would have believed that Sharky was the organization's founder like the majority of the spirits in the courtroom.
Unbeknownst to him, Duke Humphrey was indeed watching the trial.
He was much closer to him than expected as he was sitting next to Elder Kraken at the far back!
'What do you think, brother Kraken?' Duke Humphrey asked.
'I think we need to hold a council meeting.' Elder Kraken replied with a solemn tone, 'Based on his confession, there must be hundreds of thousands of fallen specters across the realm. We have to find them all and help them recover.'
'My thoughts as well.'
Duke Humphrey nodded in agreement but in reality? His heart was already set on using his last Hail Mary before the council could find the cure!