A Sorcerer's Journey - Chapter 302
Chapter 302: Trial Verdict
A month later.
Whoosh!
A mechanical bee zipped through the air and proceeded to land in front of Grimm’s Demon-Hunter Castle. With a succession of knocks on the door, Grimm, who was observing the indentations on the severed branches’ cross-sections, sighed before tucking them away.
“Caw! Young Master, it seems they have reached a verdict on your judgment. Time for me to scoot then.” Myna said, before dodging into the Dimensional Gap.
Grimm hurriedly made a final visual check on his laboratory before flying down to open the big door to his Demon-Hunter Castle.
“Grimm?”
Both the two Demon-Hunter Sorcerers at his door wore eye masks like flies’ eyes. The crystal surface on the eye mask shimmered in a dark red hue. Besides the eye mask, both of them had black veils covering their faces, giving them an unusually mysterious demeanor.
Grimm nodded and replied solemnly, “Yes.”
Clink…
One of the Demon-Hunter Sorcerers took out a pair of metal, sorcery-subduing handcuffs as well as a mission scroll. The other sorcerer announced indifferently, “According to the Demon-Hunter Court System’s judgment, you have violated the rules of the Holy Tower. As such, you will now be escorted to the Demon-Hunter Court to receive the verdict for your crimes.”
Nodding his head, Grimm held out both his arms.
Clack!
The sorcery-subduing handcuffs were tightly locked onto Grimm’s wrists.
Initially, Grimm still felt that he could easily break free from the cuffs. Though, it was just a few moments later that Grimm realized his entire body grew limp. He could feel the magic power within him diminishing greatly. Grimm had now been made completely vulnerable by the sorcery-subduing handcuffs.
“Let’s go then.”
The two Demon-Hunter Sorcerers escorted Grimm into the Mechanical Bee. Then, it was not long before its wings started beating intensely, blowing up clouds of dust into the air before disappearing into thin air.
Three days later.
The dead silence within the enclosed room was enough to cause a person to drown in despair. Grimm could only tell whether it was day or night by the light that entered into his cell through a trap door above him.
For now, the light was a little too intense. Grimm quickly lowered his head and shut his eyes.
A pair of powerful hands lifted Grimm’s listless body, dragging him out of the cell. After a few minutes, the shutting of the courtroom door broke the dead silence. Grimm had arrived in the middle of a big hall, where he was shackled into a seat.
Underneath the blinding lights of the courtroom.
Far in front of him, above a raised platform sat a total of six sorcerers, one of them being the white-bearded old man from before, puffing a ring of smoke into the air as he smoked from his pipe.
After taking a look at Grimm, the six sorcerers that sat on the platform proceeded to review the information they had on him.
“As a Demon-Hunter Sorcerer, not only did you fail to defend the heritage of the humans living on the Sorcerer Continent, you even assisted a Black Sorcerer’s escape back to the abominable Black Domain. You are truly despicable! This crime should be met with a heavy penalty!”
A trial sorcerer bellowed in an infuriating voice before throwing the pile of Grimm’s information onto his desk.
“Attempted crime? It is still unclear as to his motivation……”
The other trial sorcerer seemed much calmer than the first one.
“Voluntarily falling into degeneracy in order to save his wife’s life? While it may seem noble at first sight, but one must always remember that the life-level of a sorcerer’s apprentice is the same as a regular human. In his quest to save his wife, he turned into a Black Sorcerer’s apprentice, killing many other humans like himself in order to accumulate despair energy. This sort of crime is absolutely repulsive…”
The first three trial sorcerers who had just spoken, made it clear that they despised Black Sorcerers, perhaps just as much as Grimm did.
However, there seemed to be a drastic change in attitude in the fourth trial sorceress’ statement.
“Be that as it may, it is important to note that according to the testimonial, this sorcerer’s apprentice called Lefay, is Grimm, the Demon-Hunter Sorcerer’s wife. He is the victim from the very start. Despite the horrific crimes he committed, he seems to show signs of repentance…”
The voice of this trial sorceress flowed gently, like a small stream of water flowing over river pebbles.
The fifth Demon-Hunter Sorcerer continued, “Well, according to additional information as provided by the testimonial, Grimm has the will of the World-Core and will soon be promoted to the ranks of an official sorcerer. Not only that, he bears the sorcerer’s will’s certification of a Rank-3 Honor Badge. According to the potential cultivation decree, our aim is to try our best and secure the unfulfilled potential of the Sorcerer World, not just to punish a crime.”
Puff…
“Not bad, this young Dark Sorcerer certainly has room for growth and requires more care and tolerance from us. After all, they have sacrificed so much for the Sorcerer’s World. We should try our best to guide these inexperienced children towards the righteous path, and from there, they can aid the expansion and liberation of the Sorcerer’s World.”
Puff…
The white-bearded sorcerer exhaled yet another ring of smoke.
“Keep in mind, that these Dark Sorcerers were raised in unfavorable, even outright cruel conditions. As such, situations like these are unavoidable. The elder sages should understand the disdain one would face and consequences one would bear for advancing in this field of sorcery. However, the biggest price he would pay is the continuation of a state of chaos. Because of this, a Dark Sorcerer must always maintain his cruel doctrine, or he would be disqualified as a Dark Sorcerer. As for some petty crimes…”
Bang!
A wooden gavel hammered against the tabletop.
“The Sorcerer World cultivates Dark Sorcerers in the hopes of obtaining a brighter future. However, that does not give them the right to violate the law as they please! Yes, although their sacrifices greatly outweigh that of Bright Sorcerers, rules are rules, we cannot…”
The six trial sorcerers who sat on the platform started a series of debates. It was apparent that their views toward Grimm’s case were not unanimous. Despite their different opinions, fundamentally, they were still the guardians of the Sorcerer’s World. They were the ones who devoted their entirety selflessly for the sake of the Sorcerer’s World.
Grimm sat silently, shackled to his seat. Like an innocent little lamb, he observed their debate closely as the two Demon-Hunter Sorcerers stood guard beside him.
Lowering his head, Grimm did not utter a single word as he patiently awaited the panel to reach a verdict.
As a mature sorcerer, he must shoulder the consequences of his own actions. To receive the punishment that his crimes brought about without complaint.
The extenuating circumstances were all just from Grimm’s personal perspective.
A quarter hourglass passed by before the panel of six trial sorcerers reached a consensus.
“Dark Demon-Hunter Grimm, from Black Isotta Sorcery Academy.”
Grimm raised his head to look at the judge who was reading his verdict.
The face underneath Grimm’s messy blonde hair was extremely calm. With the Mask of Truth removed, his battle-hardened face faced directly towards the crowd.
“After the unanimous ruling of the six trial sorcerers, it was determined that the crimes you committed were, separately, aiding the escape of the Black Sorcerer, Hattori the Hidden, hiding the Black Sorcerer’s apprentice, Lefay for three months and killing eleven innocent people in order to collect Human Despair. These violations of the Holy Tower’s laws are extremely serious and as such, you are sentenced to nine hundred and fifty years imprisonment.”
Grimm inhaled in disbelief as realization hit him. A look of disappointment flashed across his face in the next moment.
‘Nine hundred and fifty years?’
Even for a proper sorcerer, this was way too long to be bearable.
Just as a sense of desperation washed over Grimm, the sorcerer eyed Grimm before continuing his announcement.
“But we have taken into consideration that Grimm is a Dark Sorcerer and the fact that he is a first-time offender. He also has shown remorse for his wrongdoings by willingly confessing and has not caused any significant losses to the Sorcerer World. Furthermore, the court has determined that the motivation for his crime is excusable. Thus, the court has decided to reduce the sentencing to two hundred years imprisonment at the Prison of the Seven Rings, as a firm yet just punishment.”
‘Hmm?
‘Two hundred years huh?’
Although it was still a hefty amount of time, it was undoubtedly much more bearable than the previous duration. Feeling a sense of relief, Grimm’s heart gradually calmed down.
Though…
“In addition to that, because Grimm had been certified by the Sorcerer’s Will when he entered the World-Core in First Place during the Apex Battle at the Dark Sorcerer Tower, his sentencing is reduced by fifty years unconditionally in accordance to the Sorcerer World’s decree on cultivating rising potentials. Also, Grimm had made great contributions to the Sorcerer World in the most recent Demon-Hunting Expedition and subsequently, had been awarded with a Rank-3 Honor Badge. The court has decided on this factor, that Grimm can choose to pay a fine of one hundred Sorcerer Essences in exchange for a further reduction of fifty years imprisonment at the Prison of the Seven Rings.”
Pausing for a moment, the sorcerer looked directly at Grimm and continued, “If you choose to reject the court’s decision, you have the right to pay one hundred Sorcerer Essences and apply for an appeal at a higher court.
The difference between this sentence and the initial one was too great. Inhaling deeply, Grimm replied quickly, “I accept the court’s verdict and agree to pay a fine of one hundred Sorcerer Essences in place of fifty years imprisonment at the Prison of the Seven Rings.”
The sorcerer nodded in acceptance and rolled up the sheepskin scroll before announcing loudly, “The verdict is over.”
Subsequently, the six trial sorcerers branded their Life Signals on the rolled up sheepskin scroll before passing it to Grimm.
With the help of the two Demon-Hunter Sorcerers who stood guard by Grimm, he gradually regained a strand of Magic Power, allowing him to brand his own Life Signal onto the sheepskin scroll.
The Holy Tower of the Seven Ring’s will surged from the brand as the old sorcerer tucked away the sheepskin scroll. Thereafter, he announced seriously, “The ruling will take effect, and will be implemented immediately!”
The two guards hoisted Grimm up and left the courtroom, crossing paths with yet another Demon-Hunter Sorcerer who was here for his own trial.
