Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  The gears in Bastian’s mind spun. Countless laws flashed past his mind and he suddenly raised his hand. “Your Honor! I request that the witness’s identity and credit are investigated before appearing to ensure credibility!” He paused and gazed at Aldrich meaningfully. “After all, this is the Sacred Court. If the defender grabbed a random passerby because he was losing, it would be disgraceful!”

  Bastian requested the court to check the witness’s identity before appearing in court. He must have the advantage and never become passive! He did not know what evidence Anglo had but while the court was investigating the witness, he could have time to get ready. If he dragged things on purposely, the entire process could last up to thirty minutes.

  Half an hour? For an examiner of the Amnesty Ministry, it was enough to check the witness’s entire background and make the right preparations. At that time, Anglo would lose the advantage of suddenness and instead become passive.

  Hearing this, Borja nodded slightly and raised the gavel but his actions froze.

  “A random passerby?” Hoarse coughing traveled from outside the door. “Is that what I am now?” The door was thrown open. An old man hobbled in with a cane. No guards stopped him; no one dared to stop him. As everyone looked in shock, Bastian froze and his expression stiffened as if he had seen a ghost.

  After disappearing for half a month, the man seemed to have aged decades. He was even older than before—withered and decayed like a dead man who refused to stay in the coffin. He remained on this world because of his stubbornness and discontent, refusing to die.

  Now, he wore the Church robe he had not worn in a long time. The black robe was lined with faint gold. He wore a black headpiece and old rosary beads were wrapped around his wrist. A holy emblem hung from it, swaying as he walked. It looked as if he was attending a solemn ceremony.

  Leaning on his cane, he moved slowly into the court. He walked to the witness stand under everyone’s shocked scrutiny. He glanced at Bastian with disdain and finally to the pale Borja.

  “Now, if anyone still doubts my identity and credibility, please feel free to come investigate me. If you think that my status as a bishop is not enough, what if we add the title ‘Commander of the Witch Hammer’?”

  The silence dragged on. Borja did not speak but his expression changed dramatically. After a long while, he took off his glasses and studied the old man at the witness stand.

  “Father Michel, according to customs, I should bow to you. However, this is the Sacred Court. As the judge, I cannot lower myself to anyone. Please forgive me.” His voice was a bit raspy. “Have you thought clearly what you are doing? Why are you here?!” The last word was practically an interrogation.

  “Why?” In the witness stand, the dying old man coughed lightly. Hearing Borja’s question, he looked up and smiled. “Didn’t I tell you? I am here as a witness.”

  The director of the Ministry of Information, the archbishop of the Sacred City, the commander of the Witch Hammer—Michel Grey—had appeared in court!

  There were finally surprised cries in the audience. As the commander of the Ministry of Information, Michel had been bedridden and had not appeared publicly in a long while. Other than a handful of people, no one could recognize him.

  Those who did recognize him thought they were hallucinating.

  The Ministry of Information! The director of the Ministry of Information! The director of the Ministry of Information was appearing as a witness for Anglo!

  Was this a f*cking joke?!

  “Is he crazy?” The low murmur of the audience could no longer be kept down, despite Borja’s pounding of the gavel. People rose and left continuously to report this shocking news to their organizations. This was as bizarre as if Hyakume and the Sacred City suddenly held hands and became good friends!

  The Ministry that had raised Colt as a hero, the Ministry that had kicked Ye Qingxuan into hell, the Ministry that had sacrificed so much to save Colt, the Ministry that had six musicians killed by Ye Qingxuan, the Ministry that had lost dozens of Witch Hammer members…The Ministry whose last bit of dignity was torn apart by Ye Qingxuan before the Sacred City gates… Michel had appeared as Ye Qingxuan’s witness! Was he crazy?!

  Even the jurors stared at each other blankly. Finally, they looked at Maxwell in shock. He just looked down at the doodles on his paper as if spacing out. He had already experienced this shock days ago.

  That day, when he and Lancelot had realized that the one who had snuck into the Anglo embassy and walked into the office was Michel, he had thought he was hallucinating. He even thought that it was the Ecclesiastical Order’s evil plot. He could not believe it.

  This great card should be left to the end but he had not expected that the Ecclesiastical Order would do everything they could to kill Ye Qingxuan. Even Miller, who came from a renowned family in the Sacred City, was forced to bow under their pressure, let alone others…

  If they dragged things on, the matter would only worsen. Maxwell and Lancelot were forced to show this card early. They would also have to pay greatly for it…

  -

  After the long silence, Borja said hoarsely, “Because the Sacred Court does not have any precedents or related procedures, I did not prepare fully for this. It is my mistake and I will shoulder all responsibilities.” He pounded his gavel. “Adjourn for thirty minutes.”

  “No need.” Michel lowered his cloudy eyes and said, “If I’m not wrong, you will receive an order from the Papal Chamber very soon.”

  Three seconds later, a bell rang in the distance with an indifferent voice.

  “Continue.”

  The radiance of the holy emblem descended from the heavens onto the courtroom. It projected a long table with seven figures behind it. They were robed and their faces were stern. It was the Cardinals!

  “Judge Borja,” one of the figures said, “Under His Highness’s order, the Cardinals will witness this event. There is no need for any concern. Please continue.”

  Borja’s expression changed. After a long while, he pounded his gavel and rasped out, “Continue.”

  Thus, Michel let out a relieved smile on the witness stand.

  “Here, I surrender myself to the Sacred City.” He placed his headpiece beside himself, revealing his sparse white hair and ugly scalp. “Everything Ye Qingxuan did was under my command. Because of his position, he was forced to help me. I am willing to take all responsibility and pay for my actions.”

  The audience erupted!

  423 Crusade

  “Here, I surrender myself to the Sacred City,” Michel said. “I incited Ye Qingxuan to do all the things. He was forced to assist me. I am willing to take all responsibilities and pay the price.”

  The spectators erupted in shock. Those who had just returned stared at his back with astonishment, then quietly got up, and again left to tell their boss this amazing news. The bathroom of the Sacred Court had never been overcrowded like this since it was built.

  More people exchanged their shock with each other, whisper amongst themselves. The noisy muffled sound was heard here and there. There was even a pious priest who came to witness Ye Qingxuan’s death denouncing Michel.

  “Ridiculous! You—”

  “Silence! Silence! Silence!” Borja pounded the gavel many times. The bailiffs got in and expelled the priest who roused this riot. Musicians forcibly pressed down everyone’s voice.

  Everything fell into silence again. In the silence, Bastian was soaked through by sweat. As he contemplated, his complexion changed rapidly.

  Borja’s urging eyes didn’t allow him to keep pretending. He interrupted Michel. “Bishop Michel, stop talking about such ridiculous words. Ye Qingxuan has nothing to do with you. Why do you have to be responsible for what he did? Moreover, the victim of this trial is the Ministry of Information. Why are you defending the suspect?”

  Michel lowered his eyes and did not look at him at all, just holding the rosary beads in his hand without responding.

  Borja
urged again, “Bishop Michel, answer the prosecutor’s question. This is your obligation as a witness here.”

  So Michel sighed and lifted his eyes.

  “Ye Qingxuan has been member of the Ministry of Information from the very beginning. The Night on Bald Mountain that he inherited is the best evidence. Is there any other musician who will choose to practice this movement that can only be used to kill demons?”

  He gazed at Bastian’s face and said word by word, “The Witch Hammer recruited him secretly ten years ago. His records are still in the archives of the Ministry of Information and are available for you to fetch. He has been the best man in the Ministry of Information for decades and the genius who will be able to revive the Department of Teaching and the Ministry of Information.”

  “So what’s the explanation for Ye Qingxuan to kill Colt?” Bastian asked again, “Isn’t Colt also a member of the Ministry of Information? He was also hailed as the hero and savior of the Department…” Before he finished, he regretted his own panic. He should have insinuated, guided the testimony, looked for a loophole, to then change the situation rather than questioning directly…

  He was suppressed from the beginning.

  He looked up but was afraid to look at the solemn robe and the bishop’s heraldry. He took a deep breath and was ready to speak but heard Michel’s voice.

  “This is my mistake.” Michel coughed violently. He drew his handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the scarlet from his mouth, and took his medicine. Soon, he stopped coughing. His face was suffused with red, looking radiant. Even the bent backbone was again propped up, seeming to return to normal. But purple-blue veins appeared under the neck. It was the vicious potion mixing in the blood, squeezing out every residue of his life.

  “I ordered him to kill Colt in the name of the Ministry of Information.” He raised his voice but his voice was so hoarse like metallic friction stinging the eardrum. “I did this to make up for my mistake but my woe still came and I have to pay the price.”

  Bastian opened his mouth, trying to say something. However, Michel looked over.

  “Shut up, don’t interrupt my words.” Michel looked at him coldly. “I am old. Even in court, at least one should learn to respect the old. Since our cardinals are here, do not be disrespectful.”

  Bastian was stunned, sweating. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but could not say anything. The old man’s eyes were like a nightmare. There was a dead darkness in that dark green that suffocated him.

  This was the judge who had crucified countless demons on the fire rack!

  They were both examiners. But unlike Bastian who would only sit in the office, Michel’s courtroom was in the wilderness of the Dark World. He arrested, judged, and executed. He erected the teachings of mankind in the Dark World and lit flames with the corpses of demons.

  Over the years, he became terminally ill. He sank into the mire because of the political downfall. For various reasons, he lay in bed, watching the Ministry of Information die gradually. He was old. Now, he stood here again with the final determination. No one dared to stand in his way.

  If you speak again, you will die, the pair of eyes said clearly.

  Bastian swallowed. His face turned pale.

  “I hereby confess my sin to the Sacred City.” Michel raised his hoarse voice and it echoed in the court. “I set foot on the path of the devil to revive the Ministry of Information.

  “In order to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I was blinded by Colt. Without any scrutiny, I disregarded the will of the Sacred City and made my first mistake by allowing him to be a member of the department.

  “After I realized his real nature and the sins he had committed, I made my second mistake.

  “In order to protect the honor of the Ministry of Information, I ordered Ye Qingxuan to execute him secretly at all costs. I also prepare to sacrifice him afterwards to show the innocence of the department. “

  “Everything that Ye Qingxuan has done has been approved by me. My secretary will submit the detailed records to the Court as evidence to convict me in the future.”

  Borja looked at the sluggish Bastian several times but Bastian was transfixed. He was unaware of the judge’s eyes and did not even dare to speak.

  Borja frowned and asked, “Bishop Michel, how do you explain the protection of the department to Colt as well as the sacrifice of dozens of Witch Hammers and purgatory musicians?”

  “It was all an act,” Michel said softly, “Those who died hold different political views from mine. Those traitors had long forgotten the glory of the Ministry of Information. In order to ensure their death, I even attacked a church where two innocent priests were displaced. I am guilty.

  “I am glad that in the end, Ye Qingxuan can stand up and correct my mistakes. Even though knowing that he would be sacrificed, he still faithfully carried out my commandments and never betrayed me. What he said in front of the gate of Scared City at the end was actually targeted at me.

  “I was so ashamed of myself that I knew I had made a mistake. Even if I prayed, my guilt and regret would never be diminished. I have betrayed the path of God, and have thus committed many unforgivable sins. I’m willing to accept all punishment and pay any price for it.”

  He looked back at Ye Qingxuan who was totally stunned. This was the first time he had been so close to this startled young man. Thus, he smiled. Everything after this…will be your duty.

  He withdrew his sight and whispered softly, “May the Lord have mercy.” Divine light descended from the sky. The majestic purity of the light was like a flame, enveloping him inch by inch and pulling him into the fire. He was slowly turned to ashes.

  Under the screams and startled eyes, the juries’ faces changed, and even the Cardinals’ projection became turbulent.

  “Stop him!” Borja lost his grace. He got up from his seat, yelling at the sluggish bailiffs, “Musicians! Get the musicians! Stop him!”

  Michel wanted to die here! Unfortunately, nothing could stop him. This was a musician’s suicide. Even if the King of Red was here, it would still be impossible to stop it. When he said he was willing to pay the price, he activated the symphony of predestination in his body. Containing the divine punishment, it turned into a mighty flame after igniting the aether and swallowed him from within. He had made up his mind when he entered the courtroom. It was impossible for the Ministry of Information to fight with a colossus like the Ecclesiastical Order. Even if Michel had put all the blame on himself and made such testimony, a loophole could still be found.

  There might be traitors in the ministry and even he also had weakness that common people wouldn’t know… As long as the Ecclesiastical Order found any chance, his desperate attempt would still fail. So this was his last chance.

  Witnessed by the Cardinals, he surrendered himself to the Scared City in the Sacred Court and settled everything with his death.

  Death was not horrible.

  He had lived enough

  In the burning flames, he stood at the witness’s stand, whispering the words in the Scripture. But his eyes looked over the flames, staring at Maxwell.

  Maxwell did not want to meet that pair of eyes. He closed his eyes and lowered his head.

  Michel smiled, as if he had been redeemed from the dirty world and mire. He died willingly.

  “Bishop Michel, why choose us?” Maxwell’s voice seemed to ring again.

  “Because only Anglo needs the power of the Ministry of Information at this time. In order to preserve this power, they are willing to become the enemy of half the Scared City.”

  That moment, Michel knew that he was going to die here instead of the battlefield of the Crusade or a hospital’s bed. There was no glorious ending for him. He must bear the sin and die in humiliation and humbleness.

  The judge died in the trial. Your Majesty, is this the outcome you chose for me?

  Seeming to understand, he laughed softly.

  Good! This is what I want… Thank you for your
mercy and compassion, as well as your forgiveness.

  In the burning of flames, pain hit him. He felt as if his body turned into flying ashes inch by inch and drifted from under the robe. It seemed that some people screamed, some shouted out of panic, and some tried to approach but could not enter the sacred radiance. Gradually, nothing could be seen anymore. There was no sound. Only the burning pain continued like something endless that would burn to the end of purgatory.

  Memories of the past seemed to be lit by the flames. They turned into ashes together with him. But in the trance, there was a faint voice as if he had returned to seventy years ago…

  “I am telling all of you here and all of you who are not here that this is the will of God!” the solemn voice said from above as if it conveyed the Gospel of Heaven.

  “Let us plunge into a holy war, a great crusade to regain the land for mankind! Let all dispute and strife rest. Let us embark on this journey! Reclaim the fertile soil from evil and demons! That Dark World, as the Holy Code says, is the land that God gave to our forefathers!”

  In the trance, Michel suddenly wanted to cry. He stood in the dark, followed by those who had been waiting for so long. Together, they set foot on the path to the deeper darkness.

  He shouted. Under the calls, he walked forward with his passed teachers, his dead comrades who had died in humiliation as well as those gloomy priests.

  “…Let those who used to fiercely fight with others just because of personal affairs to fight the demons for their countrymen now! This is a battle worth fighting, a battle to be won!

  “Let those who used to be robbers now fight for mankind to become the knight of God! Let those who had fought with their friends and relatives in the past now justly fight against those who profane the Holy Land!

  “Go east and receive the eternal reward!”

  “Crusade!”

  “Crusade!”