145 – The Tribunal’s Ramification. (4)
I gazed at Adrian. Was it time to begin?
The moment I saw the smile forming on her lips, I sensed the noose tightening around the monks’ necks. And sure enough.
When Adrian applauded, several priests appeared carrying a substantial amount of documents. Naturally, they were the materials I had handed her.
The sheer volume was staggering, and people were looking at her with puzzled expressions.
Before revealing what the documents were, Adrian, with a sly smile as if revealing a treasure trove, looked around.
At that moment, our eyes met.
For some reason, she smiled even brighter and gazed at me. It was a silent plea to watch over her.
And I had no doubt she would succeed. Adrian, who had always successfully completed every task, was not one to experience failure.
In the end, it would be her, not the monks, who would have the last laugh.
***
“What is… this document?”
The Pope, pretending ignorance, asked Adrian. It was to give her the right to speak. With the monks feeling threatened, it was necessary to preempt what nonsense they might spew.
“This is a document containing the misconduct of the monks. I thoroughly investigated it, so please read it carefully.”
“Hmm…”
It was time for some acting. No matter how shocking the information, eliciting a dramatic reaction from a situation one already knew about was not easy.
Pope Angelus III slowly perused the document. To feel that rage he felt when he first saw it.
The detailed contents revealed just how corrupt the monks, the supposed righteous ones, had been, unknowingly undermining the Kingdom.
Once again, even upon a second read, the contents were enough to make one’s body tremble and evoke anger.
Fingertips trembled slightly. The hand passing the document became somewhat rough. The atmosphere in the tribunal began to calm down significantly.
After reading the document in its entirety, and as he lifted his head to gaze at the monks with a furious expression.
The monks couldn’t even raise their heads in defiance. Pope Angelus III was not someone who easily got angry, but when a person like that did, that anger was beyond manageable.
“Is this true?”
The Pope’s tone trembled. Although I already knew it, reading it again just doesn’t make sense. Anyone who reads this material would surely be furious.
How can those who serve the empire engage in such behavior?
“What material have you seen…?”
As the Pope spoke shakily, the Inquisitors couldn’t help but show signs of unease. It was only natural. If the material in the Pope’s hands contained all their faults, they would be done for.
“It seems that what should be at the center of the judgment hall right now… is not the Saint, but all of you.”
The Pope’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“What…?”
“See for yourself. Directly.”
The Pope tossed the material to the Inquisitors as if throwing away trash. As the material fluttered down, the Inquisitors had no choice but to pick it up, page by page.
And as the Inquisitors read the contents of the material, their faces began to pale instantly.
Because the material was filled with their past wrongdoings and evidence of those wrongs.
However, the Inquisitors quickly regained their composure. They knew better than to show any signs of guilt.
No, they should claim that the material is false. After all, it’s just the material; there’s no solid evidence yet.
“I-It’s false. Fabricated. How could we, as Inquisitors, shamelessly do such things.”
Inquisitor Andersen tried to change the subject, but the Pope’s cold expression remained unchanged.
“Inquisitor Andersen. Can you take responsibility for those words?”
“Of course! This material is entirely fabricated. It’s nothing but material concocted by the Saint to corner us Inquisitors!”
“Material concocted to corner you… indeed. Then, how would you explain this.”
At that moment, what the Pope presented to them was… precisely.
A slave contract bearing the seal only Inquisitors could use. Distributing drugs and brainwashing people were not the only issues.
They had also secretly brought in slaves from other countries and treated them as their own servants, possessing slave contracts to prove ownership.
A crucial element in a slave contract is the seal of the owner.
And the seal on that contract… naturally. Belonged to the Inquisitors.
A seal that no one could forge.
“T-That is…”
The Inquisitors’ faces once again turned ashen. Watching their reactions, Adrian couldn’t help but find them ridiculous.
There was no point in lying here. Why would a heretic judge be present otherwise? Even without those slave contracts… the ones with the Inquisitors’ seals on them, their words would be proven false.
‘Pointless struggle.’
She mocked them. Despite advocating not to love anyone, they were the ones bringing slaves from other countries into the empire and exploiting them.
Moreover, the empire had long abolished slavery. Under the grace of Deus, no human could be enslaved by another.
What they had done was not just about slavery. Drug trafficking, brainwashing elite labor through drugs, inciting civilians… They were people who committed unspeakable acts.
If they thought they could leave this place unscathed, that would be a grave mistake.
The Saint felt the need to drive the wedge here.
“Answer me. And… what is this?”
Her pressure didn’t stop there. Adrian took out an item from his bosom and placed it firmly on the table.
The drugs they distributed. Bliss from heaven.
“I’ve heard that a drug called Bliss from Heaven has been circulating in the underworld for quite some time. This is from the brothel I raided this time. However, why would this item originate from the Inquisitors’ domain?”
“What nonsense…!”
“Don’t just say nonsense, but refute why this item came from the Inquisitors’ domain. All that has come out of the Inquisitors’ mouths so far is nonsense, empty words… no proper refutation, just evasive excuses. That’s why… it seems like you’re confessing to being the culprits yourselves.”
At Adrian’s sharp words, the Pope, as if having nothing more to say, called the inquisitors.
“Inquisitors.”
“Your Holiness called, sir!”
“Examine the acolytes with the eyes of truth. Determine whether they speak lies or truths.”
Eyes of truth.
“Yes!”
The inquisitors each looked at the acolytes with the eyes of truth, and then the Pope questioned the acolytes.
“Truly, do you have no connection to the wickedness befalling the Holy Empire?”
“None!”
“Inquisitors. Is what they say the truth?”
…”
The inquisitors, faced with such blatant wickedness, were speechless.
“…False.”
“It seems the roles of the judged and the judges have been reversed.”
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The Pope’s chilling declaration. Simultaneously, a sudden appearance of armed forces made the acolytes kneel. Only then did the acolytes realize the trap set by the Pope and the Saint.
“What is the meaning of this!”
“Those who have sinned must be judged accordingly.”
Andersen, the acolyte, erupted, but his words faded in the cold response of the Pope.
“This can’t be! The acolytes have dedicated themselves to the Holy Empire…! Wasn’t it you, Your Holiness, who conspired with the Saint to set this trap from the beginning?”
“Conspired with the Saint? Speak the truth. The Saint merely provided me with factual information, the wrong was committed by you. Why would I conspire with the Saint against the acolytes?”
Moore tried to refute, but it was an irrefutable statement. There was no room for feeble excuses.
The acolytes shut their eyes tightly. That was the beginning.
-Did you see those wretches!
-Those so-called acolytes…!
The angry cries of the believers began to assault their ears.
No, it didn’t just end there.
[Foolish beings.]
Suddenly, a brilliant radiance descended from the sky, and a voice was heard.
The radiance took shape gradually… and finally, the angel bearing the beauty of justice revealed himself as the first son of Deus, the Archangel Michael, unfolding his eight wings.
With his arrival, the noise in the judgment hall ceased.
“…W-who are you?”
To the foolish question of the acolytes, Michael answered.
“I am the one you humans call Michael. That’s me.”
“H-how!”
At the revelation of the angel named Michael, the acolytes swallowed hard. None of them could perceive Michael’s presence here with positive intentions.
“While our eyes watch over the world, did you think we would remain ignorant of how you defiled the land that our Father intended? Foolish ones. Deny and reject all you want, but I have seen clearly the wrongs you committed. It is simply the time for judgment to arrive.”
“P-please spare us! We will never commit wrongs again. We will repent and live in this world with good intentions!”
“Impossible. For those who oppress the girl loved by the Father, and defile the land our Father intended, there is only one path left.”
“No, it can’t be.”
“Through death, cleanse yourselves of your negativity.”
“aaahhh!”
Michael waved his hand towards the priests, and soon, the brightly burning torches began to engulf the priests’ bodies, providing the most excruciating pain one could feel in the human world.
