207 Trial, problems
Thank you, Swcowboy, for another round of support for my book. Two additional chapters were supposed to be released yesterday, but I was occupied with other matters, so I couldn't write on time. Enjoy reading!
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The Council of Higher Powers – perhaps one of the loudest events that can occur in the entire history of this world. Over a hundred of the world's strongest individuals gather in one place. Amarantha could only sigh with irritation, not at all thrilled to meet those creatures who fancied themselves the kings of the world.
Even among the strongest, there was their hierarchy.
If your strength is from S- to S+, you can only listen – no one will consider your ideas and thoughts. If your strength is from SS- to SS+, you have the right to voice your opinions, and if your strength is SSS-, you are considered a full-fledged king, and your word carries the utmost importance, forcing others to remain silent and accept your orders.
Amarantha was at the SS- level, giving her the right, though her capabilities were limited. Meanwhile, Veronica, with an SSS+ level, was among the top three powerful beings.
The meeting place was in the Queen of Elves' castle, making Amarantha feel uncomfortable, especially considering her issues with Amaria, and their interests often clashed, leading to animosity. However, it wouldn't be accurate to say she was scared.
"Hmm, this place is still crappy," Amarantha thought, glancing over her shoulder. She tried to find someone familiar, but everyone in the castle had changed.
If before the castle was home to over a hundred people, now there were at most ten maids, and they looked tired and completely without mood. Moreover...
Flashes. Flashes. Flashes.
Flashes appeared in the air one after another, forming portals from which silhouettes resembling shadows started emerging. Each of them possessed strength not lower than S-, but due to a special spell, their faces couldn't be seen. Amarantha felt something similar, as she had no desire to deal with these people.
But, of course, some didn't care about disguises. One of them was Juliet, who came out of the portal and immediately landed on the ground, creating a noise. Under her feet, a crater formed, while the sword behind her sparkled brightly, and her wild aura made the surrounding elves nervous.
"Hmph!"
She proudly snorted and narrowed her golden eyes as her beautiful blue hair fluttered in the wind. An aura of a warrior emanated from her, but for beings relying on spells, this show didn't work. They simply bypassed her and began walking towards the royal castle.
"..." From Amarantha's perspective, she could barely contain her desire to facepalm. However, understanding that Juliet was a newcomer, and it was her first participation in such gatherings, she decided to help her. So, the woman took a step forward, and in the next second, found herself behind Juliet.
"Why the theatrics, Juliet? You won't impress anyone here, except maybe some Supreme path (1 law) suckers." Amarantha said with a sigh, and her sudden appearance surprised the woman.
"E?! Oh... it's you, Amarantha."
The wolf girl was greatly surprised, evident in her raised ears and tail standing on end. She seemed alert and ready to attack, but upon recognizing her acquaintance by voice, she relaxed. It seemed that Amarantha's presence made Juliet loosen up, as indicated by her tail swaying from side to side.
Both women entered the castle, following a seemingly dejected chambermaid. They proceeded into a huge room that could easily accommodate a hundred people. The interior was designed like a courtroom, with all the guests seated in the stands, while the place for the accused remained empty.
For now, only the spectators had arrived—Amarantha was seated in the second row, and Juliet in the third. There were 58 people in the room, but that didn't mean no one else would come. The trial of a being who had reached Ascent: God level was unprecedented.
"Madam Veronica will not escape responsibility this time. Perhaps she deserves it. How many of her mistakes have we forgiven? It's time to stop!" Voices behind Amarantha spoke.
"You're right... once she came and destroyed more than twenty countries, then conquered them, creating the Chaos Empire in this place. Isn't that a violation of all agreements?"
Hearing their conversations, Amarantha could only shake her head. Veronica was such a personality that attracting enemies seemed like part of her day. However, it was too late to cry over spilled milk; one could only wait and hope that she could avoid punishment.
For Amarantha, Veronica was not someone close but a valuable ally who could undoubtedly help in a difficult situation. Therefore, Amarantha hoped that everything would end well.
Mostly, the woman had a chance to observe those present. The last assembly was two thousand years ago or even earlier, so it was amazing to see a sudden increase in powerful practitioners. There was something suspicious about it—as if the world encouraged the emergence of new powerhouses, and hence, the magical energy was saturated.
"But it's just a theory. The world may be facing danger or something similar... the last time such a boom in practitioners, according to ancient records, was during the Ancient War." Amarantha thought, narrowing her eyes and turning her head towards the entrance. "Moreover... these two. Essentially, they are considered the leaders, right?" Two people entered the room—their appearance was in the form of silhouettes, making it impossible to determine their identities. However, the aura of these individuals was as strong as Veronica's, though slightly inferior. These two, including Veronica, were the leaders in these gatherings.
And this fact was only reinforced, considering that the chattering people who had been talking incessantly a moment ago immediately fell silent and stood up, not daring to show disrespect to these two. Amarantha also stood up and sighed when she saw that a black portal had appeared in the middle of the room, and with an indifferent expression, Veronica stepped out of it.
"Gulp..."
Somewhere, a swallowing sound was heard—some people who had heard about the Demon Queen but hadn't seen her were very impressed. Moreover, her aura was oppressive—even Amarantha felt uncomfortable.
"Hm? Oh, you're here too... Well, it's expected, I guess," mumbled Veronica, giving Amarantha a fleeting glance. She turned away, walked to the accused's place, crossed her arms over her chest, and confidently looked at the two ahead. She said, "You can start, incompetents. You won't achieve anything anyway."
The trial began.
***
While Veronica's trial was commencing, unusual incidents were occurring in the rest of the world. Portals suddenly appeared everywhere, and creatures resembling demons emerged from them. However, when the Chaos Empire was questioned for explanations, they responded, "We don't know what's happening. We're in the same situation."
Unfortunately, the city of Sedyon also came under attack, prompting a state of emergency. The city guards actively fought the monsters, and there were many casualties. These demons were significantly different from those living in the Chaos Empire; they resembled mindless beasts.
In attempts to communicate with them, Adam achieved limited success, though understanding anything from their strange speech seemed impossible. They spoke in an unknown and ancient language, and they did not feel any affinity toward the man, even though he too was a demon. On the contrary, they became aggressive upon meeting him, as if they had seen their natural enemy.
And this behavior was deeply concerning.
"I always thought that demons are sentient beings, but not all of them have sentience. What could this mean?" Adam thought, furrowing his brow.
He was in his office, accompanied by Elyra, Nyx, and Aurora. They were trying to decipher the mystery of their DNA, but even identifying their race proved impossible. Something was preventing them.
"Sorry, Adam... I tried to check, but nothing worked. It feels like several beings have merged into one," Nyx said, looking visibly disheartened.
"Don't worry. I think it's normal that we can't identify them. After all, it's something new for this world," Adam reassured her.
Sierra had to return to Silvana as a report was received from there—demons had appeared on their territories. Fortunately, with her power, she could easily get rid of them. However, considering that it was extremely challenging to predict their movements, a difficult situation was unfolding.
They appeared from portals that looked very unusual and didn't fit any description from books. Unfortunately, at this critical moment, neither Veronica nor Amarantha was with them. So, they had to fend for themselves, not knowing who they were battling.
"How strange. They are demons, but their intelligence is not as developed. They resemble monsters more," muttered Aurora, furrowing her brow. She raised her gaze and looked out the window, pointing with her finger, "Look! Another portal has appeared there again!"
Documents on Adam's desk flew up, and seconds later, no one was left in the room. All four immediately went outside and were ready to face another batch of demons. However, even after waiting for five minutes, no one emerged from there.
"Strange... they used to come out as soon as the portal appeared," said Adam, furrowing his brow.
He closed his eyes and tapped into Amarantha's power using his skill. Then, he created a square barrier that would temporarily restrict the portal from the outside world. The situation was far from ideal because they didn't even know who they were fighting. The only thing they knew was that the enemies had an extremely strong weakness to light, typical of ordinary demons, but...
"They also have a significant connection to fire, but darkness is absent."
The attribute of darkness. Perhaps this attribute was ingrained in demons at the lineage level, as even the most insignificant demon had a talent for it. However, the new demons lacked it.
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