CHAPTER 72: ACCUSATION

Flying for the first time made him a little dizzy. Before he could stabilize himself, he was dragged to the center of the Temple ruin.

Once he landed, he noticed the eyes of a dozen people pass over him. Behind them, the fragments of the pyramid structure gleamed as water reflected the sunlight.

’The stone debris has been moved to the side to excavate the land. They must be gathering the materials used to build the temple. Not taking it would be a waste.’

Zephyr thought while he was brought to the middle of the temple, towards the altar.

Zolt, Corvinus, and a few other mages were standing on the open ground, waiting for him.

’That’s a grand welcome.’ Zephyr mumbled under his breath.

The way in which they looked made him a little uneasy. After all, there were a lot of secrets he must hide.

’There was no mention of lie detection spells in the game, so they won’t know for sure if I lied.’

He lifted his head to look at Corvinus and Zolt. The binding spell over his body dissolved and disappeared. He could now freely move.

Zephyr stretched his arm and spine.

Corvinus and Zolt watched everything in silence. They observed him closely, searching for any differences.

And differences they indeed found.

From appearance to the way he moved and presented himself, everything was different. Zephyr was not acting like the young man they knew.

A smile slowly bloomed on Corvinus’ face. Zolt, on the other hand, frowned.

Aurelia, who landed nearby, swiftly walked forward and began to speak.

"Masters, I apologize for the delay." She bowed respectfully.

Then she tapped Zephyr, asking him to follow suit.

"Oh! I should also?"

Zephyr followed suit, but not that respectfully.

His awkward movement caused some of the mages standing nearby to seethe in anger.

Ignorant of this phenomenon, Zephyr raised his head and continued to look directly at the Masters.

"Can you tell me why you brought me here?" He finally asked.

This prompted Corvinus to look at Zolt.

"Should I deal with it?" He asked.

Zolt shook his head.

"No. Let the storm tower question him." Zolt motioned with his hand towards one of the mages who was standing nearby.

Immediately, a young mage of 4-star intermediate rank stepped over. He gave a polite bow and walked right towards the open space where Zephyr stood.

’The bully!’

The mage was the same person who wanted to throw a waterball at him.

’Why are they inviting this dumbass?’

"Hello everyone, my name is Cedric Malverin. I am the firstborn of the noble house of Malverin." The mage declared proudly. "I here by accuse Zephyr Venturi of gross misconduct and negligence."

Cedric said with a disgusting smile that almost made Zephyr jump up and smack his face. The squinty eyes and pale face were making him more annoyed than he ever had been.

’And what does gross negligence and misconduct even mean? Is this something kind of fake hearing? I need a lawyer, damn it.’

Adjusting the collar, Cedric continued.

"Because of these crimes, I implore the Tower to dismiss and serve criminal punishment to him."

’Um!’ Zephyr raised an eyebrow.

Still, there was no mention of what exactly he did. The bully Cedric seems to be taking the opportunity to get rid of him.

’Why?’

"Zephyr, do you accept the punishment?" He asked loudly.

Many of the mages were shocked by what Cedric said. They looked at each other in confusion.

Meanwhile, Zolt gritted his teeth. Corvinus almost laughed.

Zephyr turned around to look at the mages around him. His eyes glanced over to Aurelia’s side. She avoided his gaze.

From what Elanor had said, he knew that he would be accused of some bullcrap when he came over. But it was even worse than he imagined.

The Cedric or whatever was speaking in definitive terms, asking him to accept the punishment without even fully explaining what crime he had committed. This was a farce hearing made to sideline him for some odd reason.

’Anyway, let’s see what this fool has to say.’

Zephyr shook his head and began to speak.

"Gross negligence and misconduct are broad terms. Can Mr Cedric speak clearly as to what crimes I committed? At least, I should know that before you name me a criminal. So, please elaborate..."

His voice momentarily stopped everyone.

Corvinus smirked.

Zephyr used to be a docile young man who did exactly what the storm tower–his seniors–asked him to do. A single glare from a mage should have caused him to crumble before them.

And yet, he was raising his voice and speaking clearly. What was happening captured Corvinus’ interest.

Cedric Malverin gave a victorious smile and began to list out all of Zephyr’s crimes.

"Your first crime was negligence. You were sent to the village as a stormkeeper. But you are bound by duty to observe everything happening within and around the village. You failed to do it and allowed a necromancer to intrude."

"Second, you allowed the villagers to be captured and killed."

"Third, you destroyed the lighthouse."

The third crime made some of the mages standing around gasp loudly.

"Fourth, you failed to inform the Storm Tower of the situation, almost leading to a godspawn being released into the kingdom."

"Fifth, you failed to co-operate with the investigation."

"Considering the loss of human life and damages, I request the tower to once again dismiss him and punish him as a criminal."

"Sigh."

Zephyr watched the man standing victoriously and sighed. Nothing he said was backed by any evidence, nor was it true.

"Do you accept it?" Cedric asked Zephyr again.

"No," Zephyr replied.

The fake courtroom drama happening before him didn’t startle Zephyr. In fact, he liked it.

It was fun.

And from Zolt’s expression, he knew he was not being targeted by the tower. Cedric was going on his own and targeting him.

The tower just needed the information as to what happened. They were letting Cedric question him so that they could get it quickly.

They didn’t care about who won or who lost.

If Zephyr desperately tried to prove himself, they would get the truth.

If Zephyr can’t disprove Cedric’s accusation, they will still get the truth.

Either way, they will win...or so they must have thought.

Zephyr smiled.