“He is lying! And even if my son did brag, it was just a brag to rile him up for provocation! There is no proof that my son did any of that!”
It was a crafty move. After all, Zoren wouldn’t be subjected to Truth Seeking Orb or other methods to bring out truth due to his current mental condition.
“Oh, I have a solid proof,” Almond smiled.
The judges looked at him.
“What solid proof?” the oldest lady judge blinked.
“A confession. I am also not aware of everything, but Zoren will confess truthfully,” Almond’s eyes glinted as he turned to Zoren. “Zoren, did you destroy a girl’s life? Tell everyone the truth while looking at the judges. You are a good man now, right? Be honest.”
Zoren trembled and stood up, his eyes looking at the judges, but before he could speak, Zolen grabbed him and stood up with a shout, “This is bull shit!”
“He is manipulating my son with his threat. He already destroyed my son’s psyche with his beating and threat. This is not ethical at all!”
The judge in the suit looked at Almond and coldly said, “Mr. Almond. You are not in a position to threaten the victim further.”
“You are only making things worse for yourself. Bring out some solid proofs,” added the curly red-haired lady.
Almond blinked, “I’m sure that after he confesses, we can investigate and get the truth of the matter as a whole. Why are you stopping Zoren from doing that? I am not manipulating him or anything.”
“You are out of your mi-” the black-haired judge’s speech stopped midway as everyone felt an overbearing pressure descending on them.
Admiral Rudra stood up and walked towards the center as he faced the judge, “Judges, your job is to judge. So stick to it. I make laws and rules regarding Adventurers, and I am the main investigator of this matter.”
“Do you understand?” Admiral Rudra narrowed his eyes. “Zoren will confess, and based on his confession, the investigation will proceed to find the truth. And if the truth is that Zoren did destroy a girl’s life for his entertainment and details of his crimes, then Almond’s action will be justified as a Special Hunter of GAA appointed by me.”
“Admiral, even for you, this is going overboard,” the old man said with a frown. “The victim is not in the right condition to speak, so his statement and confession are inva-“
“Paul,” Admiral Rudra looked at him, his eyes deadpan. “Zoren will confess, and an investigation will be launched based on that. Do you understand my words, or are they entering an ear and going out of another?”
The judges could feel their backs becoming sweaty.
Almond was grinning from ear to ear internally, ‘Way to go, old man!’
Turning to Zoren, Admiral’s eyes suddenly flickered, ‘Bastard.’
He vanished and grabbed Zolen’s by his neck. “What were you doing to your son? Make him unable to speak?”
Zolen felt his whole body heating up and binding in a strange power as Admiral Rudra grabbed him. His eyes filled with fear as he shouted, “Help!”
Admiral Rudra smacked him on the ground while all judges except for the oldest lady stood up.
“This is not the right conduc-“
Admiral Rudra’s one glance silenced the black-haired man in the suit as sweat beads formed on his forehead.
“Sit down,” he spoke as the four judges sat down, feeling powerless.
As the judges sat down, Almond cleared his throat and said, “Zoren, please confess the truth.”
Zoren nodded as he swallowed, his eyes on the judge. “I-I…There was this twenty-year-old girl who had joined the guild. She didn’t have parents, so she was an easy target. I invited her and drugged her before my father took her to our secret house in the mountain behind the guild base. She had a little sister too, but she could become a variable, so my father also took her there.”
“W-we kept them for a few days before he told me not to come. He disposed of them both, or maybe he kept them? I don’t know. It’s been twenty days since I last went there.”
Almond was dumbfounded. ‘Fucking hell, these two motherfucking pieces of trash!’
Admiral Rudra suddenly punched Zolen’s back, breaking his spine as Zolen cried out in horrifying pain.
“What are you doing, Admiral?!” Paul frowned. “You said that the investigation will happen first.”
“Paul, if you speak one more word, I will bury you here,” Admiral Rudra stood up and adjusted his tie before taking a deep breath.
*Bam!*
In the next second, his foot smashed Zolen’s head into the floor and Zolen stopped moving.
The judges trembled while the oldest lady judge simply sighed. “Rudra, I can understand your anger, but please refrain from any more violence here. I believe that Zoren has confessed truthfully, and it will be taken as a legitimate confession. His eyes say it all, but investigation must happen, and proof must be brought to light here for this confession to be validated.”
“Almond,” Selena continued afterward, “You are a free man until the investigation is finished. The trial is dismissed and a new trial will begin based on the investigation’s result. Admiral Rudra, please inform us once the investigation is finished.”
…
Admiral Rudra made some calls and sent people to investigate the so-called secret house after getting its address from Zoren.
The matter was in Admiral Rudra’s hand now.
“Admiral, I want him dead,” Almond said, his eyes icy and wrathful. “Father and son, both of them must be executed for what they did, and I’m sure that girl wasn’t their first victim.”
“They will be executed,” Admiral Rurdra nodded. “Zolen is already half-dead. I was tempted to kill him, but I sent him into a coma for now until we got the proof. If I had killed him there, the Earth Union would have become a pain in my ass and undermined my authority using the fact that I killed someone before getting proof.”
“I have a small request,” Almond coughed. “I want to be present at their execution.”
“Is it related to your class?” Admiral Rudra raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah,” Almond smiled. “So, please. Let me be present.”
“Fine.”