Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 2851: Trial

Emery was not well-versed in the procedural intricacies of Magus Alliance law, but he understood enough to recognize that something was deeply wrong. A preliminary hearing conducted within just days of his capture—without his presence, without formal interrogation, without counsel—was not merely irregular. It was deliberate. It meant pressure. It meant orchestration.

Yet none of that mattered as much as the question burning through him.

"How is Klea?" he asked.

She stared at him, incredulous. "That’s the first thing you ask?"

"Klea," he repeated, more firmly.

Her frustration faltered. She exhaled slowly, then answered.

"She’s at my estate. Under my protection. I have the best healers available tending to her."

A pause.

"Unfortunately... She hasn’t woken."

The words hollowed him.

"Let me see her" Emery asked.

Jinkan’s composure snapped. "Look at you. Look at where you are. They want you dead, Emery. Do you understand that? The Astiels are pushing relentlessly. They’re pressuring the Justice Department from every angle."

She stepped closer to the restraint barrier.

"Yes, you’re in Magus Alliance custody. But this is the Nephilim sector branch. Most of the officials here are tied to Nephilim clans—by blood, marriage, or patronage."

Her gaze hardened.

"If I hadn’t intervened immediately, you would have been executed already."

Emery inclined his head.

"They’re trying to accelerate everything," she continued. "Fast-track the trial before outside influence can interfere. We’re attempting to move jurisdiction."

"We?" he asked quietly.

"I hired the best legal defender available."

Later that day, the man Jinkan had spoken of arrived under heavy escort.

Magus Rex

He did not look like a battlefield cultivator, yet the pressure around him carried a different kind of weight. He wore an immaculate dark suit whispering of wealth and status.

He activated a projection crystal. Light filled the chamber, forming lines of data, faction emblems, casualty reports.

Rex did not waste time.

"There are one hundred and fifty-six confirmed fatalities," he said evenly. "Twenty-eight of them were grand magus. In addition, there are over three thousand recorded injuries and structural destruction."

He shifted the display.

"It is fortunate," he continued, "that Jazio, sword master elder of the Heaven’s Will Sword Sect, survived. His secret art allowed his soul to escape into his sword before his body was destroyed"

Another gesture, and sigils appeared in the air.

"Thirteen factions have formally charged you with murder. Six of them are Nephilim clans."

His tone did not change.

"They are not requesting simple execution. Several demand extermination of your immediate lineage. Others demand confiscation of all associated assets."

He glanced briefly at Emery before reading the figure.

"The total proposed compensation claims more than 100 billions."

The number hung in the air.

Emery’s expression remained steady. He had seen higher faction than Earth erased for less. Power dictated law in most corners of the realms; this was simply its polished form.

Rex lowered the projection slightly.

"The central issue," he said, "is justification."

He let that word settle.

"It would greatly assist your defense if you possess verifiable evidence that your actions were legally compelled."

"I have reviewed recording made by one name Eeshoo. It establishes that once hostilities began, you were responding under active threat. It may support a partial self-defense claim."

He paused.

"It does not establish why you disrupted the ceremony in the first place."

The air in the room grew heavier.

"With both Winter Lord and Caelthar deceased, there is no surviving testimony to confirm coercion. Prince Denard remains in critical condition and is shielded under medical privilege. Lady Klea is unconscious."

He adjusted the projection again. Images of sworn statements appeared.

"In contrast, the opposing side has submitted hundreds of witness accounts claiming Lady Klea attended the ceremony willingly."

The imbalance was stark.

"In the eyes of the law," Rex concluded calmly, "you appear as the aggressor who initiated violence at a diplomatic gathering."

He folded his hands behind his back.

"I have filed a warrant requesting interrogation of Prince Denard. It is unlikely to be granted. Given his condition and the political pressure involved, we cannot push aggressively without triggering procedural shutdown."

His gaze sharpened slightly.

"The Astiels are furious. They have mobilized influence across multiple administrative channels to accelerate proceedings. Their objective is clear: a swift conviction before external powers can interfere."

Silence lingered.

Then Rex asked plainly, "If you possess allies with political weight, now is the time to invoke them."

Emery remained still for several seconds before reluctantly, he gave Magus Rex names who could help him.

The Karat faction. Delbrand, former deputy headmaster, and the wolf-serpent halfblood.

Two days passed.

No response came.

Instead, Jinkan sent a private letter.

"Emery... they intercepted most of Rex’s communications. He was ambushed. The Astiels forced procedural acceleration and pushed the final hearing to tomorrow. My grand uncle refuses to intervene. My father is off-world. I’ve exhausted every favor I can call in."

The final line was simple.

"I am sorry."

Emery read it without expression.

He understood.

He wrote only four words in reply.

"Take care of Klea."

The following morning, he was escorted to the High Tribunal Hall under heavy guard.

The courtroom rose in layered tiers, carved from pale stone reinforced by suppression arrays. The gallery was filled—clan delegates, sect representatives, Papal observers, and political opportunists drawn by spectacle.

At the front stood Darian Astiel.

The clan ruler spoke quietly with the presiding judge before the session began. Their familiarity was subtle but unmistakable. Emery did not need divine sense to read the alignment of power.

He was placed within a circular suppression array at the center of the hall. Chains bound his wrists and ankles. A restraint collar dampened the circulation of spirit energy.

The prosecution began without delay.

A senior legal magus stepped forward, voice amplified across the chamber.

"The accused, Emery Ambrose, stands responsible for death and destructions that....."

He listed all claims and continued.

"This individual has a documented history of destabilizing conduct. Repeated violent engagements. Defiance of established authority."

A narrative was being constructed.

"Do not be misled by his appearance," the prosecutor declared. "He is not a man governed by reason. He is a beast."

Then came the most damaging evidence.

Eeshoo’s recordings.

The crystal’s projection displayed Emery in his beast form, his savages killings.

It showed only violence.

And it showed it clearly.

Murmurs spread through the gallery.

Across the chamber, several faction representatives nodded grimly.

When the prosecution concluded, the weight of the narrative was overwhelming.

Magus Rex’s seat remained empty.

In his place stood a junior associate, visibly strained under the pressure of so many hostile factions. His procedural objections were dismissed quickly. His attempts to delay were denied.

The imbalance was obvious.

"I have reviewed the evidence," the judge said at last, his voice resonant and final. "The scale of destruction and loss—"

He paused, looking down at Emery.

"The court finds sufficient grounds to—"

Then...

The massive doors at the rear of the tribunal hall opened with a heavy echo.

Every head turned.

Atlas entered.

He walked forward with measured steps, ignoring the protests of guards. In his arms, he carried someone.

Klea.

Her face was pale, her aura faint, but her eyes were open. She was conscious.

A wave of stunned whispers rippled through the chamber.

Her voice was weak, but the hall’s acoustics carried it clearly.

"I am here to testify."