"Here, I surrender myself to the Sacred City," Michel said. "I incited Ye Qingxuan to do all the things. He was forced to assist me. I am willing to take all responsibilities and pay the price."
The spectators erupted in shock. Those who had just returned stared at his back with astonishment, then quietly got up, and again left to tell their boss this amazing news. The bathroom of the Sacred Court had never been overcrowded like this since it was built.
More people exchanged their shock with each other, whisper amongst themselves. The noisy muffled sound was heard here and there. There was even a pious priest who came to witness Ye Qingxuan's death denouncing Michel.
"Ridiculous! You—"
"Silence! Silence! Silence!" Borja pounded the gavel many times. The bailiffs got in and expelled the priest who roused this riot. Musicians forcibly pressed down everyone's voice.
Everything fell into silence again. In the silence, Bastian was soaked through by sweat. As he contemplated, his complexion changed rapidly.
Borja's urging eyes didn't allow him to keep pretending. He interrupted Michel. "Bishop Michel, stop talking about such ridiculous words. Ye Qingxuan has nothing to do with you. Why do you have to be responsible for what he did? Moreover, the victim of this trial is the Ministry of Information. Why are you defending the suspect?"
Michel lowered his eyes and did not look at him at all, just holding the rosary beads in his hand without responding.
Borja urged again, "Bishop Michel, answer the prosecutor's question. This is your obligation as a witness here."
So Michel sighed and lifted his eyes.
"Ye Qingxuan has been member of the Ministry of Information from the very beginning. The Night on Bald Mountain that he inherited is the best evidence. Is there any other musician who will choose to practice this movement that can only be used to kill demons?"
He gazed at Bastian's face and said word by word, "The Witch Hammer recruited him secretly ten years ago. His records are still in the archives of the Ministry of Information and are available for you to fetch. He has been the best man in the Ministry of Information for decades and the genius who will be able to revive the Department of Teaching and the Ministry of Information."
"So what's the explanation for Ye Qingxuan to kill Colt?" Bastian asked again, "Isn't Colt also a member of the Ministry of Information? He was also hailed as the hero and savior of the Department..." Before he finished, he regretted his own panic. He should have insinuated, guided the testimony, looked for a loophole, to then change the situation rather than questioning directly...
He was suppressed from the beginning.
He looked up but was afraid to look at the solemn robe and the bishop's heraldry. He took a deep breath and was ready to speak but heard Michel's voice.
"This is my mistake." Michel coughed violently. He drew his handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the scarlet from his mouth, and took his medicine. Soon, he stopped coughing. His face was suffused with red, looking radiant. Even the bent backbone was again propped up, seeming to return to normal. But purple-blue veins appeared under the neck. It was the vicious potion mixing in the blood, squeezing out every residue of his life.
"I ordered him to kill Colt in the name of the Ministry of Information." He raised his voice but his voice was so hoarse like metallic friction stinging the eardrum. "I did this to make up for my mistake but my woe still came and I have to pay the price."
Bastian opened his mouth, trying to say something. However, Michel looked over.
"Shut up, don't interrupt my words." Michel looked at him coldly. "I am old. Even in court, at least one should learn to respect the old. Since our cardinals are here, do not be disrespectful."
Bastian was stunned, sweating. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but could not say anything. The old man's eyes were like a nightmare. There was a dead darkness in that dark green that suffocated him.
This was the judge who had crucified countless demons on the fire rack!
They were both examiners. But unlike Bastian who would only sit in the office, Michel's courtroom was in the wilderness of the Dark World. He arrested, judged, and executed. He erected the teachings of mankind in the Dark World and lit flames with the corpses of demons.
Over the years, he became terminally ill. He sank into the mire because of the political downfall. For various reasons, he lay in bed, watching the Ministry of Information die gradually. He was old. Now, he stood here again with the final determination. No one dared to stand in his way.
If you speak again, you will die, the pair of eyes said clearly.
Bastian swallowed. His face turned pale.
"I hereby confess my sin to the Sacred City." Michel raised his hoarse voice and it echoed in the court. "I set foot on the path of the devil to revive the Ministry of Information.
"In order to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I was blinded by Colt. Without any scrutiny, I disregarded the will of the Sacred City and made my first mistake by allowing him to be a member of the department.
"After I realized his real nature and the sins he had committed, I made my second mistake.
"In order to protect the honor of the Ministry of Information, I ordered Ye Qingxuan to execute him secretly at all costs. I also prepare to sacrifice him afterwards to show the innocence of the department. "
"Everything that Ye Qingxuan has done has been approved by me. My secretary will submit the detailed records to the Court as evidence to convict me in the future."
Borja looked at the sluggish Bastian several times but Bastian was transfixed. He was unaware of the judge's eyes and did not even dare to speak.
Borja frowned and asked, "Bishop Michel, how do you explain the protection of the department to Colt as well as the sacrifice of dozens of Witch Hammers and purgatory musicians?"
"It was all an act," Michel said softly, "Those who died hold different political views from mine. Those traitors had long forgotten the glory of the Ministry of Information. In order to ensure their death, I even attacked a church where two innocent priests were displaced. I am guilty.
"I am glad that in the end, Ye Qingxuan can stand up and correct my mistakes. Even though knowing that he would be sacrificed, he still faithfully carried out my commandments and never betrayed me. What he said in front of the gate of Scared City at the end was actually targeted at me.
"I was so ashamed of myself that I knew I had made a mistake. Even if I prayed, my guilt and regret would never be diminished. I have betrayed the path of God, and have thus committed many unforgivable sins. I'm willing to accept all punishment and pay any price for it."
He looked back at Ye Qingxuan who was totally stunned. This was the first time he had been so close to this startled young man. Thus, he smiled. Everything after this…will be your duty.
He withdrew his sight and whispered softly, "May the Lord have mercy." Divine light descended from the sky. The majestic purity of the light was like a flame, enveloping him inch by inch and pulling him into the fire. He was slowly turned to ashes.
Under the screams and startled eyes, the juries' faces changed, and even the Cardinals' projection became turbulent.
"Stop him!" Borja lost his grace. He got up from his seat, yelling at the sluggish bailiffs, "Musicians! Get the musicians! Stop him!"
Michel wanted to die here! Unfortunately, nothing could stop him. This was a musician's suicide. Even if the King of Red was here, it would still be impossible to stop it. When he said he was willing to pay the price, he activated the symphony of predestination in his body. Containing the divine punishment, it turned into a mighty flame after igniting the aether and swallowed him from within. He had made up his mind when he entered the courtroom. It was impossible for the Ministry of Information to fight with a colossus like the Ecclesiastical Order. Even if Michel had put all the blame on himself and made such testimony, a loophole could still be found.
There might be traitors in the ministry and even he also had weakness that common people wouldn't know... As long as the Ecclesiastical Order found any chance, his desperate attempt would still fail. So this was his last chance.
Witnessed by the Cardinals, he surrendered himself to the Scared City in the Sacred Court and settled everything with his death.
Death was not horrible.
He had lived enough
In the burning flames, he stood at the witness's stand, whispering the words in the Scripture. But his eyes looked over the flames, staring at Maxwell.
Maxwell did not want to meet that pair of eyes. He closed his eyes and lowered his head.
Michel smiled, as if he had been redeemed from the dirty world and mire. He died willingly.
"Bishop Michel, why choose us?" Maxwell's voice seemed to ring again.
"Because only Anglo needs the power of the Ministry of Information at this time. In order to preserve this power, they are willing to become the enemy of half the Scared City."
That moment, Michel knew that he was going to die here instead of the battlefield of the Crusade or a hospital's bed. There was no glorious ending for him. He must bear the sin and die in humiliation and humbleness.
The judge died in the trial. Your Majesty, is this the outcome you chose for me?
Seeming to understand, he laughed softly.
Good! This is what I want... Thank you for your mercy and compassion, as well as your forgiveness.
In the burning of flames, pain hit him. He felt as if his body turned into flying ashes inch by inch and drifted from under the robe. It seemed that some people screamed, some shouted out of panic, and some tried to approach but could not enter the sacred radiance. Gradually, nothing could be seen anymore. There was no sound. Only the burning pain continued like something endless that would burn to the end of purgatory.
Memories of the past seemed to be lit by the flames. They turned into ashes together with him. But in the trance, there was a faint voice as if he had returned to seventy years ago…
"I am telling all of you here and all of you who are not here that this is the will of God!" the solemn voice said from above as if it conveyed the Gospel of Heaven.
"Let us plunge into a holy war, a great crusade to regain the land for mankind! Let all dispute and strife rest. Let us embark on this journey! Reclaim the fertile soil from evil and demons! That Dark World, as the Holy Code says, is the land that God gave to our forefathers!"
In the trance, Michel suddenly wanted to cry. He stood in the dark, followed by those who had been waiting for so long. Together, they set foot on the path to the deeper darkness.
He shouted. Under the calls, he walked forward with his passed teachers, his dead comrades who had died in humiliation as well as those gloomy priests.
"...Let those who used to fiercely fight with others just because of personal affairs to fight the demons for their countrymen now! This is a battle worth fighting, a battle to be won!
"Let those who used to be robbers now fight for mankind to become the knight of God! Let those who had fought with their friends and relatives in the past now justly fight against those who profane the Holy Land!
"Go east and receive the eternal reward!"
"Crusade!"
"Crusade!"
"Crusade!"
Many people cheered. Michel rejoiced but could not help weep.
"Go east, everybody... go to the Dark World..." In the dying yearning came the last words of mourning, "Go to the battlefield where we dream of...go to the blood and the bones...If one day you go there, please take my soul with you..."
Michel faded away in the darkness.
-
In the silence, only pure white ashes and a solemn robe were left on the witness stand. Silently, the cardinals' projection dissipated and departed.
Everyone stared at Michel's last vestiges.
"Recess for ten minutes."
Borja pounded the gavel.
-
The Scared City's bells rang. At the port, a common merchant ship to Anglo was about to set sail. The crowd gathered. The young and middle-aged people seemed to come from all over the world. But when they stood together, they had a similar aura.
When the bells rang, the whistle sounded loud.
Those who boarded the boat looked back involuntarily, staring at the steel city in the distance. Some people looked sad, some looked indifferent, and some of the elderly shed tears.
Michel was dead. The Ministry of Information would not exist anymore. The dead shell would sink into the mire. The new blood and backbone would be taken to the displaced road to rebuild their hometown in the Dark World with the help of Anglo.
Even if they were called traitors and could no longer return here, no matter how heavy the price was! The long wait before the Crusade started. They would go there one day, to the depths of darkness, and ignite it!
"Here, I surrender myself to the Sacred City," Michel said. "I incited Ye Qingxuan to do all the things. He was forced to assist me. I am willing to take all responsibilities and pay the price."
The spectators erupted in shock. Those who had just returned stared at his back with astonishment, then quietly got up, and again left to tell their boss this amazing news. The bathroom of the Sacred Court had never been overcrowded like this since it was built.
More people exchanged their shock with each other, whisper amongst themselves. The noisy muffled sound was heard here and there. There was even a pious priest who came to witness Ye Qingxuan's death denouncing Michel.
"Ridiculous! You—"
"Silence! Silence! Silence!" Borja pounded the gavel many times. The bailiffs got in and expelled the priest who roused this riot. Musicians forcibly pressed down everyone's voice.
Everything fell into silence again. In the silence, Bastian was soaked through by sweat. As he contemplated, his complexion changed rapidly.
Borja's urging eyes didn't allow him to keep pretending. He interrupted Michel. "Bishop Michel, stop talking about such ridiculous words. Ye Qingxuan has nothing to do with you. Why do you have to be responsible for what he did? Moreover, the victim of this trial is the Ministry of Information. Why are you defending the suspect?"
Michel lowered his eyes and did not look at him at all, just holding the rosary beads in his hand without responding.
Borja urged again, "Bishop Michel, answer the prosecutor's question. This is your obligation as a witness here."
So Michel sighed and lifted his eyes.
"Ye Qingxuan has been member of the Ministry of Information from the very beginning. The Night on Bald Mountain that he inherited is the best evidence. Is there any other musician who will choose to practice this movement that can only be used to kill demons?"
He gazed at Bastian's face and said word by word, "The Witch Hammer recruited him secretly ten years ago. His records are still in the archives of the Ministry of Information and are available for you to fetch. He has been the best man in the Ministry of Information for decades and the genius who will be able to revive the Department of Teaching and the Ministry of Information."
"So what's the explanation for Ye Qingxuan to kill Colt?" Bastian asked again, "Isn't Colt also a member of the Ministry of Information? He was also hailed as the hero and savior of the Department..." Before he finished, he regretted his own panic. He should have insinuated, guided the testimony, looked for a loophole, to then change the situation rather than questioning directly...
He was suppressed from the beginning.
He looked up but was afraid to look at the solemn robe and the bishop's heraldry. He took a deep breath and was ready to speak but heard Michel's voice.
"This is my mistake." Michel coughed violently. He drew his handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the scarlet from his mouth, and took his medicine. Soon, he stopped coughing. His face was suffused with red, looking radiant. Even the bent backbone was again propped up, seeming to return to normal. But purple-blue veins appeared under the neck. It was the vicious potion mixing in the blood, squeezing out every residue of his life.
"I ordered him to kill Colt in the name of the Ministry of Information." He raised his voice but his voice was so hoarse like metallic friction stinging the eardrum. "I did this to make up for my mistake but my woe still came and I have to pay the price."
Bastian opened his mouth, trying to say something. However, Michel looked over.
"Shut up, don't interrupt my words." Michel looked at him coldly. "I am old. Even in court, at least one should learn to respect the old. Since our cardinals are here, do not be disrespectful."
Bastian was stunned, sweating. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but could not say anything. The old man's eyes were like a nightmare. There was a dead darkness in that dark green that suffocated him.
This was the judge who had crucified countless demons on the fire rack!
They were both examiners. But unlike Bastian who would only sit in the office, Michel's courtroom was in the wilderness of the Dark World. He arrested, judged, and executed. He erected the teachings of mankind in the Dark World and lit flames with the corpses of demons.
Over the years, he became terminally ill. He sank into the mire because of the political downfall. For various reasons, he lay in bed, watching the Ministry of Information die gradually. He was old. Now, he stood here again with the final determination. No one dared to stand in his way.
If you speak again, you will die, the pair of eyes said clearly.
Bastian swallowed. His face turned pale.
"I hereby confess my sin to the Sacred City." Michel raised his hoarse voice and it echoed in the court. "I set foot on the path of the devil to revive the Ministry of Information.
"In order to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I was blinded by Colt. Without any scrutiny, I disregarded the will of the Sacred City and made my first mistake by allowing him to be a member of the department.
"After I realized his real nature and the sins he had committed, I made my second mistake.
"In order to protect the honor of the Ministry of Information, I ordered Ye Qingxuan to execute him secretly at all costs. I also prepare to sacrifice him afterwards to show the innocence of the department. "
"Everything that Ye Qingxuan has done has been approved by me. My secretary will submit the detailed records to the Court as evidence to convict me in the future."
Borja looked at the sluggish Bastian several times but Bastian was transfixed. He was unaware of the judge's eyes and did not even dare to speak.
Borja frowned and asked, "Bishop Michel, how do you explain the protection of the department to Colt as well as the sacrifice of dozens of Witch Hammers and purgatory musicians?"
"It was all an act," Michel said softly, "Those who died hold different political views from mine. Those traitors had long forgotten the glory of the Ministry of Information. In order to ensure their death, I even attacked a church where two innocent priests were displaced. I am guilty.
"I am glad that in the end, Ye Qingxuan can stand up and correct my mistakes. Even though knowing that he would be sacrificed, he still faithfully carried out my commandments and never betrayed me. What he said in front of the gate of Scared City at the end was actually targeted at me.
"I was so ashamed of myself that I knew I had made a mistake. Even if I prayed, my guilt and regret would never be diminished. I have betrayed the path of God, and have thus committed many unforgivable sins. I'm willing to accept all punishment and pay any price for it."
He looked back at Ye Qingxuan who was totally stunned. This was the first time he had been so close to this startled young man. Thus, he smiled. Everything after this…will be your duty.
He withdrew his sight and whispered softly, "May the Lord have mercy." Divine light descended from the sky. The majestic purity of the light was like a flame, enveloping him inch by inch and pulling him into the fire. He was slowly turned to ashes.
Under the screams and startled eyes, the juries' faces changed, and even the Cardinals' projection became turbulent.
"Stop him!" Borja lost his grace. He got up from his seat, yelling at the sluggish bailiffs, "Musicians! Get the musicians! Stop him!"
Michel wanted to die here! Unfortunately, nothing could stop him. This was a musician's suicide. Even if the King of Red was here, it would still be impossible to stop it. When he said he was willing to pay the price, he activated the symphony of predestination in his body. Containing the divine punishment, it turned into a mighty flame after igniting the aether and swallowed him from within. He had made up his mind when he entered the courtroom. It was impossible for the Ministry of Information to fight with a colossus like the Ecclesiastical Order. Even if Michel had put all the blame on himself and made such testimony, a loophole could still be found.
There might be traitors in the ministry and even he also had weakness that common people wouldn't know... As long as the Ecclesiastical Order found any chance, his desperate attempt would still fail. So this was his last chance.
Witnessed by the Cardinals, he surrendered himself to the Scared City in the Sacred Court and settled everything with his death.
Death was not horrible.
He had lived enough
In the burning flames, he stood at the witness's stand, whispering the words in the Scripture. But his eyes looked over the flames, staring at Maxwell.
Maxwell did not want to meet that pair of eyes. He closed his eyes and lowered his head.
Michel smiled, as if he had been redeemed from the dirty world and mire. He died willingly.
"Bishop Michel, why choose us?" Maxwell's voice seemed to ring again.
"Because only Anglo needs the power of the Ministry of Information at this time. In order to preserve this power, they are willing to become the enemy of half the Scared City."
That moment, Michel knew that he was going to die here instead of the battlefield of the Crusade or a hospital's bed. There was no glorious ending for him. He must bear the sin and die in humiliation and humbleness.
The judge died in the trial. Your Majesty, is this the outcome you chose for me?
Seeming to understand, he laughed softly.
Good! This is what I want... Thank you for your mercy and compassion, as well as your forgiveness.
In the burning of flames, pain hit him. He felt as if his body turned into flying ashes inch by inch and drifted from under the robe. It seemed that some people screamed, some shouted out of panic, and some tried to approach but could not enter the sacred radiance. Gradually, nothing could be seen anymore. There was no sound. Only the burning pain continued like something endless that would burn to the end of purgatory.
Memories of the past seemed to be lit by the flames. They turned into ashes together with him. But in the trance, there was a faint voice as if he had returned to seventy years ago…
"I am telling all of you here and all of you who are not here that this is the will of God!" the solemn voice said from above as if it conveyed the Gospel of Heaven.
"Let us plunge into a holy war, a great crusade to regain the land for mankind! Let all dispute and strife rest. Let us embark on this journey! Reclaim the fertile soil from evil and demons! That Dark World, as the Holy Code says, is the land that God gave to our forefathers!"
In the trance, Michel suddenly wanted to cry. He stood in the dark, followed by those who had been waiting for so long. Together, they set foot on the path to the deeper darkness.
He shouted. Under the calls, he walked forward with his passed teachers, his dead comrades who had died in humiliation as well as those gloomy priests.
"...Let those who used to fiercely fight with others just because of personal affairs to fight the demons for their countrymen now! This is a battle worth fighting, a battle to be won!
"Let those who used to be robbers now fight for mankind to become the knight of God! Let those who had fought with their friends and relatives in the past now justly fight against those who profane the Holy Land!
"Go east and receive the eternal reward!"
"Crusade!"
"Crusade!"
"Crusade!"
Many people cheered. Michel rejoiced but could not help weep.
"Go east, everybody... go to the Dark World..." In the dying yearning came the last words of mourning, "Go to the battlefield where we dream of...go to the blood and the bones...If one day you go there, please take my soul with you..."
Michel faded away in the darkness.
-
In the silence, only pure white ashes and a solemn robe were left on the witness stand. Silently, the cardinals' projection dissipated and departed.
Everyone stared at Michel's last vestiges.
"Recess for ten minutes."
Borja pounded the gavel.
-
The Scared City's bells rang. At the port, a common merchant ship to Anglo was about to set sail. The crowd gathered. The young and middle-aged people seemed to come from all over the world. But when they stood together, they had a similar aura.
When the bells rang, the whistle sounded loud.
Those who boarded the boat looked back involuntarily, staring at the steel city in the distance. Some people looked sad, some looked indifferent, and some of the elderly shed tears.
Michel was dead. The Ministry of Information would not exist anymore. The dead shell would sink into the mire. The new blood and backbone would be taken to the displaced road to rebuild their hometown in the Dark World with the help of Anglo.
Even if they were called traitors and could no longer return here, no matter how heavy the price was! The long wait before the Crusade started. They would go there one day, to the depths of darkness, and ignite it!
