Although the Imperial Capital was the Empire's center and most prosperous city, with the added mysterious power of Danger Beasts and Imperial Arms, compared to ordinary medieval cities, it was indeed larger and more prosperous.
But in the end, the Imperial Capital was still a medieval city. Its population wasn't very large; compared to modern metropolises, the number of people here was quite small, barely passing one million.
Zeroy quickly exterminated the ordinary pests, leaving only the ringleaders—the nobles and officials.
She turned into a stream of light and returned to the skies above the Capital. Her gaze fell upon a plain outside the city—broad and empty enough to host a grand judgment.
She gave a small nod to Patchouli nearby.
The purple-haired witch waved her hand, and a massive violet magic circle spread out across the sky, descending to cover the entire Capital.
The Capital's aristocrats, gangsters, and traffickers of special resources—all the pests that had been selected—were forcibly transported onto the plain.
The moment they landed, they discovered their entire bodies were bound tight by violet runes etched into the ground. Each person stood a meter apart, like prisoners awaiting execution, unable to move.
Patchouli's bindings even denied them speech. All that remained were pairs of terrified eyes, shifting and staring at the projection before them.
—It was their own memories.
The violet magical glow shimmered under the moonlight, unfurling their grotesque past like a scroll—their abuse of the innocent, their torment of the weak, their blood-drenched games of taking pleasure in others' lives.
Murder, plunder, humiliation, betrayal... every frame was filled with revolting crimes, every scene all too clear, as if demons had been dissected and displayed to an audience.
Then the bluish aura of teleportation lit up once more—this time summoning the spectators: the commoners, the victims, those who had once endured in silence and submission.
They stood at a safe distance. When they saw the scenes, some gagged and retched, some trembled with clenched fists, some wept and sobbed.
They even forgot the fear Zeroy had instilled, forgot their confusion at being suddenly brought outside the city.
"Look." Zeroy's voice rang out, calm and detached, neither sorrowful nor angry. "These are your rulers, your nobles, your powerful men... the ones who inflicted pain upon you. They long ago ceased to be human. That is why they stand here today."
All eyes turned at once toward the source of the voice—a terrifying mechanical colossus towered nearby. Its massive steel frame radiated cold oppression, scarlet energy pulsing like blood through its body. Sensors on its head swept across the crowd, the red light they emitted piercing souls.
On its shoulder stood a golden-haired girl, her skirt fluttering in the wind, emerald eyes cold and fathomless. It was none other than Zeroy, who had just wrought a massacre within the Capital.
At her side, Patchouli floated in the air, her violet hair stirring in magical radiance, grimoire glowing faintly in her hands.
"This is a judgment." Zeroy's voice carried into every ear through magic, tranquil yet frigid. "Their crimes are laid bare before you. Now—do as you wish."
As her words fell, the images on the projection grew ever bloodier. The bound ringleaders once laughed proudly there, savoring others' suffering.
The survivors' breathing quickened—
Some roared with rage, some clenched their fists in silence, some lowered their heads in prayer.
The bound ringleaders, faced with their monstrous crimes replayed for all, began to wail in despair and cry futile excuses.
Zeroy no longer silenced them. Revenge demanded one hear an enemy's pitiful wails and pleas.
And if someone stood firm, or was a twisted aberration incapable of begging or admitting fault?
That only meant the suffering was insufficient. If physical pain was not enough, then she would attack spirit and soul until they regretted ever being born.
On the plain, the mechanical colossus loomed like a god of judgment, the violet circle interweaving with moonlight, the projection of sins spreading like a hellish scroll. Survivors and ringleaders' fates intertwined—the reckoning had begun.
Zeroy did not stay. She left Patchouli to watch over things, to make sure the furious people did not slaughter these pests all at once.
As for Zeroy herself, she went to confront General Budo, who still remained in the city.
Upon meeting him, she first cast a fire upon him.
Zeroy thought the flames would not burn strongly, for his good karma outweighed his sins—good deeds could counterbalance evil.
But in truth, the fire flared violently.
Even General Budo quickly let out cries of agony.
A flicker of surprise passed through Zeroy's eyes, narrowing slightly.
So his sins were greater than she had expected.
If not for his many good deeds and his sheer strength of will, he would have been burned to death outright.
Of course, this was only her normal output. If she applied even a bit more force, he would never endure.
The gap was simply too vast.
At last, the fire on Budo's body gradually died down.
"Now you've seen it. This is why I kill them. Do you think they deserve to live? Do you still wish to oppose me?"
As she spoke, Zeroy released the bindings on him.
Though Patchouli had set them, what was Patchouli's was hers; she had authority to break them freely.
"..."
Budo stared at the projection in the sky. His face, once stern, turned complex, then shifted to grief and fury.
He had known that the ministers and officials were corrupt.
But knowing was far different from witnessing.
"To defend this nation... it is the duty my clan has borne for a thousand years..."
He forced his trembling body upright.
"Those who endanger the peace of this land, I will personally eradicate them..."
"???"
Three question marks popped over Zeroy's head.
"What... peace of this land are you talking about?"
The common people of the Capital lived in fire and water, and you speak of peace?
After seeing those nobles treat civilians as less than human, how can you still say that?
And don't claim it was only a small portion suffering, while the majority lived calm and happy lives under the Empire's order.
There was no such thing. Zeroy had investigated before acting. Outside the Capital, though not as dark, extortionate taxes had driven many to desperation, even forcing rebellions to rise.
Did you think the Capital could be this rotten, and yet so many ordinary people still refused to leave?
...
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