Chapter 125. End of the Trial
With numerous punishments handed down, the trial of the scholars quickly came to an end.
So many scholars were sentenced to death, while the others who had been unknowingly involved lost their scholar status.
Today's trial had effectively wiped out half of the Akademiya's scholars.
Meanwhile, the scholars who had not taken part in the God Creation Project could not help but gasp, their eyes filled with shock.
There were simply too many people who knew about it. Yet why, when nearly half of the Akademiya's scholars had participated in the God Creation Project, had no one else known anything?
And even though they knew the God Creation Project they were carrying out was killing innocent people, not a single one had spoken up.
During the trial, they had even chosen to conceal their crimes.
But concealment was useless. In front of Nahida's authority, everything they tried to hide was exposed.
When all of those things that could not be uncovered by ordinary means were revealed one by one, everyone realized—the current Akademiya had completely degenerated.
"Next, it's the Sages' turn."
Futsu Mitama looked at the Great Sage and the other Sages in front of him. Azar was silent now, and the other Sages who had also committed offenses had closed their eyes, awaiting judgment.
They knew what their end would be, but at this point, did they truly think they were wrong?
No. Azar and the Sages choosing silence was the best answer. They did not feel that they were wrong.
They only believed that the victor was king and the loser was bandit. If they had won, then the people being judged today would have been different.
"Great Sage, Azar."
Futsu Mitama looked at him, directly calling out his name.
"Do you have a clear conscience?"
"At this point, there's no need to humiliate Azar, is there?"
An unknown Sage spoke up. He looked at Futsu Mitama and Nahida with complicated eyes and sighed.
"We admit all the charges. We were too arrogant, too dismissive of life, and too haughty. We are all guilty."
Hearing this, Futsu Mitama shook his head.
He looked at the Sage calmly and said,
"I'm asking whether, when you were carrying out the God Creation Project, you had a clear conscience."
Those words made Azar and the Sages look up at Futsu Mitama, somewhat puzzled.
They had already pleaded guilty. What more did Futsu Mitama want now? Did he still want to humiliate them???
They were already at death's door. What was the point of humiliating them?
But after a moment of silence, Azar finally looked at Futsu Mitama and Nahida and said,
"I have a clear conscience."
"Azar?!"
A Sage quickly grabbed him and told him not to continue speaking.
The other Sages knew exactly what Azar was facing now.
In addition to bearing the main responsibility for the God Creation Project, he also had to shoulder the massive blame from five hundred years ago.
Yes, the mistakes made by the Great Sage five hundred years ago now had to be carried by the current Azar.
If the Great Sage from five hundred years ago had not imprisoned Nahida, the later Sages would not have gone from disappointment to fear and finally indifference toward Nahida.
But now that Lesser Lord Kusanali had been released and was free, the blame for her five hundred years of imprisonment naturally fell on the current Azar.
That was an unavoidable burden, a responsibility that Azar, as Great Sage, could not escape.
Unless Azar broke the rules and actively released Lesser Lord Kusanali, or Nahida, he would have to carry that responsibility.
The sin of imprisoning an Archon.
"I have a clear conscience!"
Azar spoke again, now completely reckless.
He pointed at Nahida nearby and shouted,
"If she wasn't omniscient and omnipotent, if she couldn't bestow us with wisdom—How could wehave undertaken the God Creation Project, and how could we have cooperated with the Fatui?!"
At this point, Azar no longer cared.
He threw all the blame onto Nahida, even though he knew she was Maha Rukkhadevata's recognized successor. So what?
If she had shown the value an Archon should have shown earlier, or matured sooner, would they have ended up like this?!
No! Absolutely not!!!
Even now, Azar still believed he was loyal to Maha Rukkhadevata.
He had struggled for a path for all of Sumeru, and for the many scholars of the Akademiya.
The God Creation Project was an opportunity—a human opportunity—so Azar had a clear conscience. He had no regrets at all.
Anyway, he already had enough blame on him. Since he was going to die anyway, why not blame Lesser Lord Kusanali one more time before he died?!
If Futsu Mitama had asked Azar whether he was wrong, he would have admitted it, because the God Creation Project was indeed wrong.
But Futsu Mitama had specifically asked whether Azar had a clear conscience, which gave Azar room to speak.
"..."
Looking at Azar, who was blaming her, Nahida watched him without joy or sorrow and slowly said,
"Yes. This is my fault. I should have told the successive Great Sages that your desire for wisdom was not wrong. But you and I both forgot that the excessive pursuit of wisdom can very likely bring disaster."
Nahida gazed at Azar, her eyes reflecting his agitated expression, and continued,
"I can tell you clearly now: if the God Creation Project had succeeded—"
"it would very likely have brought unimaginable disaster to Sumeru. Although the scale might not have been as great as Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago, it would still have been enough to destroy half of Sumeru."
When she said that, more than half of the people present gasped, their eyes filled with shock.
"Impossible!!!! Absolutely impossible!!!!!"
Azar suddenly waved his hand and loudly objected.
"We have already calculated it! Such a thing cannot happen. A new Archon, as long as it possesses divine wisdom, will bring new vitality to Sumeru! The failure of our current God Creation Project is only because we chose the wrong experimental subject! As long as we choose the right one, we will absolutely succeed!!!"
In Azar's view, the biggest mistake in the God Creation Project was listening to the Fatui and allowing Scaramouche to become an Archon.
Although he was an Archon-made puppet, he was not a true Archon in the real sense.
They should have created an Archon from nothing. Scaramouche's selfishness was simply too great.
"Disaster..."
The other Sages were not as agitated as Azar.
Their expressions changed slightly, because they felt that at this point, Nahida would not deceive them.
There was one possibility: why had Futsu Mitama and his group come at this critical moment, neither earlier nor later, to help Lesser Lord Kusanali escape her predicament?
He had also come to resolve the God Creation Project and deal with the Fatui.
And... Maha Rukkhadevata might truly still be alive. It was precisely because she was alive that she realized a disaster was about to befall Sumeru.
That was why she sent Futsu Mitama and the others to rescue her successor and pass on her legacy to Lesser Lord Kusanali, in order to prevent the catastrophe.
"The Archons you speak of, are they the Archons recognized on Teyvat?"
Futsu Mitama asked with a smile at that moment.
He looked at Azar and the other Sages with disdain and continued,
"If the Archons recognized by your Akademiya can become Archons—"
"Then what was the meaning of the Archon War? What was the meaning of the Gnosis distribution? Are you overestimating yourselves, or do you think you can become complacent just because you used a large number of divine creations to piece together a false Archon with Archon-level combat power?"
As he spoke, Futsu Mitama extended his hand, and the Electro Gnosis appeared in his grasp.
An indescribable pressure emanated from the Electro Gnosis.
Everyone present looked at it in astonishment.
"This is?! The Gnosis!!!"
Faruzan saw that familiar yet unfamiliar object and immediately realized it was the legendary item guarded by the Seven Archons.
It was something protected by the Seven Archons, and also a symbol of the Seven Archons—the legendary Gnosis.
"No way—"
Kaveh stared at the Gnosis, his eyes fixed on it.
Even Alhaitham's pupils contracted slightly. Even he could not remain calm for a moment upon seeing such a thing.
"Ah?! Ah?! This—"
Layla was even more at a loss for words to describe how she felt.
If these elite scholars of the Akademiya reacted this way, the other scholars who had never seen the Gnosis were equally shocked.
After the shock, they were confused as to why Futsu Mitama had brought out the Electro Gnosis.
Could he be trying to tell them that the Archon of the God Creation Project had no Gnosis, and therefore was not worthy of being called a true Archon?
But the Sages' faces turned somewhat pale.
Although they had anticipated that Futsu Mitama would bring out the Gnosis, they had not expected him to do it at this critical moment.
He was not giving them any face at all.
"You should thank Lesser Lord Kusanali."
Futsu Mitama tightened his grip on the Electro Gnosis, swept his gaze over the scholars of the Akademiya, and said coldly,
"Half a year ago, Inazuma's Gnosis was taken because of an unexpected situation."
"It was stolen by Dottore. Raiden Shogun fought a great battle with the Tsaritsa over it, and eventually made a pact that the Electro Gnosis could be retrieved in Sumeru."
"At the time, I didn't understand why Inazuma's Gnosis would have a stop in Sumeru. But when I arrived in Sumeru, what I saw was an infuriating scene. Inazuma's Gnosis had actually become the energy core of the false Archon in the God Creation Project."
Those few simple sentences made the faces of some politically sensitive scholars change drastically.
They even glared at Azar.
Was this still just a matter of blame?! This was a matter that almost led to war between Inazuma and Sumeru!!!
Inazuma's Electro Gnosis had actually become the energy core of the Archon in the God Creation Project.
No Inazuman, upon hearing that, would tolerate it.
And any Sumeru citizen, upon hearing that, would likely feel extremely guilty.
If war really broke out, the scholars of Sumeru could not imagine what would happen if the current Electro Archon and the next-generation Electro Archon marched on Sumeru together.
What would happen? Could Sumeru resist now? After all, they had no divine protection.
"And even so, do you have a clear conscience?"
Futsu Mitama stared at Azar, purple lightning flickering around him, and pressed on.
"Is cooperating with the Fatui Lesser Lord Kusanali's fault? Using Inazuma's Electro Gnosis for an Archon-creation experiment—is that also Lesser Lord Kusanali's fault? Azar, even so, do you have a clear conscience?"
Azar, who had originally been quite unyielding, retreated repeatedly under Futsu Mitama's verbal attack, his face turning even paler.
The other scholars also looked at Azar with rather hostile gazes.
Everyone was intelligent and naturally understood how dangerous Azar's actions truly were.
One misstep—no, it was certain to lead to war!
And all of this was caused by Azar and the others' stubbornness.
Did they not know about the Electro Gnosis? Did they not know that using it would provoke Inazuma's displeasure?
No, they all knew.
It was just that their arrogant mindset and the grand undertaking of creating an Archon blinded them with self-interest.
That was also why Futsu Mitama chose to judge Azar and the other Sages last.
Buzz—!!
At that moment, Nahida used her power, and emerald-green light enveloped Azar and the other Sages.
The scene of Dottore's negotiation with Azar that day was once again shown to everyone.
"Doctor: 'This is the Electro Gnosis. Do you dare accept it? Inazuma places great importance on this thing.'"
"Azar: 'The Gnosis?! This is the Inazuman Electro Archon's Gnosis?!!! GOOD! GOOD, GOOD, HAHAHA!!!!!! If we use it as the energy core, then this God Creation Project will definitely succeed!'"
"Doctor: 'If you are willing to accept it, then the God Creation Project will certainly succeed, but as for the cost—'"
"Azar: 'Cost? What cost? This is fate allowing our Akademiya to obtain this Electro Gnosis. Maha Rukkhadevata is guiding us to the birth of a new Archon, and I, Azar! Will surely achieve a great feat!!!!!'"
"Doctor: 'Hehehehe, in that case, I won't say more. I wish you success, Great Sage of Sumeru.'"
"Azar: 'HAHAHAHAHA, I cannot fail! The divine puppet! The Akasha System! The Electro Gnosis! And, the wisdom of our Akademiya's Six Schools. The Akademiya will reach its peak in my hands!! And we won't need to concern ourselves with the feelings of that useless Archon anymore!'"
Although it was only a few lines of dialogue, all the scholars present saw Azar's madness and greed.
"NO... NO, THAT'S NOT RIGHT... I... I DIDN'T THINK THAT WAY, I WAS FOR SUMERU!!! FOR THE AKADEMIYA!!!"
Azar looked at the images from the past, and at his own triumphant self in the projection, and completely broke down.
"Don't deceive yourself." Cyno, no longer able to bear it, walked up to Azar and said with a very cold expression, "You weren't doing this for the Akademiya. You were doing it for yourself."
"You brought shame upon Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, upon the Akademiya, and upon all of Sumeru!!!! Your crimes are unforgivable, Azar!"
"Before your death sentence arrives, I will make you repent properly!!!"
As he spoke, Cyno suddenly waved his hand, and the other Matra immediately rushed forward to drag Azar and the Sages away.
The other scholars now looked somewhat dazed.
They looked at Nahida, who was neither happy nor sad nearby, and at Futsu Mitama, whose aura was terrifying.
For a moment, all the scholars seemed to understand.
Sumeru was about to change.
After today's trial, everyone would know the name of Lesser Lord Kusanali.