Upon entering the throne room, Ash saw hundreds of Sleepers standing along its walls, waiting to receive them. The entire population of the Brilliant Castle had gathered in that place —from the Sleepers who stayed in the castle, to the guards, hunters, and even the silent maidens, all were there.
Ash glanced for a moment at Aiko. He remembered her from their little games in the game house where he had obtained a good number of soul fragments.
He also observed multiple echoes gathered in the place, standing among the crowd.
Elevated at the far end of the great hall stood the four lieutenants of the Brilliant Lord himself: Genma, Kido, Seishan, and Harus.
Ash continued walking until he stopped in the center of the room. He glanced at Tessai with a cold, indifferent expression that generated discomfort in the hunter.
Tessai silently joined the other lieutenants.
Moments passed in tense atmosphere until finally, the Brilliant Lord himself made his appearance. Ash felt a small wave of pressure in his mind, which he dismissed as a mental attack that had no effect on him.
Ash looked at Gunlaug with a curious expression.
The lord of the city was tall, with broad, powerful shoulders. His body was covered by a strange armor of molten gold —solid yet liquid, flowing over his muscles. The armor had no weak points or joints where plates met.
Where his face should have been was only a smooth, mirror-like mask that reflected Ash's own face. The mental attack grew more insidious, but it was merely a minor nuisance. Beside him, Nephis was having some difficulty standing upright under the pressure of that influence.
Gunlaug walked toward his throne, where he sat with a relaxed and informal posture, as if he were only there to discuss something trivial.
The Brilliant Lord seemed satisfied with the atmosphere of the great hall and finally spoke.
"Ah, what a spectacle! All my dear protégés gathered here, united to hear the desire for justice to be done. Such dedication, such fervor for the empire of law... Oh, it fills me with gratitude! Don't you find it wonderful?"
Gunlaug let out a light laugh, then rested his attention on Nephis for a moment before focusing on Ashfall, who remained impassive in his presence. Then he looked at Nephis.
"Don't you think it's wonderful, Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan?"
Nephis looked at Gunlaug for a moment, then spoke.
"...Indeed."
"How good. I had the impression you wouldn't agree. My most faithful aides have told me you're an unpleasant person. I suppose these days you can't trust anyone," he said, glancing at his lieutenants, who paled slightly.
Gunlaug then turned his face, this time looking at Ash.
"Ah, you must be Ashfall, the murderer of one of my best men, Andel," Gunlaug said calmly.
"It's a pity, but Andel committed crimes and paid for it. Justice is impartial, and its law falls upon everyone equally. Don't you think so, Ashfall?"
Ash smiled slightly.
"Indeed," Ash said.
"I've heard a lot about you. You're one of the best scouts in the city, capable of detecting anything regardless of distance. I had hopes you would join me. Perhaps if you had, you wouldn't have ended up in this situation..." Gunlaug let out a melancholic sigh.
"It's a true shame. Look at you —murdering innocent humans is something that cannot be forgiven. Just look at yourself! Someone with so much potential ahead of them, turned into a wild beast. But that's what happens when people reject justice. They become beasts."
Ash simply blinked slowly, looking at Gunlaug, and then spoke with an unsettling calm.
"That is true. After all, those who do not follow justice are no better than beasts..." he said with a small smile, then added: "And those who hide behind a false justice dressed in tyranny are worse than beasts."
Gunlaug laughed, amused by Ashfall's words, dismissing their importance.
"Let's do this quickly. It's not pleasant to have so many honorable humans in one place; after all, nightmare creatures are unpredictable. Ashfall, you must answer for your abominable crimes. Leaving you alive would endanger all my protégés. Thus, with great regret, I have no other choice."
A murmur of voices rose among the crowd. Both inhabitants of the slums and those of the castle were moved by his words.
"Don't you dare, bastard!"
"Kill that murderer!"
"Lady Nephis, you can't let them!"
"Kill him!"
"Kill them all!"
Ash looked at Nephis, who stepped forward, looking directly at Gunlaug, who frowned behind his mask.
"I object," Nephis declared, drowning out the voices with her own.
"Object?" Gunlaug asked. "What do you mean? His guilt is undeniable. You can do nothing to change the outcome."
Gunlaug paused for a moment, then leaned forward, his insidious voice flooding the entire hall.
"Well. Unless, of course..."
Ash looked at Nephis and spoke before she could.
"I also object to this trial. Since I am accused of crimes I did not commit, I wish to invoke the right of challenge," Ash said.
At his words, a deathly silence invaded the ancient castle hall.
Gunlaug tilted his head, remaining silent for a few moments, then laughed.
"The right of challenge. Ah, what an old story. It seems you hold that tradition in high regard. Not even a few months have passed since you arrived here, and this is the second time you've invoked the right of challenge, Ashfall. What an insolent child."
Gunlaug paused. His voice grew darker, filled with a cold darkness.
"To be honest, I'm tired of this," Gunlaug said. Then his voice shifted to a more relaxed tone, almost as if the situation weren't important.
"Very well. Who do you wish to challenge, then?" Gunlaug asked, looking at Ash.
Ash looked at Gunlaug as the ropes binding his arms snapped under a bit of pressure. Rubbing his wrists, he spoke. His voice made everyone in that great hall open their eyes wide.
"Any of you... all of you... I don't care," he said, letting the weight of his words resonate throughout the hall as a challenge.
The crowd was stunned by that declaration, looking at Ashfall as if he were truly insane.
Gunlaug laughed as he rose from his throne.
"What audacity you have to declare such a thing! I wonder if you have the confidence to back up those words. Many have tried to kill me, you know? In fact, I have a small hobby: collecting their skulls. Now that I think about it, that head of yours would look good in my collection."
Ash looked at Gunlaug with boredom.
"You talk too much, Gunlaug," he said calmly.
"I see you are a man of few words. But that's fine. I accept your challenge."
The great hall fell silent —a tense, deathly silence, like that of a hunter stalking its prey.
The Sleepers hurried against the walls to make space.
Nephis looked at Ash, who gave a small nod. Then Nephis moved away, leaving Ashfall alone with Gunlaug.
From one side of the hall, Gunlaug's five lieutenants watched their master with complicated emotions. On the other side, Changing Star's followers were tense, watching Ashfall with equally complicated emotions.
Cassie stood there, her hand gripping the hilt of the Silent Dancer tightly, her expression dark.
Ash looked at his hand, where sparks began to materialize, first forming a hilt of a bone-white color that rose and sharpened until it became a pale needle with a sharp tip.
On the other side, Gunlaug stood impassive.
Gunlaug extended his hand. His liquid armor moved, forming a large, heavy battle axe, which he grabbed and placed on his shoulder. The polished helmet on his face now displayed Ash's own calm countenance.
"Any last words?" Gunlaug asked.
Ashfall looked at Gunlaug and fell silent for a moment. Then he smiled —a smile that widened across his face as his yellow eyes gleamed with indescribable malice, like the eyes of something that was not human and was unsettling to behold.
The air changed, filling with an unsettling cold, and a slight fear manifested in the hearts of those present.
"I'll kill you in less than a minute," was all he said.
"Many have said that, and they died."
And with that, without losing a fraction of a second, Gunlaug moved at a terrifying speed, launching a rapid thrust.
Ash, prepared for it, moved his pale needle forward. The tip of the needle struck the axe, generating a loud metallic sound that resonated throughout the hall.
Ash smiled as a sea of gray mist began to pour from his body, completely flooding the entire great hall, hiding the battle from all who watched.
Within the continuously expanding mist, the sound of metal against metal rang out with increasing speed and force.