My impassioned speech
My impassioned speech toward the priests gathered in the courtroom continued.
But only for a moment.
Bang—!
With the harsh sound of someone slamming a desk, an enraged voice rang out.
"Nonsense! It's all nonsense!"
The one shouting was one of the priests seated to the Pope's right.
The galero resting upon his shoulders—a symbol of his status as a cardinal—shook violently.
"Human experimentation by the Holy Order?! Where did you get such insane slander—!"
"At this point, it can no longer simply be dismissed as slander."
The furious priest's voice was abruptly cut off.
It came from a priest seated across from him.
"I've heard there is already testimony from Acting Director Father Garrison."
"And cross-verification has apparently been completed. The Order itself must conduct a proper investigation."
Then another clergyman from the opposite side raised his voice.
"But the reformatory is already empty, is it not?! Even if we investigate now, what could possibly—!"
And immediately someone else rebutted him from the other side.
"The problem was the reformatory itself! Handling heretics independently without the Order's oversight was bound to cause something like this—!"
Then another argument followed from yet another direction.
"So we're supposed to just ignore the heretics spreading across the continent? How can a priest place faith in the words of a heretic—!"
After several exchanges between the enraged priests, the entire courtroom surrounding me dissolved into boos and shouting.
'They must've suspected something themselves.'
Thinking that, I carefully observed the priests.
Those denying the human experimentation were mostly priests from the Holy Kingdom itself.
Meanwhile, those demanding explanations were largely priests from regional dioceses that operated independently.
'And I just shoved direct evidence of those suspicions right in front of their faces.'
Watching the atmosphere develop exactly as planned, my eyes gleamed.
Now all that remained was for the Pope himself to step in.
"Hm?"
As I looked around the courtroom overflowing with shouting—
my eyes met Palliman's from afar.
'There he goes smiling again. Psycho bastard.'
Palliman stared at me while partially covering his face.
Even he seemed unable to fully control his expression, judging by the twitching at the corners of his eyes.
But the emotion contained within them was unmistakably rage.
"Your Holiness."
"Mm…"
But only briefly.
Palliman leaned close to the Pope's ear and whispered something.
Thud—!
The moment I saw that, the Pope struck the ground once with the staff in his hand.
The priests who had been arguing instantly froze.
"All of you, be silent."
The moment the Pope spoke directly, the chaotic atmosphere among the clergy settled at once.
"..."
Those defending the Pope.
Those criticizing him.
All alike bowed before the authority radiating from his robes and staff.
"So even a toothless beast still retains its presence."
The authority and power to dominate an entire room with a single action alone.
Even if he was merely a shell, I couldn't afford to lower my guard completely.
"You truly possess the tongue of a demon."
After calming both factions of priests, the Pope looked at me and spoke.
"To sow discord among the servants of Kersias within the Holy Order's sacred heart itself…"
Hostility sharp enough to cut immediately turned toward me.
But I accepted those hostile gazes calmly.
'Like you people haven't been treating us this way forever.'
Priests of Kersias burned corpses and purified souls.
Necromancers embalmed corpses and guided souls.
Despite both groups dealing with the dead by trade, they had always clashed like oil and water.
"Indeed, you are worthy of being called the reincarnation of Archimond."
At the Pope's next remark, several priests who had been about to speak swallowed their words.
'He's muddying the issue.'
To agree with me was to agree with Archimond.
That statement was essentially a warning directed at the opposing faction.
'But I can't let him take control here.'
Having made that judgment, I interrupted the Pope before he could continue.
"Yet we shall not fall for your shallow tricks—"
"Let not yourselves be deceived by false names, but see only through the name I point toward."
Then my own voice echoed through the chamber.
The moment the familiar foreign language was heard, the Pope briefly lost his words and asked,
"…What?"
But I didn't answer his question.
Instead, I continued reciting scripture in their sacred language.
"Do not be shaken by the false names created by men, but witness it with your own eyes and ears alone."
What I spoke was not the common tongue of the continent, but the Ancient Language.
The sacred language in which the first scriptures had been recorded.
A privilege granted only to clergy educated by the Order.
"How… can a necromancer speak the Ancient Language…?"
"Fourth Gospel, Verses 192 and 211."
I recited passages they themselves knew, in their own language.
Unease spread among the priests, while disgust appeared openly on the Pope's face.
"Your arrogance reaches the heavens."
The Pope frowned deeply as he spoke to me.
"You, a necromancer, dare attempt to lecture us with holy scripture?"
"If you don't know something, you should learn it. Isn't that right?"
I answered with a raised corner of my lips.
"If, as you claim, turning the reformatory into an experimentation ground was solely Director Ben's doing…"
I raised my voice toward the silent Pope staring at me with narrowed eyes.
"Then all of you were manipulated by a man like that into sending countless innocent people into the reformatory."
"...!"
At my words, the expressions of the clergy from the Holy Kingdom stiffened.
"W-Wait just a moment! That is—!"
"These noble priests who claim themselves servants of Kersias—!"
I shouted without allowing room for rebuttal.
Not toward the judge, but toward the opposition priests gathered throughout the courtroom.
"Fed innocent people to a demon abusing necromancy!"
Once the argument reached that point, the faces of the Pope's faction had gone completely pale.
"Well then! Tell me now—who here truly possesses the tongue of a demon?"
The irony of a necromancer calling himself a demon.
Humiliating as the situation was, not a single person refuted my words.
"Is it me, who speaks the truth? Or is it you, who slander me beneath the false yoke of Archimond?"
At this point, my words were no longer directed at the Pope.
They were aimed squarely at the clergy dissatisfied with the Pope and the Order.
I was openly rallying them.
"Kuh…"
"Good heavens…"
Several members of the clergy clutched their jaws as they sank into thought.
What if the horrific things said to have occurred inside the reformatory were true?
What if this man truly was an innocent victim?
Their minds had become tangled in endless doubts.
"The logic may sound convincing, but it is no longer worth hearing."
Just as the unrest among the priests continued to grow—
"You are the child born from a northern witch, and a necromancer who stands as the enemy of the Order."
Palliman, standing beside the Pope, finally spoke.
It meant he could no longer afford to let the atmosphere continue shifting in my favor.
"We who serve Kersias—why should we trust your words?"
And there it was again.
Question the evidence.
Doubt it.
Ignore it.
The same old bullshit.
"Th-That's right!"
The priests seated on the Pope's side hurriedly chimed in.
"How are we supposed to trust the testimony of a necromancer?!"
"And do not attempt to hide behind the Acting Director. He himself stands accused of threatening Cardinal Palliman!"
Neither Garrison nor I could be trusted.
Therefore, nothing that happened in the reformatory should be trusted either.
Watching them shout that nonsense so shamelessly left me utterly speechless.
"Ha… seriously…"
"And now they resort to sophistry like this…!"
Even the other priests looked dumbfounded, their expressions twisting in disbelief.
"Haa…"
I let out a weary sigh and looked up toward the ceiling.
'Should be about time.'
The moment that thought crossed my mind—
Rustle!
Outside the stained-glass windows high above, a black bird nodded toward me.
'Good. Looks like they arrived.'
And at the exact same moment—
Bang bang bang—!
The sound of fists pounding against the courtroom entrance echoed through the hall.
"What is this?"
"To interrupt a sacred trial—who dares?!"
One of the cardinals wrapped in a galero shouted in annoyance at the unexpected disturbance.
"Th-That is…!"
The guards looked utterly panicked as they tried to explain—
"It's me, you motherfucking bastards—!"
At the rough bellowing voice, the priests instinctively shrank back.
"The more I hear, the more I wanna beat the shit outta you worthless fuckers."
A stream of vulgar curses no one could ever imagine hearing inside a church.
"Th-That vulgar speech… surely not…?"
Several older priests immediately recoiled in horror.
They seemed to recognize the owner of the voice.
"Y-You cannot enter!"
"Please stand down! This is His Holiness's—!"
The flustered guards continued trying to block the intruder—
KWAANG—!
The iron doors sealing the courtroom entrance burst open violently.
"Uwaaak?!"
The guards blocking her way were blasted backward into the air.
"Hey, you skinny-ass scraps of shit—!"
Along with the booming shout—
Sister Miriam strode directly into the courtroom.
"S-Sister Miriam…!"
"W-What is the meaning of this?! Entering the courtroom without permission—!"
One of the priests seated nearby began furiously shouting—
BOOM—!
But the deafening explosion from Miriam punching the wall beside the corridor instantly silenced him.
"...!"
The wall had cracked apart from a single punch.
Seeing that, Miriam casually dusted off her hands and muttered,
"Why's this thing so flimsy?"
The iron gauntlets on her hands.
The cigarette smoke drifting from her mouth.
For some reason, she looked even more terrifying today.
'Seriously, who the hell would think that thing is a nun…'
I had called her here, sure.
But even I hadn't expected her to completely dominate the atmosphere like this.
The sight of the Holy Order's highest-ranking priests shrinking back in fear—
It felt less like a nun had entered and more like a gang boss had crashed the courtroom.
"Your Holiness, the proceedings have become too chaotic. We should first detain the criminal and reconvene on another day—"
Palliman quietly whispered to the Pope.
He seemed to sense that the situation was spiraling in a dangerous direction.
"Hey, tall slick-haired bastard—!"
But before that could continue—
Miriam shouted directly at him.
"You get one cardinal hat and suddenly you can't recognize your own teacher anymore?! Aren't you gonna greet me?!"
Palliman immediately fell silent.
Even he apparently couldn't handle Miriam.
"Pfft."
Ah, that was satisfying.
A scheming bastard like him really was the perfect match for a brute-force lunatic like Miriam.
"Your Holiness, the trial must be stopped at once—"
"No."
Despite Palliman's urging, the Pope raised a hand and dismissed him.
"The tide has already turned. If we forcibly end the trial now, we'll only be admitting his claims."
"..."
Palliman lowered his head immediately.
But I noticed it.
The tiny crack that formed in his expression.
'Must be driving him insane. The entire game board he carefully built is getting smashed to pieces.'
While I was thinking that—
"You seem healthy, Miriam."
The Pope greeted her in a surprisingly friendly tone.
"And you've become a walking corpse yourself."
Of course, when it came to friendliness, the Pope couldn't compete with Miriam.
'Calling the Pope a corpse right to his face…'
The surrounding priests nearly fainted in shock at her attitude, yet the Pope's expression remained calm.
"We were discussing corruption within the Order."
The Pope then turned to Miriam and asked,
"What brings you here?"
His refined, formal tone stood in complete contrast to Miriam's rough manner of speech.
It almost resembled the contrast between Garrison and Palliman now standing before him.
"Me? Nothing special."
At the Pope's question, Miriam spat her cigarette onto the floor.
"I just thought it looked fucking pathetic watching the entire clergy of the Order wring their brains over one brat."
"Kuh…!"
Miriam's criticism struck with brutal honesty.
The priests' awkward coughs grew noticeably louder.
"So you intend to defend Young Master Klein?"
The Pope narrowed his eyes as he asked.
Miriam immediately shot back,
"Are you insane? Like I'd involve myself in your political games."
But immediately after saying that—
"It's not that I'm personally defending him."
Miriam let out a short sigh before looking at the Pope.
"It's just that this trial seems to have quite a lot of witnesses."