'See you inside,' not 'Take care.' The tension eased considerably. Leonardo curved his eyes and nodded slightly.
It seemed one could observe the trial even without voting rights. Thanks to this, his steps towards the waiting room exit were not heavy.
Creak, bang–
Leaving behind the heavy door that closed firmly with a loud noise, Leonardo walked forward surrounded by seven escorts. Though he glared at them once when they tugged at his arms as if to hurry him along the way, he still advanced at a calm, leisurely pace.
The long corridor stretching before him was dark and quiet to the point of being eerie. The fact that there were no windows on the walls made it quite different from the scenery he had seen until now.
'Mana...'
Unfamiliar mana began to be felt through the stagnant air. However, the number and presence were somehow unusual.
The mana concentrated and entangled in one place chillingly brushed his shoulders and the back of his neck. Though he didn't know what the situation inside was like, the energies were sharp enough to make his skin tingle. Moreover, the portraits lined up on both sides of the corridor stared intently at his profile with glowing eyes.
Feeling as if he was being watched, Leonardo scanned left and right with cool eyes. The atmosphere was such that it wouldn't be strange at all if the eyes he had already passed were shooting daggers at the back of his head.
Tap–
At that moment, two unfamiliar figures walked out of the darkness ahead.
The member at the front stopped with the sound of boot heels. The rest and Leonardo also halted in place. As he examined the situation, he saw that the approaching individuals were holding something in their hands.
'A blindfold?'
Frowning as he sensed something was amiss, one of them approached an escort and whispered in his ear. The listener made a subtle expression before suddenly turning around and briefly explaining the situation.
"This passage ahead cannot be disclosed to outsiders. It will be uncomfortable, but you must wear a blindfold and earplugs while moving."
"What?"
Leonardo retorted as if dumbfounded.
"Hey, if you know it'll be uncomfortable, don't make me do it. What nonsense is this?"
"The courtroom is a sacred place, strictly controlled so that third-party forces or outlaws cannot influence the verdict by barging in. Therefore—"
"You didn't say anything about this beforehand."
"...I apologize for that, but even if you are the subject of deliberation, outsiders cannot directly see the passage leading to the courtroom with their own eyes. We will safely escort you to the inside, so please cooperate with the internal regulations."
The member calmly explained those ridiculous internal regulations as if he had expected this reaction. Leonardo sneered coldly. Did they think he would meekly comply with that nonsense, not knowing where these guys would take him?
As he stood firmly, refusing to budge, the burly men holding his arms on both sides revealed their true colors and tried to lead Leonardo's body forward.
But Leonardo only took one step forward, then didn't move an inch after that. Instead, he twisted his shoulders, making the burly men clinging to his arms stagger greatly.
"Don't rush me. We're not done talking yet."
"..."
"And try pulling my arm one more time. Then your arm will be detached."
Leonardo turned to the member on his left and calmly warned. The warning seemed to work quite well, as the member's grip instantly loosened.
"S-Sorry."
Leonardo glanced at him bowing his head and asked again, looking straight ahead:
"If you cover my eyes and ears, I'm practically defenseless. How can I be sure you won't harm me?"
The leading member stared at his face for a moment, then answered formally, "There's no need to worry about that."
Leonardo snorted and gestured with his chin towards the other.
"Then let's do this. In exchange for following your instructions, undo one side of the handcuffs. And cuff the other side to your wrist. That's fair, right?"
Everyone present knew that this wasn't actually fair. If Leonardo Blaine threw even one fireball with one hand, most of those here would have their lives threatened.
The members turned to look at their leader with troubled expressions. The one at the center of attention frowned in displeasure, remained silent for a moment, then took out a pocket watch.
***
The procession, now ten people with the addition of two more, moved through the maze-like passage with slightly hurried steps. This was because Leonardo's scheduled entry time was almost upon them. Leonardo, feeling the flow of air with his now-free fingertips, gave up on mapping the route in his head after passing through the 7th curve and 9 doors.
Even the path to the Council's underground prison wasn't this complex. It was a perverse structure that naturally made one feel how solemn the atmosphere dealing with trials was.
Though he was used to having his senses blocked from repeated training during his Armsilver days, once he gave up on gauging direction and was dragged along, there was only darkness and chaos before his eyes.
For about 10 minutes, he barely moved his legs, relying on the center of gravity of the two on either side. Suddenly, they stopped walking, and he felt two touches on the back of his left hand.
"Is it here?"
Leonardo straightened his hunched back even though he couldn't hear an answer. Though he looked like this, he wanted to show a dignified entrance. Intense energies clamored nearby, as if he had indeed arrived at the right place.
However, he felt a very slight tremor under his feet.
'...What's this?'
Since he couldn't be trembling himself, it must be vibrations coming from the ground. He was inwardly worried that they might have brought him to some strange place where torture devices were running.
Woong–
Though he couldn't hear it with his ears, a wind strong enough to feel like an auditory hallucination shook his hair as it passed. At the same time, a hot heat different from before spread over his face and entire body.
Leonardo sensed that the final door entering the courtroom had opened. He raised his chin and took a deep breath, expanding his chest.
The shoulders of the two people on either side rose slightly, and they slowly led Leonardo in a straight line.
'Have I entered?'
The floor material seemed to have changed, as the feeling underfoot changed from solid to resonating as if stepping onto a wooden platform. In that state, when two more touches brushed the back of his hand, Leonardo, who had been counting his twentieth step, stopped in place.
Suddenly his body tilted, and as he stiffly resisted, his knees were forcibly bent, causing him to awkwardly sit in a chair he hadn't known was there.
The chair was unexpectedly soft and comfortable, wrapped in smooth fabric. As he leaned back against the backrest and sat deeply, both wrists were pulled a few times before all presences withdrew.
"..."
Leonardo sat still in that state for about 30 seconds. His vision was still pitch black, and he heard nothing but his own breathing and the rustle of clothes.
'Why aren't they removing the blindfold?'
Though puzzled, he kept his neck stiff, not wanting to appear flustered. It was then, as he was straining his nerves to assess the situation with his other senses while holding his breath. The vibration that had been stimulating his feet gradually intensified.
The atmosphere was strange. His heartbeat quickened and his breathing became irregular in response.
Though he knew everyone in the silent room was looking at him, somehow he felt his shoulders shrinking rather than feeling dignified.
Just as an unidentifiable anxiety was creeping over him, the blindfold was pulled off before he had time to mentally prepare.
"...!"
Light flooded in and his vision suddenly brightened. Leonardo grimaced at the extreme glare, squeezing his eyes shut. Even so, everything beyond his closed eyelids was red. The earplugs that had been blocking sound with magical power also fell away by someone else's hand.
A ringing sound echoed due to the sudden change in pressure. Then, an enormous decibel of noise mercilessly pierced his eardrums.
Waaaaaah–
Thump, thump, thump, thump–!
"--!"
"--!"
"Everyone, please be quiet–!"
Information too sudden for his mind to handle poured in through all his sensory organs. The excited shouts filling the room, the crowd's echo that was certainly not cheers, made his whole body tremble.
The urgent, cracking sound of the gavel, unable to calm them, reverberated throughout the vast courtroom. That sound made Leonardo's eyes snap open, though he had been unable to properly raise his head due to the glare.
As he exhaled the breath he had been holding and stared ahead, the ant-like crowd swayed like a threatening wave, standing up from their seats.
"If you continue to disrupt the proceedings, you will be removed!"
Despite the judge's stern warning, amplified in volume, the heat hardly subsided. Moreover, he caught a glimpse of the person who claimed to be the lawyer he had met the day before, protesting vehemently near the judge's bench.
His skin crawled, and his hair stood on end. Leonardo, looking up at the audience from the center of the semicircular room, let out a sigh between his quivering lips.
"...Ah."
He instinctively sensed that something was going wrong. His arms unconsciously twitched at the pressure constricting his heart.
Clink–
However, the handcuffs on his wrists were fixed to the chair, leaving only some slack. Leonardo then realized why they had brought him in with his eyes and ears covered. If he had known the situation was this bad, he wouldn't have come in willingly.
As he became aware of his situation with a pale face, he looked around unsteadily to the left, right, and front with unfocused eyes.
Soon after, undisguised fear was faintly reflected in his pupils.
His tension-filled instinct told him:
'Agrizendro isn't here.'