Meanwhile, at the Magic Council Branch, Crocus.
When Ace walked into the main hall under the "escort" of the Rune Knights, the originally noisy hall fell instantly silent.
"Is that..."
"The Summoner from Fairy Tail? What's he doing here?"
"Look, he's not wearing shackles... wait, are those Rune Knights behind him?"
"I heard he killed Master Jose..."
"Impossible! Jose was one of the Wizard Saints!"
Whispers spread like a tide through every corner.
Mages from various guilds on business, staff from different departments, and guards all stopped what they were doing, their eyes focused on the young man in the black coat.
Ace calmly accepted all the gazes.
He walked at a steady, unhurried pace, even having the leisure to admire the hall's decor, as if he were here for a tour, not a trial.
Lei followed three steps behind him, his face was grim and serious.
Ace's calmness throughout the journey had made him uneasy.
They crossed the hall, ascended the central spiral staircase, and arrived at the High Court on the sixth floor.
"Bring in the defendant, Ace."
The Chief Judge struck his gavel, his voice echoing throughout the hall via magic amplification.
"Ace!" Chief Judge Zieg spoke, his aged voice carrying the authority of someone long in a high position.
"You are accused of three felonies: illegal use of forbidden magic, malicious destruction, and the murder of Wizard Saint Jose Porla. The evidence is conclusive. Do you plead guilty?"
"Not guilty," Ace answered crisply.
The gallery erupted in an uproar.
"Silence!" Zieg struck his gavel, his sharp gaze fixed on Ace. "What is your explanation for this?"
"Three days ago, Master Jose and I had a spar. His death magic did indeed come into contact with me," Ace said calmly.
"But that doesn't prove I killed him."
"Then do you have any eyewitnesses?"
Ace retorted, "Did anyone see me kill Jose with their own eyes? Is there a body? Do you have any substantive evidence at all?"
The courtroom fell silent.
Indeed, they had none.
Zieg's face darkened.
He actually knew the evidence in this case was insufficient, but the pressure from the Council's higher-ups was immense.
Someone had to be held responsible for Jose's death, and Ace was the most suitable candidate.
"Given that you are a person of significant suspicion and cannot provide an alibi," Zieg began slowly, "this court has decided to first place you in custody in the magic prison. A trial will be held after further investigation."
He looked at the bailiffs. "Put the handcuffs on him and take him away."
Two bailiffs, holding the pair of silver handcuffs, walked toward the defendant's stand.
Just then—
"BOOM—!!!"
The entire building shook violently!
The magic lights on the dome swayed wildly, cracks appeared on the walls, and dust rained down!
"What's happening?!"
"An earthquake?!"
"No... it's an attack! Someone is attacking the Council building!"
Guards rushed in to maintain order, but the second tremor was even more violent!
"BOOM—!!!"
The eastern wall was completely smashed in.
Rubble rained into the courtroom like a storm!
...
Outside the Council, the streets had been reduced to ruins.
A three-meter-tall, chicken-like monster stood on the remains of the central square's fountain.
Its eyes were indescribably bizarre, and they were shooting two thick beams of red light.
Wherever the beams swept, whether it was buildings, magic-mobiles, or people who couldn't escape in time, they were instantly turned into grayish-white stone statues!
"CAW—!!!"
Cockatrimon let out a piercing cry, flapped its wings, and more petrification beams scanned the surrounding buildings.
Not far away, a humanoid mass of raging fire was wreaking havoc on the streets.
Its body was composed entirely of high-temperature magic flames.
Every punch could blast a huge hole in a building, and the flames would cling to the ruins, burning wildly and spreading into a sea of fire in an instant.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Meramon rampaged through the streets.
The magic guards dispatched by the Council tried to stop it with ice and water magic, but those spells evaporated the moment they touched its body.
One guard who failed to dodge was hit head-on by a flaming fist and turned to charcoal without even a scream.
But the most terrifying of all was the green-skinned ogre wielding a bone club.
It stood over three meters tall, with bulging muscles, green skin, and fangs protruding from its mouth.
In its hand was a seemingly ordinary giant bone club, its shaft covered in barbs and its head embedded with a fierce skull.
Anyone who knew about Digimon would recognize it as a piece taken from a SkullGreymon.
"ROAR—!!!"
Ogremon roared at the sky, the sound wave shattering the glass of the surrounding buildings.
"BANG! BANG BANG BANG—!!!"
An entire row of magic guards, along with their shields, were sent flying by a sweep of the bone club!
Where the club passed, deep gouges were plowed into the ground, and the shockwave sent spiderweb cracks across the outer walls of the buildings on both sides of the street!
But that wasn't all.
When it gathered its strength and leaped, raising the bone club high above its head and smashing it down with the force of a mountain—
The moment the club hit the ground, terrifying energy erupted in a ring from the point of impact.
The ground within a fifty-meter radius was completely overturned, and rubble, magic-mobiles, and building debris were thrown into the sky like a tsunami.
The shockwave spread, shattering all the glass of the buildings further away!
And behind them, more Digimon were pouring out from all directions of the city, turning half the district into a sea of fire.
A Champion-level Digimon army, their every movement was a natural disaster.
Even more terrifying, on the rooftops of distant tall buildings, several even larger figures could be faintly seen—they had the auras of Ultimate, and even..... Mega Level Digimon.
...
Inside the Magic Council, in the courtroom, panic reached its peak.
Through the large hole where the wall had been smashed, the tragic state of the district was clearly visible.
Cockatrimon's petrification beams occasionally swept past, turning a section of the corridor outside the courtroom to stone.
Meramon's flaming fists pounded on the building's magic barrier, and each impact made the barrier fluctuate violently.
"It's... it's monsters..." a noble representative collapsed to the floor, a wet patch spreading across his trousers.
"Run! Run!"
People scrambled madly for the exit, but the doorway was mostly blocked by fallen rubble.
Chief Judge Zieg's face was deathly pale, but he managed to maintain a semblance of composure.
He stared fixedly at Ace in the defendant's stand, his eyes blazing with anger and suspicion.
"It was you!" he pointed at Ace, his voice trembling with rage.
"This is your doing! You're trying to get revenge on us! You summoned all these monsters!"
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator