The situation was a mess.
Under ordinary circumstances, a Crusade order would have been enough to bring Vanitas Astrea to justice.
His crimes were staggering, the murder of Lance Ableton, bloodshed in a sacred sanctuary, the slaughter of several clergymen, and, worst of all, the assassination of a high-ranking Cardinal.
These acts were not merely offenses against the Empire of Aetherion. They violated the very sanctity of the Theocracy and the Holy Church of Lumine, and constituted a direct affront to the Goddess Lumine herself.
"Can anyone even speak for this bastard?! Why can't we just hang him?! There hasn't been a crime of this scale in centuries!"
The outburst came from Hughes Bolton, one of the Great Powers hailing from the Celestine Hegemony. Known across the continent for his divine archery and his mastery over High Tier-ranking spirits, bearing the title of the Divine Archer.
To him, Vanitas Astrea was nothing less than a heretic.
