The Great Hall filled for closing arguments.
I stood in the defendant's circle, the runes cold against my skin, and watched the Phenex attorney rise one final time. His expression held the certainty of a man who believed justice was on his side.
"Murder is murder." His voice carried through the hall. "The defendant admits he heard the yield. He admits his attack continued. He admits the echoes - whatever mystical excuse that represents - wanted death. Twenty-seven percent of him could have stopped. He didn't." He turned to face the tribunal. "Riser Phenex is dead because Ryder Cross chose not to fight his darker impulses. That is murder. That demands justice."
My attorney rose before the echoes of those words faded.
"Combat casualty under duress." He spread his hands. "The defendant was engaged in lethal combat against a superior opponent. His mind was flooded with borrowed instincts - a side effect of abilities he never asked for. When Riser Phenex yielded, the attack was already in motion. The decision already made by something that wasn't entirely him."
He stepped toward the tribunal. "We do not execute soldiers for split-second decisions in the heat of battle. We do not condemn men for the sins of the voices in their heads. The defendant has shown remorse, has fought to protect Gremory lives while shackled, has admitted his culpability honestly. That is not the behavior of a murderer. That is a man struggling against influences he cannot fully control."
Silence fell.
From the gallery, I noticed something. A girl I didn't recognize - dark hair, guarded expression, sitting alone near the back. She watched me with intensity that felt like weight.
*Who - *
"Interesting," the Fragment murmured. "Another piece."
Before I could ask what that meant, Serafall rose.
"The tribunal has reached a verdict."
The hall held its breath.
Ajuka stood beside Serafall, his expression unreadable. Falbium looked like he wanted to be anywhere else, but his voice carried when he spoke.
"On the charge of murder during Rating Game, we find the defendant... not guilty by reason of diminished capacity."
Whispers erupted. Lord Phenex shot to his feet -
"However," Falbium continued, his voice cutting through the noise, "on the charge of yield violation, we find the defendant guilty."
The hall quieted. I felt my heart pound.
Serafall took over. "The sentence is as follows. Probation for one year. No participation in Rating Games for six months. Subject to dueling law - any pure-blood may challenge you to honorable combat. Blood debt to the Phenex clan remains unresolved."
[VERDICT]
Legal Status: PROBATION (1 year)
Political Status: Pariah among pure-bloods, hero to reincarnated
Restrictions: No Rating Games (6 months), subject to dueling challenges
Blood Debt: Unresolved (will trigger future conflict)
Not execution. I was alive. "The defendant will serve his probation under Gremory supervision," Ajuka added. "Any violation results in immediate re-trial with execution as the only sentencing option." "This is OUTRAGE!" Lord Phenex roared. "He murdered my son! My heir!" "And he will carry that weight," Serafall said calmly. "For the rest of his life. As pariah. As the Phoenix Killer. As a man who knows exactly what he's capable of." Her eyes found mine. "That is not mercy, Lord Phenex. That is a different kind of punishment." The Phenex patriarch trembled with rage, but Lady Phenex pulled him down. Her eyes met mine across the hall - not forgiveness, not yet, but something that might one day become acceptance. "Court is adjourned." --- The ORC clubroom felt like sanctuary. We'd teleported directly from the courthouse - Sirzechs's doing, to avoid the crowds of nobles who either wanted to congratulate or assassinate me. The familiar space wrapped around us like armor. "You're alive." Asia's voice cracked. She hugged me before I could respond, her tears soaking my shirt. "You're alive, you're alive - " "Barely," Koneko said. But she pressed a chocolate bar into my hand, and that said more than words. Kiba offered a formal bow. "My apologies for ever doubting your survival instincts." "Ara ara." Akeno's smile held genuine warmth. "The Phoenix Killer lives. How dramatic." I looked at Rias. She stood apart from the others, watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read. Relief. Concern. Something deeper. "Hey." "Hey yourself." She crossed the distance between us. Her arms wrapped around me - not the formal embrace of a King to her Pawn, but something more. Something real. "Whatever comes next," she said against my shoulder, "we face it together." I held her. Felt the tension drain from muscles I hadn't realized were clenched. For one perfect moment, everything was going to be okay. --- The wall exploded inward. Three figures stepped through the breach before the dust cleared. Hooded, humanoid, radiating power that made the air scream. The dark-haired girl from the trial - Mira - appeared beside me like she'd always been there. "They came early!" Her voice was tight with fear. "I tried to warn you - " [RESTORATION ATTACK: EXTRACTION TEAM] Agent #7 (Chronos): Already fought Agent #3 (Silence): Sound nullification Agent #11 (Rust): Metal decay Combined PL: 180
The lead agent raised a hand. Silence fell - not figurative silence, but absolute absence of sound. I opened my mouth to shout a warning and heard nothing.
Silence. Sound nullification.
The second agent touched the doorframe. Metal rusted and crumbled in seconds, the structural integrity of the room degrading around us.
Rust. Metal decay.
The third -
I recognized that one. The temporal decay touch. But this wasn't the same agent I'd fought before.
"Different body. Same power," the Fragment confirmed. "They can transfer abilities between hosts."
The agents moved as one. Toward me.
No.
I reached for every Echo I had.
Kiba's sword instincts aimed me toward the gap in their formation. Koneko's grounded stance kept me stable when Rust's power corroded the floor beneath my feet. Akeno's lightning timing told me exactly when Silence would drop the null zone to coordinate with allies.
Dohnaseek's cruelty whispered tactics. Raynare's desperation showed me their weak points.
Everything at once. Every borrowed instinct synchronized into a single combat framework.
"MOVE!" I screamed - and heard my voice, the silence flickering for an instant. "Formation Delta!"
Rias's power surged, crimson destruction carving through the breach. Akeno's lightning crackled - I felt my mark pulse as I borrowed her timing, directing the strike exactly where Chronos would dodge.
The temporal agent stumbled into Kiba's blade.
Koneko hit Rust like a freight train, her fists cracking against his armor before his power could corrode them. Asia ducked behind the couch, her Twilight Healing already glowing.
Mira - the girl from the trial - moved with practiced precision, her own power flaring against Silence's null field.
And I fought alongside them all.
My mark burned. Power flowed through me faster than I'd ever channeled - faster than I should have channeled. Every Echo screamed at once, coordination turning chaos into choreography.
Chronos fell to Kiba's blade.
Rust retreated under Koneko's assault.
Silence's null field shattered when Mira did something I couldn't quite see - reality rippling around her hands.
The agents regrouped. Then fled.
Portal. Retreat. Gone.
Silence - real silence, not magical - descended on the ruined clubroom.
"What the hell was that?" Akeno's voice was steady, but lightning still crackled around her fingers.
"Restoration." I touched my wrist. The mark -
I froze.
The twelve-pointed star was no longer glowing. It was burned into my skin. Scarred tissue, permanent lines, a brand that would never fade.
[MARK STATUS]
Countdown complete: MARK IS NOW PERMANENT SCAR
Effect: Restoration can track MC at all times
Countermeasures: Unknown
```
"You channeled too much too fast," the Fragment said. "The mark fed on the power surge. It's permanent now."
They can track me?
"Anywhere. Anytime."
I looked at my team. At the rubble. At Mira, who watched me with understanding in her eyes.
"Probation," I said, my voice hollow. "But now I'm a target they can track anywhere."
Rias's hand covered mine. Her thumb traced the scarred star.
"Then we find a way to break the mark."
"Or," the Fragment hummed, "you become strong enough that tracking you is suicide."
I looked at my team. My friends. At Rias's steady gaze, unwavering despite the chaos around us.
"Let's do both."
Later, when the debris had been cleared and wards re-established, Mira found me on the balcony.
"I tried to warn you earlier." She kept her distance - deliberately, I noticed, like someone afraid of accidental contact. "The tribunal. I saw you there."
"The Fragment called you 'another piece.'" I studied her. "What does that mean?"
She was quiet for a moment. Then: "My name is Mira Kagami. Fragment Six. Consumption."
Another Fragment user.
"The Restoration is hunting us," she continued. "All of us. The twelve Fragments, scattered across the world. They want to collect us. Extract us. Use us for something."
"What something?"
"I don't know. But I know they're getting more aggressive." She looked at my scarred wrist. "Your mark makes you a beacon now. They'll come for you again. Soon."
I processed this. Another Fragment user. A collection mission. Twelve pieces of a puzzle I didn't understand.
"Why warn me?"
"Because the First Fragment is valuable. Because if they get you, the rest of us lose our best chance at survival." She met my eyes. "And because I'd rather have allies than be hunted alone."
Behind us, Rias stepped onto the balcony. She looked between us, her expression shifting from confusion to protective concern.
"Ryder?"
"Rias, meet Mira. Fragment Six." I pulled up my sleeve, showing the permanent scar. "We have a lot to discuss."
The night stretched ahead, full of explanations and planning.
Probation granted. Peace denied.
The countdown begins.