Whoosh!
From the water, something giant rose up. It was like a dry tree branch but in a human shape.
"The judge of the Judgment Realm, Celine, I still don't see my opposite."
As Pixie panicked, the large tree man extended his two hands. One landed closer to Mordred, and the other closer to Celine.
Both hands halted in front of their feet, as if asking them to step in.
"Celine, I have a bad feeling... Usually, the bond creature is also supposed to appear alongside the contractor, but... There's no sign of her with him"
While muttering Pixie turned to Celine, but she saw that he had already step into the hand.
"Celine, no!"
"It's okay, Pixie."
She suddenly stopped upon hearing Celine's calm voice.
"So what if there's blind spot. It doesn't change the fact that he shed unnecessary blood," he said, his words full of confidence. After he got in, the tree man lifted his hand.
Looking at Celine, Pixie sighed.
"Oh, Celine... You're still immature about the ways of this world. I should have taught you better."
Mordred also stepped into the giant tree man's hand and was lifted into the sky.
The tree man held the two humans in both of his hands. From the waterfall, water continued falling from his head, nurturing his body's growth.
"Who requests judgment?"
The tree man's heavy, deep voice resounded.
"Oh, almighty judge of this lawful realm—it is I, the chosen one of the Benevolent One," Celine introduced himself with a bow.
As the judge heard this, he slightly opened his tightly closed eyes to gaze at Celine.
"Are you sure you need to ask judgment against this individual, human?" he asked in a voice that carried no pressure.
"I am. For countless ages, the war between the Benevolent One and her opposite has only involved themselves. But in this tide, this individual spilled unnecessary blood, causing countless innocent lives to be lost. I need him to suffer the punishment for what he has done."
Celine pointed his finger at Mordred, who stood with a calm look on his face.
"Shut it, boy. Your ignorance will be your doom," said Mordred.
"Am I right, the one who withholds judgment?" he then looked at the tree man.
To be honest, Mordred was pretty excited to see this figure. Even in the game, there were very few events where the player could encounter this entity. However, he showed none of this excitement on his outer appearance.
Celine also glanced at the judge in confusion.
"The Judgment Realm withholds judgment according to the request the wielder made when the culprit was banished to the realm. After considering the information, it was proven that the victim is not fit to be judged by the court," the judge announced in his deep voice.
"What... How? Why? He clearly killed those innocent people! Aren't you supposed to be the one judging those who commit sins?" Celine panicked, realizing his plan was failing.
"There is a common saying among humans. Do you remember it?"
At that moment, Celine heard Mordred's words.
"It goes like this—justice... is blind."
Celine's face turned bitter with each word he heard. On the other hand, Mordred seemed to be enjoying himself even more.
Maybe it's because I'm a villain, but seeing the hero struggle like this makes me ecstatic. It's like having intercourse without worrying about getting the woman pregnant... ? Okay, that was kind of weird for me.
Mordred regained his composure as the dignity of a villain activated, and the wild thoughts in his mind began to settle.
"If you still have any confusion, think about how you banished me to this realm," Mordred said.
Celine thought for a moment. Then he realized—
"You were never chosen by Mischief... Then why did you do all of that? Why kill innocent people?"
"Sometimes, you have to make tiny sacrifices to achieve greater rewards," Mordred answered carelessly, closing his eyes.
"Now, Judge, since I am deemed not guilty, I should be allowed back into my own world."
When Celine heard what he said, his face changed.
"No. Someone like him shouldn't go back to the world. If he does, you don't know how many more innocent people would suffer because of him!"
"Since the defendant is free from all charges, the door to the mortal world will be opened for you," announced the judge despite Celine's word.
Hearing judges words Celine thoughts ran rampage. Than tightened his grasp on the Pixie King's staff he pointed it at Mordred. Pixie, who was on the ground, felt Celine requesting a huge amount of Benevolent energy. Knowing something was wrong, she allowed it. The golden glow on her body almost completely dimmed as all of Benevolent energy was drained from her.
"Sinner, you're going nowhere from here!"
With all the Benevolent energy he had, Celine used an ability from the staff. Suddenly, everything became silent. Then, an ominous eye opened from the staff, directly staring at Mordred.
"No... Not the instant death—Reaper's Gaze! Nooooo!"
Mordred screamed, knowing that the moment the eye of the Reaper's gaze landed on any being, its life would perish. And at that moment, the chilling gaze of the Reaper locked onto Mordred, enveloping him in a dreaded aura.
"Arghhh!"
His horrific scream resounded, reaching the Benevolent Pixie, who was still on the ground.
Huff!
Breathing heavily to stabilize himself from the exhaustion after draining all of his energy for the spell, Celine gazed at Mordred, who screamed in suffering.
A slight smile appeared on his face.
"Finally, I've done something fitting for the Chosen One of the... benevolent pixie."
"Celine!"
At the moment he heard the voice he needed to hear—the sweet voice of the benevolent pixie—she was flying toward him.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"I did what I had to do, Pixie. Someone like him shouldn't be allowed in the mortal world again, so I used the Reaper's Gaze to end him."
"Reaper's Gaze? Isn't that supposed to give instant death?"
Realizing what she meant, Celine's smile faded.
Ting!
Suddenly, something like a flipping coin's sound resonated through the air.
"Arghh! Ahhh! Ah! Ha-ha-ha!"
Mordred, who a moment before was screaming in suffering, began to laugh out loud.
"You... Haha... You should have seen the look on your face... Oh man, it was full of pride and hope there for a few seconds. He really thought he got me."
"Uh... How? That spell is absolute," Celine directly questioned the pixie. Looking at Mordred, pixie felt that the man was covered in layers of mysteries.
Mordred suddenly stopped laughing and regained his cold gaze.
"Since the unexpected happened, I'll let you do your job. Judge, if you may."
At that moment, the cold eyes of the Judge landed on Celine.
"Celine, the Chosen One of the Benevolent, you have broken the rule of this lawful realm."
Celine was pressured by a huge gravitational force upon his body, which instantly pulled him down to the ground.
"According to the law, crime should be punished equally."
Celine felt the pressure upon him intensify, and his flesh began to slowly melt.
"Wait... I have a proposal! Please, wait!"
"Stop!"
The Judge ignored Celine's pleading but halted when the pixie raised her voice.
"For countless ages, I have been the envoy who brought forth the King of Pixies to the world, thus preventing the disasters and catastrophic revival of the Calamity One. With the karmic ties from those I have saved through the ages, I request for you... to listen to the words of this young man," the pixie pleaded.
After a moment of silence, the Judge's gaze landed on Celine.
"Speak!"
"I know what I did wrong, and I'm ready to accept my punishment. But not... from your hand," Celine said while gazing at Mordred.
"Even though I'm at death's door, I still couldn't allow you to step into the mortal world. Thus, I request a duel with you."
"How could you possibly think I would agree to something like that? You've already lost—there's nothing for me to achieve," echoed Mordred's calm voice in response.
"There is something you won't achieve, even after my death," Celine said as he lifted his staff toward Mordred.
Mordred's eyes narrowed.
"You... Are you betting the Staff of the Pixie King?"
Before Mordred could say anything, the Benevolent Pixie rushed at Celine.
"What are you doing, Celine? The Pixie King's staff is a sacred artifact! If by any chance it falls into the hands of a man like that, the consequences would be unimaginable! And considering the situation now, his chances of winning are one hundred percent!"
"Given the situation, this is the only thing I could do, Pixie. The Perfect Condition of Connoisseur is still in effect on me, and I'm sure this is the perfect solution. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but in the end, disappointment is just disappointment. I cannot let it end in failure."
"...But you don't have any benevolent energy left in you. Even I couldn't bring out any for the time being," Pixie said in a worried tone after a moment of silence.
"Do not worry. I have a plan—one that will save us all."
After reassuring Pixie, Celine looked at Mordred once again.
"What do you think? The Staff of the Pixie King would be the bet among us. Whoever wins will receive it."
Hearing him, Mordred remained silent.
The Staff of the Pixie King... That is an interesting item I would like to add to my collection. But I don't like the confidence he's showing. However, to take that staff... I don't think there will be another chance.
"Very well. If the Judge of the Realm stands as the rulekeeper, I will participate. But I will need to use all of my power—nothing restrained, even the Spirit Realm."
"Agreed," Celine answered instantly, almost in a hurry. His breath became faster, and he seemed to weaken, struggling even to stand.
"Celine, you're getting weak. The sudden extraction of benevolent energy is affecting you," Pixie said as she flew around him, trying to inject the tiny bit of energy she had recovered.
"Thank you. Before I go, I need to know something, Pixie," Celine looked at Pixie with a more serious gaze.
"Since the other party has agreed, you will be free to use assistance from the Spirit Realm," on the other side the judge focused on Mordred.
As those words echoed, Mordred saw a few mystical chains wrapped around him begin to break.
As an independent realm, the Judgment Realm did not allow contact with any other realms. The only exception was the Pixie King, who held some authority over the realm's restrictions. That was why he was able to banish me to this realm. However, even the Pixie King himself didn't expect that his own power would lead to the downfall of his successor.
As Mordred prepared, Celine also stood up. Holding the Pixie King's Staff in his hand, he pointed it at Mordred.
"Since he only has a tiny bit of benevolent energy left, he needed to use it as efficiently as possible. let's see how's he gonna use it" while preparing himself mordred is guessing celine's next move.