Qin Chuan's voice echoed through the solemn, murderous tribunal.
It was no arrogant roar, but contempt that came from his very bones, as though he were watching a farce.
As he laughed, the two shackles of evidence formed from the resentment of the God of War and the Hunting Goddess dissolved silently just before they touched him.
The weight of law pressing down on his Divine Soul seemed to strike an invisible wall and scattered instantly.
On the judgment dais, Aisera's Divine Might surged wildly out of control.
How could this be?
In her Divine Kingdom, in her tribunal, her law was absolute Truth!
Every crime she pronounced became a tangible Punishment. That was the foundation of her Divine Authority!
Yet the rules that held even gods in their grip had failed against the man before her.
"Your charges? I don't accept them."
Qin Chuan finally spoke. His voice was quiet, yet it drowned out the roar of every law in the tribunal.
"Your rules have no power over me."
Before his words had faded, he stopped defending himself.
Endless shadow spread from beneath his feet. It was no longer mere energy, but the projection of a real world.
Wherever the shadow passed, it swallowed the mirror-smooth silver floor, and darkness wiped away the countless articles of law reflected within it.
In the towering gallery, countless twisted shadows replaced the chilling sense of being watched. They shrieked without sound, mocking order itself.
"Crime one: killing gods?"
Qin Chuan raised his eyes to Aisera on the judgment dais.
"The weak become sustenance for the strong. That is the iron law of the universe, older and truer than any law of yours."
"Your two colleagues died because they were weak. If it hadn't been me, someone else would have killed them. If