After descending the deep staircase, they entered the underground trial hall.
The hall had a circular domed structure. Countless dim blue Spirit Particle lamps along the dome and surrounding walls cast a deathly pale light over the interior.
Most eye-catching were the forty towering seats arranged in rising layers like a honeycomb around the hall.
At that moment, forty figures sat upon those seats, dressed in elaborate and magnificent Sage robes, their faces concealed beneath the shadows of their hoods.
Like forty cold statues of gods, they looked down from above. They were the forty Sages and judges of the Central 46 Chambers, the nominal holders of the Soul Society's highest judicial and decision-making authority.
At the center of the hall was a relatively low circular platform—the "defendant's stand."
At that moment, Tsukihito Tsunayashiro and Scarface the executioner stood at the center of the platform under guard.
A short distance in front of and to the side of the defendant's stand stood several relatively simple stone chairs, clearly prepared for observers or witnesses.
Liu Chuan swept his gaze over them, did not hesitate, and walked straight to one of the chairs before casually sitting down.
He even adjusted his posture, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back slightly.
His hands rested casually on the armrests, and his face wore a faint expression as though he were watching a play.
The pure white haori of the Zero Division he wore was especially glaring at that moment.
His relaxed posture, utterly ignoring the solemn atmosphere of the trial hall as if he were sitting in his own living room, was utterly out of place amid the suffocating tension.
Under normal circumstances, on Central 46's turf and before forty Sages, any Soul Reaper—even a captain—would have to stand with due solemnity