Time, location, the deceased's name, cause of death-entry after entry, precise down to the year, month, day, hour, and minute, without the slightest error.
There were Curse Users, Sorcerers, and scum hiding among ordinary people. Some names had nearly sunk to the bottom of Qingxiao's own memory, yet the judge remembered them perfectly.
Qingxiao stood expressionless, his fists unconsciously clenching and relaxing as scenes he had thought long buried surfaced one by one with those words.
The rusty smell of blood on rainy nights, the dull crunch of bones breaking in alleys, the unfocused eyes of the dying.
He had no regrets. He simply disliked remembering these things.
Especially when a Shikigami read them out one by one. It felt like being stripped naked and thrown into the street.
Just then, a warm yellow spotlight shone down from overhead, its light soft as it cast their long shadows onto the brick wall behind them.
"Defendant, do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Higuruma's voice reached him from beyond the railing, flat as stagnant water.
Qingxiao opened his mouth. He wanted to defend himself.
For the first time in ages, he wanted to use his brain, find an argument, and sort these matters out.
Qingxiao brought his super intelligence to bear and embarked on an unprecedented brainstorming session.
He opened his mouth, and finally squeezed out:
"They all deserved to die."
The instant the words left his mouth, he inwardly cursed.
This wasn't a defense. It was a confession.
Higuruma sat across the railing without interrupting Qingxiao, simply watching him in silence, clearly waiting for him to continue.
Qingxiao forced himself to salvage the situation, but all he could come up with was some variation of "they did evil first." Even he thought it sounded flimsy.
It was like