Higuruma’s technique was an exceptional one, with a domain laid out by default.
It had a unique structure in which a domain had to be the premise before the technique could be activated.
It was almost identical to Hakari’s [Coffin], but unlike that one, which was activated by a binding vow that simply stuffed information into the opponent’s head to “initiate” it, the conditions and restrictions of the [Jutai Kyosodo] were far more complex.
To borrow the words of Kenjaku, the one who awakened him, it was probably the result of the correlation between brain and technique, differentiated according to the user’s tendencies.
"Before using a technique, beat them down!"
So with that mindset, it wasn’t strange for Junpei to attack Higuruma.
The poison needles fired from the tips of his fingers shot toward Higuruma at high speed.
But the poison needles that flew with the force to pierce their target lost all their power in front of Higuruma’s nose and scattered onto the floor.
"Huh?"
"All forms of violence are prohibited here. For both of us."
Verbal abuse was a separate matter, though.
Higuruma, having made his little joke, shrugged and called forth the bailiff.
"Go ahead and start, bailiff."
At Higuruma’s command, the bailiff opened his mouth and recited Junpei’s randomly selected crime.
[Yoshino Junpei is accused of murdering Ishigori Ryu and Doruve Rakhdawala in Shinjuku on November 12, 2018.]
"!!"
The second reason Higuruma Hiromi was special.
To gain points in the Death Row Migration, you had to kill people.
Merely possessing points made it obvious to the world that you had committed murder, so within the Death Row Migration, he boasted an almost unbeatable win rate against other players.
From the moment you threw yourself into a killing game, there was no human who did not bear guilt!
'Damn it. This is airtight.'
He didn’t know what would happen if this trial ended in a guilty verdict, but it definitely wouldn’t be good.
As Junpei struggled to figure out how to break out of this situation, Higuruma continued his explanation.
"At first glance it may seem unfair, but don’t worry. There is a way for you to be found not guilty."
"How?"
"The bailiff knows everything about the person inside the domain, but that information isn’t shared with me. The judgment is made solely on the basis of the arguments the two of us present."
-Except for this 'evidence.'
Before he knew it, Higuruma was holding a sealed document envelope in his hand.
It wasn’t a real sheet of paper with physical substance, but a collection of information manifested through Higuruma’s cursed energy.
Only Higuruma knew the contents inside.
"This is the evidence submitted by the bailiff for this case. This 'evidence' doesn’t necessarily determine your guilt. I have no obligation to tell you what it says, and from here on out, you have to present your own argument, clear the charges, and win a verdict of 'not guilty' from the bailiff."
Almost all the necessary information had been conveyed.
A technique that borrowed the form of a petty trial.
Within it, the opponent, that is, the defendant, had to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of information and win acquittal through proper defense.
'He says he’s a lawyer, but what he’s doing looks more like a judge or prosecutor.'
The judge’s role belonged to the bailiff, but in any case that was also part of Higuruma’s technique, so Junpei let it slide.
He was in a situation where he had to defend himself alone.
'If he’s explaining the rules, then that thing is probably a kind of binding vow too... And the ban on violence as well. He stuffed in every harmless effect and restriction possible, then pushed the sure-hit effect to the extreme.'
"You get one chance to make a statement. Same for me. After you speak, I’ll get exactly one chance to rebut based on this evidence, and at the end, the bailiff will render a judgment based on the six codes of law."
"What happens if I’m found guilty?"
"Sorry, but I’m not responsible for explaining that question. Instead, I can tell you this."
You have three options.
Silence, confession, denial.
'So lying is okay, then.'
Come to think of it, if everyone told the truth, there’d be no need for a trial at all.
If this were a ruthless technique, then the moment he stepped inside, his guilt would already be decided.
What should he do now?
"Now, make your excuse. The bailiff isn’t the patient type."
Could he really win legally against that lawyer?
Killing Ishigori and Doruve was an undeniable fact.
To be found not guilty, he couldn’t avoid lying.
'If this were a real-world situation, I probably wouldn’t be punished thanks to a sorcerer’s immunity... but he definitely said the bailiff judges based on the six codes of law.'
If a sorcerer could be judged by modern Japanese law, that meant no special circumstances were considered at all.
The rules of a sorcerer who only operated in the shadows were practically meaningless.
Then what he needed to be careful about was the contents of that evidence Higuruma was holding.
'This 'evidence' doesn’t necessarily determine your guilt.'
In that case, the possibilities could be divided into two.
First, the evidence might be insufficient to prove a 'murder act.'
In that case, silence or denial would be best.
Simply refusing to admit it would result in a ruling of insufficient evidence.
The second possibility was that the evidence would support the 'murder act.'
That was probably the more likely one, since there was too much clear evidence. Just having Kogane bring up the ranking and enter it would make that point count as evidence.
In that case, confession would be the best choice rather than silence or denial.
If he denied it for no reason, he’d just be digging his own grave, so all he could do was hope for some room for extenuating circumstances.
Truth or lie.
After wavering between the two, Junpei chose silence.
"......"
"So you’re saying nothing."
It was a situation close to a dilemma problem.
If the first possibility was true, confession carried too much risk; if the second was true, denial carried too much risk.
Since the trial would be decided by the power of that evidence anyway, the best choice here was to watch and wait.
All that remained was to watch the rebuttal.
"Then it’s my turn."
-Rustle.
When Higuruma opened the envelope, a sheet of paper sprang out from inside.
At the end of the paper, crammed with all kinds of figures, numbers, and text, was the phrase "99.9% match."
"What’s that?"
"The result of analyzing the bloodstains on the lighter currently in Yoshino Junpei’s possession. It matched Ishigori Ryu’s blood perfectly."
"!!"
He could tell that much? More importantly, where the hell did they even do the blood test?
Was the bailiff some all-purpose miracle worker?
Before he could even question it, the rebuttal continued.
"It’s clear evidence, but by itself it can’t prove direct murder. It wasn’t even the weapon used in the crime. Choosing silence was a good decision."
'Thank goodness...!'
"Still, there’s more evidence left. You committed two murders. The charge for Ishigori Ryu’s murder was dismissed for insufficient evidence, but there’s still the Doruve Rakhdawala case."
The blood analysis report burned away and disappeared, revealing a sheet of paper hidden behind it.
It was a photograph.
A photo of Junpei finishing off Doruve, who had been turned into a lump of charcoal by a direct hit from the vortex, by stabbing [Black Scale] into his neck.
Sweat ran down Junpei’s forehead.
"The face and build are unmistakably Yoshino Junpei himself, right? It’s useless to plead the Fifth. The evidence is too clear."
"No, this is..."
"Now that direct evidence of murder has been revealed, the conclusion has been reached. Yoshino Junpei clearly murdered Doruve Rakhdawala."
He was cornered.
Two murders, two pieces of evidence.
He had failed to account for the possibility that the cases would split into the possibilities of one and two.
"That’s cheating. No matter what I do, excuses won’t help."
"You should have confessed. That Doruve Rakhdawala attacked first with intent to kill, and you had no choice but to defend yourself. You’re a minor, so even if you couldn’t expect acquittal, it could have been reduced to negligent homicide and considered with extenuating circumstances."
Ah, though in that case, the Ishigori case would have been added on top of it, and he still couldn’t have escaped a serial murder charge.
Higuruma let out a snort and tapped the balance hanging beneath the bailiff with his baton for the final judgment.
-Clang! Clang!
The charge was serial murder, but one of the cases lacked sufficient evidence.
Instead, the murder of Doruve Rakhdawala was acknowledged, and the bailiff opened his mouth.
[Guilty, Confiscation, Death Penalty]
Death penalty.
The heaviest punishment was handed down to Junpei.
Normally, you wouldn’t get a death sentence for killing one person, but the circumstances captured in the photo made it possible.
Junpei, spotless and without a single injury, and Doruve, on the verge of becoming a corpse.
Anyone could see who the attacker and victim were, and Junpei, who had delivered the finishing blow to a Doruve who had lost the will to resist, was handed the maximum punishment allowed by law.
-Flash!
The heaviest penalty imposed by the bailiff. Death penalty with confiscation attached.
Light gathered in Higuruma’s baton and took shape as a sword.
The [Executioner’s Sword] granted to the 'prosecutor' in charge of punishment.
With the technique’s activation, Junpei instinctively understood what effect that sword of light had.
'He said death penalty... so it’s a death touch if it hits!'
Anyone cut by the Executioner’s Sword dies without exception.
This was the third reason Higuruma was special.
'He wasn’t just rank 4. Rather...'
He was more dangerous than Doruve or Ishigori.
He was an opponent Junpei absolutely could not let his guard down against.
Junpei immediately tried to raise his cursed energy and summon [Akasha Yurayura], but he froze at the strange sensation.
"...?"
[Akasha Yurayura].
It wouldn’t come out.
-Whoosh!
The Executioner’s Sword swung toward him as he stood there in panic.
Before he even had time to think, Junpei’s body moved first, and he barely ducked to avoid the sword strike.
-Swish! Swish! Swish!
A chained series of attacks, curling like a writhing snake.
It was certainly threatening, but not to the point where he couldn’t react.
Losing [Akasha Yurayura] didn’t mean all his combat experience and ability vanished.
-Thud!
"Hup!"
In an instant, Junpei’s fist accelerated and slammed into Higuruma’s abdomen.
Higuruma was sent flying backward, tumbling with a crash as broken chairs flew down onto him.
'Doesn’t matter.'
If he didn’t have it, he’d just fight without it.
If he were weak enough to be overwhelmed by the loss of one [Akasha Yurayura], then he didn’t deserve the title of strongest.
He would subdue this dangerous man with hand-to-hand combat and cursed energy reinforcement alone...
"You didn’t forget about me, did you?"
At that moment, there was a woman approaching Junpei from behind.
He reacted in a hurry and tried to throw a backspin blow, but the space around her warped, and the attack bent off course and missed.
And she was already prepared to press the attack from the start.
"Domain Expansion!"
If you don’t have a technique, you can’t use a domain.
Once Higuruma confiscates the opponent’s technique and draws the Executioner’s Sword, then it’s Uro’s turn.
Sunlight Mirror Jade.
Pour everything out from the very beginning and cut off his breathing in a single blow!
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