Standing up from his ungraceful fall, he rubbed the back of his head as he turned to look at the orange ghost. He raised an eyebrow at them, before asking if they were going to explain their reasoning.

"If you wanna kill me, at least tell me why please..." Oliver sighed.

In response to his question, the orange ghost laughed awkwardly before fidgeting with their fingers.

"Well you see... y- you're too much of a threat to be left alive. I have no qualms with you however! Nor do I hate you... but your existence is an unstable variable. Like in the mortuary business... you're a John doe. Someone unknown, and unquantifiable. You understand don't you?" The orange ghost asked, their voice very meek.

Oliver grit his teeth after hearing their answer. This whole time, everyone in the courtroom had seen him as a threat. Like a monster. An anomaly. However, he didn't understand why.

"No... I don't understand. Why... Why do you all see me as a monster? I'm not! I've risked my life to save people! People I don't even know! Why would I want to hurt anybody?!" He yelled, his emotions getting the better of him.

The room went silent for a moment, his words clearly affected the Vanguards. Even though their faces were hidden behind hoods, it was clear that they were uncomfortable by his reaction.... Because they knew what he said was right. However, even if Oliver was docile now, if he lost control of his powers - he would be a bigger threat than anything they'd face before this. That fear, was more than enough to make these Vanguards lose rationality.

Lowering his head to the ground, Oliver's demeanor softened - as if admitting defeat.

"Just get on with it..." Oliver muttered, his voice laced with more annoyance than fear.

Hearing their cue, the grey flask stood up - holding their quartz token in the palm of their hand. Looking up at them, Oliver couldn't help but feel that he knew who they were. Their height, their subtle shifts in demeanor, the broadness of their shoulders. He was sure he had seen them somewhere before. However, every time he tried to imagine who they were underneath their hood, the concealment technique in said cloth caused him to immediately forget. Uncertainty filled his heart.

Seeing the young man's reaction, the grey flask hummed before clearing their throat.

"Well then... I should be the last Vanguard to give out their reasonings, as I doubt Mrs. Ying would give an explanation to her vote..." The grey flask eyed her.

Upon feeling their eyes on her, Yue clicked her tongue as she crossed her legs.

"Does the fact that I DON'T want to subject a child to a heinous fate need an explanation...?" She remarked, her voice filled with malice.

The grey flask chuckled in response before turning back to Oliver. Tossing their token up and down in their palm, the grey flask began examining Oliver. Every movement, every hitched breath, every involuntary jerk or tic. The grey flask used anything as data to gauge Oliver.

Feeling the almost painfully analytical eyes of the grey flask, Oliver began shifting in place - getting both uncomfortable and annoyed.

"Could you please say something? Being stared at is super creepy... And invasive..." Oliver retorted, squinting his eyes as his mouth stretched slightly.

The grey flask shook his head quickly, hopping in place slightly as if to regain consciousness.

"My apologies. Sometimes I get too into research... But, I think I've come to a decision..." The grey flask said, catching their token right before it could drop.

As his eyes focused on the Vanguard... Oliver could feel something bad was about to happen. He knew from the demeanor they were exuding... That they didn't have Oliver's best interest at heart.

Clenching their token tightly, the grey flask stretched open their arms wide as they tilted their head backwards.

"I wish to dissect and study you! I want to see it, I want to see everything about you! I wanna know why you can transform without a title nor a miracle! I wanna know why your personality seems to shift after transformation!" They took a breath, as if to prepare themselves for the next part of their insane ramblings. "... I wanna see how you react! I wanna see how you cry! I wanna see how you laugh! I wanna see what makes you scared! I wanna see what makes you scream! I wanna know it... I want to know every inch of you... I want to know who you really are Oliver Liam Rand..." The grey flask explained, their voice becoming darker.

Hearing his words, everyone in the courtroom felt an overwhelming amount of disgust wash over them. His words were so... Vile and predatory. It was as if Oliver was no longer a human to them. He was just a test subject now. A pretty new material they could use for their experiments. Truly disgusting.

Taking a few short breaths to calm themselves down, the grey flask loosened their grip on their token.

"My apologies... I get heated sometimes when I get excited... Though, my words are 100% true, Oliver. I wish to see why you, a seemingly ordinary person, a person who's so ordinary he blends into the background, has such a unique quirk. A quirk I've only seen in-" however before he could finish his sentence the Director interrupted.

His eyes stern and cold, the Director's gaze was filled with anger.

"No more talking. You've said too many horrid things... It's a miracle you're still the jury... And not the one on trial." The Director said with scorn.

The grey flask was silent for a moment, though their free hand seemed to clench tightly. Sighing and relaxing their body, the grey flask threw their token into the middle-left scale.

A gyser of muddy grey - almost bone coloured water - erupted out from the scale. As the water began to evaporate, the grey flask had already sat down. Their hands clenched tightly - as if to suppress their anger.

The Director's nose scrunches slightly at their demeanor, however the impatient tapping coming from Yue's feet distracted him enough to ignore such insolence. Clearing his throat, he gestured for Yue to speak her case.

"Please close us off... However I suspect one more vote must be placed..." The Director narrowed his eyes onto her.

Yue rolled eyes in response before throwing her aquamarine token into the furthest scale from the left. As the gem landed on metal, it made a few clanging noises before a beam of warm gentle light burst up from scale.

Seeing the light filled Oliver's heart with calm, unlike the other three scales that only brought him pain and fear. He wished the light could remain forever... However light like that would only shine on the living. Not the dead.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

As the light slowly faded, Oliver's gaze was replaced by a stern expression from the Director. He clicked his tongue at the sight - clenching his fist tightly. He knew the outcome already, but he had to wait for confirmation from the Director. It was pure hell to know his life could be decided by a tie breaker.

Sighing softly, the Director sat up, placing his hands behind his back. His chin pointed to slightly as his gaze was shit downwards to look at Oliver. Seeing the pained sight in his eyes was both upsetting, and intriguing.

"As the vote ended in a draw... I as the judge have authority to choose whichever punishment I deem necessary for Oliver Liam Rand. That being said however..." The Director's voice trailed off as he took out his obsidian token. The token glimmered slightly, emitting an ash-like aura around the stone. The Director ran his thumb over the token, before sighing. "... I must decide the most logical conclusion. Oliver Rand.... I sentence you to death." The Director said with a hitch in his voice as he threw the stone on the scale. His fingers hesitated slightly as the stone was being released.

Oliver could feel everything slow down as he watched the stone fall. With each descent - like frames on a movie reel - Oliver's life began flashing before his eyes. He remembered his first birthday with his aunt and sister - how he had let Olivia blow out the candles. He remembered his first day of middle school - how he let everyone else take their seats before him, causing him to be left with the seat in the back next to the window. He still remembered how the glare caused him to struggle to see the white board. Oliver remembered the times he had backed out of sports because someone asked him if they could sub in for him. He remembered all the times he had let others take the last piece of chocolate bread, even though he had dreamt of eating it since lunch break began. He remembered all the times he had sacrificed things that would in the long run make him happy, just because someone else wanted it. Then he realised something. He didn't have a hard time because he was unlikable. He had a hard time because he never even tried to have a better one. It was much easier for him to just sacrifice things and seem like a martyr, instead of actually doing something about his situation. Because in his mind, having someone pity him was better than actually trying to convey what he truly wanted.

"Right... That's what I've been doing in this trial too... I've tried making them pity me... Not show them I'm not a threat. That's why... I'm going to die? Because I was scared? No... I don't want to die... I don't want to die!" Oliver thought, his eyes widening as the obsidian token landed on the scale.

As the gem fell on the metal... It didn't make any sound. No crackle, no burst of energy, nothing. A smile crept up Oliver's face at the realisation. In his panic and fear, he believed that somehow something had gone awry, and that he wouldn't die!

However... The solemn demeanor of the Vanguards told him otherwise. His fingers trembled slightly, Oliver's smile turning weary.

"Hey come on... Why do you all look like th-" but before he could finish his sentence, the lightning came.

Black lightning struck the statue itself, causing the scale to drop to the ground. The sheer weight of the item caused the ground to concave and jut out pieces of flooring like sharp spikes. A piece of the sharp debris flew out, cutting Oliver just below his lower eye lid, leaving a line of red blood to trickle down like a tear.

Feeling his breath becoming more sparse and heavy, Oliver slowly lifted his gaze from the fallen scale to the towering statue that had stood up. The statue held its sword tightly in its hand, gripping it with enough force to form cracks along its fingers. His eyes meeting the statue's, Oliver could feel dread encompassing in his entire self. It felt as if hands were gripping and clawing at him, trying to bring him down to hell. This, was judgement.

Raising its blade high, tears began streaming down the statues face. Its abundant eyes cried, causing the downpour of tears to cover the Director in a thin veil of black liquid in front of him. Similar to how the executioners of old would wear a hood to hide their facial expressions from those who were witnessing the execution, the veil hid any emotions from both the director's eyes... as well as Oliver's.

Watching the scene unfold however, left a stubborn and very angry general extremely unhappy. Clicking her tongue and tapping her foot, Yue then created a giant sword made out of ice before attempting to jump in to save Oliver. However before she could even drop, she felt claws dig into her stomach. She turned to look at the assailant, finding the orange ghost pushing their hands forward and grabbing her with constructed bone hands made of descent energy.

Her eyes turning deep red, Yue grit her teeth before she began to laugh at the Vanguard.

"Hey... what do you think you're doing? You wanna die or something?" Yue growled.

The orange ghost hesitated slightly before holding their ground.

"No, but I don't want you to die. T- that thing is stronger than all of us combined. Only that guy could beat it..." The orange ghost said, holding their grip tighter.

Yue rolled her eyes in response, before easily breaking out of their grip. The orange ghost staggered, before feeling Yue's boot on their cheek. The woman kicked the Vanguard mid air, sending them crashing through the rows of chairs.

Landing safely on one of the seats, Yue examined her blade - looking at all the battle ready Vanguards in its reflection. Her eyes narrowed slightly before breathing out a cold breath of air.

"Why do you all want to stop me? Is listening to that man really that important to you? God... You all might as well be dogs." Yue remarked.

Pulling out their axe, the red claw rubbed the back of their head before sighing.

"It's not about that... It's about not wanting to see you die to a stupid statue... We'd much rather kill you ourselves ya know?" The red claw retorted.

Chuckling, Yue put her blade down before tilting her head back slightly. Her short light blue hair that was tied up with a white ribbon fluttered alongside her long black and gold trench coat, the cold winds her descent energy was emitting creating a draft. The Vanguards could feel their stomachs turning into knots, however they stood their ground. Seeing their resistance however only made Yue smile.

"5v1? How arrogant... You'll need an army if you want to even scratch me." Yue threatened, her eyes glowing redder.

Seeing the third rank Vanguard threaten them with such a deranged look was more than enough to make even the most battle worn soldier shit their pants... However they wouldn't be Vanguards if they ran from danger. One by one they pulled out their weapons, staring the blood thirsty wolf down with equal resolve. The room was dead silent for a moment, before the delayed - almost distorted - sound of their movements filled the room.

In the background, Oliver could hear Yue's attempts at protecting him, however he was too focused to even care about the brawl between Vanguards that was taking place. All he could think about was death.

Pulling the blade as far as the statue could, it staggered for a moment, before slashing downwards straight onto Oliver. Seeing the blade slowly come down to him - filling his vision with nothing but it's cold steel - Oliver was terrified. In that moment... Oliver had done something he had never done before. He asked for help.

"Please... Someone save me... I don't want to die."

Yet nobody responded.

Closing his eyes in defeat, he tried his best not to cry. Because if he cried... It would seriously hurt.

However... Something curious had happened. With his eyes closed, his other senses were heightened. He could smell the soft scent of roses, as well as a gust of wind breeze through his hair. Was this what heaven felt like? If it was. Why did it feel so strangely terrifying?

Opening his eyes slowly, Oliver was met with a truly surprising sight. A sight that even dreams could not conjure up. It was baffling that someone like him would come to his rescue. Oliver didn't know if it was a bad omen... Or a blessing.

Holding up the gigantic blade with just his pinky finger, Shirou Mitsuzane cleared his throat, before flicking the blade. The blade shot back at the statue, cutting it in half with little to no resistance. The statue stood tall for a moment - as if it hadn't even realised it had been destroyed - before splitting open like a banana peel.

The sight caused the Vanguards to immediately stop fighting as terror began to fill their hearts. Remember what I said about Vanguards not running away from danger? Well that fact only applied to dangers not named Shirou Mitsuzane.

The Vanguards stood completely still, as if any movement they’d make would spell certain death. They didn't even dare to breathe in Shirou Mitsuzane's presence.

The man had realised this fact, so to avoid his comrades from dying - he waved his hands at them, gesturing for their permission to breathe.

The Vanguards immediately took very quick and heavy breaths, trying to regain all the oxygen they had lost. Though, their hyperventilation came more from fear than a shortness of breath.

Holding a hand to her chest as she held the railings, Yue looked at Shirou with a slightly annoyed look on her face.

"Took you long enough! I had to do this shit all on my own!" She yelled.

Seeing Yue yell at Shirou, Oliver snapped out of his trance as his mind filled with a different sense of panic.

"WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING?! Why is she yelling at him? Does she really want to die that bad? Holy shit, he must be so ma-" but as Oliver turned to look at Shirou, his train of thought was cut off.

Looking at him, Shirou's face remained stoic and emotionless as ever. However his calmness wasn't what surprised Oliver. Because hidden underneath the blank expression his face had defaulted too... Was genuine guilt. Oliver had to rub his eyes for a moment to confirm he wasn't in a dream.

"No way...."

Examining the rose necklace that adorned his neck, Shirou looked at the Vanguards with his piercing golden eyes. Eyes that festered fear into those who were damned by the cold, unrelenting embrace of death. Eyes that made the abominations of the world run with their tails between their legs. Eyes that had witnessed, and killed death.

Those very eyes narrowed slightly, causing the Vanguards to flinch in fear. Expecting something akin to a beam of pure descent energy in their face, the Vanguards instead opened their eyes to see Shirou lifting his arm up to show them the bouquet of roses he was holding.

"Sorry, I stopped to buy flowers.”