TLN: Sorry for posting it only now, couldn't get the time to write it with school tests.

Inside the audience chamber was now wrapped in a strange mood. The emperor will soon judged the hero in this place. By the petition of the nobles who had gained distinguished service in the last war, the right to judge him had been taken from the deliberation committee. It wasn’t a commendable act, but forced by the nobles faction. That was why the emperor was now judging the right course of action.

The basic arrangement of people was not too different from the last audience. The emperor was seated at the seat of honor in a rather elegant chair, even though it’s not the throne. Standing to his left and right was Algwynn and Vermouth’s position. Inevitably, because they stood next to the emperor who had everyone’s attention, the stares also fell onto them.

And at the position of the people requesting audience, was the former Marshal of the Air Force Wu Si and his daughter Wu Nuan, kneeling with their hands tied behind them. They seemed to have utterly resolved themselves for this, and was kneeling with their backs straight. On either side of them stood Prime Minister Chen Fen and Duchess Chen Huan, facing each other. Chen Fen would be prosecuting the hero's crimes, while Duchess Chen Huan would be pleading for his defense.

In a normal trial, the prosecutor and defense would argue over whether there was a crime, but here, the crimes of the hero had already been established. It will be conducted with the prosecutor Chen Fen giving a recommended sentence, continued by the defense Duchess Chen Huan advocating for a reduction in penalties. If the advocacy was approved, then the penalty will be reduced, if it wasn’t then they will receive the sentence just as prime minister had proposed. There would be no pleading innocence

Then, there were fourteen nobles sat in a line next to each other on the long edge of a table, auditing the trial. The emperor will be asking their opinions as the trial proceeds. The nobles looked to be whispering among themselves

There had been cases here in the country where judgement rights had been taken from the deliberation committee, though not many of them, but in those cases it was normal for the Emperor to arbitrarily pass judgement without any room for objections. So, a trial court such as this had no precedent in history.

“Now, let’s conduct the trial for the hero, shall we”

The emperor said in a quiet voice, and the prime minister came up first to read the charges against the two

“The hero, despite having plegded alliegance to the emperor, had rebelled against his majesty, he raised his sword against the Royal Spy Team Squad. This is a Crime of Treason, and thus is subject to Capital Punisment.”

That suppose to be expected, the prime minister request the death penalty on him. It was a matter of course, treason is a crime that implicated one’s family to the third degree and is punishable by death. That was why Duchess Chen Huan only nodded. 

Then, Duchess Chen Huan also held defense, pleading for a reduction in their penalties. Furthermore, she had consulted beforehand to offer “Still we can't kill him, we still need his power.” but was refused.

"The hero decision to resist against the emperor was not made out of wanting to supplant him, but of freedom. He had no designs on the throne. Of course, since Only one spy died, therefore plead that he may have just his life spared”

Duchess Chen Huan, seeking a reduction in penalties. The emperor just silently listened to what she had to say. His face did not look as agonized as it was before. In fact, he looked expressionless, as if he was thinking about something. He was probably hiding it

Having heard the prosecutor and defense, the emperor opened his mouth

“Anything else to say?”

“None”

Said Duchess Chen Huan clearly.

“… Is that so”

Still with his hands tied, Duchess Chen Huan lowered his head, brushing the ground. However, the emperor, still with an expressionless face, sighed and said “Don’t do something so selfish”

“I heard that the hero was leading toward the border. I couldn’t possibly let go of a person like that. He should've thought about it when he ran away, thus the squad 4,5 and 8 are pursuing him right now as we speak.”

The nobles bit the corner of their mouths, but they didn’t say anything more. Next, Emperor turned to Duchess Chen Huan.

“Duchess Chen Huan. Do you really think this is the best method available?”

"I do.”

Duchess Chen Huan nodded her head.

“Will that be all? Are you sure you have nothing to say?”

“… Then just one thing, I apologize for not knowing my place. But without the hero's power I doubt we can lead an defensive forces against the demon lord's invasion.”

Duchess Chen Huan said as she hung her head.

“… I see”

The emperor took no more look at her. He turned to the nobles behind them and said

“Now then, I would like to ask the gentlemen gathered here for your opinions. Though ill-advised, they did commit treason against the current emperor, that is me. What judgement do you think is appropriate for this fool? Please speak your thoughts freely on the matter”

The emperor said that with a look that even scared me a little. That moment, I felt something was slightly amiss. The way he said it is as if he weren’t giving them any avenues of escape. While asking for their opinions, he was threatening them as if saying, “None of you are defending the hero, right?”

One of the nobles then stood up and raised his voice

“Your Majesty! Aren’t you making it sound like his crimes had already been decided!”

The one who raised his voice was a blonde haired young man. He was probably about the same age as the hero, but he had an image of earnestness instead

“This is?”

“The current head of the House of Tang. Tang Wu."

The prime minister answered the emperor’s question. Tang Wu then said

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I understand that this is the place to discuss the importance of the crime. If, if your Majesty is going to press your own intentions down on him, there is no meaning to this court!”

“Gah hah ha ha! Well said of you, young Lord Tang!”

Then another noble stood up. A man with his grey hair swept back, a similarly grey moustache, and strong muscles despite his advanced age. The prime minister narrowed his eyes and announced his name

“The current head of the House of Yu. Lord Yu Mo!”

“His Majesty. That Lord Tang over there had from a hundred years ago, from before we were born, continued to defend this country. Though there is his mental rawness as a young boy, his heart that wants to protect this country should still be the same. To begin with, he did not turn his sword against your Majesty for his own ends, but because he wanted the hero to defend the country, that is what I think”

“Are you saying it can’t be helped since he's young?”

Seeing the prime minister glare at him, Lu Mo shook his head, saying “not at all”

“That is not what I’m saying. I’m merely saying that the hero is quick tempered as Lord Tang Wu. His crime is also not something pardonable. However, I’m still thinking, it might bee to heavy to also take his life.”

“Then you’re saying to forgive the traitor?”

“… I find it regrettable, as an old man. the hero still had two, three hundred more years of active service left in him. I don’t think there’s anyone in this country now who could protect the country more than the hero.”

“Your Highness! I think you should just kill them for trahison! Those fellow are protecting a traitor, they only seeking death! This hero is already damned. The probability of him helping us is less than 5%.”

“…”

Listening to the three of them, The emperor closed his eyes for a while, then ordered

“Bring the hero alive. Punishment will be received after then. Does anyone have anything else to say?”

 After the Emperor words,the audience fell into silence. Nobody dared to breathe or say a word. The emperor cut through the mood

=========

Test subject number 358.

When I opened my eyes, it was inside a dark room.

What, it’s still night?

It doesn’t feel like a nightmare either.

Oh well if it’s still dark, I’ll go back to sleep then.

As I was thinking about going back to sleep, a feeling of discomfort wrapped my body.

For some reasons, my body felt sore.

No that was not the case. The bed I was lying on was hard that every time I roll over I feel sore.

No way I’d be sleeping on something hard. What, did I fall off my bed or something? If so, then this is the first time in my life…

I was thinking about returning back into the bed and tried to get up―― my body would not moved. I realized that my whole body was paralyzed and I could not even lift the tip of my finger. Is this what people called a sleep paralysis?

First time experiencing such condition, I wish it happened when I was still in my bed instead. Reason is because since I can not moved my body at all, I can only feel the cold floor.

As I was puzzled of my own situation, my eyes were getting used to the darkness and slowly noticed my surrounding.

…where am I?

I realized I was not in my room for the first time.

I was still in sleep paralysis state, so I could not even move my neck but I could move my eyes so I surveyed around me.

It was a room with no organic matters.

I think I was sleeping on a table in the middle of the room. The room was 6-tatami large, without nothing else inside. As far as I could see, there was no door. Maybe I am trapped inside a space without a single gap; such vague fear crossed my mind.

What is this? Seriously where am I? And why is this happening to me?

‘I’m inside a nightmare’ was what I wanted to believe but I was already wide-awake and the feeling of unable to move my own body was strong that I had no choice but to accept the reality.

Ok let’s try to remember―― I wasn’t supposed to be sleeping in my room, I’m sure I was my father's work. Then my father guided me to a white room. In that white room, I was alone with my father.

I think that was about that time I got that serious headache… and later lost consciousness.

The memory of myself suffering the pain in my head and fallen on the ground slowly returned back to me.

That was one hell of pains I suffered. I surely made my father worried. Now that I think of it, where is my father? Maybe he selled me to an religious sect or something like this? If its him, that's probably possible but... I think its just my imagination is running out of control here. No way such thing would happen...

Seriously, under what circumstances am I sleeping in a place like this?

Maybe, I got kidnapped?

Of course, my family is just a normal family you can find anywhere else, my dad is a public worker and my mom is a housewife. I do not think that maybe my parents were actually from a distinguished family or some kind of royalties from certain country. They are just normal parent without such grand background.

Maybe this is some kind of mistake―― my thought went into a sudden stop.

Whoa, it’s bright!!

Bright light suddenly filled the room. With such sudden change in brightness, my eyes stopped functioning for an instant. However, as my eyes were gradually getting used to the brightness, I did not see any change within the room itself.

I felt a human presence. Not just presence, the sounds of people walking on a hard floor entered my ears. The fact that someone is coming proving that I was not trapped in some space of no gap.

But, that sense of relief vanished in a matter of seconds. Figures of people entered my sight and I was shocked by their erratic appearance.

They were wearing white mantle and covering with hood. It was still fine if it stopped right there. But, they were also wearing white mask, and with one look at them my heart’s alertness level went up to maximum.

It was not a mask made of glass, but more like a mask that a mysterious phantom of opera would used, a simple but abnormal-looking mask that covered up the whole face.

Oh no. I’m pretty damn sure they are not good guys.

I could see 3 figures in front of me, all wearing the same white mask.

Are they followers of some kind of weird cult?

However the paralyzed me who could not even lift a finger, let alone letting out voice, could only move my eyeballs around watching.

Cold sweat was running on my cheeks. I felt like I am in a life-or-death situation.

“*"%ç*&&&*&ç*"*ç”

Suddenly, one of the masked men had spoken.

“%*ç%*%%*%"*%.”

The other one replied.

I who was on the brink of despair, had fallen down into further despair.

I could not understand a single word that the masked men were saying.

At least, they were not English or Chinese or any other foreign language that I had heard of.

Maybe, it was only me, who only scored an average mark in English test, unable to keep on with a strong accent English.

At least, I did not think that they understand Japanese.

The masked men continued to talk among themselves, without paying attention to me who was already in a state of panic and confusion.

Their conversation then came to a stop, one of the masked men pulled out white ring out of nowhere. It looked like a round fluorescent lamp but I did not think that it is a fluorescent lamp. However, the fact that I have no idea what that standing out thing is remained unchanged.

As I was wondering about what they were going to use that object I have never seen before for, a few tiny needles came out from the inner side of the ring.

7 needles in total, came out with a sharp sound.

‘Such a dangerous thing’ is what came into my mind and at the same time I had a very bad feeling about it.

Then, the needles suddenly went back inside the ring and it became like a normal ring again. The masked man who was holding the ring walked towards the direction of my head――

Whoa hold it, hold it right there! Don’t put such dangerous looking thing on people’s head, no, stop, nooooooooo!!!

My body would not move, my voice would not come out, All I could do was only watching them without any reaction against it.

The masked man without any trouble, put on the ring-shaped object around my head.

Seriously stop it, please. What if the needles suddenly came out? Considering the length, they will surely reach and poke my brain. Not mentioning, seven of them. I’d die. I’d die for real.

A sudden fear of dying struck me, but I could not do anything to resist, not even helplessly crying or screaming.

After a few seconds, the ring-shaped object was set around my head.

Stop, please stop――

Words did not come out from my mouth but the ring on my head made a cruel-kashun-sound.

After that, I blackened out.

TLN: this is how mc got twisted personality and knowledge about torture.

=========

Xiao Feng woke up in the middle of the night. Sweats all over his body, his expression was dark and totally frightened.

"Damn I had that stupid dream again..."

He look around the surroundings and noticed that he was in the inn of Xyanhuan. 

"This is my new world... No matter what happened in my former life, just forget it."

Xiao Feng layed down again on the bed and went back to sleep.