Zoey took a deep breath of fresh air as she was finally released from the jail. She laid her eyes on the hidden magji city of Luminaurora for the first time in her career as a magjistar. It turns out Lindsay wasn’t completely lying when she said that magjistars are more open-minded than Zoey thought. Luminaurora was an entirely modern city with huge buildings with glass, roads, and a whole heck of a lot of people. Zoey was startled to see so many non-humans staring up at her from beneath the grand stairs leading into The Council building. Well, actually, she was more startled to see just so many people looking at her in general. They filled the sidewalk from as far as Zoey could see in both directions.
‘It’s called culture shock, right?’ Zoey asked herself.
‘I’m fucking annoyed at the implications of those other races.’ Inner Zoey cursed.
‘Ah, do you think they made them to be brainwashed slaves like the fairies?’ Zoey guessed.
‘Either that or they don’t have the same rights and privileges as magjistars. Because we haven’t seen a single fucking magjistar other than humans.’ Inner Zoey reasoned.
From the few non-humans Zoey could see, there were some people that were just glowing like they were colorful lights in the shape of humans. She saw a rainbow-colored one, several red ones, a bunch of grays, and some pink ones. Then there were snake people that may or may not be related to Slinky. Zoey didn’t want to assume just because they both had snake origins and were green. The snake people had little actual snakes for hair but styled in diverse ways while wearing surprisingly fitting normal human clothes despite having a human upper body and snake lower half.
Then there were the furry giants that towered over everyone else, including the snake people. If Zoey had to guess, she’d say they were around eight feet or nine feet tall. There were brown-furred ones, white-furred ones, and gray-furred ones, but no colorful colors like red, green, or blue.
‘Are these people Big Foot?!’ Zoey suddenly realized.
‘Haha, cool. We found Big Foot people.’ Inner Zoey laughed. ‘Does that mean other cryptids are just races from the magji world?’ She wondered.
They found the petrifying snake lady in the snake people, sasquatch, and fairies, but Zoey didn’t know what the glowing people or the horned people were from. She did know that she felt her body feel a bit strange when looking into the eyes of the horned people. Oh, they had tails too. Horns and a tail… They kind of reminded Zoey of daemons if they didn’t share similar skin color to regular humans. Normal hands, limb length, and regular teeth.
Even as all of these people were cursing Zoey out, booing her, and all sorts of unnecessary stuff, she looked at them with a sense of wonder. This was the type of world of magji she was looking forward to seeing. Then someone threw something at her from the crowd.
She locked eyes with the hairy sasquatch child as the item was heading toward her. He looked at her, filled with as much anger as a little kid could have. Zoey briefly debated on using her forehead to send the flying rock back into the child’s face but questioned herself if it was really right to do that or not.
‘Fuck that little motherfucker.’ Inner Zoey decided for them.
Zoey’s pettiness came out in full force as she slammed the rock right back into the child’s chest with nothing but her physical prowess. There wasn’t even a bloody mark on her forehead from headbutting the rock, but there was a sharp cry of pain from the child. Turns out all that training wasn’t for nothing in the magji slammer. The intensity of the crowd’s rage and displeasure exploded at this. It surprised the numerous guards who were escorting and surrounding her. The fact that someone managed to get past them and Zoey managed to perfectly injure her would-be attacker.
“Do your jobs, or I’ll do it for you.” Inner Zoey warned them with Fighting Aura affecting them.
The guards shivered at her tone but refused to let themselves be seen scared of a restrained prisoner. They simply tightened the formation around Zoey and were a lot more forceful in pushing people back or out of the way. Unknown to the crowd, they were doing this for their protection, not the protection of Zoey. Every guard knew that Zoey Winters had defeated their boss, Arthur Valiant, twice. Once in an ambush attempt to apprehend her and a second time during her imprisonment. She’s injured their colleagues to degrees that were difficult to heal even with magji tools that aided in recovery for injured patients. Some of them still have yet to recover despite weeks passing since the failed ambush. Both physically and mentally.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
“Zoey Winters! Zoey Winters! Why did you lie about a daemonic invasion!?”
“Zoey Winters! I’m from the LT! Tell us your side of the story, please!”
“Zoey Winters! Why did you nearly cripple members of the Peacekeeping Order!? They’re here to protect the innocent and capture the guilty!”
“Innocent… scumbags… too.” Zoey tried responding, but for some reason, her words came out broken, and some words didn’t come out at all. She tried saying, “I'm innocent, The Council is full of lying corrupt scumbags, and you're all being lied to."
She’d liked to talk all about the corruptness of The Council and how they’re total bullshit, but the guards around her had other plans. Zoey’s personal guard, the thin sword lady, had some sort of metal coin in her hand, pointing it directly at Zoey. Trying to resist the effect of the silencing magji tool on purpose was impossible. With Slinky sucking up most of her mahna, she couldn’t do much of anything with her magji.
Zoey guessed that Abnormal Conditions was helping her defend against the coin of silence. Considering they had a magji tool with that in the first place only made Zoey roll her eyes. This wasn’t the first time they’ve done some messed up shit like this. Silencing someone to prevent them from telling the truth. Why would an organization ever need an item like that unless they wanted to hide some dirty secrets?
Eventually, Zoey arrived to the building that would decide her fate. Strangely enough, she didn’t know exactly what the hell she could get punished for. Was she walking to her death? No one said anything about what she could be set for after this. Sure, she heard some people calling for her death, but she didn’t take that to heart. They were just brainwashed by The Council. Zoey could be any magjistar criminal in history, and they would probably be saying the same thing regardless.
She was led in, checked for weapons or magji tools, unshackled, and reshackled with a new snake. Zoey glared at the swordsman guard that had been watching over her and knew how long it took for her to tame Slinky. The lady glared back as she sliced Slinky into thousands of meat cubes. Inner Zoey controlled their anger. Zoey could easily shift into Overdraft, snap her new snake shackle, and take out all the guards around her to take on the lady but no. She could do that later when it was time.
‘Don’t worry, Slinky. You’ll be avenged…’ Zoey promised as she was taken into the courtroom.
______________________________________________
As the imposing doors of the courtroom swung open, a hushed reverence settled over the room, signaling the arrival of the distinguished magjistars who would shape the destiny of the trial. Each magjistar entered the chamber dressed in attire befitting their status, a blend of sophistication and practicality.
Some wore tailored suits in rich, dark colors, accentuated with intricate metallic designs and engravings. The garments were finely crafted, boasting impeccable stitching and attention to detail. These magjistars presented themselves with an air of elegance and professionalism, their attire speaking of their refined tastes and adherence to tradition.
Others opted for more avant-garde ensembles, donning flowing coats or jackets in vibrant hues, paired with ornate accessories. Their clothing showcased artistic flair and a sense of individuality, as if each magjistar sought to express their unique approach to the magji arts through their fashion choices.
Selena Star, a figure of unwavering strength and vigilance, was stationed at the only entrance and only exit as a guardian of order and security. Her presence alone commanded respect and conveyed the gravity of the proceedings about to unfold.
The grand chamber conveyed a sense of power and authority. Its high ceilings created an expansive space, while the polished marble floors exuded an air of grandeur. The walls were adorned with meticulously crafted tapestries, depicting vivid scenes of Luminaurora's history and showcasing symbols of justice and other judicial nature. These tapestries served as a visual reminder of the city's legacy and the importance of justice in its courts.
All around the room were multiple raised platforms that commanded attention. This was where the members of the court presided over the trial, their imposing chairs positioned in a circular arrangement. The chairs are ornately carved, symbolizing the court member’s status and influence. Each with its own symbol highlighting the background of the court member sitting there.
The Council was positioned at the front of the room, staring directly down at the space where the accused would get the chance to defend themselves, which serves as a visual representation of their superiority and control over the proceedings.
As Zoey was brought into the courtroom, her gaze swept all over the large room. Magjistars climbed floating stairs to their designated seats. Each seat was high in the air, far above where was being led. She had to crank her fucking neck just to make eye contact with a single motherfucker.
‘Jesus, these bitches love to make themselves seem superior.’ Inner Zoey mocked.
‘I don’t recognize anybody.’ Zoey continued looking around to see if she could recognize any familiar faces on her trial.
But then again, she hasn’t made any friends with any adults in the magji community except Victor. She did recognize some of the Council directly looking down on her from the front but besides that, no one. This sham ass bullshit of a trial. Where was her jury of peers at? Was she going to be judged by these fuckers she didn’t even know or had ever seen before? Zoey wasn’t surprised that this was how they were going to play it, but she was surprised by how little of a fuck they gave to disguise how fucking rigged it was.