It was strange how the same people who had been cheering for him, congratulating him, and wishing him luck just a few days ago were now standing before him, their faces filled with suspicion and wariness.
Hades couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at how fragile human trust is. A single mistake, and the hero everyone had celebrated turned into the worst villain in their eyes.
Yet, he couldn't blame them. He had made a mistake, and now he had to face the consequences of his actions.
He had to bear the weight of his friend's death.
"Alright then, let's begin with a very simple question," said the man who had been given the chance to lead this trial. He was the Supreme Advisor of the royal court—Saber Ross.
Pressing the bridge of his glasses, he turned to Hades and spoke in a voice that carried to every corner of the cathedral.
"Tell us, student Hades, were you informed of how many dragons you would face in the mining field?"
Hades nodded. "Yes, around eighteen. But we were never told about the Duke-ranked dragon."
The Minister narrowed his eyes. "We'll get to the Duke-ranked later. First, let me confirm something." Crossing his hands behind his back, he continued, "You were informed that morning that the healer—a crucial member of any team—was unavailable, yet you still chose to begin the raid. Yes or no?"
Hades clenched his teeth, fully aware of what this line of questioning was leading to. But lying now would be pointless. Unless the team commander gave the green light, the team wouldn't have moved into the field.
"Yes, I chose to proceed," Hades said, "but I took the best healer from the Beta team. She's worked with us before, so she was able to—"
"That was irresponsible of you," the Pope cut in. "When taking on such a big task, you must wait until your whole team is fit and ready before heading to the battlefield."
Hades bit his lip and stayed silent. If he said something like, "I've hunted more than twice that many dragons on my own," they would call him arrogant and blame him even more. So he remained silent.
Ross smirked. "How could he follow the proper protocol, Your Holiness, when Hades was in such a rush to get his hunting license and have his name written in the history books?"
Hades glared at the man.
The other students started whispering, some nodding in agreement.
Ross continued, "Because he was eager to become the youngest Dragon Hunter, he ignored the safety measures and rushed into the field. That shows just how selfish he is."
No one spoke up, but Hades could feel their agreement in the silence.
He looked around and saw Cedric and Taylor staring at the ground with blank expressions.
Then his eyes drifted to the one he loved… and she wasn't even looking at him.
He felt helpless. Suddenly, he felt so alone in this battle.
It was then that another voice spoke up. "I think we should also consider Hades' perspective," said the Headmaster, the highest authority in the academy.
All eyes turned toward the old man as he continued, "He's never failed a mission before, and his records show that the number of dragons he planned to face was well within his ability—even with a smaller team. And calling him selfish? Let me remind you, respected Minister, that Hades turned down an easier mission that would have secured his license." The old man's eyes narrowed as he added, "And do you know why? Because those dragons were too close to a town, and Hades knew exactly who he should protect first."
The students again started to whisper and discuss what the Headmaster just said.
Hades looked at the older man with a look of gratitude.
Meanwhile, Ross was gritting his teeth in frustration, "Because of his past success, you cannot justify his arrogance."
The Pope added, "Relying on his past records and allowing him to break the conduct...I didn't expect that from you, Albert."
Albert, the Headmaster, remained silent at those words.
He didn't need to tell why he had grown so confident in Hades or they would just think he was defending the student.
Ross glanced at the Pope thankfully, before turning towards the redhead, "Now, Hades, tell me what exactly happened during the raid."
The attention was once again on the accused.
Hades was feeling light-headed because he hadn't recovered yet. But he had no option but to tell them the whole story.
"We reached..." He relayed the whole ordeal from the beginning, adding the scouting part and how they fought the solitary ranked.
He mentioned not anyone being injured, implying that despite being short on a regular member, they were able to subdue the danger without any damage taken.
However, when it came to the part where they dove into the cave, Ross interrupted, "Ah! You missed a very major part here, Hades." He said, with a victorious smirk, "You were asked by your teammates to abort the mission because of the growing uncertainty. Tell me if I am wrong."
Hades frowned before he nodded, "Yes, Cedric did warn me but the other teammates were neutral on the matter." He didn't mention that Graham was in the agreement since it would have appeared that, in his defense, Hades was using his dead friend.
Ross frowned, "So should I assume that you don't respect Cedric's decision? Is it normal for you to do what comes to your mind? Do you not care about others' opinions-"
"Mister Ross, rather than asking me why don't you ask Cedric and Taylor if I care about their opinion or not," Hades interjected.
Ross glared at the young man, knowing full well that asking them would prove his earlier statement to be false.
Ross snickered, "But that doesn't justify the fact that you ignored Cedric's suggestion and asked your team members to dive into that cave."
Hades heaved a sigh, "I never received any report about a Duke-ranked...how was I supposed to know that there would be a catastrophe creature waiting for us inside."
Ross grinned, "Oh, you really didn't know?" He asked before taking out a wrinkly parchment from his pocket.
Stepping back, he showed the court the parchment while saying, "This was a warning sent by the surveillance department, stating that they have spotted a huge dragon had appeared in that area." Saying so, he handed the parchment to the Pope.
The Pope verified it and gave a nod.
The student started whispering and the buzz was louder than ever before.
Hades's eyes widened, "I never received that warning."
Ross laughed, "I knew you would say that, that's why, I would like to call someone who handed me the parchment."
Hades followed Ross' line of sight...and his breath was caught in his throat.
It was Kayla.
°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Add the book to your collection.