Lord of Annihilation

"Judgement."

At her declaration, the surging soul power within the chained Terran's body started to furiously pulse and swell. His skin started to bloat and darken at various spots as the violet soul power violently rages.

The Terran's face alternated with various colors as it warped in mind-numbing pain. 

"ARGHHHH!!!" A scream reminiscent of a dying beast echoed from within his throat. 

"ARGHHHH!! IT HURTS!! STOP IT!! PLEASE STOP IT!!" 

Tears, snot, and blood dripped from his facial orifices as the prisoner begged for release. The courage and defiance which he had displayed earlier had entirely vanished from his face. 

"Tch. Stop squealing like a pig, my head's starting to hurt." Rubbing her forehead with her left hand, the mature-sounding woman stated with annoyance.

"So why don't you shut up." 

Her right hand that was casually resting by her waist suddenly blurred into action. Grabbing onto the sheathed sword hanging at her waist, she thrust it into the Terran's mouth and into his throat.

With the foreign object jamming his throat, the Terran could no longer scream and found it harder to breathe. The previous screams were now replaced by choked coughs and painful sobs.

"That's better." The woman declared with satisfaction. 

The woman then turned to face the gathered crowd consisting of dozens of excited citizens. Raising both her hands into the air, she addressed the crowd with a smile on her face.

"A fine afternoon for a trial, isn't it?"

Her tone was cheerful yet authoritative and was completely absent of the cruelness she had showcased mere moments ago. It possessed a magnetic charm, unique to those with power.

Like a barrel of gunpowder being ignited, the crowd of excited onlookers exploded into cheers. 

"Indeed it is, Governor!!" 

"Well said! That bastard screams like a pig indeed!!"

"We people might be weak but we are not to be taken lightly! Kill that pig!"

"Lord Governor, please marry me!!"

The shouts were impassioned. Some yelled with righteous anger, some cheered with a humorous tone, while some were utter nonsense. 

Collectively, the onlookers were lighthearted and joyous, a sight that contrasted the plights of the chained Terran on stage. The grim atmosphere of Pandemonium couldn't be found anywhere.

"Haha, I'm glad to see that everyone's so excited!" The woman on the stage replied with a laugh.

The guard in charge of escorting Lucius had also joined in on the cheers earlier. He then turned Lucius and said. "That's our Governor, The Violet Witch."

Possessing a pair of mesmerizing violet eyes, abyssal black hair that extended to her back, a breathtaking face, half of which was hidden behind a violet-colored butterfly-shaped mask was the person whom the duo of ex-Stage 7 had come to rescue.

Olivia Mayer.

Or as referred to by the people of Pandemonium, their Governor- the Violet Witch.

"Huh?" Lucius blurted out, his tone showcasing his amazement.

"What the fu*k?" Ka'lor'ah cursed out loud unable to restrain her bafflement.

The two of them stood in a daze for a few seconds as their minds struggled to process the reality of the situation.

'Lifting' her 'hands' to pinch her 'cheeks', Ka'lor'ah realized her lack of both these bodily features. She then mentally sent a message to Lucius.

'Lucius, can you pinch your check to check whether it hurts and confirm if this is a dream?'

'…'

'Or did we actually lose to that Stage 5 guy and fall into some elaborate mental trap?'

'…Maybe.' 

The fact that Lucius didn't immediately deny this ludicrous possibility spoke volumes of how unbelievable they found their current situation to be.

The two of them fell into a strange silence. This silence lasted for a few seconds which was then broken by Ka'lor'ah.

'That girl up there…its Olivia, isn't it?'

'…yes.'

'That same Olivia who was innocent, timid, and extremely easy for me to bully?' Ka'lor'ah hesitantly asked pointing to the mature woman wearing a deep-purple robe upon the platform addressing the crowd.

'…Mid-Level Stage 2…her soul power feels familiar. It should be her.' 

Observing her soul power and comparing it to the one in his memory, Lucius confirmed.

'You sure we aren't dead?' Ka'lor'ah asked one more time.

'Affirmative.' 

'Then how the hell is she so different?! How can a person change so much in mere months?! What the hell did you teach her?!' Ka'lor'ah had finally snapped.

On the other hand, Lucius ignored her rants as usual and stared directly at the woman on the stage. To tell the truth, he had totally been expecting Olivia to either be near-dead or to be enslaved by one of the gangs in the Pandemonium.

Not because he had no faith in her, but because he knew how hard it was to survive by oneself within Pandemonium. After all, he had personally been here once in his previous life and had experienced its cruel reality.

The gangs were powerful and lawless, while their leaders were cunning and experienced. They were not the type that could be threatened nor reasoned with. They belonged to the [Neutral: Evil] faction and took pleasure in tormenting others.

Only with absolute power could they be crushed, and this was what Lucius had done in his previous life.

How Olivia had managed to destroy these gangs, take full control of their territories and resources, and also bring about such change to the city, was honestly beyond Lucius.

He could honestly admit that it was something that even he, with his 300 years of experience couldn't have accomplished. For him, doing such a thing was impossible.

And the fact that Olivia had managed to accomplish this 'impossibility', surprised Lucius.

If the Olivia of before only possessed value as a tool with connections to the Temple of Fairness, then the Olivia whom he was seeing now, possessed value for her ability.

'The success of certain elements of the 'Great Plan' would be higher with her addition. Ka'lor'ah was right, after all, she is a valuable piece for the plan.' Lucius had to admit it.

'It should be worth to seriously teach her.'

While he and Ka'lor'ah quarreled frequently due to his stubbornness, Lucius was not inflexible. If he was proved wrong, then he would admit it. 

However, admittance did not equal acceptance. 

While he could admit to reason, he would not necessarily accept it. This could be seen in their previous conversation.

The two of them would require help to accomplish their Great Plan, this Lucius could accept. 

However, the fact that Ka'lor'ah had implicitly stated that Lucius himself, would require assistance at a certain point was something he would never accept. 

He held absolute faith in his abilities. 

While his means wouldn't be the same, he held no doubt that he would manage to reach the end. And as long as the end was reached, the means did not matter.

"Whoa, the skills of an Arbiter are amazing!" Ka'lor'ah's exclamation brought Lucius out of his thoughts.

While Lucius was lost in his thoughts, Olivia had explained who the Terran undergoing the trial was and why he was being judged. In brief, this was the story.

Due to a certain reason, Stellar Light City (the city of the Bertarian Governor) had declared war against Pandemonium and its current Governor. The war had been continuing for almost a year now, with battles both overt and covert fought on a near-daily basis. 

The Terran chained to the platform was one of the high rankings operatives of Stellar Light city with orders to disrupt the order with Pandemonium and also serve as a spy within its official ranks.

And he was fairly successful in his tasks, or at least, that was the case until he was caught by the Governor's forces, before being brought to this public trial.

"While I hoped that you would admit to your crimes, looking at you now, it no longer seems possible," Olivia remarked, referring to the chained Terran.

Having stabbed her sword into his throat to block the Terran's screams, his subsequent struggles had resulted in his throat being ripped apart. As such, the Terran no longer had any vocal cords to speak of. (AN: Get it?! Did you get the pun?!)

"Let's finish this. [Judgement- Final Verdict]" Extending her finger to point at the guilty, Olivia cast her final spell.

The violet soul power that was constantly surging and raging within the Terran's body calmed for a second. It then collectively started to rush towards his head, gathering around his forehead.

Streams of soul power started to materialize above the Terran's head forming the silhouette of an object. This silhouette then turned darker and denser before finally forming an object.

It was the 'Scale of Justice'.

This weighing scale that had materialized for Olivia's soul power was intricately patterned. One side of the scale was composed of a white-gold material, forming the symbol of an angel on its balance, representing [Good].

The other side was composed of a reddish-black material and had the symbol of a devil on its balance, alternatively representing [Evil].

The central supporting pillar of these two balances was composed of a sheathed sword representing the Arbiter in charge of the trial.

Upon the scale's formation, the two balances started to rapidly tilt and sway on their own. This went on for a few seconds before the balance representing [Evil] started to weigh heavier and heavier, reaching a point of complete imbalance.

"The scale finds you guilty." Olivia impartially declared. 

Walking towards the struggling Terran she raised her right palm before chopping downward, swiftly granting death.

Turning to face the crowd, she addressed. "The trial is complete, please disperse immediately."