Death Sentence

Because his body was bound in chains forged of dead iron, Gilles hopped out from behind the crowd of prisoners into the center of the clearing, which made him appear desperately impatient. As a son, he was remarkably similar to Alphonse, a resemblance that went far beyond mere facial features. Thus, when he had acted as he did before, it was never truly out of willingness, but born from a terror that surpassed death itself. When he believed he was doomed to die, he dared not face the even more horrific manner of death that he knew of and had witnessed with his own eyes. What Gilles was doing now was just like his father: grasping recklessly at the final hope of survival... even if, in the eyes of everyone present, that hope was utterly slim. In truth, there were things Gilles did not know either, such as the deeper secrets regarding Yanxiu, or the hidden truth that Alphonse had once knelt before Ne. Yet he still knew more than enough. His account began decades ago, from Alphonse's abrupt arrival at the Third Fixed Exploration Site, to the fleet sent to Antarctica, to the repeated Trials of Geniuses over the intervening decades... All the way down to the events concerning Han Qingyu and his companions, from the encirclement and slaughter on the trial grounds to the conspiracies on the plateau, and everything that followed, including the City of Iniquity. At this moment, even Wen Jifei felt somewhat annoyed that it was this scoundrel who had leaped forward, so eager to lay everything bare... "There's one more thing," Gilles said, turning around to look at Howard and the other Azure officials. "Actually, my father... Alphonse has another small, secret location for siphoning life source energy, one that no one has ever realized." "Where?" Howard didn't ask—he had an ominous premonition—but someone among the crowd did. "Alliance headquarters. Right beneath the residence you allocated to our family," Gilles said. Another location, right in Azure Alliance headquarters! In recent years, Alphonse would occasionally stay at the Alliance Council for a time. A permanent residence belonging to the first-generation Starlight family had always been there, heavily guarded... So, all these years, even during the days when he was pleading his case, applying pressure in the Council, and righteously demanding punishment for Major Qing and the others, he had been "eating people"—and had never stopped! At this moment, the scene fell into dead silence. This was something no one had ever imagined! It was an insurmountable filth and humiliation! It was as if the corpses of soldiers had been strung up right before the eyes of the Alliance Council. The sheer shock nearly caused Howard and the other Azure officials to faint on the spot. A chill ran down the spine of every single person present. A sense of guilt was spreading. "Ugh-aaagh!" Suddenly, roaring, Alphonse—who had just taken advantage of the moment to recover slightly—lunged at Gilles' back. Using his remaining left arm and the exposed bone at his elbow, he plunged it straight into Gilles' back. At this moment, everyone assumed Alphonse was silencing him out of rage and fear, but in reality, that was not the case—or rather, not the whole truth. Alphonse mustered the last dregs of his life source energy, circulating it frantically. As he attempted to devour his son, a top combat power... he finally realized that he had already lost that trait. The entire audience watched him, watched this former hero of Azure in yet another hideously ugly "performance." "Bleurgh!" Someone began to vomit, gripped by an indescribable revulsion and emotion. Then, Alphonse turned around. "Shifting all the guilt onto your father—is this your way of begging for life, Gilles?" he said in an anguished tone. He was still struggling so ridiculously. No one in the crowd paid him any heed. Next, Alphonse fell to his knees facing the corpses, repentance in his eyes. "I am sorry... I have sinned. I allowed my thirst for life to blind my conscience..." Snap. A crisp sound rang out. Wen Jifei suddenly snapped his fingers, cutting Alphonse off. Alphonse turned to look at him, and everyone's eyes followed. "Splendid performance, but it's time to bring down the curtain." His tone was cold. After speaking, Wen Jifei straightened his tattered clothes. Solemn as a judge, his eyes chilled as he stared down at Alphonse and declared, "Now, in the name of humanity, and for all that draws breath, I sentence you to death." This was a trial, having nothing to do with Azure. Clang! Little Prince drew his blade. Alphonse glanced in panic at the blade in his hand, then spun around frantically, moving with all his might toward Howard and the other Azure officials, toward Han Qingyu, crying: "Sins cannot completely erase my past and my former achievements! I saved Azure once! As a pillar of Azure, I struggled to survive because I had reasons—imperative reasons—to stay alive! Humanity will soon face its greatest crisis..." The gazes around the field were numb, filled with disgust. Seeming to realize this was useless and that no one bought his words, Alphonse paused, quickly changing his tone and adopting a tragic, solemn expression: "Then, one final request... Please let me die on the battlefield fighting the Great Spikes. Send me to Antarctica... Consider it the final leniency for my past, for your first-generation Starlight. "I can still hold on, I can still fight, and I am still strong! Please let me go... let me use my life to slay a few more high-tier Great Spikes, as my final repentance and atonement!" He spoke with tragic fervor, passionate and earnest. "No need." Three simple words came from behind. It was spoken in a flat tone. Yet its actual impact was far more potent than any earnestness, passion, or tragic grandeur. Because it was The King speaking—his very first words since returning to the surface. Everyone on the field looked at him in silence. Supporting himself with his right arm, Han Qingyu stood up. He was exhausted, racked with agonizing pain, his spirit drained. He hadn't wanted to speak another word, but Alphonse's speech reminded him of someone—reminded him of Sean's silhouette as he made his final charge into the swarm of Great Spikes. The first half of that story had just been recounted by Gilles. That year, Han Qingyu had chosen to believe Sean and given him that chance. Sean had indeed followed through, returning before his death to the self who had longed as a boy to become a hero of Azure. And now, Han Qingyu would never believe Alphonse. In fact, hearing Alphonse speak those very words stirred a deep fury within him. His steps were still somewhat labored as Han Qingyu walked forward... Rusty Sister stood to the side and handed him the knight broadsword that Sean had left behind. "Recognize this knight's sword? Sean once wielded it, bringing it to kill me. Before Sean died, he said this sword was tainted, but that the sword itself was guiltless, and hoped that one day we could cleanse it..." Han Qingyu took the knight's sword as he spoke, continuing forward. "Yes. So, can Major Qing grant a final forgiveness? Merely as a soldier whose heart desires to die on the battlefield..." Perhaps overwhelmed by desperate earnestness and hope, Alphonse misunderstood. He thought he could be granted the same chance Sean had received. He wanted to go to Antarctica... where a final sliver of hope awaited. But: "I cannot." Han Qingyu said: "You are already far too adept at excusing and forgiving your own evils, and Azure seems to be the same. So, if I were to forgive you too, this world would lose even its final shred of justice. "Besides, I think your blood should be best suited to cleanse this blade." As the last word fell, Han Qingyu walked past Alphonse. In that instant, Alphonse realized his ultimate fate. Boom! With a final, mad eruption of life source energy, he threw himself at Han Qingyu's back. Whoosh! Cries of shock erupted across the field. Then cut short abruptly. For in his deathly outburst, Alphonse had failed to leave the ground. He remained kneeling, not having shifted an inch. The King seemed to have anticipated it all. Without looking back, he simply hurled the knight broadsword backward... The blade pierced clean through Alphonse's heart, its tip plunging into the earth and pinning him to the spot. Then, without pausing, seemingly unwilling to spare Alphonse another glance, Major The Qing continued walking forward. The iron suit followed, Wu Xu followed, Wen Jifei followed, as did He Tangtang, Little Prince... Alphonse was not dead yet, still kneeling there, gasping for breath. The people waiting for vengeance raised their blades and surged forward.