Ezra sat in his cell, melancholic.
Unchained, he could simply walk out of the cell.
But the Emperor warned him against it, and since he was near powerless, Ezra stayed put.
He could hear the guards gossiping about him from time to time.
As expected, they weren't saying nice things. Then again, he was a demon.
Demons were the archenemies of humans, collectively hated. Which was why anything regarding demons was hot cake, handled by every power.
Coming from a different space, demons only seeked to rape, pillage and kill.
All these made Ezra's case delicate and complicated.
With the possibility of death greater than ever, Ezra found him losing interest in most things.
His strength had failed him, his meridians were shattered, rendering cultivation, even mana stones largely ineffective and he wasn't at all keen to practising his weaponry.
Even if he was, there were no weapons in sight and he didn't want them taking notice of his space ring.
Bored out of his mind, Ezra took frequent naps, putting all former routines on hold as he delved into his memories, self reflecting.
'What have I been doing all this time?'
From waking up in a body unknown to regaining his lost memories to then planning and then acting towards his goal.
The deeper he delved in his memories, the more he found them encompassing one thing.
His sole objective.
Revenge.
"Hmm" Ezra delved a little deeper into his past actions.
'My desire for gaining strength as the fastest possible means was to kill my enemies just as fast'
He nodded.
'The ambition to become Emperor was to wage war on the same enemies'
'Black Jaws was created to gather the army capable of doing so, and the siblings I gathered for the same reason'
'I trained myself into a weapon for the same reason…'
And yet..
'I wasn't even able to kill Marcus's
Realization hit him.
'Guess I...failed?'
The word left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He stared at his dirty shackled hands.
'If I am to die right now…what have I achieved?'
"Hmm"
Another deep thought.
'Well, I'll be known to have been the fastest to grow to Grandmaster level'
Ezra chuckled.
Right, he was only Thirteen.
'And Niton's greatest genius'
Others might differ, but Ezra approved that he'd earned it.
'A few would know me as the one of the creators of Black Jaws'
But then his smile faded.
The braces reduced his powers by a lot, dulling his senses, instincts, and reducing his recovery speed to almost zero.
Not that he'd ever be able to recover to his peak form, as that was nigh impossible-the Emperor made sure of it by breaking his meridians at a fundamental level.
So even with a demon's insane recovery speed, Ezra wouldn't be able to return his meridians to their original form.
Then, it happened right after he stepped into grandmaster realm, further cementing the damage.
Even Ezra didn't know of many items that could completely heal him.
Those that he did know of were few, and in places beyond his reach-for the foreseeable future.
Regardless, his instincts, even dulled, were calling for a warning.
'What is it?'
He realized.
A Grandmaster was approaching his cell.
With slow steps, a figure appeared beyond the cell gates.
"Father?"
With his clothes fluttering, the Emperor and Ezra locked eyes.
The Emperor's beard had grown, and golden hair seemed dimmer, holding the eyes of someone with a heavy burden.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
"It's time" The Emperor simply said, a line of lightning stretched out like a limb and approached Ezra.
"Time for what?"
The lightning binded him.
"Time for your fate to be decided"
"I see. You've decided to kill me?"
'I guess its times to be executed'
Ezra struggled, but like before, it was futile, especially with the braces suppressing his powers.
Tied up by lightning, Ezra watched as the Emperor walked to the throne room.
Any guard encountered bowed, and as they walked, more and more people came into view.
Their exotic clothes made it easy to guess their identities.
'Nobles'
More and more gazes lingered upon his figure, as Ezra smelled fear in the air-a lot of it.
Yes, smelled.
Thanks to demonization, Ezra was privy to demonic abilities.
One of them was smelling fear.
It was acute for hunting prey. Moreover, demons were creatures born of negative energy, fear was their favourite scent.
Ezra was allured, but he could still control himself.
From their faces, Ezra read a few more, envy and fury for most.
His eyes, now red, could read the mana levels of people, better to say it could gauge it.
Another ability of his.
During the past weeks, bored out of his mind, he'd been experimenting, extending his claws and other things.
Not much was discovered, besides, he already knew a bunch of things demons could do. And because the braces burnt him if he activated his demonic abilities, he stopped.
The more they walked, the more the crowd encountered, and the bigger their presence.
The Emperor's gaze was hardened, so people simply moved out of the way before they were told.
The door to the Throne room lay wide open, the path to the throne clear, lined with wine coloured carpet.
A crowd bigger than all others lay on each side of it.
With silent steps, the Emperor walked up the podium before sitting upon his throne.
Ezra was freed of the lightning, then forced on his knees with his heavy shackles as his eyes pervaded the crowd before him.
'A lot of powerful people have gathered'
Closest to the podium were the three witches, Triton was there as well.
After those, he recognized Raven, Deneris, and of course, Fredrick.
Judging from the similar presence, Ezra noted two others as Grandmasters.
These were Jebas and Getrahan.
He turned his head from side to side, but those he expected to see were nowhere to be found.
'Where are they?'
"Greetings"
Bolton started the speech, dressed in a black cloth, a black patch covering the left eye.
Fighting the demon worshippers hadn't gone without a cost.
That went for Kogar as well, who sat without a right arm.
"I welcome you all to this occasion, to be witnesses as justice is served against a demon and his accomplices"
'Accomplices?'
Unease rose in Ezra's heart.
Sure enough, five people, shackled on every limb, were brought forward, and arranged linearly to him.
Faces too familiar to be forgotten.
The siblings
He turned to face the Emperor behind him.
"What is the meaning of this?" his tone venomous, his gaze furious. "They have nothing to do with this"
"Is that so? They tried to protect a demon, I don't anymore evidence "
'Damnit!' His fears came true.
Thankfully, he didn't see his mother among them, but on the same note, he didn't see her in the crowd.
"What about my mother?" he asked.
"She's fine"
Ezra's body lit up with lightning despite the brace's suppressants.
"If you do anything to her-
"I didn't, but I might, if you keep doing that"
Still gritting his teeth, Ezra stops his outburst.
"You can't kill them for protecting their master"
"Who said I planned to kill?"
"What-
"Son, face the crowd before I make you"
While glaring, Ezra turned to face the crowd.
Certainly, his glare enamoured gestures from the crowd.
"Look at him glaring" one whispered. "Damn demons"
"I know right, so demonic. He must been one from the start, how else could he become a grandmaster so easily"
'Easily?!'
Another went…
"Hey, don't you think…he's a little cute?"
"Are you insane?!"
"Just saying…"
"You stupid? Don't let anyone hear you!"
Ezra turned to the siblings staring at him, sad and melancholic.
Theron looked him in the eye. "I'm sorry I put you in this mess"
"No" Ezra said. "I'm thankful. I realized I'd been taking my life for granted"
He chuckled. "Whatever happens, I'm grateful you didn't let me die"
The siblings lit up.
"Let's see what fate has in store for us"
Bolton quickly read Ezra's deeds.
Apparently, he and his accomplices 'deserted' Gattiste, thereby 'contributing' to the deaths of soldiers.
On that note, the city he warped to, Erenven, was also destroyed by his pursuers, hence becoming his fault.
After omitting the part where he killed a Grandmaster leaving him on the brink of death, he was said to have eaten the organs of demons in a 'greed' for power.
It was so ridiculous Ezra didn't bother challenging it.
Besides, they had no power to resist. He'd rather not waste his breath.
The siblings didn't seem to think the same, but their words were simply ignored.
"And now" Bolton concluded. "His Majesty will choose fitting punishments for such grave offences"
Ezra could see Fredrick straightening his body, ready to burst into action.
Ezra shook his head.
In the past days, he'd been writing to Fredrick, both had been writing a plan of escape.
But like the first time, his mother was held hostage, and he didn't know what would happen if he left her behind.
If nothing else, her help in his life was undeniable.
So he shook his head to dissuade Fredrick from acting, much to the latter's disapproval.
Bolton stepped down from the podium, leaving the spotlight for the Emperor.
"For such grave offences" the Emperor's tone picked up.
"They will-
