CHAPTER 11: Trial of the Fallen Hero
"Wait a minute… aren't you the same girl who asked to join my party?" Zodac asked, his voice low and confused.
"Silence, devil! Only the king speaks here!" Aiden barked, slamming the butt of his spear on the floor.
"Thank you, Master Aiden," the king said coldly, then turned toward his daughter. "Mira, my dear, please—tell us what happened."
Mira stood trembling, tears streaking her face as she began to speak. "I… went to the diner to have a drink. He paid the barman to give me wine. I should've known it wasn't for something good…" she said, her voice breaking as she sobbed into her hands.
"What? Me?" Zodac blurted out in disbelief.
"Silence!" Aiden snapped.
"Continue, my dear," the king said softly.
"The barman gave me two drinks… then we walked back to our rooms. I thought nothing of it, until he suddenly grabbed me and—" She burst into sobs again, leaning into Aiden's chest for comfort.
"I've heard enough," Aiden said darkly, his arm protectively wrapping around her.
Zodac's head lowered. That voice—he recognized it. He'd heard it before. Then it struck him like a blade through the chest.
"It was you…" he whispered, then looked up, anger burning in his eyes. "It was YOU!" he roared, realization dawning that the "princess" was the same woman in violet from the tavern the night before.
Knights instantly raised their weapons, forming a circle around him.
"So, the devil finally admits it," Doma sneered.
"I did no such thing!" Zodac yelled, but before he could continue, a spear whistled through the air.
He bent backward instinctively—just enough for the spear to graze his cheek and draw blood.
"You still deny your sins?" Aiden shouted, summoning another spear made of light.
Before Zodac could respond, the great hall doors burst open. Two magic knights entered and knelt before the throne.
"Your Majesty!" one shouted. "We found this in the Wood Hero's room!"
He raised a short purple gown for all to see.
Gasps filled the hall. Zodac went still. His body trembled—not from fear, but from rage and humiliation.
"This was a setup," he whispered to himself, his jaw tightening. "From the very beginning."
The king's glare was sharp enough to cut steel. "Wood Elemental Hero, I find you guilty. Were you not summoned, I would have you executed this instant."
Zodac said nothing. His eyes flicked to Mira—just in time to see her pull her eyelid and stick out her tongue at him, mocking him from behind her father.
"If not for your usefulness in the coming battle with the Abyss, you would already be dead," the king continued.
"I'm not fighting beside that monster," Jin said with disgust.
"I second that," Rae added.
"Yeah," Aiden smirked. "Can't hold a woman, can't control yourself — maybe that's why she left you. Guess you never learned how to satisfy anyone, did you?"
Something inside Zodac broke.
"Enough!!!" he thundered. The crystal on his chest burst into red light, cracks spreading along the marble floor beneath his boots.
"You know what—fuck you. All of you! You're not special; you were all summoned to die! Remember that!"
"That's rich coming from the weakest of us," Jin taunted.
Zodac's eyes glowed crimson. "You'll see. You'll all see."
He took a step forward, but a knight blocked his path, spear aimed at his chest.
"The king has not dismissed you!" the knight shouted.
The king stood, voice echoing through the throne room. "Then prove your worth, Wood Hero. Face my knights. If you win, you walk out alive. If you lose—they will take your life."
Mira's lips curved into a wicked smile.
"So be it," Zodac said flatly, cracking his knuckles.
**The Battle of the Throne Hall**
At the king's command, the knights surged forward—shields raised, swords drawn.
The first swung his blade down toward Zodac's head. He sidestepped, caught the knight's wrist, and twisted—a sickening crack echoed as the man fell to his knees. Zodac slammed his elbow into the man's temple, sending him sprawling across the marble.
Two more came from behind. Zodac spun, ducking low—his foot swept out in a wide arc, tripping both. As they hit the floor, he stomped hard, shattering one's helmet and knocking the other out cold.
"Pathetic," he muttered.
A spear lunged toward his ribs. Zodac blocked with his forearm—Hecto Aura flared green, absorbing the blow—and countered with a headbutt that sent the attacker reeling.
"GET HIM!" Aiden shouted.
Six knights surrounded him now, weapons gleaming under the torchlight. They circled, coordinated, cautious.
Zodac crouched slightly, analyzing them—timing their breathing, the weight of their stances.
One attacked high, another low. He dodged left, grabbed the high striker's sword arm, and used him as a human shield. The low strike impaled the knight's own ally. Zodac threw the body forward, knocking two more off balance.
"Too predictable," he muttered again, a small grin forming.
He dashed forward, punching another knight square in the chest—the man flew backward into a pillar, armor shattering like glass.
Three knights remained. Zodac closed his eyes for a second, then exhaled. His aura pulsed brighter.
One charged with a spear. Zodac sidestepped and grabbed it mid-thrust, snapping the weapon in half before driving the broken shaft into the knight's chestplate.
The next swung his sword horizontally. Zodac ducked under, caught the man's leg, and flipped him headfirst into the ground.
The final knight hesitated, trembles
Zodac approached slowly, eyes glowing red. "Still want to fight?" he asked.
The knight dropped his weapon.
The hall fell silent. Zodac stood among fallen knights, blood trailing down his cheek, his chest crystal pulsing faintly.
The hall fell into a sudden, breath‑held hush as a lone knight lurched from the shadows, blood spilling from his nose in a dark, glossy ribbon. He snatched his spear from the rack, the metal ringing like a struck bell, and charged at Zodac with a graw‑filled roar.
"END HIM!!!" Aiden bellowed, his voice cracking like a burst of flame that sent the torches flaring.
Zodac reacted without hesitation. He slipped to the right, the edge of his wooden bow brushing the polished marble, and seized the spear's shaft with a hand that seemed to melt into the wood. Instantly, a jagged arc of lightning crackled from his palm, racing up the weapon's length and searing the knight's gauntlet.
The knight froze, eyes wide behind his visor as the electric surge surged through his armor, sparking and hissing. Zodac stepped forward, the lightning‑filled hand thrusting toward the knight's face. The current leapt, a blinding flash that lit the interior of the helmet before the knight's body convulsed and collapsed in a heap upon the cold stone.
No one spoke. Even the king's expression faltered for a moment.
Zodac looked around one last time—at the knights he had defeated, at the so-called heroes staring down at him in disgust, and finally at Mira, who watched with wide, trembling eyes, her mocking smile gone.
He straightened his back, wiped the blood from his cheek, and said quietly:
"This world is no different from the last."
The red light from his crystal dimmed. The throne room was silent except for the sound of the fallen knights groaning in pain.
"Good Riddance" Aiden said as he left,
"Seriously bro, you went too far calling him out like that" Rae said,
"So what are you? his accomplice" Aiden sneered.
"Don't make me laugh" He said dismissing Aiden's words and turning to Mira the Princess.
"Something still doesn't add up about your own side of the story" Rae said giving her a questionable look,
Mira got nervous,
"What is that? I have nothing else to hide I said the truth and nothing" She said letting out a nervous laugh.
"If this rape incident happened last night, why wait till this morning to report it since you ran out of the tavern in panic and what exactly were you doing at the Tavern aren't you a member of Aiden's party?" Rae asked, nothing in this situation was adding up
Mira panicked as she spiralled into a web of thoughts as she tried to think of a lie out of these questions without contradicting her previous statements. Just as she thought she would be caught Aiden stepped in front of there to confront Rae.
"She has no need to answer those questions as the victim or maybe you should ask Zodac if he was stalking her" Aiden said and Rae seized his pestering and questions
"You know what I'm out of here I don't have time to deal with you" Rae said and began to leave the throne passing the injured knights on the ground as he left.
"Don't listen to him you did the right thing" Jin said to Aiden and turned to leave as well.
"What if he comes after me" Mira asked feigning an innocent look.
"Don't worry I won't let anyone harm you" Aiden said drawing her closer to herself and she gave a devilish grin
"Thank you, your majesty" Aiden and and turned to leave with Mira by his side
"Safe travel heroes" The king says as they left the throne room.