The courtroom fell silent.
Then—
A cold mechanical voice echoed through the chamber.
"Evidence submission."
The towering shikigami behind the bench moved.
It was Judgeman.
Its blank face tilted downward.
A scroll appeared in its massive hand.
"Charge: multiple counts of homicide."
Fragments of memory unfolded in the air like projected film.
Images appeared above the courtroom.
Scenes extracted directly from Yagami Sora's past.
Bodies falling.
Explosions.
Blood on concrete.
Judgeman's voice remained completely emotionless.
"Evidence confirmed."
"Defendant killed multiple Culling Game players."
The scroll continued turning.
"Evidence confirmed."
"Defendant killed curse users during the Shibuya Incident."
Another page turned.
Judgeman paused briefly.
"Evidence confirmed."
"Defendant eliminated partially transformed humans infected by cursed energy."
The courtroom became quiet.
Even Higuruma's expression shifted slightly.
Those images flashed across the space.
A younger Yagami Sora.
Standing in the rain.
Blood running across the street.
The first life he had ever taken.
Water mixing with blood in the gutter.
Judgeman closed the scroll.
"Evidence presentation complete."
Behind the judge's bench stood Hiromi Higuruma.
He adjusted his glasses slowly.
Light reflected off the lenses.
His eyes were hidden behind the glare.
"These are the facts."
"In my domain, facts are the foundation of judgment."
He looked down at Yagami Sora.
"Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Yagami Sora leaned casually against the railing of the defendant's stand.
Completely relaxed.
He even took a moment to straighten his collar.
"The law?"
He laughed quietly.
"The law exists to maintain order."
"But what if the world itself has already collapsed?"
"What if the law fails to protect the weak…"
"And instead becomes a tool of the powerful?"
His eyes lifted.
Meeting Higuruma's directly.
"Hiromi Higuruma."
"You understand that better than anyone."
For a moment—
Higuruma's pupils shrank slightly.
Memories surfaced.
The boy wrongfully convicted.
The corrupt judge who ignored evidence.
The courtroom where truth lost to influence.
The legal system that had crushed his faith.
"…That does not justify murder."
Higuruma said quietly.
"The law may be imperfect."
"But it is still the final boundary of civilization."
"If everyone judges others according to their own morality…"
"Then this world becomes hell."
He raised the gavel.
"Judgeman."
"Deliver the verdict."
Judgeman raised the scale.
Two weights appeared.
Black.
And white.
Guilt.
And innocence.
The scale trembled.
Then—
The black weight slammed downward.
THUD.
"Verdict confirmed."
"Guilty."
"Penalty: Confiscation."
Black energy erupted from the scale.
Chains of cursed energy wrapped around Yagami Sora's body.
Binding his soul.
His connection to his cursed technique was severed.
Higuruma spoke calmly.
"Confiscation."
"Your cursed technique has been removed."
"For a sorcerer…"
"That is equivalent to losing your weapon."
The courtroom dissolved.
The domain collapsed.
Reality returned.
The ruined theater appeared once more.
Dust floating in the sunlight.
Broken chairs scattered across the floor.
But something new appeared in Higuruma's hand.
A massive sword.
Cold.
Heavy.
Radiating execution-like authority.
The Executioner's Sword.
Its blade shimmered faintly.
A weapon that carried absolute judgment.
Anyone struck by it—
Would die instantly.
Higuruma began walking forward.
Slowly.
"It's over."
"Please understand."
"I do not enjoy this."
"But fairness must be upheld."
"For the sake of justice…"
"Please die."
He raised the sword.
Then paused.
Because Yagami Sora was smiling.
Not afraid.
Not desperate.
Just amused.
"Confiscating my cursed technique?"
Yagami Sora cracked his wrist.
Bones popped softly.
"You seem to have misunderstood something."
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"Who told you…"
"…I only fight with cursed techniques?"
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