As Alpha kicks the last disciple back into the church, the crowd surges forward together to close the cast-iron gates.
The Countess slowly slides down against the door and sits. Exhaustion from overexertion brings with it an intense hunger.
She needs blood—vast amounts of fresh, corrupted blood. This artificial Aberration body runs on tainted blood as fuel.
A crying child...
For divine's sake, open your eyes. Your child is already...
Stop it. It's too cruel for a mother to hear.
Sorry, but I'm not ready to die yet.
The Countess clutches her heart, forcing her blood to flow in reverse. White flames sweep across her body, igniting her blood. A moment later, she throws her head back and lets out an agonized howl.
Alpha is burning her own blood to generate power. With neither blood liquor nor reinforcements, this is her only way to continue the fight.
Her bones transmute to metal, her flesh cracking and transforming into armored plates. As her veins bulge and her senses sharpen, Alpha reveals for the first time her demonic form—or perhaps, her true form.
The crowd forgets to flee, watching as "Alpha" shields the woman. Only her bestial horns and white hair remind them of her true identity.
Should we intervene now?
No, wait a little longer. Our ammunition is limited. We need to make every shot count.
This is your first time seeing Crimson's true form, isn't it?
Yes, Captain.
The first time I saw it was six years ago, during a battle in the Mist shortly after she became the Countess.
It was quite perilous back then as well. Just when I thought I would die in the line of duty, she revealed this powerful, pompous form and turned a defensive battle into a grotesque spectacle of slaughter.
From that day on, I began preparing these special bullets. I knew that we would need them someday.
These silver bullets are capable of annihilating Aberrations. Each one of them costs a small fortune.
She's too powerful, so much so that it instills fear in one's heart.
If our city's future must hang by the whim of an Aberration, then we have no future at all. Let's make our move now.
Right as she repels the final wave of attacks, Alpha notices reinforcements emerging from the forest. They approach with guns in hand, their determination unwavering.
Silver bullets rain down with surgical precision, clearly the result of countless drills. Striking her joints and vital organs, the shells spread a specialized toxin through her, and she collapses as if struck by lightning.
By the authority of the Crime Investigation Department, we're here to place you under arrest.
According to our reports, you've committed three major crimes that severely threaten the security of our city. We've deployed Machine Gun Corps One, Two, and Four to conduct this arrest.
Lady Alpha, we're going to proceed with your immediate detention. Do you have any objections?
Don't... don't trust anyone.
Due to the urgency of this matter and the special status of our defendant, this court has convened a public trial of the Aberration Alpha to prevent unrest and speculation among the citizens of our city.
The virtue of our laws lies in this: within our jurisdiction, we judge and assign appropriate sentence only by one's actions, disregarding their origin or species.
Alpha's first sin is bloodlust.
Six years ago, the Red Glove Murders drew police attention when the perpetrator killed multiple young women using the same method.
All victims died from having their torsos cut open and being bled dry. Their organs were removed afterward, leaving only their heart in their left hand before their chest, while their right hand made a hush gesture.
Only one survivor escaped. According to her, the killer was clad in black with exposed arms stained with the victims' blood, akin to wearing red gloves. The court reasonably suspects that the perpetrator is Countess Alpha.
The court now calls the survivor, Madam Iva, to take the stand. Please swear by the legal codex that your forthcoming testimony will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
My name is Iva Orpheus. I hereby testify under oath that while Alpha is indeed guilty of multiple crimes, she is not the perpetrator of this case. Rather, she is connected to the massacre of the Orpheus family.
The court erupts in commotion. The Orpheus name belongs to the centuries-old Iris Clan that was one of the four founding families of the city, which was mysteriously massacred years ago. This is certainly a plot twist.
I was separated from my family during a Mist incident when I was six, and a tavern owner who brewed and sold alcohol took me in. Yes, she was bootlegging, but her illicit business kept many homeless women alive.
Many women in perilous situations exist in this city: the abandoned, the disabled, the widowed... They would gather with their mead, living and laughing for a while. Until one day, the tavern was destroyed...
The Orpheus family orchestrated the raid because the bootlegging affected their profits. I resembled my mother, so my father recognized me in the chaos, but he ordered his men to dispose of me rather than acknowledging me.
A lowly tavern maidservant couldn't be a scion of his family... The infamous Red Glove Murders were to eliminate any possibility of the truth leaking out. Somehow, I managed to escape, and that's when I met Alpha.
I asked her to carry out justice. For every maidservant who died, the family should spill an equal amount of their golden blood.
This is a bottle of mead I've treasured, and an ingredient in the blood liquor consumed by the Countess. Please, everyone, taste the flavor of the honey wine mingled with blood and sin.
Iva removes her veil in court, and the attendees gasp. The young woman's face is covered in centipede-like scars, yet one can still discern a striking resemblance to a certain lady of the Orpheus family.
The family ordered their assassin to destroy my face, so he needed to switch blades before slitting my throat. Feigning death, I seized the opportunity and rolled into the city moat. That is how I survived.
You may leave, Madam. You were fortunate to survive the murder attempt, yet you couldn't escape unscathed from your anger. The Orpheus family's standing in society ends today. I wonder if that was also part of your plan.
Alpha's second sin is greed.
Four years ago, the wealthy merchant Wayne was kidnapped and held in a private prison, tortured by thugs. Every day, they forced him to choose between his gold and his family.
About a month later, he was released, along with his family and friends who had witnessed the entire ordeal yet remained completely unharmed.
Wayne died in poverty, abandoned by everyone he knew. Yet the infrastructure he funded, including streetlights, drainage systems, and the walls resisting the Mist, continues to serve the city to this day.
Alpha, I wish to ask if you feel even a moment of regret for destroying Master Wayne's life merely for your amusement in this cruel prank you masterminded?
Will the witness Doyle please come forward? He was the coachman present when Master Wayne was kidnapped. Let us listen to the testimony of this law-abiding citizen.
Almost half the city worked for Wayne, so he played the role of an invisible deity in a sense... God, why did he have to turn out like that?
Wayne's daughter was getting married that year. To fund the extravagant wedding, he instructed his suppliers to sabotage the walls, allowing just enough Mist in to destroy the farms, but not enough to implicate him.
Young Alpha's father refused him, but plenty of others were happy to do it in his stead. They didn't just sabotage the areas Wayne marked, but our own community as well, all because someone dared to defy him.
Many people died miserably. And the results? Less food, less land, less labor. Meanwhile, Wayne made a fortune from the food and alcohol he had hoarded in advance.
While Wayne's daughter celebrated her seven-day wedding, I was burying my family, and Alpha entered a convent. The day the truth came to light, we set our plan for revenge in motion.
When we kidnapped him, Alpha and I made a pact that if Wayne ever made the right choice, we would set him free.
We questioned him repeatedly for an entire month, but not once did he choose other people. Only at the very end, when he had to choose between his life or his gold, did he choose himself.
The way I see it, both Wayne and I have paid for our sins. Let the divine have the final word. But you have no right to judge young Alpha. Even if she is guilty, she is no more sinful than anyone present in this court.
Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Doyle. We will take your testimony into full consideration. Someone get me some smelling salts... I feel light-headed. I can barely breathe.
The final case today is the church incident. The procedure shouldn't take long. However, I'm uncertain how today's proceedings should conclude, Your Honor.
Me neither. I suppose we need only move forward, and the outcome will reveal itself.
The church incident that occurred today was witnessed by many. Alpha executed the false Holy Maiden, Mia, out of revenge. She was then apprehended in the church courtyard for murder. I won't repeat the details.
This court specially calls attention to the fact that Alpha is no ordinary human. Though once human, she is now an Aberration who must constantly consume blood and blood liquor to maintain her supernatural abilities.
Though the infants were infected by the Mist, the possibility of them surviving or being restored wasn't medically concluded. Alpha repeatedly delivered death sentences preemptively, likely to satisfy her own cravings.
Therefore, Alpha's final sin is gluttony. Will the Countess' guarantor and witness please approach the court?
Hello, ma'am. During the bloody incident at the cemetery this afternoon, you and the Countess were the ones closest to the scene. Please speak frankly and tell us what you witnessed.
There were children crying, and they looked hungry, so I approached them, wanting to feed them.
Alpha stood in front of me and... protected me. Those children bit her and drew blood, and they wouldn't let go. They were like wild dogs.
I've heard that your own child has some health issues as well. Is she doing well now?
She's fine... She's slowly getting better. She'll fully recover soon.
But everyone present saw that your child was clearly already dead. What you've been holding in your arms all this time is...
No, my child's not dead. She's fine, she's just very weak, so she's light and gets cold easily. I've been holding her close. Oh, she's such a quiet, well-behaved child.
Then please show her to us, ma'am. As you know, a witness must be of sound mind, otherwise the credibility of their testimony is severely diminished.
I promise you it's safe here. Just one look—
That's enough, Lord Roland. Please escort this mother out. Thank you for your courage and your testimony, ma'am.
You've gone too far. What are you really trying to get at? How much more will you hurt this mother just to get the answer you want?
That's exactly what I wanted to ask you, Judge. How much longer will you twist the facts just to get the answer you want?
...I admit, the charges against the Countess simply don't stand, whichever way we look at them.
The judge waves his hand, signaling the crowd to step back and clear the center. As the blackout cover is removed, it reveals Alpha underneath, barely alive and bound in iron chains.
She has been listening to the entire trial, yet she has remained silent throughout.
The judge raises his hand again, and the Machine Gun Corps opens fire on Alpha once more. To survive in her critical state, she writhes wildly in her underground cell and initiates her second bestial transformation.
The scene of a human transforming into a monster renders everyone silent. The sight, previously confined to imagination and stories, cannot be easily erased from memory.
Lord Roland, this is her crime, her original sin—being an Aberration.
Can you guarantee she will always remain loyal to humanity? Can you guarantee she won't descend into monstrosity? Can you guarantee she will never harbor ambitions of her own?
I'm not here to defend Alpha, but shall we simply bare our throats when the Mist approaches again?
If we can eliminate an Aberration, we can face even greater calamities head-on.
Now I place the choice in everyone's hands. If even one person speaks out in protest, I will declare her innocent and release her on the spot.
We stand here today to uphold what is righteous or just. I am ashamed of my choice, but I must do what is right for the future of all and send Alpha to the gallows.
If I shall carry this guilt for the rest of my life, then so be it.
What is righteous or just... Only time will tell.
Let us proceed with the judgment. Everyone present has the same right to render their verdict, so... Is Alpha guilty?
