Meanwhile, back at the trial court, the tension had settled, if only slightly. There was at least one piece of good news: the Undying Flame had managed to calm down enough that he no longer seemed intent on burning Ronan where he stood, though his killing intent remained palpable.

Han and the rest had returned to their seats while Clara remained on the floor to lead the defense. Since the six-eyed mediator had been knocked out, a new mediator was sent forward to gauge the validity of Clara's arguments.

The new mediator was a middle-aged woman in her late thirties. She appeared far more refined and lacked the cocky demeanor of her predecessor, who had almost certainly been bribed to move against Ronan.

"Lady Clara, I believe that you, of all people, would be able to figure out when video footage has been tampered with," the woman said.

Clara nodded. The woman brought forward the device the stranger had used to project the video of Ronan supposedly murdering Blazer and Buster. "Take this and help us check if it is faked or tampered with."

Clara collected the device. Several white orbs floated around her, scanning the rectangular object as she attached various technological interfaces to her body.

"Before you speak," the woman continued, "I should tell you about my ability. It isn't flashy, but I am able to know when you are lying. Even if you only have the *intention* of lying, I will know immediately. Only the truth is welcome in this trial court."

The room went silent. Most of the audience had been evacuated by Sir Raptor earlier to avoid collateral damage from the S-Rank standoff. Those who remained were either powerful enough to protect themselves or influential figures with a stake in the outcome.

They waited in hushed anticipation while Clara worked. Surely she wouldn't risk her family name or her brother's reputation by lying when so much was on the line.

"Wait, what is taking Clara so long? The evidence is clearly forged, right?" Aiden mumbled.

Han realized that the delay meant only one thing: Clara couldn't find a single fault in the footage. Whoever that man was, he had put them in a real bind. Clara searched the code and the metadata for any sign of a deepfake or digital alteration, but no matter how hard she tried, the diagnostics returned the same answer: the video was real.

After a few minutes, the scanning orbs stopped and returned to her gear.

"Are you done?" the mediator asked. "What is the verdict? Is the video forged or real?"

Clara looked at the device for a long time, her brow furrowing. When she finally spoke, her words were not what her friends were hoping to hear. "I don't know..."

------

Meanwhile, far away from the trial court, several figures were flying through the air. With hair split perfectly between black and white, they moved at blinding speeds, their eyes glowing blue as they activated their Analyzer skills.

These were Han's clones, spread out across the continent and even neighboring lands, using a conjunction of Analyzer and Eagle Eye to hunt for the stranger.

Han knew that if he could find the man, the trial would shift. A confession from the source would clear Ronan's name instantly. But the man had vanished. Han's clones had been searching for several minutes with no luck; it was as if he had simply ceased to exist.

One of the Han clones frowned, his fist clenching. He had a sinking feeling that failing to stop this man right now would be a catastrophic mistake. It had been a long time since his instincts had screamed this loudly. He needed to find him. The clones pushed even faster.

Back at the trial court, Clara repeated her statement. "I don't know. Every technological test I run suggests the tape isn't forged. But that is a lie," she said, facing the mediator. "You have no idea what actually happened in Maurina on the day this evidence was supposedly taken."

"We were all there," the Undying Flame countered.

Clara shook her head. "No, that's wrong. You three were all sent away at the start of the Cursed attacks."

The room acknowledged the truth in her words. When the Cursed attacked, the Beast, Lord Tech, and the Undying Flame were the first targets Drake had neutralized, sending them far from the city. They had only heard news of the aftermath and had no idea how the defense had actually played out.

"This same Ronan you are trying to brand a monster was among the main strike force that brought down the Cursed," Clara stated firmly. "He contributed to their destruction in a way the top elites couldn't. Furthermore, Ronan didn't kill Blazer. He killed Buster, and there was a reason for it."

The crowd listened intently. "Many of you have no idea or perhaps you've chosen not to see.. just how much of a monster Buster truly was."

Clara tapped rapidly on her console, bringing up salvaged evidence regarding Buster's past. It wasn't much, but it was enough to reveal the crucial details. Buster was a hardened criminal who had once operated under the name "The Exterminator."

He had been hunted for years for the murder of countless heroes before the Sendok Calamity, where his death was falsely reported.

The crowd began to murmur as they realized they might have been tricked. Before they could settle, Clara revealed more: Buster's creation of the Smashers and the terrifying acts they had committed under his orders.

The more she spoke, the more the veil lifted. People had always questioned the brutal nature of the Smashers, but they had excused it because they were the minions of a "hero." Those who had dug deeper in the past had usually met grizzly ends.

The faces in the crowd changed. Class-S heroes were supposed to be pillars of humanity and beacons of light. To learn that one of their guardians had committed such heinous acts made their blood run cold.

"The death of Buster was justified," Clara concluded. "Ronan didn't act for some grand heroic purpose, but for revenge. Buster destroyed his entire family and made his life a living hell. Ronan saved the world from a monster while settling his own debt."

The court went silent as they digested this. Then the mediator spoke. "I suppose there may be truth to what you say about Buster. However, there is no evidence that Buster killed Blazer and not your friend here. We all know that Ronan acts on his own logic.

Blazer held a grudge against the Fire God, who is Ronan's friend. Who is to say Ronan didn't kill Blazer just to prevent future trouble?"

Aiden's fists clenched. He thought things would get easier with the six-eyed man gone, but this woman was proving to be just as difficult. Clara gave the mediator a long look and shook her head.

"I might not have the evidence yet, but give me two more days. Just two days, and I will prove Ronan didn't kill Blazer."

The woman began to protest, but Sir Raptor cut her off. "Silence," he commanded.

He looked at Ronan, whose gaze was blank as usual, and then at the Undying Flame, who was barely restraining himself.

Raptor knew his decision could spark a war. He had to judge in a way that favored the world's stability; the last thing humanity needed was a civil war while portal threats loomed overhead. He closed his eyes, weighing the evidence.

The room held its breath. Finally, Sir Raptor opened his steely eyes.

"Alright. I have decided. Here is my judgement..."