Chapter 37

  Aftermath

  World Notice: King Artorious Sydonia III has been captured in battle by Traveler Jade and officially declared a prisoner of war. The war between Sydonia and pretty much everyone else is over. Any further acts of aggression that The System sees as lacking just cause will now be treated as illegal combatants and stripped of all wartime protections. Per previously established protocols, The System is reaching out to all kings, monarchs, popes, emperors, etc. ruling the sovereign nations to put King Sydonia on trial and decide appropriate action. As such, King Sydonia is now stripped of his royal status and its trappings, to be placed in proper prisoner garb. Checking allegiances and affiliations, please standby.

  Affiliation: Ruler of Sydonia Kingdom (Deposed) Check.

  Affiliation: Cultist of Dlanod. Check

  Affiliation: Keep Humans Pure (KHP) High Templar. Check

  Employer of several bandit groups. Check

  Affiliation: Member of Black Serpent. ALERT! ALERT! Due to the group opening a portal to the abyss, allowing invasion by Goddess Set, her offspring, and their armies, this captive is hereby labeled by The System and the laws by which things run as Traitor to the World. Due to the genocidal intent of the invading evil gods, Artorious Sydonia III is hereby declared an enemy of all life and shall be summarily executed, soul eliminated, all cosmic energies spent on levels, skills, titles, and so on, absorbed and returned to The System. His immediate bloodline shall also be summarily purged.

  “WAIT!! I CALL UPON MY RIGHT TO APPEAL!”-Artorious

  Appeal request acknowledged. Preparing transport into the realm of [Redacted] for mediation. WARNING. Per binding agreement with Chronos, should Artorious be found guilty within the court of Chronos, the entire kingdom of Sydonia will be summarily judged. Do you wish to continue?

  “YES! DAMN IT!! If I don't, I and my bloodline will be purged! Who cares about those peasants, soldiers, and even noble oafs who call themselves citizens? It's their duty to give their lives for me!!”-Artorious

  Acknowledged: Your statements have been added to the record.World Message: (Former) King Sydonia has requested appeal of System Judgment, he will be transported to the realm of [Redacted] to face arbitration. Leaders of the remaining countries may be called upon to act as jury of his peers. The fate of the kingdom of Sydonia may well hang in the balance of this trial. Citizens of Sydonia, make peace with your gods. You have been warned.

  The world message has an immediate and chilling effect on the entire kingdom.

  Mercenaries in bars begin packing up and moving out.

  The adventurer's guild begins shutting down their branches in the country, leaving their offices, local employees, and clients to their fate.

  Inns and hotels start being emptied by the horde

  Adventurers far and wide are taking any and all escort quests they can so they can flee the country. The traffic on the roads is, as would be said in modern Earth, bumper to bumper.

  Fighting over escape routes escalates by the second.

  Rioting and looting occurs far and wide.

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  The neighboring countries close their borders and enact strict screening protocols to prevent any citizen from crossing.This is not the first time a king has run afoul of The System and asked for arbitration. His appeal went poorly, and the citizens who fled into other nations were not only still judged but the judgment spread to each and everyone who aided them in any way, even at a price.

  The criminals were judged especially harshly.

  Jade and (former) King Sydonia appear in a dark and empty void, with literally nothing to see, hear, feel, or touch in any direction. Alura and Iluna appear just behind him.

  A voice calls out to them. “So you're the ones to be judged this time, eh? A deposed king, a Traveler dungeon core, and his two boss monsters? Oh. Wait, just the king, huh. Then why are the rest of you here? Oh, right. You caught him, beat back his armies in battle like they were mere children. No, children would have had better odds.”

  “WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?!! Let me loose, right now, you heathen!”-King Sydonia.

  “Oh. Do forgive my lack of manners. It has been quite some time since mortals were brought or stepped into my realm.”-Voice.

  A cloaked figure, giant scythe in one hand, hourglass in the other, or a book, or even a lantern, it's always changing, steps forward out of the darkness and snaps its fingers. The iron mask over King Sydonia's face turns to rust as if it has been aged countless eons.

  Enraged, the former king uses his deadly gaze attack against Jade, Alura, and Iluna, or tries, but the skeletal being will have none of it, slamming his attack back into his own eyeballs with not even a gesture to accompany it.

  “Arrgh!”-Sydonia

  “The Defendant called for appeal to System Judgment and dares act like this?! The Defendant will act appropriately or face the consequences!”-Voice

  “And who in the depths of the abyss are you, you robed freak?! Mind your own matters!”-Sydonia

  “Can it be? Are you Lord Chronos, Titan of Time?”-Jade

  “The same, Traveler.”-Chronos

  “Should I and my boss monsters kneel, or would that be bad etiquette?”-Jade.

  “Normally, kneeling before me would be a very good idea, but since this is going to be a court setting, I'd rather you didn't.”-Chronos

  “Court or not, I am a king and wouldn't kneel or bow anyway! It's beneath our royal...” (Poof) disappears King Sydonia.

  Half a second later, he returns, terrified, dark shades of exhaustion under his eyes, his hair gray and shedding.

  “I trust you now finally understand your position, Defendant?!”-Chronos.

  “Yes, Your Honor. The Defendant will abide by the etiquette of the court.”-Sydonia

  “Good.” With a clack of his scythe against the dark at his feet, Chronos summons a typical courtroom setting, with himself seated at the judge's bench. “Oh my. What's this? We have a real tournament going on to see who gets the honor of being the prosecutor here! The System is a neutral entity and can't play the role, but just about every deity on the side of Law, Order, and Justice wants a piece of The Defendant, plus we've got Azazel, the (fallen) ANGEL OF VENGEANCE, The Furies, and quite a few deities of evil who'd like a crack at The Prosecutor role too. The Defendant must have been a very, very naughty boy. For the Defense... Nobody, nobody at all? That just won't do. Traveler, as a non-local, a mercenary, and the closest thing to an impartial party within this jurisdiction, I have no choice but to appoint you Advocate for The Defense.”

  “With all due respect, Your Honor, this is most irregular. The very agent who brings in the accused is assigned to his defense? And what the heck happened to him just now, by the way?”-Jade.

  “Correct, and that? There was a particularly thorny time-loop I needed help with. The Defendant 'volunteered' by getting himself slapped with 'Contempt of Court' for being rude. Man had to repeat the same day for a thousand years, give or take a few minutes. I trust he knows better manners now, right?”-Chronos

  “I believe so, Your Honor.”-Jade

  “Excellent. Now I bet you need to go over the evidence of the crime(s)?”-Chronos

  “If you please, Your Honor.”-Jade

  Multiple stacks of paper, each three feet high or so fill up a 10 foot by 10 foot area near where Jade is standing.

  “There's a lot more where that came from, but that should be the relevant System Logs for the particular charge we're discussing here today.”-Chronos.

  “And what exactly is that charge, just to be sure, Your Honor?”-Jade

  “Treason against The System by being a member of Black Serpent.”-Chronos.