"Helen! Come forward!"
Porsogon commanded Helen, sister of Heff, the current head of the Leopard clan. She jolted in fear as her name was called out, a cold sweat ran down her spine. Coming from the upper five families, Helen scrawled out slowly on all four, her beautiful legs and tails were shivering. She crawled from her post to the middle between two lines, her head touched the ground. Her two spouses came with her didn't look too happy with Porsogon's order.
"Y-Yes, Master." Helen shakily spoke.
The elder beasts sat neatly on both sides all looked down on the female beast, none of them showed any friendly signs.
Porsogon didn't answer Helen, instead, he called out another beast to get in line.
"Harmon! You too. Get out here!" The tone in his voice hadn't changed, it was neither high nor low. The elders were starting to exchange looks, even the head of the Lion family couldn't be spared.
Harmon didn't expect Porsogon to exercise his power so soon, though nervous about his behavior earlier, old Harmon was sure the youngster wouldn't dare to upset his entire family. The old Lion beast-man grunted showing his discontent but he slowly moved out of line. He kneeled on one leg and lower his head, waiting for the order.
"Do you two know exactly why you are being called?" After some time of silence, Porsgon finally spoke, the whole room was holding their breaths, waiting for his judgment.
"N-N...No, Master!" Helen immediately answered, her voice was as trembling as her body. Harmon took some time to think but then also shook his head. His long cream-colored hair and beard were so matted they moved like pieces of cardboard connecting his Lioness face to his neck.
"I couldn't help but think, there was something wrong with my... late father on the day of the match. Do you two might know why?" Porsogon said calmly like he was just talking about the weather but the message was extremely controversial, it immediately made the whole courtroom broke out. Every beast started to discuss it among their own, Helen on the floor started to sweat even more.
Harmon on the other hand instantly shot up straight and growled to stop the crowd from discussing even further, as the head of one of the highest-status family, he was more than reluctant to let his reputation being tarnished here.
"Porsogon! Are you implying I had something to do with that old man's death?" Even though there were many wrinkles on Harmon's face, making him looked like he was annoyed all the time but right now, the anger on his expression was much scarier. He was so mad his face almost turned purple, he was utterly ashamed for being taunted by a young beast that was not even half his age. Harmon thought Porsogon had been too arrogant to think he could trial such matter, let alone interrogating him.
Porsogon didn't look too impressed with the showed Harmon had put on for the whole room, he patiently waited for all of it to be over until continuing.
"Though we fought with killing intent, none of the wounds we inflicted on each other were fatal enough to cost him his life. Moreover, I was the closest one to him when he fell off his feet, the signs in his last few moments can not be overlooked." With his back securely pinned to his chair, Porsogon looked down onto the two beasts and only gave away enough to prove his points to the elderly.
Even before waking up, Porsogon couldn't shake off the guilt and the obsession over finding out who was the real reason that killed his father. The reason he suspected the two beasts in front of him was simple.
Firstly, Harmon, head of the Lion family, one of the three largest families in the clan and held great powers over the court for recent years. Furthermore, their males made up almost a third of the hunting forces, acquiring them dominance over the food distribution. Therefore, there had been rumors around their newfound potential that led them to think they could gain control over the whole clan. Which made killing the current head, replaced by a young and inexperienced master would create an opportunity for them to betray the Boars.
Secondly, Helen was the second suspect due to her behavior before the match. The previous head of the Leopard family and Helen's older brother, the candidate for the position before her had gotten ill over a short amount of time and they ended up dead or bed-ridden all unexplainable. The timing for their fall was almost too perfect for the grieving daughter to be promoted as a representative. Which stroke considerable similarity to the method of his father's death, being poisoned.
Besides, before the match, Helen was the only beast that showed support to Porsogon. Consequently, if Porsogon won and became the new headmaster, it would benefit her family tremendously.
With two very different reactions from the two of them, Porsogon decided to give them some more time and observed them before making any rash judgment. No matter who was the killer, their punishment would not be easy to enforce.
"So what?! You are the only one in the ring, and at the stage you were in at the time, I don't think we should be held responsible for whatever you think you saw. A word of advice, young Porsogon, maybe you should be thankful that the old beast was the one who was under the ground and not you."
Harmon frowned annoyingly, he was mockingly talked down to Porsogon, he stood tall even though there were rules in the Boar's clan that said in the presence of facing the Headmaster, all beasts had to formally kneel or bent in submission. His words and his body language definitely spoke for itself. He didn't take Porsogon seriously what so ever, and the young master had yet to gain his family's respect.
The unmannerly behavior didn't bother Porsogon, his expressions still held froze. Harmon was growing impatient seeing the unenthusiastic youngster.
Neo, Sabal, and Viosus quietly sat in the corner without making any noise the whole time, they were patiently watching what Porsogon had in mind.
Viosus was as quiet as a statue, his form and his eyes didn't move an inch, staring at Porsogon. Neo was on the edge of his seat, he was even more anxious than the Helen being trial, it was written all over his face. Sabal on the contrary was acting noninterested, he had laid down on his back and used the two beasts as a shield. Though his eyes were closed, his senses were sharply awake. It didn't miss a detail on the court.
"What about you Helen, what do you think?" Porsogon directed the conversation to Helen, who was awfully quiet for some time now.
"M-Mas-Master! I-I don't know. I don't know...But please, it wasn't me!" Helen whispered under her breath, she was still crawling on the floor, not even showing her face to Porsogon. Comparing the giant old Lion Harmon next to her, she looked like a small cub, her shaking body made it looked even more miserable.
"TSK!" Harmon rolled his tongue in annoyance, he was not only irritated with her cowardice but he was heavily against the intrusion of a female in this court. In his opinion, females shouldn't be involved with the matter of the court, they were better suited to be at home where they were well fed and protected.
Bothered by Helen's reaction and even deep down, existence, Harmon didn't hesitate to use his leg and kicked her from the side, hitting her stomach. The kick wasn't powerful enough to cause the female to be wounded but it was enough to make her rolled over.
It definitely didn't sit well with Helen's spouses who were already on edge watching her. They immediately jumped out of their seats and switched onto attack mode. One showed their fangs and crawls, growling loudly at Harmon while the other used his body to cover Helen's and glared at the old Lion as if he was about the skin the beast-man alive with his eyes.
The few Lions minions Harmon had with him finally showed some move as they put on the attack stand and growled back at the leopards. Harmon quickly shut them down with his hand sign though his eyes never left Helen's young spouses, he underestimated them enough to not need any support from his family.
The atmosphere in the room instantly switched to tension within a matter of seconds, Porsogon had enough headache dealing with the pain he was suffering now dealing with this mess only to make him even more irritated. Porsogon didn't think finding the culprit for his father's murder was easy but he was certainly miscalculated the time that he needed. If the boring show kept going like this, Porsogon feared he was going to lose his mind.