Emery was summoned to the front of the courtroom, facing Ishtar and her imposing Nephilim entourage. The tension in the room heightened as Ishtar began to present her case. She vehemently denied any involvement in the Golden City dispute and instead portrayed herself as a victim. According to Ishtar, she had been captured and tortured by the Lord of Terra faction in an effort to incriminate the Croft faction. She further detailed her losses, claiming that several magus under her employment, including one of her grand magus guardians, Rhyze the Void Warden, had died as a result of these actions.
While Ishtar's claims of torture seemed exaggerated, Emery knew that his mind-probing techniques could indeed be construed as a form of torture. Moreover, although the death of the magus was not directly related to Ishtar's capture, Emery had indeed detained her under the pretext of the Golden City disputes. His previous fabrications and the actions taken now resurfaced to hurt him.
