"We request your appeal to question our director, Your Honor." Kyra bowed to the juries, ignoring the commotion her statement had created among the audience and the Claimant side.
The juries nodded to each other, and Lady Agatha gave her permission, "You may proceed!"
Anna bowed to them, before walking towards the Claimant's side. She stood in front of the SCD branch director, who got up to answer her questions. He was calm and composed, unlike his juniors who were nervous holding their breaths.
"I will not beat around the bush, and ask you directly," Anna said, and when he nodded, she threw their first trap, "You ignored the Culprit's danger level, and ordered to replace it with someone from the underworld! Is it true, director?"
Gasps and murmurs started spreading like a fire at her statement, and even the judges were taken by surprise. So this was the reason they were forced to carry out a secret mission! Things slowly started fitting into the picture, and their hideout act seemed more innocent than foolish like before, to most of them.
"I did not!" Director Hong calmly lied over her face, and Kyra scoffed out loud. But, it was just a small trap, there was a bigger surprise for him!
"I repeat my question again," Anna wasn't flustered and calmly stared at him, as it was Kyra's time to tie him up with the truth.
"Tantum veritas reveletur," Kyra mumbled, turning her fingers as she sat on the chair, and pointed them towards the director.
But unlike everyone else, the juries clearly saw it, and Agatha to his junior on her left, who was a wizard.
"Don't worry, she is just using a truth spell." He cleared and the other two nodded since it seemed like she was doing nothing wrong to prove themselves.
"You ignored the Culprit's danger level and ordered to replace it with someone from the underworld! Is it true, director?"
"Yes!" Director Hong answered making everyone gasp out loud this time. While his juniors panicked, his expression changed as it wasn't what he wanted to say. He then looked at Kyra, who was staring at him with a smirk, and he could only sigh out loud. They had lost this case!
"And who suggested such a crap idea?" Anna further asked, as they also wanted to prove their chief was not a part of all their nonsense plan.
"Chief Hans of Alpha unit!" The director spoke again, making everyone scoff at his honesty. Seriously they didn't know SCD agents could stoop to such a level!
"Did our Chief, Andrew Adams agree to your plan?" Anna further asked and Andrew looked at her in surprise. They hadn't planned for this and his eyes immediately fell on Kyra. Feeling his gaze, she turned around and shrugged with a smile.
She didn't wish for people to look down on him, blame him that instead of choosing his team, he went with his higherups and let them suffer alone! And it wasn't the complete truth!
"No, he didn't." Director Hong answered looking at Andrew. He was practically telling everything his mind didn't evaluate and he was completely trapped by Kyra's spell.
"Then why did he still choose to be silent and not tell us?"
"Because I ordered nothing to go out of that meeting room."
"And if he revealed us your plan, what would you have done?"
"Of course, remove his whole unit from our branch! Even from KNIGHTS if it was possible!"
And everyone started disdaining his position. He wasn't suited to be the director of the SCD branch for sure.
"That's all, your honor." Anna smiled and bowed to the jury before walking back to her seat.
"Our Chief was blackmailed and he didn't wish to put his whole team in danger. And, since he wasn't ready to help us, and no one in the KNIGHTS, we were forced to take such disastrous step." Anna added, bowing to them again and the three nodded gesturing her to sit down.
And it was Kyra's turn to continue, "It was a creature that could eat souls, and since our higher-ups choose to leave it roam in the city, we decided to trap it on our own. So, we hope you favor us the innocents, and punish the actual Law Infractors after seeing this proof."
Kyra nodded to Venessa, who started playing something, and the judges looked at Kyra for an explanation.
"It is an HME projection, a type of memory projection turned into an audio tape with the help of the AI branch. Venessa who had also been part of that meaning, Sorceress in the profession, revealed to me the truth through this ritual. And we want you to hear the same!" Kyra ended with a bow and took her seat.
"It's a process, where you can project your memory into 3D Scenes into the receiver's mind, by sensations like touch." The wizard jury made his head understand in layman's words, "And I think using the same, they have tried converting it into audio as proof. They can't be faked or manipulated, since the ritual is a strong technique and will harm the performer if they tried to trick it."
Lady Agatha nodded, permitting Venessa to play it and everyone curiously sat straight to hear the audio.
"We can get a scapegoat and convince it as the culprit!"
"Yeah, he is right! Let's just get someone from the outcast world and cover this up!"
The audio ended with those last comments from Chief Hans and another chief, making everyone hate their existence! So Kyra and Anna weren't lying, and the Claimant's side was the actual criminals!
"I think you should shift your sides with the pleading board, Director Hong." Lady Agatha mumbled, through the mic and her glare just made the director sigh. The tables have turned now, and he has dug a grave for himself!
"It's clear that you guys are innocent, and only strived to fight against the evils among yourselves." The Wizard jury from earlier, added smiling at Kyra since he was proud of her. She was from his race, the magicians who overruled the world's hierarchy, and she proved again why they were above all the races!
"We release you as the Law Infractors," Lady Agatha mumbled, sighing out loud. Though she was amused by these young kids' efforts, she was sadder, and deeply hurt by Director Hong, the person His Majesty admired the most in the KNIGHTS organization.
Turning towards him, she sneered, "We will soon have a DC against Director Hong, and his members on the Claimant side. Please be ready to accept your punishments for not just planning such an absurd way of clearing this case, but also for blaming your juniors who did things beyond your powers!"
"I, Lady Agatha, Jury of KNIGHTS Judgement Panel, along with my team, declare that today's Law Infractors are innocents, and are also the brave young talents that had made the KNIGHTS proud with their great inspiring achievements." She smiled as Kyra and Anna, got up and bowed at her statement.
"I cannot promise you guys that no one will stop you from striving towards justice in the future," Agatha said, looking mainly at Kyra, and she added, "But I still hope you do everything in your power to save innocents, bring justice to the victims, even if that forces you to break some rules."
Her words surprised everyone, and Kyra blinked before bowing when she the lady smiling at her. Was she intending that she should break more rules?"
"No, I am not permitting you to break more rules," Lady Agatha chuckled reading her thoughts, and added, "I am just saying do it if you have to, if it is absolutely necessary!"
"Ye-Yes, your honor!" Kyra bowed again, finding it funny that she was agreeing to break more rules.
"But before we are dismissed," Kyra went back to her mission, and looking at the lady, she added, "We want to receive rewards for our work, your honor!" Yes, they weren't here to just claim themselves as innocents, they had bigger plans from this DC.
"Rewards, but we don't have powers to do that," Lady Agatha answered, though she knew they were up to something big.
"We are aware, your honor." Kyra sighed and looking at the Claimant's side, she added, "Since we are now on the wrong side of our director, I don't think he will praise us less for the rewards! So, we wish to settle this in your witness, so there won't be any problems for our unit in the future!"
"And, since SCD has a power hierarchy among its unit," Glaring at Chief Hans, Kyra added, "We Novas of unit Delta, fall below Supernovas of unit alpha, whose Chief was the one who suggested this scapegoating thing."
"And, we don't think to leave superior powers in hands of the next DC's Law Infractor!" Smirking at Chief Hans, who was now frowning, Kyra declared, "So, we demand a change in our powers!"
Everyone gasped out loud. It was the 'Collective Chiefs' decision and also the grade points that would decide your power in any branch in the KNIGHTS.
"You have low-grade points than us, and more importantly my unit has more manpower and high-level officers having warrior badges! It would be against the laws and hierarchical principles of KNIGHTS!" Chief Hans tried defending himself as he would not just lose his superpowers but also his face if he lost the supernovas title.
"Then, let's make a deal, Chief Hans!" Kyra smirked, directly going to the main point.
"You give up your unit's position, and the supernovas title will proceed to novas, nothing but us!" Kyra mumbled and as his brows creased, she added with a smile, "And in return, we will not release this audio into the web!"
"People know you as the mighty chief of KNIGHTS through your tv shows, so you wouldn't want to be on tomorrow's headlines, haha! Would you?"
And her comment made everyone gasp and admire her boldness. Many had even started liking her personality, and Director Hong was also one of them.
"Haha, are you blackmailing him now!" Lady Agatha couldn't help but chuckle when Kyra nodded, honestly.
"Yes, your honor." Kyra smiled, and she even added, "And I am not breaking any laws here. It's written in the books that if a unit willingly gives up its positions, the power title of that unit will be passed to the preceding one." Turning towards Chief Hans, she smiled, "Right, Chief Hans?"