Here's the translation of the text:
**This is too unfair. For a man to die at the hands of a corrupt and soulless justice by order of Gunlaug is simply stupid.**
And here they are, already coming through the door.
Two guards entered dragging a man into the center of the hall and threw him to the ground. The man was dressed in rags and painfully thin, betraying his nature as a resident of the outer settlement.
Even though he's from the outskirts, he has a lot of muscle gained through years of hunting, truly admirable. It's a complete shame to let someone as good as him be executed in an unfair trial.
It seems Gunlaug is watching him, but Jubei is resisting the psychic pressure emanating from him very well.
"My pupils. We have a guest today. This man, named Jubei, is visiting us from the outer settlement. Recently, he was heard accusing one of my men. As a fair and benevolent lord, I have invited Jubei here to defend his case and expose the criminal. We must get to the bottom of this! After all, the law is our only guiding star in this dark world..."
Jubei looks at Gunlaug with hatred and resentment in his soul, truly outraged by the murder, which is well executed.
"That's right. I'm here to accuse one of your thugs, Gunlaug. Let's see how you get out of this, bastard."
With that, he raised a hand and pointed a finger at the group of Hunters watching the proceedings from their usual corner of the grand hall.
"That man there, one of your so-called Pathfinders, is guilty of murder. He killed an innocent child in the most disgusting way. I've been watching you and your lackeys commit all sorts of vile crimes over these years. But enough is enough! Today I will see him answer with his life for what he did!"
A wave of surprised whispers swept through the crowd. Accusing a Pathfinder was not something a sane person would ever do. Due to their revered status, these men were almost untouchable. And yet, Jubei seemed relentless.
Gunlaug spoke:
"...Is that so? That's a very serious accusation, Jubei. Please, tell us more."
The man from the outer settlement clenched his teeth.
"That scum and his people lured an innocent boy into their group promising him all kinds of rewards and wealth. They told him he would become one of them and come to live in your damn castle. But in reality, I simply fed him to the monsters as bait!"
He spat on the ground.
"Do you dare call yourselves Hunters, you damn cowards?! Have you no shame?"
Gunlaug turned his head to look at the Hunters, who trembled under his gaze.
"Is this true?"
The leader of the group, the Pathfinder, looked grimly at Jubei and frowned.
"There must be some misunderstanding, my lord. The boy in question was a highly valued member of my group. We all had great hopes for his future. His death saddened us all greatly."
His voice was firm and calm. Perhaps even too calm.
Jubei growled:
"Lies! I was hunting that day myself and saw everything with my own eyes! I know what you did, bastard!"
Gunlaug turned to the Ravens and sighed. After a while, he said solemnly:
"What an unfortunate situation. It seems to be your word against his, Jubei. What to do, what to do? I trust my brave ones wholeheartedly, of course. Who would be so ungrateful as to distrust these heroes when they are the ones keeping everyone alive? Surely, there is no one as vile and wicked among you, my precious pupils."
Gunlaug fell silent for a moment, hitting the crowd with his oppressive psychic aura. Then he turned around, letting people breathe, and said:
"But it would be improper of me to have favorites in such a serious matter. And this matter, oh, is truly serious. What a dilemma. How do we uphold justice, my pupils?"
In the silence that followed, Gemma, the leader of both the Hunters and the Conquerors, suddenly spoke up:
"My lord, if I may speak. Isn't there a law that fits this situation perfectly? It has existed since humans lived in this ancient castle. I am talking, of course, about the right of challenge."
She looked at Jubei and smiled:
"If this brave Hunter has any doubt about his accusation, he should resign. If not, he can challenge the criminal and prove it with blood. Of course, the true culprit here is... me. As the one responsible for these men, any crimes they commit in their role as Hunters are my fault."
Gemma's charismatic smile was wide and friendly.
"So, what do you say, Jubei? Will you resign? Or do you want to challenge me?"
The Hunter from the outer settlement stared at her for a while, his eyes burning with anger and disdain. Finally, he spat:
"Do you think I'm afraid of you, lapdog? Sure, why not. I challenge you!"
Lord Bright spoke:
"A challenge? Ah, so be it. This is indeed a sacred tradition. As long as good men are willing to risk their lives for the sake of justice, depravity cannot win..."
Everyone started to murmur and feel the dark fun in their souls at the events.
"But Gunlaug didn't finish talking:
"...However, it wouldn't be appropriate for you to personally represent the accused, Gemma. Bright Castle cannot afford to lose you, my friend. Jubei, would you mind if the accused chose another champion?"
The outer settlement hunter simply shrugged and said:
"Bring out the worst, cowards."
Bright Lord turned to the Pathfinder and nodded. With his suddenly pale face reflected in the creepy mask of strange golden armor, the killer remained silent for a moment, and then said quietly:
"I choose Harus, my lord."
In the sepulchral silence, Jubei smiled and spat with grim satisfaction:
"Even better!"
Well, here I should intervene.
"I'm about to do something really dumb now, Sunny. If things get even uglier, take Cassia and go."
Without giving Sunny time to speak or process what I said, I stepped out of the crowd and immediately all eyes were on me.
'Uff.'
I released the pressure of my king's legacy and immediately the pressure in the room tripled and everyone fell to their knees, everyone except the lieutenants, who were trembling before the terrible pressure.
"I'm Jonathan, I come from the outer settlement and I would like to replace Jubei in this duel. As someone from the same place as him, it doesn't seem fair to me that he should fight against Harus. That's why I offer myself as Jubei's champion."
I look at Jubei and he seems to understand that I am more powerful than him, understanding that I wanted to help him, I spoke.
"I want to choose Jonathan as my champion, that won't be a problem if they choose their champion as well, right? Gunlaug."
"It certainly won't be a problem. Let the duel continue between the champion, Harus, and the champion from the outer settlement, Jonathan."
Harus calmly descended the stairs and stood a few meters away from me. Then, he began to straighten his back and his size easily surpassed everyone in the room except Tessai.
'Shit, he's really intimidating when he stands at his full height.'
...
The two champions stand facing each other several meters apart, one summoned two daggers from his armor and the other remains calm without invoking any memory.
One second, then two, by the third, the black-clad boy lunged towards Harry, making a big cut towards his neck.
Harus avoids it and tries to grab his opponent by the neck.
Avoiding the grip and making a turn in the same place, Jonathan makes his dagger longer in an instant, burying its tip in Haru's left shoulder.
Harus manages to grab Jonathan's arm and tries to break it, being surprised by the strength of the armor.
As he could not break his arm, he lifted it with ease and tried to whip it against the ground.
Jonathan, prepared for this, creates a short sword that tries to stick in Harus's head.
This one throws it away, avoiding the attack and makes a gesture of annoyance.
Jonathan rolled on the ground, avoiding the damage and getting ready for another attack, but he was surprised to see that Harus was still.
He saw him reach out. Woven with sparks of light, a heavy chain appeared from the air, wrapped around his arm from his wrist to his elbow.
Harus looked with a little smile at Jonathan and...
Jonathan was blind. Completely blinded by Harus's ability.
'If I fail here, I could really die. He's stronger than I thought, I must be more cautious.'
A moment later, he felt Harus move at great speed and in the next moment, he felt a heavy chain crashing against his body.
Wrapped in chains, Jonathan tried to get out of his confinement without success, surprised by the strength of such a memory.
Harus drew Jonathan and gave him a big hit against his head, which was covered by a black helmet with slits to see.
His body swayed from top to bottom with every blow he gave him.
'! Damn! How fucking strong.'
Harus was hitting him repeatedly against the floor, swinging Jonathan from side to side.
Meanwhile, Sunny was worried about Jonathan's recklessness in facing the most feared lieutenant in the castle.
'Damn idiot, how the fuck does he dare to fight against harus without knowing him at all. Damn, if I have to save him, I'll endanger cassia.'
'! idiot!'
Sunny was ready to summon the midnight fragment when he saw Jonathan break part of the harus chain and release himself.
His black armor was with several holes and the floor where his fight took place was full of craters because of the strength with which harus beat him.
Jonathan moved immediately from the side of harus while this see its chain broken in half.
The strange memory did not disappear, but it was reassembled and made as long as before.
Blood came out of Jonathan's black helmet while he gasped for the effort he made to free himself from the chains and the constant beatings against the ground.
Even more concentrated on his sense of foresight and the soul. Jonathan was able to resume the rhythm of the fight.
The two began a second round where harus fought like a fierce beast, launching attacks with his chain or blows to the injured body of Jonathan. He fought gracefully while dodging attacks and dealing some, while he also received others who did not react.
The fight continued until something in the room changed.
Gunlaug made a small bite behind his golden visor covering his whole face while he watched the figure of Jonathan stand with difficulty and with breathing heavily while releasing an aura of pressiveness.
He had again activated the aura of his crown