Bab 134: Chapter 132: Debate
Luke sighed as he gazed at the door in front of him. He then turned to face Liam and Lance, who was standing nearby. Lance became aware of his stare and spoke out.
"Well, this is it. You better prove yourself properly here."
Luke remained silent and fixed his gaze on Lance. Lance returned his stare with a frown.
"What? Don't tell me you're expecting me to assist you with this?"
Luke cocked his head forward, a little frown on his face.
He... He has no evidence that he is not a demon. He's definitely not a demon, but does he have proof? No. So, how could he explain his ability to return from the dead?
Luke could not tell anyone outside his party that he only has ten lives, that information might get to the enemy, and might plan to target him every single time until all of his lives were lost. He can't put his life on the line only to disprove a baseless charge made by those who oppose him. He needed to find a different route.
When the door eventually opened, revealing the inside of the room, Luke's thoughts were interrupted. Luke took a look around and noticed two long tables on either side of the room. Noah, Paulina, and Norman are sitting on the right side, glaring at the other side. Duke Reo and the rest of the nobles on his faction and side are on the left side.
As soon as the door opened, everyone's gaze was drawn to him. Luke slightly frowned at the attention he is getting but just sighed when Liam and Lance guided him towards his chair on the right side. Luke took a seat in his chair, with Lance and Liam on either side of him. They immediately turned to gaze at the other side, where they noticed Duke Reo staring at Luke, disgusted. Luke frowned at this but calmed down as he sensed Liam and Nash's resentment bubbling up beside him.
"You two... You better calm down."
Liam sighed and clenched his teeth. Luke simply shook his head and turned to face Lance, who was about to begin speaking.
"Now then, we should get starting. Regarding your atrocious charges concerning my younger brother, Duke Reo-"
When Duke Reo began to yell, Lance's words were cut short.
"YOUR HIGHNESS! MY WORDS WEREN'T ATROCIOUS! WHAT ELSE WOULD EXPLAIN HIM RETURNING FROM THE DEAD?! THE DECEASED! HE IS A MONSTER! HE HAS COME TO OVERTHROW THE KINGDOM!"
The faction of Duke Reo then began to accord and raise their voices at the same time. Luke just gave them a strange look before stopping when he heard someone banging on the table.
BANG!
When Luke turned around to his right, he noticed Paulina getting up and clamping her hands on the table. With a crazed stare, she then looked towards Duke Reo and his faction.
"Duke Reo! How dare you say such things to the man who just saved our kingdom not once, but twice?! Are you mad!?"
"Silence! That's all part of his nefarious plan! He will try to deceive you and lure you into your deaths! He's a devil!"
"And where did you get your proof for that?!"
"Isn't the fact that he can come back from the dead a reason?! Otherwise, how are you going to explain that?!"
"Y-youuuu!!!"
Paulina was about to lose it and charge forward but Norman thankfully stopped her and calmed her down. Duke Reo scowled as he observed their actions.
"What? You guys just resorted to violence since you cannot prove us wrong am I right?!"
Duke Reo simply sneered at Paulina and the others with a victorious laugh as Paulina and the others scowled at his faction. They probably thought they had the upper hand now.
Well, they kind of are.
Luke continued to stare across the room at the opposing faction. He is starting to think of a way out without mentioning anything about his powers. But how? What is the safest and most efficient route out of this predicament? He needed to do something that would not only make these people not question him again, but would also stop them from bothering him with these pointless disputes.
• My, my, look at you. Stuck at the corner.
When Luke hears Joe's voice inside his head again, he comes to a halt. He was about to frown but stopped because he heard Duke Reo speaking again.
"Ha! Look! Even the demon can't say anything since he knows we're telling the truth! He's a true demon! The threat to society—no, the threat to the entire globe! He must be put to death! He has to be decapitated-!"
When Duke Reo saw Liam's dark and murderous face racing at him while holding his sword fiercely, he came to a halt. Duke Reo has gone completely still as he stares in astonishment at Liam racing towards him. Liam clenched his teeth and prepared to swing his sword at Duke Reo's foolish face, but three individuals intervened before his blade could even reach Duke Reo.
Liam stopped as he felt hands holding both of his arms and one blocking his sword. When Liam turned to see who it was, he noticed Lance and Noah restraining both of his arms and a white wing blocking his sword.
Liam flinches in surprise and drops his weapon. Luke looked at this and sighed; he then deactivated his wings and brushed his face with his palms.
Liam looked at Luke's actions with nervousness, is he disappointed in him? Is he mad? Those questions made Liam both nervous and guilty. He was so caught up in his emotions that he didn't even consider Luke's reputation. He is now embarrassed by himself.
• Tsk, tsk, you're terrible at this, kid. Let me take over.
When Liam heard Dos speaking within his head, he flinched. He then frowned and bit his lower lip. Then after a split second, he switched with Dos.
Dos raised his head and smirked playfully at Duke Reo who is looking at him while slightly shaking. Dos then sighed and grinned at Duke Reo, as if mocking him.
"What's this? Did you chicken out? Where did your cocky and annoying blabbering mouth go? Ha, what a joke you nobles are."
Everyone then looked at Liam, who was behaving strangely. Luke just looked at him and Dos notices him, Dos then smiled and approaches him slowly. Dos then tapped Luke on the shoulder, causing Luke to flinch.
"This is my master, and as someone who has spent the most time with him, I can assure you that he spends the majority of his time causing himself harm while helping others. But of course, I don't expect you all to believe that since all of you are blind and seems to be not updated on the news around the continent to know that."
Duke Reo then lets out a gasp of surprise and rage. Is this the Liam who was known across the continent?! He can't believe it. He has a radically different look.
"You! How could you speak ill of those of us who are simply looking for the truth and justice-!!!"
"Justice? Justice for what? For the sake of your wallet? As far as I recall, all you did throughout the battle was stand around, terrified, while my master did all the hard work to save you all. He died and came back. What did he do the moment he returned? He went straight to war and ended it with just his presence alone! But, what exactly did you do? You did nothing but whine. And you dare call yourself the head of the martial art household? What an audacity."
Duke Reo gritted his teeth at all the insults he received straight from Liam's mouth. He is being insulted by Liam, the swordsman who was famed for his kindness and gentleness. This isn't right at all.
"But that can't explain the reason why he can revive! How can you explain that?!"
Dos didn't respond and returned his gaze to Luke, who was also looking at him. He understands that he can't reveal the true reason since doing so will put them at a severe disadvantage in the future. They needed to find another way out. All Dos did was just block that question as long as possible to buy Luke some time to think, and Luke knows that.
Luke paused for a moment before opening his eyes again. He then turned to face Lance, who nodded as if he knew what Luke was trying to convey through his eyes.
"Stop, everybody go back to your proper seats. We cannot continue if we're arguing like this."
As he sat back down, Duke Reo huffed and puffed, and the nobility on his side began to check on his condition with concern. Duke Reo appears to be on the verge of passing out.
Luke and the others then returned to their seats, and the room fell silent. While the rest of the room fell silent, Luke, Lance, and Dos took advantage of the opportunity to talk to each other. Dos then turned to face Luke while maintaining eye contact with Duke Reo.
"Hey, have you come up with a plan yet? I am pretty sure I gave you enough time."
"..."
"Tsk, still not enough, huh?"
Lance sighed as he looked at the two people beside him who appeared to be under pressure.
"Do you need me to buy more time?"
Luke and Dos then slowly turned their heads to look at Lance, who simply shrugged his shoulders at them.
"Would you like me to buy you some time or not?"
Luke was deafeningly quiet for a few seconds before nodding. He already has a solution in mind, but he is hesitant to put it into action. He needed more time to consider the situation.
Lance smiled and then faked a cough to draw the nobles' attention to himself. Lance then grinned at them, which Luke regarded with suspicion. He doesn't like Lance's current smile; it reminds him of his smile when he does something annoying.
"Since this conversation is running in circles, why don't we invite another party?"
Luke, Dos, and the nobles looked at Lance with confusion. Lance ignored them and kept talking.
"There's a very passionate fellow that has been begging outside the palace earlier this morning to become the representative of the people ever since he heard about proving Luke's innocence."
When Luke and Duke Reo heard the term 'people', they trembled. Luke then immediately turns his head and starts tugging on Lance's sleeve, as if to silence him. Lance, on the other hand, ignored him, which irritated Luke. Duke Reo then began speaking in a perplexed and surprised tone.
"Did you say... Representative of the people?"
Lance smiled and nodded.
"That is correct. He also claims to be a Saint and the founder of a... Very fascinating church."
Duke Reo's brows furrowed in response to Lance's words.
"A church founder?"
Lance smiled and glanced at Luke who was completely frozen as if he already knows what will happen next. Luke's face instantly became paler and sweat started to drip from his face. Lance tried to not laugh out loud and kept talking.
"The Church of the Black Coat. And the saint of the said church would want to become the representative of the people. Saint Luther."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone