"Lutz Harridwen, you've been convicted of the recent murder of Princess Awarila," decreed the judge. His face was covered by a mask, as were the faces of everyone else present in the circular courtroom. The ceiling featured a glass dome, displaying a blood-red sky.
In the center of the circle stood a middle-aged man with brown hair and green eyes, wearing a piece of dirty cloth. He was chained to the ground, defenseless. The red light from the sky highlighted him. Although cornered, his expression wasn't that of fear, regret, nor joy. He calmly stared at the faceless judge, awaiting his sentence.
Awarila, huh...? So they haven't found the latest one yet.
Judge: "Assassinating a powerful future leader leads to severe consequences. Were you aware of this when you committed the crime, Mr. Harridwen?"
Lutz: "I haven't confessed anything yet."
Judge: "We know you're the culprit, Mr. Harridwen, for we have proof. You've murdered several other political opponents."
Lutz: "And where is your proof?"
Judge: "The committee has already declared you guilty of the deaths of 56 politicians recently assassinated."
56? So they haven't found all the bodies yet...
Judge: "Your crimes total two hundred life sentences."
Less than I thought.
Judge: "However..."
Keeping the world clean is my purpose, so I don't care what happens to me. Of course, it's nowhere near enough, but I'm doing my part. But I don't want to get imprisoned for life....
Lutz: "Am I going to be sentenced to death...?"
Judge: "As you likely already know, our nation is going through a... delicate time; therefore, we cannot kill people who can still be redeemed."
Lutz: "What do you want me to do?"
I'm not liking this...
Judge: "The deities have become increasingly demanding, requiring more of us humans. We do not have the power to refuse their will; therefore, we must become... less dependent on them."
Lutz: "How? They are our only source of power. Are there gods willing to help us against the others?"
Judge: "Not exactly, for they fear the stronger ones. If they show any sign of betrayal, a war between all the races will break out, plunging the entire world into chaos."
Lutz: "You're not suggesting the humans rebel against them, right? Because we have no chance, even with our greatest inventions."
Judge: "Perhaps I need to correct you regarding what you said earlier: the deities are not our only source of power."
Lutz: "Huh? Are you saying..."
Judge: "That our only bet is to use 'their' power."
Lutz: "You can't be serious... I mean, the gods would find out immediately! In fact, they might be listening to our conversation right now!"
Judge: "I'm afraid you're mistaken, Mr. Harridwen. The gods don't have their influence here."
Lutz: "Huh...? But we're in Ucathia, their favorite human capital!"
Judge: "What makes you think we're in Ucathia right now?"
Lutz: "Huh...?"
He looked up to see if he recognized anything in the sky. A rapidly growing sound swept past, accompanied by a howling red dragon. His eyes widened in shock.
Lutz: "This is..."
Judge: "Tristan. It's not a particularly large city, but here we are safe from the influence of the gods."
Lutz: "You must be insane... This is treason! How did you even manage to leave the capital unnoticed?"
Judge: "In the name of diplomacy, anything is possible."
Lutz: "Does the royal family know anything about this? Have you always been on the devil's side?!"
Judge: "Of course they don't. They may well be corrupt, but they are still on the human side. As for our side... let's just say it leans toward whatever best serves our interests."
Lutz: "You're sick... the monsters will mutilate you even if you comply!"
Judge: "Hm? Are humans any different?"
Lutz was taken by surprise and his eyes widened. He opened his mouth to retort but couldn't.
Judge: "You know that better than anyone, Mr. Harridwen. You served your own sense of justice for long enough. Now, the only difference is that we dictate what's right."
Defeated and demotivated, Lutz lowered his gaze, trying to think of a way out.
Lutz: "There is no way any kind of contract could give a human like me a chance against deities!"
Judge: "A contract? Well, I guess you can call it like that..."
Lutz: "I'm not signing any contract..."
Judge: "Relax, the results will be worth it. You are above average physically, mentally, and magically; therefore, it should be enough."
Lutz: "I am not selling my soul to the devil!"
Judge: "You don't have a choice, Mr. Harridwen, for we must offset all your life sentences."
Lutz: "Just give me a death sentence!"
Judge: "We're short on soldiers and guinea pigs, so we can't afford to waste a skilled assassin like you."
Lutz: "I have nothing to offer! No devil would ever want to sign a contract with me!"
Judge: "We'll see. Bring in the armor!"
Lutz: "No! Wait, what?"
A huge door behind Lutz opened, revealing new masked figures pushing a wheeled armor stand. On it stood a suit of black-and-white metal armor, pulsing with a white light. It looked ominous and... alive?
That doesn't seem like a demon to me...
The armor stand stopped about two meters away from Lutz. Although it wasn't very close, he could feel an aura emanating from it, tainting the atmosphere. His senses began to clash.
Judge: "This 'contract' is really easy to sign. You just need to wear the armor."
Wear the armor...? That thing doesn't seem very safe...
Judge: "Because its power is too great, you will need to put it on piece by piece."
Lutz: "What is it going to do to me?"
Judge: "We're not entirely sure. Everyone who tried to use it died seconds later. My subordinates will also die after picking it up for you."
Lutz: "What?! Are you crazy?! There's no way I will survive this! This is just a death sentence, but with extra steps!"
Judge: "Desperate times require desperate measures. If you don't survive, well... you'll serve your sentence regardless."
Lutz: "I am not going down like this, release me!"
Judge: "You're not going anywhere, Mr. Harridwen. Would you like the honor of choosing which limb will wear the corresponding piece of armor first?"
Lutz: "Fuck you!"
He writhed, trying to break the heavy chains. They were too sturdy, so all his efforts were in vain.
Judge: "The arms, then?"
One of the masked figures took the armor's arm guard and, slowly and laboriously, brought it close to Lutz's moving hand.
The armor was metallic, yet it moved organically as it drew closer to the wearer's hand. Although chains stood in the way, the arm guard quickly shattered them and latched onto Lutz's left arm. He felt the pain of a million needles piercing his arm.
His arm grew incredibly heavy, dragging his body toward the ground. Spikes shot out from inside the armor, piercing his arm painfully and making him flinch against his will. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his senses became increasingly conflicted.
Judge: "There is something you need to know, in case you survive this trial."
The subordinate who picked up the arm guard fell dead to the ground.
Judge: "The armor requires constant replenishment. If you don't feed it, you will die a painful death."
Lutz was feeling too much pain to listen to the judge. Another masked figure brought the other arm guard, which broke through the other chains and filled Lutz's eyes with tears of desperation.
Although both his arms were free, he couldn't move them. He couldn't move at all. All he could do was scream while lying there.
Judge: "Your body is no longer yours. The moment you take off that armor is the moment you die. You two depend on each other to survive now."
Just as Lutz began to endure the pain, the masked figures fitted the armor onto his legs. The pile of dead cultists grew, one by one.
He saw and felt things he could not comprehend. Things that lay beyond his small world. Everything was jumbled together, overwhelming his mind.
Judge: "The armor requires lifeforce to survive. While yours is drained, you need to fill it with any kind of blood. However, there's a catch."
The turn of the breastplate had come. It pierced his heart, forcing him to live with it, or to be left without a heart.
Judge: "You'd need millions of human souls to satisfy it, or any kind of ordinary living being. Deities, however..."
The armor was now fully donned, as there was no helmet. Instead, the armor itself began to form spikes around his head, enclosing it without piercing his brain.
Judge: "In short, you will need to kill deities to survive. If you fail to do so and die, however, the armor will explode and wipe out an entire continent. But first, it would consume your very being in a desperate attempt to survive. Needless to say, you would experience immense pain."
Lutz was beginning to lose himself. His eyes were red from weeping, and beyond the physical pain, he felt an overwhelming mental breakdown trying to consume his mind. Yet, even so, he never gave up. He could accept a death sentence, but not surrender to an ancient devil and allow it to do whatever it pleased with his body, mind, and soul.
Judge: "Congratulations, Mr. Harridwen, you've passed the test. Your first mission is to go to our homeland, Ucathia, and defeat the weakest deity you can find, so that you may prolong your life. That is, if you survive the next few hours, of course."
The pain was beginning to subside, but it was still so intense that Lutz slowly lost consciousness.
Judge: "Then, from this moment on, I sentence you to be... a God Slayer."