Dante nodded.
"Okay."
He lowered his head, reading the paper he held. After a few seconds, he looked at Kedith.
"For the crimes you have committed…you will be sentenced to…life imprisonment without parole."
Kedith nodded, accepting the sentence. Dante glanced at the other justices.
"Do the other justices agree with this decision?"
All the justices from left to right nodded and answered.
"Yes."
Dante gazed at the former prime minister once more. As he was about to send him away, Kedith suddenly, interrupted him.
"Your honor."
Dante lowered his head, his dark eyes staring at the former prime minister.
"May I have an allocution to the public?"
Dante raised a brow.
"An allocution? Hm…"
He glanced at the other justices.
"What do you think?"
After a few minutes of discussion among the justices of the supreme court, the vote came to a tie – four justices voted yes while the other four voted no. Dante became the tie breaker. He exhaled heavily, thinking deeply.
'Maybe he wants to express his regret or apologize, y'know…let's give him a chance…'
Dante hoped Kedith would regret his actions, apologize to his families who he had tried to kill. He believed that everyone deserved a second chance so, he would give it to Kedith as well. He straightened and slammed his gavel. All attention shifted to him.
"I'll allow it."
His verdict echoed in the courtroom. The justices that didn't agree grumbled. Kedith lowered his head.
"Thank you, your honor."
He spun around. All cameras turned towards him from various news channels. The world held its breath for a few moments. Kedith drew a deep breath and opened his mouth.
"To the world, I am Former Prime Minister of Rome and Former Head of the Board of cross-department coordination. I stand in front of you to say a few words before my sentence officially begins."
He paused for a moment. Controlling the pace of his speech, he made the people beyond the camera more eager to hear his words.
"I apologize to all the families I have disturbed due to my co-planned attack of Rush city."
Dante heaved a sigh of relief.
"Oh, that's good…" He mumbled under his breath.
But Kedith next words would leave him speechless.
"But I do not regret any of it."
"Huh?" Dante blinked.
All the other justices stared in confusion as Kedith continued speaking.
"Today, I am not Kedith Octavian the former Prime Minister but Octavius, the archbishop of the Anarchy Church – a religion and organization which has had its roots since the early beginning of the Legendary Age."
The journalists raised a brow in confusion. The legal experts and lawyers frantically whispered among themselves as the past was mentioned.
"Hey – hey – hey, what is he doing?!" Dante exclaimed, as he and the other justices panicked.
Black ops rushed forward, reaching out their arms to pull him away. Right then, Kedith spoke his final words.
"To finish my allocution, I'd like to leave a message for the world; I am not the only one."
As soon as those words fell, the black ops enforcers grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. The cameras followed him until he left. Everyone's jaw dropped. Dante held his head in dismay.
"Shit…" He muttered under his breath.
The courtroom fell into a deadly silence as they realized Kedith had effectively started a global uproar.
***
After a few hours…
Kedith finally arrived at the Romulus Reformation Facility. The door of his transport vehicle swung open. Roughly pulled out by a black ops officer, he was dragged in. They entered and passed the lobby. The industrial hum of the various machines sounded across the facility. While heading to the prison, they were met by the Warden.
"This is the new convict." One of the black op's enforcers said.
"Yes, follow me." The warden turned around.
The two officers followed the warden. The head of the reformation facility lead them into the main cells. They climbed the stairs, passing by other convicts who stared at their new member through the lattice bars. They arrived at a certain cell. The warden scanned his retina on the panel. The scanner hummed and the door opened. They uncuffed Kedith and pushed him in. The door slammed shut as he watched them leave.
"Well – well – well, what do we have here?" A voice rang out.
Kedith spun around, glancing around the room. His cell had a bed, sink, and a closed off toilet. A fan spun above on the ceiling cooling the air. No one except himself was here.
"I'm in the other room, Father Octavius."
Kedith's lips couldn't help but curl into a smile. "Dick?"
"Yes!" Dick replied. "It's so good to see you. I was getting lonely here."
Kedith sat down on his bed and continued to chat.
"So, how did the Hour of Red go?" Dick inquired.
"Good. We summoned one demon but the hat got destroyed."
"Damn… I spent a fortune on that electromagent…"
Kedith chuckled. "Don't worry. It wouldn't have been necessary after the Hour of Red anyway."
"What sentence did you get?" Dick asked.
"Life imprisonment."
"Makes sense and did you say it?"
"Yeah…" Kedith laughed. "The government is gonna get a headache from the public uproar."
Dick also laughed with his superior. The two continued their conversation for a few hours. Eventually, the doors clicked open and a voice rang out in the intercom.
"All inmates, follow the guards for your reformation."
"Oh! Looks like it's reformation time." Dick stated.
Both anarchists exited their cells. Walking side by side, they descended the stairs with the other inmates and trailed the guards.