Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted-Chapter 97: The Sin of the Gods

Upon hearing Helen's roar, the commoners lowered their heads and even began to withdraw from the area, fearing that Helen might one day pin a crime on them and have them killed.
"If you won't confess to the crime, then bring the witness forward!"
The King was exceptionally excited today and ordered the guards to bring out the prisoner who had just been rescued from the dungeons.
He had already been psychologically prepared down below, knowing that the King now wanted to deal with Helen, that both the King and the Church would stand on his side, and that this was a good opportunity to take revenge on Helen.
As soon as he came up, he began to accuse Helen of her crimes, not just his own experiences. He told everything he knew, having heard the stories of other victims while in the dungeons.
"Do you confess to the crime?"
Faced with the King's interrogation, Helen did not answer, though even now, Helen showed little fear.
Trembling with extreme excitement, the King bit his own lip to keep himself from laughing out loud at this solemn moment.
"Then I ask you, in all that you have done, do you act on your own behalf, or on behalf of the Stern Family?"
When asked this, Helen suddenly smiled. Based on her past experience, as long as she invoked her family name at a time like this, she would be fine.
Not only did she think so, but upon hearing the King's question, the commoners thought the same. Indeed, nothing the Stern Family did would ever be a problem.
"It was on behalf of the Stern Family."
It wasn't until these words were spoken that the King finally couldn't hold back. He laughed wildly, tears streaming from his eyes.
I did nothing, and yet he picked up the knife and stabbed his own neck with it. Stern Family, you truly have raised a fine seedling!
"The Stern Family conspired to assassinate Master Mentor, interrupted Master Mentor's composition of the Hymn, ultimately causing the Plague Church to lose the Hymn.
"I hereby declare! The Stern Family is sentenced to extermination for the crime of blasphemy! Extermination! Not a single survivor left! Even the earthworms must be sliced vertically!"
The stone pressing down on his head was about to disappear. If not for the Pope being by his side, the King would probably have jumped onto the table.
"What?"
Helen was stunned. Her mind hadn't processed it yet. She thought she would at most be imprisoned for a few days, and even then, she would receive the highest standard of treatment in prison.
"Extermination?"
She repeated the word over and over. At her level, conventional sentences held no power over her, and she had never even heard of a sentence of 'extermination.' Helen suddenly felt a sense of unreality, as if she were dreaming now.
Why did everything happening now lack logic? What exactly was 'extermination'? It felt so unfamiliar. Did this word really exist?
Blasphemy was the most heinous sin in this world.
"I declare it to be carried out immediately."
The Pope also stood up at this moment, drawing a conclusion to it all.
Upon receiving the order, the Plague Envoys began to move. They flew directly into the air. Because their bodies were filled with flies, they were capable of flight.
"Your Majesty, please wait!"
Before the Plague Envoys could fly away, an old man arrived at the scene.
"Edmund Stern, you've arrived just in time. Then you shall be the first to be executed!"
Edmund was that old knight, the one who had once saved Bardo. Now he was aged and decrepit, devoid of vitality.
He had received the blessing of longevity from the God of Plague. By rights, he shouldn't be like this now, but the result of the sentence just pronounced had broken his spine.
"Your Majesty, please, in consideration of my saving Bardo..."
"I'm sorry, Edmund. You did save Bardo, but this time, the crime you've committed is blasphemy. I too am very reluctant to lose you, a meritorious servant of Bardo, but there's nothing I can do. Blasphemy cannot be forgiven."
The King stood before Edmund. Although he was not as tall as Edmund, his imposing manner now overwhelmed Edmund's, a situation that had never occurred before.
"I am the mastermind behind all of this. It has nothing to do with the Stern Family. We are willing to surrender everything we possess, as long as the others can live. I can die here.
"In consideration of my once saving Bardo."
Edmund knelt on the ground, kowtowing, fiercely satisfying a wave of the King's vanity.
With age comes cunning. Edmund understood the current situation. If it were truly blasphemy, they would not be spared. But at this moment, 'blasphemy' was just a label, just like the 'indecent assault' charge Helen had pinned on Loren before.
This label was firmly pinned;
offering excuses was useless. Rather than making excuses, it was better to take the crime upon oneself alone, at least to preserve the family's legacy.
As long as Loren was satisfied, they could survive. This point was clear to him, as well as to the King and the Pope.
What the King and the Pope sought was only to satisfy Loren, to make him produce the Hymn. They also knew Loren's argument was merely a pretext to make them deal with the Stern Family.
Faced with Edmund's plea, the King looked at Loren. In truth, he didn't want extermination either. As long as they weren't pressing down on his head, the Stern Family still had a necessary role to play.
Moreover, the Stern Family had many powerful members. If they were all killed, Bardo's national power would become unprecedentedly weak.
Loren nodded. Edmund felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
"Thank you for your kindness."
Having said that, Edmund drew the rusty knight's sword from his waist. This was the very sword he had used back in the day, but now it was so rusted it could barely be drawn.
With great effort, he finally drew the knight's sword. Using this rusty sword, he cut his own neck. Because the sword was dull, he had to cut several times before he could grant himself a swift end, finally dying from excessive blood loss.
Helen knelt on the ground. Amidst the cheers of the commoners, she felt the world was incomparably quiet, plunging completely into darkness.
Her sky had darkened, but for others, the sky had just brightened.
It wasn't that Loren was truly kind enough to spare them. Sometimes, this sense of disparity is more painful than death. Loren's purpose was to let them first experience this disparity, and then die.
"I suddenly have inspiration again. I'll go back and write the song now."
Loren yawned, never once looking Helen directly in the eye from beginning to end.
"I'll escort you!"
The King was still extremely eager to please. After Loren boarded the carriage, he dismissed the Coachman and chose to act as the coachman himself.
By the time Loren returned to the inn, lunch had just begun. The meal was prepared by Mirrorheart using ingredients and cooking utensils she had brought herself.
"I'll take my leave now, Master Mentor. May the God of Plague bless you."
The King drew a Plague Rainbow over his chest. After bidding farewell to Loren, he ran off cheering like a monkey.
"Woo-hoo!"
If he weren't still wearing his crown, passersby would surely have taken him for a madman.
"Where did you go this morning?"
The moment Loren took his seat, Naclis asked with concern.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just went to do some sweeping."
Laila knew Loren didn't want Naclis and the others to worry, so she brought her mouth close to Loren's ear before beginning to inquire:
"What was the final verdict?"
"Helen's family was confiscated, and the entire Enforcement Team was sentenced."
"?"
You're saying the Enforcement Team came to arrest you, and as a result, the Enforcement Team got sentenced, and the Captain had her family confiscated?