At last, they squeezed into the venue, and the clamor from outside gradually faded away. Before Eden could catch his breath, he was pushed onto the defendant's stand by the guards.
The priests attending the Great Council had been waiting for a long time. Thousands of eyes converged on the defendant's stand, and a heavy atmosphere pressed down on Eden from above.
Veldor and Pastor Casas watched Eden nervously; the latter still didn't know that the public trial was orchestrated by the two of them, who had been working tirelessly on his behalf these days.
Because of the Emperor's and the Great Shepherd's obstruction, Veldor and Pastor Casas had never gotten the chance to see Eden in jail, let alone rehearse the trial with him. Thus, they were extremely anxious, fearing that Eden would continue to be stubborn in his views.
Soon, with a bell toll, the heresy trial began. Under the organization of the Great Shepherd, the witnesses stood up and started a series of statements.
