"You can judge them however you want, but before that, I need to beat him up."
Lucy, still limping from yesterday's injury, grabbed her wolf-tooth club and headed straight for Lucius and Mors.
Moments later, the sound of screaming echoed.
"Help... Caesar! If you've got the guts, kill me now! The city's tycoons won't let you off!"
"I was wrong, Lucy! Please, let me go! I was wrong..."
...
Soon after, Caesar sent Billy and Clorinde to call back those still out searching, while she and the others personally escorted Lucius and Mors to the site of the earlier competition.
Luckily, the host, Jolly Jenny, was still there, and the stage hadn't been taken down—perfect for a courtroom.
Half an hour later, most of the spectators, nearby citizens, and Vanquishers had returned.
Seeing Lucius and Mors again, the crowd exploded in anger:
"Damn you, Lucius! You actually lied to us..."
"You conniving bastard! You colluded with the city's tycoons to destroy Cinder Lake, murdered Uncle Pompey, and even tried to frame Caesar from the Sons of Calydon. Did you think we were all fools?"
"You almost had us fooled, you piece of shit."
"I knew something was off. I suspected you were hiding the truth—and I was right. You're worse than an animal! Uncle Pompey took you in when you had nothing, raised you as the Vanquishers' successor, and you had the audacity to kill him? Disgusting…"
"If I were one of the Vanquishers, I'd have already chopped your head off."
"If Caesar hadn't brought back drone footage, we'd all still be fooled. Damn it, we'll never forgive you…"
...
This time, everyone—the spectators, the Vanquishers, and other motorcycle clans—stood with Caesar.
Some Vanquishers were already gripping knives, ready to execute Lucius and Mors on the spot to avenge Pompey.
But Caesar stopped them.
"Not yet. Let the trial finish. Once they've confessed all their crimes, it won't be too late to execute them."
"Caesar, are you nuts? This is the outer ring, not the city. We don't need a trial out here."
In the outer ring, that was how things worked.
Might made right.
Whoever had the power made the rules—and could kill anyone at will.
But Caesar shook her head. "From now on, I'm the Overlord. And I say there will be a trial."
Even though the coronation ceremony hadn't taken place yet, the truth was already out, and Caesar had won the Tour de Inferno. By right, she was the Overlord now.
And with the force of her presence alone, everyone accepted her decision—to hold a public trial and make Lucius and Mors face justice.
For many in the outer ring, this would be the first time in their lives seeing a real trial.
As planned, Furina would serve as presiding judge, with Clorinde as her assistant...
Standing before the massive crowd of outer ring residents, Furina—who had lived for five centuries and witnessed countless trials—suddenly felt nervous.
In the past, she'd always sat on the throne, overseeing proceedings, occasionally participating. But the main work had always been done by Neuvillette.
Now, with Neuvillette absent, she was acting as judge herself for the first time, and it caught her off guard.
Clorinde reminded her, "Lady Furina, the trial has begun."
Furina snapped back to attention and quickly cleared her throat. "I know..."
Then she looked nervously at Clorinde. "What's the first step again?"
Clorinde prompted her, "You begin by reading the charges."
Furina nodded quickly. "Just as I thought! Let's begin, Clorinde."
Clorinde: "...Right."
Before the entire crowd, Furina stood tall and formally read out the charges against Lucius and Mors.
They had conspired with financial elites from the city, plotted to destroy Cinder Lake, sought to take control of the Motorcycle Clan...
They had murdered Pompey, leader of the Vanquishers...
They had ambushed members of the Sons of Calydon in the Hollows both yesterday and today...
Every charge was a grave offense.
Putting on a stern face, Furina stared at Lucius and Mors. "You two... um, do you admit your crimes?"
Lucius looked at Furina's serious expression and laughed. "You've already got me. Kill me, torture me, whatever. I'm not playing along with this mock trial nonsense."
Furina cleared her throat again and said firmly, "I'm asking—do you admit to the charges?"
Lucius opened his mouth to mock her again—
But he saw Lucy stepping forward with her club and quickly backed down.
"Fine, I admit it. So what..."
Furina let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Thankfully, the evidence was irrefutable, making the trial go smoothly.
Now it was time for the verdict.
She paused for a moment, then declared loudly, "I now pronounce sentence. Lucius—death. Mors—exile to the Hollows. You are never to set foot in the outer ring again."
The crowd immediately erupted into chaos.
"Why isn't Mors getting the death sentence?! They're both traitors!"
"This is bullshit. We never should've let you be the judge!"
"Are you kidding me?! No death sentence for Mors?!"
...
Those who had been deceived by Lucius and Mors were furious, demanding that Mors also be executed.
But Furina stood by her ruling. "The trial is over. Sentence will now be carried out."
Of course she knew everyone hated Lucius and Mors—she hated them too.
But as a judge, she couldn't let her emotions or public pressure affect her verdict.
Lucius, as Pompey's killer, clearly deserved the death penalty.
As for Mors... Furina saw him as an accomplice, not the mastermind.
There wasn't even a prison in the outer ring.
Exiling him to the Hollows, banned forever from setting foot in the outer ring, was the harshest punishment she could give.
It wasn't a hasty judgment.
She had based it on Fontaine's legal principles, supported by Nicole's advice—despite her being just an amateur lawyer.
With the trial concluded, members of the Vanquishers stepped forward.
"Caesar, Lucius and Mors are our people. Please allow us to carry out the sentence."
Caesar nodded without hesitation. "Alright—do it."