Wise quickly switched the feed, sparing Belle from the gruesome scene. He sighed helplessly at her.
"I told you, you shouldn't watch this. Why don't you ever listen... Now look, you're scared, aren't you?"
Belle was bold and quick to adapt, but that didn't mean she could accept what was unfolding so easily—at least, not what was shown on screen.
"Even if the method is a little extreme, that man really deserved to die. Every single thing he did... he got what was coming to him."
Wise spoke softly, but Belle shook her head, clearly rejecting his view.
"That kind of death only looks terrifying. In reality, there's no real pain, neither in body nor spirit. It's far too easy for him!"
She grit her teeth, recalling the list of crimes Zane had read out, her voice sharp with anger.
"You're not wrong..."
Wise paused, considering her words, and nodded slightly.
It was true.
"But there's no other way. This is how Zane chose to pass judgment, and in this kind of setting... the options are limited."
After all, it was happening right in front of the public eye.
"I wonder how many people will end up on the gallows before this trial is over..."
Wise narrowed his eyes, listening to the sound from the broadcast and watching as the Masked Fool passed judgment on another.
He had seen Fairy's compiled dossiers too. Most of the accused weren't just guilty—they were far beyond redemption.
"Belle, tell Fairy to get ready. The authorities will make their move soon. We need to make sure people see the full trial."
Seal it. No turning back.
Belle nodded at her desk and immediately began linking up with Fairy, clashing with the authorities online. The video store was a flurry of activity.
...
Janus District Public Security Bureau.
Snap!
"What the hell is this guy trying to pull?!"
Qingyi slammed the desk, her brows furrowed in frustration. On the screen before her, the banquet broadcast played in real time.
He just had to make a spectacle. Couldn't he ever be discreet? Not that this was necessarily a bad thing...
"Zane..."
Zhu Yuan muttered under her breath as she watched the screen, unease flickering in her expression. This was sheer madness.
And yet, she couldn't sort out her feelings about Zane's choice to deal justice outside the law.
She believed the charges he named—without a doubt. Zane wasn't the type to accuse without evidence. If he wanted to kill someone quietly, he had a thousand easier ways. There was no need for this.
But as a law enforcement officer, as a member of the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team, she had always sworn by the principle that the law must punish evil.
Trials outside the law weren't unheard of. But most of those were tainted, riddled with ulterior motives—hardly justice, more like another form of corruption.
Yet... listening to Zane's words, seeing his actions, she couldn't deny it. These people deserved it. Even death felt too light a sentence...
After a moment's silence, Zhu Yuan's conflicted expression softened. Her eyes lit with clarity.
Of course.
The reason she couldn't accept extrajudicial trials was because in the past, they had never been pure. They had always been twisted by people and their agendas.
But Zane... Zane was different.
If that was the case, then what was there to doubt?
After all... justice only exists when someone is willing to act. It only becomes real when it is carried out fully. If it remains buried, it is no justice at all.
Her gaze hardened as the second man on the screen was pierced through by ice spikes. Zhu Yuan fixed her eyes on Zane and whispered,
"Zane... whether it's now or in the future, don't let me down."
Beside her, Qingyi wasn't lost in such thoughts. She was simply exasperated.
Just seconds ago, the red notice for the Masked Fool had gone out. Unlike before, this time it was official—real charges, real evidence.
Yes, Zane might be right, both morally and logically. But the law was the law. What he was doing was still a crime.
Qingyi pressed her lips into a tight line, trying to think of some way to ease the trouble that was about to fall on him.
Before she could dwell on it, the phone rang. Seth answered and quickly relayed orders to both women.
Even though Zane wasn't in the Janus District, the Special Response Team was still being deployed.
Ether crystals, ice spikes... Anyone could see the Masked Fool was no ordinary opponent. And now, with so many hostages in his hands...
Orders couldn't be defied. The Special Response Team moved at once.
How much effort they would put in, however—that was another question entirely.
As night fell, snow blanketed New Eridu, and with it came the first storm to shatter the city's fragile calm. Both online and on the streets, waves of chaos spread...
...
In the banquet hall.
"The law convicts with evidence. You bend every rule, exploit every loophole to escape its grasp. But unfortunately for you... I convict with my heart."
As Zane's voice fell, another life was taken—the third that night.
The crowd shivered under a cloud of fear and dread. Zane spread his hands, his tone calm, almost helpless.
"There's no need for panic. I don't kill innocents. If your crimes haven't been proven, if your conscience is clear—then just treat this as a performance."
Of course... if anyone tried to resist, he wouldn't mind "dealing" with them.
Even with Shin's channels and Fairy's reach, they had only uncovered a handful among the hundred present who were guilty enough for Zane to act upon.
It all came down to time.
With more time, they could have added several more names to the list.
Meanwhile, in the shadows of the hall, the members of Hare's House sat in their corner, calmly eating while watching the show. They had fought in Hollows long enough to know that sometimes the enemy was human, and this... this wasn't so different.
Then Nicole noticed a faint blue glow flickering before her. She froze, staring at the small black sphere floating there.
It pulsed with a strange, eager rhythm. The Hive Master Hollow—now under Zane's control.
Under Nicole's gaze, its surface bulged, and one mask emerged. Then a second. A third.
Four masks in total, followed by a small slip of paper. Nicole quickly pulled Billy over, and with the help of a dim light, they read the message.
She handed the note back to the black sphere, which swallowed it and destroyed it. Then she summoned the others and passed the masks to them.
"As expected, Zane wouldn't be satisfied with just this show. It's time for us to move. This is like... repairing the road in the open while sneaking an army across in secret."
Nicole laid out their plan seriously.
Moments later, they rose to their feet, slipping through the crowd under the cover of darkness and chaos...