Matthew froze when he saw the reaction of the guards around him. He looked at Vanessa asking her with his eyes if he screwed things up. Vanessa put her hand on his shoulder gently comforting him. Then she got up and said to Judge Johnson:

"We're sorry your honor. Mia's story made Matthew relive some trauma and it stirred the demonic mana inside of him. But as you can see, he can easily control himself. That light just now was the Purification skill. It heals him from the effects of the demonic mana. It's all right. It's just like taking medicine."

Judge Johnson thought for a few seconds and then said:

"Give us a warning next time, boy. Court is not the place to cast spells without notice."

"I'm sorry, your honor." Matthew said.

"You're excused." The judge replied and with a hand movement ordering the guards to be at ease. "Was that your last witness councilor?" He asked turning to Vanessa.

"Yes, your honor. The defense rests." Vanessa said.

"Is the prosecution ready for its final statements?" Judge Johnson asked turning to the prosecutor.

"It is, your honor."

"You may take the floor."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. You've heard all testimonies and have been shown all evidence. Now it's time to make your decision. The defendant stands here accused of destruction of public property, destruction of private property, assault of Mr. Comb and the murders of Mr. Duval and Mr. Silva. The defense alleges that Mr. Lordstone acted on self defense. And it would be true if he used proportional force to defend himself. But what Mr. Lordstone did went way beyond what was reasonable. In the case of the murder of Mr. Duval, you heard Mr. Comb's testimony. The defendant mounted Mr. Duval. He punched his face until it became like this." The prosecutor started his arguments and showed the picture of the robber's deformed face to the jury.

"This is not self defense, ladies and gentlemen. This is textbook excess in defense. He got angry and he killed him. And he was so angry, that when Mr. Comb turned to run away he hunted him down. The only reason he didn't also kill Mr. Comb is because he got a guilty conscious at the time. Which didn't last long. Because a little time later he came and killed Mr. Silva." The prosecutor continued his arguments.

"Mr. Silva was by no way a saint. He was a horrible man. But the duty to punish these men falls on the State and not on an adventurer. Mr. Silva had already surrendered when Mr. Lordstone shot him 13 times. 13 times. It is too much. It's way more than reasonable to defend oneself. Make no mistake, ladies and gentlemen, Matthew killed Mr. Silva in anger and not in self defense. And that's why you should vote to condemn the defendant in the counts of murder and the count of assault. And since both cases were not self defense, the destruction of property should also not be excused." The prosecutor ended his final statement and thanked the jury before getting down from the pulpit.

Vanessa then took the pulpit herself and turned off the television that was still showing the picture of the dead robber to the jury. She took a deep breath and started her final statements:

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Matthew is a survivor. He survived hell itself. He survived a horde of wolves. He survived being stabbed as they were trying to rob him. He survived being beaten half to death to save his friend from a rapist and kidnapper." Vanessa took a time to look at the jurors and see their reactions.

"The prosecution wants you to see him as a wrathful murderer. But in reality he is just an 18 year old kid that chose a dangerous profession and fought desperately to survive. He is no murderer. He was overwhelmed by the demonic mana. It was his only weapon to survive two brutal attacks. And you saw just now, how he can control the cursed mana. He's not a dangerous person. He is just a kid." Vanessa argued looking the jurors in the eyes and gaining their empathy.

"On the death of Mr. Duval, Matthew still had not understand how the demonic mana acts on his body. He didn't even realize he was using it until later. The prosecution wants you to think that punching a man is disproportional to being stabbed. Are you really going to think that? You heard Mr. Comb himself saying that with adventurers you need to use more violence or else you can't properly fight them. It is very clear that this is just a political stunt. You heard Detective Richter say they didn't even think this was worth of prosecution until the kidnapping of Miss Bright was televised." Vanessa said pointing at the prosecution.

"Objection, your honor." The prosecution protested.

"Overruled. This is her final statements, she can bring the political nature of the case here." Judge Johnson ruled.

"On the assault of Mr. Comb. Matthew was just holding a robber in place. A citizen arrest. An adventurer robber. And he used reasonable force to stop an adventurer. He didn't hurt him more than necessary. And on the death of Mr. Silva. You heard yourselves from the mouth of a bystander. Matthew only shot to kill after the man attacked him. The fact of how many shots he used is not relevant to overrule self defense. It was not disproportional, because Mr. Silva was much stronger than him and he had to use all he had to defend himself. And lastly, all the properties that were destroyed, were so during the course of Matthew defending himself, both from the men who were stabbing him and the kidnapper who tried to harm him with a laser beam. I hope you all will vote for Matthew's acquittal on all counts. Thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen." Vanessa finished her final statements.

"May the jury retire, I'll be with you soon." The judge said sending the 5 jurors to another room. "The court is in recess. We'll reconvene after lunch at 1 o'clock for the verdict." He added getting up and going to the same room the jurors went.

"What happens now?" Matthew's mother asked Vanessa as soon as all the other people started to move and each go their separate ways.

"The judge will orient the jurors, help them discuss the case and instruct them on the legal matters they don't understand. After that each juror votes for or against Matthew on each crime he was accused of. We can only wait now." Vanessa explained.

"How about I take you all to lunch them?" Professor Claude said approaching them. "Vanessa did an incredible job. I'm sure they'll acquit Matthew on all counts." Then he turned to Faralynn and Mia who were sitting nearby. "You two come too."

Sarah laughed at Faralynn when she saw her ears twitch in happiness even though her face was still like a statue.

"It's just like Erin said." She whispered to Matthew.

Claude took all of them, Matthew, his parents, Sarah, Vanessa, Faralynn and Mia to a fancy restaurant nearby dodging the press that was waiting outside of court. They all ate, but all of them were too nervous to have a conversation, so they mostly ate in silence.

At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, they were all back in court. With the exception of the second robber, who was taken back to jail, Detective Richter and both coroners, who left as soon as they gave their testimonies. Maria, the paramedic, was still there.

"All rise." The bailiff ordered when the judge and the jurors returned to the room.

"You may sit." The judge said taking his seat. Then he turned to the jurors. "Have you reached a verdict?"

"We have, your honor." Said one of them. Delivering a piece of paper to the bailiff.

"Let's see." Judge Johnson said taking the paper from the bailiff. "On the count of destruction of public property… 5 to 0 for the acquittal." He started reading taking a relieved sigh from Matthew and all his friends and family. "On the count of destruction of private property… 4 to 1 for the acquittal. On the count of assault… 3 to 2 for the acquittal. On the count of murder of Mr. Duval… 3 to 2 for the acquittal. And on the count of murder of Mr. Silva… 5 to 0 for the acquittal."

Vanessa slapped the table in front of her with a huge smile on her face and hugged Matthew. Soon he was being hugged also by his parents and sister.

Judge Johnson allowed them few seconds to celebrate before he called for order.

"Very well, Mr. Lordstone. You are a free man. The court thanks the members of the jury for their time and reminds everyone present about the secrecy of this trial. Do not talk to the press outside until this court publishes the official verdict at which time you may only talk about what is in the published verdict. Case dismissed. You may all go." The judge said getting up and walking away to his chambers.

"We won!" Sarah squealed just to be shushed by Vanessa.

"We can celebrate later." Vanessa added.

"What happens now?" Matthew's father asked.

"The prosecution can appeal, but I doubt there is something they can appeal for. They can't change the findings of the jury, so they can only appeal on formal matters and there wasn't any, in my opinion. But they can always try." She explained. "Let's go home?"

When they all turned to go home, Matthew saw Maria leaving with a smile making a gesture for him to call her. That brought a smile to his face and a frown from Faralynn and Mia. Sarah slapped him on the back of his head.

"Man-whore." She criticized him.

When Matthew got home and fell on his bed, he immediately fell asleep as all the stress of the trial left his body.

"You are a free man".

A huge weight had just lifted from his shoulders.

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