Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

A total of seven rank seven Guardians was far more than a region like the Grand Dutchies would normally be deemed worthy of, but with all the problems that they had been causing, it seemed that the Continental Representatives had gotten sick of their nonsense and had brought in the big guns.

They were also a major producer of advanced technology, or were before they started to run out of resources. But as the number of magical beings in the region increased, they would be able to begin again, using Earth Magic to substitute for the majority of the raw materials.

Perhaps that was what had the Demons and the Fae so excited about the aggressive nation. While other human countries had streamlined their production facilities over the decades, the Grand Dutchies had kept facilities for all sorts of military equipment and aircraft available and maintained.

So, with the strong council overseeing the nation now, they had split access to all that the Grand Dutchies were capable of.

Wolfe wondered how long it would be before they came across the stockpile of Null Stone.

That reminded him that the off world faction had access to a magical item that did nearly the same thing, and that it would be incredibly dangerous to anyone who came across them.

But they would have to wait for a little bit until the issues with the last of the rebel villages could be dealt with.

Whether the territories would choose to rejoin Morgana Coven was unknown, but Wolfe somehow doubted it. Now that they had a taste of independent living, they were unlikely to want to give it up. Even if they mostly got weaker protectors at Rank Four, that was enough to generally keep their villages safe, so there was no incentive to beg Reiko and her Council for anything.

If anything, they might be convinced to rejoin the Coven's magical link, as a way of keeping in touch with the auras of the other witches. The sense of solidarity across large areas made them feel a bit more in touch with nature, or so Wolfe had heard.

The witches of Forest Grove were mostly linked through the Servant Bonds, which gave a stronger sense of solidarity, so the distance that they covered didn't matter as much.

Plus, Forest Grove was much more natural than the villages were, and the Fortress City couldn't even dream of competing. Not even after the renovation was completed.

The Demon finished his speech, while the residents of the city panicked about who was going to end up in jail now that they couldn't count on their backers at home, but Wolfe had other matters to attend to.

"Thank you, Representative. I will arrange for a group from Forest Grove to accompany you to clear the remaining enclaves of criminality and bring relative lawfulness back to the territory. Please take a seat to the side, as we finish this trial for the officers in charge of the nearby cities." Wolfe announced.

The Demon looked a bit confused at the lack of people on defence, but he couldn't know that a large portion of the worst offenders were already gone. He would know that the locals were taking the petty criminals to task, though. There was no way that he missed that on the way in.

"Is there anyone who has evidence to give of a crime that has not yet been detailed?" Wolfe asked, with the speaker on to address the crowd.

There was a brief pause, and then one young woman stepped forward toward the stage. Upon seeing her, one of the assistants, a man who had accompanied the trial not as a defendant but as their legal counsel, turned incredibly pale and began to tremble in fear.

The scent of fear caught the Demon's attention right away, and the Grand Dutchies' Guardian turned to stare the man down.

What came next should have been completely predictable, but the sudden change caught both Wolfe and the Guardian by surprise. The man flipped open his briefcase and drew a pistol, aiming it at the woman, but freezing before he could pull the trigger.

Wolfe tossed a gravity barrier over the assailant, bringing him to his knees and pinning his hands to the ground. That disabled the weapon, but Kind Intentions didn't prevent self harm the same as it did harm to others, especially when the person in question truly believed that it was the better route.

So, with the crack of a glass vial, the man began to froth at the mouth before collapsing.

"Cassie, heal him, please. Preferably before he's completely dead." Wolfe instructed.

Cassie smiled and healed the man, cleansing the poison that he had tried to kill himself with. He sat up with a gasp and a mournful wail, while the woman glared at him.

"I get the feeling that you really deserve to be dead. However, that is not how the court works. You had your chance last night, and I didn't try to stop any of you. But now that you're here, and there is a witness, you don't get off so easy, or with your reputation intact." Wolfe informed the man in a dry tone.

The witness detailed a long story of the most horrific types of abuse, during which the man simply cried and pleaded for mercy. What he didn't know was that his pleading was inaudible to the audience, Cassie had cast a one way soundproof barrier over him so she didn't have to hear his excuses.

Once she finished her testimony, Wolfe motioned for Ella to take her off the stand and into a private room to recover from her recounting, while Cassie took the spell off the defendant.

"Is there anything you have to say in your defence?" Wolfe asked.

"It was all within the law. Every bit of it. They were property, I could do what I wanted. I know it was wrong but..."

That was as far as he got before the General drew his sidearm and shot him clean through the temple.

"What the hell was that?" Wolfe demanded.

"Putting him out of my misery. I learned a valuable lesson about your spell, Saint Noxus. If a punishment is deserved and all parties acknowledge it, there is nothing stopping it from being carried out. By Grand Dutchies law, he deserved death for what he did. He knew none of it was legal, even the treatment of enslaved people has standards." The General replied with dignity.

Wolfe sighed. He was going to have to rework the spell if the loopholes were so obvious. But then, how often did someone actually manage to commit a capital crime once the barrier was in place?

However, putting him out of your misery? Didn't that just mean you were sick of listening to him? Wolfe was pretty sure that was not how that phrase went.