Utopian System

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: System's Judgment

Elio looked at Cassandra, then at the crowd, and back to Cassandra.

A cold smile formed on his lips.

"If you like the idea of sacrifices so much, Cassandra, then you'll be the first."

With a movement of his hand, the large carbon stake transformed, twisting and molding until it formed a giant hand. The carbon fingers closed around Cassandra's body, leaving her suspended in the air, exposed before the entire plaza. Her rabbit familiar, powerless against Wide Guard's influence, could only watch in horror.

"You wanted sacrifices?" Elio's voice was cold, devoid of all emotion. "Here's one."

The carbon hand began to close slowly. At first, Cassandra tried to maintain her dignity, gritting her teeth to avoid screaming. But as the pressure increased, the pain became unbearable.

Her first scream resonated in the silent plaza, making many shudder. But Elio didn't stop. The hand kept squeezing, slowly and inexorably.

Between gasps and screams of pain, Cassandra managed to articulate: "Elio! You promised... Fathoran... that you wouldn't kill... his descendants!"

For a moment, the pressure decreased slightly. Elio looked at Cassandra, his eyes cold and calculating.

"You're right, Cassandra," Elio replied, his voice calm but charged with barely contained fury. "I promised I wouldn't hold a grudge against Fathoran's family for the crimes of a few. But this isn't for Fathoran's crimes."

The pressure began to increase again, eliciting another heart-wrenching scream from Cassandra.

"This," Elio continued, "is for your own crime. For the deaths you've caused today. And above all, for targeting my family!"

Cassandra's screams became more desperate, more agonizing. Some in the crowd looked away, unable to bear the sight. Others watched with horror and morbid fascination.

"Your great-great-grandfather made his own mistakes," Elio said, his voice barely audible over Cassandra's screams. "But you've chosen your own path. And that path ends here..."

"This woman," he continued, pointing at Cassandra, "has tried to divide you. She's tried to use your fears and doubts to turn you against everything we've built together."

The crowd murmured, some with shame, others with fear.

"Look at her," Elio demanded. "Look at her and ask yourselves: is it worth destroying everything we are for the words of someone who was willing to take innocent hostages to get what she wants? I'm sure some of those I saved are relatives of someone here."

"Mercy!" Cassandra finally screamed, all her arrogance gone, replaced by pure terror. "Please, Elio, mercy!"

But Elio remained impassive.

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His eyes, cold and hard as steel, didn't leave Cassandra as life slowly left her.

"It's Von Elio for you."

With a final, horrifying crunch, Cassandra's body yielded to the pressure. Her final scream was drowned in a bloody gurgle, and then... silence.

The carbon hand opened, dropping Cassandra's broken body to the plaza floor. The dull thud of the impact seemed to awaken the crowd from their horrified trance.

Elio turned to them, his eyes scanning each face. "Is this what you want?" His voice was low, but laden with an implicit threat. "Sacrifices? Well, those who want to be sacrificed can step forward."

No one moved. The silence in the plaza was so deep you could have heard a pin drop.

"No volunteers?" Elio smiled, but it was a smile devoid of humor. "What a surprise. It seems sacrifices aren't so attractive when you're the ones on the firing line, are they?"

He took a step forward, and the crowd instinctively stepped back.

"Let this serve as a lesson. I won't tolerate any more nonsense, more internal fights, more idiocy based on rumors and lies. The next time someone wants to play at sacrifices, let them remember Cassandra's fate."

"I just gave you everything," he began, his tone low but penetrating, "and you're already being this ungrateful." His eyes scanned the stunned faces of the citizens. "It seems Cassandra was right about something: the city needs to know 'sacrifice'."

A murmur of unease ran through the crowd, but no one dared to speak. Elio continued, his voice rising with each word.

"I gave you cores to help defend the city, and what do you do? You use them for selfish purposes." The disappointment in his voice was palpable. "Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe you're not ready for so much responsibility."

Elio paused, his eyes burning with anger and resolution. "I won't give you any more cores. I won't give you anything else if this is what you will do with it. You shame me."

The crowd stirred uneasily, some lowering their gaze in shame, others looking with fear and confusion.

"If you don't know what to do with it... I'll take away your freed-" Elio began, but was interrupted by Lucien's sudden arrival.

The Summoner landed softly next to Elio, his face a mask of concern and sadness. "Von Elio," he said softly, but firmly, "please, allow me to speak."

Elio, surprised by the interruption, nodded briefly.

"I apologize for allowing things to get out of control. And on behalf of all those who acted wrongly today, I ask forgiveness from Von Elio and those who remained faithful!"

He bent down to pick up a book that Cassandra had dropped in her final moments. "Von Elio," he said, showing him the tome, "it seems there are things we didn't know. This is the Creator's diary. It's possible that Cassandra found some way to manipulate people here."

Elio looked at the book, his anger slowly giving way to curiosity. He took the tome from Lucien's hands, briefly leafing through it.

"I understand your anger," Lucien continued, his voice softer now. "But remember why we fight. Why you've done everything you've done."

Lucien's words seemed to have an effect. The tension in Elio's shoulders began to decrease, his breathing becoming calmer.

Finally, Elio nodded. He turned to the crowd, his voice more controlled now. "Soldiers," he ordered, "arrest the troublemakers. They'll be detained for now until we decide what to do with them."

The soldiers, who now formed the vast majority of those present thanks to the reinforcements that kept arriving, began to move among the crowd, arresting those who had actively participated in the riot.

Elio observed the process for a moment before addressing the crowd again. "As for the rest of you," he said, his voice tired but firm, "civilians who didn't participate in this... incident, return to your homes. I need time to think about what has happened today."

People began to disperse slowly, murmurs of confusion and fear still audible among the crowd.

"Tomorrow," Elio continued, "I'll give a new announcement. After having decided the fate of the troublemakers and considered the implications of what has happened today."

As the plaza emptied, Elio turned to Lucien. "Thank you," he said quietly. "For stopping me before I said something... irreversible."

Lucien nodded solemnly. "It's my duty, not just as your ally, but as your friend. I know that what you saw today shook you deeply… It was the same for me."

Elio looked at the book in his hands, then at Cassandra's body, and finally at the plaza that was now emptying. Wide Guard trumpeted softly, as if offering comfort to its master.