Free Web NovelChapter 94: [94] The Subpoena, A Summons to the Apex Tribunal
The sharp, crisp sound echoed through the newly renovated Mayor’s office. It cut right through the quiet moment Arthur, Cassia, and Vane were sharing.
The heavy wooden doors did not wait for permission to open. They swung inward with a smooth, mechanical hiss. The temp
Instantly, the temperature in the room dropped by ten degrees. The air, which just seconds ago smelled like cheap frontier liquor and ozone, grew completely sterile. It felt heavy with absolute, unyielding law.
Stepping into the office was a tall, incredibly lean man dressed in an immaculate white suit. He held a glowing, silver time-rapier casually at his side.
Inspector Sol.
The cosmic Auditor did not attack. He did not draw his weapon. He simply walked into the room, his face a mask of polite, chilling indifference. In his left hand, he held a tightly rolled, glowing golden scroll.
"Mr. Sterling," Sol said, his voice a calm, measured drone. "I see you have acquired new office space."
Arthur sat behind the heavy mahogany desk. He did not scramble to his feet. He did not reach for the Ebonheart Sword resting against the chair. He simply set his glass of whiskey down on the polished wood.
"I like the view," Arthur replied smoothly. "What brings you back so soon, Inspector? Did I forget to sign a receipt for the Gildas account?"
Cassia reacted instantly. The relaxed, slightly flushed woman from a moment ago vanished. Her rogue instincts flared. She dropped her glass, letting it shatter on the floor, and her hands dropped to her thighs. In a fraction of a second, her customized stun pistols were drawn and aimed directly at the center of Sol’s white suit.
"Take another step, Auditor, and I’ll scramble your internal chronics," Cassia hissed. Her silver eyes were wide and dangerous.
Vane was just as fast. The scarred frontiersman stepped firmly between Arthur’s desk and the door. He gripped the hilt of his massive broadsword with both hands. His muscles tensed, ready to swing. He knew exactly how dangerous Inspector Sol was. He had just watched Arthur get out-fenced by the man.
Sol did not even look at the weapons pointed at him. He kept his eyes locked on Arthur.
"Put the guns away, Cassia," Arthur commanded softly. "Vane, stand down. He is not here to fight."
"He’s an Auditor, Arthur," Vane growled, not moving an inch. "They don’t do house calls just to chat."
Cassia let out an annoyed breath but slowly lowered her pistols. Vane gritted his teeth and rested his broadsword against his shoulder. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Arthur leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "So. What is the scroll for? A bonus check?"
"I am afraid not," Sol replied. He stepped up to the desk and laid the golden scroll on the wood. It pulsed with a heavy, blinding light. "I am here to deliver a formal summons. The High Court of the Omniverse has recognized your hostile takeover of the Margin. They have also reviewed your current ledger."
Arthur looked down at the scroll. The words written on it were not in any human language, but the system in his mind instantly translated the harsh, geometric script.
"They are calling you to the Apex Tribunal, Mr. Sterling," Sol explained, his tone completely devoid of emotion. "You are to answer for your remaining Cosmic Debt. Your system manipulation has been flagged as a critical reality hazard."
Tension spiked in the room all over again.
Cassia let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "The Apex Tribunal? You have got to be kidding me. That is an execution sentence! They don’t give trials there. They give erasures!"
"She is correct," Sol stated plainly. "The Tribunal is presided over by the Prime Auditors. They are entities far older and far stronger than myself. They represent the foundational accounting laws of the entire universe. You have bypassed their systems, Mr. Sterling. You have incurred a debt of nearly nine hundred billion Merit Points. They intend to liquidate your existence to balance the books."
Arthur stared at the golden scroll. He didn’t sweat. He didn’t panic. He analyzed the data.
He was currently operating without his million-fold multiplier. He was restricted to the physical limits of his base stats. He was effectively a mortal man sitting on a debt that could buy and sell a hundred galaxies.
[Ding!]
[Quest Initiated: The Ultimate Audit.]
[Objective: Survive the Apex Tribunal. Defend your legal claim against the Prime Auditors.]
[Reward: Absolute Debt Forgiveness. Total restriction lift on the Cosmic Ledger.]
[Failure: Permanent conceptual erasure.]
Arthur read the blue text hovering in his vision. A slow, predatory smirk stretched across his face.
Absolute Debt Forgiveness.
If he won this, he wouldn’t just be free. He would get his multiplier back. He would get his God-tier stats back. He would own the board again.
"A trial," Arthur mused, picking up the golden scroll. It felt impossibly heavy, like holding a condensed star. "I love trials. It is just another boardroom negotiation."
"Arthur, you can’t go," Vane said, his rough voice tight with genuine concern. "I saw you fight Sol. You barely survived. These Prime Auditors? They will blink you out of reality before you even draw your sword."
"I am not going to fight them with a sword, Vane," Arthur said. "I am going to fight them with their own rules."
"I am going with you," Vane declared, stepping forward. "I am your Head of Security. I’ll act as your sworn second."
Cassia scoffed loudly, holstering her pistols. "Oh, please. You’d just get in the way, farm boy. You’d try to swing that heavy piece of scrap metal at a concept and get us all deleted." She looked at Arthur, her silver eyes sharp. "I know the layout of the High Court. I used to work for these bastards. I am going."
Vane glared at her. "You think you can shoot a Prime Auditor?"
"I think I can find an exit door faster than you can," Cassia shot back.
"Calm down guys," Arthur said. He stood up, adjusting the cuffs of his ruined dark coat. "You are both coming. If I am going to court, I need my legal team."
He looked back at Sol. The Inspector was watching them with mild, calculating curiosity.
"I need to sign this, don’t I?" Arthur asked, tapping the bottom of the glowing scroll.
"A signature of your spiritual intent is required to formally accept the summons," Sol nodded. "If you refuse to sign, I am authorized to execute the penalty tax immediately."
Arthur didn’t ask for a pen. He didn’t use normal ink. He raised his right index finger. He tapped into the deep, foundational energy of his Dimensional Breaker Physique. His fingertip glowed with a pitch-black, chaotic energy.
It was the raw, unfiltered essence of the True Abyss that still lingered in his veins.
He pressed his finger against the glowing golden parchment.
"Ssssss."
The holy starlight fabric of the scroll hissed violently as Arthur dragged his finger across the bottom line. He left a signature of pure, corrosive dark matter burned into the document.
Sol’s eyes widened by a fraction of a millimeter. It was the most emotion the Auditor had shown all day.
"Tell the court I will be there on Monday," Arthur said with a cold, corporate smile. "I have a defense to prepare."
Sol slowly rolled up the corrupted scroll. He gave a stiff, formal bow.
"I will inform the Prime Auditors," Sol said. "Good luck, Mr. Sterling. You are going to need it."
The Inspector stepped backward. The air folded around him, creating a smooth geometric tear in reality. He stepped through the portal and vanished, leaving the office in silence.
The ambient temperature of the room slowly returned to normal. The heavy, oppressive weight of the universal law lifted.
Vane let out a long breath and ran a hand over his scarred face. "This is insane. We are going to a trial rigged by Gods."
"It’s only rigged if you don’t know the dealer," Cassia said, leaning against the wall. She looked at Arthur. "So, Boss. You accepted a trial where the judges are also the executioners. What exactly is the defense strategy here?"
Arthur walked out from behind the desk. He picked up his Ebonheart Sword and strapped it to his back.
"We need leverage," Arthur stated flatly. "You don’t walk into a courtroom to defend yourself. You walk into a courtroom to destroy the prosecution. If the Prime Auditors want to look at my ledger, I want to look at theirs."
"You want to audit the Auditors?" Vane asked, completely baffled.
"Exactly," Arthur smirked. "Cassia. Where do they keep their old files?"
Cassia’s eyes lit up with sudden, wicked understanding. "The Archives of Eternity. It’s an information vault on the edge of the Frontier. It holds the transactional history of every deity in side the Omniverse."
"Get your selves ready," Arthur ordered, walking toward the door. "We’re going to the library to dig up some dirt."
