Chapter 1

The sentence was spoken quietly, with a businesslike lack of emotion. The courtroom was large and sterile. The ghostly holograms of seven judges glowed in the semidarkness, staring down at the accused from their high seats. The atmosphere would be more suited to a meeting of some evil organization or a secret society rather than a court hearing. “This is a decision issued by the state,” one of the hologram men said gravely. It wasn’t a fair trial. The prosecutor was absent. The defendant didn’t have an attorney. Other than the seven judges and the defendant, there was only one more person present—a spectator. No one could raise objections or ask to cross-examine any witnesses. The judges announced their verdict, and that was it. This hearing gave the judiciaries absolute power, which violated the separation of powers in the Japanese constitution, but this particular case was beyond the judicial process. The sentence could not be appealed. “…” The defendant, confined in a transparent prison cell at the center of the courtroom, was silent. She didn’t show any sign of defiance. But she probably couldn’t. The temperature in that miniature prison was –60°C. No human could survive such extreme cold, yet the defendant was still alive. Based on this, it could be inferred that she was not human. However, that was already apparent due to…certain parts of her anatomy. The defendant, sealed in that icy prison, wasn’t even allowed to hear her sentence. The girl looked as if she was in her midteens. At that age, she shouldn’t even have been tried in court; she’d be protected by Japanese law as a minor. She had long, beautiful hair and a pretty face. In her piercingly cold cell, she was like an impossibly perfect ice sculpture. They had put her in a straitjacket, which was fastened with multiple belts, depriving her of both freedom and dignity. In that frigid jail cell, the girl was robbed of all but her beauty, which nothing could diminish. The girl did look quite human, but she was, in fact, a dragon. “Please hold off on the execution!” shouted the lone spectator, a girl in a white lab coat. “Give me just a little more time—that’s all I’m asking for!” The spectator’s plea sounded as desperate as if she was a proxy of the silenced dragon girl. The holographic men were unmoved. “It was none other than you, Akeda, who recorded an analysis of her destructive potential when out of control.” “You are correct.” “And you have concluded that she has the ability to destroy the twenty largest nations in the world. From our point of view, the erasure of modern civilizations equals the erasure of humanity.” “That certainly is a valid interpretation, but—” “We fully understand the subject is a precious resource we could possibly use to our advantage, and we admit that our decision dishonorably violates human rights. Indeed, destroying this resource will put us, the Calamity Research Institute, at a disadvantage against the Order,” the hologram continued. “However, the risk to humanity outweighs the potential gains. We have a duty to protect our species, even if it means extinguishing the life of this young person.” “…” The girl in the lab coat fell silent, unable to argue with the Special Calamity Prevention Research Institute’s reasoning, even as her heart screamed that it wasn’t right. “If only there was some miraculous method of preventing this danger…,” another one of the hologram men remarked offhandedly. “A miraculous method…,” the girl in the lab coat repeated, thinking. “If we found someone with a Sacred Sealing Ring, for example?” Her suggestion was met with laughter. “A Sacred Sealing Ring? You’d have an easier time finding a needle in a haystack. A miracle like that simply isn’t going to happen. You should be smart enough not to cling to such foolish hopes.” The girl said nothing. “Are there no further objections?” one of the judges asked, knowing full well that there wouldn’t be any. “The execution will be carried out by guillotine in twenty-four hours.” The courtroom was silent for a few moments. “By guillotine?” one of the hologram men asked with distaste. “It horrifies me to think of executing a young lady in such a way.” “It may be customary, but guillotine has an unnecessarily cruel ring to it, doesn’t it?” “Your concerns are misplaced. An execution is an execution.” Even though some of the judges pitied the dragon girl, nothing could be done to change the sentence. “This court session is over. You may leave.” The ghostly holograms of the judges vanished, leaving only the two girls in the room. The girl in the lab coat crumpled to her knees. She placed her hands on the dragon girl’s icy cell, which emitted a faint blue glow. “I’m sorry.” The girl’s voice was tinged with regret. “I’m sorry, Rinne. I couldn’t save you…” The dragon girl couldn’t hear her voice, but she felt the vibrations of footsteps as she was carried to the guillotine.