Chapter 8: Underground Ruins × Officer Sanli

Hundred-Ring Island lies at the very center of Lake Nies, located within a nature reserve outside Loy City. Aside from the central island, Hundred-Ring Island is ringed by thirty-seven layers of circular reefs, from which it derives its name.

Beneath the central island, Dia and Cheadle walked one after the other through an underground passage. The tunnel was lit only by rudimentary lights, and the surrounding walls were built from ancient-looking bluestone.

Back on the airship, Cheadle had explained why she chose him for this task. Her reasoning: "No reason. The originally scheduled clerk had an issue, and a last-minute replacement was needed. You happened to call right at that moment, so I vouched for you to the judge as our court clerk."

This was a lie. In truth, the role of a court clerk in these proceedings was far more significant than Dia imagined. Because both the judge and the legal scholar were strictly forbidden from taking any written notes during the Secret Tribunal, all case records for archival purposes relied entirely on the clerk’s transcript. If the record was flawed, the consequences were severe.

When the original clerk had bowed out, the judge found himself unable to nominate anyone he trusted and had asked Cheadle for a recommendation. She had considered many people, all capable and trustworthy, but there was virtually no one available who could drop their work and arrive here on such short notice.

Then, Dia’s call came through.

In a split second, she had weighed the logic of appointing Dia as the clerk and concluded it was worth a shot. She had watched Dia as a student since he first enrolled and knew him intimately after taking him under her wing. This led Cheadle to trust him. By doing this, she ensured the Secret Tribunal could proceed, while simultaneously offering a helping hand to a talented, albeit unfortunate, student.

It was a win-win.

Dia, of course, was oblivious to the backstory. He was busy marveling at how the underside of Hundred-Ring Island was a world unto itself; the choice of location for the Secret Tribunal was certainly unique.

The duo walked through the long corridor and emerged into a spacious room the size of a basketball court. Four tunnels were sealed off by iron gates at the room's perimeter, and in the center sat a makeshift, small-scale courtroom. It had no jury box and no public gallery. Facing the entrance was a long table, the judge's bench, while to the left were two tables reserved for the court clerk and the legal scholar. On the right was the bailiff's area, large enough for three officers, and directly opposite the judge’s bench, near the entrance, was a prisoner's dock enclosed by iron bars.

The courtroom was currently empty. Cheadle directed Dia to the clerk's seat. Seeing Dia's curiosity about the space, she explained, "This is a ruin left behind by an ancient kingdom. It hasn't been made public yet. It's likely been cleared of dangerous species and valuable artifacts, and it should be opened to the public after this trial concludes."

Dia looked at the iron gates on the other three walls and asked curiously, "What’s behind those doors?"

"I don't know. Perhaps other entrances. I only heard about this place from a colleague who studies ruins." Cheadle shook her head. Recalling something unpleasant, she added, "Tribunal proceedings are different from lab reports. You must be strictly factual when recording. Use the format I told you on the airship; this should be well within your capabilities."

As she finished speaking, footsteps echoed at the room's entrance. A few people filed in, led by an elderly man followed by a sturdy man wearing strange shackles, with two armed bailiffs flanking them.

The old man walked straight to Cheadle and offered a smiling handshake. "Miss Cheadle, it’s good to see you. I’m relying on you for legal oversight this time."

Cheadle shook his hand perfunctorily, exchanged a few vapid pleasantries, and then pivoted to introduce Dia. "This is the clerk I recommended over the phone, my student, Dia Diego."

Turning to Dia, Cheadle added, "Dia, this is Judge Bell Connor."

Dia smiled and stepped forward to shake his hand, expressing his pleasure at meeting him. Judge Bell then handed Cheadle a bound booklet and turned to signal the bailiffs to prepare for the start of the session. Dia noticed the cover of the booklet bore only the label "B-11."

Swish!

Cheadle opened the booklet and began flipping through it at an astonishing speed. Just as Dia wondered if it was even possible to read at that velocity, Cheadle finished and handed the booklet to him.

Judge Bell paused, looking surprised at Cheadle’s gesture. Cheadle-san trusts this student quite a bit. He thought this because the clerk's role was strictly to record; they rarely read the trial files, as doing so could introduce subjectivity into an irrational clerk’s record. Cheadle’s move showed she believed Dia was capable of rational, objective documentation.

Dia remained entirely ignorant of Cheadle's trust. He had no realization that, as a student, he held actual weight in Cheadle’s eyes. After all, in the memories of the original Diego, he had simply been a student who buried himself in lab work for four years until graduation, at which point he didn't want to do it anymore. To him, Cheadle was merely a brilliant academic who treated him well, nothing more.

Put simply, there was a discrepancy between how a Hunter and a commoner interpreted the term "master and apprentice."

Dia flipped through the booklet, page by page, his brow furrowing. A large amount of confidential information had been redacted with black bars, leaving very little accessible data.

First, the prisoner: a man named Sanli, a high-ranking officer in the Mimbo Republic’s National Defense Forces, arrested for stealing state secrets and leaking them to foreign powers. As for the secrets themselves... the file only mentioned the location of an ancient ruin.

Secondly, the prisoner had been a "Combat Hero" honored by the entire nation prior to his arrest, which was precisely why he wasn't being subjected to a public trial.

Finally, the motive: allegedly, he had grown resentful due to an inability to obtain a promotion, and combined with debts from gambling, he had taken the risk. The reason he hadn't been promoted was explicitly documented as well, a prior conviction for embezzlement, which caused him to fail his political security clearance.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

As Judge Bell struck the gavel, the preparations were complete. Cheadle sat upright, hands on the file. Dia picked up his pen and began recording the time.

Judge Bell gave a light cough and began reading the charges:

"We are now commencing the secret trial of the prisoner and former high-ranking officer of the Mimbo Republic’s National Defense Forces, Sanli Wyndham. The charge is… Tax Evasion!"

Wait. Is that right?

Dia looked up at the judge, confused.

Chapter 9: Sudden Outbreak × Trapped

"Tax evasion?"

Colluding with a hostile power, trafficking state secrets, any of these charges would be far more severe than this. Besides, since when did his clandestine activities require tax reporting? Trafficking national secrets?

Dia had been a law student in his previous life, and the moment he heard the charge, his instincts screamed that something was wrong. Though his mind raced with questions, his hand never stopped recording.

Cheadle, meanwhile, remained utterly composed, a slight smile fixed on her face as she straightened her posture and began to interpret the statutes: "According to Article 402 of the Criminal Code of the Mimbo Republic, taxpayers... citing the precedent from the public trial at the Kalabira City Court on July 18, 1978, as well as..."

"That concludes the statutory text and case law citations. I request the judge to cross-examine."

Judge Bell produced the materials and began reading the evidence: "The prisoner, a former high-ranking officer of the Mimbo Republic’s National Defense Forces, organized a Mahjong gambling session at his home on April 15, 1987... The prisoner won 1,700 Jenny from foreign trade merchant Laka Bouquier and failed to report the corresponding tax to the relevant authorities afterwards..."

Dia calmly and rapidly transcribed the proceedings. He had a premonition that this trial would be over in less than half an hour. The reason lay in the "Four-Three-One" principle. The judge had already completed the two phases of "stating the claim" and "supervising the cross-examination." If things moved swiftly, the next step was effectively the sentencing.

One might wonder: between the claim and the cross-examination, was there no defense?

Dia cast a subtle glance at the sturdy man with short hair. He had been silent since the moment they entered, head hanging so low that Dia could barely see his expression. If Dia’s hunch was correct, the prisoner’s tongue had either been severed or his vocal cords destroyed. After all, the Secret Tribunal judged "criminals," not "suspects." Who knew what dangerous information might slip out if they were allowed to speak?

"...Judgment is rendered immediately. Death penalty, to be carried out forthwith!"

As Judge Bell brought his gavel down, it seemed the matter was settled. Cheadle neatly packed away her legal documents, tilting her head to watch Dia frantically scribbling away. Judge Bell let out a long breath, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Just then, a jarring sound cut through the air.

"Heh heh heh... You lapdogs have no idea what’s happening..."

The prisoner, Officer Sanli, who hadn't uttered a sound from start to finish, suddenly let out a cold, rasping laugh.

Bell’s pupils contracted; his nerves, finally beginning to relax, snapped back into a state of high tension. "You... you aren't..."

"Not tongue-less? Hehe... You think I can't talk without a tongue?" Officer Sanli opened his mouth in a defiant display. In the space where his tongue should have been, a strange, thick slug had taken its place!

A crazed smile stretched across his face as he shrieked, "Kakin paid me far more than you ever did! I fought and bled for this country over a hundred times, and you respond by cutting out my tongue?!"

The atmosphere shifted instantly. His expression turned chilling and desperate, his voice dropping to a low, guttural tone: "I know I’m not walking out of here alive, but you lapdogs aren't escaping either!"

The scent of death!

Dia’s internal alarms blared. His entire body surged with the Ripple. Something is coming!

"Uraaaaaa—!!"

Officer Sanli suddenly tilted his head back and let out a harrowing cry. Scarlet light bled from his facial orifices. The slug in his mouth snapped its eyes open, crawled out, and erupted with a terrifying, malicious Nen!

Then, Sanli’s body began to swell rapidly, like a balloon about to burst!

At the eleventh hour!

"The World!"

"Stop time for me!!"

Dia roared internally, summoning his Stand without a moment’s hesitation. But just as he activated the ability, he saw a white-gloved hand shielding him.

Whirr!!

The world drained of color. Dia’s spirit was pushed to its absolute limit in the face of death; his perceived time slowed to a crawl, mirroring the frozen world outside. He felt as though he were submerged in liquid mercury, every movement was agonizingly, excruciatingly slow.

Did I just enter 'bullet time' during the time-stop?

He looked past the white glove. A figure clad in a white sterile suit stood to his right, locked in a desperate lunging posture. From this angle, he could only see the back of the head, but Dia recognized the identity instantly: Cheadle!

In the instant before the threat of death arrived, Cheadle, whose reaction speed far surpassed Dia's, had made two decisive moves. First, she activated her ability, Doctor Yorkshire, summoning her sterile suit. Then, instead of retreating to avoid the obvious impending explosion, she thought of her student: Dia! He has no Nen!

Realizing Dia's peril, Cheadle had lunged in front of him with incredible speed. Simultaneously, her aura began to flow at high velocity; her calm Ten flared into a powerful Ren in 0.1 seconds, and almost as quickly, the explosive Ren condensed into a thick, protective Ken!

I have to block the frontal impact, or Dia is dead for sure...

Cheadle gritted her teeth, regretting that she had brought him here. She didn't know Dia’s current situation, but she knew that if he died here, it would be a sin she would carry to her grave.

In this state where time seemed to have paused forever, Dia remained as calm as a bystander. Cheadle... she came to protect me?

Within the 0.7 seconds of the time-stop, Dia slammed his center of gravity down and executed a fluid, knee-bending backflip; the chair behind him shattered into splinters upon impact. At the same time, he commanded The World to grab Cheadle by the back of the neck, dragging her backward into the air with him!

In that 0.7 seconds, they soared out of the explosive epicenter!

BOOM!!!

A terrifying crimson light swallowed Judge Bell and the bailiffs before they could react. Dia and Cheadle, having leaped out of the core expansion zone, were spared from the initial blast.

But the subsequent explosion fermented rapidly within the confined space, evolving into a cataclysmic shockwave that slammed directly into Cheadle, who had been shielding Dia!

Outside the time-stop, Cheadle felt her perception shift instantly. The crimson light, which had been inches away, suddenly shifted back a significant distance. Then, a horrific impact struck her chest; her vision went black as she was sent flying backward at an incredible velocity.

Ripple!!

Behind her, Dia had his arms crossed in front of him, channeling the Ripple with everything he had! After the first wave of the impact was absorbed by Cheadle, the remaining shockwave, along with the "sterile-suited" Cheadle herself, slammed into him.

Dia was sent flying backward at a terrifying speed. By sheer luck, he collided with the iron gate on the wall behind him, crushing it into a lump of scrap metal as he was launched into the dark, deep tunnel beyond.

CRASH! BOOM!

Cracks raced like spiderwebs across the walls of the room. The shockwaves curled back, colliding with one another in a series of thunderous roars. The high-heat gases in the claustrophobic space caused the walls to crumble inch by inch, the sheer power of the blast shredding the stone.

The courtroom collapsed instantly. Millions of tons of earth and rock from above poured down, burying the tunnel entrance and the room beneath it in a tomb of stone...

Chapter 10: Doctor Yorkshire × A Borrowed Power

"Cough, cough... My back..."

Having been sent flying by the shockwave and Cheadle’s protective lunge, Dia felt like he’d been airborne for at least five seconds before gravity finally reclaimed him. Without a proper way to break his fall, he landed hard on his back, and it felt as if he’d been struck by an ice cream truck. He let out a groan worthy of a comic book hero.

It was a blessing that Cheadle was small and light; any heavier, and he surely would have snapped a few ribs. Dia propped himself up and immediately channeled his Ripple breathing to dampen the agony. In such a confined space, the intensity of the explosion was more than double what it would have been in the open air. Had Cheadle not shielded him with her Ken at the last second, he’d either be dead or missing half his life.

After catching his breath, he began to survey his surroundings. He was in a tunnel, illuminated not by electricity, but by faint, bioluminescent moss clinging to the walls. The hole he’d been blasted through was completely sealed by a mountain of rubble. More unsettling than the darkness was the palpable, invisible aura of malice leaking through the cracks in the stones.

I can't stay here long!

He grabbed Cheadle, hoisted her onto his back, and began to head deeper into the tunnel. It was only then that he noticed her sterile suit had deactivated, indicating she was unconscious.

Oh, crap. Please don't be dead, teach!

Dia felt a surge of panic. He kept a firm grip on her arms, silently channeling his Ripple into her body while gritting his teeth and pressing forward. Because she’d absorbed the brunt of the blast, he had no idea how long she’d be out. Bombs in this world were often illogical, even an entity as powerful as the Chimera Ant King could be felled by a Rose; Cheadle’s desperate, hurried defense might have been fatal.

Unbeknownst to him, Cheadle was merely in a light coma. In her half-dreaming state, she felt a surge of heat flooding her body, her cells suddenly bursting with activity. Moments later, her mind sharpened, and she snapped her eyes open.

Why am I... shaking?

What greeted her gaze was astonishing: she was clinging to Dia’s neck while he was trudging along, carrying her on his back!

Dia, eyes fixed on the path ahead, sensed the movement. He tilted his head, and locked eyes with a pair of large, emerald-green eyes staring at him in utter disbelief.

Cheadle: "?"

She's alive!

The weight lifted from Dia’s heart. He exhaled sharply and let go of her arms. With his release, Cheadle naturally slid to the ground. A Hunter’s instincts took over, and she stabilized herself the moment her boots touched the stone. Her brilliant mind, momentarily rattled, quickly regained its composure. As she realized Dia was still very much alive and kicking, she felt a wave of relief.

Good, he didn't die.

She immediately scanned their surroundings, memories of the explosion rushing back. She consciously decided to seal away the memory of being carried like a child. That was never to be spoken of again.

With practiced calm, she checked their injuries. Thanks to her Ken, she was largely unscathed, merely winded from the concussion. What surprised her, however, was that Dia, too, was relatively unharmed. Did I really block that much of the blast?

She didn't have time to dwell on it. A jolt of alarm hit her as she noticed the black Nen swirling around them.

Post-Mortem Nen!

The experienced Hunter identified the malice instantly. Terrified by the implications, she grabbed Dia and retreated, immediately re-activating her ability: Doctor Yorkshite. The snow-white sterile suit manifested around her. Only after confirming she was shielded did she breathe a sigh of relief, until she looked over and saw Dia standing there, unprotected, completely unfazed by the presence of the Post-Mortem Nen.

Cheadle looked at him in total shock. "Dia... do you feel any discomfort?"

Dia, assuming she meant physical injury, launched into the story he’d already prepared about the Ripple. "Cheadle-sensei, remember the new discovery I mentioned on the phone? This is it."

He clenched his fists, and golden arcs of electricity danced over his skin. To Cheadle’s amazement, the clinging black Nen dissolved like snow under a summer sun wherever the golden energy touched it.

"When I was shipwrecked, I woke up discovering that if I maintained a specific type of breathing, I could generate this energy. It accelerates my recovery and heightens my resilience, but it consumes a massive amount of stamina to maintain!"

Dia spun his tale of the Ripple. Cheadle went from stunned to contemplative; she knew this kid was weaving a blend of truth and lies, but realizing the stamina toll was draining him, she knew she had to help him shake the Post-Mortem Nen before he collapsed.

"Since time is short, we must be swift!" Cheadle declared, her tone stern. "Dia, I don't know how much you understand about 'Post-Mortem Nen,' but believe me, you are in grave danger! Do exactly as I say. I’m going to save you!"

Without waiting for a response, she activated another one of her abilities, [Scribe Yorkshire].

With a flare of aura, an ancient, primitive-looking book appeared in her left hand, and a quill in her right.

If I use my current Nen reserves, I can't guarantee the ability will hold for six hours... I'll have to borrow 75% of my future self's Nen, at the cost of being in Zetsu for twelve hours...

She scribbled furiously on the parchment, signed her name twice, and signed again at the bottom. A surge of terrifying power radiated from her, a Ren so intense that even Dia, who couldn't see aura, felt the crushing weight of her presence.

"Sign your name in the bottom left. First or last name is fine, as long as you intend to do so willingly." She shoved the book toward him, her tone brook no argument.

What is this? A soul contract?

Dia glanced at the text: "The Contractor Cheadle Yorkshire agrees to lend 50% of her Nen to the Contractor Dia Diego, and agrees to share the usage rights of Doctor Yorkshire for a duration of 6 hours."

Dia realized instantly this was a Nen contract. There were no obvious pitfalls. He didn't hesitate. He signed. If she wanted him dead, she could have done it without the theatrics. The moment he signed, the book and quill dissolved into white light.

An overwhelming flood of unknown energy surged through him!

This is Nen! What an incredible amount!

Dia was nearly intoxicated by the sheer volume of power. Unlike the Ripple, which felt warm and healing, this energy carried a sense of indomitable will.

"Don't just stand there! Activate the ability! It should be as simple as instinct!" Cheadle warned, sensing her own reserves drop by half.

Her words snapped him out of his trance. Like an instinct rediscovered, he allowed his aura to flow, and in a heartbeat, a sterile white suit manifested over his body.

The suffocating malice vanished.

This is Cheadle’s Hatsu? It can defend against Post-Mortem Nen?

Dia was stunned. In the original series, Post-Mortem Nen was notoriously difficult to remove without a specialist; a rare commodity indeed.

"I’m only lending you this power; I’ll reclaim it in six hours," Cheadle said, her tone serious once more. "But you’ve gained the ability to manipulate Nen through this contract. Nen is dangerous; misuse it, and it will harm you as much as it harms others. Once we’re out of here, you will begin systematic training in Nen theory and application."

Dia nodded eagerly. That was exactly what he’d come for.

Cheadle turned to the surrounding darkness, her mind racing. As she combed through the events, her brow furrowed. Everything had spiraled out of control the moment that officer started speaking. Questions were mounting, and she needed to find a way out, but first, she had to consider who might be coming for them, and why the situation had been so meticulously rigged.