" No not that one. Go to the side one"
"This one? Don't want It, looks lame as hell."
"Will it hurt you to take my advice seriously?"
"Will it hurt you to give good advice!?"
So about the so called support.. it has only been a few minutes but both eclipse and Argus are already at eachother's throats, ready to jump at each other because of their preferences towards the class they wanted to select.
Argus himself wanted to take the stowaway class but Eclipse insisted that he take the burden. This differences led to a heated argument where both were arguing for the class they wanted.
" A 50% decrease in stats? You expect me to become weak as hell in this infested forest?" Argus asked his new partner with a contempt filled gaze as he points at the spirit.
On the other hand, Eclipse felt like he was talking to a fool who only cared about the present and retorted " Do you have any idea of what a threefold boost to learning can do? People will die if they heard you talking about this."
They both glare at each other in silence, sparks coming out of their eyes as regretted agreeing to a alliance just few minutes ago.
Just when the tension was reaching it's peaks, They both sensed something amiss and were drowned from a wave of hostility from outside.
Before he could say anything, Argus was thrown back to his body and stumbled. A few seconds later he pushed himself up from the ground, took the scroll and cautiously begin walking out.
"Is it sunrise already? The time conversion ratio is very unfa- holy hell.", Coming out of the cave, Argus found himself as witness of a disaster he didn't expect in the least.
If he was asked to describe the scene in front of him then there will only be one answer he could say. A hell.
The entire forest as far as he could see was burning like a bonfire with not a single spot left untouched. The ground and tree were scorched to charcoal, the spiders running for their lives as the website did nothing but feed the fire even more.
But it was no normal fire either as it was a flame the colour of dark purple, a hellish inferno consuming everything in it's path as there was nothing left wherever it went.
Hiss
A sound reaches Argus's ears from right behind him, a sound of something scorching and he turned around to bear witness to a pair of narrow slitted eyes glaring right into his face.
He felt fear, extreme fear. He tried to move but his body felt rigid as if made of stone, completely paralysed from the fear as the monster in front of him opened it's mouth and begins moving towards him.
Argus screamed internally, his mind in turmoil as he watched the giant mouth slowly come his before a surge of energy filled his body with a hum.
He raises the scroll, immediately turning it into a hammer as he smacked it straight to the creature's eyes and retreated away from the cave.
Now with some distance created, Argus could finally see the creature in full. It was a giant snake of purple scales with golden coloured narrow pupils and a whip like tongue, reaching many meters in length and looked enraged as one of it's eyes was bleeding from the hit.
" The hell are you waiting for!? RUN!' Eclipse screamed at him from the core, reminding him to run away while the core pumped energy into argus to help him withstand the pressure.
Argus turned around and ran straight downhill, his feet not stopping despite being in pain but nothing mattered to him now except surviving as he leapt straight into the burning forest without hesitation.
The giant snake was also not one to let it's prey escape easily so it followed him for a game of chase, knocking down trees as it slithered on the ground with a speed that matched Argus's sprint.
Argus leapt, ran in zig-zag and even ran doing Parkour to escape his chaser but never managed to create any distance and instead watched as the snake came closer and closer with time.
He felt a wave of hopelessness wash over him as any light he once saw was slowly fading away. He was beginning to accept his death when a familiar voice called to him.
"We have to fight back you idiot, running will do us no good.", Eclipse reached out to Argus, telling him to fight back.
" And how do I do that? Fighting that thing would be sucide." Argus retorted as watched the snake looking at him with a face that showed a joy of playing with a toy and felt his self-worth fall further.
Just when all hope was gone. A few words from eclipse gave him the light he needed in this hell.
"For normal people that is, You are a judge for god's sake. Fighting is the job you are made for.. So Fight!"
The words were like a thunderclap to him. All this time he had been running for his life not because he couldn't fight back but because he was too scared to. He was a judge, the one who judges others, being at the mercy of others was the last thing he could do.
So Argus turned around, his momentum still carrying him forward but with a stoic face and a hardened heart, he stood up to the danger coming his way as he accepted his fate.
To fight or die, to judge or be judged was what he told himself as he activated his skills and wielded his hammer again for a intense battle.
Argus activates the 'Judge's gaze' skill and looked his eyes with the foe in front him and rushed forward while leaning forward, his hammer in full swing as he threw all his weight behind the strike.
The hit connected the unexpecting beast straight on, staggering it a bit but doing no visible damage to it's metal like scales but the moment was enough for Argus to leap above it.
Just as he landed behind the snake, Argus again heard the hiss of snake as he saw it lunge towards him and deflected it's bite with his hammer, making it crash into a nearby tree trunk and saw the trunk be ignited into a explosion of purple flames.
But for Argus neither the flames nor the condition of his body mattered as he focused fully on the massive mass of colour in colourless black and white sketch world he saw through his eyes.
'Just how many beings have this bastard killed? But.. that makes things easier for me.' Argus thought to himself as he smiles, filling the snake's heart with caution.
But the beast was not one to back down as he turned to him again and suddenly the ground begins shifting.
The Judge's Order: Trial
The grounds shifts as golden chains erupted, chaining down the beast to the ground and a golden cloak forms around Argus and time seemed to slow down to halt except the two fighters.
" I hope you had your fun because.. today you will pay for all of it in full." Argus stated as he lifted the hammer, placing it right in front of him as three scales appeares right behind him, "First accusation: Killing for fun and amusement."
One of the scales tipped completely and a confident smile appeared on Argus's face.
The Judge's core manifested behind him with a golden figure made of golden light appearing around and said "accusation true. 30 execution points added. Any other accusations?"
"Second accusation: Destroying massive amount of forest without any need for it." Argus continues without hesitation.
Hearing the statement, The golden figure brought out a book from the core and skimmed through it.
"Clause found: needless destruction, wastage of resources. 10 execution points added."
' I can't risk failing because of a false accusation.', " Activate verdict." Argus said as he decided against risking his chances for a bit more execution points.
Soon the scales vanished, turning into golden particles alongside the golden cloak and rushed flew into the core and the golden chains recided back to the ground without leaving a mark as if they ever existed.
The snake saw this as a opportunity to attack but it's foolishness and arrogance was something Argus has predicted long ago.
Execution
The core shot back into Argus's body, filling him with a surge of power beyond anything he had experienced before as a golden heavy looking yet light armor appeared on his whole body as his power was infused into each cell of him.
Execution points, a power that comes from a person's karma and also a power that makes the judges what they are.
Now that Argus has been infused with the execution points. He was infused with a absurd amount of temporary strength that will help complete his verdict, to complete the execution.
"Now this is a fair game, Don't you think so?", Argus delivered a hammer strike straight to the snake's jaw, flinging it high above the trees until it came crashing down far away.
Now Argus walked forward with leasure. It was time for the prey to hunt the predator, for a judge to complete his verdict.