"Safiya, Tatiana, you're not coming in person?" Heidi's seemingly offhanded question made the vampires attending, both in person and by video feel a bit chilly.

"Of course I'll attend, my dearest Heidi." A voice, as soothing as a cool breeze on a warm summer day, resounded in the large trial room, and everyone felt a sense of incongruity.

The trial was taking place in a room, but a boundless ancient and ethereal forest appeared instead briefly, bringing with it the refreshing scent of wood, rain, and plants and then disappearing when Tatiana appeared.

"Tatiana." Heidi nodded with a calm expression while Tatiana smiled, her large transparent wings formed from magic twinkling before crumbling into green magical particles.

"I'm busy, I'll attend by vide-" A slightly lazy voice sounded from a particular participant attending by video call, but just as quickly, the speaker groaned.

"I'll just come as well..." A sense of pressure expanded, and then everyone found themselves submerged under an ocean, but despite the gorgeous scenery, no one could interact with the stunning marine life or vibrant coral reefs.

Tatiana sat in her seat made mainly of wood, decorated with leaves and plants, while Safiya took her own seat in a large chair seemingly molded directly into a seat from coral and sea rock.

"Is there anyone in particular House Starikov who was chosen to preside over the trial?" Heidi's question made Valentina frown. It had been decades since the last trial, and never had Heidi asked such a question.

"No, Lady Heidi." Valentina shook her head with confused eyes, to which Heidi nodded and then placed her hand on her arm rest and looked at the two men standing trial.

"Ekaterina Starikov will preside over this trial then." Heidi's sudden announcement caused several different reactions, both shock and confusion from the vampires at the name, and warning growls rumbling deep within Valentina's and Christabel's throats.

"Lady Heidi, forgive my interruption, but Ekaterina is only several days old and isn't familiar with the process of entering a person's mind." While Valentina objected, Heidi's dark eyes met Valentina's stern blue eyes.

"Well, she can learn, can't she?" Heidi propped her chin up with her hand and looked at Valentina. Even under her oppressive gaze, Valentina's warning gaze didn't relent, so Heidi nodded slightly after a minute of silence.

"Fine, but Ekaterina should attend the trial." Heidi didn't immediately teleport Ekaterina, but locked eyes with both Valentina and Christabel, but her voice stated it was irrefutable.

"Valentina, Christabel, although Heidi's method of going about it is wrong, she wants to show Ekaterina the underlying cruelty of our world." Selene chimed in to break the awkward staring match between the two vampires and a demon.

"Who is Ekaterina? Is she... a demon? I sensed what seemed to be a Phantasm, but it's too weak to actually be called one." Tatiana looked at Heidi, her purple eyes twinkling with curiosity.

"Later. I'll bring Ekaterina here now." Heidi's Phantasm was the only one opened, and with a burst of dark magical energy, Ekaterina appeared in front of the four demons, wearing a blank expression after looking around.

...

Ekaterina didn't know what was going on. She knew the trial was taking place, but one moment, she was about to play a game on her laptop, and in the next moment, she was standing in front of over a hundred vampires.

"You can have a seat." Heidi nodded to Valentina's, Christabel's, and Sabine's location, her voice faintly gentler than it had been previously.

Nodding, Ekaterina made her way to them, mulling over the other two people sitting in the center of the room besides Heidi and Selene. 

The woman sitting on the wooden chair was incredibly beautiful, seeming more ethereal than real, with long leafy green hair, a crown made of gold sitting above her pointed ears, with flawless dusky skin, wearing an intricate dress and smiling regally.

Besides her was another woman with a similar level of beauty, despite her lazy demeanor, wore casual clothes, her long straight black hair framing her aquamarine eyes, sculpted features, but unlike Heidi and the woman sitting on the wooden chair, she was petite.

"That's Tatiana, and she's Safiya." Sabine pointed as she said their names, ignoring the glances some vampires cast their way, most giving Ekaterina curious glances.

"This trial is in session then?" Selene sat up slightly, her small legs looking a bit comical sitting on the silvery chair, but no vampire dared to underestimate her at all.

"It's been eighty seven years since the last trial. We were on such a good streak, too!" Safiya groaned and tilted her head back and closed her  eyes, seemingly trying to sleep, but Heidi ignored her and stood.

"Not long ago, Sigmund and the leader of the Oceanic Dominion State put his interests above that of his people attacked and killed one of our own." Heidi looked at the two people who didn't dare to move under her gaze.

"Sigmund, a vampire unaffiliated with a House, also refused to join EcoGenix, is directly responsible for Millie's death." Heidi's black eyes darkened slightly, and Sigmund's face warped into an expression of extreme pain, as cracks appeared all across his skin, causing blood to leak out without stopping.

"Heidi, the trial is ongoing." Selene's Phantasm opened and repelled Heidi's magic, stopping Heidi's assault on Sigmund, and with Selene's reminder, Heidi looked at Valentina.

"I'll help." Christabel didn't wait for Valentina's reply, walking into the center and stopping near the two, a calm expression on her beautiful face, despite having the gaze of nearly all the world's vampires focused on herself.

"I'll question him." Tatiana waved Heidi away and approached Sigmund with swaying steps, her full lips curling into a smile full of helplessness.

"Although he is on trial, we can't hurt him until he's been proven guilty. We should set a good example for others to follow." The cracks on Sigmund's body, which would have lasted for hours even with the regeneration speed of a vampire over a thousand years old, healed almost instantly.

"Sigmund, you know who I am. You also know who Christabel is, so you should be very clear that lying is not only pointless, but it's also something I personally dislike." Tatiana's smile didn't leave her face, but somehow, Ekaterina was certain. Tatiana's smile wasn't one of happiness.

"Millie was murdered, Heidi claims it was you who murdered her. Selene also concurs with her claims. Do you have anything to say, anything to add that may absolve you of the accusations?" Facing Tatiana's words, Sigmund's bloodshot eyes glared up her with a savagery Ekaterina found startling.

"Does it matter what I say? Heidi is a demon, so what if she kills me? Can any of you do anything if I wasn't guil-" Sigmund couldn't finish because Tatiana's hand waved in through air, and Sigmund's voice was silenced inexplicably.

"Forgive my lack of civility, but this is a trial, not yet an execution. Sigmund, Heidi is indeed a demon, but if by some chance you are innocent, even if she attacks you, I and Selene and Safiya will intervene." Tatiana looked at Sigmund with her clear purple eyes.

"Now, you may now argue your case." Tatiana lowered her hand, and Sigmund's deep breathing sounded in the room. For a room with over a hundred people inside, it was almost silent as the vampires present simply observed in silence.

"Argue? You wouldn't be holding this trial if I hadn't killed Millie... Yeah, I killed her. So what? She was so kind, she'd probably forgive me anyway." Sigmund's nonchalance and his shrug made several vampires growl in disgust, while Ekaterina frowned with a look of confusion.

"How did you kill Millie?" Tatiana didn't say anything, nor show any signs of getting upset or angry, while Christabel nodded to confirm that he was telling the truth, that he had killed Millie.

"She wasn't guarded against me. I met Millie as she was heading to work, so I accompanied her, and when she had relaxed enough to let down her guard, I shattered her spine and tore her heart out." Sigmund laughed despite Heidi's face changing slightly.

"I tore her apart and then ate her heart." Sigmund's words made the vampires attending burst into commotion, some calling for his immediate execution and others cursing him for his cruelty.

Ekaterina didn't know Millie, but for vampires who lived forever unless they were killed, everyone knew Millie, and the enraged expressions showed just how cherished Millie was among the vampires.

"Honestly, it was her fault. I wanted to kill a vampire, and she chose a line of work saving humans. A vampire like herself, with forever ahead of her, actually demeaned herself to do something as pointless as helping humans, saving their lives?"

Sigmund's sarcastic words irritated Selene, who, without warning, congealed a silvery blade from magical energy and threw it at Sigmund's chest, but Tatiana deflected the blade upwards with a flick of her dainty hands.

Ekaterina watched as the blade passed through the roof, feeling a surge of terrifying magical energy contained within it, but moments later, it was already high in the skies.

A wave of air expanded as the blade destabilized and sent a magical energy roaring through the atmosphere, almost piercing a hole in Heidi's Phantasm, but Heidi poured more magic into her Phantasm and gradually absorbed the tumultuous magical energy Selene threw out.

"Selene." Tatiana looked at Selene, but Selene's cold silvery eyes didn't leave Sigmund's face. Ekaterina couldn't help but notice that out of the demons present and the vampires with angry expressions, Safiya was the calmest person in the room.

"Did you forget you were once human yourself?" Tatiana's voice temporarily quelled the outraged room. Indeed, no matter how many centuries or millennia passed, vampires and demons were all once humans.

"My memory of being human is the most thankless thing I have! The Four Vampire Houses wanted my loyalty, but I declined. When my partner was killed, no one helped me!" Sigmund screamed, with anger and pain etched on his face, but Ekaterina wasn't sure why.

If he had declined to join, the Houses weren't obligated to do anything. It wasn't even the just in the vampire's world. It was just worldly common sense.

"I wanted the humans to pay! Even when you gave the humans such good conditions, even when vampires act for the betterment of the planet, they still sided with me to kill one of you!" Sigmund's maniacal laughter made the vampires glance at the lone human present.

"Do you think he cared Millie spent centuries dedicating her endless life to saving humans? He actually urged me to kill her faster!" Sigmund laughed despite the situation, and Ekaterina realized he'd probably given up on survival.

"No matter what you do, human nature won't change! So what if vampires act civilized and kind? Vampires aren't human! We're monsters who live on the blood of humans!" Sigmund gasped, all the shouting had emptied his lungs.

"So we should rule humans? Limit the progress of humanity and then what? Part of the reason vampires never tried or even bothered with trying to rule humanity was simply because there was no point. It's a pointless endeavor." Safiya opened her eyes and spoke in a drowsy voice.

"He was honest about Millie's death and working together with the humans." Christabel sighed and returned to Valentina, pulling her into a hug, while the majority of the vampires looked at Sigmund with barely concealed rage.

"Just kill him!" Ekaterina wasn't sure who said it first even with her enhanced hearing, but soon the large room was full of vampires shouting to put Sigmund to death.

"Quiet." Just as quickly, Tatiana's voice rang out and silenced all the rowdy vampires. Heidi took a deep breath and got to her feet, looking at Sigmund with a calmer expression than she had worn since the trial started.

"The way you killed Millie, you shouldn't have known how to do so, nor should you be able to remember." Heidi didn't approach Sigmund. She extended a hand and dark magical energy gathered and washed over Sigmund.

"I can detect witch's magic? It's barely enough to resist the Rules, although within a month, Sigmund would have forgotten anyway." Heidi's words were directed at the other three demons, while all the vampires present seemed to miss her words.

"We'll have to remove his heart and use his blood to revive Millie, although the chances of success are far less than they were back then." Tatiana crossed her arms, the action causing her full chest to gain even more attraction.

"We also only have the one chance as well. If we fail, Millie won't be able to come back, and his blood would have been used up." Selene mumbled on the side with a bitter sigh.

"Uhmm?" Ekaterina made a noise of confusion, wondering why the vampires had all seemingly zoned out, but the occasional flickers of forests hinted at someone's Phantasm being the reason.

"She wasn't pulled into my Phantasm?" Tatiana looked at Ekaterina with surprise, but her surprise quickly faded, replaced by amusement.

"You are a demon, although your magical reserves are so small, it's almost non-existent, but as long as your magical energy increases, you'll find yourself in a whole new state of existence." Tatiana was suddenly in front of Ekaterina, inspecting her face carefully.

"Tatiana, don't mess with my student!" Selene's derisive snort caused Tatiana to let go of Ekaterina's face, wearing an expression of helplessness.

"Selene, don't worry, I was just observing." Despite Tatiana's words, Selene didn't seem to want to let Tatiana get off easily at all.

"Observing isn't touching! Don't try to steal my student, or I'll fight you!" Tatiana didn't seem overly concerned with the threat, so Selene put her hands on her waist in warning.

"We have a trial to finish." Safiya was the one who brought everyone's attention besides Heidi back to the present, leaving Ekaterina with questions she couldn't ask because Tatiana dispelled her magic and the vampire's minds returned.

Tatiana

Safiya