Harem Sync: Divine Edition

Chapter 77: JUDGMENT WITHOUT A COURT

Haru was on his knees, the fire already extinguished around him, his body trembling.

His hands wouldn’t stop shaking. His vision blurred. His breathing failed every three attempts.

Fifty memories screaming. Fifty lives merging with his.

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[SKILL EVOLUTION INITIATED]

◊ Mana Core... Processing overflow

◊ Adapting to spiritual contamination...

◊ Progress: 12%... 34%... 67%...

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Kira was there, moving quickly, cutting, blocking, dodging, preventing any spirit from touching Haru while he was vulnerable.

A wound on his arm bleeding, heavy breathing. Movements slowing, but not stopping.

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Progress: 98%... 99%...

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A spirit passed by her, a half-second distraction, a minimal opening.

A translucent form headed straight for the kneeling Haru.

Kira turned to intercept, but he was too far away...

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Progress: 100%

[SKILL EVOLUTION COMPLETE]

[Mana Core] > [Mana Core II]

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Haru opened his eyes.

A massive release of spiritual energy exploded from him, not fire, not visible mana, but pure pressure that distorted the air within a five-meter radius.

The spirit coming towards him was instantly fumigated, its form dissolving, its core falling to the ground before even touching Haru.

Tense silence.

All the spirits around froze, staring at Haru.

Even Kira stood still, eyes wide.

The presence emanating from him was different now, not just human with spiritual energy. Something more. Something the spirits recognized as a natural predator.

"Kira... retreat." Haru said, his voice hoarse but controlled.

He picked up the smoldering spirit core from the ground, put it in his mouth, and swallowed.

The spirits and Kira were perplexed.

The spirits took a half-step back, instinctive fear.

Kira almost hesitated to return to his side, but forced her body to move, positioning herself behind Haru again... she didn’t judge, she only obeyed.

"Mana Core... the skill that gave me Yukihime’s ability. Mana core. The capacity to store and process large amounts of energy." Haru remembered when he had absorbed Yukihime’s essence, how he had survived it, how his body had adapted to contain power that wasn’t his.

He touched his own chest.

"Mana Core doesn’t just deal with quantity... it deals with how I process it, and spirits are... processable energy."

Evolution hadn’t resolved the memories in his head; they were still there, fifty voices murmuring. Kas now had mental space to function despite them; he could think, he could act, and he knew exactly who he needed to kill there.

Haru pulled Vorath from his inventory and took a deep breath.

"[Time Stop.]"

The world froze.

Three seconds...

Mist still in the air, spirits frozen in half-movement. Kira motionless.

...And Flavius, who was within the radius of the effect, arriving with Yukihime, stopped for half a second talking to the child, then moved normally, a curious smile on his face. "Did the boy do that too?" he thought as he walked.

...

Haru sped away at an absurd speed. Vorath chanted in the air.

Spirit one, decapitated, core extracted. Spirit two, pierced, core pulled. Three, four, five.

Kira saw nothing; for her, time had stopped. Haru had vanished, and when she returned, everything would be resolved.

"Why [Time Stop now?]" Haru thought as she slashed. "Because they are Master Rank. Strong because they are invisible, difficult to track. But I know my real Rank is higher, Lower Maestro Tier 1 even suppressed."

Sixth spirit. Seventh.

"If you fight normally, they will scatter..."

Eighth. Ninth. Tenth.

"And each death... each core..."

She swallowed as she slashed, an efficient movement, without waste.

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Progress: 1,110 / 100

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When [Time Stop] ended

Haru appeared beside Kira, piercing the head of the last spirit with Vorath, his free hand piercing the ethereal chest and extracting a core larger than the others; this one had been strong, invisible even to the black eye.

Kira was slightly startled, losing her balance from exhaustion and admiration, falling seated in that pose only women can achieve, legs to the side, hand supporting herself, hair falling over her shoulder.

Haru picked up the core, the size of a tennis ball, glowing intense blue, and ate it.

Isabela emerged from the mist running, stopping abruptly when she saw: Haru piercing the spirit’s chest, pulling out a glowing sphere and swallowing it.

Kira sat there perplexed, also looking at him with an expression that mixed admiration and... fear.

Isabela stopped running slowly, her breath failing not from exhaustion, but from shock.

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[Affinity Update: Isabela Valtherion]

[Trust: ... ... 50%]

[Status: SEVERE DOUBT]

[Warning: Relationship critically damaged]

```

Haru turned to her, still holding Vorath, his mouth with a faint glow of residual spiritual energy.

Isabela instinctively took a step back.

She remembered the old saying, "Gamers seem good... but they’re not."

"Kira, get up quickly... Come on... get out of there..." Isabela could feel the spiritual energy emanating from Haru in waves, and the spirits he had consumed were not good; they were remnants of corrupted will, violent memories, traumatic deaths.

Kira wanted to speak, defend, explain, but his scent was now that of many, not one, and it wasn’t good. But he still seemed to be himself, just... full.

"Isab..." Haru tried.

"That’s why they hunt you!" Isabela cut him off, her voice too loud, almost shouting.

"That’s why! Look at you! You’ve changed in less than a week! You got strong in days!"

"Days for me felt like almost two years..." Haru thought but didn’t say.

"What are you saying... I..."

"You’re a Gamer!" Isabela shouted. "And you’re not doing well at all!"

This coincided with Flavius emerging from the mist, holding Yukihime, her protective bubble still active.

He looked at Haru, spiritual energy leaking, his eyes black, Vorath in hand, then Isabela, withdrawn, defensive but conflicted, then Kira, loyal but hesitant.

He processed everything in two seconds.

"A Gamer..." he said slowly, his voice losing elegance, becoming analytical, "...connected to the Valtherion... and smelling of Vandris."

Heavy pause. "...This isn’t a coincidence. This is a conspiracy."

Flavius mentally analyzed "Gamers are dangerous anomalies. Standard established by the Custodians. Corruption rate: 87%. Violence rate: 92%."

"Vandris, necromancy. Ancient, respected house, but with access to forbidden arts. Control of the dead. Spiritual manipulation."

"Valtherion, raw power. Massive political influence. Unlimited resources. Access to imperial information."

He looked at the three. "They joined forces... they’re preparing something big. Coup? Insurrection? Creation of an undead army controlled by Gamers?"

His logical conclusion: "You are preparing something."

Flavius attacked immediately.

Not to kill, to test.

"If Haru loses control... confirms danger, I eliminate."

"If Isabela interferes completely... confirms conspiracy."

"If Kira sacrifices... I measure true loyalty."

Everything calculated.

The grimoire glowed. A beam of golden light shot straight into Haru’s chest.

Haru tried to react, lift Vorath, block.

Hit the timing wrong, his body not yet 100% responsive post-evolution.

Thrown five meters back, hitting a tombstone that cracked, falling to the ground.

"The difference in level between me and Flavius is clear." Haru was nothing to Flavius. "Knocked out with one blow."

Flavius walked to the fallen Haru, creating an opening to kill. Grimoire glowing, next beam charging, he was about to finish.

And Haru didn’t beg, didn’t rage, didn’t activate desperate power, he just looked at Flavius and said:

"I’m not against you."

Silence.

"I just want to live..." he paused, his breath failing.

"After all... Aethelgard is about that, isn’t it?"

Flavius paused slightly in his attack.

"Aethelgard was created to promote equality between races. Beastskin, elves, dwarves, humans. Everyone having a chance." Haru leaned against the cracked tombstone to sit.

"Gamers are no exception."

It was a stark truth.

Isabela intervened, not physically, but verbally. "Wait."

"If he were a real threat... you wouldn’t have time to think." Kira added, looking directly into Flavius’s eyes. "A real predator doesn’t warn. Doesn’t talk. Just kills..."

Flavius paused, reconstructing his mental model: "Isabela partially protects, a real emotional connection, not a fake one."

"Haru didn’t react with extreme violence, he’s not an active weapon ready to explode."

"Kira, absolute but rational loyalty, a true bond, not coercion."

"It’s not a military conspiracy..."

He smiled slightly. "...it’s escape."

"So..." Flavius put away the grimoire, "...the Valtherion heiress ran away with the bodyguard..."

He looked at Haru.

"...a ’Gamer’ hidden under the protection of the Vandris house. Forbidden romance. Starting over far from the family."

"It’s not my job to destroy poorly planned romances." He said, putting away the grimoire.

He looked at Isabela. "But it is my job to prevent disasters."

He approached Haru, not aggressively, but dominantly. "You’re coming to my mansion. Tomorrow... because now... I have questions."

He smiled.

"Bring the child, illustrious~"

Yukihime held Flavius’s clothes, looking at Haru on the floor.

"Papa... are you alright?"

That destroyed 10% of Flavius’s distrust, a genuinely worried child, not a trained actress.

Flavius left, stopped, turned his head. "Yukihime...Haru Mizuki..." she left the full name hanging in the air. "Interesting." and disappeared into the mist.

Isabela, Kira, and Haru remained there. Haru tried to stand, Kira helped.

Isabela stood three meters away, looking at him with an expression Haru couldn’t decipher.

"Isab..."

"No." She cut him off. "Not now." She turned and started walking. "Let’s go. Before more things appear."

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[MISSION COMPLETE]

◊ Spirits: ELIMINATED (far more than 23)

◊ Isabela Trust: 50% (CRITICAL)

◊ Kira: Loyal but conflicted

◊ +1 Dungeon core...

◊ 2,010/100

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