Strongest Superhuman System - Chapter 438

Chapter 438: The Trial Begins
“Ideals? I don’t know about that. I don’t care what his ideals are or even why he is doing what he’s doing. But the path he is taking to get there is something I decided I couldn’t miss out on. All those people desperately clawing their way to safety as their land and homes are ravaged. Fire burning the land as far as the eye can see. Monster’s running loose without restrictions. A world that relies only on power for survival.”

Gunter closed his eyes as his smile widened into something sinister.

“It really brings a smile to my face.”

So, he is doing it for the sake of his own satisfaction? Sasha really couldn’t be surprised by that. She always knew that Gunter was a very self-centered person, so him doing all of this just because he wanted to enjoy himself was something she predicted as well.

Sasha sighed as she stood up and walked towards Gunter while asking him about Fiona. Where did he put her? The light from the one window on the other side of the room illuminated Sasha’s body. She was only wearing her shorts and a bra, so her toned stomach and shapely figure were on full display.

“She’s with the scientists. They said they already got some instructions from Salazar about what to do with her. They should be done with her in a few months.”

Gunter put his cigar into the ashtray beside him and stretched out his hand to grab Sasha’s waist as she crawled onto the couch with him. She put her legs on either side of him and sat in his lap with her hands on his shoulders. Sasha ran her hand through Gunter’s wild blond hair. Looking at the hair, you would think that it would be rough to the touch, but Sasha couldn’t believe how soft it felt. It was like silk under her hand. She put her fingers through it and tilted Gunter’s head back slightly before leaning down to give him a heavy kiss that stole the air from her lungs.

Sasha knew that Gunter was a self-centered bastard, but that didn’t matter to her. Once Salazar’s plans were complete and things settled, she would make sure that she and Gunter stayed together. Even if he had some issues, Sasha believed she could change him.

…

The weeks following the attack on the island of City F moved very quickly for every citizen of America. The news of Salazar’s crimes, as well as his involvement in the attack on City F, had spread like wildfire, and the eyes of the media of every major country in the world were now on America as they all waited patiently to see how the country would handle this situation.

Mark was also waiting to see how the case would be handled, but he stayed indoors for most of the weeks after that attack. The principal of Nature Academy called Mark a day after the attack, asking him if he would like to have some time off school to rest after that fight he had against the Eldritch, and Mark asked for time off for both him and Arit. The principal told Mark to take as much time as he needed. They would be more than happy to send the materials for the classes they would miss online, and Arit was happy when she heard that she could also submit her assignments and essays online. Mark would never understand how that girl could love school this much.

Mark also called up Light Academy—Talia’s school—and told them that Talia would not be coming to school for some time. The teachers were more than happy to oblige, and they even asked Mark if they could send one of their teachers to bring Talia her work at the end of every week. From the way they said it, Mark knew that they just wanted to use the chance to meet him, so he told them that they should send it online as well. Mark didn’t want to have to deal with any rabid fan right now.

After another day of silence, Mark finally managed to get a response from Pat. It was in a text, and Pat only responded after Mark threatened to come over to his house and beat the shit out of him if he didn’t.

[… I’m on the verge of a breakthrough. I’m sorry I haven’t said anything for so long. Just give me a few more days. Please.]

This was all Pat sent to Mark, and Mark wondered what Pat meant by it. Pat saying that he was on the verge of a breakthrough could only mean that Pat was working on something new that would help them. Even when Mark asked what it was, Pat still refused to say anything about it, so Mark just decided that he was going to let it go for now.

Mark asked Pat about Fiona and what they were going to do about her. Mark already sent out a mission to some small guilds in the area through his godfather, telling them to keep an eye out for Fiona or any suspicious activity in the area, but there hadn’t been any word from anyone yet, and Mark wondered if they would be able to find her at all. Pat told Mark that he was scanning the entire country using his satellite to try and find her, but he wasn’t able to get anything for now. Pat would get back to Mark the moment something came up.

That was the conversation they had, and Mark was just happy that Pat was alive, at least. Mark told Jeanne about the conversation he had with Pat, and Jeanne nodded with a smile of relief. She had already talked to Pat before, but she was worried that Pat would never respond to Mark, so she was just glad he did.

Jeanne couldn’t look Mark in the eye for a few days after that incident where she caught Mark and Arit in the living room. She knew that Mark knew she was there, but Mark never brought it up, and Jeanne felt very awkward just looking at him for a while after that. Jeanne stayed with Mark and Arit for the duration of Salazar’s trial because she knew there was a very real possibility that Gunter could attack her in her home if she went back.

Pat would be safe because no one knew his face in the superhuman world. He was basically a faceless voice to most of them, but Jeanne was always at the forefront, and they would definitely try to get her if they knew she was alone. And Jeanne also knew that Salazar had some sort of plan for her before he was arrested – and even though he was in prison now, there was a real chance that Gunter would come after her, so staying alone right now was like asking to be kidnapped. Since Jeanne didn’t have the protection of a guild and she was no longer part of the NSA, she could only stay with Mark and Arit.

The trial for Salazar was supposed to last over the span of three weeks with three hearings. Mark watched all of them with Jeanne and Arit. During these trials, there were no major Anima attacks above low-level calamities that Tina and Turner could take care of, which meant that Mark didn’t even have to leave his house once during that time, and he and Arit only went down to the supermarket inside the hotel sometimes.