“Floor 21 is the first floor in the Tower of Ascension that can be controlled, and while it lacks valuable resources, holding it signals to all climbers that the faction in control is among the strongest within the tower.

The loss of reputation from losing control is immense, and the floor master responsible for this defeat, along with his guardian, must take responsibility for the family’s loss of face,” Athena declared, as her words started a ruckus within the council hall.

The bloodline of Escanor was flying too high as of late.

His first son was the Floor Master of Floor21 and his daughter was the Champion Of Poseidon.

Alongside his own status as one of the brightest prospects of the younger generation, the overall status of the House of Escanor was envy worthy within the Olympian Council and many wished for their downfall.

Now that they had finally fallen from grace, everyone was keen to extract their pound of flesh and this bloodlust was abundantly visible on the faces of every council member present.

“Firstly, we shall be judging the Champion Of Poseidon” Athena began, “In terms of severity, her crime is the lightest. She is simply not wise enough to carry herself with grace befitting of a Champion.

She is complacent in her brother’s defeat and is alleged to be a Gemini sympathizer.

So the council asks this to her….. Do you agree to your charges?”

Sophia’s chains were pulled hard when Athena began addressing her, forcing her to fall flat on her belly as she heard the charges being brought against her like a dog.

“You disgrace the bloodline of Poseidon!”

“You don’t deserve to bear the mark of a True God, you’re a disgrace–”

“Kill her! The girl is a disgrace to Olympus, nothing good can come from keeping her around”

“It’s not the girls fault that she is dumb, it’s Escanor’s fault for not raising her right–”

Once she was sentenced, the crowd began throwing boos and jeers towards her, as Sophia felt like she was being stabbed by a thousand needles.

For a highly prideful and narcissistic individual such as herself, being humiliated in public was worse than suffering physical abuse, and the psychological scar that she suffered from this was intense.

“I-I plead guilty….” Sophia said, her voice sounding meek and broken, as she agreed to all the charges that were brought against her without showing any resistance.

“Very well, since you have pleaded guilty and are willing to own up to your mistakes, the council has decided to impart mercy upon you and not take your life.

Monarch Ares has taken personal interest in you and is willing to take responsibility for your re-education.

So from now on, you are entrusted to God Ares, until he sees your re-education to be complete and allows you to rejoin the council.

And until that day, your sentence is to be exiled in disgrace from the Olympian Council” Athena said, as exasperated sighs could be heard throughout the room.

Everyone was hoping for a harsher punishment, however, Sophia seemed to have gotten away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

Naturally, since she was the Champion of Poseidon, she was never going to face a punishment as cruel as death, however, the wide majority of Olympians present within the Council room still hoped that she got a harsher punishment like imprisonment or worse for her crimes.

“I thank the goddess for her mercy” Sophia said, as she was dragged away from the council room, with her future now entrusted to monarch Ares.

“Next, we will judge God Escanor, the guardian and the supervisor of his two kids.

Giving respect to his stature, we have not bound God Escanor in chains.

However, for the sake of this council, he will have to present himself in the center of the room” Athena said, as Escanor leapt off his position in the stands and landed in the center of the room, with his usual composure about him.

“God Escanor… floor 21 was a territory that you yourself had won for Olympus while you were a mortal.

As a reward for your achievement, you were given the right to appoint the next floor master and you chose your own bloodline for the job.

Now that it has been lost by your bloodline, you must take responsibility for the loss of face that we have suffered, since if you are rewarded for success you must be punished for failure” Athena said, as this time around the boos and jeers were much louder than before.

Most who hated house Escanor, hated Escanor himself more than his kids and hence when it was his turn to be judged the hatred coming from the crowd was the loudest.

“You’re a disgrace to Olympus, Escanor”

“Look at him standing there with his head held high. He’s clearly not remorseful”

“Escanor is in this over his head…. He does not understand that he has nothing to be prideful about”

“Escanor needs to be humbled. He thinks he is better than the rest of us, when he is not”

Almost everyone wanted their pound of flesh from Escanor, however, the man himself seemed unbothered.

Standing at the center of the room with his head held high, Escanor smiled smugly even when being judged for his crimes, as he did not let his confidence waver even for a brief moment.

“For the crime of complacency, lack of better judgment, failure of raising proper children and failing the trust of this council, how do you plead Escanor?” Athena asked, her usual emotionless eyes wavering slightly as she seemed to have a personal connection with the man being judged.

“I plead not guilty…” Escanor said, as his words caused yet another storm to raise within the room.

The evidence against him was damning, yet the man still had the balls to deny it, which was simply outrageous for many to even fathom.

By not pleading guilty, Escanor risked a harsher punishment if convicted, however, he seemed to have a plan to escape such a grim fate.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep