"I plead not guilty…"


    Escanor''s words caused quite the stir within the council room, as the charges against him were quite damning and not really refutable.


    The rule within the Olympian family was simple, an admission of guilt meant that the sentence being given would be less severe.


    However, if one refused to acknowledge their wrongdoings and wereter found guilty of used crimes, they were bound to receive the harshest possible punishment.


    "Are you sure you want to plead innocent, God Escanor? I rmend that you reconsider your decision" Athena said, as many council members felt ufortable by her choice of words.


    Usually no one was given a chance to rescind their statements, however, since Monarch Athena was the one personally giving Escanor another chance, there was not much that anyone could say about it.


    "Yes, I''m quite sure, Monarch Athena, I thank you for your kind wishes, however, I stand by my plea–" Escanor said, as his words forced Athena to carry on with the verdict.


    "Very well, since you im innocence, let me borate the charges against you.


    Is it not true that you were the one who appointed your son to be the Floor Master of Floor 21? Asking that your family be rewarded this privilege since you were the one who won it?


    Is it not true that it is your son, who is your direct subordinate, who lost the floor now to the enemy?


    If you are praised in your sess Escanor, you must also be held responsible in your defeat.


    I find these charges to be straightforward and self exnatory, so I wonder how you dare plead innocence?" Athena said, as almost everyone within the room agreed with her words.


    The crime that Escanor was guilty of was quite simple and self exnatory and there was no room to refute it.


    Yet, it seemed that like a stubborn fool, Escanor tried to avoid being punished by trying to say that he was not guilty and no it was going to see him being sentenced more heavily.


    "Hehe…. Escanor that fool, always trying to behave like a smart ass…. I''m so happy that he''s being punished today, he certainly deserves it."


    "Escanor can''t escape this predicament. He dug his own hole deeper by iming to be innocent. Now he shall suffer the consequences"


    "Escanor is vain and foolish, just because he ascended to god-hood so early in life has made him overconfident"


    Perseus, bound in chains behind his father, noticed how everyone was openly hostile against him.


    Just like their cousins were hostile against him and Sophia, those in Escanor''s generation seemed to harbour a strong dislike for him.


    ''This is not a family….. these peopleughing at my father can''t be my rtives.


    This is a gathering of crabs, who have no other intention except pulling others down'' Perseus thought to himself, as although he despised his old man, he could not enjoy him being mocked because the people mocking him were equally repulsive for him.


    However, even in the face of all this criticism, Escanor himself seemed unbothered, as with a confident smile on his face he began exining his end of the situation.


    "My son is not the one who has failed Olympus, but it is rather my uncle''s who have.


    Before the mad-dog Liam attacked floor 21, no enemy could have dared to put sights on it, because the defensive preparations I had in-ce for the floor were iron-d.


    My son had been ruling that floor without any problems for a decade now, however, it was Liam''s attack that rocked the boat.


    As everyone present here knows, Principal Liam was the inheritor of the seed of death, a monarch level artefact that even lets him im the lives of gods.


    It is not Liam that we feared but the artefact in his possession that we did.


    And faced against such power, it''s my son''s own brilliance that he managed to hold-out…" Escanor said, as he began his speech with an unexpected angle to the story.


    "Our treaty with the Gemini Gods and the Dragon King, prevents us from deploying tier6 gods on floors below floor40.


    Which is the sole reason behind why floor 21 was administered by my son, a simple tier5 mortal.


    And NO mortal, irrespective of if it''s my son or anyone else present in this room has the ability to oppose the inheritor of the seed of death and this is a fact.


    With that artefact, Liam''s power was akin to a peak tier6 God or even a tier7 strongman and faced with such power, is it not unreasonable to expect that hees off unscratched?" Escanor said, as suddenly the momentum started to shift in his direction.


    "If we truly expect our kids to hold off against gods then what? Should we send them into the arena of the gods on behalf of us to battle?


    Should we expect them to hunt enemy god''s?


    If the answer is no, then it must be acknowledged that my son did a good job not falling to Liam during his attack and neutralising that threat, no matter the cost–" Escanor said, as Athena nodded in agreement to his words.


    "That is true. Your son did do a good job until that point, but it is not the event we are discussing today ...." Athena said, as the smile on Escanor''s face widened.


    "Yes, my son did do a good job until that point, however, it was the aftermath that bothered me as well.


    The pce was in shambles, the core forces were dead and the forces at his disposal were no longer enough to thwart any new attacks.


    Hence, I personally lent him a helping hand, creating a powerful protective barrier around the pce, so that he could hold out longer in the war.


    However, it was always a temporary solution and the more rational solution was always asking for reinforcements, which I also did but was denied.


    Uncle Xerxes, Uncle Dominic and Uncle Ratius all denied me troops or support and it was because of thisck of support from my kin during our hour of need that Olympus had to face this humiliating defeat..." Escanor said with a venomous tongue as his words caused the entire council to erupt into chaos.