Jason turned to the side as he noticed Hesabeth getting up from her throne. Hesabeth calmly walked forward through a magical circle before appearing on the elevated stage right beside Jason. Jason smiled at Hesabeth, and Hesbeth’s face flushed slightly as she smiled back.
Since this was a case where both Jason and Hesabeth had committed a crime, it was only right that Hesabeth would stand beside Jason on the accused platform. Both Jason and Hesabeth turned to look up at the council together, and the council finally began the trial.
C’thlyanu spoke up in a calm voice.
"We have reviewed the scale of damage and the number of deaths recorded from the inter-world scale fight between you two, and it classifies as an interworld crime of the third degree. You especially, Hesabeth, were responsible for pulling in the interest of a PRIMORDIAL Rank being, which in turn led to the destruction of more than twenty-five percent of three worlds parallel to the origin of the battle and the complete destruction of one world. We on the council would like to know the reason behind your actions."
Jason’s eyes narrowed slightly when he heard the tone and manner of questions that C’thlyanu was asking. There was something strange about the way C’thlyanu phrased his words, and Jason knew that there was more to this particular trial than what he was seeing! Hesabeth immediately stepped forward and spoke in a calm voice.
"I take full responsibility for the damage caused to those worlds, and I will be willing to accept suitable punishment for my actions. But keep in mind that the events that occurred were as a result of the world’s desire to protect me, rather than my own desire to destroy the world."
Jason hummed calmly once he heard those words, and he felt a small smile appear on his face before he let out a calm sigh as he realized why the question had felt so strange. Both the question C’thlyanu asked and Hesabeth’s answer were rehearsed, and it was obvious what was going to happen next! C’thlyanu hummed once again, and this time he spoke in a voice loud enough for the entire hall to hear.
"After properly considering the facts, the council has come to the conclusion that the destruction caused by Hesabeth and Jason was not fully within their control, and it will be considered an interworld crime of the second degree. Therefore, their penalty shall include the repayment of one billion gold coins to each of the worlds that had suffered from their battle, and as a member of the council, Queen Hesabeth will act as supervisor to ensure all the destroyed habitats are rebuilt. Although the crime is significant, we have also taken into consideration the past good deeds carried out by Queen Hesabeth as well as her remorse about this crime to ensure the punishment is justified. If there are those who wish to contribute anything, then please do so now. But if there are no contributions, then let us take a vote."
This time, there wasn’t a single peep to be heard in the entire fucking hall! Everybody, from the spectators to the council members, were dead silent, and Jason just let out a small huff in amusement! Jason looked over at Hesabeth, and he saw how she was staring up at C’thlyanu with disinterest! It didn’t even look like she was on trial at all! Hesabeth noticed Jason’s eyes on her, and she turned to him and smiled sharply. Jason just scoffed as he turned away! It was obvious that this entire trial was just a show that they were putting on for the sake of the spectators! Jason was sure that Hesabeth and the rest of the council had already met earlier, and they spoke about what sort of punishment they would be giving to Hesabeth! But they knew that it would give the wrong impression for them not to even give Hesabeth a trial, so they were doing things this way to make sure people knew that the council was impartial!
’This way, they can protect their image as the pillar of justice, while also protecting one of their own members from public scrutiny and humiliation. I can’t even be angry at this since it’s just the smart thing to do.’
This was probably the quickest trial that anyone on the council had ever seen, and even though there were some people who didn’t appreciate that the entire trial was just a show, the council members all understood that this was the best way to keep both the masses and Hesabeth happy! And besides, even though the trial was just a show, that doesn’t mean Hesabeth had gotten off scot-free. Having to pay a billion gold coins to each of the worlds that had been affected was still a significant punishment, and since Hesabeth had to supervise the rebuilding of the destroyed cities and towns, that meant that she and Jason would be spending even more money! As far as everyone was concerned, the punishment was justified!
Since there were no objections, C’thlyanu simply announced that the trial was finished, and the loud voice from earlier boomed over the hall once more.
[The Case of Queen Hesabeth and Jason Marc versus the Primordial State has hereby been concluded. This concludes all cases that interested parties under the Primordial Treaty are allowed to observe. We humbly ask that all spectators who do not belong to the TITAN Rank within a Rank II world or above please leave the Hall of Heroes. There will be Faceless Keepers at every exit, and you may ask them for assistance should you require it.]
Jason watched as the spectators who had been watching the trial slowly began to leave the Hall of Heroes. There had been close to five hundred people watching the trial from many different worlds, but by the time the members of the lower worlds left the hall, there were less than ten people left in the hall. Jason felt Gina squeeze his hand, and he turned to her as he heard her voice in his head.
’Babe, do we need to leave as well?’
Gina had been watching the proceedings quietly all this time because she knew that she was not as involved in the cases as Jason or Hesabeth were, but Gina could tell that the main trial had gone exactly how Jason predicted it would and she was already itching to get back to Earth so she could see everyone again. But Jason just shook his head as he spoke.
’No, we’re staying. This is too important for us to sit it out. Now that we’re done with the trial, the only thing left to discuss is the case of Rubik’s empty seat. The council needs to pick the next overlord.’
Gina felt her eyes widen slightly as she realised that Jason was right. Gina turned towards the sixth seat on the council that didn’t have anyone present there, and she wondered how they were going to decide who would be the new Overlord! Gina knew that Jason was already a prime candidate, and he was most likely the strongest member of this domain, but Gina had been listening in when Jason spoke with Hesabeth and Farlow about the possibility of him becoming the new Overlord, and Gina knew that becoming the new Overlord took a lot more than just power!
Hesbeth reached over and touched Jason’s arm gently, and Jason turned to her and saw her smiling at him.
"I’ll be heading back to my seat now. Let’s discuss the details of our fine later. And I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about the council’s decision. I hope it isn’t too steep."
Hesabeth felt a little guilty about making a decision for how much they would have to pay without consulting with Jason! Hesabeth knew that most of the destruction done to those worlds during her fight with Jason was all because of her, so Hesabeth hoped that Jason wasn’t annoyed by her choice.