The Protagonist System

46 The Trial Of Truth

After the yelling and screaming from the peanut gallery stopped, I wasn't surprised when most of the gods and goddesses there tried to convince Hestia to refuse. I was only a lowly mortal, after all. When Hestia looked into my eyes, she saw the love and devotion I had for her and she remembered that I had asked her if she trusted me.

“My Bell, I accept. I will become your wife.” Hestia agreed, both embarrassed and happy.

“Praise be to you, my Goddess.” I said and she glowed as I slipped the engagement ring on her finger. “Goddess Demeter, please perform the ceremony.”

Everyone was shocked.

“R-right n-now?” Both Hestia and Demeter asked, their voices shaky.

“It can't wait another moment.” I said and stood. “Goddess Hephaestus, please stand at Hestia's side.”

“I would be honored.” Hephaestus said and walked over to us. “What about her dress?”

“Good point.” I said and lightly touched Hestia's dress. “Allow me.”

Hestia nodded and I transfigured her normal dress into a beautiful wedding gown with a long train and gave her high heels to add several inches to her height. Everyone gasped.

“Now me.” I said and almost instantly stripped off my armor to store in my backpack and left the bodysuit on as I dressed in dress pants and a shirt. A quick transfiguration of another shirt gave me a tuxedo jacket and I created the proper accessories, including a huge bouquet of roses to give to Hestia.

“Are you two ready?” Demeter asked, her face slightly red.

“Yes, Goddess of the Harvest.” I said and bowed to her.

Demeter performed the hand-fasting ceremony and the symbolic ribbon wrapping ceremony on our wrists, then she blessed us on our union and wished us to have a long and happy life together. It wasn't until the words were out of her mouth that she realized what she had said and blushed deeply from shame and embarrassment.

I ignored her and turned to Hestia. “My personal Goddess Hestia.”

“My Bell.” Hestia said back.

We leaned in and gave each other a soft and quite chaste kiss. A glow of light passed between us and we broke the kiss. Everyone was stunned. I didn't tell them that it was a mutual Karma point transfer to acknowledge the marriage and the light show was a normal occurrence.

“Please excuse us for thirty minutes.” I said and scooped Hestia up in my arms and ran out of the room. No one tried to stop us or shouted for us to come back. As soon as we were out of sight, I teleported us to the church.

“My Bell.” Hestia said, her face red.

“My Wife.” I said back and carried her down the stairs and to her room. “Our first and last time together will be memorable.”

“I know.” Hestia said and motioned to her dress. “Is this permanent?”

“Yes.” I said and kissed her as I slowly took the dress off of her. I was naked an instant later and Hestia blushed at my ready state.

“I will no longer be the virgin goddess.” Hestia whispered as I laid her down on the bed.

“Our marriage bypasses that restriction, My Wife.” I said and she caught her breath. “You were a pure virgin until marriage, so your powers and Purification Flames should remain untainted.”

“It's not a sin to sleep with your husband!” Hestia gasped as I dove between her legs to eat her out.

“No, My Wife.” I said and moved up to suckle on her perfect breasts and massaged them.

“OHHH!” Hestia came from me finally doing to her what she always wanted me to do.

I moved up to hover above her and my tip teased her entrance. “I love you, my Goddess.”

“I love you, My Bell.” Hestia said and held her arms up to hug me.

I dropped onto her to kiss her passionately and shoved my hardness into her soft folds. Hestia screamed her pleasure into my mouth and wrapped her legs around my waist. I didn't question why she hadn't felt any pain and started to move inside of her. She panted right away and moaned and whispered that her wish had come true at last. She was finally mine. All mine.

I activated the blessing Hephaestus gave me and Hestia's own powers activated, too. We were covered in a light orange-yellowish flame and the heat increased to the point that were were sweating from both exertion and the temperature.

“More, my Bell! Give me MORE!” Hestia shouted and kissed me again.

I gave her everything I could. I felt that feeling of impending release and chose the last option in the Karma point choices. Instead of 1,000,000 points like it was before, it was only 10,000. I went into debt to pay for it and then poured my magical seed right into Hestia's now fertile womb.

Hestia moaned into my mouth and that orange-yellowish fire flowed over us and seemed to be sucked down to where our bodies were intertwined and then went down to where I was still speared inside of her and it disappeared.

Congratulations!
You have done what was thought impossible and have impregnated a goddess. A new type of soul has been created (that shouldn't exist). Well done! Bonus award granted for shock value (the gods and goddesses will be talking about it for the next thousand years) and creating a new source for The Protagonist System and unregulated Karma points!

Your goddess granted powers remain unaffected. Karma point sharing initiated. Do you wish to give a copy of your skills and abilities to the new protagonist soul?

I thought about that. Does that mean the child will become someone else when they die and won't reincarnate here?

The box remained empty for several seconds. Yes, it does. However, I have been advised to give you an option. At the cost of losing the choice for your next world, reincarnation for the new soul will be locked to this world and the jumping factor can be removed from the copy process.

Do it. I thought and I felt an almost soul-wrenching pain for a split second. Hestia's belly glowed a golden color and then it faded.

Power copying process complete!
Congratulations! It's a demi-god (male)! Hestia Familia bond successfully copied.
Personal Falna updated. New skill granted: Fatherhood. Those younger than you will look up to you as an authority figure and you will feel parental urges to help them.

I felt the burn on my back and wondered how that was possible, then realized something. Hestia was a virgin and I had taken it. I slid out of her and saw the small bit of blood on me as it was absorbed.

“My Bell... my husband.” Hestia whispered and looked at me with love and devotion on her face.

I immediately cast as many protection spells and wards as I could on her, healed myself, and stood up. “Do you want to stay here or...”

“I will be by your side.” Hestia said and sat up with a wince.

I cast healing on her and she sighed with relief. I cleaned the both of us up with magic and dressed in a normal pants and shirt while Hestia chose a different dress to put on. She hung up her wedding dress in her clothing cabinet and I hung my tuxedo right beside it, which made Hestia smile proudly.

When we were ready, I teleported us to the front of the Tower of Babel. The civilians and adventurers outside were shocked again when we appeared out of nowhere and Hestia smiled happily and waved at them. We went inside and arrived inside the room at the exact half hour mark.

Almost all of them looked pensive about that, as if they thought I was going to flee from them or something. I wasn't. I was there for a tribunal and I was going to see how far into the hole they would dig themselves as they accused me of crimes that I probably did commit.

The gods and goddesses arrayed themselves in a half-circle and a serious aura seemed to fill the room as their faces lost all expression. Hestia didn't move to stand with them, either. She stayed by my side as she promised. She wasn't allowed to hold my hand and reluctantly let me go.

“Bell Cranel, word of your crimes were brought to the attention of some of our members, including me.” Demeter said.

Apparently, she was chosen as a spokesperson, probably because she looked the most mature of them and had already interacted with me.

“It was quite shocking for us all to hear that a mere mortal admitted to murdering two goddesses.” Demeter said, her voice grave.

“I didn't murder them.” I countered. “One was an accident and one was me defending myself.”

“The accused will remain quiet as he is judged!” One of the men shouted.

“Judged?” I asked and looked at their faces. “I thought this was a tribunal, not a sentencing hearing.”

“It is a tribunal...” Demeter started to say.

“A tribunal, by definition, is a trial held by those in authority to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. You are not asking me anything, presenting a case, showing evidence, or trying to get to the truth.” I interrupted. “How is this a tribunal?”

There was a lot of muttering.

“We have already made our judgment.” Demeter said.

I glanced at Hestia and she blushed. I looked at Hephaestus and she also blushed. “So, not only are you all dishonorable by not giving me an actual trial, you're liars and cheats, too.”

They all gasped, even the men.

“I haven't heard or seen any trials against Freya for permanently charming a quarter of Orario's citizens, or for charming her Familia members to always be loyal and to love her.” I said and they all looked guilty. “I also haven't heard about any trials about Ishtar kidnapping and charming people to become slaves, prostitutes, and indentured workers in her brothels and casinos.”

No one said anything and didn't look like they were going to.

“So, because we're just lowly mortals, it doesn't matter what happens to us, as long as none of you are affected?” I asked and Demeter looked embarrassed. “Ishtar kidnapped two members of another Familia and was going to enslave me as a sex toy. Her second in command tried to get me first to weaken the power base of her own goddess.”

Hestia gasped and covered her mouth with a hand.

“All of that was okay by you, wasn't it? It didn't matter because the Hestia Familia was a new one and was weak, right? Why should you step in to help them?”

Only a few of them looked guilty and the rest looked apathetic.

“You all seemed to forget something important.” I cast the amplify spell on my throat. “YOU WERE ALL A NEW GOD OR GODDESS AT ONE TIME AND HAD A NEW FAMILIA! YOU WERE WEAK AT FIRST, TOO!”

All of them covered their ears and looked afraid, except for a healed Dionysus, whom looked ecstatic.

I cancelled the spell and spoke normally. “Nothing that your fellow divine beings does matters at all to you, because you're here to enjoy the mortal experience, except you're all enjoying the very worst of it and don't care who you hurt, even each other, as long as you get your entertainment.”

“Yes! Yes, that's it exactly!” Dionysus said and clapped as he stepped out of the circle towards me. “These fools have fallen into a 'me only' mindset and think nothing of anyone else.”

I moved quick as a flash and drew my mythril sword from the side of my backpack and chose to charge it with the only element that Hephaestus had forbidden me to use around the gods and goddesses, Holy Lightning. I dropped 200 magic points into it and pointed it at Dionysus in the blink of an eye.

*CCRACKOOOWWWW!*
*KAAABOOOOOOOM!*

Everyone but Hestia and myself were blown away from the center of the room. The bright light of a heavenly ascension lit up the room and no one noticed, because they were all temporarily blinded from the flash of lightning.

The screams and yells went on for several minutes as they recovered, because all of them had been hit by the backlash of the ten foot wide holy lightning bolt that had exploded Dionysus like an egg in a microwave.

Each god and goddess shook as they slowly stood and gathered themselves up. Small lightning bolts cascaded over everything, including them. They approached the center of the room again and they all caught their breath and looked up... and up... and up. The bolt had torn through all the upper floors of the tower to expose the sky.

“Are you all entertained?” I asked them and put my sword back on the side of my backpack.

“You... killed him.” A pretty blonde goddess said.

“Ha!” I pointed at her. “You just showed how ignorant and judgmental you are. He didn't die. His mortal body was removed and he returned to where he came from. He can sit up there in Heaven with Freya and Ishtar and watch how well the world gets along just fine without them.”

The goddess shook her head. “You're wrong. We feel the death and our spirit returns to the other realm, weak and depowered.”

That made me smile. “So, you suffer for your hubris? I'm not seeing the downside here.”

“You made them leave before their time.” Another voice said and I couldn't tell from where it came.

“That is our judgment on you.” The pretty blonde goddess said and a blue portal appeared behind me. “You will leave before your time.”

I tried to dodge her hand and realized the portal had snagged my backpack and I couldn't move. She pushed me with surprising strength and I fell backwards into the portal.

World automatically chosen. Karmic Debt -2,456. Timeline insertion choice removed.
Trait gained: Despised - Upon first sight, people will judge you harshly and need to be convinced you are not evil.

Wonderful. I thought. I'm going to have to work my ass off to gain that Karma back.

Appropriate memories will be added when you wake up and you will be disoriented for several minutes. Good luck with your new life!

Wait! You didn't tell me where... My thoughts were interrupted as everything went black.

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