CH857

Taking a moment to think and freezing the world around him as he did, Ben took in the situation he’d found himself in, feeling out his options.

It was obvious why they’d come, with some wanting to put some sort of stop to him now that he was the holder of a very unfortunately named third-tier sacrilege while others were there to his defense, with both groups mattering less than the opportunities they presented, letting Ben getting the chance to view hundreds of that world’s gods through the lens of his new power.

When he’d first awakened it to the second tier, one of the most immediate changes was that he’d found himself suddenly able to gauge the weak points of the gods around him. Not able to do anything with that information of course but having it available and that ability had only strengthened with his new awakening, with the instinct attached to it telling him something else. If he’d needed to, based on the abilities he knew he had, he could probably hurt them.

That in itself was a major change. As he currently was, without any practice he didn’t know if he could win but in a one-on-one or one-on-two situation he could definitely put up a fight, with a few of the truly weak gods not seeming like they’d be the ones to come out on top. If it came down to it and those who’d invaded the realm really wanted to try to somehow eliminate him, he could at least catch them off guard enough to kill one to make them suffer for that choice.

But as things stood, that was all he could do. What he needed was time to explore his new abilities to understand their strengths and limits if he was really going to put them up against the gods and he knew he didn’t have that. Even with the new extremes his mind could move at, he knew the gods around him could change their frame of reference when interacting with the world as well. Not the extent they could do it but that lack of knowledge meant he couldn’t start trying to test his new limits right in front of them, lest they took it as a threat.

So ultimately it looks like this needs to be settled peacefully-ish then. He accepted, letting a part of himself lower back down to the speeds the gods around him were currently existing at to listen to some of the screams and shouts that went up, with some more vocal than others.

“We’ve accepted this for too long!” Eneth yelled. “Because he’s shown some use we’ve given him pass after pass no matter what twisted skills he’s earned but now none of you can deny it! The system itself has named him as an evil god, what more do you need before we can finally come together to strike this blight from our world?”

“The system’s naming sense means nothing of a person’s character and while I do know that plenty of you are fools enough to not know that evil can be a rather subjective topic, there’s plenty of other interpretations to be made as well,” Anailia said in his defense. “Just look at all of us here! You in particular Eneth, don’t act as though you and I wouldn’t have fought to the last had we been born on the same world to leave the victor proclaiming the other as evil, our philosophies are far too different for there to have been any sort of peace that can exist like now thanks to the society we’ve built here! Ben has his own way of doing things but much of that has involved directly helping the world and now you’d see him die for his achievement?”

“An achievement that he wasn’t even trying for!” Myriad said in his defense. “Neither skill he awakened was what he was attempting to raise but the fact he still managed it is a testament to his talent! Besides, since it is a skill that can leave him in conflict with the gods, Anailia is right. No matter what it had been named, you all would have viewed him as such anyway, thereby being the authority to make the world view him as such! If the system called him this it’s just as likely that it’s because you were all planning on labeling him as an evil god from the start!”

“Pretty words but that doesn’t change the point,” Olensia sneered. “Whether he meant to awaken it right now or not, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s been actively trying to anyway and what he’ll do now that he has it. Look at him and his constant demands, do you really think he’s not going to try for more now that he might be a threat to us? Something has to be done!”

“But what?” Ben asked, speaking for the first time and forcing all side arguments to drop as he tilted his head. “Tell me, all of you gods in such a rush to see me die, what exactly will you do? Kill me and ascend me to godhood instantly? I’ll tell you right now, before you can find a way to deal with me up here I’ll cause enough havoc to drain you all of as much faith as I can. Imprison me then? With the skills I hold, it would be interesting to see if you’re able to find a prison that can hold me, trying to break out could make for a fun little challenge. So then is the main option banishing my soul to hell? Who knows, maybe that will work, maybe it won’t, there’s only one way for you to all find out so who’s gonna be the one to take the plunge and try? Just remember, if you fail, I’ll know exactly who among you did it.”

He spread his arms out as he said it, practically inviting them while at the same time gauging each god in his line of sight, looking for any signs of movement or reaction as one he didn’t know spoke up.

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“Don’t be so sure you can’t be contained until a real solution can be found, you’re-”

“Guiltless,” Ben cut him off, hearing scoffs that he ignored. “Look at how I’ve gained all of my sacrilege levels. The majority of them came from killing the forbidden gods and I got all of your approval to do it first and of the ones that didn’t come from that, I got some from destroying the tower of a careless god that’s not even alive anymore and by harming a demigod who threatened me and attacked the woman I love, along with making sure their church paid for it. Hell, looking at it from that perspective, the only one of you I’ve ever really harmed is Eneth. Even Olensia and Duna, two who either got in my way, had believers who’ve tried to harm me, or have outright threatened me, I’ve only asked of them enough compensation to try and make sure they wouldn’t do it again so really, the only god among you who matters that I’ve done anything to to earn my sacrilege levels is my own, with my actions against Myriad getting me my first two and my last. Myriad, do you hold any of that against me?”