Within the Lockward Family were different halls, each representing a family branch led by a God.
Louis' family branch was led by his father, who was also the leader of the Lockward Family Gods.
This was the Thunder family branch.
It was led by the God of Thunder and 12 other Elders of Thunder. Two of them are Gods, the rest are all Monarchs with their respective awakened powers.
Most have something to do with Thunder, Lightning, Rain, or Electricity.
This Hall of Thunder was close to his room, so he didn't have to run far to get there.
When he arrived, there were guards all over the place.
"Young Master, the Leader God and the 12 Elders are waiting for you."
Louis nodded.
If the 12 Elders were gathered, then the matter to be discussed today was serious. They rarely meet, as they are busy in other worlds.
And this would be the first time he had seen them.
His trembling hands revealed his nervousness, but he hid them under his cloak. He quickly suppressed his nervousness, remembering that the System had told him to face this without flinching.
After a short walk, he entered the Hall of Thunder, which was behind a large wooden door enriched with powerful minerals.
On the other side, a large hall came into view.
It was built in the shape of an auditorium, but rounded.
There were steps and rows of seats, one above the other in the form of a staircase, as if it were a courtroom.
A rectangular table with 14 seats was in the middle of the room, just below a marble platform.
Six and six on each side and one at each end.
Right now, 13 of those seats are occupied.
'Father... and the 12 Elders.'
Seat number 14 was empty.
This seat is usually occupied by one of Louis' siblings, usually the eldest, second, or youngest sister.
He had never used it before because he hadn't awakened. But now he had.
'Is it free for me?' he thought.
It would be a great joy to sit among gods like these.
Louis walked toward them and stopped on the other side of the table, where the empty seat was.
"Father. Elders." He greeted them respectfully, and a slight bow followed his greeting.
Then he placed his hand on the chair and pulled it out to sit down.
But then a lightning bolt flew across the table and struck his hand, singeing part of it. The pain was terrible and made him pull his hand away quickly.
In shock, he looked at his father.
The God of Thunder sneered.
"When were you allowed to sit on a Sacred Chair? On your knees, five meters from the table," he said in a hollow voice.
Louis couldn't understand why his father was so angry, but the divine pressure that gripped his back and legs forced him to take several steps back, kneeling him without a chance to do anything.
He had nothing to say. His breath faltered as he felt suffocated, but he managed to bow his head.
Perhaps he should kneel first, he thought.
London looked at the man on his right.
He nodded and stood up.
Then he walked over to where Louis was standing.
"Louis," he said.
Louis looked up when he was called.
"Uncle..." He started to greet him respectfully. But suddenly his body arched backward as he was kicked in the stomach, breaking several ribs.
His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets from the pain, and he writhed on the ground.
"Ah..." An inaudible cry of pain escaped his mouth.
"God said five meters," said the man. "How dare you disobey? Or is it that you can't even count anymore?" He scolded him.
Louis barely heard him, as pain was reigning over his body. He wanted to respond even so: "I was forced to kneel there. How do you expect me to count?"
But he was completely out of breath, and the pain in his ribs was terrible. Enduring it without screaming was already a feat.
He was angry, but he managed to calm down.
He was standing before gods. Not some idiot.
So, even though he was in pain, when he managed to catch his breath, he pressed his trembling hands against the floor and pushed his legs up.
His whole body was shaking until he got to his knees.
"I apologize." His voice sounded deep and emotionless.
He had come here thinking he would be treated like a normal human being, but it seemed he had been brought here... to be humiliated.
So there was no need to show a gentle or submissive attitude. He would kneel only because he had no other choice.
Perhaps it wasn't the best thing to do, but he had always treated those who wanted to humiliate him with coldness.
Finally, his uncle turned around and sat back down.
Then silence reigned for five long minutes. You could hear even Louis's uneven breathing in every corner.
In addition, the sound of thunder and rain seemed to emerge from the environment. It wasn't raining; there were simply gods of thunder and rain in this place.
After that short time, London took out a scroll.
"Louis Lockward. You may rise," he said.
Louis clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. With all the willpower in his body mustered, he stood up.
Even though his legs were shaking and his torso was contracting with pain, he was able to endure it, albeit with difficulty.
"The family has decided for you," London said.
"What plans... does the family have for me?" he asked.
The Elders seemed surprised and looked at him strangely.
'He can talk and act so tough despite that? Not bad.' They even looked at the man who had just beaten him to see if he had been too soft a moment ago.
But he was just as surprised.
His father didn't care. He threw the scroll into Louis's hand.
"Read it aloud. Without interruption."
Louis frowned and opened the scroll.
"..."
His mind went blank momentarily, but a strange, cold breeze blew through his hair.
He clenched his teeth, feeling as if he were becoming sentimental.
Memories of his family when he was little came back to him.
'Is it because I'm in a different body? This guy loved his family.' He realized. Looking at the scroll, he understood the reaction.
It was very cruel.
He didn't want to read it.
But there were thirteen powerful presences looming over his back. If he didn't do something, he would be sent back to the ground, forced to kneel.
So he swallowed several times until he could finally speak.
"Louis Lockward, recognized as the useless son of the Lockward Family..." The verdict began simply, but harshly. His father wrote this; he could recognize his handwriting.
Being called useless by his father didn't feel good.
But he had to continue.
"...From this day forward, you may no longer use the Lockward surname and will be banished from the Ancestral Lands for awakening the most useless and mundane class that exists. Thus violating the ancestral commandments."
His heart tightened, and every fiber of his body trembled.
"…The Lockward Family will not be held responsible for anything to do with him. His life or death will be of no concern to anyone. This Divine Mandate, signed by…"
The names of 14 people followed, one after another, according to their level of family importance. Starting with the Gods, the Monarchs…
Ending with a name he did not expect to see.
His older brother.
Seeing that name, there was the final straw for him.
The current Louis Lockward was not the same, but the feelings of this body had been passed down to him. And so, a tear fell down his cheek.
Just one, but it was enough to break him.
The memory of his older brother taking him to enjoy the beautiful landscapes of the Ancestral Land crossed his mind. Those huge waterfalls, the beautiful mountains, the movies they had seen...
Once he fell off a dragon, and his older brother was the one who saved him.
That's why it was so painful for him.
"Read." His father pressed once more, forcing him to read.
Louis closed his eyes for a moment and returned to his reading. It had hit him as hard as the betrayal he had felt when he saw his wife in the arms of his best friend.
Disappointment flooded his soul, but so did pain.
'Damn it, how can something that has nothing to do with me hurt me so much? It's the other Louis Lockward, damn it!'
Still, he had to keep reading.
"…Declares that Louis Lockward, now Louis, shall be banished to the distant Lands of the Underworld and shall never again set foot on the Ancestral Lands. If he ever does, he shall be exterminated by the signatories of this Divine Mandate!"
"Sincerely,…" His hand tightened on the parchment. "The God of Thunder… London Lockward." With that, the parchment seemed to come to an end.
But there was more.
An oath.
He didn't want to read it. But he had to.
Those powerful presences seemed to want to tear him apart completely.
"I... Louis, accept the Divine Mandate in an oath by my blood..." He clenched his teeth. "I will never set foot on the Ancestral Lands again." Then he bit his tongue and spat blood on the designated spot.
Finally, London nodded.
"Louis, the lineage of the Gods cannot be sullied by false gods," he declared, rising to his feet. "Money can buy nothing, not even loyalty. For what can you do without power? Enjoy reigning over trash." A hint of mockery crossed his words before disappearing like lightning.
The twelve elders looked at him thoughtfully.
One of them, the one who had attacked him earlier, threw him a healing pill.
"Drink it and get out," he said, closing his eyes at the end of his words before disappearing.
The rest of the elders followed him.
And in less than 10 minutes, it spread throughout the Region of the Gods.
For the first time in history, one of the sons of a God had been banished from the Ancestral Lands.
With nothing, not even a surname.
Louis remained in the Hall of Thunder, motionless.
The only thing in front of him was a system window congratulating him on completing the mission.
[Congratulations. You have completed the mission.]
[100 System Coins have been credited]
[You have received 10 Stat Points]
And a healing pill in his hand.
The pain overwhelmed him, but he no longer felt that physical pain, only emotional pain.
He spent 15 minutes like that.
"Sigh." An audible sigh escaped his lips as he swallowed the pill.
Just then, several guards came and dragged him away, throwing him into his room.
"They'll be coming for you soon. Pick up your belongings and don't dirty our clan with your filthy feet."
Before, they had treated him with respect, but now they despised him with scorn and whispers.
It was the price of being banished.
Louis said nothing, though he stored their faces, one by one, deep in his mind.