"How are things going?"
At the top of a certain peak within Olympus, the God with a black curly hair and orange eyes, stood atop while facing a holographic image of the skeletal God in front of him, "I'm ready. I'm just waiting for everything on your side to be settled."
Hades sighed, "Don't wait for it. I'm just preparing as much as I can before they find out where I am. Just act when you see the chance."
"What's wrong? I thought you still had some leeway?"
"I did... I did until a very important aspect of the Devil Replication was 'destroyed'."
While Apollo understood the implication of Hades' words, he had no idea what that 'important aspect' was because the latter had always been very secretive about it, 'If only he would share his technology, we'd be in a much better situation. Though I also understand his inability to trust others.'
"Does that mean we cannot expand our forces anymore?"
"No. There are still some materials left so I will still be able to produce a significant amount, however, at a much slower rate."
"Well, as long as you can draw the entirety of DxD to your side, I shouldn't have any problems."
"Shouldn't have any problems? It looks like negotiating with them is taking all of your time. According to the spies we have in Heaven, Kisuke Urahara is helping Gabriel open the Sacred Gear system."
Apollo's eyes widened in surprise, "He did? What's the result?"
"The report said that he wasn't able to do anything and left empty-handed. Though it seems they haven't given up and Kisuke Urahara would still return from time to time."
Apollo thought about it for a moment before asking, "What do you think? Do you think he has a chance to open the system?"
"Common sense dictates that he shouldn't be able to, but that man is far away from common sense."
"Your view of him has really changed over time."
Hades would always think back to when he would listen to Apollo's 'prophecies'. While he still believes in them, because it had always been reliable and until today, it was, he couldn't help but think that maybe they fulfilled his 'prophecy' because they came to know of his existence and tried to erase him. The moment they got involved with him was the moment that the 'prophecy' came true.
Ignoring Apollo's comment, Hades warned him, "Although he's essentially alone, you can't underestimate him."
Apollo nodded at his words, "That's true. But it's also true that no matter how strong he is as an individual, he has no chance of going against a literal army of Godlike beings that could destroy the large factions."
'Even then, he might do something unexpected and render that useless.' Hades wanted to say this but he knew that it'll only fall deaf on his ears and would only receive ridicule from him, 'I wonder... If I had taken a different approach, could the two of us have been partners?'
.
.
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"And that's how everything was settled." Yoruichi reported everything that has happened to Kisuke while she was lazing around, "In any case, they've already reached the limit of how much they can improve here... Unless there are more of those divine descents."
"How about the Aruna Familia and their associates?"
"The four Familias were annihilated. By using their children's souls to cover their own, they were able to descend. Lucky for them, they died with their souls intact. The rest who weren't able to use the technique due to their fear of the unknown have fled, but we don't have any intentions of chasing after them."
"Must have been a ghastly scene for those who discovered those bodies."
"Some of them were rotting so no doubt."
"How about the Gods? What was their reaction?"
"As expected, most of them don't have any idea of what occurred nor how it was resolved. Though what surprised me really was the fact that those who knew didn't spread it around. With that, we can safely assume that there's some kind of hierarchy of information even among the long-living Gods."
That was nothing new and they've already guessed that's the case. However, it was reassuring to confirm their initial hypotheses and were able to gain more confidence on how they should proceed from here on out.
"But from how it all ended, I'm guessing that the girls aren't feeling too happy about it?"
"Indeed. Aside from Kuroka and Sona, Koneko, Akeno, and Irina were dejected, especially the latter two. They were expecting to be able to do things like you."
Kisuke became silent. He also couldn't deny it as much as he hated that fact. Thanks to his obsession, he was able to prepare for most things and could do things on his own. Although that sounded amazing, it wasn't good for their growth. Like a child to their parents, they'll inevitably try to imitate him. However, the reality isn't that convenient as he knew himself that it was an abnormality.
No matter how one tries to be special, that's just impossible from simply imitating someone already special.
"With that in mind, I think they should return home." Yoruichi suggested, "Whether they participate in the upcoming war or just spend their time with their families and friends, it'll be a lot better than them being here, limiting themselves in many aspects. I don't like how they are looking down on themselves because they are comparing themselves to you or me. They need a fresh perspective."
"I agree... But the problem is 'your' contract with Chaos. As long as we don't know the specifics about it, it'll be hard to escape his grasp."
Yoruichi smiled before answering, "Regarding that, I finally was able to get some answers from Byakko."
According to Yoruichi, Byakko brought both Kisuke and Yoruichi with her to escape to another dimension and avoid Askin's 'Deathdealing'. However, Byakko failed to estimate her reemergence and made a mistake before slipping through the rift of dimensions, washing them away.
After an unknown amount of time, Byakko arrived at Chaos' domain. And because Kisuke and Yoruichi's souls were about to disperse due to traveling between dimensions, she didn't have much choice but to sign a contract and settle down.
But the moment Byakko signed the contract, she was able to feel Chaos' connection to the area beyond his domain and used that chance to escape because she couldn't fully trust him.
"So that connection turned out to be connected to Trihexa and we arrived in that world."
"That's right. But because she still signed the contract, she had to fulfill it somehow and brought us back when she deemed that we had enough power to protect ourselves."
"And the reason why she didn't say any of this until now?"
"...Her pride didn't allow her to admit that it was her mistake that we're in this mess."
"That's... very understandable."
Still, Yoruichi wasn't able to pry any more information, especially the contents of the contract itself because she was not allowed to reveal it to them until the stipulated time.