- Traveling Group -
The team's walkthrough of Sol led to a mix of emotions once they arrived at Olympus's border. Death and Lucifer seemed to be in a good mood while Dimitri and Lao seemed unnervingly quiet. Peter spoke with a serious face to Sabu in the back while Elijah, Yvere, and Heinrich discussed what they were looking forward to.
The border guards of Olympus were two large minotaurs, both standing well over ten feet tall, with a dozen minotaurs half their size behind them. They bowed to Death the moment the group approached. They hesitantly bowed to Lucifer right after. The group walked past the guards.
Lucifer spoke to Death, "We still have quite the walk before we actually get to the gates."
Death gave a brief glance behind him. "We'll have plenty of walking to do once we're actually in the Underworld. You know Hades is going to want to show us around."
The minotaurs were staring at Yvere as she led the uništi past them. They were showing a clear fear toward the creature once Death and Lucifer were out of sight.
"Hate those things," One of the two large minotaurs grumbled.
"How does she control it?" the other large guard wondered.
After a long trip, the group was finally at the gigantic metal gates of the Underworld. The gates were two large slabs of black metal on the ground with runic carvings. In front of it stood three figures ready to greet them; Zeus, Hades, and Persephone.
Hades' slender frame and gray-blue skin were accentuated by his dark black suit and wispy white hair. He matched Death's height, which combined with his build made him seem more like Death's brother than Zeus's.
Persephone stood to the right of Hades with a nervous smile. She seemed dwarfed by Zeus and Hades, being a full foot shorter than Hades. She kept playing with her long wheat-colored hair. Her pale, almost pink skin seemed to be flushed with embarrassment. The casual dress she was wearing showed Lucifer and Death that Zeus's appearance wasn't planned.
Zeus stood to the left of Hades. His thick gray hair, beard, aged face, and taller height made him clearly stand out from the other two. If not for his olive skin tone, he would have looked like Hades's father. His very muscular arms were folded in front of his long, light-brown robe.
"Friends!" Hades greeted with his pained smile.
Lucifer ignored Hades as he spoke to Zeus. "What are you doing here, Lord Zeus?"
Zeus spoke in a deep, grumbly voice. "Our brother wants some of your time."
Lucifer's thoughts raced by in a second. 'Really, Poseidon? Really?! We're actually gonna do this right now? FUCK!' he gave a light bow as he spoke. "Of course, right away."
Lucifer knew what this was about and couldn't stop shouting in his head. As much as he would have loved to tell Zeus no, he wasn't about to start the group's time in Olympus with immediate conflict. He had known the possibility of this happening existed but hadn't told anyone in the group out of hope that it wouldn't.
Death looked at Lucifer then Zeus. "Please don't keep him too long. The four of us have quite a lot we want to talk about."
Zeus huffed. "That depends on Poseidon. I'll try to make things quick."
'Liar,' Lucifer thought as he maintained his neutral expression.
"Well," Zeus unfolded his arms, "I'll see you there." He leaped into the air and flew off.
Elijah leaned over to Peter and Whispered. "He really can fly, huh?"
"He's one of the few of their pantheon that can, thankfully," Peter responded.
Hades looked up at Zeus with a grimace. "Sorry about that, truly. I assume you know what this is about?"
Lucifer sighed. "Unfortunately."
Persephone stopped playing with her hair. She motioned her hand to the large metal gates.
"I'll make sure to save you some extra portions," She said to Lucifer.
Lucifer smiled. "I appreciate it."
Death gave a worried look to Lucifer. "Anything happens, call me immediately."
Lucifer conjured his wings. "Trust me, I will." He flew off.
- Ash and Yamato -
Ash and Yamato were getting dressed as they sat on opposite corners of a bed.
"I appreciate the stress relief," Ash said.
Yamato looked down as he spoke. "I had written off the idea of ever being with someone again after accepting this thing's contract."
Ash finished dressing and stood up. "I wouldn't recommend trying this with any lessers. You lost a little bit of control during. I'm fine but a human, for example, might not be."
Yamato rubbed his right arm. "Right..."
'I warned you about that when we made our deal,' R'yaarj spoke in Yamato's head.
Ash slapped Yamato's back.
Yamato recoiled forward. "FUCK!"
"It's fine to have fun every now and again," Ash said. "I know the start of this war has you worried but that doesn't mean you should stay in your head speaking to him every second."
Yamato quickly put on his shirt. "Speaking of the start of this war; why are you helping us?"
Ash put on her cloak. "As I said before, I believe in helping lessers who help themselves."
Yamato thought back to a conversation he had with Kahvis.
(Shortly after the last conversation between Ash and Kahvis)
"Why did she join us?" Yamato asked Kahvis.
"She wants to help lessers," Kahvis lied. "Apparently she was waiting for beings like us to prove that we could actually accomplish something."
Yamato's tone was unsure as he spoke. "I guess she does seem like the type to help others, maybe."
'That's a lie,' R'yaarj told Yamato.
'How well do you know her?' Yamato mentally responded.
'Well enough to know she isn't altruistic,' R'yaarj responded.
Kahvis could see the doubt forming on Yamato's face and decided to further their argument, "She helped you when she didn't need to. She helped train our soldiers that use fire magic. I know she doesn't seem like the type to help selflessly, and maybe she's not, but I trust her enough to use her strength."
'Are you really going to-'
"Of course, commander," Yamato interrupted R'yaarj.
Yamato walked away from Kahvis. 'I gave my body to an eldritch, so I have no place to judge someone's motives.'
- Lucifer, Zeus, Poseidon -
Lucifer eventually made it to the top of Mount Olympus. The large crowd that noticed his approach was whispering among each other.
"QUIET!" Poseidon shouted behind him.
Poseidon wore a similar robe to Zeus, with the main difference being a light blue tinge. He looked far more like Zeus than Hades. The exceptions to his similarities with Zeus were his youthful face and light black hair that had faded streaks of blue.
Zeus narrowed his eyes at Lucifer. "After hearing about your ranking increase my brother and I thought it would be fitting for you two to have a rematch."
'I figured,' Lucifer thought. "Let's have a good match," He said to Poseidon.
Poseidon tilted his head up and looked down at Lucifer. "I should hope you put up a better fight than last time."
"I'll try," Lucifer faked a smile.
Lucifer, Zeus, and Poseidon flew off, eventually arriving at a massive coliseum. Half of the coliseum appeared to be a small lake. The seating around the arena was completely packed with the various races of Olympus; satyrs, nymphs, minotaurs, and many more. There was a section of the seating that had clearly been separated from the rest. In it stood six figures.
The tone of Lucifer's thoughts got increasingly angrier. 'Oh good, you brought the family and tens of thousands of spectators. I guess there's no point to the duel's code if everyone here knows our abilities.'
A cloaked man stood in the center of the ring, projecting his voice to the crowd. "ARE YOU READY FOR THE REMATCH BETWEEN LUCIFER, THE FALLEN FAVORITE OF HEAVEN, VERSUS THE LORD OF WAVES, POSEIDON?!!"
The crowd's cheering was deafening.
'You planned this the day after I called you, didn't you?' Lucifer questioned Zeus in his mind. 'Are you that bored for entertainment? You know what? Fine. I'll give you the show you so desperately want.'
Lucifer hid his smile with his hand. His eyes were as wide as they could be, their red color glowing so brightly it made him easy to spot from below.
The announcer continued, "HERE THEY ARE! WILL THE FALLEN PROVE HIMSELF, OR WILL POSEIDON QUENCH THE FLAMES YET AGAIN?!"
Poseidon and Lucifer landed on opposite sides of the announcer. Poseidon removed his robe, leaving a pair of shorts as his only clothing. His chest and back were covered in tattoos that resembled cuts and punctures, with a clear depiction of Ares on his left shoulder blade. His golden trident was brought to him by a minotaur. He walked to the front of the small lake.
"Put up a good fight this time!" he shouted back at Lucifer.
The announced walked by Lucifer and whispered. "Not my script. Sorry about all that."
Lucifer lowered his hand, revealing his clear attempts to hide his smile. "It's okay."
The announcer flinched after seeing the smile. Wings shot out from their cloak and they flew upward. They were looking down at the center of the arena as they spoke.
"ON MY MARK! GET READY!"
Poseidon gathered water into four spheres around him. Lucifer ignited his arms and conjured his wings.
Lucifer had one final thought before the starting shout. 'You expect this to be the same as last time? I guess you'll never leave the past. I don't need to win this, I just need to prove to you and them that I deserve some respect.'
Poseidon gave a curious look at Lucifer's arms. It was clear on his face that he hadn't expected such a thing.
'Whatever tricks you picked up during your time in that place won't help you against me,' he thought. 'You rode your way to a higher rank on the back of Death's work.'
Lucifer noticed the look on Poseidon's face and decided to shout over. "You want to hear a saying I learned when I first started proper training?"
Poseidon's face scrunched with irritation. "Why not, fallen?"
Lucifer leaned forward and shouted in a mocking tone. "The oceans are nothing before the sun!"
Poseidon's face filled with anger.
"GO!" The announcer yelled.