- Lucifer and Death -
The group made their way out of the Underworld, saying their goodbyes to Hades and Persephone. Both parties agreed to attempt another vacation sometime in the future to make up for everything that happened. Lucifer rode on the back of Death's uništi so he could talk with Death about what was happening next.
"I'm still against it," Death said.
"Don't care," Lucifer replied. "Lao is more than important to my team, former member or not. I'm not just leaving him with Xiao and hoping for the best."
Death groaned. "You are aware that Xiao's squad is the third strongest behind Mary's and Zach's. The only safer squad for him to be in is Dahlia's, and that's only because of where she's currently stationed."
Lucifer looked back as he spoke, "Do you really not feel what's happening in this world? Nothing is simple right now, so I don't believe for a second that what's happening in Han'ei is just some unexpected outcome."
"Can't protect your team forever," Death mumbled.
"Heard that," Lucifer said. "It's not about protecting them forever, it's about not trusting obviously suspicious situations. If I let Lao join Xiao's squad and anything happened, I would get a very rightful amount of shit from the rest of my team."
"Former team," Death sighed. "I understand the suspicion, that's why I'm joining Xiao. Am I not enough protection for you?"
"No," Lucifer responded sharply. "You're great at killing, the best even, but you lack when it comes to defensive tools."
"How many times have I saved you and your team now?" Death spoke over his shoulder. "Good offense makes a good defense."
"Don't misremember our battles," Lucifer objected. "You did save me and my team multiple times, and I'm grateful for that."
"Doesn't sound like it," Death mumbled.
"I can still hear you," Lucifer continued. "Anyways, those times were clearly lucky. If you were just a few seconds late in Sol, I'd be dead. If you were just a few seconds late in the Underworld, Lao would be dead. I hate gambling, especially with lives, so please understand that you have your own limits."
"Fine," Death relucted. "It's not as if anything I say is going to change your mind regardless."
"Didn't stop you from arguing," Lucifer mumbled.
"Heard that," Death mocked.
Lucifer rolled his eyes. "You want some of that wine Eros gave me?"
"Now?" Death questioned.
"I think we could both use it," Lucifer proposed. "Besides, we're going straight for a while and Hrom's basically an automatic."
Death made an agreeing expression. "Sure. Don't blame me if you stain your clothes."
"You have any idea how many clothes I've destroyed?" Lucifer said with a chuckle before flying off.
- Yvere, Peter, and Poseidon -
Yvere had given the reins of her uništi to Sabu. She said it would be good practice for Sabu to learn. She was sitting across from Peter. Peter was sitting next to Poseidon with his sword unsheathed. Poseidon's eyes were nervously following the bouncing of Peter's sword with every bump the cart hit.
"Ya sure yer okay?" Peter said.
"Fine," Yvere said, wiping a cloth under her nose. "It's probably because of how much blood I've had."
Peter gave a worried look. "Ya really didn't need to restore the traitor's arm."
Yvere shook her head. "It's fine, really."
More blood came out of Yvere's nose as she tried to quickly wipe it away.
"Just had to feed the uništi," Peter glared at Poseidon.
"Sorry," Poseidon's eyes stayed on the sword.
"Maybe the King and Queen will know what's going on?" Yvere suggested.
Peter tilted his sword's tip at Poseidon. "They better, for this one's sake."
Poseidon suddenly regretted not taking Death's offer of being dragged by the cart.
- Yamato, Ash, Sophia, Kahvis -
(Future)
Ash returned to the resistance base to inform Kahvis of her victory.
"Didn't bring the head, cause you know, unrecognizable through the char," Ash said, looking around at all the gawking resistance soldiers.
"Who's she?" Kahvis pointed at Sophia.
"A woman I rescued," Ash stretched. "Where's Yamato?"
"You did it?" Yamato said as he walked up slowly. "How did you do it?"
Ash smiled. "Is that rhetorical or do you actually want details?"
"Details later," Kahvis said as they walked up to Sophia. "Would you mind if I heal your scars?"
Sophia was practically hugging Ash's back. "I would prefer to keep them as a reminder of what those monsters did."
Kahvis tilted his head slightly. "We have tattoo artists available if you'd prefer. I understand wanting to remember one's pain though."
Sophia was examining Kahvis. "I guess removing the scars would be better...thank you."
"If you need anything, just ask," Kahvis said. "We have things we need to discuss," They said to Ash. "Not just about Tonatiuh but also about the next target."
"'Course," Ash smiled.
- World -
Partial news of what happened in the Underworld did end up spreading throughout the Otherworld. Two pieces of information were debated, however. Poseidon's betrayal wasn't certain, with some beings questioning Lucifer's motives more than Poseidon's. Chronos being alive was generally disbelieved due to a number of factors, the main ones being that he was killed by Death and there were no remains.
The main generally accepted pieces of information that came out of the Underworld battle were the death of Artemis and Apollo, the betrayal of the minotaurs in Olympus, and the fact that there had been a large-scale terrorist attack on the territory. Most uninformed beings that heard about the attack assumed the gods of Heliopolis were responsible, with the more knowledgeable ones assuming it was Kahvis.
Regardless of who was being blamed though, there was a call sent out from the Healers' Guild that a world council meeting might need to be held sooner rather than later. Most of the world's leaders turned the idea down. The thing that changed some of the gods' minds was the death of Tonatiuh. Even with that, enough gods still weren't convinced for the meeting to be scheduled, for now at least.
Tonatiuh's death was credited to the god Mezir. There was a group of humans, however, that were spreading the idea that Tonatiuh had actually fallen to an unknown woman with dark skin and bright orange irises. These rumors were mostly disregarded by everyone except for a select few gods that seemed to know who the woman might be.
There was a general sense of unease that filled certain gods' minds as the world continued to shift. Some blamed the Demon War, some the new god Kahvis, and some even blamed Lucifer. None could quite agree on what was happening but all felt the change. Those that had brushed off the Demon War as a fluke were now worrying that it truly had been just the beginning.