"Thanks for coming with me."
"Do you really think I would leave this for you to deal with on your own?" Izzy glanced at me.
I shrugged. "Probably not, but I just wanted you to know that I appreciate you." I finished with a smile.
Surprisingly, she grabbed my hand, taking it in hers. "Something weighs on you?"
"Other than everything?" I responded with a hint of sarcasm.
She lightly nudged me. "You know what I'm talking about."
"I feel a little bad about leaving while they have to clean up their mess." I admitted.
"You realize that they were thrilled to have a mess to clean up, right?" Izzy looked at me. "You have done far more than what would be expected of you considering the circumstances. They are no fools, Wilhelm. Despite what they project, their attitudes, and their preferences, they are Gods that are older than most civilizations in the world. They are aware of what you want and they are happy to not push anymore responsibilities onto your plate. Besides, they have their own pride too. As thankful as they are, and trust me they are extremely thankful, you are barely an adult by human standards, and you succeeded where they would have failed."
"Logically, I understand. Emotionally, I feel like I just left a huge mess in their arms and walked away."
"That's because you're a good person." She leaned over and kissed my cheek.
I pursed my lips. "I'm incredibly selfish and greedy."
"So?"
"What do you mean, so?"
"Why do those things stop you from being a good person?"
"Vengeful." I added. "Lustful. Prideful. Lots more that I could keep adding."
"What's gotten into you?" She stopped in her tracks, forcing me to stop along with her.
My immediate reaction was to deny the issue but I relented. "Musū Tengai said something to me before. I didn't have time to think about it, but now that the adrenaline wore off and that my mind isn't racing or we're in danger….I've been thinking about it and it's been bothering me."
"What did your spirit say to you?"
"He asked me if it was worth losing over 700 years of my lifespan for people I don't know, and for a conflict I had no stakes in."
"…I wouldn't call it a significant number. For someone like me, it isn't particularly relevant. Even for Devils, I believe it's said that a newborn Devil can expect to live at a minimum of 10,000 years or so if nothing changes? But you are far from ordinary."
"I know, relatively speaking, it's not very long in terms of my entire lifespan considering the future." I put a hand on my chest. "My Dragon Heart for one will have some effect on that. Becoming a Campione as well has increased it significantly. My Spiritual Power has an effect on my overall lifespan to a certain degree. My Aura has a slight boon to it as well."
"However, you're barely into your twenties. That's nearing 35 times the life you've currently lived. It's not wrong to be contemplating such a thing in your shoes."
"But I couldn't answer his question when he asked." I admitted. "I still don't know the right answer. What does that say about me?"
She put a gentle hand on my cheek. "That just says you're human." She said with the most kind and gentle smile.
I don't know why, but I felt something weird inside of me.
Under my Divinity, under my Draconic nature, under my Aura, my Spiritual Powers, my Magic, and even under my Devilhood….
I think I forgot. With all the changes I've gone through, the world stage I stepped on, the opponents I fight, the conflicts I'm involved with. There's one truth I've held onto since the beginning, even if it fell to the back of my mind in recent times.
I couldn't help but smile in return. "I guess I forgot, that at my core, I'm still human."
As if something clicked, I felt something stir within my soul. I unconsciously looked inward and my 'eyes' landed upon the Golden Acorn that the World Tree gave me for my services rendered.
It vibrated in place and ever so slightly, it cracked.
And the tiniest speck of green peeked out, greeting the world.
"Is something wrong?" Izzy looked at me in concern. "You just went blank for a moment."
"Sorry, I just turned my sight inwards. I'm good." I felt a lot of exhaustion sort of wash off me. "Thank you for reminding me, I don't want to forget my roots and it's easy to lose my perspective with everything that's been happening."
She leaned over and kissed my cheek again. "Any of us would have done so. The you that has a human heart is the man we've all fallen for."
I wanted to jump into my soul and figure out what was happening, but since Musū Tengai didn't speak up, it was safe to assume that there was nothing bad happening.
I had something important to do at the moment, so I would shelve that for when I had free time later.
Which, I was going to have a lot of free time in the foreseeable future because I deserve a vacation.
Both Izzy and I stepped onto the sands beyond the River Styx and immediately I felt the weight of the Underworld bear down on me.
"Hades, stop being rude." Izzy said casually.
The weight then receded quickly and listening very closely, I believe I heard the chastisement of Persephone.
The ground shook and the familiar form of a three-headed dog trotted over, tongues hanging out of its mouths as it looked at us excitedly.
"Hello Cerberus, have you been a good boy?" Izzy was quick to give him lots of pats on the snoot.
Cerberus barked, and nearly sent a tidal wave down the River Styx.
I was about to do something to fix it, thinking that was perhaps not a good thing, but the 'waves' upon it unnaturally came to the still and abated.
Gradually my head turned to see a certain black haired petite girl sitting on the edge of the river, her bare feet resting within it.
Nyx simply sat there, not even bothering to look our way.
Cerberus looked her way, but paid her no heed. Instead all three of his heads looked at me and he fell to the ground, letting out a low whine in my direction.
I think I knew what he wanted?
I called upon the wiggliest of Rabbits and let my Familiar come out to play. Cerberus immediately started bouncing around, causing the ground to rumble in his happiness.
Sir Wiggles landed on his head and it seemed like they were silently communicating before Cerberus looked at me again and Sir Wiggles landed on my head this time.
I let Lady Wiggles out to join them.
Cerberus, curiously, did not show that same energy as before. Rather, the Three headed Dog was very calm and seemingly polite as Lady Wiggles greeted the Divine Beast and him in turn.
She slowly floated up to land upon Cerberus' head and my Familiar joined her. The Three Headed Dog just trotted off with a strange gentleness to it.
"Well, that just happened." Izzy deadpanned.
I shrugged.
"Hades, are you going to greet us, or should we go home?" Izzy threw her hands up on her hips.
A very disgruntled grumble echoed out as the God stepped through the shadows, standing in front of him. He had his arms crossed and frowning with a cheerful Persephone by his side.
"Hello Izanami, how are you?" The Goddess greeted her.
"I'm doing well, Persephone. As much as I can be." Izzy said casually, apparently ignoring the grump God next to her object of conversation. "After Wilhelm's adventure, I'm debating on if I should chain him up in Yomi so he doesn't get into trouble any longer."
"You can borrow some of our chains if you want." Persephone's lips curled.
"Dear." Hades's voice was oddly high as he swung her head to her.
"Oh stop being a prude, they probably assume we do much worse than things like that." The Goddess rolled her eyes.
"I'm more than aware that my brother has ruined any semblance of reputation for us in that department, but It's the principal of the issue." Hades pointed out.
"I wasn't going to judge you for what Zeus gets up to." I decided to interject.
Hades looked at me and let out a sigh. "Oddly, that is more kind to hear than you could imagine." Hades held his hand up. "Let us continue this in private." He paused and looked towards the River Styx. "Lady Nyx, you have been much more active in recent times."
"There have been much more interesting things happening in recent times." She said emotionlessly, not even bothering to turn around.
Hades politely nodded her way and snapped his fingers, bringing us all to the secret room we used before.
Simply a stone chamber with a table and seats inside. However, it was so heavily guarded, that I was silently pondering how difficult it would be to escape even with my Magic.
I guess after Nyx's previous warning, Hades took things more seriously.
Without wasting time, I took out the Scythe I received from Kronos and set it on the table.
Hades didn't speak, rather he lifted his hand to pick it up. He ran a hand down its edge and wooden handle. "I have not seen this since it was turned against me during our rebellion. It disappeared very quickly afterwards."
He let out a sigh, putting it back down on the table. "My father...did he fight well?"
"It was the best fight I've ever had." I admitted with full genuineness.
"Good, that's good." Hades had a complicated look on his face. "I would be angry if he lost without putting forth his best and being a bigger shame than he was before."
He said that, but I could tell there were other emotions hiding underneath.
"I'm sorry for what I had to do, but I'm not apologizing for doing it." I jumped straight to the meat of the issue.
Hades' aura flared up for a moment before settling down. "Devils, always so infuriating. You had no right."
"He invaded the Nine Realms, and I was the acting King of Asgard, I had all the right."
"He should be imprisoned here!"
"He broke free once."
"With outside help!"
"And look at that, Loki initiated Ragnarök, using his outside help as well."
"He should have been handed over after his defeat." Hades frowned.
"Tell that to Yggdrasil. He did something that couldn't be ignored, and the World Tree demanded punishment."
"…the World Tree?" He said quietly.
I took out the Box and set it on the table for them to see.
Both Persephone and Hades nearly reeled back at the baleful Aura. "Why do you have that?"
"Kronos and Hyperion were, presumably, under Loki's orders to use Níðhöggr as a vector to infect Yggdrasil with that thing." I pointed to the box. "As you can clearly see, it's Pandora's Box."
Hades let out another tired sigh, rubbing his eyes. "Dammit Zeus, why didn't you notice this was stolen from right under your nose!?"
"Odin's rightfully angry, you know."
"As he should be." Hades admitted. "The All-Father is many things, but he is practical. I assume he left you to express his annoyance for this particular situation."
I nodded. "He's not going to hold it over your head. Odin isn't an idiot….most of the time. Obviously no fault can be thrown at your feet, and it's even minimal for Zeus. Every side was played heavily by them, we're just trying to pick up the pieces as we try and catch up."
"That Box gives off a disgusting Aura and it angers every fiber of my being that it simply exists." Hades scowled looking at it further. "What do you intend to do with it?"
"I haven't figured it out. I was going to ask Pandora for her thoughts."
Hades groaned. "I forgot that you are her….adoptive son." His words were carefully chosen. "Keep it on you for now, I trust no one with it for the feeling it's giving me."
"Nyx made a comment about it reminding her of something bad."
"Of course." Hades groaned. "I will attempt to investigate, but don't expect much."
"Not to team up, but that's not the end of it, Hades." Izzy spoke up. "Hel was chained by her Father using the same Chains that were used to tie up Zeus to his throne."
At this point, I had a feeling that Hades was going to teleport up to Olympus and start a brawl with his brother.
"This is valuable information, thank you. When next I go up to discuss what happened in the Norse Realms and Zeus inevitably throws his tantrum regarding our father, I will reveal this to him and it should make him paranoid enough to become quiet."
And the fact that if he tried anything Odin and them just have to point to that and ask them for an explanation.
Frankly, there wasn't much ground for the Greek Gods to stand on.
But that hasn't always stopped them in the past.
"Is Hel alright?" Hades finally asked.
Persephone happily squeezed his hand. "I was worried about her too after hearing the brief report on what happened."
"She is doing well enough." Izzy nodded. "I'm sure you can imagine what she's experiencing right now considering it was her father."
Hades didn't need to reply to that, the look on his face said it all. "Are you presenting my Father's Scythe as a gesture of good will?"
"Sorry, that isn't for you."
"By your tone, it doesn't sound like you are keeping it. Admittedly, I am not shameless enough to demand it as you are the one who defeated him…. What are you intentions?"
"I promised him that I would give it to your mother with a message."
Hades became quiet and contemplative. "Very well, I will show you where she is living after we finish. I will not begrudge an oath you made to my Father."
"You want a full rundown of what happened?" I asked.
He put a hand up. "I have the general idea, I will speak with Odin later about the finer details as I have to ask him other questions. I will be making use of our 'alliance' to get a leg up on my siblings through this so there is no need for you to waste your time. No, I am talking about the other matter we discussed."
"The matter of the Holy Relics?"
"Precisely." Hades confirmed. "Withdraw the Spear."
I didn't hesitate to put the Spear of Longinus onto the table. It was still wrapped up tightly without much Holy Power leaking out, but its cracks and battered appearance were still obvious.
Hades put his hand on the table and the shadows swirled around him until a golden crown appeared next to it.
"The Iron Crown of Lombardy, you found it." I marveled at the sheer Holy Power the thing was radiating. It was almost like I was standing in front of an Archangel. "Did you run into any problems."
"Funny you mention, problems. It seems that I have completely cut ties with Khaos Brigade through this action."
"….what happened?"
"It was owned by a young women named Meredith Ordinton. A budding Magician born to a commoner and a member of the British Royal Family. She was ostracized and they pushed her out. She was distraught and angry at the actions of the Royal Family, which made it easy for a certain entity to possess her in some capacity. It seemed that it was not a completed Possess as I was able to separate the Entity and the human. But if it had occurred even months later, there would have been far more issues."
"Who?"
"Aka Manah, a Godly Entity, but more a Demon than a God. It is subordinate to Angra Mainyu." Hades stated.
I felt myself fill with disgust as the name Angra Mainyu was spoken. "Did you have any trouble?"
"Both myself and Thanatos were able to handle it easily. Its strengths do not lie in battle, but subterfuge and manipulation. However, killing a God that wishes to flee is no easy task, especially for a cowardly entity like Aka Manah. At this point, I am fairly sure it has revealed what I had done and I will no longer be falsely considered an 'ally' to the Organization of Evil Gods."
"It's unfortunate, but it would have happened eventually."
Hades shrugged. "It is what it is. They will not outright be hostile to me, but the semblance of trust they seemed to place in me will now be gone and I wouldn't be surprised if they attempted to 'test' me with some matter or another. Frankly, I will weigh how much I can gain by continuing this façade or not."
I hesitantly reached over and picked up the crown. It did not react violently to me, perhaps because the spear began to tremble.
Almost like an unconscious movement, I pushed the crown against the spear.
One of the oldest insignias of the faith. It even contained one of the Holy Nails that were used to pin Jesus to the Cross.
Holy Power cascaded off in every direction as the wardings around the room fluctuated. The Grown gradually began to be sucked into the Spear until it disappeared entirely.
The cracks along the spear also began to mend at visible speeds. They lit up in a golden light and like flesh, it was mended back as if it never occurred.
The spear itself shined with a renewed luster and all the bindings I had on it shattered at once, revealing its full glory once more.
"I do not suggest doing what you did before. I am not sure if providing it with another Relic will restore it if it becomes as damaged as it once was." Hades spoke.
I picked it up, happy to have my Spear back again. "Believe me, I hope to never have to use that again."
"Come, I will take you to see mother."
[***]
Persephone held Izzy back so they could chat for a while, but honestly, I think Hades just didn't want a 'crowd'.
I did not expect our destination either.
Hades teleported us to a quaint little hamlet in New Hampshire, in the United States.
"America?" I raised a questioning eyebrow.
Hades, who's powers fluctuated enough to alter his clothing to something less flamboyant, simply shrugged. "Where do you think people go to retire? There are plenty of Gods, or Ancient beings that live within these lands because they have become disillusioned with the world."
"And no one bothers them there?" I mean, I knew that no one really caused trouble in the States, but It seemed odd that even Gods live here undisturbed.
"There is an unspoken agreement that these lands are protected by most Factions in the world. Any God who deems to cause trouble here would find themselves in a world of trouble themselves by many. My mother is not the only one who treats this place like her retirement home."
Right, even Gods have parents. Many of which have probably stepped back from their responsibilities. The easiest way to piss off a bunch of Gods is to kick up a fuss around their Parents who are just trying to live peacefully.
And considering that, I guess that's where the whole 'America is neutral' concept emerged in the wider Supernatural community.
"I will need to make a trip to give thanks to the local God that still persists here." He mumbled something about 'providing a bit of divine power as payment'.
"I thought the Local Gods were….gone."
Hades looked distant for a moment. "Less than a handful remain. Far too few in consideration for how many once walked these lands before settlers arrived some centuries ago. It was the quickest anyone has ever seen a pantheon of Gods disappear from the world and nearly entirely by Human hands."
I….didn't feel like it was right to ask for an elaboration. Almost felt like a taboo subject among the Gods to speak about, so I held my tongue.
Hades walked up to one of the very normal looking houses. Honestly, I could detect absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, this whole place had not a lick of supernatural inclination anywhere.
With a knock on the door, it was opened quickly.
A tall woman with bright green hair and a few flowers in it answered. She had perhaps the most significant 'mother' feeling I've ever felt from someone bar my own mother. "Hades!" She practically screamed, throwing her arms around the God.
"Hello, Mother." He just accepted the big hug despite his stoic appearance.
"Look at you. Have you been eating well? Is Persephone treating you okay? You're not fighting right? I have a guest room if you were kicked out! Are Zeus and Poseidon fighting again?"
"Mother." The God of the Underworld huffed indignantly.
"Well, come on in. I haven't seen you in ages!"
"I was here last month for dinner, mother." Hades grumbled.
She ignored him and walked inside. "You can bring the mortal that smells like my Husband as well."
I looked at Hades and he just nodded.
As soon as I stepped past the threshold, I could feel the divine power that permeated the house. It wasn't an 'intentional' exuberance, but just the passive absorption from a God living within this building for a long period.
Or rather Titan in this case.
Frankly, it was surprising that I couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary until I got inside.
Then again, she was unfathomably older than I am, so it shouldn't be a surprise that she knows a few tricks I'm not privy to.
But it was a very warm place.
It felt like a true home.
"Do you want something to eat or drink? I didn't expect you otherwise I would have baked something yummy!"
"We're here on business, mother."
"Hmph, you should just come to visit because you love me!"
"I do, rather often." Hades sat down at the table, propping his head up in exasperation. "And you are welcome to come to the Underworld whenever you want."
"You know your brothers would throw a fit if I showed any favoritism."
"Then visit them too. Even Zeus wouldn't say anything if you dropped in on him when you felt like it."
"I don't want to ruin their images, you know their egos would get bruised if their mother came into their 'kingdoms' and started mothering them." She smiled sadly.
"And I'm different?" The God of the Underworld huffed in annoyance again.
"You're much more insular and everyone there is already used to your wife pulling your leash." She patted her son on the cheek.
"Mother, must you infront of the mortal?" Hades groaned.
"You're the one who brought him here for me to meet, that means it's fair game." She giggled.
"Hello, Lady Rhea." I found it the best opportunity to properly greet her.
The Titan in question seemingly cleaned her hands on the apron she was wearing. I was momentarily stunned because she was honestly one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. "And you're the mortal who killed my Husband are you?"
I looked at Hades.
"My Mother keeps abreast of events that happen in the world." He said simply.
"He's…..alive, sorta."
"You fought him all by yourself?" She gave me a scrutinizing look.
"Yes, Ma'am." I nodded.
"Yes, I can see what all the fuss is about. Really, Mortals these days are so fierce."
"….he said the same thing to me at one point."
Rhea just chuckled. "I'm sure he would. He must have been utterly confused at the state of the world once he escaped his prison."
"Apparently, he got his hands on a phone and played around with it."
The Titaness just let out a beautiful laugh. "I can't picture it at all. Hades, can you imagine your father trying to work a phone or handling being insulted by some anonymous mortal across the world?"
Hades, for his part, found amusement as well.
Rhea quickly settled down and looked up. "If he had come to ask forgiveness and wanted to settle down, I would have taken him. If he just gave up on all the foolishness and wanted to live with me, I would have put everything in the past."
"Mother…."
"Tell me, Mortal. What message did he trick you in relaying?" Rhea's expression shifted and she looked at me. "He wants me to know he's sorry, right?"
"Yes, Ma'am." I nodded.
"Of course he wouldn't say it in person." She scoffed. "He told me he was sorry every time he devoured one of our children. He promised me he would be better, but the madness and paranoia always won over. Always telling me he was sorry, not once has he ever given me a reason to believe him."
I took out the Scythe and put it on the table. "He also wanted you to have this."
Rhea froze when she saw it.
"That….stupid man." She huffed. "Thank you for passing along his message."
"It's what I should do." I said simply. "I'll head out."
I felt like I shouldn't stick around at this point and that I was intruding.
Hades acknowledged it and I felt like we would have another chat in the near future, but he had family things to worry about right at this moment.
I took out my phone as I left the house and messaged Izzy, because I was finally heading home.
I barely opened a portal and set foot in my home before I heard a loud 'Daddy' and a floofy torpedo hit my chest.
I hugged my daughter tightly and I felt all the remainder of my anxiousness, regrets, exhaustion and other negative emotions slip away.
Not only Kunou, but the others were here too. Yasaka joined her daughter in a family hug.
"Welcome home." She whispered.
Quick to not let me room to breathe as the two foxes finally released me, Raikou pushed my head between her bountiful bosom and hugged me tightly. "Mommy was worried!"
"We all were." Venelana grabbed me from behind. "Though, I already knew you were okay at this point." She giggled.
Surprisingly, Salem was here too and she went up right into my personal space with a scowl on her face. She grabbed me by the collar and seemed to look me over. "Are you hurt?"
"Nothing too serious." I reassured her.
"Hmph." She let go and turned away, but….I felt the concern she was trying to hide.
"Will!" Jeanne threw herself at me almost like Kunou did. She was pouting as she looked up at me from our hug. "You're okay, right?"
"I'm fine, don't worry."
"Everyone else is alright too?"
"They're all doing well." I confirmed. "It was a hard fight and it was touch and go for awhile, but we all pulled through."
"I'm glad." Jeanne smiled beautifully.
Lastly, was my first love.
Jeanne seemed reluctant to pull away, but she let me walk towards Meridia.
Meridia was being standoffish with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face like Salem. "Jinn is not with you."
"She's still hanging out there, she made a lot of friends."
"Yes, I'm sure she has. It seems she is no longer a 'spirit' now."
"So you heard?"
"She messaged us continuously, along with the reports we received from your other paramours who were present. She has made it a point that we are now 'officially sisters' because we're both 'Goddesses', and I have to refer to her as such." Her lips twitched slightly as she tried her best to keep the scowl going, but I could vaguely see the amusement present. "I will have to give her an earful later and make sure there are no residual problems with her new ascension. Her original existence was already something odd and remarkable in a way. I fear there may be some problems with her now that her existence has changed."
"Izzy expressed some concern as well."
"Good, she is wise." Meridia nodded in approval. "But that is a matter for later."
"Ah, is this the part where I get an earful?" I prepared myself.
Rather, she placed a gentle kiss on my lips against my expectations. "Welcome home, my love."
"I'm home." I wrapped her up in a big hug.
Yeah, I really need a vacation.
Actually, wasn't Kunou's Birthday coming up? Well, that's going to be rather interesting.
[***]
Part 6 of Looking Glass Omake will be up later today on p.a.t.r.e.o.n.
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.