Mount Olympus
Next Day
Jin Skyward
"…Good morning?"
"…"
I woke up, and there was Latia right in front of me. She was already awake and staring at me without blinking. I wave my hand in front of me, but got no reaction. I blew some air into her face, but still no reaction. I see, I need to take drastic measures.
Poke ~
I reach out and poke her on the nose. That did get her to frown a little. But nothing else.
Rustle ~ Rustle ~
"Mmyoning…. Wyhere fyoood?"
I hear someone starting to move around and wake up, only to hear Inaie's tired voice. I chuckle and turn around to see her rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. I also notice Raiko was already gone.
"I guess it's time to get up."
I can sense that the rest of the household was already up. The dream I had with Irene was short, but a lot of time had already passed during it. Sighing and getting up from bed, I walk out of the door, followed by a still tired Inaie clinging onto me. Latia took her time getting ready.
The smell of food was what enticed me to go to the kitchen and dining room. When we got there, Raiko, Hestia and to my surprise Hephaestus were cooking breakfast.
"Morning…"
"Mfyiniong."
I look at Inaie and chuckle.
"How you manage to get up early in the morning and cook with Grayfia and Raiko is beyond me."
"…Grayfia is scary if I don't get up on time, so the fear is what makes me wake up."
Poor thing. I pat her on the head as she lets out more tired noises. I offer to help make breakfast with them but as per usual, I was rejected. I shrug and carry Inaie back with me to the living room. I sit down and let her use my lap as a pillow. She quickly falls back to sleep.
Cúntóir, anything unusual happen while we were asleep?
Cúntóir: Answer: None yet, or at the very least if they did, I could not sense them because they drank the blood. However, it seems Freyja is planning to stalk you again today.
Great… Thanks anyway. Greed?
'…Medusa has not made any moves; however, I have seen suspicious people lurking around the city. Permission to engage, my king?'
Granted, I will leave it to your judgment whether to incapacitate or kill on sight.
'Yes, my king.'
Suspicious characters, huh? I guess I made the right decision in staying then. I'll assume they'll attack today then… I'll have a few shadows everywhere then since I don't know where they'll attack. I gained quite a lot of new shadows recently.
Five thousand... Alright, I'll put them all in major cities then one thousand two hundred and fifty in each of the cities then. I'll also need to make them go to smaller ones along the way, but their strength has been changed so it's fine.
I tap my head and send the orders to the five thousand cryptids and divine beasts shadows, and they quickly vanish from beneath me. After doing that, Latia came into the living room and gives me a questioning look, I just pat my lap and she nods. She comes over and sits on my lap and waits for me to explain, and I did.
"I think Khaos Brigade will attack today; I've sent out around five thousand shadows all across the realm to help defend it since I don't know where they'll attack first. They might attack everywhere to create panic and then focus on whoever they'll get, who I'll assume is Medusa since I did take her away from them recently."
"If they have any other objective, I'll just deal with it as it comes. Ares is also here, so he might help them too. I haven't sensed any of the other 'troublesome' or 'evil' Gods yet, although I'm led to believe that they've drank the blood too, so it's probably useless to try."
I sigh, and look at Inaie who was using my other right thigh to sleep on. Latia was on my left.
"Well, just be ready for anything today, you know?"
She nods.
Wait that reminds me... I open my [Inventory] and look at the sealed power of Ares. There's no chance of me giving it back to him, so who do I give it to? I look at Latia as she was curiously gazing at me too. I glance back down at Inaie, perhaps her? Or Raiko…?
"Is something the matter, Jin?"
"…Well—"
I explain to her my small dilemma and she sighs.
"I do not want it, I also cannot see Inaie wielding that power properly, however, perhaps Raiko will be more suitable, however, that's only for the current people near to you right now. Personally, out of all the lovers and friends you have… I would give it to Sairaorg Bael. He is a close friend of yours, is he not?"
"Sairaorg, huh? But would he even accept a power like this? The guy has worked hard to achieve his current power, you know? I doubt he would take a handout even if it was from me. But I do want to help him out. Maybe giving him a new kind of power, or at least unlocking the use of demonic energy for him. This may help him gain access to the [Power of Destruction] and make him even stronger."
Latia nods.
"That is true, he is not a man that will easily accept assistance like that… But your second idea, he may consider, he still needs to work hard to master it after all."
I nod. Mmm. I've been meaning to help him out since he did do the same to me, and I want to return the favor. I think being able to use the [Power of Destruction], and maybe a little something else may benefit Sairaorg. But I'll have to wait and see if he accepts.
He already has [Regulus Nemea] to master and Touki. If I give him too much, he might not master any of them. That's something I have to consider…
Bonk ~
I felt a spatula on my head. I turn around to see Hephaestus had come into the room.
"Breakfast is done, let's eat."
"Sure thing. Time for breakfast, Inaie."
I shake the sleeping girl to wake her up and she groggily gets up. Phae heads back first and the rest of us follow her.
…
Breakfast was fine. It was a collective effort by all of them, so Hestia didn't have much room to brag and mostly stayed silent. The only thing left to do is wait, or I can look around for them. But—
"Jin-sama."
A male figure approaches us as we were just outside of Hephaestus' home. It was Vybath. Raiko and Inaie were confused about who it was, but everyone else knew him.
"Vybath? Do you need something?"
"Freyja-sama wishes to speak with you... Privately."
I, along with everyone else, are slightly shocked when he makes the announcement.
"Well—"
""No.""
I start to speak but was interrupted by Hephaestus and Latia grabbing my shoulders. Vybath smiled wryly at them, unsure of how to proceed. I was also a bit surprised by their reaction. I expected something, but nothing to this extent.
But— I gently remove their hands from my shoulder and sigh.
"Lead the way."
""Jin?!""
Both women shout in disbelief.
"It's better to speak with her now and not drag it out. If we can come to an understanding or even a middle ground, it will be better for everyone involved."
I tell them, and Vybath smiles.
"As expected of the Middleman. Fufu, please stand beside me and I shall teleport us to Freyja-sama's home."
I nod and stand beside him. Before we leave, I see them looking at me with worry. I'll be fine, they worry too much…
…
Freyja's Home
"Freyja-sama I am back."
Vybath announces, bows and disappears. I was teleported into a dimly lit room. I scanned the entire place, and it seems like I'm in the human realm. Could this be one of the many homes Freyja owns? Why did she take me to the human world?
As I gaze into Freyja's face, I see that she is dressed as she usually does. She is sitting in a chair with what appears to be a glass of wine in her hand. Her legs were crossed and she shifts them… She wasn't wearing any panties. I do hope she doesn't try to seduce me or anything.
"Welcome, Jin Skyward. To my home in Italy. It's one of the many homes I own around the world. I must apologize for bringing you here all of a sudden."
She says to me while giving me the same look as yesterday without the glowing eyes. I stare back at her and nod.
"It's no problem, Freyja. So what did you want to speak to me about?"
She 'smiles' at me.
"Tell me, Jin Skyward. What are your thoughts on love, sex and relationships?"
"…"
[Here it is, Partner, protect your private parts!]
{You also need to do that.}
[What?]
Boom!
[Aye, yo! Don't aim for my— Ahh, stop!]
I sigh confusing Freyja. I then tell her my thoughts on it, all the while she had a smirk on her face. Once I was done, she nods and puts her glass of wine down. She starts to walk towards me while taking her clothes off, all the while keeping
"…What are you doing?"
She finally reaches me and puts her hand on my chest while looking at me with 'those' kind of eyes.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"And I literally just told you my stance on all of this?"
She slightly frowns and backs away, still butt naked. She puts her hands on her hips.
"I do not believe you, not a single word of it."
"Why?"
She sighs, turns around and starts walking back to her chair while also making exaggerated movements to try to entice me. As soon as she reached her chair, her clothes went back on; she sat down and then spread her legs, allowing me to see her womanhood.
"You are a young man. You're essentially a teenager or a young adult. Sex is what plagues your mind— No, not just you, all teenagers! Even young adult males!"
Freyja summons… A smartphone? She messes around with it for a few seconds before walking back towards me, and shows me… A website?
"Do you see this? Website after website, the only thing they talk about is being horny! Being 'men of culture', it's not just tied to art. Here are some books, manga, light novels, poems and films solely dedicated to these deprave acts!"
She kept on changing tabs, and even came across some kind of website called NovelWeb, and I believe it showed novels made on the web and a lot of them had 18+ novels... I get it, I get it already! I gently push her away as she kept on ranting and raving about wanting to have sex is natural, and how I am acting is not.
"You, the Middleman and Dual Dragon Emperor! You have fans everywhere! Women will throw themselves at you! Take advantage of that! Fuck everything and spread your seed everywhere!"
Freyja says while walking back to her seat, however, instead of sitting on it, she bends over, puts her hands on the handles and pulls her dress up. This reveals to me that she was already soaking wet down there. She wiggles her ass trying to entice me again.
"Haaa… How do I say this…? Look, Freyja. I know you're the Goddess of Love, sex and fertility and all of that. But I have my own morals and standards I go by, and so do you. Maybe these came from my parents or hell, just from my own experiences, but they won't change."
"While I admit I have tweaked them slightly and made some exceptions, such as dating them and getting to know them afterwards, I can't deal with just straight-up sex, like the current hookup culture. But if others like it, then that's fantastic for them! Do what they want, but I won't be part of it, nor am I shaming them for it."
Freyja frowned after hearing me say that, but I wasn't finished.
"You probably asked about me already, and I confirmed them earlier. If I'm not in a relationship with them, I won't have sex with them. Whether that changes tomorrow, a year from now, or years from now, I won't know until it passes. For now, that's how it is. I won't have sex with you… You're not exactly the first one to do this."
I sigh and think back to the few occasions it happened. However, when I look back at Freyja she didn't seem pleased with my answer. She takes a step forwa—
Both of us freeze. She loses her attitude very quickly and I appear beside her.
"We will discuss this at a later date, Skyward."
"…Doubtful, but who knows? But first back to the Greek Realm."
…
Little Olympia
Once I teleported us back to Little Olympia, the entire city was in chaos. A lot of the residents were running around trying to find a place to hide. A few of the buildings were destroyed, however, not many people were injured.
"Jin!"
Raiko runs over to me with Inaie behind her. I look around the entire realm and it's being attacked everywhere like I theorized. However, many of the attackers are being held back by my shadows or being dealt with by them.
"Are you guys okay?"
They nod. All right, I turn back to Freyja and she glances at me before looking around the place.
"I will take off; I will meet up with Zeus and immobilize my own reinforcements. Till we meet again."
Freyja announces and disappears.
I don't know who's attacking this realm, but it seems like a mix of Monkai Association, and one of the Magician factions of Khaos Brigade. I don't know if it's Nilrem, Hexennacht, or even the Wizards of Oz.
"Jin, I want to help!"
Inaie says beside me, but I wasn't sure… She and Raiko aren't strong enough, these guys are stupidly strong.
Shing!
"I will watch over these two, Jin."
Lianne came out of my ring. I also have Atahez and Leilani in their shadows. It's fine… I'll trust them. I nod.
"Fine, but be careful! If Lianne tells you two to back off, follow her instructions!"
"Okay!"
Inaie answers enthusiastically, and Raiko nods. I look at Raiko—
'Keep an eye on Inaie, I know Lianne will, but… I want you to do it too.'
Raiko seems a bit surprised, but nods in the end.
"Alright, good luck… Latia, come with me. We'll—"
Shing! Shing!
"…Ophis and Irene?"
"I will stay with Inaie."
"I am coming with you, Jin."
Ahhh, so many people suddenly showing up!
"Okay! Okay! Let's not waste any more time!"
Everyone nods and we separate. I don't know who else is being affected, so I'll just fly there.
"We are flying towards Lamia's city first. We'll help out any settlements on our way there. Let's go. Albion, Balance Break.'
{Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker!!}
Donning my white armor, I fly up with Latia and Irene and flew towards the Lamia's city. Greed along with a thousand shadows should be defending that place. I wonder what Medusa is doing?
…
Alipheese Fateburn (Alice)
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! Why is this happening?! Everything seemed calm just a few minutes ago! Why is everything just falling apart?! I hadn't even gotten time to get over my high from getting to meet Jin again! I even got a pat on the head from him! Dammit!
Boom! Boom!
"Eat this you stupid thing!"
I sent out multiple elemental attacks at whatever these creatures were. Some of them resembled youkai, monsters and a mix of both. There were also some humans there too.
"Alice, calm down. We're not even in serious trouble. I can see many shadow-like creatures helping us fend them off. You have heard of the rumors, correct?"
Senko, my advisor came to my side after I killed one of those things. Of course, I know! I keep up with everything happening with Jin! They're his personal army that resides within his own shadow!
"I am aware, Senko. But that doesn't mean I can't be angry about these things attacking my city."
"Yes, of course, but please keep it in moderation."
...It is still quite strange seeing Senko in her 'true' or 'real' form. I do not know why she assumes that smaller form though. We only discussed it once, but apparently she lost a bet against my mother once, and she has stayed like that since.
Boom! Boom!
"Is something wrong, Alice?"
"No, it's nothing. Do you think Jin is coming here?"
She nods.
"Yes, Medusa is here, and she was being controlled by Khaos Brigade. It isn't too far fetched to think they are trying to take her back with them is it not?"
"…That makes sense… Wait shouldn't we go to her?!"
Senko shakes her head, and didn't seem too bothered. Why?!
"I saw a very imposing Shadow come out of hers and it seemed to be monitoring and protecting her. Perhaps that was the other reason Jin came over here for? To put some protection on Medusa?"
I-I guess that makes sense too. But I can't help but feel a little disappointed.
"Do not sulk, we have—"
Doom! Doom! Rumble! Rumble!
"Now what?!"
The entire area of our city started to shake violently! The Lamias who couldn't fight or didn't know how to fight were already in a safe place beneath my castle. However, if this gets even stronger and that collapses…!
Boom!
"Kukuku, it's nice to meet you, Lamia Queen."
Three enormous snakes appear out of nowhere! The one in the middle was pure white with blue scales, to its left is another which is mainly black and has a glowing red body, and the one on the right is a mostly blue snake with very adamantine-like scales.
On top of the pure white snake was a human? No, his skin looked off. He also felt like a youkai, much like Senko… A snake youkai perhaps?
"Who are you?! Are you part of Khaos Brigade?!"
"Kukuku, it appears you aren't stupid. Both your grandmother and mother would be proud of you."
"W-What?!"
He gave me a sickening smile but didn't elaborate any further. W-What did he mean by my mother and grandmother?! Does he know where they are…?!
"Where is my mother?!"
"You'll reunite soon, do not worry. Destroy this place. I will be back over 'there'."
The snake youkai says to the larger snakes and he disappears in a puff of smoke. Where is he going…?!
Doom! Crash!
Suddenly, the white snake was launched far away, and crashes outside the city. The other two are stunned, but they are also launched away. I was dumbfounded, who the—
"Queen Alice, are you unharmed?"
A shadow-like warrior appeared in front of Senko and I. I couldn't find the words to say anything, every time I tried to, my mouth would freeze. However, I saw that Medusa was in his arms, although she looked unconscious.
"We are fine, thank you for your assistance. But who are you?"
"…Greed. One of my King's shadow soldiers."
"King… You mean, Jin?"
Greed nods and then looks over at the snakes.
"He is here."
Swosh!
In front of me stood Jin, Irene and Latia.
"I wasn't late, was I?"
…
Jin Skyward
I just saw Greed smacking those giant snakes away. But I think I found new potential shadows, but I do like how they look… Hmm… How about I just convert them into new Electas? That's possible, right? Cúntóir?
Cúntóir: Answer: It is, if you wish, leave it to me.
That's fine, we'll do that then.
"You sure have changed, Senko. I didn't think being away for a few hours would do that to someone."
I look over at a more adult looking Senko. She didn't have her 'loli' form anymore. I swear so many of them have that, Ophis, and now Senko. I would have said Shirone, but she's grown in that aspect, both in her height, and chest size.
"This is how I look like, Jin. I just choose to stay in that form since it's easier, and not many men pay attention to me."
"I see. Anyway, do you mind telling me about those things?"
I point my right hand towards the snakes who had gotten up and froze them. They start to struggle but quickly realize they couldn't break free from whatever was binding them. I mean, I froze them in time, so they can't do much.
"A snake youkai appeared along with them. He told them to destroy our city and then left. I don't know where to though."
Senko answers me. Alice seems to be in a state of shock. I walk over to her and touch her head, and that seems to bring her out of it. I did add a calming effect when I touched her.
"Alice, calm yourself. I know he said something quite absurd but we can't be sure he knows anything. For all we know he may have lied."
Senko says beside Alice, and she nods but still looks unsure.
"What do you mean, Senko?"
"…The snake youkai that appeared told us that he knew where both Alice's mother and grandmother were. But as far as we know, they are both dead. However, we never recovered the bodies."
Senko frowned after saying that. Never recovered the bodies? They never told me what happened to those two, actually. It would be better to know more about it… I need time. I look at Greed and he nods.
He jumps away and I cover us with a time dilation and sound barrier. Senko looks at it in confusion.
"While we are in here, it slows down time, and whatever we say cannot be heard outside. Tell me more, Senko. What happened to Alice's family? I know it would be better to know about this under better circumstances. However, depending on what you tell me, I can either confirm or deny what that guy said."
Senko looks at Alice who nods and gives her permission.
"…Truthfully, I am not fully sure. As I mentioned before, Alice's grandmother was the one who took me in, and that's when I became the advisor for her family. However, one day we ventured out together, and Alice's mother was left in charge of the city."
"I believe we were en route to Little Olympia for something; however, I cannot remember the reason for it. Anyway, on our way there, we were attacked. By a man and a woman, but I believe she was a youkai."
As Senko described the man, he sounded like Mard Geer, but as for the woman, I wasn't sure who it was.
"Alice's grandmother and I fought them together, but they were stronger than us. In a desperate attempt to save us, she transported me to a different place in the realm. Of course, I was furious at the time and rushed back to the spot as quickly as I could to help her. However, hours passed before I could get back and when I did, they were missing. Not even her body was there."
"I assumed they killed her and then erased her body, but if what that man said was true, they may have captured her instead. As for Alice's mother? Well, the same thing happened, except they were different people. But instead of me, Alice was the one accompanying her that day.
Senko looks at Alice who nods.
"They attacked me first, knocking me out. The last thing I saw was her being killed. I saw her being pierced through the stomach by a spear made out of light. I think he was some kind of Fallen Angel. He said nothing while doing it either. But he had brown hair and silver eyes… That's all I can remember."
Brown hair and silver eyes? If what Alice says is true, that who attacked them was a Fallen Angel, then it might be Satanael, as to why he attacked them? I wouldn't know, but if he joined up with Khaos Brigade…
"…When I woke up, they were all gone, the only thing left was my mother's blood on the ground where that light spear pierced her."
"…"
After explaining themselves, they both fall silent. Well, it's a text-book-case of kidnapping. One or maybe even both of them are probably being brain-washed and are now part of Khaos Brigade or they're just slaves somewhere in the organization.
"…Khaos Brigade can bring people back to life. It will not be a stretch to say that your mother, grandmother or even both have been resurrected, are being controlled and are part of Khaos Brigade. Of course, they won't like the people you once knew."
"They were both Lamias, powerful ones at that. If they were resurrected and were revived as Divine Beasts, then they might not be themselves anymore. That's if I don't include the mind control, like what they did with Medusa."
Both of them were staring at me with disbelief. They open their mouths but no words come out.
"Anyway, think about it. I still need to deal with the attack on your realm."
I cancel the barrier around us and saw that Greed had been fighting the other attacks. He's killed quite a lot of them. The same with my other shadows across the realm. The giant snakes were still in the same spot since they couldn't move.
I was still in my Balance Breaker for my [Divine Dividing] so I flew up to the snakes. Irene joined me. Do your thing, Cúntóir.
Cúntóir: Answer: Scanning the three snakes...… Removing current memories...… Modifying personalities...… Changing overall power rankings... Changing into new Electa...… Processing...… Complete.
Small pillars of light covered each snake, and started to change them. It didn't last very long, however, because after it was done, the light disappeared, but they remained the same. Except they stopped giving me a hostile look, and no longer struggled.
I unfreeze them and all three of them bow their heads. Irene who was beside me smirked.
"And then there were eighteen Electas. You sure are building up an army for yourself. Not including the many shadows, you currently possess."
I shrug. I mean, I'll take any as they come. I haven't really found a need to create more, apart from one that I'm thinking of making so that it'll make it easier for Gabriel. I want to see her more, and I'm 99% sure she feels the same way.
"Are you going to name them?"
"Name? —Ah, yeah, names…"
I forgot about that! Dammit! My biggest nemesis! Naming things! The three new Electas patiently wait for me to name them. I'm not good at this, so let's go with these. I point to the middle snake, the pure-white one.
"Ara."
I point to the one on the left, who was black and red.
"Kishku."
And finally, the one on the right.
"Ezeri."
Irene gives me a questioning look. I shrug. I don't know, I just picked them, Ara, well, probably because I hear so many women around me go 'Ara, ara', but I won't tell her that, she would probably be upset at me…
After I named them, they glowed and…
"Human forms?"
Irene says from beside me. They had human forms?
Cúntóir: Answer: They did not, however, I decided to give them some to make it easier, unlike Loa Erebus and Etoirir, your other two shadows who are humongous, and Mothra and Godzilla in the Dimensional Gap, however—
I get it, I get it…
However, both Ara and Ezeri have Japanese yukatas as their clothing, the only exception being Kishku.
Kishku is a tall man in business attire, wearing a black suit with a gray shirt underneath and a blue tie. He has very thick eyebrows and square eyes. He also wears black gloves with what appears to be a gray sun-like pattern engraved on them.
Ezeri is a very tall and muscular man, easily towering over Ara, but below Kishku. He has blue and white hair and keeps it long and tied up. He also has sharp yellow eyes. He mainly wears a black yukata with flower patterns. He has tribal tattoos styled in a series of swirls on the left side of his neck down to his chest and cursive tattoos below that.
Finally, Ara. Her skin is almost pale, she has blue eyes, white hair that's in a ponytail. She has two short blue horns on her head and has a blue rose accessory on her head. She wears a blue and black yukata with a strange pattern that also has clouds.
I bring my ring up and all three of them go inside.
"Alright, we stayed here for too long, let's—"
Fwop! Ksh!!!
I look back over towards Little Olympia as a large snake-like figure made out of smoke, and it also felt like it had draconic energy appears high above the city.
"…Whoever that is, they're a goner."
I say this while shaking my head.
"Is that Ophis's doing?"
"Yeah, she has to be pissed off. I mean I can feel it from here even. But who pissed her off?"
Irene nods beside me. I look back at Alice and the rest. She still hadn't fully recovered from the shock. Senko, however, has started to take charge. There were still a few enemies here so I'll quickly take care of them.
…
Earlier
Little Olympia
Lianne Sandlot
Jin had left along with Irene, and Latia. I was left with Raiko and Inaie. These two are powerful, but compared to these creatures running amok in Little Olympia, they stand next to no chance. The best they can do is buy time while avoiding being hit by their attacks.
"You two, stay close to me. Ophis, can I trust you to kill them?"
The Dragon God of Infinity nods, before looking around at our enemies. Raiko puts her hand up and I nod.
"I know you cannot fly, however—"
The palm of my right hand extended towards her, granting her temporary flight until I removed it from her. I wonder why Jin has not given her that ability yet? Perhaps he's waiting until he brings them all to the [Pocket Dimension] again? If that's the case, that's a stupid thing to do. I will let him know when he arrives.
Raiko looks at me with confusion, and I inform her of what I just did.
"Keep up with me. I will be eliminating as many of these creatures as I can. It appears a few capable fighters are also participating."
I can see Hermes running around while also using a random assortment of weapons to fend off the attackers. Zeus and Hera were also out here defending Little Olympia. I found it strange that Khaos Brigade did not try attacking Mount Olympus.
Fwosh ~
"Will you— Hmm? Who are you?"
"Lianne. I am one of Jin's subordinates and lover."
"Subordinates and lover? My, we aren't too different from each other, aren't we?"
Freyja, the Goddess of Love and Sex had come back. With her were a few individuals, as well as Vybath. She stares at me in amusement before looking back in front of her with a serious expression.
"Help the citizens, and if you can, kill those things. Vybath, you do the same."
"Yes Lady Freyja!"
All of them answer enthusiastically before running off. Freyja starts to walk away towards the Tower of Heaven.
"Bring any injured into the Tower of Heaven. I, along with others will heal them."
After saying that, Freyja disappeared towards the tower. I nod to everyone else. Ophis had already started to kill off many of the creatures here. I summon my lance and also go around Little Olympia killing as many of them as I can.
Both Inaie and Raiko did their best to keep up with me. Ophis while killing many of the creatures kept an eye on Inaie. She and Inaie appeared to have blossomed a quick friendship, as they only really interacted yesterday. Previously, they had very few meetings.
Boom! Boom!
"Haa… Haaa…! W-We trained in the [Training Facility] didn't we? But we can barely keep up with Lianne…!"
"…Yes, this is quite intense."
Inaie was already quite tired. However, Raiko seemed to be doing well, and also mastered how to fly quite easily. Glancing around, only a few monsters were le—
Zwop ~
I stop, and so do the two following me. Ophis arrives beside us and we stare at an odd looking individual, who resembles more of a snake than anything.
"You are?"
"Arere? I didn't think I would come across one of the Middleman's subordinates here, how unfortunate of me. How—"
Boom!
I pierced his head not waiting for him to finish his speech. However, instead of dying he smirked and he burst into hundreds of snakes. All the snakes started to fly, converged on one spot and he eventually repaired himself.
"Surprised?"
"…"
He chuckles to himself.
"I have many lives, much like a cat, but instead of a mere nine, I have hundreds of thousands! It's because of many years of creating 'spare' lives for myself that I linked them to me. Each time I die, the 'spare' is killed and I live."
The youkai explained himself. I am thankful to some of the stupid geniuses that stand against Jin as they tend to explain their plans to us. However, I will need Jin for this. I don't think my own sealing technique is advanced enough. But I will try.
The man points his finger into the sky and six giant snakes appear from magic circles and crush several of the houses. I do not think there were any residents there, as many of them ran towards the Tower of Heaven when the attacks started. Although I am not 100% certain about it…
"Now, my lovelies, ki—"
Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Splash!!
Ophis waved her hand, and all six snakes vanished.
"Wha—"
With an unchanging expression she looks at the snake youkai. I expected a one-word answer, however—
"You, are an eye-sore. You, inconvenience Jin, begone."
He begins to laugh, however, Ophis appears beside him, and kicks him—
Crack! Fwsh!
"Oh! That looks like it hurts!"
"…May his genitalia rest in peace."
Inaie cringed back, and Raiko put her hands together in a prayer. The Dragon God of Infinity kicked the snake youkai in between the legs, and launched him high into the sky. She summons a small black and white orb in her hands and threw it towards the snake youkai.
Boooooooooooooooooooooom!
A large explosion occurred, and an immense shockwave reverberated in the sky. The cloud resembled a snake, no, that was a dragon— An eastern dragon. The large attack and explosion alerted most of the Gods that were here and they look over at us.
"That…"
Zeus begins to speak, but was interrupted.
Fshhhhh!!
"Ares?!"
Suddenly, Ares, the God of War begins to float— No, his shoes had some sort of thrusters on them. They were being powered by something which I couldn't detect. He was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hello, Zeus, ladies. It's unfortunate that Nagendra has left us already. Of course, he escaped right after being blown up by that loli."
Nagendra? Is that the name of that snake youkai? I will inform Jin, but…
"Ares! Is it true that you have joined hands with Khaos Brigade?!"
Ares' smile began to stretch even wider.
"Bingo! I lost my powers thanks to that asshole, so I only did what I had to do! If only he didn't— No, that's a lie. Even if he didn't seal or take them away, I would still have joined Khaos Brigade because of that humiliating defeat from that slut he was with."
Boom! Boom!
"Watch your mouth, boy."
I say with venom. Ophis also silently blasted him with her own aura causing him to frown, but his grin was still present.
"Ares, stand down now. If you do, we can still negotiate with the alliance. I can probably convince Jin and the rest to lighten the punishment."
Zeus, who was losing his composure because it was his son, looks at me for reassurance. However, I cannot guarantee that.
"Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that. Jin is still quite angry with what he tried to do with Valerie, and of course recently with Inaie and Raiko."
"W-What did he do?!"
"I just looked at them, you dumb blonde bitch!"
Fwosh! Ting!
...Interesting. I thrust my lance towards the Greek God of War, but it stopped before it reached him. Something came out of his shadow and blocked it with its tail. Ares, who looked nervous, now grinned.
"Nice job, Agnar. I knew I could trust my new partner for the job."
The beast called Agnar snorted at the praise it was given. I back away as we stare at it in fascination. He— Ares, grins.
"Allow me to introduce to you, [Twilight Monarch: Felix Leo], an independent type artificially created Sacred Gear! A first generation, and courtesy of Avezza... And with that out of the way…"
Both Ares and Agnar grinned at us.
"Balance Break."
"Woooooo!!"
Shwshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
A dark shadowy cloud covers the entire city, Zeus looked mortified and uneasy about the whole thing. Hera, and Hermes who had joined us look at one another before leaving. Perhaps they were going to protect the citizens instead?
"Inaie, Raiko, leave."
"Bu—"
She tries to protest, but I will not take the risk.
"Leave!"
"Come, Inaie."
Raiko starts to leave with Inaie. I could tell without looking at her that she was saddened and frustrated.
"Ophis."
"Mmm."
Ophis leaves to go with them. I want someone to be able to protect them if Ares decides to attack indiscriminately. Once the dark shadowy cloud begins to recede, Ares was covered in jet-black armor with three green round jewels in the middle of his stomach. He also carried a sword behind his back.
He retracts his helmet and grins at us.
"Shall we have a battle, Father? Bitch?"
"Let me handle this, Lianne. As his father, I must deal with him. Rest assured I will hand him over to the alliance."
Zeus says to me. I nod and back away.
"You think you can beat me in this? I still have a Trump card after this you know? Heh, bring it on then old man! I've been meaning to kick your ass!"
The battle between father and son was about to begin…
…
Jin Skyward
"Hmm?"
I turn my attention back to Little Olympus. Something similar to a [Balance Break] just occurred. Should I go back? Neither Lianne nor Ophis have contacted me, so it should still be fine.
"Is something wrong, Jin?"
Latia asks me as we were in the Sirens' little settlement now. We had helped Alice kill the rest of the monsters attacking her city. I repaired it and I put a temporary barrier around it. I left Medusa there and Greed to guard them, as well as the other shadows.
To my surprise, Demeter was still there, and she had been at a local shelter healing the wounded. There wasn't much time to speak. I had to just restore her divine energy and stamina so she could keep healing them.
The fighting here is also almost done too.
"Compress!"
{Compression Divider!!!}
Targeting multiple monsters, I continuously half them until they vanish out of existence.
I had also entered my [Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive] to make this a little easier. Latia and Irene were also helping me kill off the attackers. Chronos was here and was also helping defend earlier, however, once we arrived, he left it up to us.
Queen Philomene was also helping Chronos earlier, but she's apparently a talented healer so she's healing up the ones who decided to fight. The shadows here had wiped out at least 60% of the invaders before we arrived. However, there were still some casualties because of debris and not because of a direct attack.
Doom! Boom!
A couple more explosions happen around the town, until it went quiet. Latia and Irene come back over to me and we go down to the underwater town, and towards the castle-place, that the Queen is in with Chronos and a few of the injured.
We quickly arrive at a room where they were and found them still healing them. Even Chronos was healing some of the injured.
"They're all dead. I'm going to put a barrier around here, and have my shadows guard your town. Once this attack is over, I'll remove it."
I tell Philomene and Chronos.
"I see, thank you then, Jin."
"…Yes, thank you for your help."
Both seem somber. I turn to leave but see one of the sirens point and look at me. He held a lot of animosity.
"…It's your fault."
Everyone looks at the young male siren, shocked at what he said.
"If you didn't come here, if you didn't form an alliance, we wouldn't have been attacked…! We're like this because of your enemies…!"
Smack!
"Ow!!"
"Shut your mouth… If it weren't for the Middleman, all of us would have died. His shadows helped protect us. There might be some truth to what you say, but everyone with fame will have enemies. Especially when a terrorist organization is at large in the world! Stop being dumb!"
Another got pissed off on my behalf and scolded the young male siren.
He's right though, in a way, I kind of caused this. I rescued Medusa, and did that to Ares. There's probably more to this than what I know so far, but I should find that out soon. I shake my head, let's not think about that for now.
"Let's go."
We quickly left the tower, flew back up and I grabbed the both of them. I wasn't going to teleport since I wanted to double-check any other places that might be attacked. I look at them as they braced themselves.
Boom! Fwshhh!
Focusing more power into my eyes it felt like everything was going in slow motion. However, in reality, we were traveling around Mach 20, which I think was the highest Mach speed a plane has reached. It was by the X-plane. Anyway, I didn't see anything else being attacked on our way to the Harpies city.
But—
"Hyahahaha!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Is that… A robot, no, a mechanical harpy? Why is it trying to attack its own people?"
Latia points out and asks. I use [Observe] on it, and…
"It's one of the Next Dolls…Hainuwele."
Latia's eyes widen.
"The Next Dolls? So they're finally using them? She's quite fast and agile. I believe her main trait is speed. Judging by her design, she has little to no armor. This is probably because the creator did not want her to be weighed down by it. Therefore, a powerful physical attack should take her down."
Latia deduces, and Irene looks at her impressed. Well, she isn't a genius for nothing… She looks at me waiting for a response.
"Yeah, you're right on the money, Latia. But the next problem for them is actually catching her and hitting her. My shadows are busy fending off the other attackers, and the others are defending the harpies."
I can also still feel Aellola and Queen Faenelle in the city, so they seem to be fine. Those two are smart. They probably had something planned for attacks or invasions. But—
"Explode! Explode!"
Hainuwele had those red crystals and was throwing them at the island, buildings and anyone she wanted. Once they violently made contact with whatever surface they hit, they exploded. I didn't know they were that destructive.
"Oya?! It's the Middleman! Oh well bye-bye!"
She turns around, says that and 'breaks', almost like glass. What the hell?
Cúntóir: Answer: I felt traces of Lapis from that. It was a sort of teleportation spell. It essentially erases them from the spot, and reconstructs them at a different place. Her own blood was used for it, so in a way, Nyarlathotep's.
Are they that desperate to avoid being captured by me? Fuck, where the hell is Ignia, and why didn't he inform me of this? Tch, no it's my fault. I should have contacted my other insiders and try to get that information out of them. That's my own fault.
"She escaped, it doesn't matter now, just focus and help defend the place. I'll go and check on two people I know here."
They both nod, but Latia seemed interested with the island furthest back and about the crystals. But we can deal with that soon enough. The monsters here were all slowly but surely being all killed off, and it started to happen faster because Irene and Latia started to help.
On my way to their location, I also killed as many as I could, and healed some of the harpies that were fighting back. There was a large building, almost like a church. That's where I felt many of their auras were, and as well as Aellola and Queen Faenelle.
'Queen Faenelle, are you in this church-like building?'
'M-Middleman?! I-I mean yes, we are! Why do you ask?'
'Reinforcements arrive, we'll be wiping out the remaining enemies. I'm also outside and about to enter. Tell anyone in there not to attack me.'
'Y-Yes, of course!'
I wait for a few seconds before entering, and there seemed to be some harpies around the corner ready to attack if an enemy managed to find them. I look at them as they nod to me. The inside of the church was quite large, and interesting. They know Gods are real, yet they have a church? Who do they 'worship' then?
There were brown pew chairs, and orange-white colored pillars that rose from the ground and attached themselves into the ceiling. At the very back of the church was the altar, or something akin to that.
Up there were both Aellola and Queen Faenelle. I reach them and they greet me but also give me strange looks, probably because I was still in my [Empireo Juggernaut Overdrive].
"It's been some time, Middleman."
"Thank you for coming, Jin."
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Once we're done here, I'll put a barrier around the place and keep my shadows here as guards just in case. Anyway, I'll go back out and finish this."
I explain to them and turn around.
"Ah, o-okay!"
Queen Faenelle was probably surprised at my bluntness but I still had two more places to get to, not including the smaller settlements that we'll come across. But I doubt they would be targeted, unless the monsters that were thrown in here would just go on a random rampage.
I left the church and flew high into the sky. I scan the entire city, and find that there were still around a thousand left…
"Let's get this over with…"
I point my hand to the sky. Small red water droplets started to appear everywhere in the city. The majority of them were near the monsters that were still roaming around.
[Come back to me, I'll immediately go to the next location once I'm done.]
I tell them through the [Communication Function] on the rings. Once they saw them, Latia and Irene quickly rejoined me. They wouldn't be hit, but it's better to be safe.
"[Megiddo]."
Laser beams start to come out of the water droplets and attack them. Smaller water droplets also appear and reflect the attack back to other targets. This creates a sort of infinite loop. I look at the entire city as this happens, and all the monsters quickly die off.
"I heard about this from Akeno once. I didn't think it was this efficient."
Latia muttered beside me, looking at the attack with curiosity. Once I felt all the monsters were dead, I create a barrier around the city and order my shadows to protect them.
'It's done, feel free to come out.'
Oh right, I raise my hand again and repair all damages done while also putting a healing effect around the city. I grab both women and then flew towards my final destination, Minda Akrur, home to both Orcs and Minotaurs.
…
Little Olympia
Lianne Sandlot
Bzt! Tang! Bam! Boom!
To the untrained eye, it would look like this match between father and son looked even. However, it was very small, but Ares had the upper hand. Perhaps it was because of his former title as the God of War. But he had an edge in this fight.
Zeus, however, was no pushover as he was holding up quite well for himself. For every strike that Ares would throw at his father, Zeus would counter it with magic. Although Zeus is known for his signature use of lightning and the thunderbolt, he is also capable of using other types of magic.
"What's wrong, old man? Can't keep up?!"
"…I can ask you the same thing, foolish son of mine!"
Zeus creates a blade out of lightning and holds it in his right hand. He clashes with Ares with the blade he made, surprising him.
"Hah! Can you even use a sword? I'm the God of fucking War! I have mastered all the known weapons in life! You think you can stand up to my own swordsmanship?!"
Zing! Ting! Kaching! Bzt!
Every time their swords met, their immediate area would give out flashes of light. Likewise, Zeus sent small bolts of lightning towards Ares, but his armor blocked them with shadowy hands. It seems the armor is also 'alive' and will actively help Ares defend when attacking. So he was a bit reckless in that aspect.
"Hmph. I may not be the most proficient with a sword, but I am certainly leagues above you in magic!"
"You think I did nothing while I was away?!"
Ares screamed and from behind him, snakes came out and tried to bite Zeus, who quickly dodged them and backed away. These snakes appear to be attached behind him and around his waist area.
"…Those are poisonous."
Zeus says and becomes even more wary, but he powers up even more. Perhaps he was holding back because it was his son, or maybe he didn't want to needlessly destroy Little Olympia. However, I believe he—
"Enough games. I will not show mercy anymore. If you truly won't change your mind, then I will end this. I cannot let you sully our pantheon any longer."
However, to this, Ares retracts his helmet and grins at Zeus.
"I agree, let's end this once and for all."
And Ares began to sing.
…
Minda Akrur
Jin Skyward
We didn't come across any monsters rampaging on the way here, however, this place seemed a lot more damaged than the others. Maybe it's in their nature to fight back and not let their home be destroyed? Whatever the case, I left Latia and Irene to help kill the rest while I flew towards where the royal family was at.
When I arrived, I saw Cara was—
"Cara!"
I land beside them, surprising them a little.
"Jin! You have come. I believe these shadows are yours?"
"Yeah…"
King Kurtus asks and I nod. I go over to Cara who was missing an arm. I felt myself getting angry on her behalf as she was just smiling at me, pain evident on her face. Ruka who was beside her was trying to use magic to heal her, however, it only slowed down the bleeding.
"Let me guess, as soon as the attack started, you ran off to try to help and fend them off?"
Cara nods, and I continue.
"And in the process, you lost your arm?"
She nods again. I sigh and flick her on the head.
"You're stupid, you know that?"
She blushed and looks away awkwardly. Ruka snickers at her, even though we were currently surrounded… I turn around and sigh.
"Compress."
{Compression Divider!!}
The monsters that were surrounding us quickly start to shrink and eventually vanish. I turn back to Cara and smack her on the head.
"Ow?! What was that for?!"
"For being dumb. Now hold still."
I created another arm for her by touching her arm. Once I was done, everyone around us watched in fascination. I let go and smack her again.
"Don't do anything as reckless as that again. If you do, you won't just lose an arm."
"S-Sorry, and thanks."
Cara apologized and—
Gyu!
"You don't need to hug me…!"
King Kurtus hugged me, and it felt weird as hell. The guy was taller than me, and a lot more muscular, not to mention, hairy. He eventually let me go and I sigh in relief.
"I'll head out and kill the rest; we can talk after."
They nod and I flew away. With, me, Latia, Irene and my shadows working together. We quickly kill the rest of the monsters that were rampaging in the city. Though no one was killed, there were a lot of injured as many insisted on helping defend their own city, charging past my shadows and fighting.
They're resilient, I'll give them that, but kind of stupid. Even the 'intelligent' ones decided to engage in combat. Although I suspect that they just wanted to test whatever new shit they created. Some of them did look proud of themselves, while others had a look of defeat.
We quickly finish up and put up a barrier around the city. Latia and Irene land beside me. Latia looks a bit disappointed.
"When you told me of this place, and that some of these Orcs and Minotaurs had started to use less of their natural strength and started using their brains, I was hopeful. While they did try to do that, and I am impressed, however, many of them decided to act a bit irrationally."
To the few around us who heard hung their heads in shame, a few were a little angry with Latia's words, but also understood her perspective, so they didn't say anything. Although I do want her to hold her tongue back for now since they're still recovering…
My hand shoots up and I create another healing field in the city. I start to make my way back to the royal family, and my companions follow me. We arrive by the family again and we greet each other.
"So, do you mind telling me what happened? I don't have much time; I'll be heading back to Little Olympia after this."
King Kurtus nods.
"It was a normal day; we were going about it like we usually did. But suddenly hundreds or even thousands of those things appeared, and all hell broke loose. Of course, we initially didn't see them since we were still in our home. But we definitely felt the explosions and tremors."
He looks at Cara, sighs and then looks back at me.
"We thought we were under attack, so I gave out my orders, but Cara, being the way she is, ran out and immediately started to help everyone. Of course, I was both proud and angry with her decision. It did come with a cost, but thank you for helping with that."
He gestures to Cara's arm and she sheepishly chuckles earning a smack from her mother and Queen.
"Your shadow subordinates showed up not too long after and started to help us. While the injured was kept to a minimum, the damage to our city will take quite some time to repair."
"Don't worry about it."
He sounded a bit somber while saying that, however, he gives me a questioning look after I said that. I snap my fingers and everything started to fix itself. Everyone around us look on in amazement. Every single damage was reversed, and the city eventually went back to what it looked like prior to the attack.
"That should help, right?"
He looks back at me, ready to hug me again but I back away, making the two Princesses laugh. He also stops to laugh at me. I sigh and look towards Mount Olympia, I feel something—
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!!!!!
"W-What is that?!"
A large dark green pillar of light erupts and covers the entire city. This is…
"This is [Breakdown The Beast]."
"[Breakdown The Beast]?"
They repeat and I nod.
"It's a similar technique to [Juggernaut Drive], it releases the power of whatever being is trapped within a Sacred Gear, so for both my [Boosted Gear] and [Divine Dividing] it's exclusively called [Juggernaut Drive], for the rest it's called [Breakdown the Beast], why? I don't know. Anyway—"
"So you're saying someone with that type of Sacred Gear just unleashed that kind of power in Little Olympia?"
Ruka asks and I nod.
"We need to go—"
Roooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooar!!!!!!!!!!
Is that a—
"It's a giant lion with glowing green eyes!!!"
Cara screams while pointing at it.
W-What? I wasn't expecting that… Sairaorg's [Breakdown the Beast] just changed his armor slightly, but this… Whoever the hell that is, they literally changed into a giant lion.
"I'll see you guys around."
I dismiss my silvery-white armor, and have the two girls gather around me. I tell them that I put a barrier around their home, and the shadows will stay just in case. They thank us and we teleported back to Little Olympia.
…
Little Olympia
Lianne Sandlot
"My existence, my soul, I shall awaken once more, and purge everything into darkness!"
Even more darkness begins to cover Ares' body. A black lion's crest appears in the middle of his chest. The jewels start to glow brighter.
[I will consume this body, and encompass this world into nothingness!]
His armor began to change into stone, his eyes begin to glow green.
"Split, anguish, freeze, and liberate!"
[This is the body of a Divine Beast!]
"In this blade, in this soul, the false black king resides!"
The surrounding buildings were destroyed by all the aura and pressure coming from Ares. The clouds around us begin to darken. The air vibrates as Zeus looks on with fascination and horror.
[Dance!]
"Dance!"
"[Bloom]!!!"
"[Breakdown The Beast, Climb Over]!!!"
A huge explosion of aura followed; the entirety of Little Olympia was covered in a large dark green pillar of light. Once it died down, Ares had fully transformed into an enormous jet-black lion with glowing green eyes, with three heads. His mane had become tendrils and his tail had become a large snake.
"I see, this is the [Breakdown the Beast] that Jin mentioned before."
"[Breakdown the Beast]?"
Zeus asks.
"Yes, it's a similar technique to [Juggernaut Drive]. It seems that he has something similar. This is much more powerful than Typhon, so I will take over."
Zeus seems reluctant at first, but eventually agrees. I was about to move when—
Fwosh ~
"Athena?! Don't tell me you're also part of Khaos Brigade?!"
The woman who showed up was Athena. Instead of responding to Zeus, she simply smiled. I must deal with—
Shing!
"We're back— So, Athena showed up too, huh? I'll deal with Ares then… Who wants to fight her?"
Jin suddenly teleported back in.
"You are finished with the other cities, Jin?"
Zeus asks him.
"Yeah, we just got back from Minda Ankur. Anyway, we'll take it from here, Zeus. I'll try to extract as much of his memories so you all can see them later… Oh, and I believe Athena is under mind control too."
He seemed surprised by what Jin said. But he nods and vanishes in a flash of lightning.
…
Jin Skyward
Damn, I didn't think Ares could be this annoying… But I'm interested in that Sacred Gear. Cúntóir is there anyway of taking it from him?
Cúntóir: Answer: It has fused with him, normally it wouldn't, except for the Abyss side since most will fuse with the Sacred Gear to further improve it, much like Tobio Ikuse's [Perfectus Tenebrae Lykaon et Fortis Densus Laelaps].
Cúntóir: Answer: However, whatever this version functions differently as it will permanently fuse the wielder with it. We can replicate it later to be more like the regular Sacred Gears, however, this one has to be destroyed.
I see, I guess we'll deal with that then. Sorry, Albion. I'll be using Ddraig for this.
{Worry not, Jin. I had my fun earlier.}
[Let's goooooooo!!!]
"Do you wish to help her, Jin?"
Latia asks me, and I nod.
"She, like Medusa was affected by 'her'. It's my responsibility, so I have to."
She understands and nods before floating forward.
"I will face her then."
She glances back at Lianne and Irene who both nod. Alright, God of War vs me and Latia vs Athena.
Roooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooar!!!!
"[Room]!"
Latia shouts, creates a large spherical space that's double the size of Little Olympia. She appears in front of Athena who's surprised and kicks her in the stomach sending her away. She glances at me for one last time before flying after her opponent.
"Miiiiiiiiiiidddllllllllleeeeemaaaaaaaaaaaannnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Ares roared and directed a large torrent of bloodlust towards me. I grin and bring out the [Boosted Gear].
"Yes, I'm the Middleman."
He flares up his power even more, large dark-green flames erupt all around his body, his tendrils go wild and the snake for a tail goes beside his head. He begins to charge towards me, but—
Bam!
"Jin kick!"
'What kind of name is that for an attack?!'
I hear Velgrynd scream in my head! I'm terrible at naming things, I'm sorry! Also, I was joking, that's just a normal kick!
My attack hits Ares in one of his heads, and launches him away from Little Olympia and beyond the space that Latia created. I quickly follow after him.
"Ddraig!"
[What?!]
"We're going to morb!"
[Yeaaaahhhh!!! It's morbin' time!!]
{...He has infected Jin. It's over…}
'Morbin' time…? What's that?'
'Velgrynd, don't, just don't...'
…
Latia Astaroth
After moving my opponent to a much safer distance so no innocent lives would be put in danger. I flew after them, however, they quickly corrected themselves. Athena was the Goddess of battle strategy, and wisdom, but she looks nothing like it. Only like a very resentful and evil individual.
But what Jin just mentioned makes sense. She was corrupted by Nyarlathotep, and is now being controlled by Khaos Brigade. Jin said before that Medusa was changed because of some kind of dark fog, and that she was apparently a kind individual who cared for her sisters even after being bullied and tortured for all of her life until she killed them.
Swosh! Swosh!
I dodge the incoming attacks that Athena sent towards me. I also fired my own spells at her, and she blocks them.
From what Jin mentioned about Athena from Artemis, they were also 'once' friends. Does that mean that the black fog brings forth your darkest and most negative desires? If you are generally a good-willed person, will you become 'evil'? From the two cases so far, then there is a chance that this hypothesis is correct.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
I bring out a tool that Jin gave me when we were in the [Pocket Dimension], a grimoire. However, it can also change into a sword. So I change its form to a blade.
"You will lose, girl."
"…I beg to differ."
She summons multiple magic circles behind her and launches even more elemental attacks at me. I dodge them all, and they hit the ground behind me creating large debris. I close the distance between us and stab in front of me.
Swosh!
"Missed ~"
She mockingly says.
"[Shambles]."
I appear behind her, as a small rock was launched into the air, and one of them was just behind her. I swapped places with it….
According to Jin, he has slowly changed all our bodies over the years he's spent with us. This was only revealed to us during the third year of our fifteen-year stay. He mentions that he gave us the ability to use different techniques that go beyond normal reasoning.
I am still not sure what he meant by that; however, I noticed I could manipulate certain things a lot easier than before. I cover my sword with [Territory: Explosion] + Demonic Lightning and slash at Athena!
Ksh! Slash! Slice!
First, the lightning hits her body making her shriek, the slash of the sword also cuts her, and then she explodes because of the [Territory] magic…
Boom!
My intention was not to kill her, but to damage her enough to knock her out. However—
"You little bitch…!"
While heavily injured, Athena could still move. She had a look of fury on her face, and it was directed at me. Is this what Jin feels on a near constant basis from his enemies? I wasn't scared, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling. Perhaps I will learn to get use to his feeling as I grow older, and become the official leader of the clan.
I will definitely come across many who will not agree with some of my decisions, however, I can only move on forward. I can't let every thought or opinion that doesn't agree with me hold me back.
Athena's fingertips begin to extend and become long, flexible and thin claws. She swipes them at me, and I easily dodge them, but—
Boom! Slice! Slice! Slice!
Everything behind me was cut into pieces. Could those fingertip claws be extremely sharp? No normal claws could do that. At most, they could probably make a large dent or slice an object or item. Not cut them into hundreds of tiny pieces.
She keeps up the relentless assault as I kept dodging. However, her attacks aren't as precise and are a lot slower, so one last attack and I win. However, if I use too much, I may accidentally kill her. Is this how Jin has to think when sparring with us? Or fighting in official matches or spars? I rarely fight, so I surprised myself when I offered to.
Perhaps I was just curious about the former 'good' Goddess.
"Stop dodging!"
"…That is unreasonable."
She shrieked, and added elemental attacks to her swiping. I had to dodge faster— But thanks to that, I came up with something. Hopefully, it won't be too damaging…!
"Takt!"
Targeting multiple objects that were destroyed by her earlier. I throw them at Athena who just laughed maniacally. She easily destroys the debris I threw at her.
"Did you really think throwing these things would do anything now?! H-Huh?! Where did she—"
However, when I threw those at her, I used [Shambles] once more and switched places with one of the debris she destroyed. I also lowered my presence, something I learned from Elsa. Apparently, she was made for assassinations and I wanted to learn a technique that would dull or make my presence weaker.
As Athena looks in front of her in confusion and as panic rose, I—
"[Radio Knife] + [Territory: Drain]."
My blade was covered in purple electricity and I slash at Athena who screamed. However, the attack doesn't hurt her, but cuts her body up into multiple pieces. Additionally, [Territory: Drain] continuously drains her power and stamina in a transparent floating bubble prison.
The body parts that were separated were prevented from reattaching themselves thanks to the transparent bubble that kept them away. Therefore, the only thing Athena could do was watch in horror.
"I can't move?! Why are my body parts…?! What did you do?! …Ugh… I feel my energy draining…"
I make the bubble float towards me and don't answer her. She can't do anything now. I sigh and look over towards where Jin went to. It seems—
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!
"…It's the same light as when he fought Sairaorg. He's using his [Queen] form?"
I wanted to go towards him, but maybe I should go back to Irene and Lianne? I float there as I contemplate my next action.
…
Jin Skyward
"I will kill you, then my father and then destroy this realm! I will then go to the human world and continue there!"
Ares roars.
The humans did nothing to you. I can understand your anger towards me, and probably your own father because he's choosing to side with the alliance rather than you!
"It's your fault that it led to this, you damn lizard!!"
Swish! Swosh!
He screams again and fires large green balls of fire at me. I swipe my hand in front of me and erase them. He roars in frustration and many of the tentacles around his neck— His mane, started to attack me too.
Skkk!
I dodge all the attacks, and move my head to the side. The snake tail he has also spat acid at me! Geez, so many things to dodge!
[Partner!]
I get it, I'll go into it, give me a second! I dash towards Ares! ...Uh what was that called again…?
Ah, right— I arrive in front of him as he fires a point-blank fire breath at me! But I dodge and appear above him! I then go down, do a single spin while I raise my leg and bring it down to deliver a front-facing axe kick!
"Luna Arc!"
Bam!!!!! Boom!!!
Ares' giant lion body crashes into the ground, creating a large crater. I fly back and stand far away from him. Alright, Ddraig. Let's do this!
I summon the [Boosted Gear] and enter my Balance Breaker form. I then begin to chant.
"I, who am about to awaken—"
"Am the Outer Dragon God who holds the truth of the king up high—"
"Holding the infinite hope and unbreakable dreams and walking the path of righteousness—"
"I will become a God Emperor of All Dragons—"
I choke up a bit remembering the first time I said these words. However, I felt a large smile appear across my face.
"And I will lead you to a path beyond the stars, glowing in true outer light!"
[Exoteric Full Drive!!!!!!!]
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!!!!!!! Dwoooooooooooosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My armor had transformed into my [Queen] form and I stare at Ares as she started to get up. He— However, had become even more enraged.
"Who cares about your stupid new forms?! They are all meaningless!!"
Ares howls and we were covered in a dark-shadowy sphere! Hundreds of spikes, swords, and objects start to emerge from the darkness. All of them flew towards me! I dodge and destroy them! However, he was relentless about it and didn't look like he was going to stop any time soon.
"Back at you, asshole!"
I spun in a circle while doing a kicking motion. I put enough strength into it that everything that was coming towards me was disrupted by the strong pressure of the wind.
[EX Sonic Booster!]
I flew towards Ares with great speed! I arrive in front of him and cock my arm back—
[EX Impact Booster!]
My right arm takes the form of the gauntlet of the Triaina-Rook's gauntlet, and I punch him multiple times in the face!
Don! Don! Don! Don!
"Gaaahh?!"
However, I don't let up and follow after him as he's punched out of the sphere he made! I appear above him and bring my hands together and slam them onto his stomach and throw him into the ground!
Boom!
He crashes onto the ground and creates another large crater! However, he immediately starts to stand up, so instead of letting him, I charge at him again and punch his other two heads!
Don! Don! Don!
This time he falls down without getting up, however, the tendrils around and the snake tail seem to have a mind of their own and start to attack me! After dodging them all, I summoned my bokken!
[EX Sonic Booster!]
Slash! Slash! Slice!
Weaving through all the tendrils I slash and slice them apart! Their defenses weren't strong, perhaps Avezza sacrificed defense in favor of more offense? I flew towards the snake tail as it starts to spit venom towards me!
However, I easily dodge them and the venom lands on his own body, and starts to melt his own stony skin! That has to hurt! I dodge another attack and slash my bokken sideways!
Shing! Thud!
I slice it's head off and the body went limp. I fly back to the front to see if he was awake, but to my surprise, he was crying. Tears were falling from his glowing green eyes. However, I did not feel sympathy for him. I put away my bokken.
I then jump back and land on the ground. I put my hand out and read his memories. Let's see what you have, former God of War.
...…
...…
...…
"..."
My already low opinion of him plummets even further. Out of all the Greek Gods, and what the humans know about them. He very much follows a lot of it, and I mean the sexual assault part. Why? Why is he and Apollon so different? They were raised in the same environment, but they're so different!
Apollon is going to be the next leader of this pantheon when Zeus decides to pass it on! You also had a chance but fucked it over a thousand times over. You bullied, tortured, and killed so many innocent animals and people when you were younger, just because they chose not to obey or follow you?
And once you reached your teenage years that's when the sexual assaults started. They started with the servants around your home in Mount Olympus, after that you sought after the prostitutes of the red-light district, and then just anyone who you thought was eye-candy?!
What I find ironic in all of this, is that both Goddesses of Sex and Love refused both your advances. Aphrodite and Freyja, they rejected you, and you became an even more butthurt asshole! Both of them defended themselves and threw you aside.
But you ambushed Artemis and nearly did that to her too, but Zeus caught you on time! Of course…. When Athena changed, you took advantage of this. Even while you proclaim her as your 'wife' even though you never officially married her, you constantly cheat on her. No, perhaps you said you wanted a harem, or even a concubine, but holy shit, dude.
At least tell her that, and don't just start banging anything that moves! That's one of the most toxic relationships I've seen in a while, and I don't even remember my own fucking past to remember some of them.
So, that's how you spent most of your life, until I came along and ruined it, huh? Just lie, cheat, hurt and repeat. Why? You had so much going for you? Are some people just born... 'Wrong'? I don't like thinking about that, but Vunzor, Kokabiel, Azrael and Ailill Aulom are just some examples.
Of course, everything changed when I appeared, didn't it? Trying to sneak into Valerie's room but getting your ass kicked. I seal your powers, and then being so pissed off you decide to betray your pantheon and the alliance?
You met up with Hades, joined the Alliance of Hell, which eventually joined the Khaos Brigade, got an artificial Sacred Gear from Avezza, and now this? You only had a few months of use with this Sacred Gear and you failed to fully utilize it. You knew about Medusa as soon as you joined up with Khaos Brigade, but did nothing.
Although I will commend you for not joining in their activities being done to her. But… You did provide some valuable information, Ares. I'll give you that.
Maybe they're just butt hurt, but they're planning to attack Grigori with two of the Next Dolls in a few months. This is because something else is happening with the Wizards of Oz, Nilrem, and the Vampire factions in the future.
I briefly caught glimpses of who I thought Oz and Glenda were. Lavinia briefly gave me a description of Glenda in the past, but she doesn't like talking about it. We'll need to face that part of her past again. I also hope Slash/Dog is also part of it so we can finally put it to rest.
But Promestein from MGQ, Avezza, and Nagendra a snake youkai who looks like Orochimaru from Naruto… I wonder who the rest are? It won't be a stretch to assume both Glenda and Oz are part of it? Maybe more of the Witches of Oz?
But…
I put my hand out and forcefully teleport something from his pocket into my hand. It was a device, maybe the same one that Hainuwele used to escape? Cúntóir?
Cúntóir: Answer: Please put it in your [Inventory] for me to analyze. It will take some time, Jin. I will inform you as soon as I can.
Alright, fair enough.
There are many more of those memories which are a bit too much that I would like to erase them from my own memories, but I won't. I'll just share this with Zeus, Hera and maybe Apollon later…
I stomp my foot on the ground and anchor myself. I brought out my wings and cannons, I slowly charged them up. I create a barrier around us so I won't needlessly damage the environment beyond this point.
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu ~~~~
"Y-You… Ruined...… Everything..."
He squeaked out.
"No, you already ruined it yourself way before I was even born, Ares. I gave you a chance to try to redeem yourself. You failed, it's as simple as that."
He said nothing more and closed his eyes. Maybe he's reflecting on his life now, but—
"…X Blaster."
[EX Blast Booster!!!]
Zubbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The unique-colored aura shoots out of my cannons and envelopes Ares. The stream of draconic aura hits the barrier but it doesn't break. Eventually, it explodes and covers the entire barrier. I stand there as my [Wall of Infinity] blocks the debris and the shockwave of the attack.
Was I too hasty? Perhaps if I locked him in this realm, and prevented him from leaving, let's say Mount Olympus and Little Olympia... Perhaps he could have redeemed himself? Did my own opinions cause me to kill him outright?
[Partner, he was beyond saving. You did what you could, and he failed to save himself. You can't help everyone if they're not willing to do it themselves.]
…Yeah, you're probably right, Ddraig. The explosion and shockwave eventually cease. I fix the damage I caused and dispel the shadow sphere he made, but it was somehow still there. I start flying back towards Little Olympia when—
"Latia? Oh, good job on capturing Athena."
I look at the bubble she was contained in as she starts to curse me out. I wryly smile at her; I wonder what she'll be like once we remove the mind control and the influence? Well, we'll see soon enough.
"Let's go back. I'm done on my end."
"Did you kill him?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
She nods and we fly back towards everyone. As we do, I check the entire city to make sure every other monster was killed. I also check with the other shadows around the realm, and they confirm that they haven't been attacked.
…But I guess that makes sense. It did show in Ares' memories that they would pull out once Hainuwele was done with her test run. However, they did plan on kidnapping Medusa. But they are going to stop pursuing her since I'm 'protecting' her. Never said that, but sure why not? If they misunderstand, all the better.
…
A few hours later
We were back in the meeting room on Mount Olympus. I had frozen Athena so she couldn't move or do anything at all. I had already explained to the Gods present that she had been mind controlled like Medusa, and that the black fog that appeared all those years ago affected her. That's why she looks so different from what she is now.
"Can you undo it, Jin?"
Zeus asks me. Can I, Cúntóir?
Cúntóir: Answer: Yes, easily.
Alright. I stand in front of Athena as she glared at me. I put a hand on her shoulder… Do it, Cúntóir.
Cúntóir: Answer: Removing mind control from Athena...… Removing the black fog from within her... Restoring Divinity... Reverting... Processing... Complete.
Athena is covered in a small yellow light, her appearance starts to change, and the dark fog that had infected her starts to leave her. Once the process was done, she stood there looking at me, and then around her. The rest of the Gods who knew of her from before she changed were staring in shock.
"…Welcome back, Athena."
"…Forgive me for all that I have done, Zeus, everyone… I will take any punishment that is put upon me."
Athena has long blonde hair, purple eyes, and was wearing red armor. She turns to bow to Zeus and the rest of them, however— Artemis who had come back, got off from her seat and hugged Athena then started to cry silently.
Athena closes her eyes and also hugs her back. Everyone was looking at the scene with a smile, and I really didn't want to interrupt, but I had to show them Ares' memories. Zeus knows I killed him, the rest did too. He wasn't too liked, but they did still lose a God.
I wait for them to finally stop hugging and cough into my fist. Everyone looks at me and I bring up a holographic display.
"I mentioned it to Zeus before, but I can read memories. I read Ares before I ended him. I'll show all of you what his life was like. You'll see his memories from when he was young, and until now. It won't take long, I promise."
I didn't wait for an answer and just played his memories. I stand back and let them see everything, from birth, to all the lies, manipulation, betrayal, and everything in between. It was on full display for them to see.
They all had an array of emotions. Some didn't show it, but their emotions didn't lie. Even Freyja got a bit angry when she saw the time he tried to hit on her. Of course, she kept her composure, but she did give me a look that basically asked 'Why?'.
I ignore it though and close my eyes. It should be done in the next five minutes, so for now I'll just relax here. Although, Inaie has seemed upset since I saw her earlier, but it didn't seem she was upset at anyone else but… Herself? I questioned Raiko and Lianne about it, but both said I should ask her myself, so I'll do that when we get home.
…
A few minutes have passed, and all of Ares' memories were finally shown. Everyone was mostly silent until Zeus spoke up.
"Will you be telling the Alliance about those potential attacks, Jin?"
"Yeah, I'll contact Azazel when I get back to my home."
He nods and looks at Athena who was looking back at Zeus in shame.
"Athena, you will be put through the same punishment as Medusa. Does anyone disagree with this decision?"
Zeus asks the room. They were a bit surprised by him suddenly saying that without prior discussion. Artemis was the first to raise her hand, followed by Hermes, Hestia, Hephaestus and the rest. Freyja was the last to do it. Maybe she wanted to make it dramatic, or just make it tense. But in the end, they all agreed to it.
"If you would, Jin."
He gestures for me to do the same thing I did to Medusa for Athena. So, confining her to just this realm, huh? I nod and walk over to her. Both women— Artemis and Athena look at me with curiosity. I nod at Artemis but she simply stares at me. However, her previous hostility was nowhere to be seen.
I gesture to her if I could touch her again, and she nods. Therefore, I touched Athena on the shoulder and bound her to this realm. She cannot leave it at all, unless I choose to do so. I take my hand off and shrug.
"I'm done."
"Hmm. Thank you again, Jin. You assisted our realm greatly today; we are in your debt."
"…I was just doing my job. I mean, it was lucky of me to be here, right? If I wasn't, I would probably have heard from Hestia, Hermes or Phae, and would have come here."
Zeus chuckles at me, however, he does look a bit sad. He did just lose one of his sons. Hera also had the same sad look. Even if he was an asshole, 'Evil' God, he was still their son, and they're also Gods. In other words, their 'principles' or ways of seeing life differ.
I mean, if your son, brother or boyfriend/girlfriend, did some of the things Ares did, could you forgive them? And if they died, would you grieve for them? I think it depends on each person on how they would react. I certainly don't feel pity for him, and I doubt Artemis or Athena feel much for him either.
"We will discuss more on this topic later, for now, this meeting is adjourned."
Zeus dismisses everyone and they all start to leave. However, to my surprise, Artemis approaches me and puts her hand out.
"Thank you, Jin. For saving my friend."
I shake her hand and smile.
"Yeah, no problem."
She also smiles back, it's safe to say, our relationship will start to improve from here on out. Artemis also smiles at me before the duo leaves. Hermes, Phae and Hestia stop by me. Freyja walks past me and winks.
"Let's continue our talk at another time, yes?"
They give me strange looks but I just shake my head. I'll deal with her another time. I think a friendship is possible, but if Freyja keeps pushing like that, it'll take a long ass time.
"Thank you."
Zeus taps me on the shoulder, and Hera gives me a smile. However, Apollon who had been mostly quiet during the meeting stops in front of me.
"I am sorry for what my brother did, Jin. But thank you, we also hoped he would change his ways eventually, perhaps because we were family that we were hopeful. However, we probably realized in the back of our minds that it was impossible a long time ago."
He sighs and looks to the side with a sad expression before looking back at me and puts his hand out for a handshake.
"…I won't ramble again, thank you and I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Apollon. He made his own decisions. You guys did your best, and I gave him that chance. Unfortunately, I had to make a choice in the end."
We shake hands, and Apollon goes on his way.
"Look at you increasing your own fame and popularity here again, huh?"
Nudge ~ Nudge ~
Hermes starts to nudge me and grins at me. I laugh at him and slap his elbow away. Hestia tries to do the same thing, but the difference in size was a bit too much…
"…I'm too small!!!!!"
And then she stomps away in a huff. We watch her depart, but Hermes chuckles to himself and chases after her. Saying that he'll treat her to some ice cream and she'll calm down…
"…Almost like a child."
"Pfft—"
Inaie, for the first time since we reunited, cracked a smile. However, she smiles sadly and shakes her head. Well, it's time to— No, wait… I quickly check the time and see that we could still have 'lunch'.
"We're heading to the rabbit village! We can make it for lunch. I did promise Kuro after all!"
Latia sighs beside me and shakes her head. She, and everyone else, starts to walk away.
"W-Wait, where's everyone going?!"
"Outside, I wish to relax a little bit, Jin."
Latia answers me while Irene, Lianne, Inaie and Raiko follow her. Irene looks back at me with a smirk, confusing me. Wait, I turn around to see Phae still there but blushing…. The fuck?
"Um, is something wrong, Phae?"
She didn't answer me though and just kept on looking at me instead. However, her face kept getting redder and I was getting worried about her. I reach out but she grabs my hand instead.
"I'm not very experienced with this kind of thing. But… Can I just say I love you and get it over with…?"
She manages to say this while blushing furiously.
[Heh, look at that. You finally got a Goddess.]
"…No, I need to at least explain!"
She points at her eye, the one that had the eye patch before and the defect. However, she did not elaborate further and cutely glared at me. I couldn't help but chuckle. She seemed a bit taken aback by my reaction. But before she could react, I pull her into a hug.
"I feel the same way, Phae."
"….~~~~ I-I think I'm about to die of embarrassment…"
…Should I kiss her? I think she would literally pass out if I do… Well—
Chu ~
To my surprise, Hephaestus kisses me on the neck instead. She then separates from me and runs away.
"Now that was unexpected."
I watch Phae run away, and when she turns a corner, I hear screaming. I chuckle to myself before I join the others.
…
Rabbit village
I had teleported us into the Rabbit village. But before we did, Irene and Ophis went back into the necklace, and Lianne back into my ring. However, they did question me on why Hephaestus just ran away while laughing to herself and completely red in the face.
I gave the usual answer that she became psychotic... T-That was just a joke. I just told them she became one of my lovers, kissed me on the neck, and ran away in embarrassment. After that, we came here.
I start to walk towards Kurousagi's home, and luckily for this town, it wasn't affected by the attack and it was still the same. However, some of the rabbit youkai here look a bit shaken up. They probably heard or saw all of it, and were asked to take shelter just in case.
I decide to cast a calming spell over the entire village, and the residents seem confused at the sudden change. However, we continue on our way.
…
Knock ~ Knock ~
The door opens without anyone saying anything, and there was Kuro with Vera. She grabs my hand and pulls me in. Vera laughs and welcomes the other three in.
"How was the village during the attack?"
"We were fine. Amalthea was here, but she left a few minutes ago. We were here to help defend it, but luckily none of them ever came here. However, the citizens did see what had happened over in Little Olympia and became uneasy."
"But seeing you here, it has definitely stopped! In any case, Vera and I started to finish our cooking after the attacks ended, and we finished a few minutes ago! S-So please go ahead and dig in!"
We reach the dining room and there were a plethora of food on the table. Kuro seems nervous, but all of us sit down and begin to eat. Both moon rabbits look at us in anticipation and I give them a thumbs up.
"It's good, really good…"
"Yes, it is. I haven't eaten much Greek food or Egyptian food much, but these are well made."
"Mmm-mmm-mmm!"
Raiko and Latia give them some kind of feedback, but Inaie just nods along while eating. Although I do believe these are a mix of both. It's just from looking since I read some books about it, so I'm not 100% sure about it.
During our 'lunch' although the day was quickly ending, we spoke about what happened during those few hours of the attack, and of course, we try to lighten the mood up by talking about different topics.
…
"Full… I don't think I can eat dinner tonight…"
Inaie says while patting her stomach. She ate at least four servings, while I only had two, Latia and Raiko had one. Ophis would have enjoyed this. I wonder why she went back?
I shake those thoughts away and go outside. Latia and Vera were talking about magic and spells while Raiko and Kurousagi were cleaning the dishes.
"…Tiring… I wonder when the whole situation with Valerie and Gasper will happen? I rescued her months ago, so I wonder how it will turn out? Will they still approach Rias about Gasper? Or will they approach me?
And then the rest of that shit I found out from Ares' memories.
"Ugh, peaceful days aren't near me at all…"
Looking up, the sky had already turned dark while we had 'lunch', but should I call it an early 'dinner'? Or is there a word in between? Linner? Dunch?
[Crunch!!]
{…?}
[Nestle Crunch!!]
{….????}
[You seriously don't know the reference?! Albion you cretin!]
Can I get some peace and quiet, please…?
[...My bad.]
Creak ~
Hearing the door behind me open, I felt a familiar presence walk over to me and stand beside me. I glance to my side and it was Kuro.
"I've only seen this realm's sky a handful of times, but I quite like it. Well, I do like skygazing, so I'm probably inclined to say that to all skies I see."
Kuro just giggles at what I say and doesn't say anything. We stay like that for the next few minutes. Until I hear Inaie inside asking where I went and if we could go home since she wants to ask someone something.
I put my hand on Kuro's head and start petting her a little.
"I'll be back when the festival starts, okay?"
"…Yes, I will contact you before it starts."
But the petting doesn't last long. Kuro takes my hand, turns to me and puts my hand on her cheek. She closes her eyes and we return to our comfortable silence.
After that short exchange, we go back inside. Inaie clings onto me, and the rest join me before we leave the realm. I do hope I did everything I set out to do. I would have preferred to have heard Medusa's story, but she didn't look like she wanted to share anything at all yet.
At the very least, I got Athena out of the mess she was in, but I feel like some sirens hate me because of what happened. It can't be helped, not everyone is going to like me whether or not I do the 'right' thing.
…
Japan, Kuoh
Skyward Household
Once we arrived there—
"Ah, w-welcome home, d-dear…"
Shigune by coincidence was walking through the entrance hallway and sees us. She then greets me like that. She puts her arms out asking for a hug while closing her eyes. Cute, she's still shy about it. Raiko silently giggles at the girl and walks into the kitchen.
I go over to Shigune and we share a hug.
"I'm home, Shigune. Is—"
"Jin, wait!"
I was about to ask about her day when Inaie interrupts us. I turn around to see her looking at me seriously. She takes a deep breath before saying anything.
"I won't go on any other requests with you for the time being."
That, that was unexpected. I nod.
"Sure, Inaie, but do you mind telling me why?"
She frowns and nods.
"I'm weak. I thought becoming Ultimate-class meant something, but during all of that I couldn't even keep up with what most of our enemies were doing. I felt like a child watching adults fight, so from today onwards I'll practice and train like a maniac!"
"Once I'm strong enough, then I'll return to join you again! But until then, I'll dedicate myself to this. I know this came out of nowhere, but I guess having Lianne-san tell me to leave just gave me a jolt of reality again. This is how I really feel, so please don't mistake it for anything else!"
I see. I wonder what Lianne told her? Did she just tell her to hide or leave when Ares used his [Breakdown the Beast]? I sigh and nod.
"Alright, Inaie, but if you want a teacher, I can provide you with one."
"Please and thank you!"
Shing!
"Then I will, because I probably was the cause."
From my ring came out Lianne. Inaie stiffened and saluted the woman. She smiles at her, kisses me on the cheek and grabs Inaie by the shoulder and proceeds to drag her away towards the elevator.
"E-Eh?! We're starting now?!"
"Yes."
"W-Wait, J-Jin, heeeeeeeeeelppp!!!"
She kept on screaming while inside the elevator. Where did all of that conviction go all of a sudden, Inaie…? I sigh and hug Shigune back. The girl was all too happy to do so. But—
Shuffle! Shuffle!
"Jin!"
Rias runs down the stairs and towards Shigune and I, she was looking a little flustered.
"I'm back, Rias. What's wrong? Why the rush?"
"W-Welcome back, no, it's nothing TOO serious… T-Tomorrow, we— All of us, the Gremory peerage and you are heading to the Underworld."
Huh? To the Underworld? Why? Did I get a request? I look at Rias asking her to continue. This makes her sigh.
"T-Tomorrow… Y-You're going to meet my grandmother and ancestor..."
...I didn't expect that. So I'm meeting Runeas Gremory and Chysis Gremory, huh? I turn to look at Latia as she stares back at me.
…
=========================
Check the chapter comments to see images of certain characters.