Dylan Ross was doing as usual, tailing Gideon's family members around to gather information and refine his plans.
When it was already 3 months into his observation, he felt it was already enough. If there be patterns in their movements and activities, then he had already known about them from the first month. The only problem was Gideon was too perceptive. Although he was certain he wouldn't be able to see through the Helm of Darkness's Absolute Invisibility, he was still wary enough to avoid getting too close.
He left them after deciding it was enough and returned to his lair before activating his AoE invisibility to hide the rest of them.
"Dylan, we've set up all that needed to be set up. Bombs, poison, thugs, guns, everything. Just tell us when we should execute the plan."
"It's happening in the next few days. Just wait for my signal." Said Dylan Ross. He was confident in their plans. It was something he worked hard for, it had to succeed.
…
There was a Spring of geniuses sprouting after Gideon's influence in the education system and the Guild he established. And one such geniuses, was a young man called Dom.
He was born, Dominic Calmer. His father was a herald, he died via Gideon's purge. Dom knew his father had stepped into the dark side and wished he'd go back. He regretted not being strong enough to stop him from doing so a year ago. Now, he was chosen as a student majoring in Martial arts.
Among his peers, he was at the peak, he was the one they looked up to and chase toward.
Dom had one motivation, to be strong enough to stop the same tragedy his family experienced from repeating in others.
He did not hate Gideon, in fact, he admired him. If it was Dom who had that power and chose not to use it for the sake of the world, because he wanted to reform his father instead of stopping him for good. Many more would have still suffered before he decided to end it.
"He is a man who chose to sacrifice his soul for the sake of many. I wish to be like him."
In fact, many of the youth in this generation chose to follow Gideon's path. Why? Because they saw the sacrifice. They saw the nobility. And they were not stupid enough to sell their souls for peace and for nobility. They were willing to sell their souls to murder, to death, for the sake of preventing the same things from happening again.
And so Dom, leader of the student body majoring in martial arts, formed his very own group. A group of hunters that go on low level raids to destroy dungeons in residential areas where people have yet to evacuate. For some reason, these people never try to move. They wait for saviors as if this was a world where super heroes come in capes and swoop in when they are in trouble. This troubled Dom and his companions but to have a voice, they needed the strength.
If they started scolding them now, they'd just appear as young pups who know nothing of the world. And their efforts in correcting their ways would be in vain.
So, they go about on their breaks to raid dungeons and destroy the cores using teams of specialized professions. Some were archers, a general term for people who liked to kite and attract the monster's attention via long-range attacks. Some were tanks, a general term for people who liked to face danger with laughter. Sometimes called vanguard for their skills in initiating fights and maintaining the monster's aggression. When they need healing and support, is when the healers come in while the archers distract the monsters. Healers go about giving monsters ailments when they don't need to heal teammates. Or give them some other support.
And then there were those like Dom, who chose to purely be the dealers, a general term that aims to maim or kill their target through the combined efforts of the team. The stronger the dealers are the easier the fights and the higher their chances of surviving.
This was what Gideon suggested they taught students of this specialized major.
One afternoon, Dom and his team stumbled upon a dungeon that was well-hidden. They entered it and surveyed just as they do whenever they discover a dungeon. Someone scouts it and gives a general feel for the dungeon. If it was safe enough for themselves to enter and conquer, they would enter, if not, they'd give it up and report the discovery as soon as possible.
When they discovered it was an old dungeon dating more than 5 years ago, they were filled with drear. Without further dilly-dallying, they stepped out and reported it not to the authorities but to the most powerful Guild in the world, Johnsons Enterprise's Guild.
Atreus received the report in but a minute after it was received and he mobilized a team of disciples whose cultivation had already reached Body Tempering. He then ordered for those who discovered the dungeon to be rewarded by two options: one, money; and two, to become disciples of the Guild.
Obviously, most of them chose to be Guild members, and disciples. If they, high school students were taken in as disciples of the Guild while still attending high school, then they would become the absolute top students in their batch.
Soon, Atreus' disciples restrained the dungeon core and he dealt the finishing blow, since none of then had that ability yet.
These were the first generation outer sect disciples of the Guild. And they progressed slowly because they were not personally tutored by Gideon. Although the Guild would provide a weekly supply of medicine to boost their cultivation, it was still average.
"What's the name of the leader of the group of students?" Asked Atreus, he had a disciple, handle things for him as Gideon instructed while he focused on his own cultivation. After all, he was reaching the peak of Nascent Soul and the breakthrough was just around the corner.
"Dominic Calmer. High school top 1 of the specialized course, master."
"Have him come to me for assessment."
"I will arrange it for you, master."
"Okay." Atreus had the disciple close the door after him and called out to the skies, "Master, may I have a moment?"
A quiet room… then, the voice of Gideon resounded.
"Atreus, is it about that young man? He's your age, isn't he?"
"Yes, master."
"Hm. Did you have something in mind?"
"Will you assess him if he's worthy of your tutelage, master? I am sorry for being presumptuous."
"Hm. I'll meet him and give an assessment."
"Thank you, master."
"I'll see you in a bit."
Gideon's voice then disappeared. When Dom had arrived, Gideon silently appeared behind the closed door. Atreus noticed but Dom was oblivious. Atreus bowed slightly to show his respect. Dom was flustered because of this and did not dare to receive that bow, "Sir, please don't!"
He spoke.
"No need to be modest. Your act of reporting about the hidden dungeon is an act of great courage and sacrifice. Honorable and noble. Even if I had to kneel on the ground to give you honor, I would have done so."
"I don't dare!"
"Dominic Calmer, go ahead and sit. I want you to meet my master. I requested for him to come and assess your aptitude for becoming a disciple of the Guild."
"R-Really? I get to meet my hero?"
"…Yes." Atreus felt odd. Master never calls himself a hero in fact, he admits to being a murderer, but these people call him hero for whatever intents and purposes. Atreus had slight feeling of discomfort.
Gideon heard his cue so he appeared to Dominic and gave him an assessment before speaking.
"Dominic Calmer, a high school senior with top of the class grades and scores. Hello, I am Gideon. Atreus's master. Come, let me see how well you'll receive cultivation instructions."
Gideon reached out to him and felt his body. Instantly, he knew, "Hoh, you have a good physique it seems. A little nudge and you'll become one of the 'heroes' society today needs. Would you like to become my disciple today, Dominic?"
Gideon was not exaggerating. He really did see potential in Dominic. His body was fit for cultivation and martial arts. If he became a herald under him and a disciple as well, then, developing would not be a problem at all.
"Ca-Can I really?"
"Of course, you can, you only but need to answer my earlier question. Are you willing to become my disciple?"
"Am I willing? I would be a fool to refuse such an opportunity!"
"Then from now on, you are my disciple and Atreus's junior. You are the same age, but don't let age fool you from now on. Always feel for your opponent's strength not his age. He is a formidable warrior already at his age. You on the other hand are an ant, in front of him. So listen to his instructions and listen well.
"He will teach you the true legacy of our lineage. From now on, you will be the face of the Guild. To carry this responsibility, you will naturally need to be strong. If not, you will be useless."
"I will do my best, master!"
"Good."
"Atreus, I will leave his training to you. Do not let me down."
"Yes, master."
Gideon then left.
Left alone, Atreus and Dominic faced each other and got to know one another. By the end of the evening, Atreus had already given Dominic a welcoming gift.
"You will schedule your training at 6 pm every day after school from now on. And as a welcoming gift, I'll have you and your mother moved to a villa not far from here.
"Consider master as your second father from now on. You are part of our lineage now. You are my brother and I, yours. You mother is my mother from now on. Remember this. And betrayal, can only be quenched by death."
"Yes, senior brother! Thank you!"
Dom left and Atreus watched his back. It was scene of camaraderie between two who merely just met but felt like they've known each other a long time.
…
It had been over 10 years since the original evil god that targeted Earth had been going at it with no results to show for it. In the end, through sheer coincidence, it brought more of their kind to the fray and still it showed no signs of crumbling or even being licked to have a taste before devouring.
Left with no choice, the evil gods called even more even gods, however, to the evil gods' dismay, of those that they called, one possessed an ability that was fully dreaded by all beings in the universe.
The ability to assimilate and devour. This was supposed to be an ability available to the evil gods when they have succeeded in 'cooking' their food properly.
However, this one evil god possessed this dreadful ability from its infancy and have been devouring not just planets but also fellow evil gods. In the end, a tragedy happened upon the evil gods that convened to devour Earth. This time, the evil god that targeted Earth had changed hands.
And this time, it was countless times more powerful than ever.
A time of turmoil was upon Earth.
…
Gideon was not stupid enough to just let threats to continue to linger. He contacted Bia and asked her to investigate any deity that showed clear hostility and bloodlust towards him. Bia told him that there were in fact none. Gods did not want to mess with a potential Supreme Divinity individual so they heeded his warnings.
"That's odd." Gideon then realized that he'd been underestimating the Earth and the gods in it. The artifacts they left behind were treasures of true worth.
"It seems, I need to develop my Divine Sight for me to see through even the most powerful invisibility items." Gideon pondered.
"Since that is the case, I'll have to actively train my divinity." Gideon knew what to do to train his divinity from the start. Divine Arts was a different system of cultivation from Spiritual Arts yet they shared one aspect that coincided with each other. And that was energy.
Even Divinity is simply Divine Energy, an energy that is used by deities. And because of the Sacrosanctum Concillium Vasis Dei, divine energy was openly available to the world. If Gideon absorbed and refined this energy by himself, he would have gained divinity from the first circulation just like how he got Qi.
"If I do this, it may be time for me to refine Aether, that which binds the basic elements of the universe."
Gideon further pondered his next step. He had to consider this properly or he would be entering a new realm that would attract more trouble than convenience.
When he was alone, Gideon attracted the divine energy lingering in the atmosphere of the Earth. With his Ten Orders of Magnitude in Gains, this simple and minute absorption became something like a flood that saturated his body.
{Gained Supreme Divinity.}
{Supreme Divinity duplicate detected.}
{Enhancing Supreme Divinity by consuming duplicate skill.}
{Enhancement Complete. Divine Sight added to Supreme Divinity as a sub-skill.}
{Divine Sight has been acquired through the combination of inherent divine sense and divinity.}
"It's a success. And it seems, without perfecting my fleshy body, the ascension will not happen naturally. That's good. As long as I keep absorbing divinity my skills will continue to evolve."
Gideon felt like he found an Easter egg he could exploit without worrying about the possible backlash.
Without any further ado, he continued to enhance his Divine Sight selectively and developed Absolute Sense within himself.
When he had achieved this, he stopped and immediately spread his senses to cover the Earth and finally found the source of his worries. Right now, nothing truly could hide from Gideon's senses, unless he permits it. Although this sense had limited range, anything within would have no place to hide.
Unless he develops Cosmic Awareness, Gideon's senses will never reach beyond his current limit.
…
Dylan Ross was having a final meeting with his collaborators, when he felt that even when the Helm's ability was active, his nervousness was growing. As if a warning… a sinking feeling that something had gone absolutely wrong.
However, he felt that it was probably last-minute cold-feet syndrome. He shook his head and ignored that sinking feeling.
And that was the last mistake he ever made.
"I see. So, you guys are betrayers of your own patron gods. I was wondering why there wasn't any chatter about you in the Divine Realm, so you guys were hiding through, this thing."
The man who suddenly appeared inside the same secret hideout protected by Dylan Ross's Helm of Darkness, spoke. Greatly startling those present.
Dylan Ross in particular knew this familiar voice. His dread had manifested!
"H-How! How did you even find us?! The helm should have protected us perfectly!"
"Perfectly, you say? Well, that just means you haven't been outside your own little fantasy world. If it was any perfect, why would Hades stay as the Lord of the Underworld and let others borrow his helm willingly?"
"Let me answer that for you, because Hades was smart enough to recognize that he was merely a frog in a well. He knew there were even mightier artifacts and abilities in the universe. Else, he would have the same hubris you have been exuding the whole time you kept me and my family on watch.
"Tell me, did you enjoy following my family around for months?" Gideon's contempt and maddened brows showed on his face. He was, this time, really pissed.
He never thought humans of Earth would be this stupid and greedy. If he only stayed objective in facing humanity, this would not have gotten to the point of having his family exposed to such a hidden danger.
"Your life… its not worth sparing."
Crack.
Gideon clenched his fist while holding Dylan Ross's head in it. Blood and brain matter, as well as his eyes splashed out of his grasp. Gideon's cruelty was right in front of the those present. They shrieked and scurried wherever there was space to run to.
Gideon however, was holding his fist in the air and narrowed his eyes.
"What a sly guy. He had another means to escape with his soul." Gideon at the last second, felt Dylan's soul flickering and disappearing to somewhere he could not pinpoint for the time being.
"To let him go would be letting a source of trouble brew in the dark. I have to find him. For now, let's clean up this filth."