ON the other hand, the man Mars pledged his life to, couldn't help but think that they angered the gods. So when Minerva and Apollo appeared alongside Mars, heaven knows how frightened he got.
"Human, are you alright?"
The man immediately bowed down before bravely speaking. "Your Holiness. Please do not harm this woman and her child. I beg for your mercy and shall take only my life."
The three gods who witnessed this were flustered. "Human, raise your head. We do not wish to take your life or their lives. We are here because my brother pledged to protect your family." Minerva said before giving a signal to the lady that she and her child can leave.
Realizing his mistake, his head remained low, so much so that it was almost touching the ground. "I apologize for my rudeness, Your Grace. But if I may ask, what do you mean your brother?" He confusedly asked, slowly raising his head.
"Yo~!" Mars cheekily greeted the man. His eyes widened.
"Mr. Mars? You're — you're – you're —!"
"Yes, I'm a god! Hehe..." Mars proudly continued his human's sentence who was stuttering. Seeing this, Minerva couldn't help but sigh inwardly as she confirmed that her brother pledged himself without the human's notice.
"... Yes, we were following you for a while now. I saw what you did in the village. Because of that, we have decided to pledge ourselves to you and give you a kingdom with knowledge and when the day comes, we will be reborn and give our power in your bloodline."
"Oh, no, no, no, that's— that's too much, Your Holiness!" The man couldn't help but get flustered. Three gods pledging themselves to a mere human like him is too much.
"Don't you like that? You have three gods you can rely on~" Mars smugly said which Minerva and Apollo nodded.
Seeing that the three gods have already decided, the man couldn't help but also agree. There's nothing wrong with having three gods as your protector, it is a great gift to pass unto his bloodline.
With that, the three gods started the God's Pledge with Minerva taking the lead. Slowly, a gust of wind can be felt as a divine circle slowly surrounded them. On the floor, you can see this golden circle with intricate ancient letters on it.
[We, Minerva, goddess of wisdom, Apollo, god of music, and Mars, god of war, hereby pledge ourselves to be this man and his bloodline's protector. Therefore, grant us our wish, supreme beings, as we pledge our allegiance to this human.]
Minerva's dignified voice was amplified as the golden circle continued to shine brighter. The wind blew stronger as if answering the call of Minerva.
[Human...] Minerva reached out her hand before continuing. [Rise.]
The man immediately stood up. Inside the divine circle, no one can oppose the host. When the host makes a command, it is immediately implemented. But of course, the man didn't know this, which made him more confused and in awe.
[What is your name?]
"Godfrey, Your Holiness. My name is Elric Godfrey."
[Then, from this day forth, I hereby declare that we, the god of wisdom, god of war, and god of music, shall be Godfrey's protectors. The ones who will calm the storm, bringing wealth so no one will mourn. May our protection help you in your journey.]
With that, the divine circle slowly disappeared and the strong wind finally calmed down. After the god's pledge, the gods and Elric separate ways. However, when the gods reached their home in the human realm, they were greeted by darkness.
"What is it?" Mars asked as he went on standby for any surprise attack.
"Hmm, of course, you knew that I will report the incident to the higher realm. As expected, right, Belphegor?"
"HAHAHAHAHA! Yes, indeed. You know me well, my dear goddess." Slowly the darkness was lifted, revealing the red-haired demon clapping. "I saw what you did there, Minerva. Pledging yourselves to a measly human, how—disgusting. Do you still have powers left after that?"
"Why don't you see it for yourself, Gluttony?" On cue, the three gods attacked the demon. Now, there is a difference between the passage of time in the heavenly realm and the human realm. And so, their fight went on for days.
But strangely enough, it was the gods who got tired first. Minerva couldn't help but worry as she looked at her brothers.
"Are you both alright?"
Both of them nodded. They were warily looking at Belphegor whilst wiping the sweat forming on their face.
They're being pushed back. The three of them knew this. Minerva glanced at the two before nodding, confirming they are alright.
'We have to finish this quickly. I have a bad feeling about this.'
Belphegor who noticed all of this couldn't help but smile triumphantly. Of course the moment he heard the report he immediately went to their sweet abode. He felt that this is the right time and the King knows how much he was so delighted when he learned that they even wasted their powers to pledge.
'Jackpot.' He thought. Yes, it was indeed a jackpot for him.
'Let's finish this!' The three of them thought.
"Cloak of inferno!"
"Humming of the Wind!"
"SACRED POWER: Judgement of Sin!"
Mars, Apollo, and Minerva attacked at once but the demon only laughed, clearly enjoying this.
It was at that moment before their attacks could even hit Belphegor, he grinned. It was a perfect time.
"Nullification!" In a split second, their attacks stopped and exploded in the air.
"YOU--!" Mars gritted, "WHO ARE YOU?!
But Belphegor only grinned more, revealing once again his pointy teeth, as he removed his eyepatch.
"UNSACRED POWER!" His eye which was usually covered gave an unusual glow. "KING'S GLUTTONY!"
"Argh! " Mars groaned, struggling on the Devil's seal.
Minerva noticed this. Slowly, she limply went to them before hugging them.
"Stop it, both of you." She whispered, consoling them, and said the following word in determination. "We will come back."
As they are being consumed by the seal, Mars glared at Belphegor.
"To those who sealed us! You will regret this day! Remember our name!" And with the little power in him that was yet to be sealed, he made a divine circle. Unlike before, his divine circle was dim and the ancient letters were scrappy, however, it is enough to make a holy declaration.
[I, Mars the god of war, my sister the goddess of wisdom, and Apollo, the god of music, will not disappear! By the will of his bloodline, we will take our revenge and when that day comes! I SWEAR UPON MY NAME THAT ALL OF YOU WILL FALL! REMEMBER THIS DAY BELPHEGOR!"
With that, the divine circle slowly disappeared. Along with it were the three gods who had their powers sealed.
And time went by. 750 years later, the bloodline of the human has passed on to the three siblings. King Agathi, Princess Lefquena, and Prince Arvad, who were destined to unbind the seal and give way to the gods, have now started their journey.