The celestial meeting had already stretched longer than anyone anticipated. Tensions were high, and the air in the grand hall was thick with the weight of power. The rulers of the afterlife realms sat at the massive, gleaming table, their eyes locked in the eternal dance of politics. Every word spoken could shift the balance, every gesture was calculated.
In the midst of this, God—seated at the head of the table—turned to Zeus, his calm voice carrying through the room. "Zeus, do you have any plans to offer for the coming troubles?"
Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, sat back in his chair, his thunderbolt resting across his lap. His eyes gleamed with a mischievous spark, the arrogance of Olympus evident in his posture. "I have many plans," he said with a grin, his voice booming across the room. "But first, let me share one of them..."
Kikidori, leaning casually in his chair with his arms crossed, shot a glance at Zeus, his eyes betraying nothing but disinterest. His voice, as usual, was nonchalant but cutting. "Zeus, shut the fuck up. Why are you even here? Mount Olympus isn't an afterlife—it's on Earth. So why are you wasting everyone's time?"
Damn.
The room fell silent for a moment. Even the rulers of Heaven, Hell, and the other realms turned to look, waiting for Zeus's reaction. Kikidori had a way of defusing a tense moment with his effortless arrogance.
Zeus, his eyes flashing with irritation, leaned forward in his chair. "Because I was invited, now shut up, Prince," he retorted, his voice dripping with condescension.
Kikidori didn't flinch. His eyes never left Zeus, his voice as cool as ever. "Zeus, at least I'm not married to my sister."
BURN.
The room went completely still. For a moment, even the air seemed to freeze. Everyone knew of Zeus's complicated family history—his numerous affairs with his sisters and other Olympian gods. That was a low blow, and Kikidori, with his usual nonchalance, had just thrown it.
Zeus's face reddened in rage. Without warning, he flicked his wrist and sent a bolt of lightning hurtling toward Kikidori. The thunderous crack echoed through the room as the bolt surged forward.
But Kikidori, without so much as blinking, extended his hand and caught the lightning in midair. The energy burned against his skin, but his expression remained unchanged, though his hand trembled slightly from the pain.
"Nice try," Kikidori said, tossing the now-dissipating energy aside as if it were nothing more than a flickering candle. "But I've been through worse."
Zeus, visibly pissed off, growled under his breath. "You're annoying," he muttered, sitting back down next to his wife, Hera, who gave Kikidori an exasperated glance.
Kikidori leaned back in his chair, a smirk curling at the corner of his lips. "Shut up, you adelphogamy."
BURN.
The room collectively held its breath as Zeus's eye twitched, but he remained silent this time. Kikidori, as always, had a way of getting under people's skin, and he seemed entirely unbothered by the tension he'd just created.
Suddenly, Achilles, the legendary hero whose name was known across the realms, spoke up. His voice, like his reputation, carried weight, though it was laced with annoyance. "Kikidori, you're being loud."
Kikidori turned his head slowly toward Achilles, his eyes narrowing slightly as if sizing him up. He gave a dry chuckle before responding. "Shut up, you died because you got shot by an arrow in the heel. Embarrassing if you ask me."
A snicker spread across the room. Even some of the more stoic gods couldn't help but let out a soft laugh at the insult. Achilles, however, wasn't one to back down.
"Shut up, Kikidori. That's why you drowned," Achilles snapped back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
The room went silent again. Kikidori, unfazed by the remark, simply raised an eyebrow. "Drowned? How'd you figure that one out?"
Achilles, a deep scowl on his face, refused to back down, but Kikidori's sharp wit had already won the moment. The celestial rulers could only watch as their bickering continued—an endless dance of insults and barbs that seemed to go nowhere, yet always left the room in an uproar.
In the midst of it all, Yumi, sitting off to the side with her sketchbook in hand, rolled her eyes. She was used to this by now. After all, her father's casual attitude toward confrontation had long been a staple of her life. She couldn't help but snicker as she heard her father's latest comeback.
"God," she muttered under her breath, "I can't believe they actually take this seriously."
God, seated at the head of the table, shook his head with a wry smile. "It's the eternal dance of egos," he said softly to no one in particular. "We just watch the show."
As the insults flew back and forth, the meeting continued to spiral into chaos. No decisions were being made, no diplomacy was achieved. The rulers of the realms were so caught up in their bickering that it almost seemed as if the afterlife itself had become one giant, never-ending playground for the gods and rulers to fight over.
But in the end, it was Kikidori's casual attitude and razor-sharp words that won the day. It always did.
The End of Chapter 31