Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 87: The Gods of Earth.

—Julius’s POV—

Things have been going exceptionally well for me despite the fact that my real body was still unconscious back on the material plane. I finally remembered the real identity of Reginleif who was actually my bestie from my childhood back on Earth and also, I got engaged to another goddess and became her apostle. Both things were equally as shocking, but the sudden marriage proposal of Yraura definitely left speechless since it came out of nowhere…

I couldn’t particularly refuse her since both Lia and Catris were doing her best to highlight Yraura’s best qualities to me, and also, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t find her charming and beautiful.

Frankly, it is exactly as Remillia said… I have a huge weakness toward cute girls. Imma need to work on my self control, otherwise I might end up with a thousand wives in the blink of an eye just like Karen said.

Oh, right… I’m also marrying Karen and bringing her to Unitya no matter what. After all, why shouldn’t I? She’s a very important person to me and she also likes me back. I told Golden Awakening that I would fulfill each of my selfish desires as a king should, in order to live my new life to the fullest.

But, putting all that aside for the time being, we are presently waiting for the Gods of Earth to arrive. I requested Lia to change the environment in her Divine Realm for something more suitable in case those gods made me prove my strength in order to make our deal. Karen had warned about that kind of practice from Earth’s gods, so naturally, I was thoroughly prepared for that.

We were all standing in some practically infinite plains. Lia, Catris and Yraura were sitting on the table we were using before during our celebration while Karen and I were standing several meters away from them.

I had told the goddesses that I would handle Odin and the other gods and that was exactly what I intended to do. I couldn’t depend on them for something like this… This would fulfill a desire of mine and it was something I had to do by myself, despite them offering their help.

Of course, the goddesses still remained nearby to offer their support and to intervene in case things suddenly went south during my negotiations with the Gods of Earth. I didn’t think something like that would happen, but it was good to know that I had people watching over me in case of failure. I will have to spend lots of quality time together with the goddesses later as a way to thank them.

Anyway.

If everything went well, I would have Claire, my sisters, my parents, and my best friend Chris by my side again. It would only come at the price of having to deliver the head of an evil god of deceit. Easier said than done, but since slaying Agmos was already my objective, there was no reason for me to refuse their deal…

Except for the fact that it was suspicious as hell that this deal would clearly only benefit me. I could understand that the Gods of Earth wanted to get rid of a threat to their world, but why help me? A simple mortal? Are they helping me because I was formerly an earthling? Or is it because they have a darker purpose in mind?

I cannot be caught slacking. Odin and Zeus are schemers and liars by nature, so I must be on my guard. These eyes of mine will not fail to see through their lies.

“Are you sure you can convince them, Julius?” Karen asked with a look of great worry on her face.

“Don’t worry, Karen! I got this in the bag!” I patted her back to reassure her. “I was a law student before I died, I know a thing or two about persuasion and to shift their words in a manner that would benefit us.” I said with a devilish smile on my face.

“I guess I can see why you were reincarnated as a demon… Lawyers are not so different from devils. At least according to Wyverns and Mazes.” Karen seemed rather amused. “Also, you were just in your second year and never graduated, so don’t pat yourself on the back too much.” A playful smile appeared on her face as she teased me.

“I was just trying to reassure you…” I looked at Karen with a deadpan expression.

“I would be very reassured if you placed a ring on my finger and you told me how deeply you love me.” Karen giggled to herself while looking at her ring finger. “Plus, if you manage to convince them, we would be the same age, so… A kiss would be nice too.” She smiled teasingly at me.

She’s being surprisingly giddy about romance… That’s so unlike the Karen I remember who would look disgusted at the mere sight of a couple giving each other peck on the cheek. She has clearly matured, I suppose.

“So I just need to do that? Come here then.” I beckoned Karen to crouch to match my height. It was a little annoying to be so small compared to her.

“Oh? Are you gonna tell me now that you had a ring prepared this whole time?” Karen did what I told her and crouched to be on the same level as me. She was still playfully teasing me, as usual.

“No, even I do not have that kind of foresight,” I gave her a quick peck on the cheek before finishing my sentence. “But at least I can do something like this without any preparations. Are you feeling reassured now?” I asked Karen with a smirk on my face.

“You’re rather shameless for a boy your age…” Karen averted her gaze and blushed. She was touching her cheek on the spot I had kissed her. “I wouldn’t mind getting another… It would make me feel even more reassured…” She suddenly got a little shy.

“I’ll be happy to oblige.” I answered happily.

Unfortunately for the two of us, before I could continue to shower the cute valkyrie with my affection, a rift in space had appeared in front of us. A sign that the visitors we were waiting for had finally arrived.

“Tsk…” Karen clicked her tongue and looked very annoyed. I couldn’t blame her since I felt a little annoyed too.

But this was not the time for our romance or to share our affection with each other. I had a goal in mind and I needed to ascertain the motives of the Gods of Earth before we reached an agreement.

“Well, time to get to business.” I said while staring at the rift in front of us.

Several people crossed the enormous rift into Lia’s Divine Realm. I recognized a few of them, mainly Odin, Zeus and Hermes, but there were two people I didn’t recognize along with them… 

A tall robust man with a hammer and a woman with bright red hair.

I had a very strong suspicion of who the man with the hammer was… I mean, c’mon… It was pretty obvious just by looking at him. I was very certain that the man with the hammer was Thor, the Norse god of thunder.

Just like I said before, the man who appeared to be Thor, was very tall and robust, almost as tall as the three goddesses behind me… He was around 2 meters tall and had his long and somewhat unkempt dark red hair arranged in shoulder-length braids as well as a long beard of the same color. His eyes were a dark shade of blue. His facial features were pretty much the ones that you would expect from a tough looking man. The man was covered in the finest of furs and leathers as most of his attire consisted of those materials. The most noticeable aspect of his attire was the bulky jacket he was wearing as well as the mighty hammer that was hanging from a strap in his pants… Mjölnir.

And then, there was the woman… Contrary to the clearly Norse god, she appeared more Mediterranean. Judging by her toga alone, it was clear that she was of Greek origin.

Perhaps one of the many daughters of Zeus? I wasn't particularly sure considering how many Greek goddesses there were out there…

The Greek woman was very petite compared to the Norse god, she was around 1.55 meters tall, basically almost as tall as Liliana and Luna. Her facial features were pretty beautiful and elegant, very pleasant to the eye.  As I said earlier, she was wearing a long white toga and some sandals. Her hair was the same bright red color as her blazing long hair that reached her shoulders. She wasn't using any makeup or accessories, yet her beauty could easily rival the three goddesses sitting behind me.

But what really made focus on the woman in question, was not her beauty but the caring aura she exuded. Just by looking at her, I was filled with nostalgia which only made me think about my home.

As the rift closed behind them, the Gods of Earth began to approach us while being led by Odin and Zeus.

"Long time no see, Lord Odin, Lord Zeus." I decided to greet them appropriately this time.

"It has been a while, hasn't it? At least for you it has been, for us the time between our previous meeting and now passed in the blink of an eye." Zeus replied with a smirk on his face.

"It was quite a short time, I'm afraid." Odin nodded in agreement with Zeus. "And in that short time, you seem to have gotten stronger, young one." Odin's lonesome eye was focused on me. The runes in his iris shone brightly as the old god tried to analyze me.

"Can you tell? Perhaps I grew a little stronger since our last meeting." I gave him a vague reply.

"You cannot deceive my eye, boy. Saying that you grew a little stronger is an understatement." Odin immediately saw through my words. "After all, you seem to be in possession of eyes similar to mine. The rumored All-Seeing Eyes that only the most powerful demons of Unitya seem to have." Odin immediately smirked.

"So you know about these eyes… Good, that will make things quicker." I smiled in return to the old god.

"I'm a knowledge seeker, young one. Although this is the first time I've seen those special eyes in person, I have heard about them from Hermes. After all, he was able to meet with Basalto, the God of Magic of Unitya, before he created the demon race and turned himself into a mortal." Odin explained while looking at the olive skinned man behind him.

"This is actually also my first time observing such eyes, Lord Odin. I never thought I would get the chance to witness Basalto's creation in person after the True Demons went extinct.  I was only ever told about such eyes while he was in the planning process of creating the demons." Hermes said while leaning closer to look at my eyes.

"Yes, yes, his eyes are special. I get that." Zeus spoke with mild annoyance before leaning forward to be directly in front of me. His yellow eyes shone brightly. "I think I speak for both Thor and myself when I say… We're interested in that new power of yours. You seem to have acquired the power of lightning somehow." His annoyance turned into a gleeful smirk once more.

"You have very keen eyes as well, Lord Zeus. I didn't think you would notice something like that." I expressed my genuine surprise at the fact that Zeus knew about one of my new powers.

"Boy, I do not need to see it. I can feel the lightning and thunder roaring inside you, trying to escape to the outside and burn everything to a crisp." He said before turning his back to me and walking toward Thor. "We are gods of thunder, after all. It is only natural that we could detect such enormous power with ease." Zeus smiled again while patting Thor in the shoulder.

The tall Norseman simply nodded in agreement with his fellow god of thunder. As a result of that conversation, Thor's gaze was completely focused on me while his dominant hand remained close to his hammer.

On the other hand, the goddess with the caring aura was staring at the distance with a blank look on her face. She appeared to be rather bored.

"Putting your newly gained powers aside, I would like to know whether or not Reginleif has been causing you trouble or not. Has she performed her tasks successfully?" Odin inquired.

Karen immediately grew a little awkward due to Odin's questions. She was looking at me with a bit of anxiety, but she remained quiet as I had instructed her.

"Rather than causing issues, her presence here has been nothing but a blessing." I decided to smile at Karen to reassure her.

Karen was a little taken aback but she smiled softly in response almost immediately. Something that Odin would obviously notice.

"A blessing, eh? Judging by those words and the way you're smiling at her, you seem to be aware of Reginleif's identity." Odin smiled with amusement after saying those words.

"Of course I do. You cannot hide anything from my eyes." I said confidently. 

In response, Odin cackled with even more amusement than before.

"I like that. Those eyes of yours are truly special, aren’t they? I definitely would like to take some time to examine them, but I know we came here for another separate matter. Putting my curiosity aside, I believe it is time that you give us an answer." Odin said as his expression turned serious.

"Before I tell you, allow me to remind everyone of the terms you offered me." I said before taking a deep breath. "You gods, in exchange of us becoming allies, you would help me to either return to Earth or to bring my family and my important friends to this world, correct?" I asked for confirmation.

"Indeed. Those are the conditions we offer." Odin nodded and confirmed what I said.

"Then, going by that line of thought, then it means that I can bring whoever I consider important to this world." I smiled cheekily before looking at Karen.

"Ah, you little devil... So that was your intention by reminding us of the conditions we offered." Zeus looked somewhat annoyed yet amused by my actions.

"You intend on snatching a valkyrie away from me? She's not only my subordinate but a very important battle maiden from Asgard." Odin seemed less than thrilled.

"Do you disagree with it? Karen is one of the most important people to me on Earth, so why wouldn't I bring her? Her support and her power would definitely come in handy for the battles to come." I argued.

"While you're in your right to want to take her, it is not particularly pleasant for me to let go of such an exceptional valkyrie such as Reginleif. Training someone to replace her will be an extremely difficult endeavor." Odin let out a sigh before falling deep in thought. "But I suppose I cannot stop neither you nor her from wanting to be together… All she wanted and ever spoke about during her time with us was about you, so letting go of her seems like the most natural course of action if we are going to be allies." Odin decided to agree, of course not before letting out a huge sigh of annoyance.

Huh… That was easier than I thought. I was prepared to go all out and have a full blown childish tantrum on the floor or to even beg him, but I guess this is way better since I won't have to sacrifice my dignity to have Karen by my side again.

Naturally, hearing Odin agree to my request made Karen extremely happy. A huge smile had appeared on her face, but it seemed like she was trying to contain her excitement until our visitors left.

"I suppose you could consider this a gift of good will before we strike a deal. Though, it is a real shame… There aren't as many cute valkyries as Reginleif back home… Ah, what a loss… I would have liked to at least spend a night with her." Zeus now seemed really disappointed that Karen was leaving them to come with us.

Knowing Zeus and his past history, I was seriously pissed off due to his words. Hell, I was not the only one annoyed by what Zeus had said, both Karen and the mysterious goddess looked disgusted completely.

"Ha! That wouldn't ever happen, Zeus. My valkyries are not only instructed to never share a bed with you but they are also protected by a spell that would prevent you from even touching them." Odin laughed and even mocked the god of thunder. "Do you think I would allow my innocent battle maidens to fall in your lecherous grasp just like that?" Odin asked with a smirk.

"Damn… So that's why I got teleported to the middle of the arctic after trying to flirt with that other valkyrie in training a while ago." Zeus mumbled to himself.

"That's only one spell. I made sure to get creative with each and every single one of them. So? Do you think you want to find out what the other spells do?" Odin suddenly became very worthy of my admiration.

"I'll pass." Zeus quickly shook his head in denial.

For a moment, there was a certain awkwardness and tension in the air thanks to Zeus's words, but Hermes was able to break the silence.

"I wholeheartedly apologize for my father's antics, Reginleif, Julius." Hermes suddenly moved forward and bowed to the two of us.

"I can let it slide this time, but I'd rather he doesn't speak about my future wife that way again." I replied to Hermes.

My reply seemed to be enough to return Karen's beaming smile back to her face. She was hugging me from behind rather happily.

"I don't mind it either. I already know what Lord Zeus is like, but just for the record, I wouldn't have ever even considered sleeping with him anyway…" Karen shook her head in complete denial.

"I appreciate it. As we all know, my father thinks he can be quite persuasive… So please ignore him whenever he makes comments like that one." Hermes spoke very awkwardly while looking at Zeus.

Everyone with the exception of Zeus nodded in agreement with Hermes. The infamous thunder god just limited himself to look annoyed while clicking his tongue.

"Putting Zeus's antics aside…" Odin shook his head before letting out a sigh. "It was a pleasure to have you as a valkyrie, Reginleif. It might have been a short time since you became an official one, but you were exceptional in every sense of the word. As the King of Asgard, I wish you nothing but happiness and that you never forget the teachings of your sisters, the battle maidens. May those teachings be of help to you in your new life." I was quite surprised that Odin had become supportive of Karen leaving Earth.

With my special eyes, I could see the sincerity in his words. There were no tricks, no hidden meanings, nothing to worry about… Sure, I could feel that he was slightly troubled by losing a talented valkyrie, but overall he seemed happy for her.

It was not what one would expect from a schemer like the All-Father.

"Thank you, Lord Odin. It pleases me greatly that you allow me to pursue my wishes." Karen bowed with gratitude. "And worry not, I shall make sure to honor my sisters' teachings." She smiled warmly.

"Good. Even if you leave Asgard itself, you will always be a valkyrie of Asgard. Please remember your years there and your sisters with kindness." Odin appeared to be more like a worried grandfather Instead of the supremely  powerful trickster god.

Karen nodded happily again. She was practically beaming with joy as she hugged me again, this time way tighter than before.

"Anyway, now that this other matter is settled, you should trust us enough to make a deal, no?" It appeared that Odin had noticed my distrust toward them.

"As expected of the King of Asgard. You really noticed my distrust toward you." I showed some admiration toward the god.

"Naturally. While I cannot entirely blame you given my reputation and Zeus's in the myths, I won't deny that I find joy in some small schemes here and there. It is only fair for you to be distrustful toward us, but I can assure you that our intentions aren't malicious this time around." He spoke with humility in his voice.

Again, there were no lies. I couldn't detect him using any magic to conceal the truth of his words either.

"Then I must ask… Why are you helping me? I am just another mortal. Why would two god kings mobilize to help me? I understand the tactical value that I have for dealing with Agmos, but that cannot be the entire reason for you to want to support us to length of offering a deal that would only benefit me." I decided to question the gods.

"Those are good questions, lad. Very good questions in fact. You have a good head on your shoulders." Zeus spoke after a while of being silent.

"I wonder what would be the correct answer… One that would leave you satisfied and certain of our intentions." Odin looked rather amused as he jokingly fell deep into thought.

For a moment, I suddenly felt like they were making fun of me and not taking me seriously, but their next actions made me forget about that rather quickly.

"Sure, I mean we could explain our motivations to help you and Lia…" Zeus stopped in the middle of his sentence.

"But since our sincerity is always put into question by our past actions, we decided that it would be better for someone with proven sincerity to explain our reasons to you." Odin smiled while rubbing his chin. 

"Older sister, if you may." Zeus looked at the mysterious goddess standing beside Thor.

"Yes." The woman spoke before taking a step forward.

As soon as Zeus said those words, I got a slight suspicion about the identity of the goddess… 

In my mind, there were only two possibilities about her identity. She was either Demeter or Hestia, I was more inclined to believe that it was the latter rather than the former considering her appearance and the caring aura around her.

"Originally, we were only going to bring Thor and Hestia along to act as witnesses for our deal, but we changed our minds on the way here." Odin explained. He had rapidly confirmed my suspicions about the goddess's identity.

So it was Hestia after all, huh…

I don't know a lot about her other than the fact that she was the goddess of the family, hospitality, the hearth, and home.

She was also considered the oldest of the Olympians as well as the youngest due to the fact that she was the firstborn and the first to be eaten by her father and then the last to be projectile-vomited out of his stomach.

There are few myths that actually involve the goddess, but I think one of the most important ones is when she saved the mother of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, while they were in her womb.

All in all, if we are judging by the myths, Hestia is probably the nicest goddess of the Olympians.

That statement would soon be proven true as the goddess skipped past Zeus and Odin and stopped right in front of me and Karen.

"Nice to meet you, Julius. As you know, I am Hestia, the goddess of family, hearth and home." Hestia crouched to be on the same level as I. "You're probably very annoyed to have these two old men speak your ears off without saying anything substantial. I really apologize for that. These two can be very bothersome to deal with." She looked in the direction of Odin and Zeus before letting a sigh.

"I wouldn't say that I'm annoyed, but I would have liked for them to be upfront about their intentions from the start." I said, trying not to offend the two god kings.

"Yeah, I can understand that. I'm sorry, but as you know, old men like to ramble a lot, but those two definitely take the prize in that regard." Hestia began patting my head all of a sudden.

I could feel the gazes of the three goddesses sitting behind us all focused on me and Hestia. Heck, I could even feel Karen staring at the two of us with some mild annoyance.

I know it should be impossible since Hestia is a goddess that vowed to never marry or something along those lines, but considering my recent track record, I should be very careful not to give her any wrong ideas. I really don't want to end the day with yet another fiancée. Two is enough already…

"Anyway, since the two of us are very busy people, I will tell you exactly what you wanted to hear from those two old farts." Hestia had a cool smile on her face.

"Sister… You're older than me."  Zeus retorted while frowning.

"Do you want me to rip your tongue off your mouth, little brother?" Hestia threatened Zeus, which immediately made him fall silent.

I was astonished to see how easily she was able to shut up Zeus.

"Anyway, before I tell you about our intentions, I must talk about the proposal that those two old men made to you first… I'll be upfront. We cannot physically send your loved ones to your new world just yet. We have three reasons for that," Hestia lifted three fingers. "One, according to Odin we would lose our bargaining chips if we were to give them to you this early, which is bullshit in my opinion." Hestia was being completely honest with me.

After hearing those words I stared at Odin who merely stared back with an obnoxiously easygoing smile.

"And the other two?" I was less than thrilled with the first reason.

"Those are more legitimate. The second reason would be that after the incident with Agmos and your subsequent death, their minds have been really unstable. It would be unwise to throw them into another world all of a sudden without some preparation. We're working on restoring their sanity little by little with magic, but this process will take a bit more time." Hestia explained a bit further.

"Yeah, Lia told me about that part…" I was a little frustrated with that information. My loved ones were suffering and I couldn't do anything about it.

"You'll have to be patient for a bit, but I can assure you that they are in the best care possible." Hestia was quick to notice my feelings on the matter. "You don't need to worry too much about them, just be a good boy and leave them to us!" Hestia said happily while patting my head.

I couldn't help but blush. I was moved by her caring nature. Just like Lia or other goddesses, Hestia's presence was enough to make me feel at ease.

As expected of the goddess of the hearth, the family and home. Her caring nature is truly beautiful.

I wish I could say that the three goddesses and Karen were fine with this, but I was able to notice that their gazes had become more intense than before…

"And the third reason?" I asked, trying to diffuse the situation at hand with my fiancées.

"Right." Hestia nodded. "That one is pretty simple. We just don't have the power necessary to send your loved ones to your world at the moment. We are presently lacking the magic necessary for that to happen." Hestia explained with a troubled expression.

"Can you elaborate? I assume that you mean that you don't have anyone capable of using spatial magic, right? If that is the case, then I should be able to solve that problem. I recently learned that type of magic, you see." I spoke with confidence to the goddess. For some reason, I found myself trying to impress her a little.

"Oh my, is that so? That would help greatly!" Hestia sounded impressed, so I was successful in my attempts. "Though, if you recently became able to use it, I think you might not be able to bring them to your world so easily… There's quite a lot of distance between our worlds. With Hermes's help, it is easy for us to reach this place, but reaching the actual world of Unitya would be quite troublesome even for him… I still don’t get why it is so easy for the gods of Unitya to go back and forth between worlds, it is unfair…" She explained, dropping a metaphorical bucket of water upon my attempt to impress her. She also complained a little.

Yeah, I suppose that makes sense… With my new power up and dominion of magic, I feel like I'm able to do a lot of things, but that doesn't mean that I will be able to open up a portal leading to Earth. I could try, but judging by her words, it must be quite the difficult task.

Hmm… But if I remember correctly, Catris went to Earth the other day to buy some pastries and those maid uniforms that she, Karen and Lia wore to impress me…

I suppose it is easier for the gods of Unitya to travel back and forth between worlds since they all seem to have the ability to manipulate time and space. Is it due to their natural powers as gods or due to their ability to manipulate their divine realms?

I should ask more details about this to Lia, Catris and Yraura later.

"I'm really sorry, Julius. If only Hecate was still at Olympus… Her dominion over magic and the arcane arts is tremendous, so this would have been an easy task for her. She went on a trip recently, so until she returns, we cannot send your loved ones to your new world." Hestia apologized with a remorseful expression.

Hecate? Ah… If I remember correctly, she is the Greek Goddess of Magic.

"There's no need for you to apologize. I believe we can still find a solution." I said to the goddess before falling deep into thought.

Since there's a lot of distance between worlds and even the gods of Earth are not able to reach Unitya without struggle, then why not settle for the next best thing? 

They said that with Hermes’s help, they could reach this divine realm easily.

"Then why not bring them to Lia's Divine Realm? You said it was easy for Hermes, right? If that's the case, then you could easily bring them here like you did with Karen. Using this place as a middle point, I'm sure I could use my magic to take them to Unitya. The distance would be reduced considerably, and in the case I was unable to do so, there's still Lia, Catris and Yraura to help me." I explained.

"Wow… I admit that the idea hadn't crossed my mind… That's devilishly clever of you, Julius." Hestia nodded with understanding. "That would really solve the problem of Hecate's absence… That's very good. Though, there's still the problem about the sanity of your loved ones. Putting Claire and your adoptive sisters aside, your friend Chris and your adoptive parents might not be able to endure the pressure of the divinity that those three goddesses exude. Their minds might fully crumble if we bring them as they are." Hestia gave me a warning about the dangers of my plan.

"I understand… So we will still have to wait for a little while." I was a bit disappointed, but I understood that it was for the better. 

After all, I wanted my loved ones to be here and be well, not have their minds broken due to my selfishness.

"Jeez, don't make such a sad expression. If you give us one or two of Earth's months, I'm sure we will be done with their recovery. It will be a few years for you, so just be a good boy and wait patiently. Good things await for those who are patient!" Hestia smiled warmly while patting my head again.

Just like that, Hestia was easily able to ease my worries.

"I'll do my best to be patient." I nodded in agreement.

The goddess smiled happily seeing my nod. She looked quite pleased.

"Okay then, now that the matter of your loved ones is settled for the time being, let's talk about our motives and why we want to help you." Hestia said. "Just like before, I will be very direct. This is a matter of security for our world." She explained.

I stared at her waiting for her to elaborate further.

"I'm sure that by now you know about the fact that we once went to war with the gods of Unitya and the results were disastrous for us back in the day." Hestia spoke rather awkwardly.

"Yeah… Lia and the others were the ones that caused the dark ages during ancient times, right?" I got a little awkward too.

"Precisely. Ever since then, we haven't had another war with foreign gods. Why? Because we have spent thousands of years making sure another war like that would never happen again. With a mixture of diplomacy and strength, we have been showing the gods of foreign worlds that we were no pushovers in spite of that catastrophic war." Hestia explained their motivation.

"And Agmos is putting a wrench in your plan. By going back and forth to Earth as he pleases, he is sending a message to the gods of other worlds, basically telling them that they could easily come and massacre everyone as they wished. I can understand why you would want him dead." I reached my own conclusions after hearing Hestia's explanation.

"You're a very clever boy, Julius. That's basically the gist of it." Hestia praised me with a smile. "But yes, Agmos is proving to be a huge thorn on our side. There are gods on Earth who are insisting on an full invasion of Unitya to kill Agmos, but most of us are reluctant to go to such lengths. After all, we pushed our past grudges aside and improved our relationship with the gods of Unitya for a reason. Lia and I even became great friends because of it." Her smile soon faded and her expression turned conflicted.

I was a little surprised to hear that Hestia and Lia were friends, but I was finally able to understand the motivation behind Odin's and Zeus's actions.

"All for the sake of the peace of the Earth... A war between gods must be truly brutal." I mumbled to myself.

"Brutal is an understatement..." Hestia nodded very awkwardly after listening to my mumbles.

"Then, considering that you said that even you guys cannot reach Unitya easily and that you want to prevent another war, that is when I come into play. It is the only natural conclusion. You want to show your might to the gods of the other worlds while not actively engaging in battle. In other words, you will use me as your inside agent in Unitya and, in return, you will be offering me what I want the most, so it will be a fair deal. Give and take." Again, I decided to explain what concluded after listening to Hestia.

"You're correct once more. Though, that is not our only reason to help you." Hestia said.

"It isn't?" I was a little taken aback.

"No. The other reason why we are helping you, a simple mortal as you described yourself, is that you're not simple at all. Your soul is different from that of other mortals." Hestia explained, but I was having a hard time understanding what she meant.

"Really? In what way?" I asked her to clarify. I was very confused by her words.

"Your soul appears to be the one of a simple mortal on the outside, yet beneath its surface, it actually resembles more to the soul of a primordial."

Wait… A primordial? As in a Greek primordial? The most powerful beings and the original deities in their mythology?

Naturally, I was shocked by Hestia's revelation. She obviously noticed my shock but she still decides to continue her explanation.

Right after that, I was almost strangled by Karen. She seemed to be in more shock than I was, considering that she was gasping and hugging me way too tightly… Though, she still remained mostly in silence out of consideration for the serious topic at hand.

Also, due to my shock, I was unable to notice the dissatisfied expression that Odin and Zeus had.

"This doesn't mean that you're an actual primordial. You're presently a mortal in every sense of the word." Hestia said with a serious expression. "According to Odin and his powerful eye, your soul is bigger and shines brighter compared to the souls of most mortals and even some minor gods, hence why Odin thinks it is similar to that of a primordial. We're all quite clueless about what's up with your soul." Hestia smiled awkwardly.

My soul is bigger and brighter than most mortals, huh… Yeah, I don't really get why my soul would be similar to that of a primordial. Is there benefit for it to shine brighter than other souls? 

Does that mean I can use things like Ki or Spiritual Pressure to access powers like Bankai or something? Can I go into a Super Demon state by getting angry...

Wait...

I actually can do that!

"Did Lia know about this?" I asked the goddess. I was going to get pissed off if I found that they made Lia break their promise toward me again.

"She does now…" Hestia expressions turned even more awkward than before. “It has been a while, Lia.” She said while staring at someone behind me.

At that instant, Karen and I turned our heads only to find Lia standing behind the two of us and towering the two of us by quite a margin. She had teleported there without even making a sound…

“You… When were you planning to tell me that, Odin? I thought you wanted to be allies, and I was quite clear that I wanted you to be upfront if you had anything to say about Julius.” Lia ignored Hestia for a moment and focused on the old man standing behind Hestia. Her tone was very cold and even downright terrifying.

Seems like she didn’t know about that part… I’m glad that she was not hiding things again, but jeez she can be really terrifying with that expression on her face.

“I didn’t think it was something worth mentioning. As Hestia said, we are clueless about why Julius’s soul is like that. As she stated before, Julius’s soul might be similar to a primordial yet he is not one… It is quite odd, don’t you think? I was planning on doing some research about the matter before mentioning this to you after we had a clear idea of what was the phenomenon behind Julius’s soul, but it seems Hestia decided on her own to share before I could do that.” Odin expressed her dissatisfaction.

“I told you that I was going to be one hundred percent honest with him when you asked me to explain everything to him.” Hestia replied with annoyance. “Seriously… You make me leave my home and then drag me here even though I didn’t want to go out, and now you complain after I did exactly what I told you that I would do? See Hermes, this is why I dislike going out and dealing with other gods.” Hestia complained to her nephew while looking at Odin with some anger.

“Older sister… I know we told you to explain everything, but the last part wasn’t necessary. You will just create needless distrust between us all if you throw a bomb like that out in the open. Our purpose here is to make an alliance, not to create some distance by speaking of something that is yet to be confirmed.” Zeus scolded his sister.

“Pfft! You speak as if you were trustworthy in the first place. I would rather hear Hestia be fully honest and upfront with me instead of hearing more of your lies and half-truths.” Lia grew angrier after hearing Zeus scold Hestia.

Tensions quickly arose in the divine realm of the Goddess of Knowledge. Hestia and Lia were looking at the other gods angrily while both Odin and Zeus were looking back at them with frustration… Hermes was looking quite stressed and fearful toward Lia and his aunt and Thor… He looked quite uninterested in the whole ordeal. 

Crap… Things are about sideways, so I should put a stop before crap hits the fan…

"Alright, alright. Let's stop before things get out of control." I spoke up with a serious voice. "I do not know why my soul is similar to the one of a primordial or whatever. If I'm honest, I don't care much about it. Regardless of the shape or how bright my soul is, I am who I am. I am Julius, a former earthling and now a Unytian. I want exactly just like any other mortal, happiness and love for those who I love. Nothing more and nothing less." I spoke my honest thoughts about the situation at hand.

Those were my honest feelings. I didn't really care if my soul was similar to a powerful mythical deity or whatnot. I was curious, yes, but I didn't want something like this to become a cause for conflict and make things more difficult for my wish to come true.

I needed the help of the Gods of Earth to bring Claire and the others to Unitya, so I couldn't allow more tension to fester between our side and theirs.

Fortunately, my words caught the gods by surprise. So much so that the looks of anger and annoyance disappeared from their faces and all. They were all staring at me with blank expressions.

"Now that I know your real intentions, I have decided to accept your deal. Sure, Odin and Zeus might be sketchy at best and just as scheming as Agmos at worst, but that doesn't change the fact that we need one another." I didn't allow their divine gazes to deter me. I spoke freely and without hesitation, trying to ease the tension around me.

I immediately offered my hand for a handshake to Hestia and smiled warmly at her.

"I appreciate your honesty with everything, Hestia. I already intended to accept your proposal from the start, but it was your words that sealed the deal for me." I said to the goddess in front of me. "So? How about we leave this little disagreement behind us and start things on the right note? I think that allies shouldn’t argue over such a small matter.” 

Hestia stared at me with mild astonishment. Before she could even say anything or even share a handshake with me, another deity decided to speak up.

“You consider the possibility of you being related to a primordial a small matter?” Thor asked with amusement, finally breaking his silence. “You’re more promising than I thought. I like that.” He let out a laugh before walking closer toward us.

Thanks to Thor’s amusement, the other gods in the divine realm followed his example and decided to come closer.

“Well, I suppose we were in the wrong for hiding our suspicions of such a matter. I’m sorry about that. Old habits die hard, it would seem.” Odin apologized while looking at Lia and I.

“Hmm… I suppose I can forgive you this once considering that Julius is going out of his way to mediate things. He is not wrong. We are not in a situation where we can be picky while choosing our allies, much less picking petty fights with them. I was also in the wrong. I'm sorry.” Lia also apologized to Odin, much to my surprise.

“Heh, it is not everyday that you hear the monster that almost ended our world apologize like that. Since you’re willing to do so, then I should also apologize too while we are at it. Allow me to show how sorry I am with a kiss, oh my dear Lia! Perhaps we could express our remorse in a comfortable bed too” A lustful expression suddenly appeared on his face.

Needless to say, I became extremely irritated by those words. So much so that I began to gather my mana for an attack without thinking… Fortunately or unfortunately for Zeus, he was hit by an attack before I could do anything to him.

After being hit, Zeus flew for several kilometers in the almost infinite plains until he loudly crashed against the ground. An explosion of dust was visible from our position. He made no sound whatsoever when he was launched into the sky…

“You're trash, Zeus… Seriously, I can’t believe that you were the one that defeated our father. You should apologize for being such a disgusting pig and an enemy of women.” Hestia spoke toward her brother with open disgust. “I can’t believe he is still trying to seduce you in such an obscene way… I’m sorry, Lia. Even though my brother has changed his ways somewhat, he still…” Hestia quickly apologized to Lia.

“No worries. I’m glad that you smacked him for me.” Lia smiled warmly and dismissed her apology. “Although… There was also someone else ready to defend my honor.” She then looked with a beautiful expression of joy.

“Of course. You’re going to be my wife so it is only natural. I won’t stand for someone to speak to you that way, especially in my presence.” I said while trying to hide my embarrassment.

“Haven’t you gotten a little possessive all of sudden?” Lia suddenly hugged me and Karen. She was smiling warmly at me. “That makes me happy…” She whispered in my ear.

“Hey, hey! What about me Julius? Zeus often focused his lecherous gaze on me during my time in Olympus? Can you defend my honor too?” Karen asked with some jealousy in her voice. She was still hugging me tightly after all this time.

“I’ll make sure to smack him once or twice when he manages to return.” I said with confidence.

“Seems like things are quite lively for you, young one.” Hestia suddenly giggled before grabbing my hand for a handshake. “With this, our alliance is sealed, right?” She smiled.

“Yes. I look forward to working with you all. Not a lot with Zeus, but I hope he learns his lesson and that we can put this incident behind.” I smiled back at Hestia.

“I’m sorry about that… I’ll have a talk with my father as soon as we return. I’ll make sure he keeps his antics to himself in the future.” Hermes apologized for his father’s actions.

“Well, now that things are good and dandy. There are two matters that we should resolve now that we can.” Odin said while grooming his beard.

“And what would that be?” Lia asked.

“First, since Reginleif is going to Unitya, we still need someone to handle the communications with Claire and Julius’s little sisters. After all, the special phone we gave her will be completely useless in your world.” Odin explained.

Crap… I had forgotten about that when I decided to bring Karen with me…

“Oh, it is about that? I can handle that part. Well, Catris and Yraura could also do it if I’m busy. It is not like they have other tasks to burden them.” Lia said casually.

“I suppose that should suffice for the time being until we are able to bring them here.” Odin nodded in agreement.

“Actually, I would like to handle that matter for you.” Hestia decided to speak up. “Lia, you don’t mind if I stay here indefinitely? I will handle all communication with Julius’s loved ones in Reginleif’s place.” She spoke with a troubled expression.

“I don’t particularly mind, but are you sure you want to stay here? I thought you would like to return to your home as quickly as possible since you don’t like going out of your house in Olympus.” Lia asked her friend.

“Well… The thing is that my home is no more… All thanks to a certain group of brutes.” Hestia scornfully looked at Odin and Thor. “According to them, destroying my house and kidnapping me was the only way for me to agree to come here. Of course, I wanted to see you Lia, but I wasn’t in the mood to go out…” Hestia complained loudly about the other gods.

Oi… Isn’t that rather extreme?

“Auntie… You were vehemently refusing my requests for you to come out. We really needed your help since you and Thor were the only ones available to accompany us.” Hermes tried to justify their actions. “If it makes you feel better, I will spend my free time repairing everything…” He bowed while showing some remorse.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s why you’re my favorite nephew, Hermie.” Hestia smiled happily. “Then? Now that you heard my explanation, can I stay? It would be good to have some sleepovers and to catch up with each other, right? Especially since it has been awhile since the last time we saw one another!” She spoke with utmost delight.

“Of course you can stay! It will be good for me to have another one of my friends near. It would be nice to have a stress free time with my precious friends.” Lia smiled back at her.

I was smitten by the sight of Lia and Hestia smiling at each other. It was a scene that I engraved in my mind. I was very happy for them.

“Well, now that the first matter is settled, let’s proceed to the next one. This one is rather simple.” Odin said. “Originally, we thought about measuring your strength using my son over here for a mock battle. We wanted to make sure that you would be strong enough to help our cause. Of course, after seeing those eyes of yours and that explosive growth, it is no longer necessary to put you to the test, but… Don’t you think it would be a waste to not seize this opportunity to test yourself against a divine opponent?” Odin asked with a smirk.

“Of course this would happen… For what else would you bring Thor along other than a battle?” Lia said after letting a huge sigh. “I’ll leave this up to you, Julius.” She said to me.

Fighting Thor, huh? I mean, it is not a particularly bad idea… It is not like I get the chance to fight a fighter as legendary as Thor every day.

“It is tempting though. This would be a great opportunity to test the limits of my new powers.” I replied with interest in Odin’s proposal.

Even though the tournament was over, I still felt a little itch for battle that I needed to scratch.

“You seem confident, little one. I like that also. Not many would consider fighting the slayer of Jötnar, even in a friendly match. I admire your bravery, Julius.” Thor spoke with a confident smirk. He had placed his hand in his hammer.

With a single look from me, Lia, Hestia and Karen all let go of me and gave me some space. As soon as they moved away, I began to stretch a little.

In this place I was not using my real body, I was using my soul in its purest form. I was unsure if I could use all of my abilities here since I had never used them in Lia’s Divine Realm…

“I obviously cannot show fear here. Especially in front of the ones I love. Also, my objective is to take down a God. I wouldn’t be able to become a proper Demon King if I backed away now.” I smiled with confidence at the God of Thunder before gathering my mana.

Now… I hope that I remember how to do it correctly… The first time was rather intense, so I need to keep my power and my emotions in check.

After taking a deep breath and circulating my mana all over my body. Lightning began to crackle around me as a powerful aura enveloped me in the blink of an eye… I had activated my transcendence, Storm King, and taken a battle stance.

“Hoh! Now we are talking! This will be a proper challenge it seems!” Thor smiled fearlessly. The gigantic man soon grabbed his legendary hammer with his right hand and prepared for battle. “Let us see who’s better at wielding lightning!” Just like me, he was soon engulfed by electricity.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what the mighty Thor can do. This will be my first time facing a god, so I am quite excited for the match.” I said as I summoned Dying Scarlet into my hands.

<Let us teach this foreign god our strength, master. We are unbeatable together!> The sentient scythe sounded very excited for the battle ahead.

“Show them what you got! I was able to cut off his head once, so you should be able to blast him into oblivion!” Karen yelled encouraging words to me.

“I guess I have no other choice.” I smiled with excitement due to the words of both Remillia and Karen. “Brace yourself, God… You will face a proud demon of Unitya now!” I said to Thor as my aura exploded with magical power.

“Show me what you got kiddo!” He smiled back at me.

And just like that, my friendly match against the mighty Thor began. The two of us simply dashed at each before our weapons met in a powerful clash that filled the air with electricity.

Chapter 87: The Gods of Earth.

END

GodlyKamui

Heya! New chapter! How are y'all doing? I'm personally doing fine, a bit tired from the gym but I'm going out to party tonight lol (I hate my friends). Haven't been done much writing lately due to job and the fact that I need to start studying for my university admision exam in June. Still, I enjoyed writing this chapter little by little.

As usual I took my fair share of liberties to depict the gods of earth, but I should say that we are skipping the battle between Julius and Thor since it is a mock battle and that I'm quite sick of writing fighting scenes for the time being. Don't worry though, we will still get our fair share of fights in the next arc.

Anyway, that's it for today. Don't forget to read my entry for the Honeyfeed x YOASOBI contest. You can give it a read over here: https://www.honeyfeed.fm/chapters/80862#page-1

Also, as usual, please don't forget to comment and leave some hearts since that motivates me to continue writing the story! Don't forget to join the discord: https://discord.gg/uH6APbzrFR