Unfortunately, about halfway to where I know Freya is, where she works to deal with the aftermath of this little attack, I forcibly stop myself.
A little nugget of information that I nearly put completely out of mind, throbbing at the back of my head incessantly, like a honking elephant in a room.
Nobody really knew He was dead in the first place.
Well, I say nobody, but really I mean the vast majority of people had no idea, nor any reason to suspect, that Big G was dead.
To most, He's just been chilling in Heaven this entire time, doing whatever a god does after a massive war that sort of just died out, unceremoniously.
Hell, beyond that, most wouldn't care, and why would they?
Big G only had gripes with the Fallen and Devils. That's who He waged war upon. Sure, with a bit of religious history know-how, I can probably assume He stepped around the Greeks and Celts, at minimum, to spread Christianity and usurp their worshippers, but war?
No, I doubt that. I know the Olympians have some fairly strong gods on their side, like Apollon alone is a match for a Chief God, maybe even my mother, if I had to bet. Who's to say what level of power guys like Zeus and Poseidon have here, considering Hades is hitting the Top 10…
I'm pretty sure the Celt also has at least a guy in the Top 10, Lugh, although I don't really know much about that mythology in general to make a good call.
And that's all assuming that history from my old world even still applies here!
In any event, Heaven was already fighting the Devils and Fallen, so they didn't need to go pick a fight with Olympus and others. So I seriously doubt anyone else really cares about Heaven or Big G that much beyond maybe fearing whatever power He has, maybe some resentment for His almost dragon-like treasure-hoarding ways to create the Sacred Gears.
So while I'm sure Freya would believe me if I told her that he was dead and now has come back, that probably wouldn't change anything really.
No, the problem is what I have to convince her of after that, what I have to convince anyone that I'm going to tell about this.
Oh, yeah, Big G is back, and wants to go on the equivalent of a Crusade across all mythologies! Please, help!
Haha. I'd get laughed out of the Norse Realm!
Hell, I barely believe that shit myself, and I saw Him give that order to Charla straight from her head!
Even now, thinking it, it's so utterly fucking ridiculous, like what? That's Cao Cao levels of asinine stupidity beamed straight into my head!
Although maybe there's a reason the Lance chose Cao Cao then after all-
Hell no. There's no way I'm entertaining that thought. Ever.
I reach up, rubbing my temples with my fingers as I close my eyes tightly, and let out a deep, shuddering breath.
When I open them, I see several Valkyries looking directly at me, expressions mixed with concern and confusion across their faces.
Oh, right. I'm still at Vanadis, been sort of just standing in the hallway here, freaking out in my head a bit.
To my room it is then! Besides, the bed there is much more comfortable to flip my shit in than out here!
In a flash of golden light, I'm dropped like a shock trooper, flopping face first straight onto my mattress.
Unfortunately, there's no Rose here, or in the room. She must be out taking care of stuff with the girls, or Freya.
That is fine with me, even though her chest would help a lot with the thoughts steamrolling through my head.
I bury my face in a pillow and resist the urge to scream.
Almost without really thinking about it, I make several clones and point toward the door. For once, they don't make a snarky or sassy peep as they obediently filter out to train their fucking asses off relentlessly.
No time for slacking now. That, at least, needs to get started back up. When I get my head settled, and I tell who needs to be told everything, then I'll join them.
I take a deep breath into the pillow. Right. This is actually helping far more than just standing in the middle of a hallway like an idiot.
First, I can tell my mother and everyone up in Takamagahara…
No, actually, just my mother. Everyone else will get gridlocked trying to decide what to do, and Uzume will blab. It has to just be her, and her alone, to make the decisions and get the Shinto ready for anything that comes.
Then again, they're an obvious pick. As are the subordinate factions to the Shinto, like the Clans and Generals. I know they'll listen when Takamagahara, or me, calls.
As will the Yokai. I think. Yasaka will, but the other guys, I might have to browbeat them into it, but I will if I must.
I don't think I'll have to worry about Japan when His plans start firing off, not at first, anyway.
No, it's everyone else that's going to have a problem when they're inevitably completely caught off guard by Heaven going apeshit.
There is a, heh, saving grace to all this, that being the big man didn't seem to really have a time frame for Charla to gather up the Ancient Sacred Gears.
Sure, He's back. I got that confirmed when I got a front-row seat to Him literally appearing before her, when the Dying Wish heard her wish to bring him back to life.
Oh yeah, that was her original Wish, by the way. To bring Him back to usher in a new era for Humanity.
Turns out, he was already in the process of returning, and long enough in that he could start manifesting, and apparently even make changes to the system, if my use of His Name wasn't any indicator of that.
It would also explain why Asia is still around. Diodora the Explorer probably tried to get at Asia, but failed, either due to Heaven's proverbial 'eyes' being back, and thus the kind of corruption that would have enabled her to get excommunicated or kidnapped was already torn out, root and stem…
Or, my personal favorite, dude just got ganked by Angels because he got too close to a Church or something.
That would be so damn funny.
In any event, He was already back, and things were already changing, but He wasn't back to full power. So, to bring about the kind of change Charla and, ultimately, He, it seems, wants, He needs the Ancient Sacred Gears awakened and restored, along with all his Holy Relics.
As for the Holy Relics? I could try running over to Britain and finding the Holy Crown, but that place is controlled by the Protestant Branch of the Church, so there's no way in hell they haven't found Meredith already.
Then, if I recall correctly, they should already have the Shroud; that cheeky brat had the Cross, the Dying Will left the Spear, which makes me wonder if they even really need it at this point, and that would leave, what, the Grail?
…I might need to check back in with Rias and tell her to get Valerie moved to a place far safer and more secure. Like. Maybe in her brother's place? Yeah, I think that'd suffice.
Or, maybe I could put Valerie under my bed too? Surely the Church wouldn't think to look there, right?
Besides that, I have no clue where the rest of the Ancient Sacred Gears are. Although He did give Charla a list, and I can't help but roll my eyes to remember that tidbit of information pointing to the Ark of the Covenant being in Japan. Somewhere.
It wouldn't shock me if it was in Kuoh, at this point. It really wouldn't.
Even with the destruction of this little group He charged with gathering up the Ancient Sacred Gears, that probably won't stop Him. He'll try to recover these girls, then, if that ultimately doesn't work, He'll probably end up going for the other Ancient Sacred Gears more directly, like by sending Angels.
Honestly. At the point the guy is right now, it might be viable to just jump Heaven right now.
It would be a hell of a risk, though, considering the fact that He can make my eyes pop by looking at a mere memory of Him, so probably not a good idea, either.
But without all the gears, without all the relics, without every single piece of him brought back together, He might be fightable for me now.
Is that doable, fighting Him, along with all His Angels, including Michael, all the other Seraphim, and so on?
I click my tongue as that thought crosses my mind.
Yeah, that one doesn't sound doable, damn it.
But there has to be something that can be done now. I don't want to sit around and do another fucking holding action while I wait for the Church and Heaven to predictably attack my home, go after my people because they were born with the First Man in their chest, or a literal empty fucking chest in their chest!
Seriously!? How did the Ark of the Covenant end up in Japan!? I still can't get over that shit!
I snarl into my pillow now and sit up.
I have an idea.
He needs those Ancient Sacred Gears, right?
What would happen if I destroy them, then? I could find those four, tear the gears out of them myself, but who cares what would happen to them or the gear itself? I don't need it to be workable once it's out, as I just need something that I can smash.
If those Gears are destroyed entirely, He doesn't get whatever He wanted from them getting awakened, and He never could.
Hell, I might as well destroy the Sword too while I'm at it. The Wish seemed to freak out once I found the piece of it that sustained its power, so I'm sure I could either separate them or snuff out the Wish entirely and destroy the Sword.
Two massive parts of Him that He'll either have to regenerate Himself, thus weakening Himself and stretching out His time to fully return, or never get them back, and thus remain limited.
That sounds like a plan. I almost want to get up and get to it, right now.
And yet, I feel something, not quite a logical reason, but a feeling holding me back from that.
Sure, if I don't do this properly, a big fight could start in the middle of town. If the Wish activates itself before I can snuff it out, we'll be right back to where we started.
Then, how would I go about explaining to everyone why I'd suddenly do this in a way that doesn't leave people with doubt as to my mental faculties?
It wouldn't be easy, that's for sure.
At the same time, is it really worth all that effort?
I feel as though, also, that if I start destroying Ancient Sacred Gears, I might get a personal visit from Heaven quickly.
The Church sent warriors to Japan for the Spear, so they somehow knew the Spear was there, yet they didn't have specifics. It seems, from what He told Charla, that He has vague impressions, a sort of connection to these parts of Himself.
He can tell where they are, not exactly, but with some accuracy.
If one of those parts of Him suddenly cut off, back to back to back, in the same general area…
Well, it'd be a big hit to Him, that's for sure, but I don't doubt He'd send a big hit straight back.
I click my tongue at that realization, and sigh out as I flop back down onto the bed.
What a pain. This entire situation is a pain. Maybe I should've told my girls about this earlier, before I started spiraling through my thoughts like this again. Maybe they'd have ideas that could help, but somehow I doubt it.
Not that they're dumb, but who would really know how to deal with Big G himself?
Besides the Devils that killed him, anyway. But they're long gone…
Huh. Their tools, though? They aren't. The Malebranche - wasn't Charla looking for those as well?
No. Wait, her executives were. Michelangelo and the Chinese girl whose name I don't even care to access at the moment.
Weird. I didn't see any memory about Big G ordering that, but it was something she learned about and ordered her people to look into, it seems.
I didn't get her life story, of course, seeing Big G sort of cut my memory search off, understandably, so I'm not entirely sure where she learned those things.
But I know it wasn't from Him. I did see her order looking for them.
Very weird. Of course, it could be simply that she's looking for them to destroy them, as one of the few weapons in the world that might pose a threat to Him.
If I got my hands on one, and as long as I could actually use it and it'd cooperate, I could legitimately see myself sweeping Heaven with it, so the fear isn't unfounded, I guess.
Holy shit, imagine if Sirzechs used one of those things.
Bleh, back on track, oftentimes it's best not to overcomplicate things, 'keep it simple stupid' and all that.
Charla seems like a zealot, acts like a zealot, was given a holy mission for a zealot, and has been carrying it out like one the entire time.
I have no reason to suspect she might have secret feelings any other way, and so I'll leave it at that.
Still, the idea of using the Malebranche in some way might come in handy. What's something else that killed Him again?
Oh. Right.
The Imperial Beast. The one Riz used the Grail to find and unleash.
Well. I do know where the Grail is myself, so…
Haha, am I seriously considering pulling a Riz and just letting Trihexa out in Heaven like one would a rat in a scam call center?
I let out a heaving snort at the thought, hand clenching my chest as I do.
Holy me, it'd be so, so fucking funny. It'd be worth it to risk my eyeballs getting blown up to see His face when Trihexa just starts running around Heaven, unable to be put down, and if He's nowhere near full strength, then He won't be able to seal it back up without effectively killing Himself again.
Assuming he could even make the attempt in His current state.
Of course, this runs the risk that Trihexa just breaks out and sort of starts destroying everything, not just Heaven, but…
It would be very funny. I'll put it on the list.
Hah, I think I needed that. A very funny, very last resort, sort of idea.
I think I can go on and start telling everyone properly now. Without freaking everyone out, or making myself spiral further.
Still, though, how am I supposed to go about doing this? How do you even start a conversation like that?
With a hum, I turn onto my side and pull out my phone, my eyes narrowing over everyone's contact information.
My girls first, then I'll see how Freya reacts, and finally, I'll shoot something over to my mother.
I want to be able to get everyone moving, but I'm not sure making big dramatic movements is quite the right call off the bat. First things first though, I want the executives, and Charla, gathered up and moved out of the Norse Realm…
Bleh, all those details I can talk with Freya about. I've got to break the ice with my girls first.
So, I make a group chat, add everyone's details into it, and make the first message thus: "So. I just mind-whammied the Great Emperor. Turns out, God is alive. Again. He was dead. He wants to Crusade everyone for some stupid, asinine reason. He charged her with gathering parts of his power to reclaim his full might and do a full cleanse of the Earth."
That covers the basics, right?
I hit send.
It takes a moment, but I see the three dots start popping up rapidly, specifically for Suzaku and Rose, who I'm shocked are on their phones at this time?
Kuroka is the first one to actually respond, though.
"...Who's the Great Emperor again, nyah?"
Ah, looks like the brain cell is mine for today. Keep being you, kitty.
I put my phone to my chest and closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable barrage of messages.
In my head, I see it.
Him.
A face like purest marble white. Eyes of fire, brow of lightning, hair of ocean waves. There's a light behind Him, a pure, radiant Limitless Light, and with one look I knew it was purer than my own or my mother's power.
Like the Wish, I couldn't grasp what exactly He looked like, but unlike them, He was everything. Shifting between a human form that could've been as young as a child, all the way to the oldest of men.
He spoke with the weight of the Earth itself, as though at any given moment, He could shout, and the entire thing would open for Him.
"Seek them out." He ordered her, softly despite the weight behind his words, "My Power, scattered across the Earth."
I felt something prick underneath my closed eyes.
"When they have been gathered, we may commence the dawn of a new age."
Something comes out under my eyelids.
"They will not like what I must do. My children, my poor sweet children, of sin and cloth…"
The memory slowly turns red.
"But in the end, for them, if we are to succeed…this world must know the fire, once again."
I open my eyes, my hand flying up to my face, my fingers running along my cheeks.
I hold them up and see them smeared in blood.
I click my tongue, my phone slides off my chest, falling onto the bed as I stagger my way onto my feet and head toward the sink, nearly smashing my foot into a table along the way.
My vision is awash with red and blur, and as I go to wash my hands, this time, alone, with no one else to see…
I let them shake under the cold water.
"Haha," I chuckle, mirthlessly, "yeah, yeah. I'm scared! Who the hell wouldn't be when they find out their final opponent is the guy from the Bible, Old Testament, who already supposedly ended the world once, now has gone even crazier and wants to do the same thing again!"
I let out a sigh. Of course, just because I'm feeling a little afraid doesn't mean I won't kick his fucking ass.
I'm not going to let some old man come back and just do as he pleases, hell no!
Even if it means unleashing the Trihexa, no one is threatening the life I have here.
As I splash my face and turn off the sink, I find my hands remarkably less shaky than before.
No one. Not even God Himself.
Despite the lance of pain that shoots through my head, I don't even wince, and instead turn right around and head straight back to my phone.