Romania.
Morgan had already gone to join the others, while I methodically, almost with a touch of vanity, studied every god and goddess who had come here in response to my peculiar summons. In their eyes I could read apprehension mixed with barely contained curiosity, which continued to grow with every passing second of silence, broken only by the cries of the Evil Dragons below.
I could recognize a multitude of mythologies, among which were faces already familiar to me: Ama-chan, Hestia, Odin, Indra, and a couple of others. And, of course, only they, upon seeing me, showed irritation, relief, interest, and amusement on their faces, respectively.
The rest, amusingly, were in no hurry to approach or speak to me; instead, keeping their weapons at the ready, they exchanged glances with one another, as if demanding that someone else take the first step. And this was unsurprising, for the arrogance of the gods had never gone anywhere, which in this situation was mixed with rivalry among some of them.
Fortunately for them, Azazel, Michael, and Sirzechs, who had arrived a little later than the others, took the first step. Spreading their wings, they flew over to me, at which I smiled in a way no arrogant villain had ever smiled.
- "I'll deal with you later," I cut off all their questions and pointed back with my thumb. They nodded silently and obeyed rather quickly, as the circumstances demanded, while my gaze turned to the guests hovering around me and the Beasts. "Well, hello everyone, and let me say right off the bat, I absolutely couldn't give a shit what you think about this situation."
No sooner had I finished speaking than the gods' mood instantly shifted from wary to offended, and in rare cases, cheerful or interested.
- "Know your place, hu…" some god, who looked like he belonged to Egypt, was about to say, but I cut him off with a simple, unamplified snap of my fingers.
In response, Goetia, Tia, and Sarra amplified their auras by a fraction of a percent, causing the atmosphere to instantly become oppressive and suffocating to mind and body, while dark clouds rapidly covered the sky, streaked with crimson lightning.
- "Ah, ah, ah. I'm talking here, and you're listening," I wagged my index finger, as if speaking to a child. And when those who wished to speak limited themselves to casting offended and indignant glances my way, I nodded wisely. "Since you're ready, then I can…"
This time I couldn't finish my sentence, for the copies of the Evil Dragons, which possessed neither mind nor soul, but only a desire to destroy, decided to make a racket. And since they were getting in the way and were, in essence, unnecessary, I raised my hand indifferently and snapped my fingers once more.
A moment later, a golden magic circle bearing the Seal of Solomon lit up beneath us, expanding to tens of kilometers in a matter of seconds. It was like the birth of a new sun, brightly illuminating the night sky and the earth. And then golden chains began to emerge from the circle; like hungry snakes rearing their heads before an attack, they shot downward at the speed of light, piercing every dragon clone, then writhing and tearing the flesh to shreds.
Some of them, apparently driven by a peculiar instinct for self-preservation, began to try to flee, but their bodies were instantly pierced either by arrows that exploded upon contact with their target, or by beams of magical energy that incinerated their victims.
Meanwhile, on the ground, those who managed to flee far enough were met by scarlet lightning, gusts of wind, golden light, or blades, which, of course, like the ranged attacks, came from the inhabitants of the house.
And, of course, the release of certain types of Noble Phantoms caused a stir among the gods, especially those belonging to the Greek and Sumerian pantheons. The latter, however, were extremely few in number.
Returning to what was happening, this scene caused concern among the gods, even if the chains flew past them and the obstacles, fully focused on the target, but the effect was definitely there. And those who didn't particularly like either me or my words aimed my weapon at me.
- "If you want a fight, then come on," I smirked and pointed my finger at the beasts. "But then you'll have to fight them too. But you aren't pathological idiots, are you?"
- "No, gods know how to assess their strength sensibly," Odin said with obvious amusement, standing next to another god. Huge, muscular, with tattoos on his body and, most notably, a massive hammer slung over his shoulder. Obviously, this was Thor.
There was a certain, not-so-subtle implication in his words: whoever dared to attack me would be literally disgraced, something no god's pride could bear. And that's not to mention that he would become an enemy of the rest if he took such a step.
- "That's better," I said, glancing around at everyone, and by this point most of the dragons' spears had already been broken, allowing me to remove the magic circle. "Now, down to business."
I paused and, conjuring a cup of coffee, took a sip, which looked utterly ridiculous in the midst of all this.
- "As you surely already know, I'm from another world. And it differs in an extremely… specific way in everything concerning the planet and humanity in particular."
- "In particular? What do you mean?" asked Hestia, who was now speaking quite confidently, ignoring the stares of the others.
- "Good question," I nodded. "There you go, learn some manners from Lady Hestia. Unlike some, she has manners."
In response to this, some did not hide their displeasure.
- "I'll skip the extremely tedious explanations that you might ask for, specifically 'ask' from Azazel, and therefore boil everything down to brief conclusions," I continued, pointing my finger at the Beasts. "These are the Beasts. The evil of humanity, having taken form and inextricably bound to it. They are the physical embodiment of sin, which will bring humanity as a species to an end."
No sooner had I finished than a commotion arose among the gods, filled with outrage and discussions about getting rid of them.
- "But! It is precisely these Beasts that belong to my world, and therefore they aren't particularly interested in their destiny here… Unlike one specific one."
After these words, everyone fell instantly silent, and the atmosphere became extremely tense, for my last sentence implied that somewhere here lay a danger of global proportions.
- "Yahweh fell in the Great War only because most of his forces were tied up containing the Beast of the End, Trihexa, who appears in the Bible. And here he is, the Beast who definitely wants to fulfill his destiny," I said, while the gods listened to me with rapt attention. "The point of the matter for which I have gathered you here… Even if I can deal with him quite easily, that doesn't mean I HAVE to do it, does it?"
A deathly silence hung in the air, during which glances darted between me and the Beasts.
They literally couldn't force me to deal with this matter, because only an idiot would want to face not just one Beast, but four at once, not counting myself.
At the same time, I asked the Beasts not to use their abilities, because everything would quickly turn into a paranoid panic, rapidly escalating into a war of survival. And that's just considering the manifestations of the Sea of Life, the seventy-two Pillar Demons, and the duo of Beasts VI/S and VI/G. Add to that the immortality granted by the connection to humanity, the Beast's Authority, Nega-Genesis, and so on, and even the most level-headed person would become paranoid faced with such an imposing list.
- "What do you want?" one of the goddesses decided to ask.
- "Me? I don't want anything; I'm just warning you that such a danger exists, and you should look into it," I shrugged. "Especially when a certain Rizevim Livan Lucifer, who has received half of Ophis's power, is trying to find the location of the Trihexa seal and free her."
- "Then you should handle it! Doesn't he belong to the Biblical faction?" shouted one of the gods.
- "First of all, no. And second, I don't give a shit," I said indifferently, which sparked a new wave of outrage among the crowd of gods, who looked more like random protesters.
- "One question is bothering me," Odin suddenly asked. "You showed us the Beasts, but not their powers. Couldn't one of them demonstrate something to us so we understand the danger of Trihexa?"
I looked at him in surprise and saw only a sly smile, literally speaking of his plan.
So he's decided to add a little fire to things, huh? Well, in theory, that wouldn't be bad. However, again, we had enough with just one Zeus here, not a couple dozen on top of that.
- "I could help with that," Sarra said sensually, extending her hand, causing the bowl above her head to start releasing even more smoke.
- "Not you. No offense, but he's better suited for this role," I said after a moment's thought, pointing at Goetia. After all, he'd already released pillars before, and word of that had definitely leaked out. "Please."
-0-
With anticipation, Odin looked at the Beasts, especially Goetia, whom he had heard about from SIrzechs and the others. Frankly speaking, he was lucky to have established friendly relations with the Underworld and Romani himself, and so Odin wanted to see with his own eyes what had shaken the entire demon race and rewritten their order.
The leader of the Norse pantheon had always been curious, especially when it came to something unknown or beyond the bounds of Yggdrasil. For this reason, he wished to witness the power of such a mighty being from another world and, if given the chance, study it in greater detail.
Azazel, his relatively recent partner in interests extending beyond the female form, also shared his impressions that day. And after that, Odin's desire intensified many times over, for an event of such magnitude simply could not have occurred by chance.
And finally, it happened.
One moment Odin was still gazing at the Beasts, and the next second his eyes darted downward, where, at first glance, there was only damaged ground and the remains of slain dragons. However, the moment his heartbeat echoed in his ears, the earth was torn apart.
As swiftly as a bolt of lightning, the earth shook and split open. And from it, massive towers burst into the night sky, writhing ominously like the tentacles of a sea monster. One after another, they continued to appear and eclipse the sky, blocking out the light of the moon and stars, and with each new tower, Odin's eyes, like those of the other gods, grew wider and wider, for they all sensed the power emanating from these structures.
Looking closer, Odin noticed that the towers were… alive. They were not made of stone or wood, but of flesh. Living, pulsating flesh of millions of people, covered in sharp, obsidian-like black spikes and eyes. So many eyes, moving from side to side as if searching for their prey like a hungry predator, and glowing with an ominous light, like the brightest gemstones.
And then, after a mere few seconds, they stopped appearing, halting at a certain number…
Seventy-two.
That was exactly how many demons had been subjugated by Solomon and recorded in his legendary grimoire. It was precisely these demons that featured in the myriad legends of every people across the four corners of the earth.
Demons renowned for their cunning and integrity, however strange that might sound to the uninitiated. Cruel, yet just. Powerful, yet restrained. That is precisely how humanity perceived them.
The heavens and the earth itself seemed to have submitted to the power and majesty of the Pillar Demons, allowing them to create their own kingdom in this mortal world. A kingdom of their own for a king of their own.
Goetia, the God-King of demons. 'His Majesty', as Sirzechs called him when he told Odin about that day. The Beast, as Romani called him.
Like a lofty king, he soared high above the battered, blood-red earth, casting a haughty and detached gaze upon everyone who caught his eye. His authority and power seemed to resonate with the Pillar Demons, causing Odin, like every other god, to feel a jolt in his heart.
And at some point, Odin experienced a flash of insight.
Such power the Beast possessed that it was clearly holding back at that moment. But Trihexa would not hold back. So said Romani, and Odin believed him, for there was literally no reason not to. And since that was the case…
…how could he convince Romani to join the fight against him?..
-0-
A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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