Chapter 71: Athena and Some Divine Things
Three pairs of eyes, two humanoid and one owl, stared at a pair of gray eyes, confused and surprised.
"Hey... Harry..."
"Yes, love?"
"How many times have you petted 'Hedwig' these past few days?"
"Every day... at least three times a day," Harry replied, turning slightly pale. He was realizing there was no way an owl so similar to Hedwig would appear, and he knew there weren't too many races capable of transforming into animals; in fact, they could be counted on one hand. And none would sneak into Rias Gremory's house, famous for tying against one of the most powerful gods in the world.
Suddenly, something resembling a rainbow appeared next to the imposter, revealing a middle-aged man wearing a toga. He had cloud-white hair and a matching mustache. Atop his head was a beautiful crown.
"Athena, have you found Perseus and the Eye of Medusa? Amaterasu let us into Japan, but you know that staying there too long can cause problems and make people suspect us of doing something wrong," the man spoke seriously, but all he could see was the owl sweating as it looked at Rias and Harry, who were staring at her with dead eyes.
"U-u," Hedwig looked at Athena and hootted as if reproaching her.
"U-um... yes... well, I found a clue, Father. Yes, indeed, I did. Don't worry, it won't be long before... we can return the Eye of Medusa," Athena replied, but her voice was actually filled with doubt.
The man, who was most likely Zeus, only nodded before disappearing alongside the rainbow.
"So..." Rias began very slowly.
Athena flew for a bit before transforming, now revealing her true appearance. She was a woman with a beautiful and majestic face. Her hair was light brown and slightly curly, reaching near her shoulders. Her gray eyes were bright with a slightly fierce light. Currently, she was actually dressed casually, wearing blue jeans, hiking boots, and a denim shirt.
"I've been petting a goddess's head for a week?" Harry suddenly asked.
Athena closed her eyes tightly as she blushed slightly. She hadn't intended to spend so much time in this place. She was supposed to simply stay for a few days, to see if she could get information about her target from Rias Gremory, someone who seemed to have a good grip on the current city and someone powerful. Athena hadn't expected to run into Harry Potter, who treated her so well.
"Please... don't mention that..." she muttered, completely embarrassed. At this moment, she didn't look like a goddess of war or wisdom; but rather an embarrassed and slightly annoyed woman, who didn't really give off any pious aura.
"So... what's this about a Perseus and the Eye of Medusa?"
Athena sighed. Now that she'd been discovered, she couldn't simply ignore that question.
"Perseus is a young man descended from the first Perseus, the one mentioned in the stories of Greek mythology. A few months ago, he ran away and took one of the treasures of our pantheon, the Eye of Medusa. This eye can be used to petrify anything or anyone," Athena said seriously.
"We've been searching for them for a while, and we discovered a few weeks ago that he's been traveling to this country. Unfortunately, we couldn't just go in and search; we needed authorization from the Shinto pantheon. About a week ago, they allowed us in. I searched a bit until I reached Kuoh, and I decided to see if you guys knew anything."
Rias frowned a little seriously. "I'm very familiar with the news from Japan. And I haven't heard of anyone named Perseus. But I don't think he's simply allied himself with any of the three Judeo-Christian factions. That would simply put the three factions in a bad light with other factions/pantheons."
"Most likely, he's with the Khaos Brigade, then."
"Khaos Brigade?" Athena asked curiously. "Could you tell me a little more about this?"
"The group is actually a terrorist group. From the information I have, they have several factions and races within them. The two most dominant would be the former Satan faction and the Hero faction; the latter has some descendants of Heroes among them."
"Do you know about their goals?"
"For the Satan faction... isn't it obvious?"
"To restore your race's former rule, huh," Athena commented.
"Yes..." Rias nodded. "As for the Hero faction... I think it was something about defeating other beings that harm humanity, including Devils, Fallen, Dragons, and more. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to fight a deity."
Athena frowned. It seemed her mission had become a little more complicated and difficult to accomplish. She looked at Rias and Harry seriously before speaking.
"Can you help me?" Athena asked.
"Of course, you'll receive a reward for your help," she added quickly.
Rias looked at Harry, and he simply nodded, unconcerned.
"Good..." Rias replied after nodding.
"Now that that's settled for now... do you want breakfast?" Harry asked as he looked at the goddess.
Athena looked at the bacon before blushing slightly. "A little bacon wouldn't be bad."
The pair smiled at her mockingly, remembering how the goddess had been fed the same thing while in her owl form.
Athena couldn't get angry at the expressions of her new allies. She had already lost credibility and reputation by being discovered. Getting angry or appearing proud would only make things worse. Besides, Rias was already at the level of the gods; she couldn't be underestimated or insulted.
As for Harry... well, the goddess had already seen him train several times, so she knew his power level. And, although he hadn't yet reached the level of the gods, he was close. In fact, the only reason she hadn't been discovered was because her transformation hid her godly aura; in fact, she simply looked a little more beautiful. And, as a goddess who had lived a long time, she knew how to mask her emotions so that techniques that detect things like that wouldn't find her.
Well, in short, it was very difficult for her to be found, even god-level beings, or the gods themselves, were included.
After breakfast, the three of them immediately set out, flying camouflaged through the sky: Harry with his cloak, Rias with her magic, and Athena with her powers.
However, the goddess noticed the small frown on Rias's face. "If you have a question, you can ask. I'll answer if it's not too much."
"Well... then I'll get straight to the point: Is there anything that prevents someone from becoming a god?"
"That would depend," Athena said with a touch of seriousness. "Divine beings like myself or other gods are born as such, so there are no impediments there. The only problem that would come to us would be the belief of mortals, but that's still rare, even in this day and age."
"For example, Ares is currently the weakest Olympian god."
"Wait, what? But isn't he the god of war? Shouldn't he be one of the most powerful?" Harry asked in surprise.
Athena shook her head: "A god born is different from someone who becomes a deity. Ares represents war, violence, brutality, and the virility of the masculine. His first three aspects are frowned upon in this era. War is frowned upon, hated, and no one would pray for war; therefore, he has lost power over time."
"The more peaceful the era, the weaker Ares. My war aspect is more strategic, so I don't have the problem on the same scale."
"Likewise, just as humans believe in lightning bolts, they indirectly believe in Zeus. The same is true of the moon, the sun, the home, the family, and many other aspects of the gods."
"Now, regarding your question. Is a human capable of becoming a god? The probability and complexity of achieving it is like climbing a mountain of swords, but not impossible. Your case is a bit more complicated, because there has never been a devil who gradually became a god." "A little."
"For example, in the Taoist pantheon, Sun Wukong and Xuanzan Sanzang became Buddhas on their journey, but they had to suffer 81 tribulations. These so-called tribulations were actually not all enormous and powerful lightning bolts falling from the sky. Furthermore, they are not something like the will of heaven that you would read about in novels of that type, but rather natural manifestations created by the gods to hinder the progress of said person. This has been done to see if that person is worthy of divinity or Buddhahood, or also to destroy that person if they are evil or unworthy."
"A tribulation may well be great suffering through 'something that happens.'"
"You have not suffered problems from what I know, but you have reached a point of sublimation of your soul that will allow you to enter the astral plane and the mental plane. At the same time, you have understood a concept at the level of world law, which could be considered the beginning of divine authority and dominion."
"You, as part of the devil race, cannot be judged by others." pantheons, even if you live in Japan. The only one who could do that would be the Biblical God, but he's currently dead."
Rias frowned. "When I was in Limbo, within the Underworld, I felt a sense of danger like never before. I thought, at first, it was because of the proximity of an entrance to Heaven there, but then it got worse."
"Did you feel such a thing?" Athena looked at her, slightly puzzled, before she began to think.
"The Biblical God created the Heaven system; so, it wouldn't be strange for him to leave some safety precautions in place if a Devil or Fallen One reached the point you're at," Athena said seriously and looked at Rias once more.
"You have to be careful, Rias Gremory. You don't know if when you reach the point of crossing divinity, a bolt of heavenly and holy power might descend from the seventh heaven to eliminate you."
Rias's expression was slightly pale as she imagined that.
"We're here, Rias," Harry snapped her out of her mind.
"What is this place?" Athena asked, looking at a dilapidated and abandoned warehouse.
"The place where we'll meet my informant," Rias said before descending toward the entrance, followed by Athena and Harry. When they entered, it was a bit dark, and the moonlight could only illuminate a small portion of the space, which let in light through holes in the ceiling.
"It seems Pe-kun really did alert the Olympians. Well, he may be a little naive," a woman's voice came from the shadows as the sound of bells echoed inside the warehouse.
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