Tet and Hestia returned to their realm and settled into their seats at the council table on Terminal Island. As soon as they appeared, Tet let go of Ramiris, who immediately puffed up with indignation and shouted, "Who do you think you are kidn—"
Tet snapped his fingers. A plate of fresh cookies materialized on the table in front of her. Ramiris instantly dropped onto the surface, abandoning her anger in favor of stuffing cookies into her mouth with both hands.
Tet raised his voice, clapping once for emphasis. "All right, everyone, get your asses to the table. It's time for a meeting!"
One by one, members of the pantheon appeared in their seats, each arrival marked by a flash of divine light. Tet looked over the assembled group and asked, "Where's Artemis?"
Apollo lifted a hand lazily and said, "She told me she was on a hunt and to give her the cliff notes later."
Tet closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and bellowed, "Artemis, if your ass isn't in your chair in two seconds, I'm trapping you in a dating sim without your divinity!"
Instantly, a burst of silver light filled Artemis's seat, and the goddess popped into existence, wide-eyed and panicked. She waved her hands frantically. "I'm here! I'm here! No need to do anything drastic!"
"Good," Tet said with a satisfied nod. "Now we can begin. Today we are gathered to vote on which Olympians get to stay and which ones will be forced into a retirement home."
Hades cracked his neck loudly, stretching like he'd been waiting for this moment for centuries. "Oh, I've been waiting for this."
"Alright, let's rip off the band-aid," Tet said. "Zeus. Yay or nay retirement?"
From everyone at the table—including Mina—there was a unified, resounding "Yay."
Tet shrugged. "Well, saw that coming. Alright, next up: Hera."
Another unanimous "Yay."
Tet continued, "Okay, Demeter."
All but one responded with "Yay." Hestia alone said, "Nay."
She looked around at all the eyes on her. "What? Even you, Persephone?"
Persephone winced sympathetically. "Look, Aunt Hestia… we may not be a perfect pantheon, but we're trying to be better than our predecessors. And to that end, Mother doesn't fit. She's unhinged, she has abandonment issues, and she sends the world into natural disasters, plagues, and famines when she's in a bad mood. Our best bet is to retire her and find a more stable replacement."
Hestia hesitated, then slowly nodded, her shoulders dropping. "…You're right."
"Okay," Tet said, moving on. "Athena."
Everyone answered "Yay."
Tet smirked. "Good. I was already grooming her replacement anyway."
He flipped to the next name. "Next up: Dionysus."
Another round of unanimous "Yays."
Tet blinked. "Wait, really?"
Apollo leaned forward, rubbing his temples. "He treats every kid but his own like shit. And if he isn't drunk, he's an ass. When he is drunk, he doesn't focus on jack shit."
Artemis crossed her arms. "Not to mention how many innocent people he's sent to mental institutions because he was bored or annoyed."
"Jeez…" Tet muttered. "Alright, I'll look for a new god of revelry."
He continued, "Next: Poseidon."
A solid wave of "Yays."
Hades raised a brow. "If we're booting Zeus, we're definitely booting Poseidon."
Tet nodded. "Hephaestus."
Half the table said "Yay," the other half "Nay."
Tet held up his hand. "Alright. I'll be the tiebreaker: yay. He's getting retired."
He glanced at the next name. "Aphrodite."
Everyone immediately said "Yay."
Tet clapped his hands together. "Okay. No need to vote on the minor gods. Most of them sided with Kronos, so they're probably going straight to the retirement home. All opposed, say so."
No one spoke.
"Good," Tet said. "I've already got a replacement for Hecate in mind anyway. And while we're talking about it, why is the goddess of magic a minor god?"
Apollo threw his hands in the air. "I've been saying that for years."
Hades grumbled, "You can blame Zeus for that."
Artemis tapped her fingers on the table. "I feel like we could put that at the end of anything wrong with our former pantheon and people would just accept it."
Tet shrugged. "Because you can."
He leaned back in his chair. "Oh, and the sudden disappearance of their parents won't affect the demigods, right?"
Apollo checked the future. "Hold on… let me check. …No, we're good."
"Okay," Tet said, satisfied. "What are we doing with Olympus?"
Hades rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Ah—I know. We can merge it with the various heavens and other paradises we've collected and use it as a home for deities like Ophis. You know, super powerful and dangerous gods we can't get rid of but can't have doing as they please."
Apollo shrugged. "Come on, Uncle H… how many of those could possibly be running around?"
Tet scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Well…"
Apollo froze. "You're joking, right?"
Tet said, "There's a few of them. Some I'm keeping busy with a competition to see who has the better bad guy."
Apollo stared. "Okay… what happens if you lose?"
"Nothing much," Tet replied lightly. "The fights are happening on unclaimed worlds. If my apostle loses, they get possession of it. If my apostle wins, I get it. Though, of those gods, I'm only worried about one—because I have no idea how strong she is."
He waved the thought off. "Anyway—while we're on the subject of dangerous gods… Hades, Apollo, Hermes, Artemis. Did any of you encounter Nyx while in DxD?"
All of them answered, "No. Why?"
Tet blinked. "Huh. I thought she'd be awake by now. Oh well. I'll deal with her if she starts causing trouble."
He clapped his hands together. "Now, onto the main event. How do you all want to do this? Hands on? Or send people to do it while we watch?"
Hades raised his hand lazily. "The second one sounds more entertaining. Will there be snacks?"
Tet grinned. "Sure. I can do that."
A moment later, the entire council was transported to the theater.
On the screen appeared the Olympus throne room. All eight Olympians who were about to be retired sat in their thrones. Zeus glanced around the chamber, his brows knitting together in irritation and confusion.
"Has anyone seen Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, or Ares?" he demanded.
All the other gods shook their heads, exchanging uncertain looks. Zeus frowned deeper. "That's strange… they haven't been showing up a lot recently. Maybe I should summon them—"
Before Zeus could lift a hand or even finish the thought, a swirling portal opened behind each and every one of the seated gods. In an instant, the Olympians were yanked backward out of their thrones, sucked through the portals with barely enough time to release a startled scream. The room fell silent as the portals snapped shut behind them.
When Zeus picked himself up off the ground, he found himself face-to-face with his worst nightmare. His eyes widened in terror as he stammered, "No… you're not real. You were just a figment of some blasphemous mortal's imagination."
Standing before Zeus was none other than the Ghost of Sparta himself—Kratos.
Kratos seized Zeus by the beard, yanking him forward with a low, rumbling growl. "Oh, I'm very real, Father. Now face your end." With that, he punched Zeus across the room, the impact echoing like thunder, and drew his blades as he stalked toward him with deadly intent.
Back in the theater, Apollo blurted out, "Oh shit, you went for it?"
Tet shrugged casually. "Eh, it was the obvious choice, honestly."
---
Hera, meanwhile, materialized at the base of a ruined Greek home. Sitting on its crumbled stone steps was a massive giant of a man with long raven-black hair, a brutal stone axe resting beside him. He growled low in his throat as he stared up at her.
Hera curled her lip in disgust. "And what do you want, monster?"
A feminine voice answered sharply from behind her. "What we all want—revenge on you, you ancient bitch."
Hera spun around to see a woman in flowing purple robes, her deep violet eyes shining with fury beneath a curtain of purple hair. She held an ornate staff in hand.
"I'm Medea," the woman said coldly, "and that is Heracles. Maybe you didn't recognize him after you made him lose his mind. He became the mad Berserker you see before you."
Another voice joined in, firm and edged with long-held bitterness. "Yes… just one of the many reasons I'm here to punish you."
Hera turned again and saw a centaur with long light-brown hair, his bow leveled directly at her. "Hello, Hera. It's been a while," he said. "It's me—Chiron. Not the one you know, though."
Hera scoffed. "Why would you have something against me?"
Chiron's expression hardened. "All those demigods you hate so much—those you tortured and had die in horrific ways. Who do you think was their teacher? And far too often, their adoptive father? You think that kind of anger and pain just fades away? No… I've been waiting for a chance to unleash it."
Back in the theater, Hades blinked in surprise. "Wait—is our Chiron the same? Why didn't you have him do it?"
Tet raised a brow. "Not strong enough."
---
Athena, meanwhile, found herself standing at the center of an island surrounded by what looked like a statue garden. The pillars and stairs around her were carved to resemble Greek warriors and heroes frozen mid-battle. Athena scoffed in irritation.
"Come out, Medusa. I know it's you. I don't know how you got the strength to do this, but whatever you're planning will not succeed."
A young woman's mocking voice drifted through the air. "My, my… she thinks little Medusa is the only one who hates her. How hilarious."
Another voice chimed in with a giggle. "I know, right? No—the list of people who have a bone to pick with her is pretty large. But today, it'll only be us sisters dealing with you."
Stepping from the shadows came two elegant the twins Stheno and Euryale.
Athena's jaw tightened. "You're goddesses. Who are you?"
The eldest sister lifted her chin. "I'm Stheno."
"And I'm Euryale," the middle sister added. "For so many years, we watched as your curse turned our harmless baby sister into a feral monster… and in the end, we sat and allowed her to devour us."
Stheno continued, voice trembling with a mix of rage and sorrow. "We became a part of her, and our divinities merged—creating Gorgon, the goddess persecuted as a monster."
A third voice echoed behind Athena, cold and resolute. "Now it's our turn to get our revenge."
Athena turned sharply and found herself facing a young girl of about fourteen, long purple hair flowing as she lifted a long black scythe with practiced ease.
Back in the theater, Hestia whispered, "They're going to kill her, aren't they?"
Tet waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, don't worry—the space is enchanted. None of them can die. The longer the fight goes on, however, the more divinity they all lose. How much godhood they have left depends entirely on how quickly they realize they need to surrender. So yeah… some of them might end up mortal."