Kapitel 172: Western Civilization
It was 7:30 AM the next day.
Drako had gotten up a couple of hours earlier to trainbut had already taken a shower and was currently finishing breakfast. He had arranged to meet Zoë at 8 AM, and Drako was one of those who didn't like to keep others waiting.
The worst thing anyone can do is keep someone waiting.
Drako hated people who were always late. If you were meeting someone at 8 AM, you couldn't be late for 8:05 AM. That was rude.
Drako dressed in a thin white shirt, combined with jeans and comfortable shoes. This time, he did not have to act as Akatsuki's leader or anything like that, nor did he have to train Raynare. That's why he could choose more casual clothes.
Five minutes before the hour was up, Drako stepped out the door.
If Drako hadn't misjudged Zoë, she should have arrived exactly at the time she was supposed to meet Drako.
"It's strange to see you up so early."
Drako didn't even turn around when two people left the house.
"I couldn't sleep well, Nyaa."
"Without Master at home, it feels a little weird."
The two girls who left were Drako's two Servants, Mordred and Kuroka.
Drako turned to face them. They both wore clothes that characterized them.
"Well? Is there anything you need?"
Mordred turned her head to the side, avoiding Drako's gaze, while Kuroka threw herself into his embrace.
Kuroka applied all the strength she could in her arms, even if Drako barely noticed, to express her feelings in the most convincing manner possible.
"I don't want you to leave." the nekoshou muttered.
Kuroka could not imagine a life without Drako. She had been living with him for two years, day after day, she was unable to imagine a life without Drako.
He was the one who had pulled her out of that hell, who had prevented Shirone from going through the same hell as Kuroka. He had given her a home, a new family. He had given her strength to fight and protect her beloved younger sister, even though she had not yet had the chance to use it.
Drako was Kuroka's world.
Drako spoke to the girls the day before after having the conversation with Zoë, and told them of the possibility that this journey would last more than a few days.
Artemis required their presence, and Drako suspected it was not just to formally join her group. A short trip to Japan by the goddess to perform this ritual of being accepted into the group was all that was needed if Artemis was to do just that.
It was not difficult for Drako to assume that Artemis needed him for something else.
"I don't know how long I'll be gone, Kuroka, but I promise I'll try to get back as soon as possible."
Drako tried to calm Kuroka. She hesitated, but finally broke away from Drako and nodded.
"Be careful." He said gently.
"I'll be."
Kuroka stepped back, and Drako laid eyes on the other girl who had come out to see him off.
Mordred, his first Servant.
Mordred seemed to be doubting something, and it seemed that she had finally gathered enough determination to look at Drako and speak.
"I will accompany you!"
"Impossible"
Drako had no hesitation in rejecting Mordred's request.
"But... I am your Servant! My duty is to accompany you and fight by your side!"
Drako shook his head. No matter what Mordred had to say, Drako wasn't going to take her with him.
"This isn't that war, Mordred. You don't have to worry, there are few things in this world capable of defeating Artemis and her hunters. Not only that, but I'm no longer that little dragon incapable of doing anything."
Mordred bit her lip and bent her head, unsure how to continue. Her instincts told her that this journey Drako was about to embark upon was not going to be as simple as she first saw it. Mordred felt that Drako might be in danger if he accompanied Artemis.
As she bit her lips, a pair of male arms surrounded her. Drako embraced her and drew her to his chest, burying her in a warm embrace.
Mordred remembered when she was first summoned, when Drako gave her this new life. The man who was now far taller than she was then was six inches shorter.
Yes, what he had said before was true. Drako is no longer that feeble little dragon from back then. He had grown up to be someone she could trust.
Mordred hugged Drako back as a smile formed on her lips. Yes, it was not bad to be able to trust someone like that.
"Well, it's time to go. Isn't it, Zoë?"
"Don't say my name so casually, call me lieutenant."
Drako released Mordred's embrace, and she parted, albeit reluctantly, and turned in the opposite direction.
As if she had appeared out of nowhere, Zoé was standing across the street. Just as Drako expected, the lieutenant had arrived at the exact time.
"Well, I'm off."
Drako hugged Mordred again and shared a slightly too long kiss with Kuroka before leaving with Zoë.
This did not seem to be to Zoë's liking, and it was evident from the disgusted look on her face.
Well, it wasn't like Drako cared.
.........................
If Drako was sincere, he didn't expect Zoë to take him to this place.
"What are we doing at the airport?"
Drako asked out of sheer curiosity. However, Zoë answered quite fiercely.
"We're going to travel to another continent, what more do you want?"
Drako felt something suspicious was going on here. Rarely did members of the supernatural world use human means to travel.
"Maybe... you don't know how to make a teleportation circle?"
"Shut up!" Zoë screamed as she blushed.
So Drako's suspicion was right. Apparently, although Zoë's magic power was quite high, she didn't even know how to use basic transport magic.
"You don't have to be ashamed of that. You know, even though I'm a dragon, I still don't know how to use the Dragon Gate. Tiamat wanted to teach me how to use it, but I think I was still too weak at the time."
"I didn't ask for your comfort."
Zoë responded to Drako's attempt to comfort her in a cold voice, though he could see that she was grateful at heart. She was not so surprised to hear the name Tiamat, as Artemis had mentioned it when speaking of Drako earlier.
Speaking of the Dragon Gate, Drako remembered that now was the time to learn about this method of transportation. It was the primary method of transportation for high-level dragons, so he needed to learn about it.
As they entered the airport, Drako and Zoë kept quiet almost all the way. In the end, Drako had to talk.
"Where are we going?"
"United States."
Zoë's response was still just as cold.
"Why are we going to America?"
To Drako's question, Zoë gave him a strange look.
"Don't you know?"
"Is there anything special I should know?"
Zoë slowed down, and looked at Drako as if he really was a freak.
"Sigh... you don't really seem to know anything. It's a bit of a long story, so I'd better tell you inside the plane."
Drako nodded, and the two continued on their way to the plane.
Not long after, Drako and Zoë arrived at the plane.
Their destination: Maine.
............
Once inside the plane, Zoë and Drako sat in the back of it. Unfortunately for Zoë, since she didn't want to be so close to Drako. Now, she had to endure twelve hours at the side of a boy, which she didn't like at all.
Drako didn't care. In fact, it was quite nice to be around a beautiful woman like Zoë.
But now Drako was interested in something else. Why was America so important? Zoë had even looked at him funny about this.
"Hey, tell me about America. Why is it so important?"
Zoë gave Drako a strange look again. She really couldn't believe that Tiamat hadn't taught Drako anything about Western Civilization.
"This is a bit complicated to explain, and you may not understand it very well at first."
Drako shrugged.
"Never mind, we have a 12-hour flight to explain."
Zoë's forehead wrinkled with irritation at the thought of spending 12 hours with a womanizer.
"In the mythologies that originated in Western Europe in the past, especially Greco-Latin and Nordic, there is an effect called Western Civilization that affects both mythologies and mortals."
Western Civilization Effect-- this was something Drako had never heard of.
Probably because all DxD is focused on Japan, and barely reaches Romania in one volume, European mythologies hardly matter.
It's true that the gods appear throughout the novel, but not places like Mount Olympus and Asgard.
"I'm going to explain it to you in simple words. What is known as Western Civilization... is a living force, a collective consciousness that has burned for thousands of years. The gods are part of that, a fire burned in Greece. The heart of that flame moved to Rome, and so did the gods... wherever that flame is brightest, the gods will move there. Right now they're in the United States. Look at their symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus at Rockefeller Center... like it or not, the United States is now the heart of the most powerful flame in the West. So Olympus is here."
Zoë's words were powerful, making an impact on Drako. After all, what she was saying made sense.
Why were the Roman gods the same as the Greeks, but with different names?
It was because they had moved to where that "flame" was most powerful.
The flame that Zoë talks about is not something that really exists, but an expression for the most powerful human kingdom/country/empire of the moment.
And without a doubt, the United States is the most powerful country in the world.
Zoë explained a little more to Drako about the concept of "Western Civilization".
Western Civilization is a metaphysical force that moves with the flow of civilization. It is the pure essence of humanity's culture and connects everything that constitutes the collective spirit of humanity and civilization.
This force moves with the centre of human prosperity and influence, and was originally founded in Greece (AN: Let's remember that, although the Greeks were not the first gods in history, they are the first to be born in the western side of Europe. Or so I believe, correct me if I am wrong). From there, it was carried by Zephyros, the western wind in Greek mythology, to Rome. Then it travelled through Europe, stopping in Germany (Nordic gods), France, Spain, and finally ending up in Britain for a while. The current center of the "flame" has been in the United States since 1860, precisely in New York City, where an entrance to Olympus is located on the Empire State Building.
Olympus is a different realm from the human world, so its entrance can change without any problem.
The fact that one of the entrances to Olympus is located in the United States does not mean that all the heritage of Greek mythology found in Greece is useless. On the contrary, Greece will always be more important for this mythology than any other place.
Still, the Olympians are strongly connected to western civilization as they are both its source and its embodiment. This connection had a profound effect on the gods and mortal civilization. If Western Civilization declined, the gods would be severely weakened. If the Olympic order was overthrown, then human civilization would fall apart at the seams, degenerating into chaos.
Chaos...
Kapitel 173: Olympian gods are having a bad time
The plane finally landed at an airport in Maine, and Zoë and Drako got out of it.
"Let's go, my lady and the rest of my mates are waiting."
Without saying anything else, Zoë started running at extremely high speeds.
Fortunately for Drako, he wasn't the little dragon he used to be. Now, his speed was his strongest point while he was in human form.
But Zoë's speed was much higher than Drako's. So, even when he was using his touki, Drako was still slower than Zoë.
In the end, Drako gave up trying to run at the same speed as Zoë and pulled out his main motion tool.
Golden Drive, his motion-type Noble Phantasm, appeared in front of him and Drako didn't hesitate to get on and accelerate.
Zoë, who was running faster than Drako on purpose, though always keeping a distance not too far away so as not to have to stay close to him for too long, saw a two-wheeled vehicle approaching her quickly.
"What's going on? Are you surprised?"
More shocked was Zoë when she saw Drako driving this modern two-wheeled vehicle. If she wasn't mistaken, this should be what humans call a motorcycle.
"I would never have thought that a human invention could reach my speed on land."
Zoë's words were sincere. Even if she wasn't the fastest in the world, she was in the top 100 without a doubt.
"Oh, this is not a human invention, but something much more special."
Zoë ignored Drako's mysterious explanation and continued running.
Now that she knew Drako could maintain this speed, she could run without limitation.
Seeing Zoë accelerate, Drako did not hesitate to follow her quickly. It was true that Zoë was fast, but Golden Drive had a top speed of 2500 km/h. Most planes were only half as fast as Drako's special vehicle.
"Hey, Lieutenant, don't you want to ride here with me? We'll be there sooner, I assure you."
"In your dreams."
"Tch, tch, you can't be this cold to me, Lieutenant. Aren't we going to be partners from now on? You gotta think about teamwork, you know? Cooperation."
Zoë gritted her teeth in anger. Drako was obviously bothering her on purpose, he was making her angry.
What cooperation? What teamwork?
Artemis' agreement with Drako was that he would be part of the group, including receiving Artemis' blessing that had never been given to a man, in exchange for occasional help with her and her group of hunters.
In other words, Drako was not going to team up with them. He was more of a helper than anything else.
But, Zoë couldn't say anything right now. They needed Drako's help for the hunt they were about to start.
"Just shut up and follow me."
Drako expected some cooler response, as Zoë usually did, but he didn't give it much thought either.
In the end, Drako fell silent and followed Zoë to the destination.
.....................….
Zoë and Drako soon arrived at the place where Artemis and her hunters were residing.
In one of the natural areas, the base of a mountain, a camp had been set up. Drako could sense several presences inside, including those of Artemis and Thalia Grace.
As expected of the Goddess Artemis, she did not rest in a five-star hotel or anything like that.
"Here we are."
Drako did not need Zoë's warning to realize this, but he nodded anyway. He followed her into the camp, and there he saw a large number of girls of various ages. The youngest seemed to be about ten years old, while the oldest did not seem to be over seventeen.
Of course, Drako was certain that this was not the actual age of any of the hunters. Most likely, they would maintain the appearance they had when they accepted Artemis' blessing.
They were dressed in silver parka and jeans, the same clothes Zoë and Thalia wore.
Was this the official uniform of the hunters?
Zoë and Drako went to the main tent, the one belonging to the Goddess Artemis.
However, Drako did not find Artemis when he entered the interior. Instead, a little girl about twelve or thirteen years old with reddish-brown hair gathered into a tail. Her eyes, a silvery yellow like the moon, were amazing. She had such a beautiful face that it was breathtaking, but her expression was serious.
"You are... Artemis."
The little girl nodded her head.
"This is the way I'm most comfortable, whereas the way I showed you earlier is the way I use it when I have to attend to official business."
She really was Artemis...
Well, with this look, she seemed to be just another girl in the group, although it was evident that she was superior in every way. Drako understood why she was more comfortable with the girlish appearance.
Artemis gestured to the seat in front of her, instructing Drako to take her seat.
"To begin with, I have to thank you for taking the time to come here."
Drako bowed his head, for he did not quite understand why Artemis was thanking him. It was he who wanted to receive the blessing of the Goddess.
"This... Did Zoë not explain why I called you here?"
Artemis had noticed this.
"No, she didn't tell me any of that."
Artemis gave Zoë a questioning look.
"I haven't had time to do this, I was explaining everything about Western Civilization."
Artemis frowned, but soon relaxed and let the matter drop. She knew Zoë better than anyone else, as she had been with her the longest.
"The situation for the Olympian gods at this time is complicated. Apparently, a certain titan wants to revive and take revenge on the ruling gods. Creatures are appearing that I haven't hunted in millennia, prey so ancient that I had almost forgotten about them. This time we are here because we have detected the presence of a manticore. But that's not the monster I'm looking for."
Artemis briefly explained the problems that were occurring with Greek mythology.
Artemis' words would scare more than one, but they only moved Drako. Everything about hunting enemies and upgrading was something that excited him terribly.
"Well, where's that manticore?"
Drako was already rubbing his hands together, and he was practically drawing his bow to begin the hunt.
"The manticore is at a boarding school not far from here. We'll go hunt it when you're ready."
Drako was surprised. What was a manticore doing in a school?
A manticore is a monster similar to a sphinx, with the face of a human, the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion. How is it possible for a manticore to hide in the human world?
Maybe that monster had a way of taking on a human form to fool the human eye.
"According to our information, that manticore is behind two demigods. They want to recruit them for the Titan Army."
Titan Army?
This was something that Drako had no idea about, though he could relate to the enemies of the Olympic gods.
Artemis had said that they would move at the moment Drako was ready.
Well, he was from the beginning.
"I'm always ready to hunt, shall we?"
A small smile formed on Artemis' lips.
She stood up and looked at Zoë.
"Pack up the camp."
.......................
Drako left Artemis' tent and walked between the tents.
Zoë and Artemis had already given the order to clear the camp, so the girls had started to unpack it. Drako used this moment to get an idea of the number of girls who were accompanying Artemis.
The hunters were no more than twenty, and all of them were quite pretty. Their ages were around fifteen, more or less. Both Zoë and Thalia seemed to be the oldest in the group. But Drako knew that Thalia was the youngest of them all, so the age of all the girls should be above twenty at least.
Drako examined the camp. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, arranged in a crescent around the campfire. White wolves circled the camp as if they were guard dogs, and hawks watched the surroundings from the trees.
"Do you like what you see?"
Drako didn't have to turn around to find out who this person was.
"I quite like it, I'm not going to lie to you."
If Drako meant the girls or the camp, Thalia wasn't sure.
"You must be careful. Even if you are part of the group now, and even if you are to receive Artemis' blessing, you must not look at any of the girls with lustful eyes. Artemis has been known to retaliate against men who do that."
Thalia sincerely warned Drako. He was a boy who had relationships with more than one woman, so he should be careful about his actions.
"I still have to fix my situation with the girls I have at home, how dare I set my sights on other girls?"
"Tch, you don't fool me with those words of yours. I'm sure you've been having a good time with Zoë by your side for so many hours."
"A good time? I guess those who enjoy being in Antarctica can consider that a good time."
Thalia looked at Drako with wide eyes, but soon began to laugh.
"Hahaha, yes, yes, you're right."
Drako smiled as well. At least, it seemed that Zoë was cold even to some girls. That was... a small relief.
The smile soon disappeared when Drako felt a murderous intent on his back. He turned immediately, only to find Zoë's cold eyes in the distance.
"She seems to have heard you."
Stop laughing, will you?
They didn't have time to continue the conversation when Artemis appeared in the middle of the group. The hunters had already finished packing, so it was time to get out of that place.
....................................…..
The town the group went to was called Bar Harbor.
Drako thought he was going to have to go up to Golden Drive again, but it seemed that Artemis' group was not running at such a high speed as Zoë had run before.
Drako suspected that Zoë had done it on purpose to screw him up, and he even gave her a strange look. She simply dodged Drako's gaze when she realized that he was looking at her.
Drako was surprised by the girls' resistance.
Do not judge them by their youthful appearance, they all had excellent stamina and speed. They were all running at 60km/h for more than an hour, and none of them had any signs of fatigue. Drako thought that Artemis' blessing was influencing this.
The boarding school they were headed for was called Westover Hall, and it was set on a cliff.
It looked like a bloody enchanted castle.
How did Drako know that?
Because they had already arrived there.
More specifically, they were in a forest hundreds of feet from the castle.
Zoë stepped forward as she complained.
"Shit, looks like those half-breeds beat us to it."
Yes, it seemed that someone else had arrived at the castle before Artemis' group.
Four boys, about 12 to 14 years old, were fighting a monster, the manticore, outside the castle. They were obviously losing, and there wasn't much left for the manticore to kill them all.
Artemis approached Drako at this point.
"Remember, Drako. You have not yet received my blessing, so you cannot participate in this hunt."
This surprised Drako. What was he doing here, then?
"But..."
"Just watch for the moment, I'll let you participate in the next hunts."
Drako clenched his teeth. He really wanted to kill that monster, but the Goddess seemed adamant about this.
In the end, a manticore was just another monster in the crowd. There was no need to confront Artemis over a third-rate monster.
"It's all right."
Artemis nodded and looked up at the monster with a calm and aggressive face at the same time.
"Phoebe, blow the hunting horn. Let's go hunting."
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