章 48: The Crooked One
The Seraphic System
Chapter: 48
Disclaimer: I don't own High School Dxd or any other universe used in this story.
Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing some content in advance. I'll keep posting regardless. If you have any suggestions you would like to see added, I will try to incorporate what I can :)
I get some of you feel that the situation was forced but if you think about it logically, Kai had thought he couldn't be sensed and it had been Aphrodite's idea. A brief ten minute detour wasn't exactly harmful in his mind.
(The Crooked One)
Tiamat's eyes were fixed on me. Not even batting an eye as Aphrodite disappeared. She knew about my ability to store things.
Not surprising, funnily enough, I think Tiamat probably knew me more than anyone. If my suspicion that she had been watching me in the forest was correct.
Her body was trembling slightly and she took multiple deep breaths to presumably calm herself down. Her slitted draconic eyes were glowing slightly and steam was rising out from her mouth.
The park around us was in a mess…
Tiamat's outburst had caused massive cracks in the earth which had uprooted a lot of the scenery along with the shockwaves from her movement.
In truth, I knew I should have probably attempted to de-escalate the situation but getting in between two powerful beings didn't seem optimal and even with my semi divine form Tiamat would kick my ass.
Said Semi-divine form was not even charged.
It had also happened quickly. Aphrodite and Tiamat had spoken for less than a minute while I observed them trying to make a judgement on the best way to go about dealing with this.
Now, I had a goddess in my inventory and an angry Dragon King to deal with.
I don't know what technique or spell Aphrodite had used but it had been enough to make Tiamat lose her composure.
I didn't think making an illusion of me saying some bad words was enough to warrant this so I was going to assume something else I hadn't been able to see happened.
My jaw clenched as I stared back at the Dragoness.
Truthfully, I was annoyed. Extremely annoyed. Not just from the events from a few hours ago where I beat down that little pest Cao Cao or Ares who had convinced me he had killed Avael.
Something I was relieved he hadn't done, even if he had hurt her deeply. Had another one of my Angels died I would have lost it. The thought made a surprising amount of rage pass through me. My Angelic instincts gently worked on cooling down.
Aphrodite had been growing on me and seeing her get hurt was surprisingly annoying. Beyond this entire quest.
What a mess.
Perhaps I had been too passive from the start of this interaction but I was figuring out the best way to approach it. Tiamat was a lot stronger than Ares who had just beaten me down an hour ago in his mortal form.
Not that I think he could achieve that level of a beatdown again with my power boost. As loath as I was to admit it, even with the power boost I wasn't able to kill Ares in his divine form but his mortal form?
Now? I would have a true chance at killing him in his mortal form at the very least. Which was good progress even without needing my semi-divine form.
My power had spiked up a couple thousand in power and my magic had reached the higher stage of ultimate class. That made me a true threat. I had learnt that having a higher power level to a certain degree didn't mean that an opponent outclassed you in certain aspects.
Even with that, I was dealing with literal Gods and currently at this moment I was dealing with a Dragon King who had probably killed Gods.
I kept blaming myself for being so weak and resolved to train to a new level but when I took time to think about it, I was dealing with beings far older than me.
I hadn't been in this world all that long and everyone told me my progress in power was already insane. Perhaps I was being too hard on myself but that wouldn't help me now.
Not that I would need to fight for my life, like last time Tiamat wanted something else from me. Her weirdly powerful emotions proved that.
It's why I wasn't making any sudden moves. I didn't need to. She wasn't here to harm me.
That was something I was pretty certain of. If she had been here to harm me now or back in the Familiar Forest she wouldn't have a hard time achieving that.
I frowned in thought.
All of these thoughts happened within seconds as my Mastermind Maven was activated. Allowing my processing skills to go insane. My head cleared and I regarded the Dragoness in front of me.
"Tiamat." I sighed. Why did this have to happen now just as I was about to finish the quest? It had been one event after the other. Not even Percy had this much trouble when he had finished this quest originally. Were Moirai assistanting Percy that much?
"It's been a while. I'm surprised you came all this way to find me." I continued.
She straightened up slightly. She then went to speak only to stop and look conflicted for a split moment as if she was holding herself back from saying something.
"It has, hasn't it? It felt like years to me," she replied, her tone awkward.
Not quite what I meant.
"Kai, I… I want to apologise," she blurted out suddenly, shifting nervously as her eyes darted away from mine.
I blinked in surprise.
This entire situation was weird.
One moment I was spending time with a Goddess who had taken an interest in me for some reason and now I had a slightly crazed Dragoness to deal with.
"This is an interesting way to approach that." I dryly retorted after a moment of thought.
She flinched at that and her eyes flickered to our surroundings. The once tidy-looking park was severely damaged and messy with trees dislodged from the ground.
"I am sorry but s-she provoked me!" Tiamat quickly replied.
The cold demeanour she had been trying to display melted away. Not that I had fallen for it. My empathy was on, sensing for even the slightest shift in emotions.
Tiamat seemed saner than before at least. I hope this didn't end up with her trying to drag me away to her 'Cave'
"Love goddesses are always a pain in the ass and I thought the hussy had tried enthralling you." Tiamat finished.
I raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, you kind of interrupted us and then immediately threatened her. Assuming you're hostile isn't unreasonable." I replied logically.
Tiamat huffed annoyedly and crossed her arms, which accentuated her bust. Not that my eyes dipped down. I didn't think that would be the best move at this moment.
Even if my damn teenage hormones were giving me a hard time. My angelic instincts came in clutch and doused the lust like cold water.
"Can't you see I'm trying to protect you? Aphrodite is bad news, Kai. I've even heard rumours about her." Tiamat said neutrally with an undertone of worry.
"Did you ever confirm these rumours?" I asked curiously.
"W-well no and don't get me wrong I know better than to accept the word of others for fact but they had to be taken into consideration. She was obviously trying to seduce you." She replied with a satisfied nod.
Right…
Moving on from that.
I felt the need to abruptly ask…
"Why?" I suddenly asked. My eyes slightly narrowed.
I'd been wondering ever since my abrupt departure from the Familiar Forest landed me in India.
She tilted her head, her expression showing that she was puzzled.
"Why?" she echoed, her confusion evident.
I decided to elaborate.
"I have to admit I'm confused. I distinctly remember my time in the forest being spent alone ignoring the presence of my neglected maid, Grizella. Then, when I finally planned to leave. You tried to intervene and 'keep me safe' within your cave? Why did you try to force me to stay?" I asked her inquisitively.
She stayed silent. Her head lowered slightly.
"I-I panicked and my headspace wasn't quite as clear as it is now. This may sound a bit weird, but I have a habit of watching things that interest me as a pastime in my forest and I had been watching you for quite a while before that." Tiamat admitted.
So she was watching me. I already knew that but why had she been so against me leaving? She was an ancient Dragon King. I doubted some random Angel in the underworld was anything other than an interest.
"Why did you freak out and stop me from leaving?" I asked after a moment of silence.
Her eyes turned slightly downcast.
"Because I watched you grow. I was there with you even if you didn't notice me. Something else happened at that time and it made me a bit unhinged. My apologies." She apologised.
"Just how long were you watching me?" I questioned a bit incredulously.
It sounded like she had been observing me for longer than I had expected.
"Most of the time you spent in my forest." She replied awkwardly. "I hadn't expected to watch you for long, since I was going to tell Ajuka about your presence in my forest just as an alert but things changed.
"So… you saw me massacre the Goblins?" I asked hesitantly.
She had technically seen me at my worst.
She nodded. A small sweet smile appeared on her face. "They deserved it but I can see from my brief time conversing with you now that you've healed."
I looked away before registering something she had said. Mostly as a way to steer the topic away from this.
"Wait… you said something made you act in that unhinged way when you had been desperate to trap in your cave. What was it?" I asked.
Was it my allure or was it that strange fated love perk I had gotten a long ago? Did allure cause a weird effect around female Dragons? That was worrying. I mean, if they all started acting like Tiamat I may be in trouble. It hadn't seemed to affect Gabriel and I was pretty sure it was only meant to make me more charismatic.
Tiamat scratched her neck embarrassedly.
I was fully prepared to escape if she went into that weird Yandere mode again. While being trapped in a cave with a hot Dragoness sounded cool I wasn't going to have my freedom restricted by anyone.
"Well, you see there's this type of phenomenon that can happen to Dragons. It's rare, super rare among my kind but it's the only explanation I could find." She started.
I didn't interrupt, watching as she nearly crumbled under the weight of her embarrassment.
Despite the cold mask she tried to maintain, her emotions betrayed her. Especially with the flush of her cheeks giving her away. I was curious to see what excuse she would manage to come up with.
She hadn't reversed whatever had caused that reaction since I had seen some of those weird crazed emotions in her when she had first arrived and seen me with Aphrodite.
My guard was up, not that I thought I could escape from her. Unless I slipped into my sub-dimension but even then she could stop me with sheer speed especially since she knew about my light embodiment and might be ready to counteract it.
"The Dragon who recorded it called it 'Soul Bonding'. It happens when a dragon finally finds itself a Mate."
"Are you saying this 'Rare Phenomenon' somehow happened to us?" I asked in surprise.
The chances of that happening… shit. Was my allure even more of a problem than I had suspected? I knew it had made women more attracted to me but it wouldn't force them to go this extreme.
Past encounters with the Devi and other women had shown that. So why did it affect Tiamat like this?
"Yes. I don't know how it happened but I haven't felt an attraction for any being since I was born. I am not sure why but it's simply never happened despite the many powerful Gods and Dragons alike who have tried to mate with me." She replied a bit somberly.
I think I was starting to see what had happened here.
"So, when I finally felt that spark of attraction, it struck me like one of Draig's blasts, catching me off guard and making me act in a way I regret. I know someone like you would hate feeling confined. I may not know exactly what you've been through, but it's clear you've been deeply wounded by something." Tiamat explained, offering me a gentle look at the end.
My guard was lowered a bit. It was odd. I felt kind of connected to her in a way. She was just as lonely as I had been.
"How did you find me?" I questioned in a bid to stall for a bit more time to think.
That was also something I had wanted to know. My mask was on so my presence should be undetectable and how had a Dragon found me in an entirely different world anyway?
"After you left, I caused a bit of a ruckus and Ajuka popped in. He used his connections to help me track you down. When I got here, I saw signs of a huge battle and feared the worst, but I caught your scent and followed it. Even with that strange mask you have, I knew it was you," she replied quietly.
I took a moment to think.
"With that in mind. What's your intention now that you've found me?" I further asked.
"I-I'm not sure. I had wanted to apologise but I had also wanted to be in your presence. It's comforting." Tiamat admitted.
How troublesome.
A thought occurred to me, I could use this to my advantage. It was obvious that Tiamat at least cared for me. Even if this bonding thing wasn't the case and my allure had just given her a temporary attraction to me that she had never experienced before.
I could feel her overprotectiveness. Which was why she had started a fight with Aphrodite.
"Aphrodite was meant to come with me to meet the King of Olympus. I don't want to explain the whole thing but I ended up finding myself in an annoying quest and that quest will end when I give him back his bolt." I quickly informed her.
She nodded. Her eyes shone with slight hope as Tiamat could understand where this was leading.
For some reason I felt like I could talk more openly with her, she knew me better than anyone else and that comforted me in some strange way.
"You may come with me as a replacement. I have no guarantee he won't just strike me down on the spot. If you wish to show that you're serious about this anyway. Having your protection would help." I finished.
A big smile appeared on her face for a moment before she composed herself.
"I would love to accompany you, Kai. I promise I'll act correctly this time." She replied.
"That means not randomly attacking anyone. I must admit I'm annoyed. Aphrodite has been good to me despite your thoughts and paying that kindness back like this isn't good." I say, a frown of displeasure on my face.
She looked bashful.
"Sorry, I did think she had enthralled you." She apologised.
I nodded in acceptance, pressing the matter would do any good. I doubted Aphrodite was going to be happy when she woke up.
I inwardly sighed.
Part of me just wanted to stuff her in my inventory or sub-dimension but I had been handling too many problems and inconveniences in that way. So it wouldn't help if I continued acting that way.
Like it or not. I was also going to be taken to Heaven at some point. I didn't know how I was going to be received considering I was… me.
Those were thoughts for later though.
"I'm sure you've noticed I'm a little bit different to my fellow Angels right?" I asked hesitantly.
She nodded with a small smile.
"Keep that a secret or we will have problems. I am a bit of a special case among my kind for reasons I don't want anyone to know. Not yet at least." I told her.
Tiamat became more serious.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Not that I would even without your warning." She promised seriously.
I could feel that she was genuine and it admittedly made me trust her a bit more. I knew I was playing a bit of a dangerous game with a lot of unknown variables but considering the chaotic situation I think I could be forgiven.
"In that case, we need to go to the Empire State Building and go up into Olympus," I told her and she gave me a nod even as an ecstatic smile spread across her lips.
The amount of joy and happiness that quickly covered up the lonely depressed feeling that had been meaning from her was shocking. It also gave a bit of credibility to her theory.
I'll have to deal with whatever comes with that after this quest.
For now, I had some rewards to collect from a certain Greek God.
We began briskly walking in the direction of the Empire State Building.
-{?}-
A large hooded figure knelt on the ledge of a tall building as he lowered his scythe. Not even the large black robes that attempted to cover his tall frame couldn't contain the sheer bulk and physique this being possessed.
Two glowing molten eyes stared down at the masked Angel and the Dragon King. The hulking figure clicked its tongue.
Here he had just been about to strike the troublesome creature that had been interfering with his plans. The Love Goddess would have been much easier to escape from after his attack since he currently didn't have the power to fight a God.
But the Chaos Karma Dragon was a different story.
He leant on his scythe as he watched the figure go to turn in his son's little toy. Many of his plans seemed to be going awry lately.
The escape of some of his loyal subjects from Tartarus was foiled. The plan with Ares and the divine weapons was foiled. Even the backup he had received from the Khaos Brigade. Not that they had truly sent him anyone important.
The one thing that he had noticed was that a majority of his plans had been ruined by the Angel brat. Why was an Angel interfering? Who could know? But if the rumours around the Khaos Brigade were to be believed the King Of Heaven wasn't even alive anymore.
Perhaps Michael was trying to follow in his foolish father's steps for peace. That was if the rumours were true anyway. He on the one hand didn't exactly care about killing an Angel even if the feathered ass was still alive.
Oh sure, he wouldn't do it without reason and even if the Angel had just decided to be an annoyance he would have stayed his hand.
Purely not to risk the wrath of the Strongest God but even then it would only cause problems for his traitorous children. Who still thought him sealed away.
The strange yellow glow retreated from his long scythe.
He would have to retreat for now. The Khaos Brigade's resources were vast, making it easy to set up a new base and regroup for another attempt.
This time, he might call on some of the evil gods and other powerful beings who had thrown in their lot with the Brigade. While it sounded like any other cheap supernatural terrorist organisation at first. It was already an entity of its own.
A perfect place for all beings shunned by those who had come to rule. A gathering of Evil Gods and monsters alike. He had been surprised to see just how powerful they really were.
While he had plans of his own, staying in good relations with the organisation couldn't hurt. Especially with the plans some of its members had. A bright future indeed.
Kronos could still vividly recall the moment they approached him. A simple offer, yet it resulted in allowing him to inhabit a vessel. While it wasn't perfect it was good to finally have some limited freedom again.
The vessel wasn't perfect. His power was restricted massively and a large part of him was still sealed but that would change soon though.
He stood up.
This whole attack would had been funded by the Khaos Brigade and the only reason he didn't succeed was because of his pride. He hadn't expected the offers. The extra backing and foot soldiers. A mistake he wasn't going to make next.
He did wonder what the Khaos Brigade on the whole got out of this but then again it was pretty easy. Having the future Greek Pantheon as a part of the Khaos Brigade was bound to be worth the effort.
Kronos looked at the entrance to Olympus.
In a flash, he swung his scythe and a blade of thick yellow energy sliced out, only to pause.
"About ten minutes should do." He muttered.
The attack would go off in ten minutes.
Why was he doing this?
Honestly. It could be attributed to one thing.
He was petty like that.
-{Kai}-
"Hestia?" I asked in surprise.
We had just arrived at the Empire State Building after a short fly over here. Only to be met by Hestia who had been standing outside.
Hestia's softly burning eyes shifted to the Dragon King next to me, her eyes narrowing slightly before she looked back at me with a large smile on her face.
"Kai." She greeted me back softly. "It's good to see you again, I've heard you've been through quite the ordeal."
She had heard of the shit I had been forced to go through?
I raised an eyebrow at her, still processing the sight of Hestia standing here.
She wore a calm but knowing expression on her face.
"I didn't expect to see you here," I replied, a small smile forming. "Also, You know what I've been up to?"
Hestia's expression softened, her smile tinged with sympathy. "News travels quickly when it concerns someone I care about. That and when they go about shaking up a divine quest relating to a big factor in their Pantheon's potential future."
Her smile turned slightly teasing at the end. Before dimming down a bit. "I also wanted to make sure you were okay."
Tiamat had opted to stay silent. Which was probably due to the fact she knew I was annoyed at how she had hurt Aphrodite. Her expression for now was passively cold as she observed my interaction with Hestia.
My smile grew a bit bigger at the last part.
"I'm glad someone is watching out for me. This entire quest has been chaotic. I've had to deal with Assassins, Sacred Gear users and Gods. Not at all what I had signed up for." I told her with a weary sigh.
This quest has quickly spiralled out of control with multiple elements entering the picture. I was pretty certain that there was someone or perhaps a better term would be a power.
Hercules being in contact with the Hero Faction and acting as their support? Frankly, it wasn't my business but this smelled like something was behind this.
"Ah, I think I may be missing a few details," Hestia admitted with a conflicted expression, her eyes flickering to Tiamat once more. "Judging by the interesting company you've decided to bring with you, I can imagine."
"Yeah, it's complicated. I'm pretty sure there's something bigger going on behind all this, but that's a bit above my pay grade," I joked.
Hestia giggled lightly, a gentle smile spreading across her face. "I think you left your pay grade behind ages ago."
"As much as I'd love to chat, there's an angry god and a few other things hunting me down. Any chance you can show us up to Olympus? I still don't exactly know how the gate works." I asked and she nodded.
"That's why I'm here, after all, I had known you would arrive here. So I've been waiting for you." She replied kindly.
I scratched my mask.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long-"
Just as I finished my sentence both Hestia and Tiamat's heads snapped up. A flash of yellow I barely even caught appeared before a massive explosion erupted above us.
Debris rained down onto the pavement as a chunk of the massive building was removed.
What the hell?!
Two domes appeared above us in a split moment. One a soft orange and another a harsh sparkling blue. It was obvious to tell which barrier belonged to who.
I hadn't sensed the attack since I didn't have my chakra sense on.
My eyes caught sight of a weird line that went directly up into the clouds being cut above the Empire State Building and I instantly knew what this was.
An attempt to slow me down.
Someone evidently didn't want him to get his weapon back, this deepened my belief that there was something bigger at play.
Perhaps this annoyingly chaotic quest hadn't been as chaotic as I had initially assumed.
"I'll go out on a limb and assume that was meant for me," I remarked dryly. I looked over to Hestia. "Do you have any idea who could have done this?"
Hestia's face was morphed into a frown. "No, but something about it was Familiar. I-it probably doesn't help that I don't know how to sense mana."
I looked at her in surprise. "You don't know how to sense Mana?"
All the powerful beings I had met so far had all possessed some sort of way to sense magic.
Hestia looked embarrassed. "I'm the personification of homely fire and warmth not a fighter.?"
Was that a question or a statement?
Wait. That didn't matter right now.
"It was delayed and oddly weakened. I would expect such an attack to be more powerful. It also felt accelerated, the energy used also felt Familiar." Tiamat spoke up.
I nodded.
"I don't suppose you have a way of getting up to Olympus? I am pretty sure the entrance has just been temporarily closed." I asked Hestia.
The two magical domes were still surrounding us.
Hestia was looking around at the scene with soft eyes. Humans were running around screaming about a terrorist attack, which was a valid response in all fairness.
"I can, let's go. Staying here might cause another attack." She replied.
A teleportation circle appeared under us. The symbol of a chaste tree branch, kettle, and pig. A weird combination.
In a flash, we were whisked away to Olympus.
Finally, this Quest was coming to an end.
-END-
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