Chương 457: Scatter

After collecting Myuu and Videl, Alex's morning became fairly hectic as he then had to explain to numerous people about why they both suddenly had Saiyan tails.

Firstly were his children, who were all excited due to both Myuu and Videl matching them now, and then was Myuu's mother Remia, who thankfully accepted the transition since Myuu still had her Dagon traits like her. The rest of Alex's wives aside, he then had to inform Sona about the change due to the commotion they were more than likely to cause at the Academy; as Gohan triggered his own uproar when he attended due to no one in Asora ever seeing another Saiyan before, aside from Alex and his children.

Then, after Alex dropped the children off at the Academy and spoke to Sona, he returned to the manor and went into the space-time orb once again. Alex didn't intend to stay in there though, as he quickly entered the sub-space orb that Myuu and Videl had been in, and retrieved the now functionless Dragon Balls.

Though Ophis had wanted to make it to where the Dragon Balls had no cool down period, Alex convinced her otherwise so that they didn't have people collecting them to make a wish every few days. Now they required a period of four months to cool down after a wish was made, though that could be altered for some emergencies and such.

Dragon Balls in hand, Alex then made his way to a certain shrine that was enshrouded in towering stalks of bamboo, where he found Akeno sweeping the leaves that had fallen on the cobblestones, alongside their daughter. Both girls were dressed in the traditional white and red shrine maiden outfits, while their black hair was pulled back into matching long ponytails.

"Daddy!" Shuri cried out once she sensed his approached, running up to Alex and jumping into his arms excitedly.

"Well good morning again Shuri! And how is my little priestess today?" Alex asked as he lifted her up for a hug, to which Akeno answered,

"She's been helping me take care of Ophis' shrine. She'll make an excellent shrine maiden one day." As she said that Akeno leaned in to give Alex a kiss, but as she pulled her head back, Shuri angrily stated as she clung to Alex even tighter,

"Daddy mine!" Akeno's eyes widened briefly at that before she said with mock despair,

"Oh how terrible! I've been replaced by my own daughter...." As Akeno began to fake sob, Shuri didn't appear remorseful in the slightest. Instead, she huffed as if to say 'that's right!'

Shaking his head at the their mother-daughter antics, Alex then asked Akeno,

"Is Ophis around?" Akeno's fake look of despair vanished instantly as she replied,

"She should be sunning herself in her usual spot." Alex gave Akeno his thanks before he then began heading over to Ophis' direction, Shuri still in his arms.

Though there had been numerous other temples and shrines built in Asora in the recent months, Ophis' was still the most visited and respected out of all of them, with the sole exception of Alex's of course. Even now, this early in the day, Alex saw numerous people at the shrine to give Ophis her 'offerings' of sweets, snacks, and even small amounts of money for her to use as pocket change.

Rather than a God that was both feared and respected, Ophis was like a mascot for Asora that everybody adored.....it just so happened that said mascot was the most powerful being IN Asora, as well as their last line of defense if it was ever needed.

Even now, like the fear they once showed her never happened, Alex saw only smiling faces surrounding Ophis as people greeted her, and the dragon God casually greeted them back while gratefully accepting their offerings. She was currently laying on a special platform where she liked to spend her mornings bathing in the early sunlight, and where people could easily find her if they wanted to greet her.

As Alex approached them though, Ophis suddenly looked up at him before hopping off her platform and hurrying over to him and Shuri.

"Alex.... Did it work?" With the only thing she could be asking about being the Dragon Balls, Alex nodded as he pulled out the seven stone orbs and said,

"Yep, Myuu used them to turn both herself and Videl into Saiyans." Ophis listened intently as Alex told her about the girl's experience with the Dragon Balls, which he viewed with Regeneration magic when he went to retrieve the balls, her expression never changing despite the obvious happiness she felt.

"Phosphor is a good dragon...." Ophis finally said when Alex finished recounting the adventure, gesturing to the statue that had recently been added to the shrine.

The statue depicted the same exact dragon Myuu and Videl had summoned, Phosphor, and was the focal point between the Dragon Balls and Ophis herself, though only Alex and Elaine knew that. Through it Ophis would be able to manage the Dragon Balls as their owner, making any changes to them that might be necessary in the future.

"Are you ready to scatter the Dragon Balls once again?" Alex asked her, to which Ophis nodded eagerly as Alex picked up one of the seven stone orbs.

Shuri immediately seized one to examine curiously, while Alex grabbed another before asking her,

"Do you want to help daddy Shuri?" The little girl looked up at her father all excited as she nodded and said,

"Yes!"

Setting her down, Alex cocked back his arm with the stone in his hand, before throwing it as hard as he could into the distance.

*BOOM!*

The Dragon Ball went flying with enough force that it broke the sound barrier and alerted all of those within several miles of the shrine to the flying object in the sky. That was just the start though, as Alex then said to his daughter,

"Alright Shuri! Throw it that way!" Turning in the direction her father pointed in, Shuri then gathered energy until her long black hair broke free of it pony tail and stood straight up.

"Haaa!!" Shuri cried out cutely as she was surrounded by a powerful golden aura which, thanks to the Fallen Angel blood she inherited from her mother, was filled with potent holy energy along with the lightning that began to crackle around her.

"Oh my!" Akeno said as she sensed the rampant energies her daughter was giving off.

"Grrrrrrr..." Shuri groaned as she stepped forward while cocking the stone ball back as far as her little arm could, before stepping forward with enough force that she fractured the stone under their feet as she threw the ball forward.

*Boom!*

*KER-CRACK!*

The ball went flying so fast that it broke the sound barrier like Alex's had, but it also generated a massive lightning storm in its wake despite the clear skies, alerting the people of Asora even more.

"Yay!" Shuri cried out as she ran to Alex for praise, only for Akeno to intercept her as she scolded,

"Shuri! How dare you damage Ophis' shrine! Apologize to her!" Shrinking instantly under her mother's stern gaze, and seeing that her father wasn't going to save her, Shuri turned towards Ophis and said,

"Sowwy Ophis..." Ophis of course simply patted the little girl on the head and said,

"It's ok."

As Shuri apologized for ruining a part of Ophis' shrine, Alex picked up another couple of stones and offered one to her.

"Want to try again?" Shuri looked up at Alex's offer, and a big smile formed on her face as she happily accepted the stone ball to try throwing it again, while Alex took a stance right next to her.

***

"Well, until next time then." Freya said as she stood up, followed swiftly by a little girl that appeared to be the spitting image of her, except for her gold-furred monkey's tail.

"Bye-bye auntie Artemis!" The little girl said as she followed her mother, leaving the huntress waving after them as the duo disappeared in a flash of golden light.

The second they disappeared though Artemis let out a long and drawn out sigh, a melancholic look appearing on her face. She then stood from the dining set that she and her huntresses had set up in their main camp, and started walking back towards her tent.

"Greetings goddess." One of her huntresses said as they passed her, which Artemis returned with a nod of acknowledgement as she continued on to her destination.

They had set up their camp in a cavern equivalent in size to a football field, which possessed a large hole in the ceiling that allowed light in so that the entire inside was covered in vegetation. On top of that there was a small river that ran through the cavern, bringing Artemis and her huntresses, as well as the female Druids that were accompanying them, a constant supply of fresh water.

After they set up their camp Artemis then covered the cave with her divine authority, plunging it into perpetual night with a full moon overhead. Now it was their base, a place where her huntresses could relax and let down their guards with absolutely no men allowed whatsoever.....except one.

"Will I ever have that too....?" Artemis muttered to herself as she placed a hand on her stomach, recalling Freya's daughter Freydis as she did so.

Even now, after so long of being one of Alex's wives, she was unable to truly consummate her marriage to him. She had taken him up the butt more times than she could count, and had grown to like it a lot(something she worried was making her a pervert), but the longer she spent time around Alex and his wives, the more she desired something else.

'I want a child...' Artemis thought to herself as she entered her tent, the largest and most grand one of them all in the cavern. And within it the space was several times larger than the exterior suggested, giving Artemis more than enough room to display all of the trophies she had accumulated over the millennia, mostly antlers, skulls, and furs.

However Artemis was in no mood to admire them as she slumped down onto her bed and pondered her plight. In the thousands of years that she'd existed, Artemis had never even considered birthing a child due to her divinity over Chastity.

Instead, she had gathered together young maidens like herself who she considered akin to her daughters, and still did to this very day. But now that she was married to Alex, and had seen the other goddesses bearing him children, Artemis felt an unfamiliar longing growing within her.

"I wish there was a way I could bear him a daughter..." She muttered to herself, believing that there was no one to hear her. Almost as if something had heard her though, suddenly the entirety of the cavern began to shake as if they were under attack.

Instantly Artemis was on her feet, any of the previous melancholy she had been feeling was no longer on her face or in her mind as she exited the tent, and demanded,

"Report!" Immediately Artemis' second in command, Phoebe, appeared before her and stated,

"We aren't under attack, but our guard reported seeing something fall from the sky not far from here! Sending scouts to investigate now!" Artemis nodded as she too began to prepare to leave while saying,

"I'll lead them." The goddess then swiftly disappeared as she began looking to see what had caused such a commotion. If it were in the middle of the night then she'd know immediately, thanks to her status as a goddess of the moon(even though Yue was considered THE goddess of the moon in Asora). Since it was coming up on the middle of the day though, even Artemis could only search on foot alongside her followers and the Druids.

It didn't take them long to find the thing that had fallen from the sky though, as the huntress that had been on guard duty directed them straight to the area where it had landed, which was now a crater. Within said crater, all Artemis found was a perfectly smooth stone the size of a fist.

"What is it lady Artemis?" One of the huntresses asked as she went to pick it up, but even as she gingerly touched it nothing happened.

"It's.....a stone?" Artemis said curiously as she held it up for them to see, though none could think of what the stones true purpose could be. The only conclusion Artemis could reach was that it was some kind of item from the new world that Alex had journeyed to, but since she hadn't actually returned to the Misty Manor in months, Artemis couldn't tell if this truly was the case or not.

Deciding to think on it, the goddess pocketed the strange stone ball, not knowing there were six like it being scattered throughout Asora.

***

"Again." Beerus' cold voice stated, even as the Crimson haired woman before him struggled to remain on her feet.

"Lord Beerus, please recall that the normal training methods may not apply here." Said Whis, as he watched on with amusement.

It had been several days since Beerus brought Rias to his planet to train in the ways of the Destroyer, and needless to say that it was slow going. The biggest problem Beerus had with training Rias was that there was so little variety in the way strength worked in this universe.

It was the first time, outside of the Omni King, that either of them had encountered someone who possessed next to no actual 'strength', but a significant amount of energy. It also didn't help that neither had ever encountered Rias' Demonic energy before, so they were unsure about how to properly train her.

That didn't mean that Rias wasn't making any progress though.

If he'd been forced to admit it, Beerus would say that Rias had made a surprising amount of progress in the last few days for being as 'weak' as she was. Most of this however could be attributed to the fact that Rias was already attuned to the nature of Destruction, along with her unwillingness to give up.

Even now, as Beerus 'gently' tossed a giant boulder at her, Rias braced herself as she channeled the power of Destruction. Instead of the usual blast of dark reddish-black power that she used though, the older appeared to explode as every single piece of it vaporized.

"Ha...!" Rias exclaimed at as she Destroyed the Boulder, though wether she was celebrating using the power of Destruction or trying to catch her breath, neither of them knew. Beerus apparently decided to assume the former, and flicked a small pebble at her forehead.

"Ow!" Rias exclaimed while Beerus snarled,

"What are you celebrating Destroying a small boulder for?" Even as Rias glared at him reproachfully, Beerus sneered,

"True Destroyers possess the power to destroy planets with a whim, and even the entire universe if they so desired. A small Boulder is nothing." Even as Beerus said so, Whis immediately interjected,

"Though I'd hold off on trying to Destroy the entire universe unless you had a way to survive that yourself." As Whis chuckled lightly at himself, Rias couldn't help asking,

"If even each of the Destroyers can Destroy a universe, then how much more powerful is the Omni King than them?" As the pinnacle being of Destruction, Rias wanted to know how much of a difference existed between her and them. However both Beerus and Whis looked at her strangely, before the former stated irritably,

"That question is like asking what the difference between an ant and a human is. The difference is so great you can't even truly compare them." As Rias appeared confused at Beerus' answer, Whis quickly explained,

"While it is true that a Destroyer like lord Beerus is capable of Destroying the entire universe if he so desired, it would take nearly every ounce of his power to do so. The Omni King however could wipe out all twelve of our universes with a whim if he so wished, and wouldn't even break a sweat in the process." Rias took a moment to digest this information, before uttering,

"That's insane..." Beerus nodded in agreement as he said,

"It is, so take this warning seriously mortal woman, NEVER provoke the Omni King." Rias nodded this time slowly in contemplation, as she tried to imagine a being with such power.

But before she could think too much, Beerus decided to continue her training as he suddenly chucked another Boulder at her.

(A.N. I know it's short, but I spent the last couple days on a new series that I found, Monster Hunter International, and wanted to get the next chapter out.)