After I formed the blades formed on my arms, almost everyone's interest in me for the Khaos Brigade increased exponentially in a way I could've never even imagined.
Suddenly, Bikou started treating me as a friend, Vali more or less was a father figure, Arthur and Le Fay started to talk more and more with me, and Fenrir even seemed to have some sort of respect for me now.
Raynare suddenly had a huge switch in her attitude, going from mean and apathetic, to probably the second most attentive member of the group—Mittelt and Kalawarna not really caring much.
The biggest change though would have to be in Kuroka. The older sister of Koneko, who was the cause for all of Koneko's trauma, from her emotionless attitude, her rejection of her own nature, and her hatred for perverts (Although Issei definitely softened that one.)
She didn't pay much attention to me at first(if any), but after I retrieved the blades, I always sensed she was following me somewhere. From what I've heard from Issei, Kuroka was a very flirtatious girl, and was one of the girls to literally offer herself to him in terms of 'making love' (the fact that I can even say that is mind boggling).
Thanks to that, I stayed pretty distant from her after acquiring the blades, but each time I passed her in the hall, she would intentionally purr audibly and, I swear to Satan himself, she would sway her hips when she was around me on purpose as well.
I only noticed that after Bikou called her out at dinner, to which she responded with looking at me and batting her eyelashes.
What makes me so special exactly?
Anyway, the day past by and I was laying down in the bed I arrived in the building in with quite a bit of thoughts going through my head.
Priority first of all is what exactly this power still is. Le Fay did say something about some sort of armor...but how could a piece of equipment lead to such a big boost if it wasn't a sacred gear? Even if the armor DOES have something special about it, what exactly does it do?
The next thing was the blades. Since I literally had them seared onto my arms due to the chains that held them while I was attacking, it would probably take a tremendous amount of skill to wield them effectively. Big question is...just who could teach me how to use them? Odds are no one actually has even encountered a weapon even close to how these blades function.
3rd would be how Rias and everyone else are reacting...if they were even reacting at all. I know Kiba, Asia, and Gasper probably noticed my absence, but everyone else...? Probably not so much.
I sighed at the thought of everyone back home. The Hyoudou household didn't have any security cameras in it (although it definitely looked like something that should have them), so they probably didn't sense that I was gone at least until the next day.
I just hope that Gasper and Asia don't fully panic whenever they realize I'm gone...poor Gasper would probably pass out on the spot once he realizes I've been gone for an entire day. I guess I can add Kiba to that list due to him being my best friend in the peerage.
With those thoughts, it definitely took a while, but after about 4 hours of thinking, I finally relaxed and fell asleep.
I opened my eyes and found myself in front of some sort of wooden house in a snowy field.
"What is this?"
???: "The place of your birth boy"
I turned around to see a gruff looking well-built bald man with one heck of a beard and mustache. His clothes looked like a mix of battle armor, and normal clothing that you would see on someone who was living in the woods for quite a long time. He had a red tatoo on his left eye that I could see also wrapped around to his shoulder.
"Who are you?"
???: "Hmm...figures you don't know who I am. I am your father."
I looked at the person in confusion, since that didn't really nail anyone down...until I looked at his gauntlets on his arms, which had burn marks wrapped all around them, most likely from the blades themselves.
"You're Kratos aren't you?"
He nodded and huffed in amusement.
Kratos: "Yes. But let's get one thing out of the way, whatever you probably heard of me before, is nothing like the way I am now."
"Did you seriously single handedly take down the Greek Pantheon? Why did you do it?"
Kratos looked to the ground and shut his eyes. He didn't seem like the most talkative person, so I just let everything go after that, after all, he seemed to regret everything considering he's in the woods by himself.
"So...any important things you need to tell me? You're in my dream, and that's usually when supernatural train with their sacred gears."
Kratos looked at my wrists and nodded to himself.
Kratos: "Do you know why those very blades are on your wrists right now?"
I looked at the chains on my forearms and shrugged.
"I have a pretty powerful unconscious darkness within me according to some members of the Khaos brigade apparently."
Kratos shook his head.
Kratos: "No, in fact, those...things don't even grow with rage. The chaos flame originates from depths of Hades, and it isn't affected by emotions at all."
"Then how did the flame approach only me like it did in the dome before though!?"
Kratos shut his eyes and took a deep breath. When he exhaled, his eyes opened again and he looked at me.
Kratos: "Due to me being a god by birth, I was born as one...and so are you...that's why those blades are with you right now."
My eyes widened at his words. This has to be a joke right? How could I be a god if I had a sacred gear in the first place?! That and I literally got reincarnated into a devil, which meant that none of my original blood as a mortal was present anymore.
"Wait, I'm a god...? Of what?"
Kratos: "The reach of your godhood is unknown, but if I were to go off of anything, the strength I have is going to be inherited by you, just like it was inherited in a way by your brother Atreus."
"I have a brother?!"
Kratos nodded.
Kratos: "You may know him. The world calls him Loki."
My mouth dropped.
"Wait...what!? The God of Mischief is my brother!?"
Kratos huffed in annoyance before moving on.
Kratos: "Anywho, let us begin your training so that you can wield them."
Kratos got into a combat stance and I grabbed the blades off of my back.
For the rest of the dream, I was taught the basics of the combat with the blades, and how to swing them around on the chains without killing myself. I was basically able to wield them at a slightly decent level compared to what Kratos was able to do back then.(IE, all of the blades of chaos' basic moveset in GOW4). Kratos was one hell of a strict teacher, but I still was able to manage, besides, I'm pretty sure he's the only person who has the capabilities of teaching me something so fast.
Kratos: "You are improving Ethan...but you still have much to learn."
"Hearing that from you is pretty good! Thank you!"
Kratos made a "hmph" sound in response
Kratos: "Yes...one last thing."
I turned around to look at my father.
Kratos: "When you wake up, open your right hand and focus. You may be surprised by what happens then."
I nodded in understanding before the dreamscape started to become brighter and brighter until I woke up in the makeshift bed in the Khaos Brigade's base of operations. I sighed as I slowly sat up in the bed, walked up to the nearby window, held my right hand out, and opened it while focusing on my hand.
About 10 seconds passed and nothing happened at all, and I started to lose faith. Eh, why not keep on doing it for about...1 more minute.
And so then, the 55 second marker hit...and I started to lose faith...until I saw a bright blue light moving fast...STRAIGHT TOWARDS MY WINDOW! The light then went straight to my hand and I felt my hand land on a handle of...something. Once the blue light subsided, I looked at the object in my hands which was...
A really large axe meant to be held with two hands, but because I spent so long training with Kratos for usage of the blades, I felt much more comfortable holding it in only one hand. However, instead of the blazing heat the blades always produced, this axe seemed to cool down the area around it—which made my room be about room(no pun intended) temperature.
Unfortunately, it was not quiet at all and Bikou busted into my room to check if everything was alright.
Bikou: "Ethan I heard some...thing."
Bikou's eyes locked on the axe in my hand and they widened immediately.
Bikou: "Where did you get that?"
I decided to hide the fact that I was a god—which would've probably led to the Khaos Brigade keeping me around to fight for them.
"I dunno,I just had an instinct that told me to hold out my hand and this was the response."
Bikou scoffed at me.
Bikou: "Do you not realize the power of the weapon you're holding right now?!"
"Um...no?"
Vali: "Bikou! What's going on down there?"
I heard Vali's voice down the hall.
Bikou: "You may want to check out what Ethan has right now!"
Vali walked down the hallway and entered the room. And just like Vali, his eyes immediately locked onto and narrowed on the axe.
Vali: "Where did you get that?"
I looked at him and shrugged.
"Held my hand out and it just came to my hand."
Vali's eyes squinted, as if he was trying to see if I was telling the truth or not—more accurately, the entire story.
Vali: "Hm...you definitely have the potential to be a powerful oppo—"
Fenrir suddenly busted into the room, which wasn't even big enough to hold him in the first place, soon followed by everyone else in the Brigade.
Arthur: "Fenrir what's going on?!"
Fenrir's expression suddenly softened when his gaze landed on the axe and he suddenly sat down in front of me and had a happy expression form on his face as his tail started to wag.
Kuroka: "Le Fay...what's happening?"
The young wizard shrugged.
Le Fay: "I have no idea, would you believe that? He's never this friendly with anyone."
Fenrir suddenly growled, which silenced everyone as his gaze was locked onto me. I knew that even with my training, I would have no chance against him, so as he stared at me, I pinned myself to the wall, the axe still in my hand. But something else happened entirely.
Fenrir: "It's good to see that you've finally discovered what you are Uncle Eíthürr"
Everyone's mouths dropped at what just happened—including mine! Fenrir, often stated to be the most ravenous of Loki's children just spoke! And he called me his uncle!!!
"I-I-I—"
Bikou: "WAIT A MOMENT!? UNCLE!?"
Fenrir rolled his eyes before he turned to Bikou, growled, and kept his gaze on him. Understandably, he was pretty scared.
Fenrir: "Yes, he's my uncle, got a problem with that monkey-brain?"
Le Fay: "Fenrir...you can talk?!"
Fenrir's expression softened once his gaze turned to her.
Fenrir: "Yes little one, but my grandmother made me take an oath to only speak whenever I'm around one of my family members."
Vali: "So...Ethan here is the brother of Loki?"
Fenrir: "I had a feeling the first time I saw him, but I wasn't sure...but my grandmother's axe will only allow itself to be used by someone she trusts. It seems her second-born got the axe."
Arthur: "So...Ethan here is a God?"
Fenrir nodded.
Fenrir: "My uncle Eíthürr is a god inherited from his father, but also part jötnar from his mother."
Le Fay: "Woah...we really hit the jackpot on you Ethan."
I nodded quietly, still trying to process everything. So looks like Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Hel are my nephews and niece...and I got two grandnephews in the form of Sköll and Hati. It also seems like I have a Norse name as well. Just like Atreus is called Loki, I must have been named Eíthürr by my parents—who might've changed it to Ethan so that my name would make a bit more sense to English speakers.
Suddenly, the axe started to glow white and a holster was formed on my back from a small group of ice formed from the axe, which I then proceeded to put the axe in.
Arthur then cleared his throat
Arthur: "Well then, with that small bombshell dropped on us, how about we go and eat breakfast."
"Yeah...breakfast sounds good right about now."
Everyone nodded and headed down to the dining room—except Fenrir and Kuroka who was staring at me like I was the most beautiful thing in the world for some reason—she had to get dragged away by Bikou and Vali.
Once everyone else left, I turned to my nephew.
"You wouldn't happen to know what this 'armor' that's supposed to grant me some sort of power is?"
Fenrir nodded as he gently picked me up in his mouth and threw me onto his back as he began to walk back to the dining room
Fenrir: "The armor they're talking about is the last combined effort of me and my siblings to help our father before he was sealed and his control of us officially was disabled for good."
"What made this armor so powerful? Didn't Loki almost kill Asia without it on?"
Fenrir stopped and looked at me.
Fenrir: "Who's Asia?"
I facepalmed as I probably realized Fenrir probably didn't remember anyone specifically in Rias' peerage.
"One of the members of the group you see Issei with all the time."
Fenrir nodded.
"Anyway, continue with the armor talk?"
Fenrir: "Well, to put it bluntly, it was made by Ivaldi and his sons, but modified by materials from all three of us, the first layer of the armor is made directly from a mixture of my fur and other metals and the plating of the armor on top of the first layer is made from fragments of Jörmungandr's scales and also other dwarven-made metals."
I nodded in acknowledgment and was about to continue the conversation until we both arrived in the dining hall, everyone staring at me on top of Fenrir's back.
Bikou: "Took you two long enough! Cmon! Let's eat!"
Me and Fenrir looked at each other and shrugged before he shook his shoulder, flinging me straight into my chair, which was next to Vali and Raynare's seats. Then we proceeded to eat.
At Kuoh Academy
To say that Rias' peerage was distraught yesterday was an understatement. After the morning of the day of Ethan's disappearance, everyone expected a normal day to pass by. That normal day soon turned to panic and worry as Rias' second pawn was gone seemingly without a trace. Every single nook and cranny of the town was searched. Issei, being the compassionate soul that he was, led the search anywhere they went. At one point, they even asked Sona and her peerage to see if he was anywhere even near the school or if he passed by anywhere nearby—all leading to no success in finding Ethan.
Currently this morning, everyone was sitting at the breakfast table in silence, most likely pondering where on Earth their member was.
Issei: "So...did we check everywhere in this town...?"
Rias sighed in sadness.
Rias: "Yes Issei...we've been everywhere, he just isn't showing up anywhere."
Koneko nodded.
Koneko: "My familiar would have been able to smell Ethan's scent a long time ago if he was."
Everyone looked down in thought before Issei stood up.
Issei: "Well, we do have one thing that we know for certain, Ethan is alive! And as long as he's out there, the risk of us no longer being able to see him with his personality is going up by the moment. I am personally not going to stop until he's either back with us or he's..."
Issei paused with a frown on his face.
Kiba: "Dead..."
Gasper: "But...we have to do something before that happens!"
Asia: "Yeah! Ethan would never give up on us if he lost all of us! We shouldn't give up on him?"
Xenovia: "How do we continue Asia? We've literally searched the entire city."
Everyone looked down in thought, just trying to figure out where their missing pawn was. Suddenly, Rossweisse received a text message and tilted her head, which the rest of the peerage caught onto.
Issei: "Rossweisse? What's got your confusion gears turning?"
A plate splatted on Issei's face and slowly fell off and onto the ground.
Issei: "Really Koneko?"
The Nekoshou giggled with a small smile on her face.
Rossweisse: "It's...a message from one of my sisters: Sigrún..."
Kiba: "A Valkyrie, messaging you?"
Rossweisse nodded.
Rossweisse: "She's saying...Odin wants to see us..."
Rossweisse's voice took a dark turn when the all-father's name was mentioned, alongside everyone else.
Akeno: "Any reason in particular for him wanting to see us? Loki's seal isn't getting weaker isn't it?"
Rossweisse shook her head.
Rossweisse: "I know for a fact that my magic isn't getting weaker...it's something else."
Xenovia: "Anymore details given to us?"
Rossweisse shook her head as Rias put her hands on her temples, clearly trying to process everything.
Rias: "Well...it wouldn't be smart to have Odin himself wait on us...but Ethan..."
Issei: "Well if Rossweisse is getting requested to head to Asgard, then I have to go with her. I'm not going to let Odin do anything with her."
Rossweisse smiled at her boyfriend while Koneko stood up and pointed to her partner.
Koneko: "I'm going with them."
Akeno and Rias looked at each other and nodded.
Rias: "Looks like we're both going to be heading with you then as well. Kiba? Asia? Gasper? Xenovia?"
Xenovia: "I shall accompany my allies in Asgard to help with Rossweisse's situation!"
Asia nodded in agreement.
Rias nodded.
Kiba: "If Ethan is alive without us for a day, she should be ok for a couple more days...right Gasper?"
Gasper shook his head.
Gasper: "You guys are just...leaving him...?"
Everyone flinched at Gasper's confused and heartbroken tone in his voice.
Rias: "No! Gasper, I would never to that to him...!"
Gasper looked at his master with a heartbroken incredulous face.
Gasper: "But he might die!...I don't want to lose my big brother!"
Gasper started to tear up, which got everyone frowning.
Gasper: "I'm staying behind...I just...Ethan's helped me with so much things...I...I can't let him down!"
Rias slowly walked up to her rook and looked at him with a bittersweet smile before bending down to his level.
Rias: "I won't make you go with us...but...Gasper?"
She stopped her talk when Gasper began to cry and embraced him in a hug. What everyone didn't expect were the words he spoke to her after that.
Gasper: "He...*sniff*...left because of...you..."
Rias opened her eyes in shock and looked at her bishop in confusion.
Rias: "I caused him to leave...?"
Issei walked up behind her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, followed by everyone else who look intrigued at the dhampir's words.
Kiba: "Gasper...what do you mean...he left because of Rias?"
Gasper took a deep breath and exhaled nervously.
Gasper: "He...he loved her..."
Rias looked at him surprised.
Rias: "He did?"
Gasper nodded and pointed at Akeno and Koneko.
Gasper: "A-Alongside you two."
Koneko showed no emotion, but Akeno looked intrigued.
Xenovia: "So...he's left us because he was jealous?"
Gasper quickly shook his head.
Gasper: "No! No! It wasn't like that...he already knew that you loved Issei more since last semester..."
Rias: "Then why did he run Gasper?"
Gasper started to tear up even more.
Flashback 2 weeks ago
Gasper POV
We were at an underworld get-together party to commemorate our victory over Loki. I was rushing through the entire building looking for Ethan. I wanted to tell him all the cool things we did in Asgard! Rias left him with Sona's peerage while we were gone, so I was going up to Sona to find out where he was.
Gasper: "S-Sona?"
Sona perked up and looked around before finding me behind her. Once she caught sight of me, she smiled.
Sona: "Ah! Gasper, it's nice to see you out of your room."
I laughed awkwardly.
"Good to see you too Sona! But do you know where Ethan is?"
Sona's expression dropped for a single second before she hid it again
Sona: "I last saw him on the balcony over there."
She pointed over to a balcony which currently looked empty.
"Thanks Sona!"
She nodded as I walked to the balcony, the open night sky above me as I looked around until I saw him. He was leaning over the balcony fence and just staring off into space. But now...looking back...he definitely had a couple tears on his face.
"Ethan...?"
His head immediately snapped up as he wiped his face and turned to look at me.
Ethan: "Hey Gasper! Long time no see huh?"
He got on one knee as I ran to him and hugged him.
"It's so good to see you again!"
He didn't say anything in response, but he put his hand on my back and deepened our embrace. We stood like that for about a minute before we finally separated.
Ethan: "So...how's everyone else feeling?"
Gasper: "Really good, now everyone is just glued to Issei after what he did"
I giggled as I thought that would lighten the conversation, but Ethan's expression dropped.
Ethan: "Yeah...that's good to hear."
I immediately caught onto his tone of voice and looked at him concerned.
"Why are you so down? Cmon now, it's time to celebrate!"
Ethan frowned.
Ethan: "Gasper...can I ask you something?"
He definitely seemed nervous, so I immediately knew to take everything with the upmost seriousness.
"Yeah...what is it?"
Ethan took a deep breath before exhaling nervously.
Ethan: "Do you guys even appreciate me being in the same peerage as you?"
That was a question that took me completely off guard.
"Yes! Of course you do! You think we actually think less of you?"
Ethan turned his face away from me and I frowned.
"Why do you think...we think of you like that..."
Ethan: "I...I'm just never useful for anyone in the peerage! Everyone else is just better than me in almost every way!...and even more, when you guys do go on important trips...I'm almost never allowed to go with you guys!"
"We're doing that to protect you though!"
Ethan: "Because you think of me as nothing more than a liability! Not someone who can help you guys out in anyway that I can, will put their life on the line to turn the tide of battle, no not that, but someone useless who will literally die without any of you next to me!"
I looked at his face and he had tears streaming down his cheek. It was the first time I've ever seen Ethan with such a strong expression of sadness on his face. Then he did something I would've never expected him to do: he dropped onto his knees, slumped against the fence of the balcony, and just began to cry.
"Ethan...I...I didn't know you felt like this..."
Ethan: "Of course you wouldn't...no one in my own family even pays me any mind."
He sniffed and broke down even more. I...I just was in shock at his words.
"When did you start feeling like this...?"
Ethan sniffed.
Ethan: "Ever since Kokabiel's attack...suddenly after that, Issei just became an upgraded version of me for everyone, better in battle,better emotional support...a better friend..."
I sighed.
"I'm sorry you feel that way..."
Ethan looked away from me and wiped his face.
"But we do care about you...way more than you think."
Ethan kept staring away from me.
"When we were in Asgard...someone was always asking Rias to call Sona to check in on you..."
Ethan huffed.
Ethan: "Really..."
His tone indicated he didn't believe me at all, which broke my heart.
"Yes! Literally almost every 3 hours, sometimes it was Kiba, sometimes Asia, sometimes even Xenovia and Koneko, I was asking every 2 minutes, even Issei would make her check in on you every now and then."
Ethan: "Why would I believe that...Sona never notified me of any message she received from Rias...or any of you."
I frowned and tears started to well up in my eyes. He genuinely thought he meant that little to us.
"Just believe me Ethan! We would never think of you as useless. You were the first person ever to join Rias' peerage! You don't think you're important to anyone here?!"
He stayed silent.
Ethan: "When it comes to service, I'm minuscule compared to anyone else...only thing I can do that no one else can is clean property better than anyone else."
I hugged him even tighter
Gasper: "But you're more than that, you're you! You're the one who got me over my shyness! You're the one who helped Kiba start to cope with his past, you really think we don't recognize that?"
Ethan sighed sadly.
Ethan: "Issei did all of that, but with 3 times the effect I had on you."
"Why are you so negative now! Where's the Ethan that was happy go lucky and willing to help all of his friends?!"
Ethan looked inside towards the party, and stared at one thing. Once I looked where his eyes were looking at, everything clicked into place.
Issei was on the dance floor, with everyone else from the peerage dancing around him. Everyone was smiling like it was the happiest day of their lives, heck, all of the girls were giving him thirsty looks.
Ethan: "I used to be that person Gasper...but now that Issei has entered the fray...I feel...meaningless...the guy's a better version of me in every way. Better sense of empathy, more helpful to others, more powerful than I could ever hope to be...and just to add salt on the wound...the women I love are all making hearts in their eyes for him. His gear is literally just a better version of mine...I mean what else could be a signal that you're not needed?"
It was then I realized something. First off, I noticed him staring at Rias, Akeno, and Koneko every now and again, but I never noticed it was due to romantic feelings until now...that and I saw through the gloomy lenses Ethan saw the world through.
Of course he would feel useless...everyone else in the peerage has some special power or gimmick that makes them an important part of the Gremory peerage...Ethan only had a twice critical compared to a devil with holy lightning, power of destruction, a powerful demonic/angelic sword hybrid, a holy sword so powerful it needs to be held back by excalibur fragments, one of the most potent healing gears in the world, a Valkyrie whose magic is so strong it can seal a god, and me, who's gear is so immensely powerful, it took me almost all my life to control it—having the red dragon emperor be in the peerage, who's gear is a twice critical on steroids is overkill.
I looked at him, and he still had tears in his eyes. There was no convincing him he was not dead-weight. I let loose a couple tears at the realization.
"Even if they don't care about you...I do! You're my big brother! I don't want you to always be sad whenever Rias and the others are around!"
Ethan looked at me with an empty, scared, and untrusting look on his face.
Ethan: "For real...?"
"Of course I'm being for real! Ethan, please, even if you're not happy, just talk to me if you need to."
Ethan wiped his tears again before looking at me with a small smile.
Ethan: "I'll try to do that..."
I smiled at him softly as I pulled him off of his bottom and pulled him into the main dance room.
"Now come on! Parties are a time you're supposed to be happy! Let's dance!"
Ethan chuckled at me as I started to simply dance the night away with him.
Back to present day.
No one POV
Gasper: "After that...I tried to help him in the way that he's helped me before...but...he never budged."
Gasper broke down crying on Kiba's shoulder and everyone looked shocked at the story Gasper told them. Issei summoned his gauntlet on his hand and stared at it with a heartbroken expression.
Issei: "...I made him run way...?"
Rias was on her knees with tears welling in her eyes which were looking straight at the ground..
Rias: "I...I just wanted to protect him...I didn't want to risk his life if we were facing an enemy he wasn't ready for!"
???: "But could he have ever been ready with the gear he had and the way you treated him?"
Everyone looked up to see Sona and Irina walk into the room...
Akeno: "Sona...?"
Sona sighed.
Sona: "I understand the need to protect your pawn Rias...but while you did protect him...you also made him feel like he didn't matter to anyone here. Every single time we had him do something while you guys were gone he was unenthusiastic, empty, one might even say depressed. And those feelings most likely came from him thinking the work we gave him was the only thing he was good for...he's lost the entire point of being a pawn for the Gremory household, being part of the family. Issei being around definitely didn't help things."
Everyone looked down in sadness, especially Rias, Akeno, Issei, Kiba, and Asia.
Irina: "So...where do we look now?"
Sona closed her eyes and opened them with a more serious expression.
Sona: "We can't look anymore...because Saji returned to us with pretty good evidence he's been kidnapped."
Everyone immediately went on high alert for that
Xenovia: "And why is that!?"
Irina sighed before throwing a bag to Koneko. The neko caught it and opened it to reveal the sliced off left hand of Ethan Turner. Everyone gasped and looked at it.
Xenovia: "It has traces of holy magic around the cut area...think it might be a group of fallen angels?"
Suddenly Issei's gauntlet started to glow and Ddraig's voice ran out.
Ddraig: "No...not that...something else."
Issei: "Then what is it Ddraig?"
Ddraig: "This is only a lead, but I can sense the white one's scent anywhere. And that hand is reeking of it."
Akeno: "Vali...which means he's more than likely..."
Rias slowly nodded as Issei's face shifted from sadness to anger.
Rias: "Kidnapped by the Khaos Brigade..."
Ethan POV
I was on a hill nearby the castle that Vali's team made their headquarters staring up at the moon in the night sky thinking about everyone back in Kuoh...I hope they're doing alright. Poor Gasper probably thinks I hate everyone in the peerage now, I just hope I can see him again and just...let him know that I'm with him and I'm not upset at anyone.
Suddenly I heard the ground slightly shake with a thud as trees in the forest behind me started to fall down. Of course, this turned out to be none other than Fenrir, my nephew...still feels weird to call him that.
"Hey Fenrir."
Fenrir looked at me and his tail started to wag.
Fenrir: "Hello to you too uncle"
I motioned for him to sit down next to me, and he did. Of course, the dude was 30 times larger than me so it looked kind of funny to anyone who might've been watching.
Fenrir: "If you don't mind me asking Uncle Eíthürr...why are you up here?"
"I just...needed some time to think over things."
Fenrir tuned to look down at me, as his ears flattened against his head in a sad way.
Fenrir: "Like what?"
"Eh...the peerage that I was a part of for most of my life...I got taken away from them without any consent...I love them all...I just wish they loved me back."
Fenrir: "Like a family?"
"Sort of...if you can think of it like that."
Fenrir chuckled.
Fenrir: "Well if you need advice on how to fix a broken family, I'm right here."
I chuckled at him.
"How is your relationship with your family?"
Fenrir looked up in the sky.
Fenrir: "Me, Hel, and Father used to be extremely close. Jörm was always the odd one out. But we all loved each other...but then Father changed...Jörm was the only one to see it and left...but me and Hel...we sort of got mind controlled and had a big fight with Jörm."
I chuckled at the giant wolf
"Not the best relationship in the world then with your brother or father?"
Fenrir shook his head.
Fenrir: "I do hope to fix my relationship with Jörm one day...it's just been a while."
While speaking with him and noticed something off about his tone slightly. Fenrir was staring at the moon longingly, I knew that stare, because I had it all the time while staring at Rias, Akeno, and Koneko with Issei. I frowned at the realization of what—or rather, who—that look was for.
"Are you missing them? Sköll and Hati?"
Fenrir: "More then you could ever know... I just hope they're both ok...they're the reason I'm so angry towards the Aesir."
I nodded, having your kids be banished to forever chase the sun and moon and leave behind your family would probably lead to a good amount of hatred towards the culprit.
"You know, I always wondered what siring a child was like, having your own flesh and blood that you just have this overwhelming instinct to love and protect with everything you have."
Fenrir chuckled.
Fenrir: "I don't have all the answers...but I think you'll love being a parent. I still have fond memories when Sköll and Hati were pups only half the size of you."
I smiled at him.
"Thanks but...the people I wanted to potentially start a family with are head over heels for another boy."
Fenrir: "The red dragon emperor. Right?"
I nodded.
Fenrir: "Times may change buddy. I hear Kuroka is following you everywhere you go."
"She only wants me to bang her so that her children could be part god and part Nekoshou...that's not what I'm looking for."
Fenrir's ears flipped backwards and he looked at me with a smirk.
Fenrir: "Seems so, even then, you're already shifting her view of the world."
"Pfft, how?"
Fenrir: "You have the blood of a god...but your fighting capabilities are subpar at best at the moment...she's having to come to the decision to either bang such an unappealing individual just to get the god blood in her offspring, or actually start looking at personality for a factor and just accept that your personality isn't like Vali or the red dragon emperor's personality and choose to not engage in intercourse with you."
"Let me guess, she's leaning towards the former?"
Fenrir chuckled.
Fenrir: "Actually the latter...eh with maybe some changes..."
"Really? How?"
Fenrir: "I know her enough to know she likes more extroverted, perverted, and 'tough guy' males. You are quite literally the opposite of that."
"Damn dude ok then. So I guess she sees me as a pest?"
Fenrir shook his head.
Fenrir: "Those changes I mentioned earlier are the fact that she's still following you...my prediction is that she's starting to see the charm your personality has."
I groaned in exasperation.
"You're just trying to get me excited! Stop it! I know she's hot as hell, but she doesn't like me at all!"
Fenrir chuckled as he stared up at the moon, admiring it with me.
"So...you mind if I ask you about the armor?"
Fenrir sighed.
Fenrir: "Fire away"
"What makes this armor so special?"
Fenrir: "On the inside of the armor pointed towards the body of the wearer are hundreds of rows of Jörmungandr and my teeth. Whenever a limb gets broken, the armor will launch the rows of Jörm's teeth into your body to force that limb back together, allowing you to fight at peak performance, even after a supposedly mortal wound."
"Doesn't Jörm have a special poison that's powerful enough to kill gods? And aren't your teeth supposed to kill anything they penetrate immediately?"
Fenrir: "Normally yes, that's how both Thor and Odin are foretold to die in Ragnarök, but that is where Hel comes in. She placed a curse on the armor to reverse the effects of the poison so that instead of it eating away at the user's flesh, it actually heals and regenerates any destroyed tissues, creating an extremely strong healing factor. Likewise for my teeth, the curse makes it so that whenever my teeth are injected, they slowly dissolve and become a substance that immediately restores the strength of any destroyed tissue and then makes it so that it's way stronger than it was before."
"Damn! That's a huge boost in power!"
Fenrir: "The curse also makes it so that only someone with Loki's blood could wear it. If the wearer isn't my father—or isn't a sibling of his, then the armor will drive the wearer into an uncontrollable rage which will not stop until you die. The teeth of the armor also regain their original effects, which usually results in the wearer dying instantly, especially if they're mortal or on the weaker end of strength for supernaturals."
"OH! That's why Vali and Le Fay were mentioning something about multiple trips to test the armor, everyone else just died instantly once they put it on!"
Fenrir nodded.
Fenrir: "It was originally meant to be exclusively be worn by Father after Hel put the curse on it...but now...it seems like you will be able to wear and use it effectively."
"So the armor is not powered by inner darkness and hatred...but actually just if you're related to Loki?"
Fenrir nodded.
I sighed in relief, the last thing I wanted was to be powered up by some sort of hatred I didn't know I had towards Rias and everyone else.
"So...even with my original godhood, I just get boosted even more?"
Fenrir shook his head
Fenrir: "It would if the power you have now is actually on par with a god, but right now you're only as strong as the red dragon emperor's balance breaker—and that's only because of grandfather's blades and grandmother's axe."
"What do you mean "ONLY AS STRONG AS ISSEI'S BALANCE BREAKER!?" That thing is strong enough to kill gods!"
Fenrir: "And yet, it's weak as hell for any actual god...it seems your transformation into a devil has weakened you quite a bit."
I shrugged.
"That devil blood made me meet my peerage and Rias, so I can't really complain. You don't suppose your sister could somehow place a curse on me to restore my original godly strength right?"
Fenrir looked at me and smiled.
Fenrir: "A question we will ask when we see her again. For now, let us head home, Vali's calling us back."
I nodded and curiously looked at the giant wolf's back.
"You think I can—WOAH!"
Before I could even complete my question. My nephew grabbed me in his mouth and threw me on his back.
Fenrir: "Does that answer your question?"
"Yup...certainly does."
Fenrir laughed as he began to run back to the Khaos Brigade's base, with my adventure to godhood, seemingly beginning now. Personally though, I couldn't think of it all that much, as I was too busy laughing with my nephew as he galloped over the single most absurd things just to make my ride as crazy as it could be.
Maybe the kidnapping was not as much of a bad thing as I previously thought...maybe.