Words of what happened earlier that morning quickly spread throughout Orario. August wasn't really subtle when he sent his messages, especially when multiple people saw a spear crackling with red lightning flying through the skies heading for Apollo's mansion.
Not only that, within Orario, there's only a handful of adventurers who had a penchant for using lightning, and everyone of them are mages, except one. And everyone in Orario knew who that person is.
Not long after, rumors and speculation quickly developed, as no matter what world, gossips and exaggerated news would always be present.
Some say that August attacked Apollo familia because of what happened yesterday night, where the little rookie was beaten close to death by Hyakinthos.
While others say that it was because of a woman. They say that they saw August 3 nights ago marching towards Apollo's and leaving with a small werewolf girl in tow.
There were some who even say that August was just testing his strength outside their manor and that his hand slipped letting go of the spear that flew all the way to Apollo familia. Clearly, those who think this way are labeled as idiots by the others.
But no matter the rumors, everyone knew that this would lead to a larger conflict, one that would inevitably lead to a war games between the two familia.
Due to the suddenness of August's "Attack" at Apollo, the gods quickly call upon a meeting, an emergency Denatus to discuss and to question Heracles on why his protégé did what he did.
The gods of Orario, of course, have rumors of their own, and one that was agreed upon by most gods, especially those who are scared of Heracles, is that the god of strength and heroes, or the butcher of their kind was the one who gave the orders to August.
Freya, who was reading such a letter from Hanuman, couldn't help but chuckle at how idiotic those rumors were. "Fools... All of them." She tore the letter that also wants her to join forces to try and take Heracles down, and threw it on the floor. She then took the glass of wine from her side and took a graceful sip of it.
"Makes me wonder if those idiots ever used their brains... Or if they ever have one to begin with." Freya smiled as she seemingly talked to herself, enjoying the view on top of Babel. "And Apollo... Touching someone who clearly belongs to me. The biggest idiot of them all, too bad though, Gaé bulg beat me to the punch. Either way, his days are numbered... Don't you think so... Ottar?"
"Yes, Goddess." Ottar seemingly appeared out of nowhere, he walked forward, the light shining on his huge body, revealing him. "Though something isn't right here... Apollo should have known that he's grossly underpowered, especially with Kaiser in the picture."
Freya chuckled, her seductive voice echoing inside the large room. "Knowing Apollo, He'll have something up his sleeves. An idiot he may be, he is still smart enough to know when to back down. Especially if he finds that he is in an unfavorable position."
Freya stood up from her throne, walking towards the open wall that has a clear view of Orario down below. "He wouldn't have engaged with Heracles if he doesn't. I would be more surprised if he did."
Ottar followed closely behind his goddess, staring at the horizon, his mind thinking of what possibly could Apollo have to make him this brave. "Perhaps an alliance with the other gods?"
"Perhaps... Though I doubt it." she turned around and walked towards the door, her steps oozing with her seductive charm. "Either way, all will be known after this Denatus. All I know is things are becoming interesting." she exited her throne room with an amused smile on her face.
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Heracles made his way towards Babel, along with him was Hestia, a summon was sent to the manor, specifically at Heracles, detailing how Hades, and Ouranus himself are calling an emergency Denatus.
Though Ouranus couldn't leave the room of prayers, Fels, his child and trusted advisor would be attending the meeting on his behalf.
This was rather unprecedented since a mortal would be present in the meeting, yet due to the sudden events, his presence would be taken as Ouranus' presence itself.
Hestia, was walking beside Heracles, the usually bubbly and talkative goddess was quiet. And the god of strength could see a foreign emotion in the goddess' eyes. Something he hasn't seen in his friend, anger.
And her anger was understandable, her sole child Bell was after all beaten half to death, left with a broken arm, and a stab wound deep enough to be lethal without the aid of potions. Even now, Bell was still unconscious.
"Hestia-" Heracles opened his mouth to talk, but the petite Goddess cut him off.
"I'm fine. Let's just get this over with." She spoke coldly, her tone oozing with silent fury.
Heracles gave Hestia a look, he could see her clenching her fist as her steps were hurried and tense. 'I just hope she won't make a scene later.' he held back a sigh as he continued to move forward.
"Oi Heracles!" a playful voice called out, Heracles turned and saw Buddha walking towards them nonchalantly. "Oh Hestia I didn't see-" Buddha paused as he sensed the anger oozing out of Hestia. A frown quickly formed on his face.
Hestia ignored him, and walked past the stunned god, Buddha had never seen Hestia carrying that expression ever since he knew her. He quickly looked at Heracles, his eyes questioning what happened.
"Apollo." Heracles answered as he patted Buddha on the shoulder, urging him to just keep on walking.
"So I take that's the reason why your resident Theïkó óplo user sent that good morning spear earlier today?" Buddha followed beside Heracles. "The weasel finally crossed the line huh?"
"Hmmm." Heracles nodded. "He didn't just cross it, he leaped over it."
"That bad huh?" he then looked at Heracles seriously. "Be careful, you and I are walking through a very fine line... The two of us have a huge target on our back due to who our children are. I just hope you won't do something stupid, knowing your temperament I reckon you already are planning something inside that head of yours."
"You don't have to remind me." Heracles sighed. "This is why I hate politics."
"You and me both brother."
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As the two of them climbed up the stairs of Babel, Buddha saw a familiar figure also climbing at their front. "THOR!!!" He called, raising his hand up for the god of thunder to see.
Thor looked back and frowned as he saw Buddha and Heracles. He clicked his tongue and turned back around, resuming his climb, ignoring the two.
Buddha wanted to chase after him, but Heracles held him by his shoulder, he then shook his head. "Let it go." he said with a downcast tone.
Buddha clicked his tongue. For the past 3 and a half months, he had been using his time to try and connect with Thor again and again, trying hard to reconcile their bond. But the god of thunder always downright ignored Buddha, looking at him with hate and disgust.
Buddha knew the reason behind Thor's hatred. Hell, he knew it would happen the moment he decided to put Arthur into his familia, but Buddha reckoned that he could fix their relationship if he could just talk with Thor. Sufficed to say, he couldn't even get a chance to do so, as Thor's hatred for Excalibur blinded him with rage. And Arthur being the wielder of the weapon, a target for him to kill.
"The three of us are brothers... I-I just can't let it go." Buddha answered, clearly still determined to fix the relationship they once had.
"That we are... But you know how Thor gets. Excalibur being the Theïkó óplo that took everything away from him, the very same weapon that your child is wielding. His anger is understandable."
"No, it isn't... Arthur isn't the one who killed his family. Though the weapon is the same, the wielder isn't... Why can't he put that through that thick skull of his?" Buddha said with frustration.
Heracles sighed. Adding more strength to his hold on Buddha's shoulder. "Gods are vengeful creatures. The two of us were mortal once, and with our experience, we knew that revenge isn't all that is made up to be. The two of us can see that although Arthur wields the same weapon, he isn't the man who killed his family, but Thor can only see the sword, and for him, that's enough to have Arthur in his path for vengeance."
"That's just stupid." Buddha scowled, for him who ascended to godhood due to enlightenment, the thought of revenge was something stupid and pointless. He clicked his tongue in frustration.
"That it is..." Heracles agreed, his mind quickly coming back to August. 'The path of vengeance huh?' he thought, he could clearly see August in Thor's visage. The two of them having revenge as a clear motivator in their actions. 'August will not fall on that path.' he clenched his fist in determination.
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A few moments later, Heracles, Hestia, and Buddha arrived at the large double doors that led to the meeting room inside the tower of Babel.
Hestia not wanting to waste any more time opened the door and marched inside, where the grumbles and murmurs quickly died down as all the gods turned to see the trio moving inside.
Looks of anger, fear, and amusement were sent towards Heracles; every god had by now learned of what happened earlier that morning.
The god of strength did not care about their gazes though; he moved with confidence, heading towards his seat, with Hestia and Buddha moving along as him as well.
"Well, would you look at that... The butcher has graced us with his presence." you could probably guess who said it. Heracles turned to Apollo who had a mocking smile on his face. "How shameless! Showing your face here after the stunt your child did this morning!"
Heracles smirked at Apollo, he sat down and lazily rested his head on his hand. "Apollo, I see that you already washed the stains out of your pants." his smirk widened as he saw a twitch in Apollo's face. "I must thank you though, August did say that you were a fine host in his visit."
Apollo's smile faltered, as the memories of August's late-night visit quickly flashed back inside his mind. The humiliation, the blow to his ego and pride, bubbled toward the surface as his face became red and veins popped on his head.
For the others, this was news. The mention of August visiting Apollo was something they didn't know, and judging by the look on Apollo's face, that interaction wasn't good for him.
"YOU FUCKING MONK-"
The door opened forcefully, stopping Apollo from biting back; all heads turned towards Hades who just entered the room, commanding respect at his every step, besides him was Fels, Ouranus' representative in today's Denatus.
Hades glared at Apollo, shutting him up; he then turned to Heracles and scowled. He moved towards his seat and sat, leaning forward on the table and resting his head on his two hands.
His eyes roamed inside the room, looking at everyone. And with an authoritative tone, he opened his mouth to talk. "What are we waiting for? Let's begin."
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***
Chapter 123 is now complete. How are you all enjoying the story so far?
Still a bit iffy about my schedule, apologies on the delay. My body is just too tired to write after coming home from work so I could only write snippets before my brain shuts down.
Hopefully, my pockets would be full after this week and their be no need for overtime for the Man Candy.
Anyway...
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Have a good day, everyone. Love y'all.