AN: As a heads up, Saturday's chapter will be it for the year. I will be out of state with family and friends till after the New Year.
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—Cole POV, A Few Moments Earlier—
Parting like the Red Sea for Moses, the Adventurers in the Guild Hall stepped aside as Orsted, Nanahoshi, and I stepped into the building. Immediately recognizing the game my daughters were playing, Nanahoshi turned back to me and asked if I was a God from Earth.
“I am a God living on Earth yes.”, I admitted, “That said I-”
“Please please please take me home!!!”, Nanahoshi cried, falling to her knees while gripping my coat tightly, “I want my modern society back!!”
“Unless your world is full of Heroes and Villains, I doubt you are from my Earth. On the Earth I am from, most of the population have some sort of special ability.”, I told her, “Believe it or not, Earth is a ubiquitous name found in almost every universe.”
“Hmm…”, she muttered, “You still have electricity, anime, and air conditioning right?”
“Yes, we should have all the modern amenities that you are accustomed to.”, I acknowledged.
“Then it does not matter to me, take me there please!!”, Nanahoshi cried, “This world is scary!! There are monsters all over the place, I was almost lunch for some when I arrived here!!”
Letting out a sigh, I was going to give her an answer when several of my Alarm Spells went off in my mind. Since none of the alarms in our homeworld went off, it meant the alarms I felt came from the barriers and protection enchantments I had on Eri and Lily. Assuming the worst-case scenario, that one of the two remaining gods was hiding out here, I immediately teleported myself behind my daughters.
Erecting several powerful barriers over them and the Greyrat Family, everyone stopped what they were doing and asked if something was wrong. Paying them no heed, I began looking for the source of the attack on both a magical and astral level.
“Daddy, is something wrong?”, Eri asked, sensing my discomfort.
“Everything is okay.”, I said, kneeling and giving her a comforting hug, “I sensed someone that meant to do me harm nearby. While I can take care of it, I wanted to make extra certain that they could not get to Lily or you. Do you want me to send you back home?”
“No, I trust you Daddy!”, Eri proclaimed, without hesitation.
“Me too!”, Lily agreed, “The safest place is by you, that is what you told us!”
Giving the two of them a smile, I patted them on the head and told them to not leave the barrier. Promising to follow my request, I told Paul and Ciri to get under my barrier as well. Looking at me in confusion, they glanced around the room trying to find the source of my concerns.
“Someone tried to attack Eri and Lily just a moment ago, they may aim for both of you next!”, I told them, telepathically, “Till I pinpoint who did it, I need you to stay put for your safety.”
Hearing the seriousness in my tone, Paul immediately dropped what he was doing and ran to his family. Following suit, Ciri dropped her ale and joined us under the barrier.
Seeing no traces of magic in the air, I used the Demon Clan ability I stole to start looking for souls around us. Spotting the culprit overhead, Hitogami’s Spectral Avatar locked up the moment my eyes met his. Realizing that he had been found out, he began trying to use hand gestures to make me wait a moment.
“That chance bastard!”, I roared, launching myself out of the barrier.
Whipping Dante’s Scythe out of my Storage, Hitogami immediately darted toward the group of Adventurers. Teleporting in front of him, I unleashed a powerful slash into his chest and sent him flying toward Orsted. Having only been able to sense him after my attack, Orsted’s pupils narrowed as he pulled his blade out.
“Get under that barrier!!”, Orsted commanded Nanahoshi, “Hitogami is here!”
“You do not have to tell me twice!”, Nanahoshi shrieked, diving into the barrier.
‘Fucking damn it!!’, Hitogami wheezed, reeling from the blow to his soul, ‘What the hell is that weapon?! How can it hurt me in this form!?’
Casting a spell on Orsted so he could see Hitogami’s form, the Dragon God glared at Hitogami but he paid him no mind. Focused solely on me, the false human god pulled himself back together with sheer willpower and began looking for an exit.
“Cole, where is this Hitogami guy?”, Paul called out, “We cannot see him!”
Granting Paul, Ciri, and Ghislaine the same sight as Orsted, they gasped in shock as they saw the deity between us. Noticing that Paul was about to attack the deity, I ordered him to stay inside the barrier no matter what.
“This bastard can take over humans, if he sinks his hooks in you he will corrupt your mind.”, I told him, “Besides which, corporal weapons will not harm him. You need a Spiritual Weapon like mine to harm him in his current state.”
Seeing no alternative, Hitogami snapped out of existence for a moment before reappearing among the Adventurers. Realizing that he could snap in and out of the world at will, Orsted and I lunged at Hitogami.
Completely confused by what was going on, the Adventurers scattered and dove for cover. Diving into the first human he could, the poor man writhed around in pain as Hitogami arrested control of his body from the man. Flinging a smoke bomb at us from the Adventurer’s pouch, the deity attempted to blind us but I was not having any of it. Generating a small spark of electricity around me, the smoke particles ignited and caused a massive explosion. Leaving a massive crater in its wake, the body Hitogami took over found itself impaled on a crossmember that that broken loose.
“WAIT!!”, Hitogami squealed, before leaving that body and moving to another Adventurer lying on the ground, “I want to talk!!”
“Oh no, we are well fucking past talking!”, I growled, “Your opening salvo was heard loud and clear, you are deadman!”
“Please wait a moment!!”, Hitogami pleaded, “You are after two Rouge Deities, right?! I heard you speaking with Orsted about it, they passed through this world several months ago! If you swear to leave this world, I will tell you where they went. I will even through that red-haired woman in to sweeten the pot as well. Just give me a moment and I will ensure she is all over you!”
“Cole, who is Hitogami?”, Ciri inquired, “I do not like the way he is talking about brainwashing Hilda to passive you.”
“Me neither…”, Hilda agreed, sliding closer to Ghislaine.
Hearing only that he helped two of those bastards, I gripped my scythe tightly as I gritted my teeth. Seething with anger, while I sympathized with Orsted’s anguish, Hitogami was my kill now.
“You may not be one of the bastards that killed my children and grandchildren, but you will die just like them!”, I snapped, vanishing from his view.
Realizing that I would not hesitate to kill the human he was in, Hitogami immediately ejected from that body and went to vanish from the world a second time. Just as he was about to though, my hand wrapped around his throat preventing him from leaving again. Feeling his avatar beginning to crack in my hand, the deity began desperately trying to break free.
“Tell me where they are and I will make this quick. Deceive me or omit details…I will cast you into the Omega Sanction where you will stay till the end of the Omniverse.”, I threatened him, telepathically while using my power of deceit.
“They went…went to another…Earth!!”, he shrieked, “One that was…destablized and…an easy target. I only caught a…glimpse of it!! It looked like…like it went through a… apocalypse!!”
“Anything else?”, I inquired, staring at him with a cold gaze.
“I…I did not know…they killed part of your…family!!”, he said, “If I knew…I swear I would…would have left them to…rot!!”
“Since you have nothing left to say, here is your mercy!”, I shouted aloud, changing the scythe into its spear mode.
Driving it straight through his chest, an ear-piercing shriek rang out through every human’s head who was not within my barrier. Falling to their knees in pain, the Human Adventurers began wailing loudly as they bashed their heads into the stone flooring.
“What is going on?”, Orsted asked, glancing over at the people on the ground, “Why did stabbing Hitogami hurt them?”
“He did not just steal the appearance of the Human God, he usurped the power and authority from the original one. Unlike the other deities, who still exist somewhere out there as souls, Hitogami will not enjoy the same luxury.”, I told Orsted, “This weapon belonged to the Grim Reaper, as such, I can cleave souls apart with it which is what I did here. Since he is dying, all of humanity is dying as well.”
“Wait what!?”, Hilda shouted.
“Calm down, I have a plan to move the power and authority to Orsted. Doing so will save humanity and make him a full-fledged god, not just three-quarters of one.”, I stated.
“Sounds like a pain…”, Orsted commented.
“It either goes on you or me, and I volunteer you.”, I chuckled, patting the Dragon God on the shoulders, “I am already supervising two worlds, a kingdom, and two very nicely sized territories…you can take one for the team.”
Thrusting the authority and power onto him before he could argue back, Orsted stared at me as the pain Humanity felt began to dissipate. Deciding that it was not worth complaining about it now, he turned to watch Hitogami’s avatar dissipate. Watching the deity that stole everything from him reaching out for help, the Dragon God stood there silently watching him.
“While I would have enjoyed killing you myself, seeing you pleading for your life in the dirt is also acceptable.”, Orsted said, walking over to the avatar and placing his boot over his face, “Goodbye.”
Channeling his Divinity, Orsted shattered the avatar’s head like a soda pop can under his foot. Letting out a sigh, he turned back to me and nodded his head.
“I will go clean up what is left of his realm, please keep an eye on Nanahoshi while I am away.”, Orsted requested, before teleporting away.
AN: As a heads up, Saturday's chapter will be it for the year. I will be out of state with family and friends till after the New Year.
======================================================================================
—Cole POV, A Few Moments Earlier—
Parting like the Red Sea for Moses, the Adventurers in the Guild Hall stepped aside as Orsted, Nanahoshi, and I stepped into the building. Immediately recognizing the game my daughters were playing, Nanahoshi turned back to me and asked if I was a God from Earth.
“I am a God living on Earth yes.”, I admitted, “That said I-”
“Please please please take me home!!!”, Nanahoshi cried, falling to her knees while gripping my coat tightly, “I want my modern society back!!”
“Unless your world is full of Heroes and Villains, I doubt you are from my Earth. On the Earth I am from, most of the population have some sort of special ability.”, I told her, “Believe it or not, Earth is a ubiquitous name found in almost every universe.”
“Hmm…”, she muttered, “You still have electricity, anime, and air conditioning right?”
“Yes, we should have all the modern amenities that you are accustomed to.”, I acknowledged.
“Then it does not matter to me, take me there please!!”, Nanahoshi cried, “This world is scary!! There are monsters all over the place, I was almost lunch for some when I arrived here!!”
Letting out a sigh, I was going to give her an answer when several of my Alarm Spells went off in my mind. Since none of the alarms in our homeworld went off, it meant the alarms I felt came from the barriers and protection enchantments I had on Eri and Lily. Assuming the worst-case scenario, that one of the two remaining gods was hiding out here, I immediately teleported myself behind my daughters.
Erecting several powerful barriers over them and the Greyrat Family, everyone stopped what they were doing and asked if something was wrong. Paying them no heed, I began looking for the source of the attack on both a magical and astral level.
“Daddy, is something wrong?”, Eri asked, sensing my discomfort.
“Everything is okay.”, I said, kneeling and giving her a comforting hug, “I sensed someone that meant to do me harm nearby. While I can take care of it, I wanted to make extra certain that they could not get to Lily or you. Do you want me to send you back home?”
“No, I trust you Daddy!”, Eri proclaimed, without hesitation.
“Me too!”, Lily agreed, “The safest place is by you, that is what you told us!”
Giving the two of them a smile, I patted them on the head and told them to not leave the barrier. Promising to follow my request, I told Paul and Ciri to get under my barrier as well. Looking at me in confusion, they glanced around the room trying to find the source of my concerns.
“Someone tried to attack Eri and Lily just a moment ago, they may aim for both of you next!”, I told them, telepathically, “Till I pinpoint who did it, I need you to stay put for your safety.”
Hearing the seriousness in my tone, Paul immediately dropped what he was doing and ran to his family. Following suit, Ciri dropped her ale and joined us under the barrier.
Seeing no traces of magic in the air, I used the Demon Clan ability I stole to start looking for souls around us. Spotting the culprit overhead, Hitogami’s Spectral Avatar locked up the moment my eyes met his. Realizing that he had been found out, he began trying to use hand gestures to make me wait a moment.
“That chance bastard!”, I roared, launching myself out of the barrier.
Whipping Dante’s Scythe out of my Storage, Hitogami immediately darted toward the group of Adventurers. Teleporting in front of him, I unleashed a powerful slash into his chest and sent him flying toward Orsted. Having only been able to sense him after my attack, Orsted’s pupils narrowed as he pulled his blade out.
“Get under that barrier!!”, Orsted commanded Nanahoshi, “Hitogami is here!”
“You do not have to tell me twice!”, Nanahoshi shrieked, diving into the barrier.
‘Fucking damn it!!’, Hitogami wheezed, reeling from the blow to his soul, ‘What the hell is that weapon?! How can it hurt me in this form!?’
Casting a spell on Orsted so he could see Hitogami’s form, the Dragon God glared at Hitogami but he paid him no mind. Focused solely on me, the false human god pulled himself back together with sheer willpower and began looking for an exit.
“Cole, where is this Hitogami guy?”, Paul called out, “We cannot see him!”
Granting Paul, Ciri, and Ghislaine the same sight as Orsted, they gasped in shock as they saw the deity between us. Noticing that Paul was about to attack the deity, I ordered him to stay inside the barrier no matter what.
“This bastard can take over humans, if he sinks his hooks in you he will corrupt your mind.”, I told him, “Besides which, corporal weapons will not harm him. You need a Spiritual Weapon like mine to harm him in his current state.”
Seeing no alternative, Hitogami snapped out of existence for a moment before reappearing among the Adventurers. Realizing that he could snap in and out of the world at will, Orsted and I lunged at Hitogami.
Completely confused by what was going on, the Adventurers scattered and dove for cover. Diving into the first human he could, the poor man writhed around in pain as Hitogami arrested control of his body from the man. Flinging a smoke bomb at us from the Adventurer’s pouch, the deity attempted to blind us but I was not having any of it. Generating a small spark of electricity around me, the smoke particles ignited and caused a massive explosion. Leaving a massive crater in its wake, the body Hitogami took over found itself impaled on a crossmember that that broken loose.
“WAIT!!”, Hitogami squealed, before leaving that body and moving to another Adventurer lying on the ground, “I want to talk!!”
“Oh no, we are well fucking past talking!”, I growled, “Your opening salvo was heard loud and clear, you are deadman!”
“Please wait a moment!!”, Hitogami pleaded, “You are after two Rouge Deities, right?! I heard you speaking with Orsted about it, they passed through this world several months ago! If you swear to leave this world, I will tell you where they went. I will even through that red-haired woman in to sweeten the pot as well. Just give me a moment and I will ensure she is all over you!”
“Cole, who is Hitogami?”, Ciri inquired, “I do not like the way he is talking about brainwashing Hilda to passive you.”
“Me neither…”, Hilda agreed, sliding closer to Ghislaine.
Hearing only that he helped two of those bastards, I gripped my scythe tightly as I gritted my teeth. Seething with anger, while I sympathized with Orsted’s anguish, Hitogami was my kill now.
“You may not be one of the bastards that killed my children and grandchildren, but you will die just like them!”, I snapped, vanishing from his view.
Realizing that I would not hesitate to kill the human he was in, Hitogami immediately ejected from that body and went to vanish from the world a second time. Just as he was about to though, my hand wrapped around his throat preventing him from leaving again. Feeling his avatar beginning to crack in my hand, the deity began desperately trying to break free.
“Tell me where they are and I will make this quick. Deceive me or omit details…I will cast you into the Omega Sanction where you will stay till the end of the Omniverse.”, I threatened him, telepathically while using my power of deceit.
“They went…went to another…Earth!!”, he shrieked, “One that was…destablized and…an easy target. I only caught a…glimpse of it!! It looked like…like it went through a… apocalypse!!”
“Anything else?”, I inquired, staring at him with a cold gaze.
“I…I did not know…they killed part of your…family!!”, he said, “If I knew…I swear I would…would have left them to…rot!!”
“Since you have nothing left to say, here is your mercy!”, I shouted aloud, changing the scythe into its spear mode.
Driving it straight through his chest, an ear-piercing shriek rang out through every human’s head who was not within my barrier. Falling to their knees in pain, the Human Adventurers began wailing loudly as they bashed their heads into the stone flooring.
“What is going on?”, Orsted asked, glancing over at the people on the ground, “Why did stabbing Hitogami hurt them?”
“He did not just steal the appearance of the Human God, he usurped the power and authority from the original one. Unlike the other deities, who still exist somewhere out there as souls, Hitogami will not enjoy the same luxury.”, I told Orsted, “This weapon belonged to the Grim Reaper, as such, I can cleave souls apart with it which is what I did here. Since he is dying, all of humanity is dying as well.”
“Wait what!?”, Hilda shouted.
“Calm down, I have a plan to move the power and authority to Orsted. Doing so will save humanity and make him a full-fledged god, not just three-quarters of one.”, I stated.
“Sounds like a pain…”, Orsted commented.
“It either goes on you or me, and I volunteer you.”, I chuckled, patting the Dragon God on the shoulders, “I am already supervising two worlds, a kingdom, and two very nicely sized territories…you can take one for the team.”
Thrusting the authority and power onto him before he could argue back, Orsted stared at me as the pain Humanity felt began to dissipate. Deciding that it was not worth complaining about it now, he turned to watch Hitogami’s avatar dissipate. Watching the deity that stole everything from him reaching out for help, the Dragon God stood there silently watching him.
“While I would have enjoyed killing you myself, seeing you pleading for your life in the dirt is also acceptable.”, Orsted said, walking over to the avatar and placing his boot over his face, “Goodbye.”
Channeling his Divinity, Orsted shattered the avatar’s head like a soda pop can under his foot. Letting out a sigh, he turned back to me and nodded his head.
“I will go clean up what is left of his realm, please keep an eye on Nanahoshi while I am away.”, Orsted requested, before teleporting away.
