Chapter 9: God's Involvement

"These two fools! Just why did they have to be so much younger than me in this reincarnation?! One of seventeen and the other fifteen. None of those two bastards is any serious!" Hades, seemingly in his early twenties said in frustration.

"Should I call them back?"

"Let them be. They'll only create further troubles for me if they're here."

He walked towards the balcony overlooking the vast landscape of Olympus. The view was breathtaking, but it no longer held the same glory it once did.

"Let them play. I'll take care of the serious matter."

As he stood there lost in his thoughts, a voice called out to him from behind. "Hades, may I have a word with you?"

Hades turned around to see Apollo, the god of divination, standing there with a serious expression on his face.

"What is it? Have you found any leads on Gaia?"

Apollo shook his head. "I'm afraid not. It seems she has managed to conceal herself well. But I have sensed another disturbance. It's something much more serious."

Hades raised an eyebrow. "What kind of disturbance?"

"The Sky Fortress has fallen," Apollo stated. "I've tried to divine what happened that led to it, but I can't see anything. It's all darkness. You know what that means, don't you?"

"Another God's involvement?" Hades frowned, his expressions darkening.

"We both know that it's impossible to destroy the Sky Fortress from outside in a short time. Even Wukong or Zeus himself couldn't do it in a short time. If they were attacked from outside, they should've been able to send us a message. But we haven't received any messages. That only means one thing..."

"Someone from inside caused it." Hades considered, his voice laced with concern. "Do you think this is a betrayal?"

"I wouldn't have been so concerned if it was a betrayal." Apollo handed a file to Hades. "I'm afraid it's more serious than that."

Hades took the file, going through its pages. With each page he turned, his expressions darkened.

"Who allowed it?!" Hades roared, his voice making the entire Olympus tremble. "Why wasn't I informed that it was time to kill that bastard?! And you only sent that little brat Hermes? Don't you know the item that Fortress is keeping?!"

He felt shocked that he hadn't known about this. The Sky Fortress was also sent for this purpose and he was just finding out. If he had known before, he would've taken even more precautions since he truly remembered just what kind of calamity they were going to kill!

"Apparently Lord Zeus authorized it before he left, saying that it's just a mortal man, so Hermes and Enchantress should've been enough for it."

"Arghh, Zeus!!!" Hades roared, looking at the sky. "You brat, even after dying at his hands, your arrogance still hasn't subsided!"

"I'm afraid we can't change the past. We can only think about the future. I'm sure Hermes won't betray us. He's arrogant but not a fool. And Enchantress wouldn't have been able to kill Hermes. None of those two would've done anything this foolish while he was in the Fortress."

Apollo kept calm, only worrying about the implications of the fall. "That means it's caused by 'him', or someone who supported him. Someone probably entered the Fortress with him, and those two fools didn't notice it. It would be foolish to not assume that the Earring has been taken."

"Arghh!" Hades scratched the back of his head in frustration. "I'm going there to check. Give me the location of the crash."

****

Olympus wasn't the only one who had received the news about the fall of Sky Fortress. It was unclear how, but before long, this news had spread in all high circles.

The Knights of Round Table had called for an emergency meeting that was even attended by Arthur and Merlin. In another place, the Jade Emperor called a meeting of his own, to discuss this matter. Even other deities weren't behind as all of them knew the implications.

There was a reason all of them worked together to locate the reincarnation of that person in every life, all so he could kill him before he turned eighteen and become a threat. And the news of something like this happening, it raised all their concerns.

All of them sent a representative to the site where the Sky Fortress fell.

While most of the Gods were going towards the small insignificant village, Zephyr carried Raven. He knew that he couldn't go to the nearest city as it was only a matter of time before a search for them was going to begin.

For now, he only wanted to find a safe place to help Raven.

With the weight of Raven in his arms, Zephyr pressed forward, scanning the surroundings for any sign of a safe shelter. Unfortunately, the place where they landed was completely isolated, making it hard to find a safe place.

Over two hours passed when he finally stopped as he reached a forest. The dense trees provided a sense of cover for the time being. But more importantly, he could feel that there was a source of water inside the forest.

He carefully navigated through the forest, following a narrow trail, soon reaching the pond inside the forest.

The sound of leaves rustling and the distant chirping of birds offered comfort in an otherwise uncertain situation.

"I need to control his fever first."

He stopped before a pond and placed Raven on the soft grass. He tore a piece of his clothes, drenching it in the pond water before placing it on Raven's forehead, trying to help in any way he could.

....

Near the wreckage of the Sky Fortress, the small group of villagers were sitting on their knees, their faces filled with horror and the bodies of their loved ones lying right before their eyes.

In the distance, there stood a man, his long cape made purely from the flames of hell. There was a crown on his head that was also pure flames.

"I will ask one last time. Where are the people who escaped from the Fortress?" Hades asked, his eyes blazing cold. "Every second of delay will make you lose more."