117 Batches

"Hey! I didn't do any of that!"

"I'm just saying, you're the most likely culprit of them all, you know?"

Riku didn't know when or how it happened, but some time along the way, the conversation between the gods devolved from simple banter to straight up bickering. Currently, him and Shizu were flanking Nyx as the goddess did her best to defend herself from Solis's accusations. They had no say in the matter so they couldn't really do anything, but they at least did their best to be there for their friend even as more and more people came filtering into the small space.

"Hah! I would think that Little Nyx isn't the kind to steal underwear!" Brahma laughed, his Egyptian Champion looking utterly lost beside him as they stood by the doorway. "Though I wouldn't put it past her to forget if she even had one on!"

Nyx, understandably, didn't take to the accusation well as she started blushing and stuttering. "W-Wha-Wha-"

"Big Brother Brahma, it's not nice to insinuate such a thing to a lady, you know," Ragnarok quickly chimed in, her ever cheerful voice tinged with the slightest trace of anger in it as she spoke.

"I agree," Kali pointedly added, the goddess currently squeezed in between Solis and Luna with her suit-wearing Champion currently seated on her lap. "A woman's virtue is the worst thing that a man could insult."

"As if such a thing even exists in the first place!" Shiva scoffed, the God of Destruction currently leaning on the nearby wall with his Champion looking crazed and eager for a fight beside him. "Anyway, why are we all even here still? We should be letting our Champions fight right now!"

"Now now. I'm sure Big Brother Astra has something planned for this," Solis radiantly smiled from where she sat. "All of us being here in his office usually means he has something big planned, after all."

The former assassin simply waited and listened to the gods casually talking to one another while their own Champions looked just as lost as he was as they either sat by meekly waiting for instructions or, as some did, simply glared angrily at the other Champions hoping that it would somehow intimidate them. And speaking of Champions, at least he was starting to gain a lot of information from this impromptu gathering beyond just hearing about the gods and their utterly human problems.

First off, the woman that almost killed him. Eleonore was her name, and Ragnarok told them of the woman's story some time ago while they were waiting for something to happen. Apparently, her Champion was a former opera singer from the renaissance that got caught in an accident. The goddess wanted to say more before Eleonore stopped her, but he could tell that it involved men taking advantage of her, and Riku wasn't going to blame her for her current behavior.

Next up were the twins' Champions. Ironically, the nurse was indeed the Goddess of Death's Champion. Moira was her name, and according to Nyx, she was a nurse that turned into a serial killer for some reason. Luna and the Champion herself remained quiet, however, so he didn't get anything else beyond that. Still, he at least had a name and a face if they would ever cross paths.

The scythe wielding Champion was next, which, in hindsight, was honestly fitting as Solis's Champion was apparently a Victorian-era gardener. A bubbly person, Mary was, that she even struck up a conversation with both him and Shizu while they were waiting for something to happen. She was clearly very happy with her lot in life, and she even shared her wish with them, stating that she simply wants to return to her Queen's service, something that Eleonore was smug about for some reason. Even more surprising, Mary and Moira had seemingly hit it off, a stark contrast to their patron goddesses looking like they couldn't even stand each other.

In contrast to all of the fun conversations happening, Shiva's Champion, Hiro was a crazed madman that honestly fit his with his patron god's behavior. According to Nyx, he was a World War Two kamikaze pilot, and the moment he saw both Riku and Shizu, he immediately asked them if Japan had won the war. Obviously, they replied that Japan hasn't won a war in ages. The soldier then immediately went into despair muttering of how he had failed the Emperor, only to then quickly grin as he told himself about the wish that he could use to change the fate of the war.

Somehow, Riku didn't like that happening one bit.

"Honestly, how long are we supposed to just sit here and wait, Astra?!" Shiva barked out, taking Riku out of his observations. "Your office is cramped enough as it is!"

The other gods and goddesses all muttered out similar thoughts as the former assassin remained quiet. Likewise, Shizu remained still as her patron god Tyche sat beside her. The God of Fate had just arrived a few minutes ago, and he immediately gave them all a cool and patronizing greeting before sitting down beside his Champion. Judging by her shifting expressions, they were probably talking to one another in the same way him and Nyx usually do in their heads. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't a pleasant experience on Shizu's part.

"You know? I think enough time's passed anyway," Astra sighed, showing off a false sense of resignation as he smiled at them. "You know why I all just waited for you all to gather here?"

The question hung in the air as all that were present subtly leaned in to listen to the God of Space's design. Was he going to make them fight then? Make them do another challenge now that they were all here? Riku wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. This was a game, after all, and they were all poised to fight to the death to get their wish anyway.

"In truth, I honestly just wanted to do things by batches. Saves me more time, you know?"