73 Strength

Looking below, Riku hissed as another stream of planets began flying up to greet him. Still, he had gained enough distance that he quickly dismissed his ladder before quickly aiming his knife downward and calling for it once more. Immediately, his ladder shot out once again, colliding with some of the planets aimed right at him as it careened down onto the yacht itself.

*CRACK!*

"What the hell?!"

With a loud crack, the ladder shot right down onto the deck of the yacht, the force of the blow forcing the floor to yield as the ladder just kept on growing longer and longer. Ignoring the pull of gravity on his person, Riku gritted his teeth in pain as he forced the ladder to keep growing, eventually forcing it to pierce through the yacht before eventually recalling it. It wouldn't be enough to sink the yacht itself, but it would hopefully be enough to slow it down while-

"I got it!"

His eyes widened at Shizu's shout of declaration. Riku knew he had to get back on the boat now, but with him still in the air, he had to angle himself back using nothing but his extending ladder.

Well, he had done worse, he supposed.

"Oh no, you don't!" Stephen shouted in pure rage. "I won't let you two do whatever the hell you want anymore!"

Once more, the volley of projectiles stopped, and a blanket of stardust began to swirl around the astrologer beneath him. Whatever it was, it was going to be big, and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of it whatsoever.

"Riku! I need you to get out of there!"

Heeding Shizu's shout, the former assassin angled his body accordingly and pointed his knife at the yacht's bridge. Flexing the ladder, he pushed himself back towards their own boat, letting gravity do the work for him as he landed right in front of Nyx with a loud thud.

"Fancy dropping in, my Champion," Nyx greeted her, her mouth full of fish sashimi as if she wasn't even in an intense battlefield. "Are we winning yet?"

"In a bit," he grumbled before picking himself back up and shouted. "Do it, Shizu!"

"Finally!"

Looking up at the cabin, Riku noted the usual green glow of Shizu's power as a massive card materialized above her. It was the same as any other of her tarot cards, and he could only assume that it would be their ticket out of this mess once it fired off.

"[Fate's Edict! Strength: Inverse Position!]"

The picture of a lion upside down quickly flashed in the air before it quickly dissipated into motes of green light. Then, a massive shockwave rang between their boat and the yacht, forcibly adding distance between them as Shizu's power pushed them away from their enemy.

Immediately, Riku turned to his goddess. "Get us to the portal!"

"Absolutely~"

Once more, their boat moved forward, their enemy quickly disappearing into the horizon as the force of the shockwave prevented them from moving forward for a time. It wasn't much, but it would seem that they had finally gotten away from the Champion of Astra.

"We... We actually did it..." Shizu weakly breathed out as she jumped back down onto the deck, the glow in her eyes fading as her knees buckled beneath her. "I'm... I need a break..."

Moving quickly, Riku caught the fortune teller before she could hit the deck. With the glow of Tyche's power leaving her, it would seem that Shizu had reached her limit. Whatever she did back then, it was probably her Trump based on how different it was from her [Fate's Edict].

"Oh, we're here," Nyx told him as the telltale blue glow of an exit portal finally dawned on them. "I'll see you both on the other side as usual."

Riku simply nodded before his goddess disappeared in her usual chaotic glow, letting their boat travel through the Deep Blue on their own just to avoid going through the portal herself. Not that he minded. So long as nothing happened during it, Nyx could do whatever she wanted while they were traveling.

For now, the former assassin just let out a sigh of relief as he cradled Shizu's unconscious body on his lap. He would just have to ask her what it was later, but for now, they had a portal to get through.

***

{ASTRA POV}

{REALM: THE SEA OF STARS}

{DEPTH 12}

"FVCK FVCK FVCKING FVCK!"

As the God of Space, Astra wasn't one for all the pomp and seriousness that were prevalent with his siblings. He just wasn't that kind of guy, if he was being honest. Sure, he did his responsibilities as they are asked of him, but other than that, he really just wanted to chill and have fun with his favorite brothers and sisters.

Still, that didn't mean that he didn't have a sense of mischief on him should the situation call for it.

"I told you you shouldn't underestimate them," Astra playfully chided as his Champion kept shouted and stomping on the ground in anger. "Little Nyx might be the youngest of us all, but she has a few tricks up her-"

"I know that already!" Stephen shouted back. "Don't rub it in!"

Astra simply shrugged at his Champion's rage. While normally, a god shouldn't take such anger from such an inferior mortal, he simply didn't care. Life was too long to be angry at every little thing in the universe, after all.

"It's not too bad, no? At least you know what they can do now," Astra consoled his Champion with a lazy smile, his godly power already hard at work repairing the massive ladder-shaped hole on their ship. "You can be better prepared."

"I don't care. I should've sank them when I had the chance," the astrologer seethed. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it: I want them dead the next time I see them."

Astra sighed before laying back down on his side and lounging on his self-made lounge chair. He didn't think that getting Champion such as Stephen would be a bit of a pain on his ears, but at least it was fun. He didn't care who won in this Game of theirs anyway. Hell, if Nyx won, he'd even congratulate her with a pat on the back and a proud smile on his face.

Such was the life of the Second of the Thirteen Gods. He was no leader, but he was a damn good supporter for those that want it.