13 The Hunt
"Hi" Regular Speech
'Hi' Thought
"(Hi)" Marcus's mechanically synthesised voice
[Hi] Aurora's notification
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'This is the hunt?… strange… don't remember one being in DxD I thought it was more of a… Percy Jackson thing, I think…
Nonetheless…'
[Energy reading scan complete. S.N.M.S.S ready and on standby.]
'So, this is divine energy. Quite the fascinating type of energy.' I looked at the reading. Divine energy is in a somewhat higher tier than regular magic, it is also connected to certain aspects depending on the different concepts the god has...
Her power was flowing through these girls. Not only that but she was getting more power in return. Something akin to a network. She was feeding from their beliefs whilst at the same time her power was flowing through them.
'Quite the fascinating piece of specimen you are, Artemis. Sadly I don't have any facilities built for someone like you.'
And my binding magic is not set up for someone like a Greek God.
'Hmm, I guess I will have to leave you like this...pity…' My gaze turned and looked at the hooded person from a higher point of view.
"Who are you? This area is under the Greek Pantheon's jurisdiction for two months. No other supernatural being should be here without direct permission from me or Zeus!" The female, whom I believe to be Artemis, stated to me. She was quite arrogant.
"(Oh? I didn't know that. I thought Siberia didn't belong to any supernatural pantheon.)" I said to her, my voice was mechanically synthesised so she can't tell my gender. Plus with the multiple layers of barriers around me, she can't feel anything from me. Her divine energy just can't touch me.
"So, you are new then? Very well, for a newcomer, it is forgiven. Still though, you trespassed and caused damage to the surrounding areas, at least reveal to me who you are?"
'Not bad for a man-hater, she knows some politics even for someone who spends the majority of her time in the wild. I suppose the Greek Pantheon went up slightly in my liking bar.'
"(Sadly, I can't do that. My identity is confidential until the right time comes.)"
The moment I said that, all the hunters of hers raised their bows at me.
"That's foolish of you. You are surrounded and trespassing. In all sense, I should simply kill you." She said and with a flash, her bow appeared in her hand.
"(Oh? For a mere Godling, you are quite confident…)"
[S.N.M.S.S deployed]
Freedom's wings glowed and a burst of energy was emitted.
And in the next moment, the bows held by the huntresses lost their glow. Especially the one wielded by their leader whom I assume to be Artemis, she still hasn't introduced herself yet though.
"W-What is this!? Why can't I use my powers? What did you do-"
Before she could say anything more, I was already in front of her and Phobos, the right-handed rifle, was already pointing at her face.
"(It's called science. Both regular and magical. I have already figured out how your divine energy works.)"
Even though I warned her, she lunged forward anyway. My eyes widened in bemused surprise as she moved forward and tried to brush Phobos away.
My suit reacted on its own and with the help of magical energy, I dodged. I raised my right leg and kicked her away, sending her flying. The hit was quite powerful as she passed through several sets of trees.
""""LADY ARTEMIS!!!""""
The huntresses quickly moved in, switching from their bows into dual knives.
"(This is just ridiculous. Steel knives? What are you going to do with those, cut me?)" I asked with disbelief as Aurora had already finished scanning the composition of the metal. Metals are something I have been tinkering with for decades now. I can spot steel, miles away.
The girls ignored me, as they quickly rushed forward anyway.
"(That's it… no more taking this easy…)"
The revolver spun inside the Rifles. Selecting scattershot.
I pointed Deimos and Phobos at the incoming huntresses from all directions. Time to show these people why Wing Gundam was very dangerous in its time. Although I was aiming for the Freedom Gundam style where one machine can take on whole armies, the Wing Gundam dual rifle style was quite similar.
Pressing the triggers, white magic circles appeared at the barrels ends as volleys of electrical balls of energy started rushing at the females.
While I was spinning, shooting in all directions…
"What is this…"
"Ahh!"
"I-I-It's electricity…"
"Damn…"
And just like flies, all the girls collapsed with twitching bodies, before they could even reach me.
Before I could sigh in annoyance, an alarm flared and the suit reacted on its own to intercept the attack; it was a spin kick from the side.
My body moved on its own as I spun out of the path.
My eyes widened in surprise as I saw a… bonafide cat girl!
'What the fuck!!!'
"(You… who are you)" I asked with disbelief.
"... You're going to pay for what you did to lady Artemis and the hunt!" As she was saying that, Aurora was already building up a profile for me.
Greenish blonde hair, cat ears and tail… no, it's not a cat… a lion…
"(Atalanta… fascinating… you should be a lion by this point)" I said as I was finally able to put a name to that face.
I heard a pissed off hiss as the woman took a martial arts stance.
"(Oh? No bow)" I asked in a teasing tone since she can't use the divine blessings from Artemis at the moment.
Instead of answering my question, she just lunged forward.
'Ahh, yes, Greek martial arts….' Aurora quickly recognised it and the battle assistance kicked in. But by this point, I was just fighting a regular girl without any supernatural support. Though, she most likely still has her Lion physiology for assistance.
Meaning stronger than normal…
But then suddenly, I picked up several arrows flying towards my hands.
'Oh, fascinating. Trying to make me want to lose my rifles. In that case…'
Before the arrows could hit me, the pair of rifles disappeared as I recalled them back into my inventory. I did that mid dodge from Atalanta's attack as she was aiming for my weapons as well.
Pity… Girls… while my rifles can kill Satans, my armour can kill Ultimate class with it's fists alone…
The sudden disappearance of the rifles made the lion girl's eyes widen.
"(Sacred Gears, sweetheart. They can disappear and reappear from mere thought alone… oh, and you are wide open.)" As I said that my fist went to her stomach, the feline girl quickly tried to use her hand to block it. Since my movement was faster than her's, she had to use whatever she could to mitigate the blow.
"Oof!" The blow from my fist sent her flying towards the similar direction where Artemis should be knocked out.
Once I dealt with Atalanta. Not going to lie, catgirls in general have a soft spot in my heart. Especially one with a personality like Atalanta's.
That's why what she received was nothing more than a love tap.
All that was left was the huntress who shot arrows at me, even after losing the divine blessing from Artemis.
My gaze ended up on her as she jumped from a tree and pulled out a spear.
Masterfully she took a fighting stance.
"(Oh? Who are you? You have a divinity of your own. Fascinating, a Demi-God? I thought gods stopped the whole nonsense of interfering with regular humans)" I said to her, as Aurora was trying to build up a profile on her.
"I see… you are one of those blacksmiths types? Never expected to find someone of your talent. So good that you can even deal with Divinities. Nonetheless, I request a proper duel." She said seriously.
"(You know that I am a blacksmith-type. Yet, you ask for a warrior-like duel from me?)" I asked with disbelief, now I know she is not from this era… meaning that she probably is quite an old Huntress under Artemis… probably as good as Atalanta…
"My honour as Queen of Amazons demands that we have a proper duel." She said while removing her hood.
My eyes widened, she had a hair colour that of Rias Gremory. Well, slightly darker. She also has very striking yellow eyes. What truly blew me away was her hairstyle…
Where did I see it?
'Right… The female King Arthur or Artoria… this world is quite unique… Now that I think about it, Atalanta looked like she was from Fate altogether…'
"(I see… Hippolyta… you should be dead too…)" What is with these historical characters being alive like this?
"So, you know of me? That makes things easier!"
"(Heh… you want me to fight you properly?)" I asked her while crossing my arms. I do want to know how she will get a proper duel from me when I have no interest in fighting properly.
"You may use any of your self-made tools. That's their purpose. I will use mine as well. If you win, my life is yours. If I win, your life is mine. Easy, yes?"
I blinked a couple of times hearing this. Right, she was raised from that warrior culture of hers.
"(You serious? I have disabled your divinity. You are no War Goddess. Even if you are, my armour specs outperform most Ultimate class beings.)" I said while trying to comprehend why she still insists on going into this duel.
What was even weirder was that she was getting even happier hearing what I said!
'Is she a masochist?'
"Even better! To make a suit of armour capable of fighting the ultimate class! Yes! You will do just perfectly! I have been waiting thousands of years for someone of your capacity!"
'What is she talking about?'
My brain tried to comprehend her thought process…
…
…
…
"(Let me get this straight. When you meant your life will be mine if I win, and mine will be yours if you win…
You mean the marriage way or the killing way?)" I asked her as I remembered the whole strength makes right thing…
For a second she was confused before giggling.
"Of course marriage. Why would I kill someone who can build things like that?" She asked with a confused look.
This was a conversation between two people from different periods and professions altogether.
"(*Sigh*)"
My energy wings glowed and with a sonic boom, I disappeared from her sight.
Hippolyta looked around quickly and there was a borderline crazed look on her face. Reminding me of those people who liked to fight.
Pity that I don't do 'fights'…
I appeared behind her and with Phobos in hand, I pressed the trigger, a bolt of lightning slammed into her from behind.
"Heh...I-I-I lost…very well… I a-a-accept this...fate…" she collapsed onto the ground.
'Silly woman… I didn't accept your deal… I have no interest in marrying… I am not even 30 yet…' I shook my head as I looked around.
Thinking of it for a bit… I decided that, yes… I can take some samples from these ladies….
Walking over to Hippolyta I recalled my rifle and pulled out a combat knife and cut several strands of her hair.
Then I walked towards where Atalanta was with Artemis.
The first one I noticed was Atalanta. She was knocked out and had a frustrated look on her face. Her hair was the most unique hair I have seen so far. Natural green and blond is quite rare for regular people. Well, it should be but since I was in an anime-like world…
Walking closer for a bit I removed my glove and wanted to do what no one should have ever done in history… and that is pat her head and stroke those ears…
"(Heh… even though it looks rough your hair is quite soft,)" I said softly, enjoying the hair.
*Sound of purring cat*
My eyes widened and in the next second, I had a very evil look on my face.
"(Aurora, why don't you record this purring for me.)"
[As you wish]
I saw the notification, brushing it aside mentally. I continued to stroke her hair and of course record the purring.
How many other people have achieved this? Making the Chaste Huntress purr? Heh. This was probably one of my greatest achievements! To date!
After enjoying the stroking I gently cut some of her hair before leaving her be.
And last but not the least… the Moon Goddess herself…
"(Hoh?)" I looked forward and saw her slowly getting up.
"Y-You… you won't be getting away with this!" She said while trying to get a hold of herself.
"Attacking one of the Olympians like this!" She exclaimed as she finally stood up properly. There was some sweat going down her forehead.
"(Truly? I do wonder what your fellow gods would think of the Moon Goddess herself. One of twelve Olympians losing against a mere sixteen-year-old human teenager!)" I said while animatedly shaking my head. My hands were crossed.
"You… must be joking!" She asked with wide eyes. Her blue eyes were in complete disbelief.
And now that I can finally see how she looks. I can confidently say yes, Artemis is very, very, beautiful. Silver nearly glowing hair done in a simple ponytail, held together with a strap of leather.
"(Why would I joke with you? I don't have a reason to do so.)" I said to the Goddess while walking forward towards her.
By this point, she already realised that she can't use her magic nor can she use her bow. And most importantly she has received a blow from an ultimate class level kick while she had no empowerment. I am impressed that she could tank such a strike.
"Lies… it has to be lies! No human can achieve this without some sort of help from a deity!" The Goddess was in denial.
I frowned for a moment after hearing that…
This was getting annoying. I understand… oh I know!
My hand moved towards my helmet, Aurora read my intentions and disconnected the helmet. Moments later, Artemis could now see my face.
I saw her face with my own eyes. Just like she did with her's.
"Fuu… this is cold," I said while looking around. I could feel the icy temperature on my skin now.
"You… You are a teenage human male! No-no, way!" The Goddess of Hunt said while shaking her head in disbelief.
"Indeed. Now, I know gods can tell when humans are lying right? Do tell. Can you do that? Or do you need my help with that?" I asked with a smug look since she unfortunately has no power over her Divine energy.
"You…YOU! No human male dares to speak to me like this!" She said while her shoulders started to shake from fury.
"And what are you going to do about it?" I asked with extreme curiosity.
I do wonder what gods will do without their power? It was a natural curiosity. Humans are born without any power. So, we build up ours. What about gods, what will they do when they lose their powers?
"You...YOU...YOU!" She naturally lunged forward…
Trying to punch me… but the thing was… Freedom scale mail makes me naturally extremely tall… nearly three metres…
So I caught her first with natural ease…
She tried to force herself to push me but she needed a lot of force to even move me. And at this point she was just around natural human strength…
"If you're going to do this then just don't," I said with a bored and disappointed sigh. I guess I expected too much.
"Grrr… I will make you pay!"
"I will spank you for being naughty you know?" I said in a bored and slightly amused tone. Yes, I was feeling quite sadistic towards her, I mean she is a natural man-hater. And I just have this natural urge to do things.
"What!? You dare?" She asked with wide eyes and disbelief.
"You want to test this theory?" I said with a raised eyebrow as I started lifting her by her hand.
"I am an Olympian Goddess! You can't do this kind of thing!" She said in a somewhat embarrassed tone.
"You wanted to kill less than 5 minutes ago. Not only was I assaulted by a whole group of feminists but two of them were bonafide Goddesses. So, tell me what should I do? Oh, I know… I should wrap you all up nicely and send it as a post to Olympus… I do wonder what kind of reaction the rest of your council will think?" I said to her with a bright smile.
"...You...Do you want an apology?" She asked that after having a realising look.
"Hmm… I want something else." I asked her as I inspected her, closely, giving her some wrong ideas.
She paled hearing that.
"I will kill myself if you dare take my body!" She said with a fierce look.
"Your body? Oh, you are quite a pervert if you are already thinking in that direction. But, no. While you are beautiful I have no interest in you." I said while shaking my head. I already have Serafall and Grayfia. While adding another Silver hair would be… Interesting. especially in a maid uniform...
Artemis started blushing from embarrassment as she didn't know where to look. I can assume normally she would have either killed the one responsible or turned them into an animal.
"T-Then what do you want?" She asked after some uncomfortable silence.
Especially since she is hanging in the air…
My other hand went towards her face. Her eyes widened and she was still confused but eventually, she realised what I just did.
Seeing some strands of her hair being pulled out like this, she had a weird look on her face. She has no idea how to act in this situation…
Eventually, I got her hair and lowered her down.
"You...what are going to do with my hair?" She asked, a bit worried.
"Since I already know about Greek God's energy. I want to see more." I said while storing the hair away and putting my helmet back on.
"(Whereas you are a huntress. I am an engineer and an inventor. I make things. And maybe I will create something interesting by unlocking things from your hair.
Besides, it's a souvenir that I beat Artemis and her hunt in less than five minutes.)"
"...You… I will get you back for this! I won't stop until you are under my foot!" Artemis said with a furious look, forgetting something important…
"(Sure…)"
My hand went on to her nose and squeezed it.
"(Next time maybe you should bring your whole Pantheon with you… I mean that way I will at least have more loot to collect.)"
She tried to push my hand away with everything she got but it was no use.
Until I moved my hand myself.
"This-"
"(You will get me back for it. I get it. Maybe I should just seal your power permanently and keep you as a maid?)" I asked curiously.
She didn't say anything anymore. Only looking furiously at me, while stroking her cute nose.
"(Anyways. I will see you later Artemis..)"
My wings glowed before I started to fly quickly leaving the area and turning off Solomon's negation.
*BOOM*
"DAMN YOU! I WILL GET MY REVENGE!!!"
I could hear Artemis screaming with fury. The night sky slightly turned lighter with some silver showing off her domain over the moon.
'Well, she is pissed. It was very hard for me to resist and not just start messing with her.
I could have gotten some more liberties with her but then again there will be second and third time. Knowing her, she isn't going to stop just because her power is sealed…'
I could only sigh. Oh well, I wonder what Sera's reaction to this will be?
~~~~~~Artemis~~~~~~
'THAT BRAT! THAT HUMAN BRAT! I WILL KILL HIM! I WILL TURN HIM INTO A RODENT AND SQUEEZE THE VERY LIFE OUT OF HIM!'
The moon Goddess looked at the sky with a borderline insane look. Never in her whole life has someone toyed with her like this!
After blowing up several trees with her raw divine power she calmed down for a bit.
She realised that the human brat knows how to seal her power. That's why he was not even afraid if she was to bring her whole pantheon with her…
While this is very much disturbing, she won't be doing that. No way in her life will she tell anyone that she was turned into a human's toy like this!
No, she needs a different way!
Assuming his armour is what allows him to seal her power. That means that she just needs to find him outside of it!
'Yes. I need to find where he lives. Hunt him down. Then humiliate that brat the same way he did to me!'
Thinking more on it for a bit. She realised that this brat is quite similar to that Devil freak who invented the Evil pieces.
If that's the case then the brat most likely can do more.
'Heh… if this is the case then I will draw him out into a duel. Offer something he could not resist. Of course, making sure it's a duel of pure skill, no toys are allowed.'
The silver-haired goddess was thinking of how to get revenge not even making sure if she was on the right track or not. All she knew was that the brat was dangerous with his toys.
Once he was out he is just a regular 16 years old teen, he would not have a massive amount of magic. And even if he did, she is an Olympian Goddess! One of the strongest!
'Yes. This will do it! Now I only need to find where you live!' After making up her mind Artemis had a self-fulfilling mission to do. When was the last time she wanted to track a human down?
*Whistle*
Moments later howls of wolves spread throughout the whole forest as above-average sized wolves started to gather around her location.
"Find him for me! No matter what! I want to know where he lives!" The Goddess of hunt ordered with a cold voice.
The wolves nodded as they started to smell the air around.
They were looking around. Trying to find any remains of the human's smell. The problem was… there was nothing to pick.
After a few moments, the wolves shook their head.
"...Grrr… that brat! One way or another I will find you!" Artemis stomped her foot. Before sending her wolves away and started walking towards where her hunt was.
Just passing through several downed trees she found the downed Atalanta.
The Goddess quickly rushed towards her. Shaking her gently for a bit.
"Oh? Lady Artemis? Where am I?" The huntress asked with a confused look.
"You have been knocked out by that brat!" The Moon Goddess said as she mentioned him in a very furious tone.
"Brat?"
"..."
Atalanta instantly recalled what happened, she got dead serious.
"What happened?"
Artemis sighed. Should she tell her? Well, the Goddess can tell some things, just not the embarrassing parts though. For example, the threats of spanking and being turned into a maid should not be said, as Atalanta might just do something reckless and will be turned into a toy like Artemis was.
"The wielder of that armour is a teenage human boy. He is at least as intelligent as that Beelzebub freak. He developed some sort of magic similar to that of the Solomon brat. And he defeated all of us and collected our hair as a trophy…"
Atalanta's eyes widened for a second before getting furious she touched her hair for a bit trying to find anything missing. Thankfully she didn't find anything out of place.
Nonetheless, for some reason, she felt violated. The huntress doesn't know why but she simply had this feeling that something embarrassing was done to her!
"What are your orders, my lady? Should we hunt him down?" The huntress said in a very icy tone.
"We can't, he can fly and the wolves are useless… it's not recommended to face him when he is inside his armour. That magic of his turns us into a powerless state. We need to find him where he lives. Once that is done then we can prepare an ambush and force him into a duel to regain our honour."
"Why not just kill him?" Atalanta asked her Goddess. This is not the Artemis she knows off…
But then the huntress saw the look she had.
'She wants vengeance, something has happened to Lady Artemis. Most likely when that brat took her hair…'
"No...killing him is not good enough…he will suffer for all of the humiliation I had to go through! There is no killing! Not until I have my way with him!!!"
"...I understand. We will help you in any way we can, Lady Artemis." Atalanta said with a nod as she was starting to get up onto her feet. Cleaning herself for a bit.
"Good, now let's return to the hunt and think of the ways we can get information on him," Artemis said with a nod as they started walking towards the rest of the hunt.
~~~
"Where is he? Where is my husband!?" The red-haired Amazon Queen was looking around with a heated look.
"Hippolyta what nonsense are you talking about?" Atalanta asked with a baffled look.
"He has beaten me in the proper duel I asked of him! I have acknowledged the fact that he has beaten me fair and squire! My life is his now!" The red-haired warrior woman said with a serious look. The rest of the huntresses and even Artemis looked at her strangely for a bit.
"You have sworn a Huntress oath of chastity after Lord Hades brought you back to the world of living by my request, I might add."
"If I recall correctly My Lady, I accepted the offer of a Huntress as long as it doesn't clash with my honour as an Amazon warrior and Queen."
The silver-haired Goddess groaned for a second remembering that. Yes, all those years back, she was desperate to get her hunt back together and she needed experienced women who had experience in fighting and had some hate towards men. Hippolyta was the best choice since her experience with Heracles and has natural affinity towards fighting and hunting so she fits the bill.
Now it has come back to bite her in the back because this woman is simply far too proud and is a Queen of warrior womens.
"Sad to say but he has left and we have no idea how to search for him."
"So, he has beaten the whole hunt and just left…" Hippolyta said with disbelief.
"Yes. A 16-year-old human boy has beaten us. I think it's time to get back at him." Artemis said with an extremely pissed off look.
But her words had different effects on the Amazon Queen. The redhead's eyes, for a second, had hearts in them.
"He is that good? He crafted tools like that when he was only sixteen!? I can already imagine what he can do when he is twenty! Or thirty! Hehehe…" The redhead huntress said with a flushed look, her breathing got slightly haggard.
By this point, she was already head over heels for Marcus who had beaten her that bad.
"Hippolyta… are you okay? You look like you are sick…"
"Hmm? I am fine… we should start looking for him… Lady Artemis did you see his face...is he good looking?" The Amazon Queen asked, her last few words earned some confused looks from the huntresses.
"He is...hmm… Eastern European… from the looks of it. We should start scouting Eastern Europe then."
"The way the world is right now My Lady… Eastern European could live all over the world," Atalanta said to the Goddess of the hunt.
"He has the accent of someone who is from Eastern Europe."
The huntress nodded hearing that and the rest just listened into their conversation, even the Amazonian Queen was thinking hard for some clues, though for different reasons.
"My Lady since he is an incredibly talented crafter we could use that to track him down. If he can build things like that armour, which I assume is a Sacred Gear, then he should be quite a high profile person. It shouldn't be too hard to find some clues." Hippolyta said with a serious look.
The redhead Amazon was thinking very hard, after all it's her future husband they were tracking down. And like hell, she will let this chance slide!
"True, if this is true… if he can truly craft sacred gears then this is big. No matter which pantheon he ends up with." Atalanta said with wide eyes as she remembered him mentioning that those rifles are sacred gears and she doesn't remember any gear shaped like guns before.
"...Indeed… we can talk about this when he is under my foot! Until then we going to track him down!" Artemis said with a furious look.
And Hippolyta only smiled seeing the frustrated look on the Moon Goddess face. How many humans can make this proud Goddess behave like that! This only proves to her that her future husband is incredible!
~~~~~~Marcus~~~~~~
I looked down and saw my garage, being back home feels refreshing. Spending a whole night in Siberia was something else.
This was one of those moments when you just sit back and think back on what you just did. I did just that, and it's getting more common now.
I just spent the whole night thousands of kilometres away from home and then returned in less than a few hours.
As I was descending, a portion of the driveway started to lower down and I could see my workshop there.
Once inside, I walked to the platform and robotic hands came out from the ground and started to take off the Freedom mark II.
"How was it?" Serafall with Grayfia walked over to me.
"Interesting to say the least…" I pulled out the sword birth core and showed it to them.
"I got the gear. And... encountered the hunt."
""What!?""
"What hunt you talking about!?" Serafall quickly asked me.
"The one which has a pair of Goddesses from the Greek Pantheon. Hippolyta even wanted to duel me."
"Y-You… What kind of luck is this!? What happened next!? Assuming nothing, since you are here right now?".
"I beat them all up in less than 5 minutes… even got some souvenirs…" I pulled out some strands of hair from my inventory before showing it to Serafall and Grayfia.
"This is Atalanta's hair, this one is Hippolyta's and for the last...this is Artemis hair… quite beautiful. It still nearly glows even after being taken some time ago from the source." I said with fascinated tone.
Serafall facepalmed hearing that. While Grayfia kept a poker face like usual while she was thinking about something.
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