133 Threatening An Unwilling Witch... Peacefully 

Cloud 9, that could describe the place Seth was in right now. Being the God of Foreigners, he had traveled the world for diplomatic purposes many times, and in every single one of those, he had searched for a way to terminate that detestable curse, one that had been with him since the day he was born. However, he always came up empty-handed. Seth tried asking primarily Gods and Goddesses of Wisdom if they knew a way to break it, to no avail.

To say his attempts were a disaster would be an understatement. Many of those Gods wanted a favor in exchange for TRYING to solve it, not even accomplishing it, just trying. The women were easy cake as they asked for the simplest of things, which he didn't really mind, but the men always wanted exorbitant rewards like pieces of his domains or even Authorities.

There were only two exceptions to that, and they were Odin and Prometheus. The old man didn't have any quarrel in helping, knowing how well he got along with his son, and how he kept his alcohol-induced destructive tendencies to a minimum. As for the prisoner of Zeus, Seth had sneaked to the place where he was confined and offered to free him as long as he was able to dispel the curse. The Titan had turned his offer down, stating that he was content just being an observer, despite the 'living' conditions. Even so, he told him he would still look into the curse and remove it if it was possible.

Sadly, not even Odin with the help of Mimir's head, or Prometheus with all his cunning and wisdom were able to do something about it. Maybe if they had found him when he was just a small kid, they could have erased it from existence, but not then and there, where he was already an adult, and the curse had grown alongside him. They were, however, able to tell him something important, something crucial.

"Nobody related to you will be able to make that curse a thing of the old past." As if it all had been scripted beforehand, those were the exact same words Odin and Prometheus had told him.

That was a nice thing to know, and one that made him scream in frustration when much later on in his life, Amaterasu had told him she could remove something of that level as easily as breathing, but thanks to the fact she was then related to him, the opportunity went down the drain.

He wasn't ashamed to say that at that moment, he nearly cried out of frustration. It didn't help that his progenitor always hid like a slippery rat, making it impossible for him to find her and kill her. Still, he had the theory that the curse would remain, no matter if he killed her or not, but even so, the pleasure of doing it would certainly not be lost to him.

So, knowing all the trouble Seth had to go through only to fail, imagine his surprise when in an odd twist of fate, he managed to get his hands on a Servant with the ability to accomplish what he tried to for so long only to fail.

Truly, was there something even greater than Noble Phantasms? Mortals always feared Gods because they had Authorities. With them, they could bend the laws of the world to make all sorts of impossible things. However, it seemed that Noble Phantasms went even beyond that, or at least were more versatile than them as they could take in all kinds of forms, be it a weapon or an interaction with the outside. Honestly, they brought out his possessive tendencies like there was no tomorrow.

Something which led to the current situation.

The Egyptian God was trying his best to calm his excitement, something which proved to be difficult considering how long it has been since Seth last felt that emotion. But first, there was something he needed to confirm.

"Medea, can you cancel our contract with your Rule Breaker?" Saying the Witch of Betrayal was surprised at his words would be the understatement of the century. She actually looked at him as if he had grown a second head. Atalanta and David weren't any different.

"Why would you want to cancel a contract when you just made it not long ago? What's the point of it?" The King of Israel couldn't make head or tails about his train of thought. It was something that made no sense at all.

Despite the surprise, Medea was happy to demonstrate instead of answering. Caster stabbed herself in her chest, causing an audible gasp from both Archers, although they calmed down once they noticed there wasn't any blood or any kind of discomfort on her face. That didn't make it less creepy, though.

At that moment, Seth could feel the contract he had with Medea disappear as if it was never there. "Excellent! Now we don't have any kind of relationship at all." He clapped, eye-smiling and all. They had to admit it, it was slightly unsettling seeing him like that, and more when they didn't know the reason for it.

"So? What now?" Trying to repress her emotions as to not expose anything, the Witch of Betrayal asked for further instructions, even if she was technically free now and could do what she wanted.

"You are going to use your Rule Breaker two times on me. After that, you can do whatever you want. You can re-enter a contract with me, go in a quest for revenge before we get to do anything or drown in the ocean if you so like." He continued with that unnerving smile, not bothering with the rest and only focusing on Medea. The two green-haired Servants wouldn't admit it, but it was getting to a point where they thought they were seeing a snake coiling around Caster, tightening its grips on her. It was as if no matter what she tried, she had no escape.

"And what if I do not want to?" Those words were miraculous; just by saying them, Medea managed to make the temperature drop terribly. She kept looking at him, searching for the tiniest hint of movement, but she found nothing—no, there was something, Seth's smile seemed to grow wider, albeit not in a good way.

"Do you want me to elaborate?" He used the same tone he had been using before. If he was angry or upset about her question/denial, he didn't show it.

"Please do." Medea was calm, or that's how the two spectators perceived it. However, inwardly she was panicking a bit, thinking about ways to escape should the need arise.

"Hm... Let us see. How about I eat you? Does that sound good?" Caster wanted to cover her body, obviously misunderstanding him, but she didn't want to show weakness, so she opted for a scoff instead. The Archer duo though... they knew what he meant.

"Do you think after all that I have gone through, having you play with my body means anything to me?" Although she spoke bravely, Caster would kill herself in an explosion were he to try something.

Seth chuckled slightly at her question before all traces of 'good mood' disappeared instantly. His posture was still relaxed, but his face was a mask of coldness. Without him having to do anything, the sand beneath Medea's feet shot at her, shaping itself in the form of snakes that wrapped around her body, constricting it more with each passing second.

"Let me clarify it for you. When I said I was going to eat you, I meant it in the literal sense of the word. I am going to tear you limb by limb and stuff them into my mouth, then I am going to force you to watch as I chew them." His words got a different reaction out of them, but there was something in common, and that was dread. Medea trembled, even when the sand tightened around her more. David looked at the side, trying his best not to gag at the mental image. As for Atalanta, her fingers were twitching and moving, seemingly trying to grasp an invisible arrow. For now, she would observe, but if the Egyptian God decided to follow with his threats, then she would act to defend Medea.

"Y-You... You would not..." Her fear only increased when she realized she could not use magic at all. It only took a moment for her to realize the sand was feeding off her like a parasite.

"Dare? When I ruled, it was a custom for people to offer their virgin daughters for me to eat in the hopes of me not doing anything horrible to them, and while you are not a virgin yourself, I won't look too deeply into it. So, do we have an understanding? Or do I have to taste a sample first?" In the end, it was an ultimatum. He wasn't going to play games or 'act kind' and try to coerce her into it, Rule Breaker was THAT important for him. Despite his no-nonsense attitude, he had always been a little laid back as a way to unwind from the stress of his life in that prison called reincarnation. However, nothing has changed, he was and always will be a God, even if the thought repulsed him. His kind always did what they wanted with mortals, always took what they wanted from them, and fundamentally, always played with them. It was the most basic of laws, the strong make the demands while the weak obey them.

"...I shall do it, of that you have my word." In the end, she relented, there was no other choice. If other Servants were to see her surrendering her freedom so easily, they would have surely laughed at her. 'You are a Servant, you are already dead. What do you need to fear?' They would probably say. However, when she looked at those red eyes of his, there was one thing she saw: True death. Call it a hunch if you want, but she had the feeling that if she ended up being eaten by him, then she would not be returning to the Throne. She didn't know about the original there, but this version would not assimilate with the original, of this she was sure.

"Excellent! It wasn't that hard, was it?" As if what he said before was just a figment of her imagination, her bindings as well as the pressure she had been feeling from him vanished. His expression was now the epitome of relaxation.

"Don't joke around like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack... It was a joke, right?" Even though David kind of already knew the answer, he still wanted to ask, as meaningless as it might be.

"Of course it was. Didn't I tell you before that I don't do those things anymore? I'm a changed man now. You could say I am converted." Seth just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly at his question. Although, for some reason, the green-haired man had trouble believing him. He wondered why...

In the case of Atalanta, she could finally breathe normally again. She honestly could do without hearing about someone trying to eat her ex-companion. That said, she had a good idea of why he was acting so... desperate. The Huntress only had to go back a little and remember the chat they had before, particularly where he told them about his so-called mother and how he had lost two children thanks to it. As someone who loved them more than anything else in this world, she could understand that eagerness. Not only understand it but also support it. That's the reason she didn't attack immediately and instead opted to wait and see how things played out. Still, she was thankful nothing bad happened other than Medea getting a little traumatized. Although that outcome is a hundred times better than the other one.

Speaking of Medea, she took a moment to calm down and get rid of that uncomfortable feeling he instilled in her before addressing him. "Tell me exactly what you want me to use my Noble Phantasm on, otherwise it will not work."

"Right, right. I want you to cancel a curse that has been a thorn on my side for far too long. Who knows? If you perform well, I might go out of my way to steal Thoth's book of knowledge and give it to you. It has Magic out of this world in it, literally." He said with a double meaning only he understood. "But first, I need you to end with another curse that is impeding my regeneration."

Medea was surprised at the 'kindness' he was giving her. However, Caster could not deny she was tempted, extremely so. Although she only took Hekate's teachings as her own, having something that was regarded as the congregations of every magic known to the Egyptians in her hands was something too hard to pass on. She would have to confirm it first, but it is said that if you have that book you could have the ability to revive the dead and talk to Gods no matter where they are. Something like that was priceless.

"So? Are you up for it, Priestess of Hekate?"