46 Challenge
~Cross my heart and hope to die...~
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"You need to lose some weight." Steve said to the silver haired woman he was locked in a dance with.
Freya instantly snapped back to reality, once again being distracted from looking at his soul due to his rude remark.
"Excuse me?" She said in a soft voice that was quite hard to interpret. Steve often read about how people softened their voices to appear threatening. The problem with her though was that she was so sweet and regal a person in character and voice when she was in public, and her radiance was a little too blinding, it was hard to pull anything negative out of her.
Nevertheless, he had hit a mark. He made a point of looking up and down her dress.
"I mean those frills at the hem are far too excessive." He continued. "And it's too disproportionate to the material above. Just look when you move, it creates creases here and here..." he gestured to the parts he was mentioning, "...and when you twirl, the dress does not billow out properly, and it just looks weird. You need to cut some weight from the bottom because its too heavy."
"...I see." Freya said. "You don't seem to be very good at using the proper terms when it comes to clothing."
"I'm not a tailor or a fashion designer. But I'd say that even I know when a little too much effort has been put into a dress, or when someone is wearing the wrong dress for dancing. From what I hear of you, you don't dance so much with people."
"No not really. I only dance with those worthy or interesting enough." The goddess said as she looked up at him. "You cannot hold my curiosity against me. After all, for the better part of 16 years now, I have had on my side of the board the strongest pieces and I've kept a vigilant eye out for any other special people...and yet here you are."
"I am what I am." Steve said. "Your speculations and your disbeliefs do not make any less of me than what I simply am."
"I'm sure you could at least forgive me for my scepticism." Freya said. "I took personal effort in making sure any adventurers left over from the Familias of the previous two overlords, adventurers whom you claim to share a league with, could never set foot in Orario again. And those that did come back about seven years ago, my children saw to their deaths as well as the deaths and expulsion of all those that rallied behind them. I cannot think of another Familia that could have produced the likes of you. You are not on any pre-existing record, and you are far too young to have been one of them at the time they were driven out. So your claim is...strange, to say the least."
"And here I am to make another claim and a demand." Steve said with a hardness to his tone. "Don't lump those idiots with me. Do not presume me a child of an promiscuous philanderer and a sharp-tongued shrew. I am above any adventurer they have ever produced and will ever produce. And as for you..." He tightened his grip on her hands. "...despite your war on evil and its champions, you too do not have much of an honourable past. You blind everybody with your charm and your beauty, but there are some who can look right past it."
"Peace." Freya widened her smile in attempt to pacify him. "I have not come to start trouble."
"Then order your little piggy to stop burning holes into my head..." Steve looked over his shoulder at Ottar with a dangerous glint in his eye. "...or I will take the matter into my own hands."
Ottar, though he started the feel the fire of anger in his chest because of the clear contempt the adventurer was projecting onto Freya, he could not help but feel the hairs on his skin stand on end as he made eye-contact with the boy. That nervous, strange feeling he had told his lady about earlier worsened as Steve continued to stare at him.
Freya observed the exchange, before nodding at Ottar, to which the large man calmed down. And just in time as the music came to a stop and the whole dance came to a complete halt, people breathless with their efforts yet merry all the same. Steve quickly disconnected him from the dancer's embrace with Freya, so as not to hold on to her longer than necessary. Freya held her hand out a little longer before drawing it back also.
"Believe me, I don't want any real hostilities between us." She said to Steve. "Especially when it comes to a child of old Ptah."
"Debatable." The god in question walked up to them with Ais in tow. The Sword Princess narrowed her eyes at the goddess and quickly took Steve's hand, hugging his arm into herself as she regarded Freya with suspicion.
"Speak of the Devil." Freya giggled at Ptah before looking back at Ais. "Well, well. The Sword Princess herself. I believe that this is the first time we've met in person. Little Loki loves bragging about you all the time. She's convinced that soon enough, her Familia will overrun mine." She returned her gaze back to Steve. "Though it would seen that a rather large spanner has been thrown into the works. From what I hear, this boy alone was enough to outpace and completely outclass every one of her executives at once."
"It is true." Ais said. "And he could defeat your Familia too."
"Now that is a comment I have to contest." Freya put a hand to her cheek and smiled with her eyes closed. "Perhaps he is a level 9, but it could just be that your Familia were not competent enough to do the job. My children are better by far when it comes to raw combat ability than Loki's are."
Ptah eyed a dust cloud that was fast approaching them and tutted. "Now speak of an actual Devil..."
"FREYAAAAAAA!" Loki came screeching to a halt right beside them and got up into Freya's face. "YOU'RE NOT ALSO TRYING TO TRAP MY AISY-POO ARE YOU?!"
"I would do no such thing." Freya said lightly while waving her hand at Loki. Ottar quietly came up and stood behind his goddess. "After all, there are much more interesting specimens to observe now than is to be found among your litter."
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Loki stamped her foot angrily while grinding her feet. "My kids are better than yours any day!"
"Whatever helps you sleep my dear."
"THE HELL DID YOU SAY?!"
"Oh goodness Loki." Hephaestus walked up to them and tried to placate the matter as she usually found herself doing when it came to spats between goddesses. Hestia stood by while nibbling on a snack. "Must you stir up drama every party you come to?"
"It's different this time around Phae-Phae!" Loki pointed at the Minecrafter. "I already have one wolf to get rid of, I don't need to be worrying about another!"
"Did you seriously just threaten the life of my child in front of me Lopt?" Ptah said dangerously as he raised an eyebrow. The kohl markings under his eyes made it all the more intimidating.
"I-yuuhhh...no, well see that's...errr" Loki began waving her arms about in panic as she turned white as a sheet while she sweated bullets.
"Leave out your childish arguments both of you. It is absolutely senseless..." Ptah put his fists on his hips as he looked between the two Norse goddesses.
Hephaestus sighed in relief. "Finally, another voice of reason beside me..." She murmured.
"...senseless in the fact that you two dimtwits can't recognise both your Familias are ass and my one child could smash both of them with his bare fists!" Ptah balled his hand and shook it in front of them.
Hephaestus face-palmed.
...
Hestia snickered but then began choking as viscous cream from her snack went down the wrong pipe.
Ais widened her eyes in alarm and immediately let go of Steve to hit Hestia's back and help her spit it out. Loki weakly held out her arms and croaked weakly in despair as her child showed her rival a charity that she would not give to her own goddess.
"That sounds very much like a challenge Ptah." Freya gave the diminutive god a side-eye. "A prerequisite to a War Game, as so many people have been demanding me to put on with you just to verify the authenticity of your child's claim."
"Pffft. As if I'd fall for that." Ptah folded his arms. "The guild have verified the claim, and Lopt's kids have bore witness to his level and his power. Lovely, clever kids they are, despite such a useless goddess they have."
Ais hummed at that moment. She was actually humming in satisfaction of finally helping Hestia out of her coughing hit, but it came off as if she was agreeing with Ptah. Loki wailed as she felt a sharp, icy, metaphorical arrow pierce her heart.
"Ignoring the howling dog right here..." Ptah gave Loki the stink-eye for the racket she was making. "...you're not tricking me into starting another conflict Freya. Never again."
'We'll see.' The silver haired goddess thought as she eyed a certain few gods who were eyeing the group with slowly decreasing patience as their curiosities and their pompous opinions started to get the better of them. She then returned her attention to Steve, and opened her mouth to address him again but then stopped short.
Her action caught the attention of the others and they looked to Steve as well to see what took her off-guard.
The gamer was looked in a staring contest with Ottar as both men eyed each other down in a battle of wills. Both were mirrors of one another, not a single muscle in their faces twitching nor any unusual actions such as excessive breathing or blinking from any of the two. Both were calm and collected, the only visible turmoil going between them was what they were excluding into the atmosphere.
Both of them projected their battle intent into their, the sensation palpable to everyone in the room and growing as conversation started to die down and people began to turn their attention to what was going on down on the dance floor. Some people, even adventurers began to sweat as the ominous situation made their blood run cold. When people said that special class adventurers were in a league of their own, they had a point.
Eventually though, Ottar could only push against Steve for so long and he reached his limit rather soon. Steve was on a much higher level and therefore could emit much more malice than the Boaz and he began to easily drive the Boaz back in their contest. As the pressure from Steve grew stronger, every person in the room besides those in the group started to get goosebumps and their hairs stood on end.
Ganesha was snapped out of his haze and briefly began considering going down there to placate the whole matter. But considering exactly which gods and which adventurers were down there, and that it was clear Ptah wasn't too happy with him at the moment, the elephant masked god prioritised his personal safety over his host duties.
Some however, were not so mindful of themselves. An angry bang drew everyone's attention to a certain god that had slammed his wine-glass down on the table. And he looked at the group with a prominent scowl on his face.
"I cannot stand this!" The man growled. "The audacity of the two of you to stand there in that group like you are equals, like you can just skip over the rest of us and ascend to the higher echelons of adventurer society!"
...
"Mind some backstory on 'Mr-Snooty-and-Moderately-Eloquent' over there." Steve nudged his patron.
"Apollo's never been a bright one." Ptah said. "Ironic since he's a sun god."
"Isn't he just a guy that directs the sun?" Steve raised a brow. "I thought Helios was the actual god of the sun in their pantheon."
"He is." Hestia said. "But he's...difficult to describe. Out of the two though, I'd definitely kick Apollo aside."
"I detect a particular distaste in your voice Hestia." Steve said to her. "Any reason for that?"
"...He's a creep." Hestia said simply, hoping Steve would understand.
"...I see." Steve said before he pushed Hestia back a little gently so she was standing behind him and Ais. In contrast, Ptah stepped forward and eyed the man up and down.
"Why's a snivelling rat like you finally squeaking after so long Apollo." Ptah asked. "Your head finally out of the clouds, or are you still high?"
"How typical of you, 'Lord Ptah'." Apollo sniffed as he walked up to them. "To think of the kind of respect you demand from the rest of us, and yet you are the first to insult and curse us the minute someone says something to you, even if it is not remotely insulting. Moreover, you can't even decide who your enemies are. One century you're tormenting Loki, and the next you're just cosying up beside her in a farce alliance you and your fraudster child."
"Perhaps it is because I'm tired of watching arrogant little brats like you dance about like you know everything." Ptah said. "I took the time to familiarise myself with every place in every plane that I could go to. You were always just too absorbed into your own self, doing nothing but flying in circles in that stupid chariot, in a world of your own."
"But I can sniff a lie when it's in front of me." Apollo made a point of looking down at Ptah. "You know what they say. You can't hide in the shadows from a sun god...or at least, that's what they should say."
"Looks like he's cognitive enough to realise that." Steve commented and Ptah nodded in agreement.
'...Though I wonder where I've heard that before...'
...
"It's not like his child is any less foul-mouthed either!" Ishtar shouted from her seat, drawing attention to her. "Just earlier, he insulted with the absolute, most disgusting and vile assumption ever! Never in my life have I ever been so insulted."
"Harlots are detrimental to cohesion in society." Steve said. "They are the festering pits of disease and of corruption, and from them come illnesses that rots the manhood off a man while their venereal filth seeps into the water that runs through society. Ingested by the townsfolk, along with whatever other horrors are growing inside you."
"YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?!" Ishtar yelled to the audience.
"The only time any sound should be coming from your mouth is when some warty, fat old drunkard is having his way with you." Steve said. "Your mouth is not purposed for voicing valid opinions, so shut up...whore."
Ishtar stood up quickly, a fire blazing in her eyes. But Apollo cared nothing for her input or the insult directed at her and so he continued.
"I cannot for the life of me imagine how you could be entertaining this, Freya and Loki." The orange haired man exclaimed to the two goddesses. "But then going by your reputation, you're just leading these two by the nose and you'll laughingly dispose of them when it comes to the crunch. You've even got your Sword Princess clinging to him like a glorified courtesan. So much for responsibility when you're the two ultimate superpowers in this city." Apollo finished.
All the gods around were mixed in their reactions. Many trusted their instincts and kept quiet as they could not forget the sensations from earlier. But there were still many who vigorously nodded in agreement with the idiot's words. Ottar's fists clenched at the implicit insinuations of the god.
But Steve locked onto one single thing that Apollo had said and he rose up, suddenly filled with a terrifying rage as his eyes blazed with anger and defensiveness.
"What did you just say?!" The gamer rasped and hissed at the same time as he felt a powerful urge to just lurch forward and grab the idiot god by the face. But he was forced to a halt as Ptah stuck a hand in front of him, as through the Falna he sensed the murderous rage of his child.
"I find it so amusing..." Ptah began. "...how you impudent brats can strut around here and in heaven with such carefree, arrogant behaviour and not care a dime for the reason of your existence. The fact that you have the gall to come and slight ME, of all people. I am one who did not take his life and his power for granted and somebody who actually put himself out there to unravel the weavings of creation, to find the cause of all things. And the time I spent doing that is far longer than any of you toddlers have lived. And yet you come up to me and voice this sort of slander and disrespect, cast this stain upon my name, my child's name and upon the woman of my child. Have you forgotten, just have you forgotten..." Ptah opened his eyes and they shone a blood red as the room shook with his voice which seemed to come form everywhere at once. "...exactly who you're talking to?!"
All the gods that had agreed with Apollo as well as those who did not reeled back and drew in sharp breaths as their hearts started racing. The mortals were not able to feel it, but the gods felt the pressure of Ptah's influence bearing down upon their godhood. And through their divine connections, they felt Heaven churn in terror as even the lands above feared the wrath of Ptah the Great, the most powerful Primordial known to them. It was so easy to forget who he was because of his appearance and because of the way he looked. But they all knew very well what he was capable of and they were wary of what secrets he held.
...
Even Ouranos looked up at the ceiling of his sanctuary in worry. Not even the Olympian Primordial liked getting on Ptah's bad side. Anytime the little god was driven to this sort of fury, it was never a good sign.
...
Apollo took several steps backward, grimacing in fear as even Steve widened his eyes as his skin felt like there were maggots wriggling underneath because of the sudden anxiety that filled the room.
"If you want so badly to find out exactly how real our claim is..." Ptah said coldly. "...then how about you offer your own Familia up as sacrificial lambs for this just and noble cause? If you can express such passionate words, then surely you are willing to clinch the deal?"
Apollo's mouth flapped open and closed as he tried to find the appropriate words to form. But an unlikely saviour came to cool the whole thing down.
"Peace my friends." A calm voice said as the person came down the stairs. "As much as I appreciate a spot of mad fury, we are at a party. There is always room for civility and peaceful discussion." A man with long blond hair slowly came tapping down the stairs with a wine-glass in hand.
"Dionysus." Hephaestus remarked. "It's uncharacteristic of you to get involved."
"One of our own pantheon has upset Lord Ptah, my dear Hephaestus." The man said coolly as he approached. "Need I say that we do not need a demonstration like the one that the pantheon of our other two friends here received when Ptah was this riled up once before. We do not need a repeat of that incident down here amongst our Children."
Ptah huffed. "Your words do not soothe me much either. You are no less of a slimy one than Apollo is, Dio."
"I assure you, I do not carry the same intentions." Dionysus said as he stood in front of them. He briefly turned to Apollo and gave him a pointed look. Ever so briefly, a cruel spark glinted in his eye and the sun god backed off. Nobody knew this god's other side better than the Olympians. As long as he stayed in his haze, they knew that they were safe from him. "But nevertheless, the entire city is sceptical of this whole thing."
"You think?"
"Mmm." Dionysus looked at Steve. Now the gamer was no fool. He was instantly on alert the moment this god spoke and regarded this man with the most suspicion of all. Dionysus looked him up and down, and Steve could swear there was a hint of a smug smile on his face before the god looked away from him back to Ptah. "It is just that...we want a demonstration of this boy's power. We are gods after all, and we seize the chance for a good spot of entertainment any time we get it. You are not reputed as a liar Ptah. We just want see for ourselves."
"Is the statement of Lopt's Familia not enough?" Ptah said. "Is the signature of Royman Mardeel not enough? What is in it for me if I force my child to undergo a trial just to amuse your sorry characters and prove what does not need to be proved."
"Well to begin with..." Freya said. "...we all know you had no Familia before. But this boy comes out of nowhere and all of a sudden he's level 9. In fact, I think we should be directing our questions at him, and not at you." Everybody turned to the gamer as he became self conscious of all the eyes turned on him. "Where exactly did you come from? How did you get this powerful, if indeed your level is true?"
"You have no right to demand that of me. My past, my origins are my property alone. And not even a god has the right to demand it out of me." Steve warned. "Are you that vain that even clear-cut testimonies from reliable sources is not enough to convince you the legitimacy of our claims?"
"You do not understand the effort it takes to cultivate moderate adventurers, let alone first class ones." Dionysus said. "On top of that, it's even harder to get a single one who is 7 and above. That was a feat accomplished only by Zeus, Hera and Poseidon. Freya gained hers a few years later. Other than them, no Familia in recorded history has had a level 7 and only one has had a level nine. The level you claim to behold is the absolute peak of adventuring at this point as it is the highest anybody has gone. With the previous level 9, it took decades for her to reach that point. And you are clearly so young. All we want is a demonstration of your abilities. Nothing more." The god finished.
"And you think a War Game is the answer?" Ptah said. "You think filling Freya's letter box with letters demanding one of the highest forms of collective trials is an appropriate way for Steve to prove what he is."
"Well to be fair..." Hermes said. "...the kind of power you imply he has, can only be expressed properly in a War Game. No other kind of contest has the code of conduct which will keep the populace safe from the adventurers. Also, the public have a right to know what sort of power walks amongst them. You keep them twiddling their thumbs and wringing their toes, you'll have unrest."
"Not to mention all the political implications." Freya said. "Our allies may start to raise their brows if they hear there is a level 9 amongst us and yet he does not want to prove he is so. It will make them question all of our powerful adventurers in time and they may think to abandon us in suspicion of dishonesty. And if our enemies get the same idea, then you know what they will do."
"Useless fodder." Ptah grumbled. "What they think doesn't matter when it comes to reality. They come here with war, they'll be slaughtered like Ares's goons."
"But is that loss of life really necessary?" Dionysus said. "You know how the mortals are. As gods, it is our jobs that they always learn the important lessons but not through the way of ruin. Ptah, if your child is as you and he says he is, what is the problem?"
"It comes at cost to me and it makes us look like puppets for entertainment." Ptah said. "I will not be made a fool so you can enjoy yourselves, even when I am guaranteed a win."
"Then do you want to live in suspicion and dim light throughout the time in the city? Do you want your child to be regarded with suspicion wherever he goes? And a fear of dishonesty on your end will discourage many others from even approaching your Familia, let alone joining it." Dionysus said. "Of course, in the end we have no say in your lives. But what we ask for is so very little when you think of the greater good. We are all competitors but we are also allies against evil. We would like to have confidence in one another. Your child, if he is genuine, will be the adventurer who brought back the Golden Age, and thus we would like to believe in him. Against a threat like the Dragon, which I must remind you is still out there, he would be our greatest hope and the face of our united forces. What if the dragon comes back for revenge? It destroyed the Zeus and Hera Familia, so the first person we will look to for hope is the highest levelled adventurer. What would you want us to see when we look to him? A potential liar and fraud? Or a mighty adventurer who has the power to back his name and his claims. For the rest and assurance of the public and the greater good, will you not at least consider it?"
The mention of the Dragon brought a sudden hushed silence as fear grew in the room. Few even dared to speak its name because of how evil and vicious it was. It was easy to forget the world calamity that was still flying about the planet somewhere because they were absorbed into the adventurer's game. Even Ptah's expression changed, because the beast was not just a danger to mortals alone.
The Primordial pursed his lips and looked to Steve. "What do you say?"
"We knew there was a chance this would happen." Steve said. "I am prepared for every outcome. If I must fight, I have no problem fighting. If they demand of me to fight an opponent in some tournament so I can prove my worth and preserve my dignity which is being questioned at this very moment, then for such a cause I will BURY whatever they throw at me. If a War Game is to be had, then I say bring it on! I'll take entire Familias on if I have to. I have already succeeded against Loki's children. I am more than confident I can take anyone else." Steve then looked around the room at all the collected gods as he declared. "Send your armies and your war beasts, your magical weapons and your spells. With it all, you can do NOTHING against me. I am what I say I am and there is nothing like unto me."
...
Silence endured before Ptah sighed and looked at the gods. "Well I guess that's that then. Sometimes children are overeager to prove themselves, so as parents we should provide the opportunity."
"Excellent." Dionysus said as he looked around the room. "Who do you all think should fight Ptah's child?"
Every finger of every hand pointed straight to Freya as the goddess looked around and giggled a little as she knew her plan had come to fruition. Ptah would succumb only when when put under pressure by everyone. What was good though was the fact he agreed meant that the claim was true.
"Well go ahead and say it Gefn." Ptah said quietly. "Let's get it over and done with."
"Gladly." Freya said as she smile. "Lord Ptah, Elder amongst the Eldest. I challenge you and your Familia to a War Game!"
---
The party guests left with a buzz of excitement as they anticipated the meeting that would take place the next day in Babel. A War Game was no small thing no matter who was involved. Never had a War Game been boring simply because of the wagers usually involved. And it was between the goddess with the most powerful Familia and the most powerful Primordial they'd ever known.
Nobody anticipated it more than Freya, but she could not help but feel a pool of suspicion bloom in her stomach as she stayed behind and watched the guests leave.
"Is everything okay Lady Freya?" Ottar asked her.
"It's just that...I'd hoped another fool like Apollo would challenge Ptah to a War Game first." Freya said. "That fight would have revealed some of Ptah's cards and then I would have challenged him. Dionysus's involvement however is...concerning. I don't like the way he put me on the spot like that."
"What is done is done my Lady." Ottar said as he looked at the wine god descending down the stairs of the Ganesha Familia home. He then cast his eyes over to Steve picking Ais up and mounting Bathsheba while Hestia and Ptah got on behind. The Warg held a struggling Loki in her mouth. "Now I'm afraid we must get our Familia ready for combat."
"I know. But something about how that went down...with Dionysus stepping in...it makes me suspicious. Like Hephy said, it's uncharacteristic of him." Freya narrowed her eyes further. "What is his gain in accelerating things like this?"
...
The wine god himself though, held up his usual façade as he climbed into his carriage. Only when the door closed did his perpetual small smile drop and he stared at the dark figure sitting on the other end of the carriage.
"Is this what you wanted then, my new friend?" He asked them.
Glowing white eyes just slowly blinked at him in response.
"Silent as ever." Dionysus chuckled. "But all the same, it is a win-win. You get your revenge. And the all the major Familia who stand in the way of my plan get removed completely in a foreseeable future. All we have to do...is let the boy follow his whims..."
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~...welcome to my Dark Side~
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