Decisive Decision

At the conference chamber within the gods' realm, Zeus and Odin had a hard time to contemplate on what is happening in the mortal world. Many people were already heading towards where Aurum is located, yet they seem like they were not getting close.

"The Almighty One pointed out the direction which Aurum is in at the moment. So why does it feel like he is preventing them from reaching him?" Zeus thought out loud.

"Maybe that bastard is just doing that to conceal something! We all know that he is a cunning son of a b*tch, so we always need to be on guard." Odin said.

Nowadays, the gods who can enter the chamber without any restrictions are Snotra, Athena, Zeus, and Odin. Other gods and goddesses were jealous at Snotra and Athena because Zeus and Odin value them more than them. However, they didn't dare to confront them as they knew that both of them were wise. Their two great leaders needed people who can do some detailed plan, and both of them fit in it.

Snotra and Athena would only express their opinion when it is needed. They were always wondering on whose faction does Steve Iasion, and Yuu Shirogane belongs. They knew that Steve Iasion's soul was picked at Odin's faction while Yuu's soul was from Zeus' wing. However, the Almighty One was the one who made them into Celestial Beings, so does that mean that Zeus and Odin don't have higher authority than the Almighty One? This thought would always make Snotra and Athena frown.

"What's wrong Athena?" Zeus asked somewhat tense.

Whenever Zeus would see Athena frown, he knew that she have something dangerous that is trying to unravel. Odin heard Zeus' tense voice and couldn't help but look at Snotra. However, he also saw that Snotra was quite unhappy about something.

"Father, Snotra and I always wondered on whose faction does those two Celestial Beings belongs. We know that the souls were from our and Snotra's faction. However, the Almighty One was the one who gave them the abilities to become a Celestial Being. Does that mean that if the Almighty One commanded them, they would follow that command over yours?" while staring intently at Zeus, she asked.

When Zeus and Odin heard this question, they immediately froze on their spot. The words of Athena made sense as the Almighty One was the one who let them become a Celestial Being. Being a Celestial Being doesn't necessarily give you freedom. Instead, it would always follow those who have a higher rank than them. Meaning, they would always prioritize the orders of the Almighty One before them.

If the Almighty One were still in the Alliance, they wouldn't bother about this matter as they were on the same side. However, in this situation that they are in, the Almighty One left the Alliance already, and He could potentially create a dystopia. Naturally, Zeus and Odin don't want this to happen as it would be detrimental to their side.

All of them felt like they are fighting a three-way war, where Aurum and the Almighty One are helping each other unknowingly. That made them uncomfortable as it would cause the morale of the gods under them to go down.

"Alright Athena, I want you to get rid of them as soon as possible. We must remove any spy that damned bastard planted in our side. Also, we must find a way to get information about his faction discreetly." Zeus said.

"Snotra I want you to call back Loki and tell him that I want to see him. If he doesn't want to go, tell him that this would boost his chance to get the throne." Odin furrowed his brows while giving orders to Snotra.

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At the domain of the Almighty One in the gods' realm, the Almighty One was frowning as he saw that the group of people who were heading towards Aurum's location was not getting nearer. He suspected that Zeus and Odin might have something to do with this. He didn't know anyone else who can do this kind of things except for the ancient gods. However, the old gods are already sealed up, and there is no way that they could use that much power while the majority of their strengths is sealed.

"Michael, I want you to descend to the mortal realm and see if you could sense what is wrong with that path. If you concluded that it is from those greedy bastards, then you could take it down whenever you want." The Almighty One said.

"Your will is my command!" replied Michael.

Michael descended to the mortal realm immediately as soon as he got his sword. He didn't even question the order that the Almighty One gave him.

Uriel and Barakiel were envious of how Michael kept on getting the Almighty One's attention. However, they knew that they couldn't do anything to him as the Almighty One treated Michael as his right-hand man. Moreover, he was the first angel that was with Him since antiquity.

"Uriel, Barakiel, how is the progress of disposing of that treacherous servant of mine? Have you found a specific date that you are going to kill him?" Asked the Almighty One.

"Yes My Lord. We are going to get rid of him as soon as the battle against Aurum is over. If Aurum, by any chance kills him, then we wouldn't need to get rid of him anymore." They both said spontaneously.

The Almighty One was satisfied with their response and nodded at them. However, when he retook a glance towards them, he saw that Uriel and Barakiel were hesitating to say something towards him. That made him frown, but he still let them speak up.

"My Lord, what should we do if he kills Aurum? Should we still present his soul to you or should we let him be?" Barakiel asked.

"Huh? Is that still questionable? You still need to present his soul toward me. He dared to have thoughts on betraying me, and that's what he will get!" The Almighty One replied immediately.

"But..." Uriel was still reluctant to take action.

"What? Do you have any problems with my decision? Do you want me to send you down straight to hell for your blasphemy?" Said the Almighty One while looking furiously at Uriel.

They didn't say anything any longer as they knew that he would do that without any second thoughts. They knew that one of his archangels before they were born, was thrown down to hell because of opposing the Almighty One's creations. They didn't want to be the second nor the third one to be sent down straight to hell because of that.

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In the mortal realm, Aurum was keeping a distance from Yuu and Steve. They didn't mind it either as they need a breather to think things through. Aurum kept glancing at Kyle and thought 'Why didn't he help them at all?'

When they were fighting, Aurum's defeat is guaranteed if Kyle just joined the fight. Fortunately for him, it looked like Kyle was not going to help them at all. Moreover, it even seemed like Kyle was considering to join his side. However, he didn't know if that is a good thing or not. He wanted to complete his quest, but if he let Kyle join him, it would be harder to achieve it.

Meanwhile, Yuu and Steve kept on wondering why the hell would Kyle not help them at all. At first, they thought that even without him, they could immediately finish the task that was previously given to them which is to kill Aurum. However, they only realized now that killing him is impossible in their current state. They needed more power to destroy him by themselves. So when they saw Kyle not helping them, they couldn't feel anything except for being infuriated.

Kyle noticed the Aurum's confused glances toward him and Yuu and Steve's hatred look. He didn't bother explaining why he didn't help them instead he just sneered towards them. He instead looked toward Aurum and gave him a nod.

Aurum, who noticed the change of Kyle's attitude towards him, was becoming more confused. Meanwhile, Yuu and Steve were getting enraged. If they knew that he was going to be like that to them, then both of them would have killed him many times over already.

"You ungrateful bastard! We helped you when you were at a disadvantage, and this is how you repay us?!" Steve asked furiously.

"Help? What do you mean help? I didn't ask for your help, and you never helped me. You just stood beside me and decided to attack him. Besides, I could handle him alone if I want to. The Almighty One might have given you some power, but he has given me more." Kyle replied.

"If you could kill him, why not help us?! It would be over if you help us already!" Yuu retorted.

"Well... I saw what you guys were doing, and it made me wonder, is he a demon or not? From what I can see you are more demonic than he is, so I decided to side with him than you lying, cunning, manipulating b*tches." Kyle said indifferently.

You and Steve were both shocked; they didn't think that he would switch sides when he almost died earlier at his hands. Aurum was equally shocked too, he has no idea what Kyle was thinking, but he felt grateful to him. As long as Aurum found himself some powerful allies, the easier his job would be. However, he furrowed his brows afterward when he thought on how to complete the quest. If they killed Yuu and Steve, who is going to be the other one? He won't be ungrateful and betray Kyle after he just joined him.

"Haha~ I welcome you wholeheartedly old man! I will assure you that joining me is not a bad choice!" Aurum exploded into laughter as he accepted Kyle on his side.

Of course, he was also skeptical about this decision that he made. Aurum has thoughts like: 'What if he was a spy sent by the gods, wouldn't that be dangerous?' 'Is he doing this to make my guard down?'

He still decided to accept them both even though it was a tad bit dangerous. If he is a spy from the modern gods, then he would keep close to him while divulging some information out of him. If not then all is good.

When Yuu and Steve thought that they should retreat, they saw that the crowd was all unconscious. They didn't know what the hell what happening but what happened next explained everything. Uriel and Barakiel descended from the heavens and took a glance at them. They immediately went towards Yuu and Steve.

"How can we help you senior?" Both Yuu and Steve knelt on their knees without any trace of arrogance.

"Our Lord gave us a task to help you eradicate the traitorous servant that would help Aurum. The original plan was to let you finish at your fight, and we will hunt them down, however, seeing both of you lose is somewhat irritating, according to the Almighty One. Thus, he sent us right away to end this once and for all." Barakiel replied solemnly.

When Kyle and Yuu heard this, they both felt terrified. They already had thoughts on ending them both here to avoid future problems, but now two archangels are helping them, how could they win?

"RUN!"

They both started to run when they said that, not daring to look back at all. However, Kyle was not as fast as Aurum was and is immediately falling behind. Aurum didn't have any choice but to slow down and to let him escape first. Kyle knew what Aurum was doing and thanked him inwardly.

'Good thing there I still got fourteen minutes left before my Ultra Instinct wears down. I hope that I could buy enough time to escape while luring them.' Aurum thought while running to the direction opposite from where Kyle was.

'Did the system already predicted that this was going to happen? It did say to escape as soon as five minutes pass by. Now that five minutes is up, these archangels came to help them? Damn, I need to know more about what the system can do!'

Seeing how fast they decided to escape, Yuu and Steve's motivation to kill Aurum soared again. They immediately chased Aurum without any regards to where Kyle was going. Uriel and Barakiel didn't mind letting Kyle escape for now, as Aurum was a bigger threat than him.