18 Chapter XVIII - Deal

In one of the other rooms booked by Guild Ouranos, Verah was soundlessly sleeping in one of the beds in the room, surrounded by two people who couldn't held but sigh.

"She just came back, and now she's out cold." Rena said emotionlessly.

Veronica took off her glasses and placed them on the nightstand beside the bed. "Oh, please, we both know it was simply because of Ultio, that scumbag."

"... Mister Ultio did nothing wrong." Rena said, surprising herself by standing up for the odd young man.

"Whatever," Veronica said. She just couldn't stay angry at Ultio no matter how hard she tried. "But why did Troy have to put her in our room?"

"I believe Leader Troy trusts us more than the other chuckleheads that are present right now." Rena answered after a little bit of thought.

Veronica laughed lightly. It was always refreshing to hear Rena insult people, as she would always speak emotionlessly.

"You're probably right."

At that moment, Verah finally began to stir as she regained consciousness.

"Ugh... That was embarrassing." She said as she got to her feet. Then she realised that Rena and Veronica were staring at her pointedly. "H-hey it's not my fault! Y-you guys know about my curse, so you already understand."

Rena sighed while Veronica avoided Verah's gaze. It was true, they did know about her secret 'curse'.

She had gotten the curse on the day she was born, cursed by a witch who happened to be a goddess in disguise.

Verah was a demigod; a being of both human and godly descent. Her mother was an orphan who was raised by a powerful mage from the Royal Protectors, which was an organisation created by the crown to hire and train powerful people who would protect the throne. Her mother became a powerful hero known as Thunderbird, which she later adopted as her actual name.

According to the legends, Thunderbird's reputation reached the heavens, and Zeus, the god of thunder and the skies came down to meet her, then they fell in love and Zeus carried her back to the heavens and made her a god so they could live together for the rest of eternity.

However, what actually happened was nothing like that.

Zeus, being the lazy pervert he was, had been spying on Thunderbird since she was a teenager and began to fill in around the edges. She had always been beautiful since she was a child, and that was what caught Zeus's attention.

Then one day, when his wife Hera was busy and couldn't keep an eye on him, Zeus hurried down to the mortal plane and forced himself on Thunderbird.

This act of perversion, immaturity and lust by a god resulted in Verah's birth.

Angered by this, Hers went down to curse the child on the day of her birth. But when she saw the girl's beautiful face, her admiration snapped her out of her rage, and she placed a different curse on the child.

'I, Hera, daughter of Tethys and Oceanus, declare by my power as a god. This child will bear a heart incapable of sexual desire, and will become a powerful being that will surpass even the hero Heracles, but her inability to love or desire will leave a hole in her heart that will lead to her taking her life at a young age.' Hera had spoken briefly, shocking the midwives and heroes who were present at the time of Verah's birth.

The queen of the heavens turned to leave, but her eyes landed on the face of the newborn, and her heart softened once more. 'However, there will be hope for the child.' She had said before leaving hurriedly, even forgetting to finish speaking.

She only hurried out, because she realised that she had started growing affection for the child. She felt like she was staring at her own child, and her motherly instincts were telling her to snatch the baby from these strangers, so she left as quickly as possible before she did anything rash.

But she hadn't forgotten why she was there in the first place, and also cursed the child's mother. 'You... You will die when this child lives for twelve full years. There is no hope for you.'

So using the remaining twelve years of her life, Thunderbird had moved to a remote mountain and trained her daughter to become a powerful warrior that will surpass the gods themselves, so she wouldn't face the pathetic end that her mother did.

Verah sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess he is the hope Hera spoke of."

"Yeah, but who is he? And did Hera actually know it would be him, or did she just assume that you'll meet someone?" Veronica pointed out.

Verah pouted as she thought for a while, before she suddenly remembered something. "I do remember my mother telling me she heard Hera referring to the hope as a 'thief', but I don't know what that means."

"I hope it doesn't mean what I think it does." Veronica said with a disgusted expression.

Then the two ladies turned to Rena, who was sitting silently and watching them.

"Your thoughts?" They asked.

Amongst all the members of Guild Ouranos, Rena was the one whose opinion was treasured the most. She always had something wise or meaningful to say, no matter how short it was, and everyone was willing to listen.

"I think... You shouldn't keep Mister Ultio waiting."

*****

Ultio sighed and rubbed his face as he waited patiently in the meeting room.

Then the door slowly opened and five members of Guild Ouranos walked in and got seated on the couch directly opposite Ultio.

"Our apologies, Ultio, there was a slight... Complication." Troy said while eyeing Verah secretly.

The young man had taken off the formal armour he had put on earlier and was now dressed in black pants and a white short-sleeves shirt. Now that he wasn't putting on his helmet, his light brown hair could finally fall to his chin as it was supposed to, and his stupendously handsome face was revealed.

Verah looked away from Troy in embarrassment and feigned a cough. "Um... I apologize, Mister Ultio."

She had also changed out of her flashy costume, and was now wearing a black outfit similar to the ones worn by athletes before their events, also called a tracksuit.

"It's not a problem." Ultio waved off their apologies and turned to Veronica and Rena. "Now, would you two ladies please inform your leaders about the terms of our deal."

"Deal?" Troy and Verah asked confusedly then turned to the two women who were seated next to them.

Veronica cleared her throat and began to speak. "Well... Um..." She paused, thinking of how best to break the news to Troy and Verah.

"He would like to follow us to the Tomb of the Night, along with his partner. In return, he will provide support for us and assistance where he can, all for one item he wants within the tomb. Also, he might pick up an item or two on the way, but everything else belongs to us." Rena, who wasn't one to sweeten her words, said in a calm, unhurried tone.

"Precisely." Ultio nodded at Rena, before leaning back. "So what do you say, leaders of Guild Ouranos?"

"Deal." Verah said a little too fast, causing the entire room to descend into silence. "I-I mean if you're okay with it." She quickly added.

Ultio blinked twice as confusion began to set in. "Uh... I believe I had set the terms of the deal."

"Oh. Yeah. Right. Um... Yeah, so I guess we agree, then. You are officially under the protection of Guild Ouranos, until after we get back from the Tomb of the Night." Verah said hurriedly before shooting up to her feet. It was obvious she didn't want to be around Ultio for much longer.

Ultio nodded and also got to his feet. "Well then, I guess we're officially partners, am I right?" He asked with a smirk as he stretched out his hand to shake on the deal.

Verah shivered for a moment before ignoring Ultio's hand and instead offering him a small bow. "Yes, you are. See you in two days, because that's when we're leaving."

Ultio nodded and retracted his arm smoothly, almost like his handshake was never ignored. "I'll arrive as early as I can." He said as he turned to leave.

"Wait just one second!" Troy said and shot to his feet as well. "I didn't even have a say in this!"

Veronica glared at him the way an adult would glare at a misbehaving child. "Well then, O great one, do you object to the decision?" She asked mockingly.

"I-I..." Troy turned to Rena, hoping for some assistance, but immediately gulped after sensing her gaze fixed pointedly on him. "Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly." He quickly said and scratched the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle.

"But!" He quickly added, earning three different glares from around him. "I would like to see how exactly Ultio can assist a powerful guild like ours."

"Ultio," He turned to Ultio and began to speak formally. "I would like you to come over for a brief training session with Guild Ouranos tomorrow at the Guild Embassy branch a few blocks away from here, to test your skills, strength and battle prowess. Eight in the morning, no need to eat, we'll handle the refreshments and delicacies."

Ultio chuckled and smirked slightly as he approached the door. He placed his hand on the doorknob and spoke over his shoulder with another chuckle before leaving the room.

"I hope you wouldn't regret this."