Chapter 8

Unknown day, Year 799 NA,

Unknown Desert, Olympus

"How the fuck are you just a Bishop?!" Ban aggrievedly screamed as he managed to lift his battered body back on his feet, swaying dangerously, ready to drop down by just a gentle slap of wind.

Kuroka smirked at his words as she increased the Touki around her body, which sent shockwaves towards the poor Demon of Greed, who fell again, sprawled on the warm sand, gritting his teeth angrily.

And this time, he did not even bother getting back up.

Guts panted as well, holding his beloved sword as support to stay up on his feet, looking at the pair of girls who had defeated them yet again.

It had been a year since he had met the Prince of Darcaedes and became his servant, and in the last year, the six of them had been travelling around the World of Olympus and training whenever the opportunity provided itself.

Raizel made them fight as pairs, and both Ban and he had already held over a hundred battles against Kuroka and Moka, and the last time they won against them was seven months ago.

At first, he had been able to hold his ground against the Nekoshou and was even able to overwhelm her, but he soon began losing his advantages as her growth was simply outrageous. She was truly a monstrous talent that even surpassed him, and he felt no shame in admitting it.

And then there was this young Blood Demon, who was absolutely merciless and relentless when she put her mind to the fight.

As frustrated as he was at losing, Guts was not disheartened. He had grown stronger, much stronger, over the last year, and he was happy with his progress.

More than anything, he had started enjoying the company of the peerage he now belonhed to, and his days had indeed become fun once again.

And now, he was looking forward to their next battle.

"That's 87-23!" Freya, who was staying up in the sky called out, declaring the girls as the winners, and Moka finally dropped to her knees, panting heavily.

Kuroka too stopped utilising her Senjutsu and Touki, allowing the impending tiredness to finally hit her. But she managed to stay up on her feet as she panted for breath.

"Guts, Ban, time's up!" Freya suddenly smiled at the two, reminding them that they had to take their punishment for losing, and both of them immediately set off after spreading their wings.

They flew fast, as fast as they could, covered hundreds of miles until all their strength ran out, and then they fell from the sky one after the other, losing consciousness.

Before they touched the ground, Freya caught them with her magic, and then she returned to the place where her Master was resting.

Moka and Kuroka were already waiting for her, having freshened up, and resting under the shade of a tall tree.

After putting the two unconscious members of their peerage in a comfortable place where they could get some rest, she walked inside a wooden cottage, where her Master was soundly sleeping on a large round bed.

It was the seventh day since he fell asleep, and Freya pouted a little at finding him still blissfully lost in his dreams.

She wished she could join him in bed, but she had to look after the peerage in his absence.

Leaning over his side, she planted a kiss on his cheek, and then stood straight up, ready to leave the room.

Just when she opened the door, she stopped and turned to look around, having sensed movement on the bed. Her eyes widened a little when she found her Master sitting up, now awake, and wearing a slight frown on his face.

"Freya, gather everyone. We are leaving in an hour." He spoke to her and then raised his eyes to look at her and smiled. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Master!" She too smiled back and nodded to him. "It is possible to leave in a couple of hours? Guts and Ban just lost against the girls again. They are sleeping."

"Let them rest then. Gather Kuroka and Moka." He told her, and Freya nodded to him before leaving the room to inform the two girls about his instructions.

After a quick breakfast, Raizel arrived outside the cottage where Moka and Kuroka were sitting by the stream, dipping their feet in it.

"Where are we going, Raizel?" Moka immediately stood up and approached him with a smile on her face. Her blood-red eyes shining in excitement.

"No idea." He grinned at her, and she stared at him dumbly in response.

Once Kuroka and Freya arrived by their side, the Prince turned to look up at the sky without a word and kept looking at it for the next several seconds.

Just as Moka was about to ask what he was doing, a portal appeared under their feet, and out of instinct, she summoned her magic to guard against it. But she gave up when Raizel spoke to her.

"Don't panic." He lightly said, and all of them stopped resisting and allowed the portal to take them wherever it was meant to take them.

In a blink of an eye, they found themselves in white land, and when they looked around, they realised that they were at a place on top of the clouds.

Right in front of them stood a tall temple, and Raizel narrowed his eyes before he stepped forward and started climbing the stairs.

When they entered the temple, an appetising aroma greeted their sense of smell, which they followed. And the girls by his side could not resist but salivate and gulp as soon as their eyes landed on the food that was waiting for them at a simple brown and round table.

However, they all tensed up when they suddenly heard the approaching footsteps, and then Moka gasped as she saw a beautiful lady enter the room, holding a bowl full of a sweet dish that she had never seen before.

She was quite tall, with long brown hair and big blue eyes. And there was this aura of serenity about her that made them feel at ease in her presence.

"You did not have to do so much, Lady Hestia." Raizel smiled as soon as the lady put down the dish on the table and approached them with a curious yet amiable smile on her face.

"It's my apology for waking you up from your precious sleep, Raizel." She stood in front of him and then lovingly cupped his cheeks in her soft hands before she started showering her affection on him as a mother would do to her child.

Freya, Moka, and Kuroka just stared at what was happening in front of them with dumbfounded expressions.

They were still in shock that the Lady was none other than the Olympian Goddess of the Hearth, Hestia, the eldest sister of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.

"How do you like your name?" Hestia finally asked as she ruffled his shiny black hair and then let him go.

"I like it." He chuckled. "Mother told me that you chose it for me."

She beamed a smile at his words and then nodded her head before finally paying attention to the girls behind him.

"You are lovely girls, Freya, Moka, and Kuroka."

"How do you know my name?" The Blood Demon curiously titled her head and the Goddess of Hearth giggled at her question.

"I think I owe you an apology for keeping eyes on all of you for the last few days. Then again, you are in my World, and you came here uninvited." She teased them a little before assuringly smiling at them. "Come, let's eat."

The four of them followed her to the table, and Raizel sat across from Hestia as he started helping himself to the food without any reservation.

"Do you like it?" Hestia expectantly asked, and the young Prince nodded her head with a smile.

"I can't say I have tasted more delicious food than this, Lady Hestia." He honestly replied. "And I am afraid I would find anything else tasteless from now on."

"You can come here anytime you want, Raizel." She offered and they both smiled at each other.

"Are not the Gods of Olympus restless because of my presence in their world?" He asked.

"And yet you came to Olympus and even stayed here for an entire year."

"It's a beautiful world." He grinned.

"You wanted to tease them." She smiled some more. "Then again, they are not as alarmed by your presence as they would have been if Pandora came."

"But they are still very alarmed." He smugly said and watched Hestia shake her head with a sigh.

"You can't blame them, can you? After all, the last time your mother came here, she threatened to kill all the Gods of Olympus if we did not hand over the thing she needed."

Kuroka nearly choked on her food when she heard those words, and her mouth dropped open in shock.

Pandora Darcaedes had threatened to kill all the Gods of Olympus, and by the looks of it, she had succeeded.

Chills ran up the spines of the girls, and even Freya, whom Pandora treated like her own daughter, could not help but fear the Darcaedes Queen.

"They have requested you to ask me to leave?" Raizel asked after he finished eating, not wasting any food.

"Hermes did come, yes," Hestia spoke. "Hercules had complained to Zeus that you stole his son."

"I doubt he cares much about Guts."

Hestia just smiled at his words, not denying or agreeing to them.

"I told them that you asked for my permission before you came and that I invited you." She informed him. "It was a month after you accepted Guts in your Peerage."

"Thank you." He politely said, even though he knew that even if she had not told them this, they would have still never dared to target him. "And they don't have to worry. I am leaving soon."

"I guessed so." Hestia nodded and then looked him in the eyes. "You are searching for some worthy peerage members, right?"

Her question piqued his interest and he nodded his head.

"Do you have someone in mind?" He asked.

"Yes." She replied with a smile. "How's that reckless Dragon doing?"

Raizel curiously raised his brow, wondering which one she was talking about, but then he guessed that she was likely talking about Bahamut.

"Old Baha? He never stays in one place. It's been a while since I last saw him." He informed her. "It is related to him?"

"She is related to him." Hestia sighed and nodded, and all of them were stunned as they realised what her words meant. "He broke the heart of my lovely Priestess, Irene."

"Bahamut has a lover?!" Moka asked in disbelief.

"He has had a few." Raizel frowned as he sensed Hestia's sadness. "Irene is dead?"

"Yes. And she left behind a daughter, whom she named Erza." The Goddess of Hearth informed him.

"Half-Human?"

"Yes." She nodded and then smiled at him. "She's a lovely girl, and very special."

"Where can I find her?" He made up his mind and asked.

"Arz."