CHAPTER 273

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[Alex Walker POV]

In the middle of a boss battle, a notification had appeared. Gaia was summoning me. I blinked, wondering why she was calling for me, as I continued to dodge the attacks of Arathemus, the boss I was fighting, was throwing at me.

I sighed, perhaps it would be best to see what she wanted after this.

"Sorry ugly, but we have to cut things short," I winked, grabbing Arathemus's arm mid-attack, before using Serenity to cut him in twain, while using [Negation] to negate his existence.

[Arathemus slain. Exp gained 34899436246.]

[Dungeon cleared.]

Time to see what Gaia wants, perhaps she's mad I killed Set. Ohh, perhaps she wants to ambush me, that would be interesting, I would have to eat her though, in the non-sexual way.

I wonder if she tastes like a salad.

Maybe like dirt, I mean, she's mother earth, and Earth has more dirt and water than anything.

….

I miss the days when eating celestial beings wasn't so casual for me.

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[At Gaia's]

I entered Gaia's dimension, using a portal, finding mother earth tending to her garden outside her house.

"Gaia," I said, as Gaia turned, her eyes glaring at me like two orbs of fire.

Hmm, maybe I will have to eat her.

"You killed Set," Gaia said in a dangerously low tone, almost as if hissing her words out, one by one.

Yep, I will have to eat her. At this pace, I will get a title based on my eating habits. I mean, from a cosmic point of view, I am committing cannibalism.

"I did," I nodded.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?!" Gaia demanded in anger. Her hands curled into fists.

"Yes," I nodded slowly, my eyes glancing around in confusion. "I ate your brother. That's what I did."

"You insufferable dolt!" Gaia huffed, throwing an apple at me, which I grabbed before it could hit me. "You ate an elder god, an elder!"

"I know," I nodded, taking a bite of the apple she had thrown. So far, she wasn't being overly aggressive, if anything, she was throwing a tantrum, I think. And I wasn't gonna eat her for that, I mean, throwing an apple at me it's hardly an offense, it happens twice a month when I go to Walmart.

"Are you really not aware of what you did?!" Gaia groaned, stomping the soil beneath her feet.

I… I'm no longer sure what's happening. I expected an ambush, and then dinner, but nothing has happened yet.

"I'll be completely honest with you, I have no idea what's happening," I replied, sitting on the ground as I ate the apple she had thrown at me.

"You ate Set, an elder god of the first order," Gaia sighed, looking into my eyes as I nodded. "By doing so, you became a threat to what most of us see as the natural order. And because of my recent alliance with you, I am, in their eyes, deemed a traitor."

They consider me a threat… that's rather troubling. But accurate.

As if my situation wasn't dire enough as it was.

Then again.

I wonder why they haven't targeted me yet… I mean, this would be their best chance to deal with me. Unless they are waiting for Knull to deal with me. Which fits perfectly the modus operandi of most Gods, as in this way, they would not have to sully their hands dealing with me.

"Fair enough," I chuckled, finally giving Gaia an answer, as I scratched the back of my head. "I mean, to be entirely fair with them, they are absolutely right. I am a fucking threat to all of them if they bother me that is. I would've never gone out of my way to kill Set… but, he decided to marinate me, in a manner of speaking, for his own sadistic pleasure, so I killed him."

"I am very aware," Gaia replied, taking a deep breath, her mouth forming a thin line.

"Had he not tried to fuck with me, he would still be out there, doing whatever a snake with six heads does… but he fucked up," I shrugged, before sighing, smiling from my eyes, "Stil, I consider their actions against you stupid."

"Stupid or not, I am in deep trouble now," Gaia answered, rubbing her temples. "Some of them even think I hired you to eliminate Set, or that you only managed to kill Set because I shared his weaknesses with you. I never held any love for Set, nevertheless, I would've never sent someone to kill him."

"Do you think there's a chance of dialoguing with them? For you, I mean." I asked, which only earned me a look from Gaia that said, really?

In hindsight, it was a stupid question. Those in power rarely listen to reason, because in their eyes, they can't be wrong, they are the reason, the truth, and everything in between.

"That's a foolish question. You met my brother, did he look like someone you can talk out an idea?" Gaia scoffed, rolling her eyes. "All gods, for the most part, are nothing but a bunch of stubborn asses. They already made out their minds, and only force will make them reconsider."

Hmm, she had a point there, after all, Set had only reconsidered his stupidity after I had kicked his ass.

"Well, if it's any consolation, you can count on me to protect you," I sighed, deciding to offer her a helping hand, for now. Right now, I had no reason not to help her, and for as long as she didn't betray me, I was okay with keeping our business relationship afloat. At least while it benefitted me, after that, I couldn't promise anything, nothing against her, really, it's just that I really didn't care much for her.

Gaia laughed, "Adorable, but coming from you, I'm almost tempted to believe such prideful claims. Less than two months ago, I was stronger than you, and so was Set by a considerable margin, now? I'm outclassed, such as Set was fighting you. You might just have what it takes to deal with them."

I smiled at her, giving her a thumbs-up, "Exactly! So don't worry, because for as long as you don't betray me, you can count on me."

"Was that a threat?" Gaia asked, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

I smiled, my eyes turning cold for a moment, knowing very well what she had meant. "It was a promise."

"I see, in that case, don't worry. I don't plan on betraying you any time soon." Gaia replied with a quick nod.

"Works for me." I chuckled, not really bothered by her response.

Things were changing a lot, and too fast for that matter. I was officially entering the big leagues, disturbing the rules set by the old, and as expected, I was gaining a lot of enemies while I was at it, a lot of threats to my family, to my friends.

My life was turning into a vicious cycle, wasn't it? One where threats would never stop coming.

I would never rest, would I?

My family would never feel truly safe, would they?

I had forever condemned them to a life of perpetual danger.

There would always be a threat ahead, an enemy lurking in the shadows, an unknown hunting us down.

Those who I loved would never be safe, and it was all my fault.

Not because my love for them had put them in danger, but because I was too weak on a universal scale, and was, for that very reason, unable to truly protect them.

I refused to accept that reality.

I would protect them no matter what. I would give them a boring average life, with normal events ahead of them to look for.

I would make sure of it.

For them, for me, and for what I sought in my idea of a perfect world, I had to become the strongest being there is, the strongest entity, a being of unrivaled strength.

I had, in other words, to surpass The-One-Above-All, if I wanted to have a normal life.

How ironic was that?

I had to become the strongest being, to have a mundane run-of-the-mill life. It was almost poetic.