Quest 11

A few months later, in a renovated warehouse in the southeastern section of the city, several gods gathered together.

"So shall we begin this first Congress of Evil after the desolation of Zeus and Hera!" shouted Alecto, a goddess with hair as dark as ink and golden eyes.

"Here! Here!" said the other evil gods.

"Now, the first order of business, Kakia, how goes the pleasure district?"

"Doing fine! I just got myself more slaves from the East! As well as some more elves!" Said Kakia, a rather plump goddess with red hair and eyes,

"I'll be sure to come by and satiate my thirst, Kakia!" said Vritra with long golden hair and tanned skin in black snakeskin attire, along with various tattoos on the androgynous-looking god.

"And you, Chernobog?" asked Alecto.

"Eh, I have more pressing issues to deal with than that damn Loki and her Familia!" said Chernobog, a sturdy-looking man with red and white hair and eyes like freshly spilled blood.

"They have been rather active these months; it seems they truly wish to fill the gap Zeus and Hera left after so long." Rudra, a god with hair as dark as night, kept it in a braid to keep it from touching the floor and had cold blue eyes. "Freya's Familia has also been giving us trouble."

"Tsk!" said Apate, a goddess with silver hair and eyes. "That damn lustful wench!! If she didn't have that damn boar!!"

"It is fortunate for us that Knight of Knights of the Poseidon Familia is still in Melen." Said Erebus, a man with black hair, two cadet gray locks, and gray eyes.

"Erebus, what is our first step to bring about more chaos!" said Alecto. "I heard word that one of my children was killed on the 12th floor by a Pallum with a mask of a deer that has golden antlers. Many of my children wish for their deaths!"

"Ah yes… Hundred Strength… He was one of your strongest, no?" Erebus said. "Then this is a new person who is a rather powerful person who we need to keep an eye on."

"By that, you mean we'll deal with it while you sit back and watch, right?" Chernobog said, glaring at Erebus.

"He is observing." Said Thanatos. "A clever god knows when to strike."

"What you say, you little toothpick!!" Chernobog shouted. "If I'm not mistaken, you only have 30 children in your Familia! All of which can be crushed into the ground by Rolf!!"

"If only you had a bright child in your Familia," said Apate.

"Tch! Only the strong and brave are allowed in my Familia, you snake!!"

"Now, now." Said Kakia. "Let us all calm down a bit, alright?"

Many of the gods kept their words at bay, and they all sat back down.

"Say, Alecto, why was your child down on the 12th floor?" asked Vritra. "From what is said in the city, he was causing Monster Parades?"

"Fufu… that is a plan me and Alecto are working on!" said Apate. "Though her child's death was an… unfortunate result."

"So what was it? Does it have to do with riling up the monsters?" said Thanatos.

"Yes, my child was only supposed to get them all in a frenzy and simply run, but it seems he got a bit too bloodthirsty and ended up dying," Alecto said.

"Well, how about we make it easier for you?" said Chernobog. "If we cause more trouble, then it'll be easier to make a large Monster Parade!" he shouted.

"… Heh~ that's not a bad idea!" Apate said. "But... we need to really stretch their numbers thin. Right now, they have too much in numbers."

"Then shall we expand our operations to other cities with weaker Familia's? That would bolster our numbers and influence." Said Loviatar, a goddess with green hair and black eyes with a rather sickly pale skin. "Like, say, Santorio Vega, Athiopia, Solingen, and Varga?"

"Have you done research into this, huh, Loviatar?" said Apate. "You usually sit with your children, making poisons and whatnot."

"I am doing what I am best at, as are my children; sending them into battle like the rest of you will result in nothing but death for us, so assisting you all with our poisons is the best we can offer, and this is the plan that I and my children spent time and resources on, gathering information on the Familia in their respective cities."

"Count me in, Loviatar!" said Vritra. "It'll be fun to take over some weak Familia's city and run it!!"

"Aye, I as well!!" said Chernobog. "I would like to give my children more experience!!"

"Then you two shall work on expanding our reach into other countries and cities." Said Alecto. "The rest of us will do what we can to weaken Freya and Loki."

"Then it would seem this meeting is adjourned," Rudra said, getting up.

Many other gods got up and left through different entrances, with their captains quickly coming to their sides.

These were the first steps to their growth in Gekkai, their influence reaching so far even into the Guild.

The era of darkness is vastly approaching.