Confidence of God Part 1

—Ancient Greece, Sparta —

The kings of Sparta were in an emergency meeting with one another, after losing contact with one of the elite units. How furious they were couldn't be put into words. How long and how much resources had they put into these warriors? And for what? To have them dead, and have some not accounted for?

The way the corpses were found was mysterious. How can forty men die from drowning inland? There was no body of water close by other than the natural streams in the forest, but since the warriors were elites of the elites they should be experienced with the terrain they were traveling on, to avoid the dangerous areas, which they did from the tracks the scout found.

They didn't want to believe it, but they had to believe it was a god's doing.

The tracks left behind consisted of six, five human footprints, with five matching the uniqueness of the Spartan armor.

The sixth pair of footsteps was odd as they were unnaturally large, almost half a man in size. The way the footsteps are placed, and how uninformed they were, they concluded it to be humanoid being but not human.

No human could be that massive.

The footsteps stop at the banks of the sea, making any further investigation impossible. However, that's all the kings needed to know it was a god, mostly likely Poseidon, the God of the Seas!

Of course they could have assumed it was someone with a death wish but, why go through all that effort, just to die? It didn't make sense.

The Spartans claimed to be the descendants of Heracles, but they knew that was only to claim divine origins. More people would want to be allied with physical proof of the gods than not, however, the kings of the past had regretted this for a long time. If they had not claimed to be Heracles descendants, then the temples wouldn't have them wrap around their fingers like they currently do.

Of the gods, the Spartans love Apollo, Athermis, and Orthia, the most while they still worshiped the other gods, these received the most acknowledgment.

Orthia is not a part of the Olympians and was instead a local deity that found refuge in Sparta. She is the goddess of fertility and salvation; currently, however, the temples are trying to fuse her into Artemis to create Artemis Orthia.

One of the kings sat down, with his head resting on his hands as he thought of what to do. He found the situation suspicious and was wondering if the other cities had done this, however that was unlikely as even they would be hard pressed to kill an elite of Sparta, in one fell swoop. They had the best training possible, they had techniques suited to kill as much as possible, and also skills to leave information in places none would be the wiser.

They left nothing! They must have all died instantly, or else we would have known the full story of yesterday's event. The temple was another suspect, but they did not send any warriors and were having a wait and see attitude.

The other king was looking out the window of the secret room, observing the pedestrians on the streets. Nothing seems off, but only he knew that some of the pedestrians were acting weird. They looked into his direction too many times, and kept dodging in and out of the flow of the other pedestrians, they could only be spies sent by the other cities, most likely their arch enemy Athens.

"Brother, let's play dumb for a while, the other parties don't seem to have any clues as well. As long as we find all the information we need, we can deal with it. However, currently, we need to find this god and have him on our side. Ruling this great city won't be the limit of Sparta then." The king said as he closes the window with a stone slab.

"I want to, but with an unknown force out there we knew nothing of, it is frightening what they could do to Sparta." The other king signed as he knew the two of them hadn't brought up the main topic of the day; they didn't see the point as they knew the culprit. There were other corpses separate from the Spartans that died from drowning, they were brutally killed. Arrows laced with poison had claimed their lives, but fear could also have played a part.

"Grigorios, We need to change to another room in the future, this room is compromised." The other king turned and left the room.

King Grigorios signed this was the fifth room this week, how many spies are there? Even with all their methods, uncovering them was nigh impossible, they were too fiercely loyal to their master, the wrong master sadly.

King Grigorios, got up and left, recalling the interaction with Pericles Constantinallis. He knew that one of the females that disappeared was the daughter of his compadre, however, the King was truly selfless, he didn't care because he values the city and its inhabitants above his happiness. Sadly, he, Grigorios Mavrallis, wasnt of equal morality, he only valued the outcome, not the process.

That's probably why they get along so well. One was noble but cold even to himself, the other was sinister but otherwise just. Each of them had a task that they were exceptional at, he for example was in charge of all military power of the city along with the oligarchs. King Pericles was in charge of the city's management and law, with his own set of oligarchs that obeyed him but otherwise sought wealth for their factions.

———

Pontus sat on his throne, with five females still clothed in armor kneeling before him. They had been in this position for a couple of minutes now, in total silence. He didn't know how to begin the conversation, should he be benevolent or a tyrant?

Being benevolent would make things easier but it's easier for betrayal. Being a tyrant would make everyone fall in line within his vision but cause underlying issues.

Feeling his vast power dominating the waters around, Pontus wonders why he has to give up his title and domain when Poseidon comes into power. Does that have to be the case? He could simply charter a portion of the oceans to him to rule, and that would still give Poseidon the title of God of the Seas.

Pontus didn't think he could rule over the entire oceans, as he couldn't be everywhere at once, and the ocean creatures were not intelligent enough to fear and obey him. If only he had intelligent subordinates in the form of children.

Looking at the five women, he activates , which gives him information by looking at something or someone.

This ability gives him the feeling he was all knowing, as he could see their names, race, karma, and even their skills.

[Name: Zoe Constantillis

Race: Human

Karma: Good

Skills: Noble Etiquette (⅖) Warrior Skills-Parry(⅕), and Defense(⅖)]

[Name: Xenia Spanidi

Race: Human

Karma: Neutral Good

Skills: Leadership(⅘), Warrior Skill-Parry(5/5), Roll(5/5), Defense(⅘), Attack(5/5)]

[Name: Avra Architizi

Race: Human

Karma: Good

Skills: Warrior Skill-Parry(⅗), Defense(5/5)]

[Name: Alexia Mundouli

Race: Human

Karma: Good

Skills: Warrior Skill- Parry(⅗), Attack(⅗)]

[Name: Yeorgia Gianalli

Race: Human

Karma: Good

Skills: Warrior Skill- Parry(5/5), Attack(5/5), Defensive(5/5)]

One of the females caught Pontus' eyes, Xenia. He didn't care if someone was evil or good, because that was certainly subjective. The actions of that person might have been done with their idea of good but to someone else it was evil.

"I'm Pontus, the Primordial God of the Oceans, I brought you all here for one purpose and one purpose only, to serve me." Pontus paused as he noticed he said the same words Ainz had said to them. The only difference was that he wasn't going to turn them into gods, he didn't have that power.

The five women looked up at Pontus but didn't say anything. How could they, their confusion was cleared up, so he wasn't Poseidon, he had an even more noble status.

Ancient myths and legends are something every child learns either from school or from others. So Pontus, who didn't appear in the myths, was not strange to them.

Just the title Primordial God told them all they needed to know.

"Originally, I was going to kill you all with the other knights but I needed wives to give birth to my children, so I spared you." Pontus could see the shift in their expression but continue, "For every child born, I will compensate you."

The females pondered amongst themselves, before removing their helmets. They were not the most beautiful women Pontus had seen but they weren't ugly as well. The five of them seem like sisters with similarly blonde hair, which only vary with how bright it was.

In Sparta and most of the surrounding cities, it was common to have blonde hair, blue eye individuals, with brown and green eyes coming in second place. Take for example him, when he was a mortal he had brown hair and blue eyes. That didn't mean he was handsome, but similarly, didn't mean he was ugly.

"My Lord, I'm Xenia, I'm willing to become your wife, I only beg you let Zoe return to Sparta." Lowering her head, and tightening her knuckles, she tried to hide her fear. She had never talked to a god before, and didn't know if begging to let one of them leave was reasonable. Would Pontus kill her for requesting what she did?

The one named Zoe seemed thankful that Xenia didn't forget her duties. She was sad and regretful that she caused such a scene but how was she to know her playing to be a warrior would lead to this?

Her father had doted on her since she was little, given in to her every whim but maybe he should have been firm just this once? Now because of her, her four protectors may be forced to become the plaything of this god.

Pontus remained silent and began to tap his armrest as he contemplated. He was not going to let her go as she was needed to give birth to his children, however, he cannot just outright refuse. He will give them hope, but tie them down to the oceans, so they wouldn't want to leave. "I cannot release you, but I can allow you to send messages to Sparta. You must understand the entire oceans are in turmoil because of my lack of control but I plan to stop this by having my children govern a portion in my name. Don't just see me as a god, think about the benefits you can get by being my wife. First of all, having a status that mortals would never achieve. Secondly, having territory that solely belongs to you, and an uncountable amount of servants. The entire oceans would be at your beck and call. I would even dare say, I could allow you all to live for a very long time." The last portion of his words was said in a low voice, as he wasn't sure if he could do it. He could ask Ainz but he decides against it, Ainz had given him too much for him to bother him, especially when he didn't sacrifice any gold in his name yet.

Zoe and the other women were tempted because as women they couldn't own anything. For example Zoe, as a princess to Sparta, after her father dies, would not be given anything, as everything would be inherited by her male child. If not for her father, Zoe knew she would not have lived such an obstacle-free life, as she heard other princesses in the past had been traded for alliances. That was the reason she decided to become a warrior, as at least then she would have some semblance of control of her life.

Now, Zoe and the others were truly hesitating about what to do. They didn't have a choice, as they couldn't leave. It calmed them however that they could send messages, but it would be impossible for the receiver to rescue them. How would they find them? They were beneath the waves of the oceans, with a god as their captor no less.

The other women already made their decisions, but Zoe was still hesitating.

Zoe fears one thing, upon knowing the situation they were in.

Pontus, was ten-meter tall, towering over them even when sitting on his cold throne. How would such a massive being bed them? And did she want this? She could imagine that his thing was bigger than her torso when hardened, which could kill her if it couldn't fit.

She was no naïve girl, she had seen her fair share of intimate interactions between men and women, and how rough it was. It was seeing these scenes that made her remain a chaste woman. However, she wonders if that was a good choice or not. If she had experienced it before, maybe she wouldn't be dreading what is to come.

She couldn't deny his advances, as he was a god and cannot be belittled. It was already a privilege for him to be so cordial with them. If it had been another god, they would probably be raped and forced to carry their seed. Pretending to love it, when given birth, was never something they planned.

"I know you all will need some time, so I shall guide you to your rooms to think about it." Pontus stood up and began to walk towards the door behind his throne.

The throne room had two doors, the one behind his throne led into the core of the palace, while the other one led into the throne room, for guests.

As they approached the door, it automatically opened, which made the women exclaim.

With the door opened, a high ceiling, illuminated by rare precious crystals, walls filled with paintings of the oceans, mythical creatures, and even Pontus himself appear before their eyes.

The floor had a nice blue carpet that absorbed the footsteps of those who tread upon it, that alone was something beyond what the Castle of Sparta could afford.

The hallway was full of twists and turns.

The females were shocked as even the castle of Sparta pale in comparison to a mere hallway. They didn't even see the palace from the outside, but they imagined it was spectacular beyond belief, truly worthy of being the abode of a god.