Chapter 37:
"___" - Speech
(___) - Thoughts
{___} - Internal Voice(s)
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"What's this? The lot of you are honestly still continuing on with this farce?" A hollow voice bellowed as the gates continued to open up.
"Odin, have you no shame?" It continued, revealing the visage of a young man with yellow eyes and gray hair which floated behind him as if it were a tail. He wore a white robe with a gray streak running down its middle, accompanied by a set of three deep blue jewels adorned on his forehead.
"Our traditions have been built up for millenia upon millenia yet you would disgrace them by associating us with such lowlives?" The figure scoffed, sheer disgust apparent on his face as he glared at everyone in the room with utter contempt. "I expected better from you."
"I had a feeling you'd come, Loki." Odin responded in a tired tone. "I shouldn't have to tell you that even with your status you have absolutely no right to start trouble here." Truthfully, Odin highly doubted that anything good was about to come of his abrupt intrusion, especially when taking Loki's character into account.
He quite literally was the "God Of Mischief" after all.
"No right?" Loki scoffed, followed by a brief venomous chuckle. "That's what I should be saying to you, it's my obligation to stop you from dragging down the reputation of our pantheon, especially in such a distasteful manner no less. Do you have any idea how painful it is to watch you force us to mingle with other mythologies like this?"
The All Father groaned, gripping his nose bridge out of frustration as he felt an oncoming headache begin its assault.
"Us? Loki, you are quite literally the only person opposed to this treaty. Is it really that hard for you to cast aside your ego for even a second?" No matter what decision Odin made, Loki always seemed to want to refute him no matter how minute the matter was, almost like it was the sole purpose of his existence.
But because of that, Odin was hardly surprised that it was happening again.
"No matter, I'll give you one chance to return back to Valhalla, should you comply I'll ensure that your punishment isn't anything major." He sighed.
"If anyone's deserving of punishment it's you Odin." He spat. "If I allow you to go through with this we will no longer be able to achieve Ragnarok, how could you possibly expect me to just stand idly by?"
This time it was the Governor's turn to join Odin because of his apparent weariness.
"Pretty sure I've heard that argument before." Azazel's eyes narrowed as he honed in on Loki like a hawk. "You're with Khaos Brigade aren't you?"
Unsurprisingly, the mention of the organization had woken up a certain someone from his short slumber.
"You lot seriously can't just chill out for even a few minutes huh?" Jin spoke up, hauling himself to his feet as Oron scurried to support him.
"I'm fine, thanks."
"No you're not, and you're welcome." Obviously Oron continued to assist him regardless, earning an eye roll from the equally stubborn Fallen Angel.
"Brat, you should know better than to interrupt when the adults are talking." Loki returned his attention to Azazel, pretending not to be offended by Jin's remark.
(You're one to talk about interrupting.)
"Indeed, I've partnered up with them for the time being, but I did so out of my own volition." Refusing to elaborate, Loki raised his left arm as his palm faced the floor. His eyes gleaming with a strange sense of pride as a magic circle appeared out of thin air.
"I'm warning you Loki, don't do it, otherwise I really won't be able to spare you." Odin once again made a knowingly futile attempt to knock some sense into the overly confident God, but to no surprise it would be to little avail.
"Empty words." He spat as his pupils brimmed with pure defiance. "Come forth! My beloved son!" He bellowed.
The atmosphere in the venue felt as if it had been set ablaze as an oppressive aura threatened everyone who dared stand in its wake.
Sweat bolted down the skin of the attendees as their instincts both warned them to run for their lives and stand utterly still at the same time, locking them in place as their legs quivered.
GROWL!
A set of enormous paws gradually peered out from the portal, covered entirely in a set of radiant white and gray fur which somehow seemed as if it were harder than titanium.
The creature's height seemed to almost reach right up the venue's ceiling, towering over all the beings it deemed insignificant like a bloodthirsty skyscraper.
On the sides of the gargantuan canine's body laid a set of massive ivory-colored horns, followed by bright yellow eyes that seethed with beast-like hatred.
"Now you've really gone and done it." Odin grimaced.
This was none other than Loki's own son, Fenrir, and summoning him during the event was nothing less than a direct declaration of war against the four present mythologies, his own included.
However, as a result of his alliance with Khaos Brigade he would've been seen as an enemy regardless.
"Jin-sama, please stand back." Since Jin and the group surrounding him were closest to the beast, Oron's protective instincts had kicked into full force.
"Agree!" Raon included.
"Bah! *cough* What harm could such a cute puppy possibly do? You're all overreacting." In reality, Jin didn't have any reason to be afraid of God's kin, even if it was stronger than him.
After all, five of the strongest beings in existence were present in the room. Fenrir was nothing short of a formidable opponent sure, but against them? He really was just a puppy.
"Enjoy your meal, my son." As a result of Loki's arrogance and his inexplicable sense of superiority to the other mythologies, he somehow believed that Fenrir genuinely could defeat the three "lesser" races in front of him.
ROAR!
Fenrir let out a fierce roar brimming with killing intent, laying waste to the carefully set up tables and decor as he charged towards the first thing he laid eyes upon.
Jin.
But the target in question didn't seem to display even an inkling of fear, let alone prepare himself to confront the beast in any way shape or form.
Jin could see how tense both Oron, Raon and his sister were as he motioned for the two of them to cast aside their weapons.
"There's no need for that, he's got it handled."
"But—" Before they could object, they were met with the sight of what looked to be almost a hundred verdant colored magic circles surrounding Fenrir in its entirety.
"Pierce." A familiar voice nonchalantly echoed from across the room.
HOWL!
In the blink of an eye, an onslaught of enlarged spears of light pierced through the supposedly impenetrable fur of the Godborn beast, causing it to wildly toss and turn in agony as a waterfall of blood leaked out of its body.
"Oh?"
Yet for some reason, Loki hardly seemed bothered by his son's evident anguish, though not for the reason most would assume.
"I'm surprised a lesser being like you could muster a half-decent attack." The untrained eye would've assumed Fenrir would have been out for the count, but the opposite couldn't be more true.
In seconds, Fenrir's wounds started to mend themselves as it furiously snarled at Azazel with saliva gushing out of its maw like a broken dam.
"But if you think half-decent is enough to defeat my son, you're sorely mistaken."
"I see, it looks like Fenrir wasn't dubbed a God-Killer merely out of nepotism. I'm impressed." The Governor commented indifferently, visibility undisturbed by Fenrir's regenerative prowess.
Loki hummed inquisitively, unconvinced that someone belonging to such a lowly species could ever pose a real threat to his own son. To him it looked like naught but plain arrogance.
Which was rather ironic.
"Pretend all you want, at the end of the day you're just another meal."
As a result of the attack, the God-Devouring Wolf had lost all interest in Jin and his companions, fully shifting his focus to the one who dared to penetrate the flesh of a being as esteemed as itself.
How dare an ant try to pose a threat to it.
ROOOOARRR!
As if it were light as a feather, Fenrir leaped up onto one of the supporting pillars causing the foundation of the venue's building to tremble in the process.
"Would you look at that? I didn't know Fenrir was part frog." Azazel taunted as the canine nooked itself like a bow an arrow whilst facing him with an expression of pure hatred.
"I'd be hard pressed to give up a chance to collect data on a being as interesting as you." The Governor wagged two figures towards Fenrir in a provoking manner with a smug grin on his face. "Well? What's the holdup?"
CRUMBLE!
Fenrir shot towards Azazel as pieces of the roof's foundation tore apart, its maw wide open as it seemed intent on devouring him whole.
"Need some help?" Ajuka calmly asked.
"Maybe later, for now just let me have my fun." The Beezlebub simply shrugged, content with letting the Fallen Angel do his thing.
Azazel pressed his palms together, the corners of his mouth stretching wider as he focused his holy power.
"Enclose." He murmured under his breath.
In an instant Fenrir had been suspended mid-air by a cage composed entirely of Holy Power. Although the construct would only hold the beast temporarily, it was more than enough to create an opening for someone of Azazel's caliber.
"Lance." A singular, titanic-sized spear of Holy Power pierced right through Fenrir's neck, inciting another agony-induced screech from the legendary creature.
"Oh come on, I know that's not enough to kill you. There's still plenty of data I've yet to collect!" His smile refused to falter in the slightest as Fenrir's wounds sealed up once more.
"I haven't seen you act like this in ages, Azazel." Michael commented with an apparent hint of curiosity.
"What can I say? I'm a child at heart." He shrugged.