Chapter 425

His presence alone, without even broadcasting himself was….immense.

Kronos, the Titan of Time.

Realistically, he represented the waning of the seasons, the inevitability of the harvest, the falling of the leaves, the falling of the snow, and finally the melting of the snow. In a more practical sense, he embodied the rebirth of every new season and the withering of the previous. Two ends of a spectrum that merged into the Authority of Time.

Beyond this….my knowledge of the Titan was minimal.

I never really thought I'd have to know important information on a Godly Entity that was supposed to be long dead.

Time was not a domain one could lightly touch.

Just to understand this, you could look at all the major Pantheons of the world and point out how many Gods there are with such a domain.

How many fingers on a single hand would be left over?

Time was a nebulous concept. It wasn't like looking up to the Sun and feeling its warmth. It wasn't like hearing the thundering of the sky and roaring of the oceans. Time was…much more immaterial.

Which was why I was on guard.

Not to mention, the weapon in his hand gave me a very bad feeling.

Frankly, it didn't even look like it was properly forged. Almost….amateurish in its design and form. Like someone just took a slab of metal and hammered it vaguely into the correct form without doing much else and then sharpened it.

But that did nothing to dissuade from the archaic aura it exuded. It was something personally crafted by one of the Greek's Primordials. Something on the same level as Nyx.

Which was where his own Authority was inherited from.

All in all, he was dangerous.

Just from the feeling of danger….I would place him in that ranking floating around as the 'top 10' for how much that bracket was really worth.

He looked at me with a rather casual smile. There wasn't a wisp of killing intent in his gaze. It was as if he was watching something utterly fascinating.

He hefted his large Scythe up. A single swing of it, and it could easily cut this building in half. Instead, he put it upside down, letting the massive metal head drop into the floor, shattering and cracking it in dozens of feet. He then leaned onto the handle. "So fierce." He repeated his words from earlier. "I almost didn't believe them when they told me how powerful Mortals have become."

I could feel Sairaorg's Touki ignite silently.

His was the most obvious, but everyone around me looked like they were ready for battle. Well, most of the people around me.

I glanced at Bikou and Boy Band, they had enough survival instincts to realize the situation, but there was a hint of trepidation there.

As for Venelana's Daughter and Glasses, along with most of the other Devils….they seemed frozen in place.

I remembered what I said to them only moments prior and….I may have went a bit too far. It wasn't fair how I bit into them maliciously like that.

I should apologize later.

I was glad that I already had Mirage in my hand, because I began running some calculations secretly.

There was a beat of silence as everything remained still. Only for Kronos to slightly shift in place. That seemed to be the catalyst for Boy Band to draw upon his Divine Dividing.

Wings sprouted from his back.

"Div—"

Before he could finish, I pushed his head down, slamming him into the ground.

An invisible ripple passed right over where he had been.

A gesture from Kronos, and the tip of his scythe emerged from nothingness, slicing across the air. He was still standing there, leaning upon his weapon, yet he managed to attack so bizarrely.

Kronos merely raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

With an annoyed growl, I used a burst of Shunpo to appear right in front of him. He was…. genuinely startled by my sudden burst of speed.

I gathered enough Magical Energy through the Dimensional Refraction Phenomena.

Spell Circles reached peak efficiency.

At this moment, it was all I could bring to bear with so little setup.

"Ether Cannon!"

The Multi-Colored light shot out at the Titan, enveloping him completely. He was hit, and I could sense his body suffering from the blast, as for how much damage he took, well….I wasn't too optimistic.

His massive body went rocketing back, slamming into a space devoid of people, demolishing the furniture and further the wall.

"You bastard!" Boy Band forced himself up. "I had him!"

"Don't be stupid." I didn't retract my gaze from Kronos as he pulled himself out of the rubble. "No one came to help. Despite there being dozens of Gods, and any number of actual guards set up for this event, no one is here helping. Think about why that is for a second."

I glanced at Bikou and Sairaorg both, silently letting them know that went for them as well. They both seemed like the type of people to jump head first into the fight without proper consideration.

"He's right." Kronos grunted, getting back up to his feet. He cracked his neck looking none the worse for wear. "That was interesting."

"Never encountered Ether before?" I smiled lightly, holding Mirage gently to the side.

"Can't say that I have." He admitted.

Despite this World not operating the same as back home, there were still certain truths. Ether was a concept introduced with the rise of Humanity. It should be something utterly foreign to him, which was why it took him by surprise.

But mostly, I just wanted some space between him and everyone else.

"When did you notice?" He asked, almost cheerfully.

"Almost immediately." I answered.

"Hah." He slapped his knee. "Maybe I lost my touch?"

"Oi, what's he talking about?" Bikou was tense even with his Divine Weapon in his hands.

"We're outside of the Time-Line." I briefly explained. "The reason why no one has come yet. A few hours could pass in here and it might only be a few seconds outside." I wasn't entirely sure, but best to err on the side of caution.

"Correct!" Kronos smiled and his body fizzled away into nothingness. Simultaneously, he appeared in the back at the table holding all the snacks. "Mmm, this is some good stuff. It doesn't compare to Nectar or Ambrosia, but that's not a fair comparison. Back then, we'd be happy with some meat roasted over a fire and some salt sprinkled on it was decadent. Look at this? I can't even recognize all these things, but they're delicious." He said, holding a tray up of appetizers and letting them slide into his mouth.

"I think those are crab cakes." I pointed out, keeping him preoccupied rather than the alternative.

"Ah." He crewed very crudely. "Those little sea creatures? They had a nice crunchy shell, but the meat wasn't that appetizing. Maybe I just never bothered to cook them properly."

Why was I humoring him with this nonsense? Well….I wasn't worried about myself in this situation. I could leave anytime I wanted, taking Jeanne and fleeing if the situation called for it. Or I could even fight him if I really wanted to as well. I wasn't scared by any means even if I considered him a strong opponent.

But….I couldn't exactly take everyone with me in time if he decided to initiate a blood bath. Nor could I reasonably protect them if we got into a real fight.

So at this particular moment, I was treading carefully because they were more or less hostages.

It was…comical in a way. A whole room of Devils and others watching the Titan of Time just munch on some snacks as he exclaimed their deliciousness.

"I heard Devils were some sort of evil and disgusting race. At least that's what those other busybodies said. Compared you lot to cockroaches. But I like to see things with my own eyes. And I have to say, I'm very disappointed." He swallowed a mouthful. "You, with the big chest and the red hair." He pointed to Venelana's daughter. "Where are the Human snacks?"

"Ah?" Rias made a sound in both confusion and a bit of intimidation.

Kronos let out a disgruntled noise. "I heard your predecessors were better. I would have wanted to compare my cooking methods. Do you have any idea how hard it is to cook a human perfectly for their bones to still be crunchy and their skin to be nice and crisp while the meat stays juicy?" He shook his head.

There was a hint of killing intent coming from the corner of the room.

Unsurprisingly, it was the kid from the Church that I had a weird feeling from.

Kronos noticed him too. "Well, that one has some fight in him." He chuckled, seemingly not caring. "You were…ah, one second." He wiped his hands on his clothes and took out a small piece of parchment. Well, small for his size, but he held it up close to his eye to take a look. "Members of the…Church. Oh, you're the ones who worship Yahweh in this era." He nodded in understanding. "Sorry about that, I'm still not used to everything that's changed. I have some things written down as reminders. You can't imagine how surprising it was for me to see what became of the world in my absence."

Actually, his carefree attitude was…disconcerting.

"But look at me, acting like some old geezer." He chuckled. "I have no quarrel with your Church. Actually, I support it whole heartedly. A human's place is to worship their Gods." He nodded sagely. "Even if he is dead, it shows your dedication. I may not have even eaten you if you were my worshiper with that much dedication."

Well….there goes that secret.

The looks on the Church people's faces were…hard to discern. Were they already aware or did this come as a surprise? I couldn't quite tell considering that they were still pretty frightened by his appearance in the first place.

I was content to let him just blabber on with nothing else happening.

"Your Church." He hummed. "Devils….something that didn't exist in my era. But you're all basically just humans." He grunted. And I knew that wouldn't sit well with most of the Devils here. "Lets see…Oh White and Red are here too! Those are some old Faces. Well….not really faces…"

"Screw you too." Albion's voice came out from the Sacred Gear.

"You know, if I was younger, I would have killed your wielder because of that, Whitey." Kronos chuckled, grabbing another full platter of food and eating it nearly whole. "But I'll let it go this time, I'm in a nostalgic mood after seeing some of my old friends."

"You don't have friends." Albion immediately replied.

Kronos paused, and frowned. "That's not true, I have a few left." He said softly, yet it still was loud and booming as it was before. His expression returned quickly. "And one of those…..eastern things. I forget what your race is called, I didn't have much interaction with you all. But I heard your ancestor was a bit of an ornery thing." He was looking at Bikou. 

"Youkai?" Bikou answered.

"That's it." Kronos snapped. "Not bad at all, kid."

"...thanks?" Bikou said awkwardly. 

"Mmm, and I can feel that weapon of yours is dangerous. Maybe in a few years you could have actually been a threat!"

"...Bitch you wanna go?" Bikou barked out, raising Ruyi Jingu Bang.

"Hahah!" Kronos slapped his knee. "The audacity! I love it." He laughed a bit before at Sairaorg next. "And you're probably the strongest Full Blooded Devil here. Nice aura there, I can tell your fists have been honed pretty well. What do you think? Wanna go a few rounds too?"

"Any time, old man." Sairaorg punched his fist to his palm.

"Not bad, not bad." Kronos just grinned with a carefree look about him. "And some others too…..some Demi-Gods from various places that mostly fills up the other Pantheons present. Some mortals with souls that are far too old for their bodies....how boring. But overall...just…..mortals…." Then his gaze landed on me. "And then there's you…."

"Me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Mmm, Dragon, Devil, Human, God. There are so many things inside of you, it's hard to tell. And something…." He stopped, furrowing his brow. "What is that?" He whispered. "Something dangerous is hiding inside of you. What is it." He grabbed his Scythe, staring at me before calming. "Whoops, almost slipped back into old habits. I'm trying to be calmer. Reining in my temper. It got me into far too much trouble in my younger days, I don't want to repeat past mistakes." However, his eyes narrowed towards me. "Why is your personal time so…wrong."

"Maybe it has something to do with my handsomeness?" I offered as a very plausible explanation.

He blinked. "I don't think I've ever had a Mortal talk to me so cheekily before. What a novel experience." He looked around the room. "You protected those….Church Mortals even though you're supposed to be enemies if I recall." He let out a sigh. "I lied before, I'm sorry it's a terrible habit. Truthfully, I despise the worshippers of other deities." He punctuated the sentence with a sharp jerk of his Scythe.

It wasn't me who moved this time, because there was someone else who could predict certain outcomes much more efficiently than me.

"My Banner, protect my brethren – Luminosite Eternelle!"

Jeanne was quick to intercept the attack. The invisible slashes of his that would have severed a few heads.

Jeanne's Golden Shield emerged from her Banner, enveloping the Church people and herself in an nearly impenetrable barrier.

There was the distinct sound of something scraping. It wasn't metal against metal in this case, but more like, the collision of two opposing forces, both unyielding, that sent ripples out across most notable spectrums.

It was enough that even Kronos came to a stop to stare in confusion.

He raised a finger up to point at Jeanne as her shield came down. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it a moment later before opening again. "What are you?" He questioned in clear confusion. "You are completely different your….existence is outside of my domain." His tone shifted. "I will see for myself!"

He disappeared from where he was again, appearing not far from where Jeanne was.

His Scythe held up, pointing at Jeanne.

Streams of condensed temporal energy flowed and attached to her.

I felt a fury bubble up in my chest and pushed off with another burst of Shunpo. Mirage shined brightly and I pulled upon the Kaleidoscope to slice through the strings.

Time and Space were always interconnected.

One could not exist without the other, and the other would have no meaning without the former.

The strings of his were severed as I slid to a stop in front of her protectively. She didn't look harmed but I was a bit concerned now. I was ready to fight in earnest and damn the consequences.

"Heroic...Spirit?" He tilted his head. "That's all I got." He frowned.

"What's your game?" I demanded, shifting away from that. "You could have easily started a slaughter, how many people here could actually stop you?" Bar me of course, but even so. "You've basically been just casually chatting ever since kidnapping everyone with the half-assed attempt at murder."

"You demand answers from me?" He stood up straighter with a flash of anger appearing on his face. "Do you know what it was like to appear in this world after so long and see what your Mortals did to this planet? My mother and I have had our disagreements, but I am still the Son of Gaia. I used to know those Gods in the far west. Back in my era, they repelled our own attempts to conquer their lands. Before everyone decided on their borders. And yet….I hear that all the Gods of those lands were Murdered by Mortals." He spat out. "I nearly killed the fool who reported that nonsense to me. But I don't believe others lightly. I wanted to see with my own eyes, the heights that those pathetic things have somehow reached in my absence."

His body was nearly vibrating with his innate divinity. His hands gripped around his Scythe so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"So, why not attend a gathering with a bunch of powerful mortal kids to see what's true or not?" He raised his finger pointing at the Church guy behind Jeanne. "That weapon inside of him full of mutilated Gods is just a perfect example."

I glanced at the Church kid, realizing now why he gave me a strange feeling.

The little manipulation of wind he did was a piece of a Divine Authority….

"You're angry that Mortals no longer roll around in the mud?" I snorted.

The arrogance and ruthlessness of a deity shined through despite his casual demeanor. "The only place a mortal should be is on the ground in prostration or in our stomachs."

Right, despite how he was being humorous before, he was always cited as a vindictive and arrogant entity. To the point where the other Titans rarely wanted to even be near him. It would be like if Zeus was actively malicious rather than being selfish and egotistical.

"It seems like a fight is inevitable then." I was ready to call upon my power to fight him properly. It would not be in the best circumstances with all these people around, but I would do the best I could.

Maybe I should sneak them away during the fight?

Jeanne was here to back me up in that regard. She hadn't said anything, but I knew she didn't need any orders from me on how to act.

And there were a few people here I could possibly rely on.

"How about we play a game instead?" He offered, the tension sort of dissipating.

"…what?" I blinked, surprised at how things shifted so easily.

He dropped his Scythe to the ground. "I heard these Devils were obsessed with a Game – Chess was it? Dreadfully boring, but I can admit it had its own unique charm. Let's do something like that, but a bit more fun."

I frowned, considering the alternative. Well, it was a matter of time before the people outside came barging in.

I honestly didn't want to fight in these circumstances.

"You're stalling for some reason, aren't you?" I questioned.

He grinned. "How about the stakes? If I win…I'll just kill everyone here. If you Win..well, that should be obvious."

"Fine, I'm on board." I agreed. "But what –"

Kronos let out a shout, clapping his hands. His eyes lit up with a blinding light, and I felt something connected. It felt like he just bound me to a Geass, but through my divinity.

…Clever dick.

I've never encountered that trick before. I'll need to talk to Izzy about it and see how to not let it happen in the future, because he basically just touched my Divinity with his own and made our agreement binding. 

Something appeared between us.

It was like….

"There we are, I created a miniature world for us." He declared. "It has its own rules, and I bound it to us through our agreement."

"…did you just create a miniature Reality Marble?" I looked in a bit of awe.

He tilted his head. "Is that one of this era's terms?"

"Forget it." I bit my tongue. I looked down, as it was like a…bubble. Inside, it appeared a smaller version of me, and a smaller version of him…relatively speaking. "Explain the rules." I crossed my arms.

"I mentioned that Chess, but it's not really the same. Just a small idea I came up with after playing it a few times. We each command a copy of ourselves to fight." He said that like it was extremely simple.

"How does it work?"

"It operates on absolute truth. The law within this small world dictates that your copy can only move and act how you could possibly do so normally. Don't try to cheat now, the oath I bound you to also assures the truth."

The Geass he put me under is basically reading me then? It's basically that this miniature version of me was a genuine projection within this small world.

And it's not as if it's actually copying my abilities, but mimicking the cause and effect. If it summoned the Gauntlet, there would be no Ddraig, but it would still have the abilities because that's within my memory and verified through my own acknowledgement and thus is channeled through the Geass.

"Only verbal commands?" I asked.

"Correct." He answered.

"Interesting." I found myself amused by this…game that he went through the effort of creating.

I didn't know what his purpose here was, even if his earlier anger was real. I had no doubt that he would casually slaughter everyone here in a heartbeat, but his entire purpose for coming was….suspect.

There was certainly a higher purpose, not just ranting about the 'kids these days'.

But, it's better this than him deciding that they would look better with less body parts. And the moment I try to open a portal, he's probably going to abandon this charade and start making heads roll, so I may as well play along for now.

"Jump once." I commanded.

My little projection jumped into the air once.

"Well? What do you think?"

"I'm intrigued." I answered in all honesty.

"Why don't I show you another one of the rules." He smiled happily before quickly turning it into something more malicious. "Stab his arm."

Before I could properly react, my miniature's Aura flared to life. Kronos's Scythe skipped and twisted through space, like a serpent it came at me at a strange angle. My Aura collided with it, dispersing a significant portion of the blow, but even still, his Divine Weapon tore into the flesh of my Minature's arm.

Simultaneously, my own sleeve was torn in the same spot, and a gash opened up, blood dripping down my skin.

"Will!" Jeanne exclaimed running towards me, but an invisible barrier shunted her off.

Kronos wagged his finger. "No interfering. If you try to help him, he will suffer a backlash."

"All of this is based on a single agreement." I frowned, looking at my arm. "I'm amazed you could force this onto me."

"I am Kronos, Titan King, Son of Gaia." His eyes narrowed. "You insult me by thinking so little of me, Mortal."

If this was all fake…in a sense, then I had plenty of things I was more than willing to throw out without a second thought.

"Well then, let's play." If this was how he wanted to do this, I was more than happy to oblige, after all it gave me several options.

[***]

A/N

Wanted to try something a little different than a normal fight this time around. Kronos's purpose here isn't so obvious, but he's not really there to get into a real fight either. 

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