Chapter 427

Rias Gremory POV

That was….

It was weird, despite being so far away, we could see what was happening clearly, almost like we were standing right beside it.

I’ve watched pretty much all the videos I could find about him ever since they appeared. Ever since he abruptly showed back up and caused a scene everywhere he went. And I knew he was strong, it was obvious, and I don’t think anyone would say otherwise, but to actually see it in action was an entirely different experience.

What….was I even supposed to say at this point?

I felt like I had gotten a lot stronger recently. Even Sai had been helping with my training and I couldn’t believe how much stronger I was than even a few weeks ago but…..it felt like the gap didn’t even close at all.

He…

He doesn’t even consider me, does he? Like I’m not even a thought in his head. It’s so obvious in hindsight, and how disdainfully he treated us.

We weren’t even worth noticing in his eyes, were we?

Here I was, not even able to speak why that thinglooked at me. It was like some immense pressure weighing down on me when he barely even acknowledged me. Yet, Wilhelm barely even blinked and casually foughthim….through an odd way, but even so!

They were just chatting while casually throwing out more power than I could bring out with tons of prep time!

They were doing things I couldn’t even understand.

And Wilhelm was keeping up with a literal God…erm, Titan? Was there even a difference?

Like this happened, and he just casually responded and explained them as they went and a God was treating him like an equal.

I had no idea what was going on half the time, only that they were throwing attacks back and forth. Kronos did a big stupid thing that blocked out the sky, something that was really scary, and Wilhelm just countered it without even a second thought.

What did he call it – Sword of Destruction?

Did it have something to do with out Bloodline power? Could I do something like that too?

It just completely destroyed that towering look-alike that Kronos made that could probably destroy an entire city with ease.

It seemed more ridiculous than watching the few videos of when Wilhelm fought Indra not that long ago. Maybe just because we were watching it all unfold.

That….game they were playing.

Was that even the right word?

A fight that didn’t really seem to be a fight, but it could still hurt you. Everyone saw what happened, if their ‘pieces’ were hurt, they were hurt too.

I was definitely relieved they weren’t going to fight in here. I saw how destructive his fight with Indra got, I doubt it would be any less than that.

But that didn’t mean there was no danger for him.

I was….a little worried.

But that proved to be pointless.

He handled himself so well that it really made me wonder how much experience he had.

That comment about how many times he fought with his life on the line. What…..happened to him since he left?

Has he really had such a terrible life that he’s had to fight to the death so many times that this is pretty much a normal thing for him that he doesn’t even bat an eye?

Maybe….I should ask mother?

I hated to even think about what was going on between them, but maybe I should stop pretending nothing was happening. I would be able to take to her about certain things then….

Even so, I just…didn’t know what to think anymore.

Brother always told me about Gods when he dealt with them. How they were super arrogant and powerful and they looked down on every other race. But here Wilhelm was being treated with actual respect.

Why is it that I’m stuck at this point while my nephewis already towering over me with barely any actual time spent in the supernatural!?

It’s not fair!

…is what I want to say.

Even Riser.

Someone I was planning to fight. Someone who I was wracking my brain on trying to beat, making plans with my Peerage…..Wilhelm barely cast him a glance and neutralized him with a single spell like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Then he just….literally threw him out of the building like he was nothing.

I….hadn’t even considered sealing him like that. I was so focused on beating his Regeneration, that the thought of just trapping him or making him not able to fight didn’t cross my mind.

Super obvious in hindsight, but I just completely ignored it.

What was I even doing up to this point? I’ve just been focusing entirely on my own Power of Destruction and not much else. Sure, I’ve been doing some physical exercises but…It’s not like I was going to fight on the front line.

I was a backline fighter and was proud of myself for where I was at.

It’s laughable.

What was Wilhelm? I saw him fight in close tons of times, yet he also could hang back and throw around spells that dwarfed what I could do…

Was I being stupid and holding myself back by thinking of myself only one way?

Satans, I feel like such an idiot.

Everything seemed so….pointless.

I don’t know why, but I just started giggling, and I couldn’t hold it back.

“Rias, what’s wrong?” Sona looked at me in concern.

Though it was pretty obvious she was also shaken.

“I just realized how insignificant Riser was and how stupid of me it was to spend so much time worrying about him.” I wiped away a tear that was forming at the corner of my eye.

“….not the reaction I was expecting.” She muttered.

“That’s the spirit, cousin!” Sai slapped my shoulder…kind of hard.

No, I was just weak.

“Hey Sona.”

“What?”

“Can you teach me Magic later.” I asked.

“….what brought this on, Rias?” She furrowed her brow.

“Just realized I was being silly about some things. It would be stupid of me not to learn Magic properly if I’m not a physical fighter.” Why was I only relying on my Power of Destruction again?

Some stupid pride.

I always compared myself to brother, even if I didn’t say it out loud, there was a bit of jealousy there. He was so strong and he only used his Power of Destruction, so I felt like I had to copy him to get the same results.

Stupid.

I’ve been so stupid.

“What about Akeno.” Sona glanced at my Queen at my side who was silently watching us.

“She’s good at what she does, but she specializes in only a couple things.” I shrugged. “You’re more familiar with a bunch of stuff.”

“Fair enough.” She nodded.

Why did it feel like there was a big weight off my shoulders?

I felt….calm, despite everything.

Maybe it was because Brother and everyone else finally arrived and the oppressive feeling disappeared. Or maybe it was because I felt like I had a new lease on life.

After seeing how so far ahead someone my own age is, everything else I’ve been dealing with felt like a fight on the playground.

Not worth mentioning.

“Hey Sai, if you fought him, how would you have done?” I kind of knew how strong Sai was, and he was probably closer to me than he was to Wilhelm..

“I would have lost.” My cousin chuckled without a second thought. “It would have been a good fight though!”

“You’re not annoyed or upset?”

“Why would I be?” He blinked. “Just means I need to get stronger because there are stronger opponents out there!”

“Heh, you should stop caring about everyone else and worry about yourself, Princess.” The supposed new Monkey King offered his own two cents. “Gramps told me that if you’re only focused on keeping up with other people, you’re going to trip and fall down eventually.”

“Hmph, I could have taken him.”

“Sure you could, Vali.” Bikou answered sarcastically. “Did you see that spell at the end? Hoh boy, that set off alarms in my head. I’d have been turned to mince meat if I tried to take that. How would you have handled that, Vali?”

“Fuck off.” The silvered-haired guy snorted.

He was the White-Dragon Emperor this Generation, wasn’t he?

And even he was saying he wouldn’t have been much use there…

Maybe I am being a bit too hard on myself over all of this.

“Hey Sona, are you still going to get revenge on Wilhelm for blowing you up?” I suddenly asked.

“Shut up, Rias.” Sona scowled.

Hehe.

@***@

Zeus POV

At many points, I questioned why I even deiced to deem this ‘meeting’ a priority.

Those others squabbling amongst themselves and I cared not for their bickering. If not for my brother’s suggestion, and that of my daughter, I would not have even come.

Olympus does not need outside help.

But at the same time, the tides were shifting, as Poseidon would say.

After the fiasco of Indra causing a commotion, many others were thrown into the spotlight and many began to forget about me.

That was unacceptable, I was the King of Olympus and it was important to remind everyone of this fact.

It would imperative that they all be reminded who stood atop Olympus and looked down at them.

Especially after the incident in Tartarus with Father being freed.

I did not believe any trite about Hades being responsible. Whether he joined that ridiculous ‘khaos Brigade’ or not, I didn’t care. But despite all the arguments and fighting between my brother and I, I know without a doubt in my heart that he would never willingly release our father.

There were others scheming against Olympus, and this would not stand. So I swallowed my annoyance and joined up with these others.

Some annoying arguing led to some sort of agreement I didn’t care much about. Putting together a team of our younger generation?

It…wasn’t a bad idea.

It’s true that there havn’t been many reasons for us to train our newest Demi-Gods recently. They’ve become fat and content with whatever privileges we’ve given them.

I suppose it’s time for them to earn their keep for all we’ve done for them.

And as long as I do not have to deal with other Pantheons invading our territory, I had not much to say. A meagre few brats from different places barely entered my eyes.

I had thought this was to be the end of it. We had reached….an agreement of sorts which I found surprisingly tolerable.

For some reason, the others were more open to accepting these concessions.

Indra had been quiet, far too quiet.

Of course, he had suffered rather recently.

Not defeating a Mortal?

Amusing as it was concerning.

But I would take pleasure in his failures regardless. He had become far too arrogant over the years just because faith in Olympus had waned.

He shrunk his head back now, like a coward.

This Khaos Brigade also seemed to strike at the core of his home as well. A second strike that certainly felled his confidence.

The others are more concerning, however.

Nuwa was not someone I have interacted with much. But her charm and insight were undoubtedly brilliant in how she navigated these talks.

The Devils, ignorable.

They can bolster all they wish; they will never be worth acknowledging.

Same for those feathered ones

Left overs from a long dead god. If it’s opportune, it may be worthwhile to usher them under our fold to bolster our faith back to the standards we should have retained from our peak.

Lugh….no need to concern myself with him and his ilk. His people kept to themselves, and they were now preoccupied with their own old foes returning.

No, the one I cared most about was Odin.

There was something that gave me pause about him, more than usual.

It was if he knew more than he was saying and we were walking down the path he already devised.

That Old god was not to be trifled with lightly.

However, all of that seemed immaterial in the moment.

How none of us noticed, I cannot claim to know the answer. Perhaps the subtley of it took everyone equally by surprise.

How my Father managed to sneak beneath our notice and ‘kidnap’ a room full of our younger members set a fury in everyone’s eyes.

Once it was pointed out, it became rather obvious. But had it not been discovered, how long would it have taken before one of us had seen?

My father was not one who opted for subtle approaches. That is not to say he was incapable. But the Titan king was arrogant and aggressive in nearly all his actions. If he was angry, he would not scheme, he would stomp to whoever made him angry and deal with them in the simplest and most brutal way.

He was loud and bombastic.

Not….this.

My first thought was to utterly destroy the Time Barrier, however….there was no telling what that would do to those inside.

Of course we could unravel it slowly, but by that point, would anyone be left?

I would expect that my Father would eat everyone inside.

It was through the cooperation of several others that we were able to peer inside to see what was going on before deciding on a course of action.

That’s when we saw Father facing off against a mere mortal in some twisted combat game.

The same one I mocked Indra for facing.

And he was facing off against my Father on equal footing.

Any fool could see that my Father was not fighting full strength or with true determination, but even so, a mortal was facing my Father as an equal.

And not only that, the mortal forced my Father to retreat in a haste.

He wounded him.

And if what Odin’s reaction was to that last attack held true, then my Father escaped in the nick of time otherwise he would not have merely suffered backlash from interrupting their ‘game’ early.

“Daughter, you keep track of all of Olympus’s potential enemies.” I glanced towards Athena. “Report on him.”

She lowered her head. “Birth Name, Takao Shimoda. Current name, Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. Age – unknown, presumedly, early twenties. He is the son of the current Lucifer, and a normal human woman. Currently living within the territory of Takamagahara, specifically the Eastern Youkai under Amaterasu’s Priestess – Yasaka. Verified Relationships include known lovers – Yasaka, Izanami-no-Mikoto, Scáthach –“

I held up my hand to silence her. I didn’t care about who the mortal was having sex with. “Recent events surrounding him.”

“His most recent appearances include defeating a monster similar to the Hydra offspring in nature. Defeating the subordinate of Lucifer – Okita souji. Defeating the Fallen Angel – Kokabiel. Defeating the God of Storm – Susanoo. Fighting the God of Lightning – Indra.”

“Father, give the command and we can kill him before he becomes a problem for us.” My son offered, killing intent spilling off of him.

“Son, do you think I am unaware of your feelings towards that woman of his?” I glared towards him.

Foolish boy.

If you are going to do something idiotic, don’t do it right infront of me and other Gods where they can all see for themselves.

Sometimes I consider forcing the two aspects of war into a single entity to save me the trouble of them both missing valuable pieces of wisdom.

For feats it was…admirable.

He was not one of mine, so I could look from the side to admire his growth. I obviously would not have allowed him to grow so fast under my own watch without a good collar, but I don’t know what those Eastern Gods are thinking sometimes.

Perhaps I should attempt to win him to my side?

From what Athena was about to say, he has many lovers. I wouldn’t mind giving him some of the Nymphs and lesser Goddesses that I’ve gotten bored of.

He’s a mortal afterall, he should be easy to pull over.

But that is a thought for later.

Right now, I demand answers.

The barrier fell down easily under our combined might once it was clear Father was going to flee.

I, of course, went first, as was my right.

“You, Mortal, tell me what happened.” I landed down infront of the object of my query.

@***@

Wilhelm POV

I just blinked at the Greek God who showed up and demanded an answer from me. “Care to be more specific with that question?”

“Will!” Jeanne ran head first into me. I caught her easily enough, but she was looking at me with clear concern in her eyes. “I was worried!”

“It’s fine, there was no real danger.” I reassured her.

I wasn’t oblivious to the others that arrived next to the Greek God.

But honestly, I’d rather focus more on Jeanne.

“Come on, don’t pout.” I playfully pulled on her cheek. “I’m serious, there wasn’t any real danger.”

“Mortal.” Zeus’s voice carried a much more venomous tone. Like he was warning me. “Speak now, what did my Father say? What did he speak of his plans?” There was also a hint of…anxiousness?

Fear maybe?

Well, for someone as paranoid as Zeus, I’m sure that he’s very worried about the previous King he overthrew.

“Oh sure, no problem.” I cheerfully replied. “Why don’t you get out a pen and paper so I can give you the full details of his plans that he confided in me with. Because, you know, that’s something people do, just revealall of their nefarious goals like some cartoon villain.”

Hmm, did the room suddenly get a bit staticy?

And he was frowning pretty deep.

I wonder if he caught my sarcasm.

“Zeus, calm yourself.” Odin stepped in at that moment, flanked by many others I had seen thus far. “He’s right, you’re demanding something ridiculous. And we already saw what happened.”

“You did?” I was mildly surprised.

“It was easier to peer inside than to destroy.” Odin stroked his beard. “And I’m going to ask you for details about that last spell you cast.”

“Sorry, it’s a family secret.” I immediately rejected.

“It has my name in it.” He huffed.

“Different Odin.” I said with a completely serious face.

Odin mumbled something about ungrateful brats these days.

“Okay but seriously, what happened?” The girl living out her mid-life crisis stepped forward to ask what was on everyone’s minds. “We only caught the end there.”

“Did none of you seriously not notice?” I looked around.

There was an awkward silence on their end.

I let out a sigh. “Pretty much all that. He showed up, grandstanded a little, took a shot or two at some people around here, then challenged me to a game. I figured it was a better alternative than fighting it out in this confined area, and now here we are.”

“….that’s it?” The God I recognized as Lugh asked. “Forgive me, but that sounds….”

“Odd?” Michael finished.

“My Father does not do things without a reason.” Zeus harumphed.

“Well yeah, he was obviously being a distraction.” I rolled my eyes. “You may want to check to see if anything’s happened in the past….I want to say twenty to thirty minutes?”

Serafall, looking at her fellow Devils, and two of them bolted off seemingly to do just that.

“Well….everyone’s safe…?” Serafall looked around.

“You’re welcome.” I added.

She twitched slightly.

Should I mention that her family almost got beheaded?

Nah, let them deal with that later, not my problem, I already did my part.

Anywho!

I should probably skedaddle now.

I wanted to spend a bit more time with Jeanne without….all of this crap happening. And it was hard with all these Godly eyes staring both me, and by extension, her, down.

Hmm, I didn’t actually see Zeus come in. Nor at any point until now.

So that’s the big Greek Honcho.

And there were two gods flanking him. Both of which were staring me down.

I think….I recognized them both.

They should be Ares and Athena? Hmm, two rather iconic Greek Gods just standing there, mirror opposites of one another.

One wore some simple and elegant armor, depicting a sort of….general, for lack of a better term. While the other had some bent and pointed armor, looking rather menacing in appearance. Not to mention he gave off a natural bloodlust.

I put on a charming smile and winked towards the Virgin Goddess.

She had a very stoic expression and merely raised an eyebrow.

“Hi there, I’m Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service.” I introduced myself.

“I am aware.” The Goddess said, unimpressed.

Oof.

“Alright, instead of watching the kid strike out, we need to figure out what happened.” Azazel interjected. “Beyond the obvious.”

I suddenly felt a tug on my cheek. A pouting Jeanne was expressing her annoyance.

“Hmph, ask the Mortal how he survived my Father and that may give us a clue.” Zeus grunted. “My Father does not….let his opponentssimply live after he fights. He was acting distinctly out of character.”

Once more, eyes landed on me.

“How I survived?” I repeated. “Well, that’s simple. It’s called being strong. And handsome, you can’t forget that either. Just ask Indra.” I kept my cheerful tone, calling out the Hindu God who was silently watching from the back.

His eyes immediately narrowed and I just waved.

It’s rare for me to be able to fuck with Indra without any repercussions.

Maybe he was about to respond, but I don’t know, because the doors slammed open.

Several people I knew very well strolled in, like they were looking for a fight.

Venelana came in with Mozart at her side, and accompanying her was also Raikou and Scáthach.

Did she call them out of concern?

I wasn’t really in any danger…but I suppose she didn’t know that.

Wait, how did she even know I was ‘in trouble’ in the first place if these Gods only barely found out moments ago?

“Mother?” A certain red-headed devil exclaimed, not particularly loud.

“…daughter?” Indra stared at Raikou.

“My love.” The last one made me do a double check. A…surprisingly soft, if sharp tone came out from under the horned helmet of Area as he stared at my Scáthach.

….The Greeks don’t need two Gods of War, right?

@***@

Not super happy with the chapter, but we’re basically wrapped up with this little get together. Gremory family Dinner coming up, then Yasaka and Wilhelm and Kunou go meet Dumbledore for some fun talks about enrollment.