Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or Highschool DxD.
2. Learning, Working, and Turning up the Heat
Part I
I woke up the next morning in an awkward situation.
A young girl with blonde hair stared at me curiously, standing a few feet from where I rested in bed.
Everything about it actually reminded me of when I first got to Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth had taken care of me after my fight with the minotaur. She'd been one of the first people I awoke to see, along with Argus.
I closed my eyes again, taking a second to steady my breathing after a small hitch.
Are you still complaining? Nekhbet asked.
My attention switched to her. Can you not start right now?
She huffed but kept quiet as I went from reminiscing to figuring out where I was. Better to keep my mind occupied than let it go back to those memories.
Things came back to me from yesterday.
Azazel, Vali, and I had left the restaurant almost as soon as we'd made our agreement. Then, Azazel said something about a Cheez-It and disappeared down some alley, which left me with only Vali's company.
After Azazel had gone, Vali and I talked for a little while longer, mostly about my time bearing the Curse of Achilles. Vali had been really interested in my invincibility.
But after that, I kept drawing a blank.
The situation almost sounded like I'd been out partying and got into Mr. D's secret stash of vintage wine. But, I had to remind myself that Mr. D might not exist in this world.
Not the Mr. D I knew, at least. In this world, he'd probably just have me call him Dionysus.
In this world . . .
Even though I kept repeating that phrase, I still had a hard time believing it.
"Um, are you okay, Sir?"
My eyes opened again.
Next to me, the young girl stood with her arms behind her back. She looked ready to go trick-or-treating; a pointy witch's hat on her head and a fluttery cape around her shoulders telling me as much.
Right, I'd almost forgotten that October 31 was a couple of weeks away. I would have to thank this girl since she woke me up just in time for Halloween. I'd give her half my candy in exchange to fulfill my debt to her. Maybe the candy corn. I didn't like candy corn.
But what did I want to go as? Maybe a pirate? No, no, that reminded me too much of C.C.'s and being turned into a guinea pig. Zombie wouldn't have been a bad choice . . . if it didn't remind me of Tartarus and Akhlys.
The girl fidgeted. I realized she was probably waiting for me to say something instead of just staring at her.
In truth, apart from my thoughts on Halloween, I couldn't stop myself from just . . . looking at the girl. Her hair, a vivid golden-blonde mass which curled near her shoulders, brought back heart-rending memories. Sure, her eyes were a far cry from storm-gray, and her face was more angular—the features of nobility—but this girl, and this situation, took my mind to Camp Half-Blood, to Chiron and Grover and the minotaur and . . .
Pushing the covers off my body, I sat up, still fully dressed in yesterday's clothes.
"Ah! Are you sure you should be sitting up?" The girl started glancing over me with wide eyes, her hands flailing, just barely hovering over different parts of my body. "Lord Vali said you two fought yesterday."
Lord Vali? What the heck. He made this little girl call him "Lord Vali"? That was pretty creepy.
I debated calling the police: Yes, officer, that's him, that's the man right there.
"No, I'm fine," I swung my legs over the bed's edge. "I've been through worse. But, uh, who are you? And how long were you standing there for?"
The girl clapped her hands together and smiled, hopping toward me daintily. "I'm Le Fay Pendragon! Nice to meet you, Sir!"
"Le Fay?"
She nodded, her hand held out to me as she bowed. "It's a pleasure!"
I shook her hand. "Yeah, ditto."
"So you're sure you feel all right?" Le Fay asked, peering at me from every angle. She hummed. "I'm impressed! Lord Vali takes his fights to the extreme sometimes. It's great to see you up and walking already!"
Unnerving and ominous as that sounded, I shook it off. Instead, I focused on how she'd never answered my second question.
"Le Fay, you aren't asking our guest too many personal questions, I hope."
I looked to my left. There, standing in an open doorway, an immaculately dressed man watched us. He cleaned a pair of metal-rimmed glasses with some cloth, but even so, his eyes fell on me, a hint of life inside them.
"She's been good," I defended. "No need to worry, I just woke up anyway."
The man put his glasses on. "Very well. Pleasure to meet you. I am Arthur Pendragon."
"Percy Jackson," I introduced. "Pendragon, huh? Related?"
Upon closer inspection, I came to the conclusion that yes, they must have been siblings. They shared blonde hair and blue eyes, although both colors were just a shade duller on Arthur than Le Fay.
She was bright, whereas he was subdued.
It wasn't just their personalities, then.
The parallel might have been a little on-the-nose and unwarranted, but I'm no detective. That said, I wasn't discouraged from looking around and finally taking note of the room I'd been given.
Last night still felt like a blur. I didn't remember much of what happened after the restaurant, especially not details about where Vali had brought me.
My first thought on the room was that it was oddly normal.
It wasn't much bigger than the one at my mom's apartment. A queen-size bed, white nightstand, and low dresser were the only pieces of furniture I'd been allowed. Other than those things, the place looked pitifully bland.
No pictures hung on the walls. And that dull white paint? I hoped Vali fired his interior decorator A.S.A.P.
Your mind is ever the cluttered mess. Maybe even after the Sea of Chaos, Nekhbet complained. She tried to force her way into the driver's seat of my body. Move aside, I will devour both of them and give you some better organization.
Hey, hey, hey! I fought against the feeling of being pulled from the forefront of my mind. You aren't eating anybody here, okay? Calm down and put your seatbelt back on.
She jostled me. At least let me stretch my legs.
So help me if you don't get back in your booster seat. I pushed her away.
Arthur cleared his throat in front of me, giving me the final edge I needed over Nekhbet in our struggle. I quickly threw her in the back seat.
"Sorry, did you say something?" I blinked at Arthur.
"I was saying that Le Fay is my sister."
No surprise there. "Right, makes sense to me."
Arthur gestured for Le Fay, and she went over to him. He nodded at me. "Vali tells me you're a swordsman. He compares us to some extent. If you aren't too busy today, I'd like to see your skills for myself."
"Big Bro is the best with a sword," Le Fay added, complete assurance written on her face. She sounded just a bit more serious than before. "If you do fight, please, be very careful, the both of you! Kuroka is out, and won't be able to heal you if you're badly hurt!"
I looked at them. "Keurig Cup?"
Arthur said, "Kuroka. You might meet her and Bikou later. They're also part of Vali's team, like Le Fay and I."
"I knew Vali was the boy-band type."
Arthur gave me a faint smile while Le Fay giggled. The girl stepped away from the door. "Are you hungry, Sir? It's still early in the morning, so it wouldn't be a bother if I made us all some breakfast, would it?"
Part II
Le Fay's talent for cooking could be summed up with one word: exceptional.
Breakfast had been fantastic. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, sliced bananas . . . honestly, Le Fay didn't seem too far removed from mothering Arthur and me the entire morning. It felt like she was used to taking care of people, which made me wonder.
She looked to be in her early teenage years, maybe just starting high school. What was she doing hanging out with a guy like Vali? It didn't make sense to me, which seemed to be a theme for the past couple of days.
After breakfast, I'd been given the official tour of the house.
Except it wasn't a house.
It was an entire compound. My room was just one in a long line down a hallway filled with chandeliers, its length spanned by a plush rug. And the best part? The compound was in the Underworld.
This world's Underworld, that is. I recalled Azazel saying that this Underworld housed both fallen angels and devils, which meant it couldn't have been my Underworld. I did have to wonder, though, what happened to Hades.
Where did that old bag of bones go?
If the Greek gods were alive, I assumed that meant Hades still sat around, doing his whole, Give me your soul, foolish mortal! thing.
That said, if he didn't live in the Underworld, I wondered where he decided to set up shop. Some dank, dark cave far from civilization definitely fit his style.
Seriously, that guy brooded too much.
"And this is the courtyard!" Le Fay announced as we stepped through a pair of doors into an enclosed space outside. People walked around, talking to each other, giving us mild glances. There, I got my first sense of this Underworld's general vibe.
"Uh, your sky is—purple?" I pointed out the obvious to my tour guides.
"Day and night!" Le Fay chirped.
"It gets a little monotonous," Arthur added.
Personally, I didn't mind the sky's color.
Hades' domain had basically been just one, massive (and I mean massive) cavern. The ceiling had stalactites growing from it, and ugly mist clung at ankle-level, making it hard to see what the next step brought. It was also dimly lit and had a vague sense of doom to it.
Overall, I'd rate my Underworld one step above Tartarus.
This place didn't seem so bad, though.
The courtyard we stepped into extended far and wide. A big, thirty-foot fountain spewed water, shrubs and trees took space in plotted gardens throughout, and the walkways were inlaid with well-maintained sett.
It looked great.
"Across from us is the research and development complex," Le Fay said, pointing past the fountain, where a pair of doors sat in the middle of the adjacent building, where scientists in lab coats entered and exited. "Governor Azazel hangs out there a lot in his off-time. Even though he's the Governor-General of Fallen Angel-dom, it's pretty well-known that at heart, he's always been a researcher."
"What does he research?" I asked.
"All sorts of things," Arthur said. "But his passion is for Sacred Gears."
There's that name again.
Nekhbet hummed. Clearly, these Sacred Gears are more of a feature than either of us were made aware. Though, maybe that shouldn't surprise us.
Shouldn't it?
I got the impression Nekhbet was about to go all "Annabeth's Lecture Mode" on me. She said, Take the Lucifer boy into consideration. He said his Sacred Gear was Divine Dividing, which gave him the ability to halve the power of whatever he last touched and add it to himself. That isn't something to underestimate. And this is only one Sacred Gear. How many more are out there which have similar, if not greater, abilities?
"Good point," I mumbled to myself.
"What was that?" Arthur asked.
"Oh, nothing, I was just talking to the voice in my head."
The siblings stared at me.
Vali apparently hadn't told them about me leasing my body to a god. I probably sounded crazy, which is exactly what I needed. I'd always hoped people would look at me like I belonged in an asylum.
Truthfully, I already half expected to wake up one day in a padded room, learning that I'd just imagined everything about gods, half-bloods, and monsters.
Jackson, I am very much real, Nekhbet growled.
That's what they all say.
Shut up.
"Anyway!" Le Fay cut me off before I could respond to my pet vulture. "Why don't we go see if Lord Vali is available?"
"Right, where is Vali?" I scanned the courtyard. Benches took up some space by rose beds and tulip gardens, where dark-winged angels sat, chatting, generally just chilling out under the purple sky.
Le Fay tipped her hat back. "Probably at our training spot. He's been meditating recently, hoping to reach the next point of his Sacred Gear's evolution."
Almost as an afterthought, she added, "He's hoping to fight you again, by the way."
Oh, wonderful. Apparently, I had nothing better to do than fight. Then again, Azazel had said one of my duties would be sparring with Vali. As long as I got paid, I guess I couldn't complain.
My mom and I never lived in the lap of luxury. I admired her tenacity though, and how her attitude never let the lack of money bring her down too much. If she wanted to do something, she wouldn't wait for someone else to make it happen. Instead, she would make the opportunity for herself, with her own hands.
Who wouldn't admire a person like that?
Fingers curling so hard my knuckles ached, I took a second to get away from those thoughts.
Nekhbet told me, Breathe, Jackson. Just . . . breathe.
If you try anything, I warned.
She scoffed. I will do as I see fit. For now, I will cooperate with you.
I wondered why she would bother. Yesterday, inside the Dimensional Gap, she wanted to say more, but the dragon interrupted us.
Arthur cleared his throat, making it the second time he'd broken me out of my trance.
"Sorry," I muttered, awkwardly shuffling in place. "Let's go see Vali, I guess."
Part III
Their gym was bigger than the arena back at camp.
Nekhbet growled. Don't go there again, Jackson.
"So what do you think so far?" Le Fay asked, smiling. She was a very expressive person, from what I'd gleaned.
Blue and yellow wrestling mats covered the floor while mirrors lined the walls. Workout equipment sat around the edges of the room; treadmills, stair climbers, ellipticals, bench presses, and racks of dumbells all found a home somewhere in the mix. At one end was a boxing ring. Fluorescent tubes on the ceiling cast every inch of the gym in cold white light.
A powerful disinfectant oozed in the air, sharp as bleach and only a little more tolerable. My nose hairs curled at the scent.
"It's a nice place you've got here," I nodded. "But, uh, where's Vali?"
Arthur started to say something, but a cheerful voice spoke over him from the top of the stairs.
"Glad to see you all getting along so swimmingly. To answer your question, I'm having Vali work on something nice and dreary as punishment for attacking you yesterday."
Azazel came into the gym, dressed in beige Asian robes, a casual smile on his face when he stepped onto the mats.
"Ah! Governor!" Le Fay gave him a big wave. "Welcome!"
Arthur bowed his head. "Azazel."
The Angel gave them both a nod, then looked at me. "How's it hanging, kid?"
An image of those cat posters that said Hang in there! popped to my mind. The school counselor back at Goode loved those things. She always handed out little flyers with that kind of picture to the kids coming into her office.
"I've been better." I shrugged. "But I've also been worse. What's up? You didn't have to punish Vali for my sake. I'm not angry or anything."
Azazel chuckled. "You're a tough bastard, eh? Nice. Anyway, I've come to give you an obligatory set-up for your first job."
"You're putting me to work already?" I asked. I couldn't believe he would start me so soon. I deserved more than just one night's rest, right? "I might be getting this wrong, but isn't this against the Eighth Amendment?"
"Too bad we aren't in America," Azazel smirked.
"Diplomatic immunity?" I asked.
"If you want better worker's rights, start a union."
"Dude . . ."
"Did you expect anything else from a Fallen Angel like myself?"
True enough. He'd read my mind saying that. I really hadn't expected him to be the kind to play fair. But hey, a guy can dream of being treated fairly, right?
Let's destroy him, Nekhbet suggested eagerly. I bet he tastes like a crow.
I rolled my eyes. That happened a lot with her, I noticed. You really have a one-track mind, don't you?
And you don't? she shot back. Don't fool yourself into believing you're different.
"What's the job?" I asked.
Azazel shrugged. "My secretary—the one who's trying to get you in with the Greeks—is up to her eyes in paperwork. She needs some help in her office to get things sorted and responded to. I offered her your service for the next week or, at least, until those mountains of papers are gone."
That was new. "You want me . . . to sort paperwork?"
He nodded.
"Only that? No ulterior motives? The paperwork isn't cursed to make me speak in tongues or something, right?"
Azazel chuckled. "You're a really paranoid guy."
"I think my life warrants that."
"True enough. Still, you're gonna have to learn to trust me eventually."
"Debatable."
How many times had I fallen into a trap at this point in my life, anyway? I'd trusted a lot of people before, and I would say more than half of those times I got burned. Not to brag or anything, but my ability to expect and tolerate betrayal had grown exponentially. Even if Azazel acted all buddy-buddy with me now, he could easily turn at the drop of a hat. I wouldn't be caught off guard if that happened.
And if I was caught off guard, then at the very least, I'd act like I wasn't. For appearance's sake, if nothing else.
And speaking of appearances . . .
"Before I start helping your secretary, d'you mind if I take a shower first?" I asked.
Yesterday had been one heck of a journey. I'd been expecting to go on a nice date with Annabeth, maybe catch a movie and hit some greasy fast-food joint, but that hadn't happened. Instead, I'd fallen through spooky water, lava, and the Egyptian embodiment of chaos.
How had my clothes even survived that? How do they survive any of what I go through? The god of clothing must be partial to me or something, I swear, because there's no way cotton and polyester could take the beatings I give my wardrobe.
"Sure. The room you woke up in is yours. Feel free to use the amenities as you see fit, oh assistant of mine," Azazel told me. He looked at Arthur. "Do you mind lending him some of your clothing?"
I wanted to protest, but Arthur was already nodding.
Formalwear didn't really appeal to me. My mom had never been able to afford anything as posh as a tux. Besides, as a demigod, I needed function over form. It wasn't like I was trying to impress the monsters that came after me.
The day a monster stopped and said, Sorry for attacking you. I didn't see you were wearing the Dolce and Gabbana three-piece. I'll just be on my way! was the day I would unironically call Ares my favorite Olympian.
In other words: never happening.
"Uh, don't go out of your way for me," I said.
Arthur shrugged, placid as could be. "It's no trouble. You and I share body types. I'll find something that fits your aesthetic."
With that, he left, just up and walked away, putting the matter to rest.
Before he reached the top of the stairs leading back into the living quarters, I called out, "At least get me something I can move in!"
I hoped he had heard me. The last thing I needed was to be stuck fighting another god-like person in a penguin suit.
"Anyway, Le Fay, thanks for taking care of Percy here this morning." Azazel smiled at the girl, who gave him a little salute.
"Just doing what needed to be done! I also ran those tests Lord Vali said you wanted!" she said, blatantly disregarding the fact that I was, indeed, standing right there, gawking at them.
I looked to Azazel. "What the heck?"
He raised his hands defensively, laughing. "Well you weren't cut open, and all of your organs are still in your body! I kept my word! It was a totally non-invasive diagnostic. Right, Le Fay?"
Le Fay nodded. "Yup! Lord Vali told me Governor Azazel wanted to see if you had any magical potential."
"You couldn't have, oh I dunno, just asked me?" I crossed my arms in disbelief.
"Oh, um, t-that's . . ." Le Fay pulled the front of her hat down a little. "S-sorry."
Even if I wanted to be angry at her, there was no way with how she practically deflated in front of me, like a bounce house collapsing in on itself. Seeing her smile slip away made my stomach turn.
Azazel looked at me as if to say, Now you've gone and done it.
I refused to take the blame for this, though. "Don't worry about it, Le Fay. I'm not angry at you. Azazel should know better than to tell other people to do his dirty work, considering how old he is."
"Guilty as charged," he said. "Be that as it may, could you tell me what you found out, Le Fay?"
The girl seemed to have regained some of her confidence and cheer. "Sure! Um, let's see, well I suppose it's more complicated than you probably would have liked, actually."
Both Azazel and I raised an eyebrow at her.
She fidgeted but pushed her hat back with a thumb. "I mean, a lot of humans have the potential to use magic, though their talent varies."
"Let me guess, I don't have any potential?" I asked.
"Well, magic is just knowing how to calculate equations. Human magic, that is. Anybody can do that if they learn the proper formulas. A lot of magic has been recorded since the time of Merlin Ambrosius. Think of it like differential equations . . . or calculus . . . manipulating infinitesimals . . . stuff like that!"
Math? Was she telling me magic was just mathematics? And stuff like calculus, to top it off? This girl couldn't have been older than fourteen. Was she a genius? She must have been a genius, I decided.
"Okay," I stopped her, "let's pretend I've only ever gotten through integrated algebra, and that what you're talking about is—hypothetically—a bit above my skill level."
Le Fay waved her hands around frantically. "I-I didn't mean to put you off of the idea. Like I said, there's already a lot of magic with the calculations spelled out to the letter. For magicians these days, it's mostly just meticulous memorization. At least, until you choose a discipline to devote yourself to."
"So everybody can use magic?" The thought scared me a little.
"Almost everybody." Le Fay cleared her throat. "While it's true memorizing equations isn't exactly an act of greater mystery, everybody has a limit on how much magic they can cast. The limit varies from person to person. But there are also those born with practically no magical potential because casting even the most simple spell would surpass that limit."
"Am I one of those people?" I asked. That would be on par with my luck so far.
She opened her mouth, closed it, thought hard, then finally shrugged. "I found a reserve of power inside of you upon examination . . . something . . . a little scary . . . but I can't say exactly what it was. Not magic. At least, not any that I've felt. I can say it runs deep, though. Very deep."
I wondered what to think about that.
She probably felt my power, the little morsel, Nekhbet said. She should know better than to intimate she can understand the power of a god! Let us destroy her.
"So no teleportation magic for our friend here, huh?" Azazel hummed, rubbing his chin softly. "That does put a damper on the tasks I was hoping to give him. Ah, man, I really should've screened him properly yesterday."
Teleportation magic? If I recalled correctly, Hermes told me the teleportation thing gods did was a form of air travel, faster than the eye could see.
Was that true? It sounded a little unbelievable. And if it was a form of air travel, Zeus would probably slap me out of the sky like he was spiking a volleyball.
Surprisingly, I was allergic to being slapped out of the sky. Hives, sinus congestion, this weird inner-ear thing, spontaneous bouts of severe anxiety; basically, the whole nine yards. I typically tried to avoid all that nasty business.
"Guess I'll just have to find a place to put you where you won't have to move around much," Azazel said, still doing the arbitrary 'Chin Stroke of Wisdom' all middle-aged men seemed to pick up on. "Well, that can wait 'til after you help Penemue."
"Penny-Mii? What's that?"
Azazel smirked at me. "What indeed. Go take your shower. Le Fay, please guide him to our secretary's office once he's done freshening up."
The girl bowed. "I'll do my best."
"Why are you making her do it?" I asked, a bit off-put how quickly Le Fay just accepted waiting for me to shower.
Azazel turned around and started walking away, his robes gracefully swishing along with him. "I'm a busy man. You'll have to forgive me if I can't hold your hand at all times while you adjust to this new life of yours."
Part IV
Le Fay guided me back to my room, where I used the adjoining bathroom to get cleaned up.
Showering had been an oddly tense affair. It was the first time I was able to think about everything that had happened to me in a rough twenty-four hour span of time.
Setne.
My fingers curled around the shower handle when I turned the water off.
This was his fault. He'd sent me here.
Nekhbet squawked in agreement. Yes, he was the one to cause this. He should be glad he's already dead. I would see him ripped apart.
Water dripped off my chin. I'd gotten shampoo in my eyes. They stung fiercely. Anger twisted around, coiling tightly around my heart, squeezing hard. I had started seeing red.
"How am I even still alive?" I asked her.
I'm not sure, Nekhbet conceded. I felt a few of her feathers ruffling. Be that as it may, I won't have you sulk over the fact. We still live. We are strong. Stronger together, I suppose.
"You're oddly supportive," I muttered after drying myself off. I went back into the bedroom with my towel around my waist.
Sitting on the bed was a fresh set of clothing.
White dress shirt? Check.
Slim black trousers with a belt? Check.
A two-toned vest, purple in front and black on the back? Check.
Black socks and a pair of slick black loafers? Double check.
Nekhbet spoke while I got dressed. I've been having trouble adjusting to this new arrangement of ours, is all. I never did like taking hosts. All of them were weak. Disgusting. But you . . . aren't weak. Without the crown of Upper Egypt, I will grudgingly admit my own power is diminished.
Standing in front of a mirror, I tugged at the collar of my shirt, undoing the top two buttons to breathe a little easier. "So you get nicer as you get weaker?"
She screeched at me, How dare you insinuate such a ridiculous thing!
I winced. Wrong choice of words, I realized. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just wondering why you're trying to be so cooperative."
Because I don't have a choice anymore, you fool! If I could have left your body, I would have already. There is certainly something odd about it now. I don't know what it is. I feel more restricted than normal. It's quite stifling.
Frowning, I slipped the vest on. I tested my mobility. There was a bit of stiffness in my arms and shoulders, so I folded the shirt's sleeves up to both my elbows.
"We're stuck together, then?" I asked. I won't lie and say the prospect didn't nauseate me just a little.
This had never been the plan. She was supposed to stay only as long as it took to stop Setne. But now . . .
A sigh forced its way out of me. I didn't often sigh since it honestly made me feel like a jerk in conversations, but I'd make an exception with Nekhbet, considering all she did was make me want to sigh or roll my eyes.
No, seriously. It was a constant struggle. If I ever went to therapy, this part of my life would be highlighted the most. "Nekhbet" would be the name my therapist would become most familiar with.
Did Azazel give me health insurance? Would my therapy be covered?
Unfortunately for me, fortunately for you, yes, I cannot—I cannot vacate. It would seem you have become my permanent host. I am . . . bound to this mortal shell until you die.
I rolled my eyes. (See, it's like a natural reflex whenever she talks.)
"You make it sound like I should be happy about this," I said, tucking my shirt in and fastening the belt. The pants fit really well. "But believe me, I'd rather be laughing at some cheesy rom-com with . . . I'd rather do a hundred other things than dress up like a butler in the dam Underworld."
You should be groveling on your knees, prostrate before me.
"Not gonna happen."
She chuckled. That's why I can abide by this. You have strength. Even without me, I've seen what you can do. I can't say I'm not impressed. Between you and Carter Kane, however, I would have rather been with him.
"Because he's Egyptian?"
Because he has royal blood. The bloodline passed down by pharaohs! He could have become my Eye.
I shivered. "Um, gross? Don't you have two eyes already?"
The term, Nekhbet started in lecture-mode again, refers to a perfect union between host and god. The pinnacle of merging. We would have, great, great power . . .
She trailed off, and I could feel the drool dripping from her beak at the thought of all that power she was talking about.
For a demigod like you to become the Eye of Nekhbet? Would that make me the most powerful god? It must. I could overthrow Horus and Ra. I could become the new ruler. The most powerful! I could finally get the television remote in the gods' lounge and change the channel to National Geographic! Nekhbet started muttering to herself faster.
A knock at my door made me jump in surprise. Riptide was in my hand, but when Le Fay asked if she could enter, I put it back in my pocket.
I said, "Come in, I'm just getting my shoes on."
"Ah! You look much better! Arthur has such good taste in clothing, right?" She scrutinized me, nodding at random intervals.
While I would admit the clothes definitely seemed nice, they just weren't my style. My first paycheck from Azazel would go toward getting me something more my speed.
These would do for now though, even if I did look like a butler.
Oh please, Jackson. This suits you just fine.
"I'm ready," I told Le Fay, slipping the last shoe on.
She nodded. "One more thing. Some reports you read might be from different countries. Russia, Italy, Greece, Turkey, France. The Grigori is a widespread organization. You might need at least a few languages added to your repertoire. Governor Azazel told me you could only speak English, right?"
"Born and raised in the States, but hit me with Ancient Greek and I'll understand that too." I patted my pants smooth. "Why don't Fallen Angels just pick one language to use? Wouldn't that be easier for them?"
"Fallen Angels, Devils, and Angels can all understand and speak any language. But, some of the reports may be written by humans working with the Grigori. Those guys are probably just going to write in their own language, expecting the receiving party to understand the message."
"Gotcha. So, what, are you going to cast a spell so I can understand every language?" I asked, chuckling.
"Close!" Le Fay said, sounding genuinely surprised for some reason. "I can't do every language, but you should be fine with just the Romance languages for now."
I blinked. "Uh, okay. I guess that works. So how's this gonna go down?"
She just smiled at me.
A second later, a series of orange glyphs circled my body. They were similar to the hieroglyphs that Carter and Setne used, except I could tell Le Fay wasn't channeling Egyptian magic.
With a snap of her fingers, the glyphs changed color, cycling through a variety of shades. With each swap, Le Fay called out the name of a language.
"French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian . . . and that should do it! We won't touch the Slavic languages. Wouldn't want to fry your brain with this rushed casting!" Le Fay clapped her hands happily, as if she hadn't just given me that singularly terrifying prospect.
"I do prefer my brain staying un-fried." I watched the glyphs float away. "Did it work?"
"If it didn't, I'd have to stop calling myself a magician!" she said with a cute laugh. Her eyes glimmered as she pointed at me. "Now let's get you to Penemue's office. She'll be happy to have some help, I'm sure."
Part V
Penny-Mii's office was situated beyond the R&D complex, in the administration section of the estate.
If I didn't have an appreciation for how large the compound was before, making my way to the secretary's office on foot sure gave me an understanding of how expansive the place was.
Eventually, after walking down countless metal corridors, passing plenty of electronic sliding doors and blast-resistant windows, and moving into the posh administrative office block, Le Fay stopped in front of a gilded door. There was a name plaque placed dead-center of the black wood.
After a short struggle with my dyslexia, I finally managed to read a single word.
PENEMUE
Okay, that sounds like it should be spelled Penny-Mii, I told Nekhbet as she chortled in my mind.
"Here we are!" Le Fay said proudly.
She gestured at the area around us. The floor had changed from metal in the R&D complex to some kind of stone for administration. A few more office doors occupied the space of the lobby we'd entered. Chairs were placed along the walls, along with magazine racks and fake hibiscus plants.
"Penemue, Tamiel, and Barakiel all have their offices in this block," Le Fay said. "Just across from us is where Azazel, Shemhaza, and Kokabiel have their offices. Armaros and Sahariel have their own offices too, but they spend too much time in the labs."
I nodded, sure that she'd just told me the names of important people, but not sure what to do with that information.
"Anyway, I'm off," she saluted. "Arthur and I have a meeting to keep in London. Best be off before people start shouting at us. I hope we can hang out with the rest of Lord Vali's team soon, Sir!"
Before I could even give her a response, she whirled around, jogging down the hall we'd just come from, her hand waving at me as she retreated.
"Glad to know people ignoring me is still a thing."
Don't complain. If you become a wallflower, you can always strike first in their moment of weakness! Nekhbet cawed roughly. They will regret ever turning their back to me.
"Of all the gods." I shook my head at the thought, hoping Nekhbet hadn't caught the slip.
Unfortunately, my luck never held out for more than a few seconds at best. I must have done something to Tyche in a past life. Maybe I'd accidentally run over her cat with a carriage. Or maybe I'd asked her for too many favors and ticked her off.
Whatever the case, she never wanted to do me a solid.
You should be grateful I ever considered jumping into this flesh-shell.
"Hey, lady, can you not refer to my body as a flesh-shell." I shuddered at the way that term rolled off my tongue. "You aren't exactly warming me up to you anymore."
Nekhbet huffed. As if I need anything positive from someone like you.
With that pleasant comment, she receded and let me focus on the door.
I knocked.
A few seconds later, the door swung open. Blocking my view of the inner office was a tall woman with hair long enough to reach her waist and purple enough to make Barney do a double-take.
"You must be the other one Azazel sent my way?" she asked, crossing her arms under her chest. She was dressed almost exactly like I was, except her sleeves weren't rolled up, and she'd chosen to wear a tie along with her shirt and vest. I thought the outfit looked a lot better on her than it did on me. "Welcome to your personal hell."
"Thanks, glad to be back," I said. "You're Penemue?"
Her thin purple eyebrow inched up, a sliver of amusement forcing her lips into a crooked axis. "Not worried? Most people don't like going to hell."
"Eh," I shrugged helplessly. "I've been already. Met its personification. Zero stars. It's generally unpleasant, but my girlfriend dragged me along, so I didn't have a choice. Not a good date destination, trust me. Save your money and take a trip to Paris instead."
Her smirk bent even further. "Sounds like a bad girlfriend. You should reconsider that relationship."
I stared at her, my face drawing up into something sour.
Penemue suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. She cleared her throat. "Sorry. Come in. Your partner is already in here. He's been working for a couple of hours already."
"Partner?" I asked, trying to loosen my frown.
She waited for me to pass into the office, closing the door behind me.
Huge windows on either side of the room let in the Underworld's purplish glow. The ceiling's arched vault almost made me feel like I'd just walked into a cathedral. Mosaics decorated the edges of the room, half hidden behind rows of bookshelves and filing cabinets.
At the far end of the room was a large fireplace. Several feet in front of that was a decorated desk with gold trim and curved legs.
And on that desk, I saw stacks of paperwork almost twice as tall as Penemue. My eyes ached already, preemptively knowing how hard I'd have to work them.
I was about to complain, but someone else beat me to the punch.
"This is ridiculous."
Vali came out from behind the mountain of paperwork, holding a folder in his hand, dark bags under his sharp eyes.
At first, he didn't seem to notice us. He took a seat at a small school desk near the windows. From his slouch and grouchy face, it almost looked like he was a kid that had been put in time-out by the teacher for being disruptive.
"Azazel told me," Penemue jabbed her thumb at Vali, "I have you to thank for this guy being here today."
Vali glanced over from his seat. When his eyes landed on me, they widened by a margin, then went back to normal. "Percy Jackson. Awake already?"
"You don't have to be that surprised," I said. "I'm good at getting back in the saddle."
"Glad to hear it." Vali opened the folder and flicked through the files inside. "That means we can fight again today, right?"
Penemue coughed. "You two can plan your date later. For now, we have papers to sort through."
I stared at the mountain on her desk. "This . . . might take a while."
"Oh, you have no idea, kiddo," Penemue chuckled. She pointed at another small desk by the back corner, close to her own workstation. "I put you by me in case you had questions. It should be pretty straightforward, though. Reports on Sacred Gear bearers are a top priority; give those to me. Sort messages to the other leaders into piles. All requests for pay-raises are to be denied with the red stamp."
She led me to my desk and pointed at a binder full calendar pages. "Fill appointments in to the best of your ability. If no reason for the visit is stated in the letter, assume it's not urgent. If it sounds important, pull them to a closer time slot. And that should about cover it."
I went over the guidelines in my head again. It didn't sound too hard, though I doubted my ability to correctly label people for appointments.
"Think you can handle it?" Penemue asked.
Doubtfully, I said, "I'll give it a shot."
She smiled. "That's the spirit. Like I said, if you have questions, I'm just a few feet away."
Part VI
Penemue left for lunch a few hours into our slog.
They say that war is a terrible thing. And I have to agree. The war we waged on the paperwork had already claimed one life. Penemue was gone. Now only Vali and I were left to stem the tide of neverending reports, claims, and messages. But no matter how hard we fought, it felt like we never made a dent.
Losing Penemue had been a big hit to my resolve. I couldn't keep going. No, I didn't want to keep going. War is all hell.
My hand cramped as I finished filling in another appointment for July 15 of ten years from now. "I don't think I'm gonna make it, Vali." As it turned out, my dyslexia didn't agree with ugly handwritten script. Surprise, surprise!
Vali managed to raise his head off the desk. "Don't die on me yet. I can't do this alone. And we still need to have a rematch without getting interrupted."
The end appeared to be nigh for both of us. "This sucks," I said, rubbing my cramping palm.
"How do you think I feel? I've been here for six hours."
"Ouch." I opened another file. The text was all in Spanish which, thanks to Le Fay, I was actually able to understand. Taking the stamp and dabbing some red ink onto it, I pressed down to deny the request for a raise. "That makes fifty-four rejections so far on my end. How's it going over there?"
"I've done over a hundred by now." Vali grabbed some papers and straightened them out. "We'll never be done at this rate. Devils can live for a long time. I think I'd rather just die now, though."
"Same." I nodded and opened an envelope. The letter inside was written in English. I read through it, frowned, read again, set it down, and looked at Vali.
"Who's Fafnir?" I asked him.
His head whipped around to face me so fast I was afraid he'd broken his neck. I swear I heard a few pops. "Why do you ask?"
I waved the letter in my hand. "He says he agrees to Azazel's pact, but he expects a treasure worth being sealed. What do you think he wants? Like, a stuffed animal from the carnival or something? I hear giant teddy bears are making a come back."
Vali shot to his feet and snatched the paper out of my hand. He scanned the print. "Interesting. I knew Azazel had been researching the specifics of Divine Dividing, but if he's planning on sealing Fafnir, that can only mean one thing: he wants to replicate Albion's Balance Breaker."
"Or you can just ignore me," I shrugged. "That's valid too."
"Fafnir is—"
A glowing circle popped up next to Vali's ear, cutting him off from giving me an explanation, which made me shake my head.
From the circle, a feminine voice cut the relative silence of Penemue's office space.
"Vali… Vali, can you hear me? Oh, Valiiiii?"
"Kuroka?" Vali's voice went serious. "What's going on, Kuroka?"
"Oh, good, you responded this time. Listen, Bikou and I could really use your help. The deal went a little sideways."
Vali wasted no time in throwing his jacket on. "Where are you?"
"Haderslev."
"On my way. Don't die out there."
"Not before you and I have a litter or two, you know?" the woman called Kuroka purred at him. The circle vanished.
Vali looked at me. "You coming or not?"
I pushed the files away and crossed my arms behind my head. "Won't Azazel and Penemue be angry if you left?"
His eyes narrowed, and I wondered how he was able to create such an atmosphere of dread.
Would he be willing to share his secrets? Maybe I'd finally be able to just walk up to the bad guys and have them surrender on the spot. That would be nice.
But it'll never happen unless you can strike fear into their hearts with just a look, Nekhbet said. Or maybe if your name becomes so notorious that enemies cry at the mere mention of Percy Jackson, the ultimate godling!
I rolled my eyes. Oh please. Godling makes it sound like I'm a chubby baby god. Like a cupid or something.
You're more annoying than the Kane girl, Nekhbet complained.
Vali said, "If my comrades are in danger, to hell with caring about the shit I'll get from Azazel. I won't let them fall."
I smirked at that. Who would have thought a half-devil carried around such a devil-may-care attitude? In the end, wanting to protect his friends was respectable.
Standing, I shrugged. "This better not go on my permanent record. I don't need Azazel firing me after only one day."
He looked at me. "So you're in?"
"Let's go save your friends, ya big softie."
Part VII
Teleportation magic. What could I say about that stuff?
Well, it's not nearly as fun as shadow travel, that much is for sure. But to be fair, teleportation magic definitely has a certain amount of panache. The magic circle is really bright, so it's good for entertaining children or small animals. Oh, and you don't need shadows, though that much was obvious.
After a brief flash of light, Vali and I were no longer standing in the center of Penemue's office, surrounded by instruments of bureaucratic torture.
"Where are we?" I asked, uncapping Riptide immediately.
"Denmark," Vali replied. He popped his robo-wings out, their blue glow mixing with Riptide's bronze.
We'd been transported to a roughly paved street which cut between rows of warehouses. Street lamps and lights on the long metal buildings illuminated most of the area. Above us, the moon was half-hidden by rolling clouds in the night sky.
My internal clock complained. I'd woken up not even three hours ago. How was it even night? What time zone did the Underworld operate in?
Before I could complain about my internal clock complaining (yes, I can be that petty) a flicker of orange movement caught my eye.
Vali and I leaped out of the way as a flaming tiger landed where we'd just been standing. An explosion followed, sending fire along with asphalt scattering through the air.
"You two are fast." A man called out to us, jumping out of a nearby forklift. The man's voice slowly became troubled. "Oh, I see now. The Divine Dividing. Oh, shit . . . the White Dragon Emperor."
From where he hovered in the air, Vali looked down at the man. "Where are my comrades?"
The man only shrugged. Most of his face became shadowed with the light behind him, but I caught that his hair was an ungodly shade of red and pulled back in a ponytail.
An explosion to the left drew our attention. Someone crashed through the thick steel warehouse doors, ripping the metal apart when he flew into our space.
Rolling to a stop, the guy coughed and stood up, blood dribbling from his mouth. His ancient Chinese armor was dented in some places, and his hair had been ruffled, but a huge smile split his lips, wide enough to show blood-stained teeth.
Vali spared him a short glance. "Bikou, what's going on?"
The man, Bikou, looked up at Vali. "Yo! Good you could join us. We have one hell of a fight on our hands thanks to Kuroka!"
A new figure joined the gathering group, almost like the Power Rangers were assembling, stepping out from behind a stack of steel beams. This time, it was a short woman with two cat ears poking through her long black hair. Her black robes didn't look combat oriented, being more on the decorative side, and to top it off she was wearing sandals.
"Shut it, Bikou," the woman growled. "How was I supposed to know this monster could devour magic?"
I tried to keep up with what was going on, but it was no use.
I had no idea how to process the sudden turn in my day. I didn't even know what time it was. And if that didn't say something, then what would?
What I did know, though, was that there were baddies in need of a beat down, which was something I could do.
"Can one of you give me some details?" Vali asked, keeping his gaze on the man who'd attacked us with the fire-tiger.
Bikou wiped the blood dripping from his chin. "Three Sacred Gear bearers. One of them is Arcane Consume. The other is Formula Unravel. The last is Torch Apparition."
"Formula Unravel and Sorcery Consume are both high-tier Sacred Gears, close to the Longinus," Vali muttered. "To see both of them in the same place…"
From the warehouse, clambering through the hole Bikou had made, a woman appeared, her long white hair shimmering under the lamps' glow. Under her eyes were two inverted cross tattoos, glistening with bright red energy.
"It seems unlikely, right?" she said loudly. "It can't be a coincidence: that's what you must be thinking. But when humans are pushed back into a corner, we can do incredible things, wouldn't you say?"
Vali stared at her. "You must be the Arcane Consume. That Sacred Gear allows you to devour outside magical energy through your body."
The woman grinned. "Don't forget using that magic to increase my base human parameters. And with all that power your cat friend gave me, I am well on track to being able to stand up to you all."
Bikou coughed again. "Kuroka used a lot of power in her first and second attacks. We didn't realize what we were up against until the third time. By then, well, our little cat sure does have the magical power of an ultimate-class Devil, doesn't she?"
It was around that point I stopped listening to those guys talk about their powers.
Why were they giving the enemy a chance to learn about important information like that? It didn't make sense. Did they want to lose? Because that's how you lose battles. As soon as the enemy gets a read on you, it becomes more likely they'll take advantage of that knowledge.
Idiots, Nekhbet sighed.
I nodded. How are you doing on power?
She squawked. Very well, actually. I feel alive and invigorated! Let us destroy these imbeciles. What say you?
Might as well.
The muscles in my legs were flooded with power from the river inside me. I felt like I could sumo wrestle Antaeus and piledrive him into the dirt.
Though, I then remembered that Antaeus had been a son of dear old Dirt Face herself. As long as he came into contact with the ground, the Earth would heal all his wounds. Not even celestial bronze could leave lasting damage. I'd only beaten the guy by hanging him up like a prime cut of beef, keeping him away from the dirt so that it couldn't heal him.
Regeneration is totally unfair and overpowered. I'd probably already mentioned that, but saying it again never hurt.
I looked around at my targets.
There was the fire-tiger dude, still standing by the forklift in front of me, arms crossed, but looking nervously at Vali, a tremble spreading throughout his body.
A new face had joined the fray, sitting on the warehouse Bikou came from, which was to my direct left. A few magic circles hovered in front of New Guy, spinning dangerously and aimed right at Vali.
And finally, there was the woman with Arcane Consume, underneath New Guy, still talking wildly as her tattoos burned the shadows away from her. She seemed to be the only one among their group who was unconcerned with Vali's presence.
The choice of who to take down was clear. So I struck.
Fire Dude didn't react near fast enough to stop my fist from launching him against the forklift. He'd probably figured those thirty feet between us was enough distance to keep him safe for at least a few seconds. But he'd been wrong, and all he could do was wheeze on the ground, clutch his stomach, and try to catch his breath after I had knocked it right out of his lungs.
I raised my eyebrows. For a second, I thought I saw purple energy flicker along my forearms, but the more I stared at my skin, the more I doubted I'd seen anything.
Nekhbet chortled boisterously. Despite my power being diminished, you are much too strong to be a normal demigod. What are you, I wonder, Percy Jackson. Well, no matter. Let's kill him; show them all what it means to challenge an abomination such as ourselves.
My arm rose, carrying Riptide up along with it. But I wasn't in control.
Sweat rolled down my face as I heard explosions pick up off to the side. The fight must have restarted when I chose to attack. That didn't matter to me, though.
Vali was more than capable of handling those guys.
I was more concerned about the fact that I just barely kept my arm from bringing Riptide down on Fire Dude. Nekhbet was trying to take over. She wanted to drive. To steer me. To make me into some kind of extension of her own will.
An outfit she could wear for her own gain, as Kronos had done with Luke.
No way I'd let that happen.
My mouth twisted as the taste of rotten meat drowned my tongue. "I thought we went over this . . . we either do this together . . . or we don't do this at all."
If you are too weak to stop me . . . then why would I ever willingly work with you?
"What happened to cooperation? We were—doing so well—earlier." I struggled to speak against her control. "I thought we'd really—bonded, you know? A heartfelt connection."
That was . . . before I realized just how much power we contain in this state. If I possess you completely, I will—have so much more. She huffed and puffed just like me, which meant I was putting up a fight.
"Can you maybe just calm down on the whole lust for power thing? Getting kinda old . . . at this point."
Make me.
I managed to sigh. "Fine."
And with that, I tensed everything in my body. Slowly, I pulled my arm back, trembling at the sheer force required to do even that. Shrill arrows of agony cut into my joints. Creaks of protest resonated in my bone marrow.
Jackson, let me . . . are you willing to destroy your own body for this? Fine! Fine then! Nekbhet roared in disdain. You are formidable. I see how you could turn down godhood with this fortitude.
Her hold on my body disappeared.
I gasped as cool relief spread into my flaming tendons.
Groaning, I said, "No need for flattery. Can you please stop doing that, though? It's super annoying."
Nekhbet scoffed. I do as I see fit.
With that, she quieted down. I wondered if this was the reason nobody let her use the remote in the gods' lounge. She just came across as too unreasonable. Well, she had been right about one thing. The power coursing through me gave me a buzz like no other. It electrified my nerves. It was like what I felt yesterday if someone had cranked the dial to eleven.
Nekhbet said that without the white crown, her powers were greatly diminished. Was she still operating at that lower level even now? Would she ever get her full power back?
And more importantly . . . what did all that mean for me?
The power of a god was nothing to sneeze at, no matter how you sliced it. Merging with Nekhbet had afforded me a huge boost.
Of course, there were drawbacks. I couldn't use too much of her power at any given time unless I wanted to become extra crispy. Carter told me magicians could burn up when they overused magic. No doubt, the same would happen to me if I wasn't careful.
Since I wasn't trying to look like the next Freddy Krueger, it stood to reason I'd moderate the use of Nekhbet's power. Unfortunately, I just had no way of knowing where to draw the line. In the past, I had gone past what I felt were my limits at the time under extreme duress. But if I did that with a gods power pumping in my veins, it might mean I'd become a real human torch. That would be taking the phrase "Flame On" a bit too literally for me.
Beneath me, the man I'd punched started to recover. He was under the shadow cast by the forklift, but I could see his arm light up orange as he moved.
He glanced at me and said, "Conjure: Knight!"
Fire swirled around him, coalescing in a cyclone of embers until a body formed; the fiery outline of an armored knight, complete with sword in hand.
Nekhbet's little tug of war for my body had given Fire Dude time to recover. I jumped back, forced to squint from the brightness of the flaming knight. Despite the light emitted, the shadows still seemed to persist around us.
The fire was toasty, but compared to Hyperion—who'd been weak when I fought him—the heat fell short.
With its sword raised, the knight charged me. My eyebrow went up at seeing how many openings the thing was giving me. Shrugging, I carefully took some of Nekhbet's power, stepped forward, heaved my arm around, and cut through the fiery knight, Riptide scattering the flames into small motes of cinder.
Fire Dude gaped at me as if I'd just done something impossible. His arm lit up again, and he called out, "Conjure: Tiger!"
Another one of those fire-tigers came to life from a collection of cinder, prowling forward with its artificial body stuck close to the cement. Once it got close, it pounced, teeth poised to sink into my neck.
I bisected the cat with a diagonal swing.
In any other context, PETA wouldn't have been happy about that, I'm sure.
"Can you give up now?" I asked him, taking another step forward.
"C-conjure: Dragon!" He'd finally managed to push himself up, holding his glowing arm between us as a buffer.
Another collection of embers swirled in front of him. The fire came together as a long, serpent-like creature with only the vaguest similarities to a dragon. It didn't even have wings, for crying out loud. What kind of dragon didn't have wings?
Even without wings, it flew toward me, fast, ready to swallow me in a single bite. The thing must have been about fifteen feet long and maybe half as wide.
For some reason, I didn't feel the need to move. As a child of Poseidon, it took a lot of heat to actually burn me. This guy's dragon just wasn't cutting it. So I stood my ground, waited, and slashed.
The dragon's head disintegrated, and the rest of its body followed soon after, nothing but fading embers being swept away into the night air.
"W-what . . ." Fire Dude staggered back, bumping into the forklift. "How did you do that? What are you?"
I shrugged. "I'm flame-resistant. Not at the level of Medea's Sunscreen SPF 50,000 or anything, but hey, I can take a few handfuls of lava." Giving him a quick glance, I tapped my chin. "Hey, are you human?"
Fire Dude's eyes hardened, and he nodded. "Of course I am. You got a problem with that? Just because Devils, Angels, demons, and all these other supernatural creatures are stronger than us—"
"Right, sorry to cut you off when you really started getting into it, but I'm gonna knock you out now, okay?"
He grit his teeth. "I'd like to see you—"
I threw my sword at him.
Don't try that at home, by the way. Since Riptide's blade is made of celestial bronze, it doesn't actually hurt mortals. If someone did that with a regular steel sword, though, their target would gain kebab status in no time flat. I didn't want to see any news about the 'Throw A Sword At Your Friend' challenge becoming popular.
Fire Dude flinched as Riptide harmlessly slid through his body, embedding itself in the forklift's tire.
His momentary lapse gave me the time to get close. I punched him again; one brutally solid uppercut to put him down for a while.
He dropped like a sack of rocks. I looked at his arm, which didn't have the orange glow on it anymore. "So that was another Sacred Gear, huh? Weird. I've never seen anything like that before. Wonder if Hephaestus could've made those fiery things."
And to think normal humans can be born with these instruments. Nekhbet contemplated something. We'll have to be careful.
"Guess we will."
I pulled Riptide out of the deflated tire and turned to look at the battle behind me just in time to see it end.
[Divide.]
Vali hadn't even needed to break out his metal armor. The white-haired lady stumbled forward, cut and bloody, falling to her knees with her power drained. Her fingertips scraped against the cement.
"You all . . . think you're better than me, don't you?" she asked.
The other guy who'd been on top of the warehouse was gone. He must have run away when it became clear that he was going to lose, no matter how he played it.
Vali floated down to her. "We do."
Anger flashed in her eyes. She stood up on shaky legs. "You fucking monsters. You damn, dirty . . . always looking down on humanity. Well, we'll teach you. Humans will always gather to destroy the forming darkness! The Hero Faction won't lose to the likes of you!"
She tried to lunge for Vali, but a quick [Divide] later saw the woman trip and fall, her consciousness going with her strength.
Kuroka and Bikou gathered around Vali. I grabbed Fire Dude and hauled him over to where they were.
I stood awkwardly to the side while they talked between themselves for a little while. Most of their discussion pertained to the Hero Faction and went a little over my head when they veered into "Old Satan Faction" territory. Eventually, though, Kuroka decided to include me in the conversation.
"Who's your new friend, Vali?" she asked, giving me a quick scan with her eyes. "I don't mind looking at him."
"This is Percy Jackson," Vali introduced me. "I met him yesterday, and Azazel recruited him into the Grigori not long after that."
I waved. "He attacked me."
Vali crossed his arms. "You attacked me first."
"What? No . . . did I?"
"You cut me after I dragged you out of the water."
My eyes widened. "Right! How did I forget? Sorry about that, man. In my defense, I think you would've wanted to fight even if I hadn't cut you."
Bikou laughed raucously. "Well, I wouldn't have been surprised if Vali here was the one who started the fight. He loves fighting strong people, you know? Anyway, name's Bikou, descendent of Sun Wukong. Nice to meet you, Percy Jackson!"
I shook his hand. "Ditto."
"I'm Kuroka, also part of Vali's team like this noisy monkey here." The woman must have seen me staring at her ears because she chuckled and said, "Yes, the ears are real. I'd prefer if you didn't try to touch them."
A woman with cat ears wasn't the strangest thing I'd ever seen. (Telekhines are all kinds of freaky when you really look at them.) Despite that, I still found Kuroka's appearance worth a double-take, just to be sure I didn't have a case of sudden onset cataracts.
"I see you were busy dealing with the Flame Apparition." Vali knelt down and examined the guy I'd taken out. "Unconscious but alive. Well done."
I gave him a wry smile. "I try. But can I get a rundown of what's going on? New guy here, remember?"
Vali put away his Sacred Gear. "Well, what do you want to know?"
Kuroka and Bikou both gave me their attention, smiling slightly in the darkness. Vali stood in front of them, at the fore, cooler than a cucumber, his eyes shining from a lamp behind me.
"Well, I'd like to hear about the Hero and Old Satan factions, but something tells me that'll be a long discussion. So instead . . . these people—Kuroka, Beak-O, Arthur, Le Fay… are they part of your team, or part of Azazel's organization?"
Vali walked further into the light's spread. "For all intents and purposes, they're part of the Grigori, just like I am. But there's a particular reason I gathered them."
Riptide shrank down to a pen when I capped it. "Starting a progressive rock group?"
"To kill my grandfather when he finally shows his face again."
That sounded familiar. "Yeah, been there, done that; it's a lot harder than you think. Don't let him possess the body of your former friend. And if he does, you'll need to double up on invincibility juice."
Vali, who knew about Kronos wearing Luke like a meat-puppet and the Curse of Achilles, managed a small smirk. The other two gave each other confused shrugs.
"My grandfather," Vali's face twisted, levity gone, "Rizevim Livan Lucifer, is the son of the original Lucifer. Son of the Morning Star. Currently, he is perhaps the vilest Devil alive. Moreover, he is one of the three known entities classified as "Super Devil". Rizevim has power comparable to that of a god."
"Kuroka, Arthur, Bikou, and Le Fay—I chose them not only because they're strong . . . but also because I know I can't beat Rizevim on my own, or by relying on other people with Sacred Gears like myself." Vali's fists clenched. "Rizevim's unique ability is called Sacred Gear Canceller."
"I can already guess by the name," I muttered. "Your Divine Dividing would be useless against him, huh?"
He nodded reluctantly. "Rizevim is a disgusting excuse for a person. I intend to kill him. But, as I said, I can't do it alone. I . . . I'll need help." His eyes locked on me. "I was thinking about asking you to join us in the near future."
Faintly surprised, I asked, "You want my help? Why?"
"You don't have a Sacred Gear. And, to top it off, you're strong." Vali held his hand out, fingers curled upward. "Your aura feels somewhat denser than yesterday. Well, after what you went through, it makes sense that you'd have been worn out by the time we fought. And now I want to fight you even more. I want to see you at maximum power, and take you on at that level."
Bikou guffawed. "What Vali is trying to say, is that he's impressed, and acknowledges that you will be a valuable comrade. He doesn't make these claims lightly, either!"
Kuroka snickered behind her arm. "And he's so passionate about it, too. I'm starting to worry about my chances of repopulating my species. But still, you should consider this seriously. One day, we may have no choice but to split off from the Grigori. Isn't that right, Vali?"
Vali looked at the moon. "If our goals don't align with Azazel's, then, yes. It may well mean a defection."
"You'd betray him just like that?" I asked.
"Yes, if he would actively go against what I want, I would have no choice but to betray him, wouldn't you say?"
"You want me to help you after hearing all that? Why would I join a guy who's willing to betray his boss so easily?"
Vali rubbed his arm, the spot I'd cut with Riptide. "When I heard your story yesterday, when you talked about fighting gods, Titans, Giants, and all sorts of monsters, I couldn't help but say to myself: 'This guy isn't just a mortal. He isn't normal. He went beyond that boundary, broke free of the status demigod and became, unwaveringly, without any pretentious intention, a real human being, and a real hero.' So, then, I kept myself awake wondering how a real hero could turn down the chance to defeat the epitome of monsters."
"Compliments only get you so far with me, Vali."
"But they weren't empty. Nor is my wish for you to join us. I'm not asking you to decide right now, and I don't want to betray Azazel, but choices have to be made. One way or another, I know Rizevim is going to pop up." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Besides, I can't stay under Azazel's wing forever. He's supported me enough."
"Choices have to be made." Boy, didn't I already have intimate knowledge about that. I felt like I'd made more than enough choices to last a lifetime. Too many of those choices ended up with me losing someone I cared about.
Sure, you could argue those choices all ended up working out in the end, but that didn't stop me from wondering about the alternatives.
But in this case, I had a choice that didn't immediately have some kind of significant repercussion. Or at least, that's how it seemed. From where I stood, though, I couldn't see any reason to set myself toward potentially betraying Azazel.
So, I looked at Vali and said, "I don't trust Azazel, but honestly, I trust you even less. If you ask me, I'll say no."
He hesitated, then starting nodding slowly. "Fine. Maybe you'll change your mind in the future. Until then, we'll continue to be coworkers. But mark my words, if we end up on opposite sides at any point, I won't hold back. I'll throw everything at you, even if that happens to be the Juggernaut Drive. So come at me with the intention to kill."
It would seem chaos followed us into this world, Nekhbet commented.
My life's always been chaotic. I'm not too worried, I said, staring at the red crosses beneath the white-haired woman's eyes. They were vivid and powerful in the night.
Vali gave us all a cursory scan, then created a glowing circle beneath everyone, taking us back to the Underworld in a flash.
End Chapter
