Chapter 14

". . . prove that you can handle the first again. I want to see how you fare."

I cringed while multiple blocks tumbled onto her again. Lady Palutena staggered, but overall kept her ground. Lord Dyntos raised his hands, and a bright white glow formed around her. "I grant you increased power. Use it wisely."

Lady Palutena curtsied. "Thank you. Come on Pit and Arlon! Time to head back! Viridi must be worried sick."

We all warped back. Blade yawned. "What took so long?"

Arlon supplied, "Mistress Palutena underwent trials, not Pit."

Blade's asked, "Did we accomplish what was necessary?"

Lady Palutena beamed. "Uh huh! Now Arlon and I will get started on creating new bombs! Starting tomorrow. I'm going to rest for a while."

"How ingenious. I give you credit, Professor Palutena."

Lady Palutena turned around to face Hades. "Thank you. Now I'm going to go in my hot spring and take a nap. Good-bye Hades." She spun on her heels and left.

Hades chatted, "Pretty Palutena needs her beauty sleep. Can't blame her. Thannypoo needs about ten hours a night."

I glowered at him. "You're a monster. Go away."

Hades shrugged. "Nonsense. The only monster is the Soul-Eating Monster. He's currently munching on chewy human souls."

Lady Viridi stomped out of her study. "Dang it Hades! It's hard to concentrate when your yapper is flapping! Be quiet!"

Hades countered, "But why would I want you to get a good grade and progress in your degree? After all, if you become proficient in telepathic interference, it'll be harder to torment you Do-Gooders. I'll have you know that while you were kissing Dyntos' feet, we've worked hard too. I resurrected some of my commanders. Taught Pyrrhon the ropes of being evil. Went on a date."

Blade snorted. "We weren't playing Two Truths and a Lie."

Hades smirked. "I wasn't either. Phosphora and I had an outing. My, my, she's an excellent kisser."

I made a disgusted noise. "That never happened. Stop being so gross."

Hades started making kissing noises and left.

I felt my blood boil. Arlon wrapped an arm around me. "Don't let him get to you. He likes to manipulate others."

Lady Viridi mused out loud, "Since Palutena's force field doubled, do you think I can move Thunder Cloud Temple here as Phosphora's base? I know she was only in it temporarily, and she likes to move around, but a permanent residence would be good for her, no?"

More Phosphora time is always good.

I nodded eagerly. "Yep!"

Lady Viridi turned her back to us. "By the way, I'm leading your mission tomorrow, Pit. It has to do with humans. They're at war and tearing each other apart. Hades is harvesting their souls to resupply his troops."

My face fell. "Oh no! That's horrible! What happened?"

"Apparently, the Princess of Royanda is missing, and her father is blaming Corandar and declared war. The latter denies involvement, but is fighting to protect their homeland. I want you and Blade to figure out what really happened. Less bloodshed means less souls for Hades."

The next morning, Blade and I flew to down to the palace of Royanda. A few guards pointed their spears at me. "Who goes there?"

I introduced, "Pit of Palutena's Army! This is my colleague Blade. We are here to investigate what happened to the Princess."

One of the guards scoffed, "Try Corandar. They kidnapped her while she was in the royal gardens after butchering her bodyguards!"

I shivered at the evilness mortals could have. "Can we see the gardens?"

That same soldier took us around the grounds. "Here. If you want to play detective, you'll have to speak to the King."

Blade asked, "Can we see him? It's important."

He squinted. "He doesn't see just anyone."

Blade shot back, "The goddesses Palutena and Viridi aren't 'just anyone'."

The man muttered under his breath and lead us to the throne room. "Sire, these angels requested to see you on behalf of the divines Palutena and Viridi."

A chubby old man wearing a green robe and a gold crown leaned forward. "Ah, welcome! May I ask: since when did Viridi have angels?"

Blade crossed his arms. "When I joined."

The king pressed, "Did you defect?"

Blade rolled his eyes. "No. I worked for myself, then got into the Forces of Nature. Can we talk about your daughter? We're trying to find her."

He slapped his hand on the arm of his throne. "Those no good Corandars nabbed my precious! They need to be taken down a notch. Make no mistake, I will tear their pathetic country apart until I get her back."