Disclaimer: I do not own Campione or any of its characters. I only own my OC's

Chapter 24

Hideyoshi felt the cold sensation of dread from earlier take a firmer grip around his body as he heard the words of the voice that boomed inside his head. It became difficult to breath all of a sudden, each breath feeling heavy and draining, as if his strength was leaving him every time he breathed out.

He had thought he had come to terms with the fact that his time would be limited, but there was a major difference between knowing that you were going to die, and knowing when you were going to die. And to think it took another divine being for him to finally start cracking completely, Athena's words might have shaken him, but it was the being that was threatening to take over that had dealt the greatest blow.

Yet, was the voice inside him strangely enough a form of comfort. While powerful and imposing, didn't it hold any malice within it. If he had to compare it to anything would he have to make a comparison between it and Chizue, feeling like an older sibling that he could rely on without feeling ashamed. He understood that they weren't after his body, they hadn't even expected a scenario like this to be possible. If any one had to take over his body, was he glad that it wasn't an evil god at the very least.

"So, seeing as Athena addressed me as brother, does that make you a Greek god of the younger generation?" he asked in a whisper, not wanting people to think he was crazy as he walked back to his house. He had tried to see if it could hear him by speaking to it through his mind, but that seemed to be a one way form of communication.

'Oh, Athy, yeah she was always the wisest in the family, so I am not surprised that she managed to recognise my protection when they tried to stab ya. And while yes, my most known identity is that of my time in Greece, am I much like most other gods, someone whose identity traveled and changed with time. In fact have many gods been compared and thought to have been based on me a couple times.' the voice almost seemed to be boasting for a moment, apparently finding humor in the fact that he had managed to influence other gods with his presence.

"I take it I shouldn't try to call Athena, Athy from now on. Just knowing that someone used that nickname for her make me feel like my life is in danger… No wait that isn't what's important! Who are you exactly?"

The voice suddenly grew serious, the question he had asked seemingly being something of great importance to the god that lived within him. Hideyoshi almost felt the very presence of the being within him grow stronger. 'The names and titles that I acquired throughout time are as numerous as the tales that has been spoken of my great deeds. But to many is there only one name and title that has truly spoken to me. I am the Divine Protector of Mankind, in other words the great hero known as Heracles.'

…

A war was waging within Dante as he looked at Luo Hao. Emotions he shouldn't be feeling was relentlessly overwhelming him, clouding his mind in a rosy fog that made it hard to focus. Feelings that simultaneously weren't and were his own were conflicting against one another. As such was it hard for him to take any direct actions at the moment, as he couldn't see the older Campione as either a threat or someone that he could trust. But what was most devastating was the fact that he couldn't stop the feelings of overwhelming love in his chest aimed towards her to stop.

The more he looked upon the new, uncharastically wild appearance of the Chinese god slayer, the more he felt how his heart grew fond towards her. And yet, grew an equal ball of icy cold dread in his gut as the logical part of his mind fully understood the situation in its entirety.

He was out of options, having been rendered completely unable to harm Luo Hao in any way or form, be they intentional or unintentional. Any breach would lead to emotional self-destruction of a magnitude that would threaten to tear him completely apart, because such was the fate of Dante Zola. It was comparable to the greatest of curses, despite lacking magical origin, binding his emotions and practically his soul to the person that claimed his heart.

In this timeline was that individual known as Brenda Eld, the Swedish knight. In another it was a different Luo Culian, the swordswoman whose skills transcended the Heavens according to herself. And now he was experiencing the major backlash of those two emotions melding into another, as well as encountering the conundrum where his enemy had suddenly become someone he was unable to hurt.

While the Luo Hao in front of him wasn't the one renowned for her skills with the blade, didn't that make any difference, as she was still Luo Hao. And as such couldn't the effect be overlooked. Her presence was overwhelming to him, like a magnetic pull that both attracted and pushed him away simultaneously.

"I'm curious, what could it possibly have been that you managed to reach new heights with? Could it possibly have been tied to how you suddenly seemed to start predicting my moves at every turn, something tied to your blue eye perhaps?" the Chinese Campione mused out loud, as she began walking away from her opponent somewhat. It looked more like she was moving to circle him, but with his current position leaning against the wall, was that not an easy task to accomplish. "An eye that provides the owner with fighting abilities, or could it possibly be some form of knowledge granting Authority. Something that provides you with information in some way, such as if having once belonged to a god of knowledge and wisdom."

Dante had to give it to her, one couldn't possibly call her an idiot when it came to these kinds of matters. Not that it surprised him, two centuries worth of fighting would make most people able to discern the traits of the others abilities quite easily. He wasn't even surprised that she had taken notice of those changes in the middle of combat, as it truly spoke of her combat experience and the attention she had towards her opponent at all times.

"And the creature that you had been riding to intercept me, it had a peculiar appearance that is hard to misplace. I take it one of the gods that you have bested was Odin, not that I need you to confirm it, as there is no doubt that I am right."

Dante smiled a bit, the mentioning of his ever reliable steed reminding him of how he got here to begin with, as well as why. While some things had changed into something outside of his expectations, wasn't he fully against the wall just yet. With a mental command lifted his body from the ground unnaturally, like a marionette who's strings had suddenly been lifted, as all runes still inside his body reacted to the command. In fact, the motion was so sudden and unnatural that the Chinese Campione actually took a couple steps back, widening the distance between them in a manner that clearly indicated that she was ready to fight once more if she believed the situation demanded it.

It was what he had hoped for her to do.

The surface beneath him turned into liquid in an instant, his body quickly sinking through it as there was no longer any support for him, much like how the surface of water couldn't carry the human body. Only to instantly harden the moment he had fully passed through it, sending him falling down from the sky without Luo Hao being able to immediately follow after him. Not that she would be far behind, as the arena above him quickly started to crack, even with his command for the runes to repair the arena.

As he descends downwards, put he both of his pinky fingers into the corners of his mouth, and let out a sharp whistle that cut through all other sounds, the winds carrying it far without hindrance. And with speed that he couldn't fully discern, was he swept up by the still active Sleipnir. The divine steed no more than a blur of purple and grey as it dashed through the air to catch him.

As he righted himself on the saddle, heard he as the arena finally cracked above him, as the black haired woman dove after him. Like a broken mirror, rained small shards of silver down towards him, surrounding her descent like glimmering rain. The winds picked up around him, as the Chinese Campione wouldn't allow him to escape her this time. Not until she was satisfied.

Her diamond arm stretched out towards him, palm open, as if she wanted to grasp him from where she was right now, even if the distance made that an impossibility. However, something suddenly started to resonate within him, small sparks of purple jumping across his body, before focusing into his right hand. It was a similar sensation to when he would usually bring out any of his Weapons of Thunder, but with the added feeling that had transpired when his other Authority had activated itself. And yet was it ever so slightly different from one another.

A similar situation was taking place on Luo Hao's end as well, green sparks of electricity jumping across the diamond surface of both her arms, growing stronger and stronger as she got closer and closer to Dante. It felt as if it was calling out to something, as if having come across a long lost relative that one had missed. And she knew it provided her with an answer.

A bolt of green lightning shoot out from her outstretched palm, closing the distance between them for her. The bolt changed as it flew through the air between them, until it no longer looked like the force of nature it was made of, but rather like the Authority it was a part of. A hand of pure energy, with five claw-like extensions that created its fingers, it was unlike anything ever created previously through Divine Might of Vajrapani. It lacked the solid refinement that her arms and palm possessed, a clear difference from all other forms her Authority usually took.

It moved fast, faster than anything he had ever seen her using before, be it in person or through Odin's eye. Even for his enhanced reflexes and processing speed as a Campione, was it way faster than what he could properly react to, already right next to him before he understood what was happening.

It was big, having seemingly grown in size during its path through the air, despite how brief it was. Twice the size of Sleipnir's length, it began closing its fingers around him, not quite as fast as when it had flown towards him, but still fast regardless. The amount of space he could maneuver through shrinking quickly as the hand closed around him.

His attention was dragged away from his approaching capture by a sudden, comfortable weight in his right hand. Without even looking towards the weapon that now rested in his hand, raised he it upwards, towards the palm of the unrecognised anomaly. Crackling lightning filled the remaining space around them, as if moving to meet the hand closing in around him.

The claws stopped suddenly, as if kept at bay by some unseen force, as the Vajra created its sturdy barrier around him, keeping the power of its counterpart at bay as it came into existence. Not that it changed the situation much, as the Chinese Campione still had them trapped within basically the palm of her hand.

Luo Hao, who had noticed that her hand was suddenly stopped by something, also knew about this. She shot towards her opponent, as her arm suddenly started reling her towards the position of the enormous hand that encircled the blonde man and his horse. In barely a second had the entire distance between them been covered, as she now stood on top of the spherical, invisible wall that separated them. She looked down below her, barely able to see her fellow Campione through the enveloping fingers of her new power.

"You won't escape me, not this time." she proclaimed with a smile, rising her other hand slightly away from her target. "Glowing sun, brilliance of scorching lightning! Spirit of the heavens, spirit of the earth, Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, make haste as commanded"

The enormous hand of gold materialised once more beneath the both of them. Most damage it had sustained now gone as a result of having been resummoned. One could however still see some of the cracks that it had been gifted by Mjolnir earlier during their brief clash, but they didn't seem to be a hindrance for the appendage.

Dante was getting quite nervous at the sudden appearance of the hand, having had… first hand experience with what it was capable of, especially when his most effective counter to it had already been used up earlier. It also didn't help his current situation that he could both see and feel his one lifeline disappearing, as the Authority started shutting off after realising that its conditions weren't met at this moment. It seemed to flicker with uncertainty in and out of existence, almost always see-through for most of the time by this point, and he was certain that the barrier around him would disappear at any moment now.

He didn't have any options of fighting back, being shackled down by his emotions every time a potential thought of doing her harm went through his head. That narrowed down his current options to only being to flee. Something that was a lot easier said than done in his current situation.

He had no other choice but to improvise, not with his Authorities, but with something he hadn't used properly in a long time. But with actual magic. It had been ages since he did anything above the most basic of spells, after having been quite an experienced spell caster before he gained his Authorities, especially ever since he had slain Odin. His mother had been adamant about both him and Maria learning magic from a young age, something which turned out to flow strongly through their veins as the Witch of Sardina's children.

His unoccupied hand went down to Sleipnir's back, past the saddle so that his entire palm was covered in the grey hairs that covered the divine horse's body. "You who look towards the past and future, your ever vigilant gaze bearing witness to the passage through the world. Janus, grant me swift and hidden passage through this world!"

As the spell took effect moved he in the blink of an eye, all his senses momentarily cut off as he was for a small instance put at the very line that divided this world from the next. He had no real control over how far or where he was going, as while the spell was powerful, was it also quite unwilly. And just as fast as he lost all ability to perceive the world, returned all his senses to him, allowing him to see where he had ended up as a wave of nausea rolled over him. It was accompanied by sudden pain shooting up along his spine, as the Vajra no longer had the power to remain in the world and disappeared.

Despite the pain and feeling of needing to throw up, he forced himself to look around before he was taken off guard. He could see in the distance the gold and lightning hand entwining their fingers, as if closing off any exits for what or who might have been caught between them. Dante knew that would have been his fate had he not managed to escape, and was aware that it wouldn't take long before the Chinese Campione realised that he had escaped her grasp once more.

"Let's go Sleipnir." A single, quick flick of the reigns and the divine steed flew across the sky at its max speed of mach 15, the distance between them and the older god slayer quickly growing larger for each second that passed.

And yet, despite the increasing distance between them, could he feel as her gaze found itself to his back, accompanied by the alien sensation of his heart beating stronger for someone other than Brenda.

…

Hideyoshi didn't have any time to lose, running as quickly as possible back home. Now that he was aware of what god it was that was dwelling inside him, and whose powers he seemingly could access subconsciously, thought he there might be something that could save him from an otherwise inevitable situation. He had already considered Heracles' most known legends of the Twelve Labors, the Authority he apparently was the most intune with as Hideyoshi according to Heracles, but nothing from the twelve tasks gave him any idea regarding what he could use them for in this particular scenario.

But he knew someone who would surely have a lot more answers than what he could come up with, as they were being known for their knowledge and wisdom. A currently weakened Divine Ancestor of wisdom, the smallest of embers of what was once one of the greatest and most known gods of Greece, Athena.

The sub-zero lump of dread and despair that had settled in his stomach had started to warm somewhat, as the hope of possibly making it through to another day returned to him. It was small, just barely more than a spark that could easily be snuffed out at a moment's notice. But given the chance and proper handle, was those sparks more than capable of growing into something far bigger and grander.

The opposite was however, equally true. They could far easier be snuffed out completely, leaving his despair to grow ever colder if it were to happen.

Those small sparks of hope were nevertheless enough to motivate him to get home as fast as possible, in hope of making use of the limited time he had as best as he could.

Those thoughts seemed to resonate with one of the Authorities of Heracles, as he found himself moving faster, lighter, and with far more precision than what he was used to. The people in front of him were no obstacle whatsoever, seemingly standing still from his perspective as he weaved in and out with minimal effort, quickly closing the distance between himself and his house. And yet, no matter how fast or far he ran, seemed he to never tire. His breath as steady and even as if he was just walking at a leisurely pace the entire time, rather than a full on sprint.

Before he knew it was he already at the door to his house. Having covered a distance that he was almost certain would take almost an hour by foot normally, in less than a minute without any problem. It was an unreal experience that made him actually think about what it was that was dwelling inside him. If he managed to hinder himself from turning into a Heretic god, would that mean that the Authorities would disappear, or would they end up staying behind?

He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, as he walked into his house. Standing in the hallway was Athena, as if waiting on his arrival, as if she knew that he wanted to see her. Her one remaining eye just as perceptive and insightful as ever, as she looked at him. No, through him would be more precise, unraveling each secret before he had a chance to even speak them aloud.

What he thought might have been a smile appearing for just a moment as she seemed to find what she was searching for, before being gone just as soon as it appeared, making him unsure of its questionable existence. "It would appear you have already found out who it is that you are hosting, brother."

"Yeah, and I guess you already know what I am going to ask, aren't you?"

The wounded goddess turned around, walking further into the house as she responded. "I have known about Heracles ever since I had Diomedes attack you the other day. A revelation I have made excellent use off. Your selection of material is however quite limited, the amounts of books inside this entire house being far smaller than I had expected."

"Not really surprised myself. When so much information is readily available on the internet, will one simply begin overlooking books and libraries almost altogether-"

Hideyoshi had to stop abruptly, in order to avoid walking straight into the unmoving Athena, who had stopped walking suddenly. She stood perfectly still, much like the statues she was known to turn people into in her identity as Medusa. Slowly, turned she around so that she was looking at him. Her one remaining eye, slitted and snake like as ever, staring intensely into his own eyes.

"Show me what this so called… internet is… please"

It was something of a surreal experience to hear the white haired former goddess say a word such as please, an image in his head that didn't fit whatsoever. And yet was it undoubtedly true that she had uttered that one word. Something which actually made him for the first time since meeting the Divine Ancestor actually look at her. He took in everything regarding her appearance, from the burns partially hidden by the bandages, to her remaining perfection from before the greatest enemy of the Olympian gods had burned her.

And for once, as he observed the Athena before him, compared he it to the Athena that he remembered from before. She had been so confident in everything going her way, reveling in the fact that the powers she had lost so long ago were returning. Only to have them stripped away once more barely an hour later, this time leaving her as a lesser being than the first time it happened.

Hideyoshi didn't know if it was Heracles' influence, but he could see past her impeccable mask, allowing him to see what it actually was she was feeling at the moment.

A combination of excitement of learning about something new that her great knowledge didn't know about, but at the same time was she scared of overstepping what possible boundaries that might exist which could lead to him throwing her out. Something which seemed to have grown with the addition of him having access to some Authorities of Greece's greatest hero.

But that wasn't the kind of person that he was. Instead smiled he at her request as he gave his response, as honest as he possibly could be.

"Sure, I would love to teach you about new things… sister..."

Her eyes widened in shock to his last word, but with an underlying happiness barely shining through. But it soon overwhelmed the shock, as a smile, a small one, grew on her face. And as her new yet familiar brother went to show her what it was that he was talking about, decided Athena that she would help him a bit more than she had considered before. The former goddess of wisdom liked Heracles probably the most of all her siblings, be they mortal or immortal. But Hideyoshi had opened up his house to her, and seemed to have begun accepting her as being his sibling. The least she could do was repay the favor in some way.

She just wasn't sure whether they would actually be able to stop it or not. From a logical standpoint was she quite sceptical about their chances, but she was willing to hold out hope that there was something she would be able to do.

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