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"Godō" - Regular Speech

'My Everyday life…!' - Thoughts

"God Slayer!" - Heretic God/Powered Up Campione speech

"Fire!" - Magic/Authority Use

Beta'd By BigCC

Chapter 17: A Most Unusual Houseguest

Three Hours Later

Jean yawned as she padded down to the kitchen. Both Yue and Rebecca were still asleep, which was odd for them. Still, the chance to see them both sleeping wasn't one the Campione of Scotland would ever turn down. Both of them were cute when awake, but they were positively adorable when asleep, especially Rebecca.

The Hearth Witch usually carried herself with a heavy seriousness that seemed to evenly mix a strict professionalism with an almost noble decorum. But when she slept, all of that seemed to fade away, leaving a young woman who completely relaxed and an air of childlike innocence. Seeing her like that was almost too much for Jean to bear.

The redhead sighed, coming to a halt. She could feel the new link between herself and her first subordinate, the raw power of a bond that was so strong that it would only break if one of them died. She could also feel the weight of responsibility from that bond's existence. Rebecca Gardener was now Jean's in mind, body, soul and magic. If she wanted, she could literally order Rebecca into her bed or to attack a Heretic God alone, and that bond would compel her willing and happy obedience.

Neither was something that Jean would ever actually order, of course. In the case of the former, not only did it go against her own morality, but she vastly preferred willing bedmates, and in the case of the latter, she valued her friend's life too much to do so.

Still, the knowledge that she quite literally held the absolute ability to command Rebecca as she pleased was weighing heavily on her. Rebecca hadn't had to swear herself to Jean, so why had she done it? To fulfil her promise? To ensure that her family couldn't retake her? Or for some other reason?

It was at times like these that Jean well and truly cursed her Asperger's Syndrome. Most of the time she couldn't care a wit about it, but that bloody disorder made the more subtle aspects of social interactions into a damnable, confusing nightmare.

Contrary to popular belief, all people had Autistic tendencies; those diagnosed with Asperger's or Autism simply had enough tendencies for it to have a more than incidental effect on their daily lives. While Jean had very minor Asperger's, it still made reading people so hard that they might as well be wearing full face masks. She could learn an individual's tells and grow to understand what they meant, but it didn't come as naturally to her as it did 'normal' people and took active effort and time.

She had only known Rebecca for just over a month, which was nowhere near long enough to get a good grasp on her facial expressions and tells.

Even with that though, another part of her Asperger's made it tough to understand other people's motivations and intentions, to truly put herself in another's moccasins to coin an old phrase. Jean was, to dumb it down simply enough, a naïve person; her first thought in most situations was to take spoken words at face value, which was rarely the actual case with most people. She had learned to step back and think about what people said and the possible meanings and implications behind them before she replied.

Rebecca was a good friend and she was usually fairly open with her new mistress, which was one reason that Jean trusted her so quickly and easily. At times though, she clammed up and became impossible to read, which mostly happened when her family came up. The redhead could see that the hazel-haired girl's family had been a source of pain and ire for her for a long time, especially that bedamned great aunt of hers, so that was understandable.

Plus, the fact that Rebecca had bound herself irreversibly to Jean in such a way that made the idea that she would work against her mistress' interests a laughable one. That kind of utter and complete trust was hard to misread.

'Still, I wish that she'd talk to me.' The Campione sighed to herself before resuming her walk to the kitchen. 'She isn't alone, after all.'

She stilled as she heard clattering from the kitchen. Rebecca and Yue were upstairs asleep, so who the hell was in her house? Moreover, if it was a burglar, what the hell kind of burglar broke into someone's house to use the kitchen?

Fully awake now, Jean stealthily made her way to the kitchen door, which was open. Odd, since she had closed it last night before going to bed. What kind of incompetent burglar opens a closed door and doesn't close it back?

"Godslayer, you are visible to my senses." A soft voice, obviously female and heavy with power, said from the kitchen as the sounds of activity faded. "Cease thine attempts at concealment and show thineself."

This made Jean's eyes widen in shock. Only a Campione using a lot of their power to activate an Authority or a Heretic God sounded like that. She was fairly certain that none of her adoptive sisters were anywhere near Scotland at the moment, which left the latter as the likeliest explanation.

Fairly certain that the voice hadn't been bluffing, the Scottish Campione stopped her attempts at sneaking in and simply entered the kitchen normally; though her mind was ready to grasp at her Authorities the moment at a moment's notice should her uninvited guest turn hostile. As she walked through the door, she was greeted by a truly curious sight.

Sitting at the centre island was a beautiful woman wearing a Grecian-style robe that looked like it had been taken out of an old Hollywood film. Unlike the fancy gold and silver-lined ones that the gods were often portrayed wearing; this one was a simple velvet colour and lacked any real form of ornamentation whatsoever. A simple white shawl covered her head, but left her face and throat exposed.

"So, you reveal yourself, Campione." The Heretic Goddess said with fire burning in her hazel eyes. Her face was pretty, but not the harsh, impossible beauty of Joan of Arc. Rather, it was a softer, far more human kind of beauty. Still incredibly beautiful, but well within the realm of human possibility.

Also, Jean noticed that, unlike the wild, tumultuous feeling of aggression and bloodlust that stirred within her breast whenever she stood in the presence of other Heretic Gods, this one just made her irritated somewhat. Closer to the annoyance that an uninvited guest had just barged into her home, rather than the fierce, unthinking hatred of seeing a being that was anathema to your existence.

"Considering that this is my home, the one who revealed herself would be you." Jean pointed out mildly, as if this were just a simple conversation.

"All places that can be called a home are my domain. None can keep me out." The robed woman stated quietly, but firmly. "Especially one that has been blessed by one of my priestesses."

"Heretic Goddess Hestia, I presume?" Jean nodded slightly. Now it made sense. Rebecca's Hearth had acted like a beacon to summon her. Of all the things to happen…!

"You're correct…but also incorrect." Hestia said with a small, mysterious smile.

"Oh? How so?" the Campione asked with a raised eyebrow. "Then again, something about you feels…off. Aside from Mother Pandora, all other gods I have encountered have been Heretic Gods. How is it that you are any different to them?"

"I was called here, summoned by this beacon of fire." Hestia reached out and ran her hand across the surface of the Hearth Fire as if it were some kind of beloved pet rather than…you know, a burning, magical flame. "I did not rebel against my legend and therefore have not become a Heretic. Instead, I am merely a guest in this world while I seek answers to my question."

That had Jean reeling again. Was it even possible for a deity to descend to the Earth without rebelling against their legend?! "A-And what might that be?" she asked, a slight stutter entering her voice as the sudden turnaround left her a bit dazed. How exactly was she supposed to deal with a non-Heretic God waltzing into her home?

"Why was my High Priestess stolen from me?" the Goddess of Hearth and Home asked softly. "My link with her is broken, gone! And in its place, she has a link with you now, Godslayer! So tell me, why did you steal my High Priestess from my service!?"

The sudden accusations from the goddess were enough to pull Jean back to the ground. "This is going to be a pain until Rebecca gets up." she grumbled tiredly, reaching up to rub the bridge of her nose.

Later

Bedroom, Princess Alice's House, London

The Speaker of the Witenagemot's eyes, her actual eyes as opposed to those of her Ectoplasm Clone's, snapped open as the visions she received ended.

"Oh dear." She muttered.

Alice had been born with an immeasurable amount of mana for a mere human and possessed a natural talent for witchcraft that, when combined, had earned her the title of 'Supreme Witch Under the Heavens.' This was, as she had sadly discovered, at the cost of her health. The immense strain of containing that same inhuman amount magical energy constantly wore at her frail, human body, sapping her of her strength and making any physical exertion exhausting to the extreme.

But that was beside the point

The areas of Witchcraft that she had always found the easiest and most natural were those of the Mind. Mind Magics such as telepathy, precognition, and astral projection came to her with an ease that was almost frightening. Out of all of these gifts, her precognitive powers were the most widely known and the ones she used, willingly or not, the most often also.

The visions that had foreseen the rebirth of Salvatore Doni and of Jean Campbell as Campione were just two of the numerous visions that she had every year. Seeing the future was not like watching a video; it was more like watching pieces of confetti flutter down after being thrown from the top of a building. Each piece of confetti was a possible future, resulting from a different choice being made. It was up to Alice herself to guide the vision where she wanted it to go, adding filters and narrowing the scope of the visions.

It was an incredibly exhausting process physically, mentally, magically, and in every other sense of the word. It often left her struggling to eat and drink afterwards, and she frequently slept for a day after hoarsely giving her finalised vision to Miss Ericson, who was stationed nearby at all times.

Still it was well worth the cost in her humble opinion; her visions had saved countless people from actual natural disasters and foretold the descent of many powerful Heretic Gods, so much so that her word was seen as law amongst the various Mage Associations, even those who were unfriendly toward the Witenagemot knew well to heed her warnings. Such was her esteem in the magical community's eyes.

The vision she had seen…no, been guided to, had been of the Seventh Campione, Godō Kusanagi, and his Mistresses (except for the youngest) visiting London at some point after Christmas to visit her regarding the origins of the Heretic God [Lancelot]. There were several possible futures that branched off from that, but the one she would have preferred was cut off and impossible right now, thanks to the existence of the Eighth Campione, Jean Campbell.

Her existence had caused a knock-on effect on the future, improving several timelines and eliminating several bad ones. At the same time though, she had strengthened several bad timelines and eliminated several OK ones. It was exasperating for one person's very existence to render so many timelines useless and alter so many others to the point that the fabric of the future was left completely changed.

Poseidon's descent had not been set in stone. Had Jean's parents not taken that trip to Athens, the container for the Grimoires holding his Authorities would not have left the remaining barrier of the Acropolis and Jean would, right now, be living as an ordinary woman, a stillborn Campione that didn't break the shell of an ordinary human.

Still, that had happened when Alice was just a child, so there was nothing that could be done about it. She hadn't learned fine control of her visions until she was ten or so, and that had been something of a necessity, otherwise she would have been driven mad by them.

Still, now she had to work with the hand she was dealt. Leaving things as-is was bad for a lot of reasons, not least of which was that if things stayed as it was, a certain Sword Idiot would descend upon London and become embroiled in a four-way Campione slugfest. This was sub-optimal for a multitude of very obvious reasons, so that had to get changed sharpish. That was as a result of Jean Campbell staying in London to meet with Godō and Alec returning to keep an eye on her as well.

'So then…I'll have to persuade her to head out for her fight with Luo Hao early.' She concluded. If she did that, all of the damage would happen in Mongolia, where there were very few people around and was out of range of any significant landmarks. If the True Son of Epimetheus wanted to go nuts, let him do so there, rather than in the Greater London Area, thank you very much.

Although…there was something odd about that vision…almost as if something was being obscured from her sight. It still had the best result out of all of the visions she had seen, with the others being in Scotland and Jean being irritated at her for Doni smashing her home up. Alice wanted to have at least one of the Campione of Great Britain on her side, so keeping on Jean's good side was paramount.

Still, things were progressing far more optimally to confront the Godslayer Killing Heretic God than she could have dreamed possible. The Eighth Godslayer was fast allying with those of her peers that she could. Alec was tolerating her, which was a miracle for the rude misogynist. Luo Hao would respect her after their fight. Doni would be happy to have a sparring partner. Godō…he was one that was a mystery for most people due to his denial of his own status, but Alice knew him fairly well through her visions.

Godō Kusanagi was a natural womaniser, albeit an entirely unconscious one. He genuinely didn't think that he was seducing the females around him and was entirely oblivious to them subtly flirting with him (well, most men were rather thick in that regard, but Godō was in a class of his own). Alice could see the attraction: Godō was handsome, caring, compassionate, protective without being smothering, entirely self-effacing without being a doormat and could be aggressive when he needed to be.

For people like Erica Blandelli, Liliana Kranjcar and Ena Seishūin, they needed partners who wouldn't back down from them, who stood as their equal at least, and who better than a Campione for that? For Yuri Mariya and her sister Hikari, they needed someone who would treat them kindly and protect them. Again, who better than a Campione?

The Diavolo Rosso, the Fairy Knight, the Hime Miko of the Sword, the Hime Miko with Glass Eyes and the Miko of Disaster Purification. All of these women were very powerful and had been assets in their own organisations, but now, with them all united under the Seventh Campione, they were indeed a force to be reckoned with, especially with the backing of Japan's History Compilation Committee.

By comparison, Scotland was bereft of most magic users, with the Royal Arsenal having started to withdraw them at Alec's order. Jean had sent a letter stating that the Witenagemot had free rights to travel in her domain so long as they send forewarning, but it did nothing to solve the problem that Jean had no subordinates other than Rebecca Gardener and Xie Yue.

And wasn't that an interesting twist? While the Daoist Mage was not Luo Hao's most powerful disciple, she had been one of the Ruler of the Martial Realm's most trusted agents. That Luo Hao had let her agent go with her blessing was a shock, with the agent being both happy and sad about it was another shock. Jean had contacted her via the phone the other day and they'd talked for a while about her.

"She's happy to be away from the Cult of Five Mountains, but a part of her is sad to leave." Jean had said. "For better or for worse, it was her home for many years, and my sister was strict but fair with her, so a part of Yue thinks that she's let her old mistress down somewhat."

That Jean could speak so well of her was a good sign that Xie Yue (or was it Yue Xie?) was being open and honest about her reasons for becoming Jean's subordinate. Her Asperger's Syndrome made it hard for Jean to read people unless they were very obvious about it, but no one would dare to attempt to lie to or deceive a Campione for fear of their wrath later when the lie was revealed.

As for Rebecca, Alice was currently quite irked by her former family. The Pipers had remained somewhere in the middle of the Witenagemot's power structure ever since its founding, being neither too big to ignore or small enough to go unnoticed. The current head was a man lacking any sense of independence or willpower and was dominated by his sister, and that woman was an ambitious old crone. Rebecca had been in line to be the next head of the family due to how Alice had favoured her, as well as her position as the High Priestess of Hestia, and Eleanor Piper was very much used to being the one calling the shots in her family.

This had resulted in a bitter conflict within the family that had just started to spiral out of control by Eleanor offending Jean with her dismissal of Rebecca from the family. The redhead was very much angry with Eleanor Piper and was very much planning on making a point about it by sending another letter introducing an exception to her previous open invitation of the Witenagemot by specifically excluding members of the Piper Family from entering any part of Scotland so long as she lived.

'And that is likely simply the opening gambit of whatever plan Jean has come up with to express her displeasure.' Alice thought with a sigh. She knew Jean's type; she was loyal to those who were loyal to her. From everything that she had heard, both from Rebecca and from others, Jean would strike back mercilessly at those who threatened her friends, family and subordinates. In high school, she had ruthlessly beaten a boy down when he had broken her friend's nose on purpose.

She had also earned a reputation for being uncaring of the opinions of her peers, which was true in a sense. Jean cared little for the opinions of those she did not know or care for, a fault born of a mix of her Asperger's and her own personality. Indeed, the school's councillors had thrown their hands up in dismay at how immune to punishment she tended to be. She did as she pleased and bore the consequences without flinching.

If Jean still maintained that same vindictive streak against those who wronged the people she considered to be under her protection, then the Piper Family was going to find themselves in quite the pickle.

Anyway, she had the rest of today to rest. Then she could start preparing thigs for Jean to get to the Mongolian Steppes as fast as was humanly possible when the New Year was over and done with.

Closing her eyes, she created an Ectoplasm Clone and sent it to find Miss Ericson so she could start the ball rolling on getting the plane tickets booked. The sooner that happened, the sooner she could sleep.

Same Time

With Jean, Rebecca and Yue

"A ceremonial title?" Hestia frowned at her former High Priestess in disbelief. "'tis the most ridiculous tale I have ever heard. Ceremonial indeed. 'Twas I that created Hearth Magic with the help of my priesthood when I was first summoned as a Heretic Goddess many millennia ago. Even once I was defeated and returned to the Domain of Immortality, I still possessed that same link between my High Priest or Priestess and I which granted me a steady stream of power. Through the worship of my priesthood and the spreading of Hearth Magic, I grew strong, strong enough to return…yet I did not, for, in time, I grew satisfied with my legend. Despite surrendering my throne to Dionysus, despite being the Forgotten Olympian, my legend is satisfactory and devoid of the contention that others have with their own."

Sitting down across the table from the kind-of-Heretic Goddess, Rebecca was in shock. "We…we had no idea, my lady! I swear to you, Jean and I knew nothing of this link when she claimed my loyalty."

"She's right; all I knew of Rebecca's status as a High Priestess of Hestia is what she told me after the Hearth was forged." Jean added. She was sitting right next to a tense and frightened Yue, one arm loosely wrapped around the girl's shoulders. The Chinese mage was not taking being in the presence of a God, even a currently non-hostile one like Hestia, well.

"Just what has happened down through the millennia to pervert the knowledge regarding the position of High Priestess?" Hestia wondered as she tapped a finger on the table's surface. "I am dissatisfied with the situation, but cannot honestly place fault with either of you, for you acted out of ignorance rather than malice. Yet I can feel this bond of yours…it is utterly unbreakable, barring the death of one of the participants."

"Rebecca's mine." Jean shrugged and smiled at the hazel-haired girl, who blushed and smiled back softly. "It's what she wanted herself, proven by the fact that the Authority I used could only take effect if the oath was offered of one's own true and honest will. It literally would not have worked otherwise."

The Goddess of the Hearth sighed and gestured to the kitchen with one hand. The kettle instantly came to the boil and poured its contents into four mugs, which then levitated over to land in front of each person.

"I can feel the truth of your word Campione, even now the bond radiates it to my senses." The goddess sighed again. "Still, this doth put me in a heavy quandary. I require the existence of a High Priestess to act as a conduit for the magic gathered and generated by mine Hearth Witches to flow unto me in case I am ever summoned as a Heretic Goddess once more."

"So Rebecca was unknowingly acting as a funnel to channel some of the magic produced by every Hearth Mage in the world to you?" Jean queried.

"Precisely." Hestia nodded. "All Hearths are synchronised to some degree or other with the reigning High Priestess, who is in turn linked directly to me. A small portion of the energy gathered by the Hearths will then flow to her and then to me. I hoard that energy, keeping it in reserve in case I should even have need of it. It is not a great amount, especially to a Goddess like myself, merely a handful of maize or a small sip of water compared to my own power. Still, it does add up, and I have built a very useful reserve built up after a few millennia. If I am summoned and slain, I'll be able to regain my power faster than normal."

"Can someone actually do that? Summon Gods with a ritual?" Jean blinked.

"They can, milady." Yue spoke up timidly. "About…four years ago, Duke Voban gathered a group of Witches and Hime-Miko in order to summon a Heretic God. Of the group of a hundred girls, only five survived. And rather than Duke Voban, Lord Salvatore defeated that Heretic God, Vulcan I believe."

"He sacrificed just under a hundred girls to deliberately summon a Heretic God because…why, exactly?" Jean asked, a deadly calm in her voice.

"He was bored." Rebecca answered quietly. "His Grace has the Authority aspect of a [Predator], Jean. He lives for the hunt, to track down and kill his prey. At the time, the Balkans had been going through an extended period of stability. No Heretic Gods nor powerful monster or rival Campione, had stepped into his territory in decades. For most, this was a good thing, but to one like Lord Voban it was simply insufferably boring. His aspect requires him to find suitable prey and when none came willingly, he decided to simply draw one out by force."

The redhead breathed in, held it for a moment, and then exhaled, getting her temper under control. That kind of casual disregard for life was utterly abhorrent to Jean, and she itched to go over to the Balkans and teach Voban a lesson, but she knew that there was no point. The old man had been alive for over several hundred years by this point, and the only way to get him to stop would be to kill him, and she figured that Mother Pandora would take a dim view of her doing that.

"Ok. I am calm now." The Campione said calmly. "Rebecca, make a note for me to avoid the Balkans if I don't want to end up in a fight to the death with my eldest brother."

The Hearth Witch, who had been eying her nervously, breathed out a sigh of relief and said, "As you wish, my King."

"To return to the subject at hand then…what is it you wish to do about all of this?" Jean returned her attention to Hestia, who looked amused by the anger of the Campione.

"Simply allow me to re-establish a connection with my Priestess." Hestia stated seriously.

"Would it even take though?" the redhead mused aloud. "The basic requirement for the Authority aside, Rebecca had to cast aside all mortal and magical connections in order to swear herself to me. Yue, Rebecca, you two have a better understanding of the underlying workings of magic than I do. What are your opinions?"

The two blinked at this. Ordinarily, they were low-ranking members who had to listen to their superiors. Rebecca had been a potential successor to the position of Head Librarian of the Greenwich Witenagemot, but that was only a mid-ranking position. She had also been one of many assistants before Jean had 'requisitioned' her. Yue had been one of a handful of Luo Cuilian's trusted agents, but had not had much to do with the general running of the Holy Cult of Five Mountains.

"I…Authorities of one Heretic God tend to be absolute aside from in the face of another one, but the usual pattern is a parity of sorts unless there's some hidden trick, such as Duke Voban's [Legion of Hungry Wolves] Authority granting him the ability to counter solar Authorities while [Manifesting an Avatar] due to it originating from Apollo, the Grecian God of the Sun." Rebecca stated absently and blinked again, getting her mind into gear again. "But…Monotheistic Christian Authorities, such as the Authorities you gained from Joan of Arc and Azazel, tend to have a…hmmm, quelling effect on those from so-called pagan pantheon religions, especially ones that predate the birth of Christ. From what you have told me of your battle with the Maiden of Orléans, she did indeed possess the power to quell your Authorities. I don't believe that Lady Hestia's plan will work."

"Um…I have to agree with Rebecca." Yue said nervously. She was not used to being under the gazes of a Campione AND a sort-of-Heretic Goddess at the same time! "I…Lady Hestia, would it be permissible to see the spell you intend to use?"

"Certainly, Daoist Mage." Hestia waved a hand, causing a scroll to emerge from the Hearth Flame and float over to her. "Are you learned in the Ancient Greek alphabet?"

"I am, so I can translate it, Lady Hestia." Rebecca interjected. "Both Yue and I will go over it and attempt to discover a path that can satisfy you."

"Hm. Very well." The Hearth Goddess nodded regally. "I shall remain here while you are doing that, my Priestess. I trust that meets your Hearth Mistress' approval?"

Jean blinked, and then remembered that Rebecca had placed her in a position of superiority within her Hearth. "Oh. Yes, of course. Better here than leaving you to wander around and possibly attracting that nuisance of a brother of mine from down south. I must say, I am glad that you live up to your legend, Hestia."

"Oh?" Hestia raised an eyebrow.

"I am unfamiliar with Lady Hestia's legend." Yue admitted.

Jean laughed lightly. "Hestia, oldest born child of Cronus and Rhea. Goddess of the Hearth and Home and one of the three most well-known of the Grecian Maiden Goddesses, with the other two being Athena, Goddess of War and Wisdom, and Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and Maidens. Back during the time when the pantheon of Olympus was openly worshipped by every Greek City State, she was given the task of tending the hearth of Olympus by Zeus, using offerings of fatty meat. This meant that every time food was cooked and offerings were burned, she gained her own offerings from that, but more than this, Hestia was seen and lauded as being something of a peacekeeper and non-confrontational. She reportedly gave up her throne on Olympus to Dionysus in order to keep the balance among the Olympian Twelve and prevent a war between the gods. In other words, as she was brought forth without rejecting her legend, she is very much as reasonable as any other person."

"Huh." Rebecca was used to her liege putting a naïve amount of faith in the beings which were her natural enemies, but this was a new one entirely. A reasonable Heretic God? That was like saying that Salvatore Doni was normal!

'Honestly…being honourable to Joan of Arc and Azazel, and now ascribing reasonability to the unreasonable with Lady Hestia!' she thought in exasperation. She, as a Hearth Witch, had been raised to revere the Grecian Goddess of the Home and that was reflected in the respectful prefix that she attributed to Hestia. Still, revering her was one thing, but trusting someone who was almost-certainly-kind-of a Heretic Goddess was beyond foolhardy and rapidly approaching Doni-levels of stupidity!

Locking eyes with her King, she searched them for any hint of deception or obliviousness, only to find stark awareness and openness. Jean was well aware that trusting Hestia like this was something stupid, yet she was doing it anyway, because she did not want to have to fight and defeat Hestia.

"You really are too much sometimes, Jean." Rebecca sighed, breaking eye contact. "If this goes pear-shaped, don't whine at me."

The Scotch girl chuckled. "It won't. Trust me."

She patted Rebecca on the head, making the hazel-haired girl pull a face and swat at her hand irritably. "I'm not a dog, dammit!"

"You really are unusual for a Campione." Hestia observed. "Even for a Child of my cousin, Epimetheus. The Godslayer who slew me all those millennia ago was arrogant and bull-headed beyond belief."

'Lessee…Epimetheus is the son of Iapetus, who was brother to Cronos, who was father to Hestia…yeah, sounds like a cousin situation.' Jean nodded to herself. Greek Deities were so hard to keep a track of, relationship-wise, what with the constant inbreeding and strange births.

Aloud, she said, "Well, I despise being told what to do. Whether it is by people, Heretic Gods, other Campione or even my own instincts as a Campione. I live as I want to live. Nothing more, nothing less. I would like to think that I am somewhat better than my many-times distant brother who slew you back then."

"Indeed you are." Hestia smiled warmly. "I can sense the amount of trust my Priestess placed into this Hearth Fire as it was being born. She would lay her life in your hands without hesitation. Such trust speaks well of you."

Rebecca blushed bright red. "Lady Hestia, was there really a need to tell her that?"

The bell-like laugh of the Goddess made Hearth Witch sigh as Yue and her King joined in. This was going to be an embarrassing time, she could tell. And it was almost December! She had to resolve the situation before Christmas or who knows what trouble might befall them!

Two Days Later

Atop McCaig's Folly

A delicate woman wearing a white toga and carrying a scythe in her hands glared down at the house resting on its own little island at one of the two main mouths to the bay that gave Oban its name. Enough magic and Divine power covered the entire island to swallow a dozen lesser gods without flinching.

"So, Slayer of Poseidon, thou hast taken in mine gentle aunt, have you?" Athena mused aloud. "This act of kindness does not grant you a stay of execution, however. Thou seek to slay mine prey. That is something that this Goddess Athena shalt not permit! Prepare thineself, Jean Campbell, for this is your last night. On the morrow, this scythe shall reap thee of thine life!"

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Next Chapter: Heretical Clash: Hestia vs Athena

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