Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 8– A Bunch of Demigods
I was lost.
I finally admitted that fact to myself, pushing down my wounded pride. It rankled me that I was as helpless as any child in navigating through a city. Though it wasn't completely my fault; Afterall, I was in a two decades younger New York and I didn't have the omnipotent help of Google maps.
I knew the camp was somewhere in long Island, which atleast gave me a point to start; but didn't help me in making my way through the city one bit. In the end, I had to eavesdrop on some drivers and sneak on top of a bus to reach the place.
Thankfully, My concealment magic came quite handy in here, and I reached long Island in less than an hour.
Unfortunately I was still lost, not knowing where to go next. I had been hoping for some sign to indicate any divine presence that pointed towards the camp half-blood, but my search bore no fruit.
So after roaming the streets for 3 days, while avoiding any curious mortals and some not so curious monsters, I finally settled on a simple course of action– Find a house, eat some food, slay some monsters, and rest. Rest until some random demigods or satyrs bumble in the city. Cause I was just too tired of sleeping under some half-assed makeshift shelter that I had to recreate every night, without any comfort or security.
Hopefully I won't be this clueless for long.
"...the floods have reached a critical point in these islands, drowning atleast 36 people and counting. The experts are stumped as to why the ocean is in such a disaaray without any presence of winds or storm. Some say it is an act of god itself..."
I absently gave the news some thought while quietly sipping my coffee. I was sitting alone in a local cafe, watching the news from the TV attached above whilst enjoying my drink. It was a cool night on long islands, cooler than usual. And some hot drink always went well with that. I'd have preferred hot chocolate but the cafe was relatively small, serving only a few popular beverages. Even in those it was just...meh, but it got the job done.
"Kid, you should go back home soon. The weather doesn't seem right." The owner of the cafe spoke out from behind the counter, peering outside the window with a worried frown.
I turned around to glance, and sure enough, it looked like it might start raining anytime now.
Sighing I stood up, gulping down the last bit quickly.
"That'll be two buc–"
I shut the man up with a wave of my hands, casting one of the only 3 demonic spells that I knew currently.
[Hypnosis Magic] (Lvl 3)
-50 Demonic Power
I left the cafe quickly, clutching my full coat tightly as wind whipped past them. It was the first time since I came here that such fierce winds blew, and for some reason I couldn't shake off the thought that it actually might be an act of god.
I looked around the dark road to see if anyone was watching, before casting concealment magic on myself.
[Concealment Magic] Lvl 3
-50 Demonic power
These spells were quickly becoming some of my most favourite skills. They didn't quite show their use in japan, what with me never needing to use them. But here? Let's just say living in mortal world has never been more easy. I could mind fuck them or stay completely out of their radar. It was amazing.
Especially since I didn't need to worry about anyone seeing me flying. So without hesitation, I dropped my coat and unleashed my wings. I still had a white undershirt which had two holes to let my wings out. I didn't really care for clothes, considering I could create whatever clothes I wanted, but it was still a chore to create a new one everytime I let my white fluffies out.
I was beginning to realise how much I took my mother for granted.
It made sense now on why her clothes transformed into that skimpy bikini whenever she let out her wings. If I'm having problems with a single pair, what would I do with 6 pairs? Probably create some custom magical clothes for myself.
Heh.
I sped through the roads, flapping above the long Island while scanning the entire neighborhood for any monsters. My target was a small 2BHK flat towards the shadier region of the colony; I'd broken into the house after confirming it's abandoned status.
Weirdly, I couldn't quite find any monsters on my way back. A difficult feat, considering how much all the monsters just loved the smell of my godly blood, even when I kept it suppressed. Not a single day went that I wouldn't find atleast a couple of hellhounds stalking me even under concealment.
I skipped past a couple of house lanes, before reaching my dark and dreary house. It looked like a nightmare to live in from outside, but I'd done a good job of making it comfortable from inside, something of which I was very proud of.
I frowned as my eyes observed quite a few monsters surrounding the house. Were they waiting for me? How considerate.
My smell seemed to finally get their attention, making some skeletons start bumble towards me like zombies, while the hellhounds melted inside shadows.
'Observe'
Hellhound
Race: Monster
Tier: 3 (Inhuman)
Level: 227
Mana: 15000/15000
Stamina: 22900/22900
Health: 23300/23300
Stats
Strength: 258
Speed: 203
Dexterity: 210
Endurance: 229
Constitution: 233
Mental: 7
Spirit: 150
Grinning, I reached into my inventory and removed my weapon. The white 6 feet long spear shone in my hand as I laced it's edged with electricity, giving it a twirl. I felt the disturbance in the air under me as shadow seemed to melt in on itself, revealing an SUV sized hellhound. It was probably the dumber one of the group, to dare come after a flying opponent.
The ugly thing showed it's stupidity and jumped in the air to paw at me. Of course, air was my domain and with a gust of concentrated wind, I blasted the thing back down. With another blast of wind I sped after its falling body without a pause, and stabbed the giant hound with my spear before it can even straighten itself.
My spear felt resistance from its body, like I was hitting solid iron, but combined with my strength, the blade of my spear went in, electrocuting it's body inside out. The hound lay shocked for just a second, but it was enough time for me to create a holy spear and lodge it inside it's brain.
Weapons created from Holy light were my first choice in killing monsters. The monsters hide was usually too thick for my mundane spear to pierce through, and I had to use all my strength for it to atleast enter it's body. Soon though, I learned that those small stabs weren't that critical for them, and the monsters always kept fighting. But by adding electric current to its edges, I could shock them to the core.
Literally.
Just for a couple of seconds, but that time was enough for me to directly stab their vitals with Holy weapons, which were much more effective in cutting into the monsters as they literally melted the dark creatures.
The best part? I could launch them from a distance. And I did just that as the rest of the hellhounds took my bait and shadow-travelled behind me now that I was on the ground. I threw a newly created holy spear with a speed and precision unmatched by a mortal. Thrown with 15 times the peak human strength, the spear flew like a rocket, visibly breaking the sound barrier with a crack as it struck one of the two hellhounds head, killing it instantly.
The second hellhound managed to pounce on me but with my already inhuman speed, further enhanced by my wings, I was able to soundly dodge underneath the thing without any effort, while my spear slit through the soft underbelly of the creature with all my strength, cutting atleast 3-4 inches deep. The creature froze in place as it's paws met the earth, and the next moment found a holy spear lodged inside it's head. All the dead monsters eventually disintegrated into dust and were sucked away in the earth.
The confrontation between me and the hellhounds barely lasted half-a-dozen seconds, so the slow skeletons were still stumbling towards me. I didn't wait for them, preferring to snipe them out by throwing my holy spears. A single direct headshot usually crushed these tier 2 monsters easily. Hell, even a solid body shot absolutely trashed them.
Skeleton
Race: Monster
Tier: 2 (Superhuman)
Level: 113
Mana: 1000/1000
Stamina: 5850/5850
Health: 6050/6050
Stats
Strength: 177
Speed: 20
Dexterity: 138
Endurance: 117
Constitution: 121
Mental: 4
Spirit: 20
The six skeletons were decimated before they could ever reach me.
[You Leveled Up] 269
Ooh nice, finally a level. About freakin time. My leveling speed has definitely gotten quite slow. Though japan didn't usually present me with good hunting grounds, I got permission from mum to go hunt any stray devils inside the city last year. I remember fighting a Mid-class stray devil but with his mental faculties intact. It had been one of my most troublesome opponents, second only to the water-dragon. The devils truly had hax magic, and I'm glad I was one of them, no matter how partially. The shiny little defensive shields were just my favourite.
I shook my head with a sigh, and started making my way to the flat. Just remembering those moments made me a little nostalgic, so I quickly cast them aside and focused ahead.
I passed by the stylish Bentley parked outside my house. I'd stolen it from a mega asshole proctologist, also one of the most condescending piece of shit I've ever seen. I'd watched the man in a Brooklyn cafe, harassing a worker like she was his slave. The bastard never talked to me, but the sheer arrogance and condescension in his gaze when he looked down at me had made me want to kill him right there and then. Honestly? If we'd been alone I might not have been able to control myself.
Still, the Bentley more than made up for it. I never usually drove it due to having to slide down while driving to reach the break and accelerator. Yeah, I was a little too short, not even 5 feets, so what? I'll drop people down just the same if they talk shit to me.
As I approached my front door, I became aware that I may have some...unwanted guests. The door was lock picked, and someone entered my house wearing dirty shoes. Frowning, I cast concealment Magic over myself, embracing the invisibility as I entered the house without a sound.
"...someone lives here..."
My ears picked up the furious whispers coming from deeper in the kitchen. I tip-toed inside, sheathing my spear back in the inventory and instead, creating a short sword and a knife using demonic power as I slowly entered to confront the thieves.
Using spear in a cramped space was the height of stupidity. Sword and knife will have to do for now, even though I wasn't proficient with either of them.
When I finally peeked through the door, I had to stifle my surprise. I've been excepting to confront a couple of thugs whispering to themselves like rats. What I was not expecting was a group of children– Two boys and two girls, huddled together around a few lit up candles, warming their hands under comfy blankets. Two of them were teenagers, and two were just...kids.
"I know, Luke! I'm not stupid." The teen girl whispered furiously to the boy, who seemed like the eldest out of all of them.
"G-guys, I think.. I s-smell something." A bleating voice broke their argument as the other young boy, around 10 or 11, nervously stuttered out, sniffing the air and growing even more nervous by the second.
Shit.
Did he smell me? But I was hiding under magic, so how?... Only when I saw him closer did I realise the truth. He was sitting on his knees like a Japanese, which made his naked feets uncovered. Or more specifically...his hooves.
A satyr.
Finally. I had a way out of this boring hellhole. But I'll have to be cautious. They just broke into my house and were clearly armed.
My safety came first before anything.
"It smells...like..a god and..a monster?" The satyr asked uncertainly, his hands now shaking.
The other kids looked alarmed, reaching for their weapons.
Double shit. No time.
I didn't waste another moment as I burst forth with speed and clamped my hands around the youngest of them, also the only one here who didn't tower over me in height. Yes, i was salty about that.
I retreated before they could do anything, letting my concealing magic fade away.
"Stand down, and no one needs to get hurt." I said, holding my holy knife on her throat while the other pointed my sword towards them. The girl was trapped under my shoulder and arm in such a way that it left my two hands free. She tried to thrash around but a light wack (very light) on her head with the short sword's handle convinced her to keep quiet.
The others were all up by now, a spear and a sword pointing towards me. They were clearly shocked by my presence, and looked even more surprised by my age as they stared at me up and down.
"Look kid, there's no nee–" The eldest in their group started to take the lead only to be cut off by the short-haired girl, who was now scowling at me in anger, her surprise at my appearance already forgotten.
"Touch a hair on her and you won't live to regret it." The girl hissed in anger, sparks of electricity dancing around her fingers as she clutched her weapon tightly.
I tightened my grip on the knife, letting it lightly graze the girl's skin. Just enough to draw blood.
The girl didn't dare to move in my hands, staying completely still.
"Threaten me again and I'll lob her head right off of her shoulders." I shot back, staring down my nose at the sparky girl.
"Then you'll be one against three. Not a good shot is it?" The boy said, slowly trying to move closer.
"I'll take my chances." I replied, still staring at the girl.
Perhaps she saw the conviction in my words, or perhaps she was just not willing to take a risk, but soon she reluctantly dropped her gaze under my unrelenting stare, reducing the tension as she let her spear fall. She still twitched like she'd change her mind any second but a glance at the girl in my hands seemed to rob any of her resistance.
"Luke." She said quietly to the boy, who followed her lead and stood down too.
I took that chance to quickly glance at their status without taking my attention from them.
Thalia Grace
Age: 12
Race: Demigod (Blood of Zeus)
Tier: 5
Level: 100
Divine Power: 12,500/100,000
Stamina: 5090/107,000
Health: 13400/102,000
Stats
Strength: 95
Speed: 88
Dexterity: 114
Endurance: 107
Constitution: 102
Mental: 24
Spirit: 100
Oh my fucking god, not another tier 5! Why must my luck do me this dirty? And this one was even more stronger than the dragon! Shit.
I'm glad I had a hostage currently, cause this girl could bend me in half. But her spirit was pathetic compared to mine, so a single Holy spear through her body should probably kill her...but her health was a lot so probably not. But she was clearly injured so probably yes.
In conclusion, physically I may not be her match...yet. But magically? I will lay her in.
What I was uncertain about though, was if she could or couldn't dodge my holy spear. If she did, then I was a goner, my air manipulation probably couldn't work too well on her, considering she was a child of Zeus too. In this cramped space it will only take her fraction of a single second to close the distance. BUT, it will also make it hard for her to dodge the sword without one of her friends dying. So I'd give us both equal chance. Of course, I'd still rather not fight her.
Plus..she was a demigod, my only hope to reach camp half-blood.
"Now, tell me why you broke into my house." I stated, letting my sword tip point at the ground, though I still held onto the little girl.
The kids seem to finally realise the reason for my hostility as they turned to look at each other silently.
"We just wanted a place to rest." The boy said. "We had a long journey, so we thought to rest in what looked like an abandoned house. But I see we were wrong and aren't welcome here, so we'll leave you alone if you let her go." He nodded to the now squirming girl in my arm.
I really didn't wish to fight these kids. We will be spending time together in the camp, no point in making them enemies. But I was also not sorry about taking a hostage. Greeks were crazy and I'd rather not be totally defenseless.
"And where exactly are y–" I was forced to cut off my question when the girl in my hands suddenly whipped out a knife of her own.
"Now, Luke!" The girl screamed suddenly, her knife racing towards my face.
None of them moved though because I'd already overpowered the little girl with a tiny zap of electricity. She winced lightly as her own knife now came to rest against her throat.
"Don't do that again, you silly little girl."
I whacked her again on the head for good measure.
"I'm not silly!" She shrilly retorted. "And don't hit me on the head again!"
"But you admit that you are little?" I asked with a smirk and lightly whacked her on the head again, ignoring her petulant whine about how we were of same height. Not true, I was atleast an inch taller. Anyone who says otherwise was a disgusting liar.
Luke and Thalia still held their place thankfully. Though both of them had confused looks on their faces and seemed quite conflicted by our antiques, not knowing if they should laugh or not.
I needed to wrap this up quickly. They may not be my friends but weren't my enemies either. And I'd rather not have them become ones either.
"Look, I'm trying to find a place called camp half-blood. Just tell me where that is, and I'll leave this house to you."
They both shared a look between them, before turning to me with raised eyebrows.
"How did you know–?" Luke asked frowning.
"That you were demigods? I heard you talking." I replied with a smirk.
"You are a demigod too?" Thalia asked, her stance finally relaxing for the first time since our confrontation.
Luke however, still seemed reluctant, doubt clouding his eyes. Not big on trust this one.
"Well, not exactly but my father is Zeus. And I was told to go to this camp, it'll keep me safe from monsters and gods alike." I explained, sending a spark of electricity through my sword to prove my point. I didn't bother to hide something that was bound to be revealed in time anyway.
Luke's entire demeanor seemed to change. He took a quick glance at Thalia before quickly sheathing his sword, a look of understanding coming in his eyes.
"They didn't understand you either huh?" He asked with sad but empathetic eyes.
"...What?" I asked back, confused.
"The mortals, they can't understand your words if you reveal anything they aren't supposed to know." His grimaced slightly as he took in my appreance. "It must've been hard to reach here alone. Not that we demigods could expect anything else, our parents are usually useless."
He muttered the last bit bitterly before continuing. "How long were you hiding in here anyway?"
I ignored a spark of anger at his comment about parents and didn't answer him for a few seconds, wondering what the hell did he mean. It must be the Mist, I realised. Mom had given me a basic crash course on greek magic. I never really bothered talking to anyone about my issues so couldn't have known this phenomenon though.
"A couple of weeks." I replied to his last question.
"That's why there were so many monsters here." The girl in my hands suddenly spoke, a look of realisation spreading on her face. "They were attracted by your smell!"
I hummed quietly before turning to the duo again...well, trio... but the satyr seemed to be making a conscious effort to disappear in the background. While Thalia...seemed to have been just staring at my face absently for the last couple of minutes, a complicated look on her face.
"Look, I'll let the girl go, just don't attack me alright?" I finally stated, waiting till Luke nodded before letting the girl go, who quickly crossed the distance to take Luke's hand for comfort.
I took this chance to glance at others level as well.
Luke Castellan
Age: 14
Race: Demigod (Blood of Hermes)
Tier: 4
Level: 200
Divine Power: 40,000/40,000
Stamina: 97,500/97,500
Health: 93,200/95,000
Stats
Strength: 180
Speed: 220
Dexterity: 215
Endurance: 195
Constitution: 190
Mental: 26
Spirit: 80
--
Annabeth Chase
Age: 7
Race: Demigod (Blood of Athena)
Tier: 4
Level: 50
Divine Power: 15000/15000
Stamina: 21800/25000
Health: 15490/20000
Stats
Strength: 40
Speed: 50
Dexterity: 70
Endurance: 50
Constitution: 40
Mental: 23
Spirit: 30
Two drastically different demigods in terms of battle prowess. Luke was the highest level demigod here, though still inferior to Thalia's sheer Tier advantage. He was still around 3 times more Faster than me, even with my wings enhancing me. Annabeth was the only demigod present here that I could match physically.
Such unfairness. I spent 6 months in that damned forest grinding my levels, and here were three brats already matching or surpassing me.
Sure, my skills and spirit will probably close that gap, but it was still a little frustrating.
"...Well then." I clapped my hands to break off the suddenly awkward silence. "Will you tell me where the camp is now?"
Thalia seemed to finally regain her wits and started to look around before clearing her throat.
"You can come with us." She said quietly, though not looking at my face directly.
"But when will you all leave?" I asked, not wanting to stay here any longer than necessary. "Maybe you don't realise yet but this place is going to start swarming in monsters very soon. Four demigods with two from the big three is just too sweet a morsel for anyone to miss. I'd rather just leave now and travel alone."
"We know that, we aren't stupid!" Thalia snapped suddenly before taking a deep breath to calm herself.
I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"Look." She said with a sigh, starting to approach me slowly. "You don't have to stay alone any longer alright? I'm also a daughter of zeus so that makes us family, and family's supposed to look out for each other."
She pressed a hand on my shoulder comfortingly.
"Atleast a true family should." She mumbled out slowly, leaning down to be on my level and driving home the point how short I really was.
There was a story here, I just knew it. Still, I focused more on her earlier words. A family huh? Why did she suddenly go full soft-mode on me? Is it because of my age?
Though I had to admit, I liked the sound of family. No matter how much I tried to act my true age, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss my mother dearly. I was already feeling the first signs of home-sickness...or was it mother-sickness? Who knows.
Some company would surely do me good though.
"Alright then, sis." I stressed with a growing smirk on my face. "Let's go kill some monsters together."
A huge smile spread across Thalia's face, her eyes twinkling with excitement.
"Now that's what I'm talking about jac...ah." She stopped herself, looking a little abashed before frowning slightly. "I mean...what's your name again?"
"Mikael." I answered with a roll of my eyes. "What about you?"
The question was more for her sake than mine.
"Thalia." She seemed to hesitate a bit before sighing again. "Just Thalia."
She brightened up a little though as she pointed towards the others. "That one is Luke, and the one you were holding so closely is annabeth."
She teasingly elbowed me a little, ignoring the girl's indignant whine, before finally pointing to the last one. "And he is Grover, also a satyr. Which is half-goat and half-human."
Leaning closer to my ears, she whispered. "Don't ask me how, I dont know either."
I stared at the girl with a smile, feeling a little overwhelmed. I hadn't talked to anyone in a while, well...anyone who wasn't an asshole, so looking at someone act so friendly was a bit...weird, as it was heartwarming.
"Come on, let's not waste more time." I said, shaking my head to focus. "Tell your friends to freshen up and get ready. I have a car so we can reach the camp faster. We'll have all the time to rest then."
They all looked a little surprised at the mention of car, but didn't press. Probably not the weirdest thing a bunch of demigods had to face.
"Right." Thalia nodded a second later, looking at her friends. "You heard him, guys. Let's pack up and leave before we get another infernal army behind us. I have a feeling we will, either way."
"In a car, though?" Luke asked with a frown. "We can walk faster than a car you know, it's better to just run on foot, no?"
"We can't fight monsters while carrying Annabeth." Thalia retorted. "It's better to go in the car."
Annabeth whined from beside me.
The boy opened his mouth to argue again, but Thalia raised her hands, stopping him.
"Luke...just...let's go in the car alright?" She said, a little embarrassed, before mumbling quietly. "I'm still a little tired from before. We all are."
'But she more than anyone else' was left unsaid. I understood though, having just seen her stats.
Luke didn't argue further.
AN: Another chapter done! Mikael is finally in America, the centre of Western civilization according to PJO.
How were the interactions between demigods? I hope Thalia's sudden change in attitude wasn't too jarring. I left a mega clue for the reason behind her change, which will be hinted on in the next chapter.
Btw, The top 15 tier list from previous chapter will be edited and changed in the future so don't take it as absolute. It was just posted for you to get an idea of how the power-balance of this world is.
Now, I wanted to discuss another issue with you guys– The overly exaggerated words used by Dxd's author.
In Dxd, quite a few gods, devils, and other random beings are said to be able to destroy the world by so and so times, which is just pure bullcrap for me. In this fic, no god below Tier 10 will be able to destroy the world, and even in Tier 10s only beings like Shiva, Bramha etc can even hope to claim that title. Why? Because Gaia is Earth. Any being claiming to be able to destroy the world will also be capable of destroying Gaia. Atleast in this fic. So yeah, no bullshit world-destruction powers in the hands of random 3rd class villains. This fic will have a very consistent and realistic take on the effects of power. And the consequences of fights between two powerful opponents.
Second issue I have is the constant use of the term 'Light speed'. There are so fucking many characters in Dxd that could move in Light speed that it isn't even funny. Even Kiba was said to have Light speed at one point (I think, though I could be wrong). Just to put it into perspective, the speed of light is almost 300,000 Km/s. Not per 'Hour' but per 'Second'. A being this fast could easily travel the entire world's circumference half a dozen times in a single second.Yeah, that's ridiculous. Maybe a Tier 10 God might travel that fast, but not Cao Cao. And certainly not Kiba.
So I'll be changing things a little, to keep the story more consistent. I hope you guys don't mind.
Anyway, that's it for today, don't forget to review. See ya.