The Finale...
A few minutes before the battle began...
sigh* "How did the day end up going so bad." A short black haired goddess named Hestia said as she looked out the window at the chaos unfolding outside on the streets of Orario.
Hestia had been informed about the Xenos when they had returned from the dungeon after meeting them. The thought was unanimous among her children, they wanted to help the Xenos in any way they could.
As their goddess it was her duty to support her children as best as she could, no matter what. Her trial began today, when she was shopping for some food for dinner tonight in one of the produce selling districts within Orario.
She was on her way home with her groceries when a loud bang was heard, soon followed by the screams of people. Hestia quickly made her way to the area to see what was going on and found the mortals being terrorized by a large winged monster.
Hestia was going to run but an inexplicable feeling made her stay and watch. This seemed to be the correct decision as the Loki Familia arrived shortly after and disabled the monster by pinning it to a wall with a gold tipped spear to her relief. Despite how annoying it was that Loki's children were the ones that protected her instead of her own.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bell and the rest of her children at one corner of the street and they seemed very conflicted about the situation. That's when the goddess of the hearth realized, this must be one of the Xenos her children were talking about.But the monster didn't seem intelligent to her.
Hestia was about to walk over to her children when a yellow and red blur passed them. Two monsters dressed in yellow coloured clothes were standing in front of the pinned monster from before... and then they spoke.
The Goddess of the Hearth was shocked and finally understood what her children were talking about. The Lizardman placed a red jewel on the rampaging monster's forehead, causing it to shrink down to the size of a child and start crying in pain as the Lizardman removed the spear impaling her to the wall.
The Siren was speaking to the Loki Familia executives while the Lizardman was currently looking around and muttering under it's breath before it's eyes landed on Hestia. Hestia flinched when their eyes met and trembled at what happened next, 'Are you goddess Hestia, Bell's patron deity?' a meaning without words formed in her mind.
'Um... Yes, that's me.' the goddess thought in her mind hoping the Lizardman could understand her. 'That's great, I'm Lyd. You seem to be rather calm, so Bell must have told you about us. Speaking of which, could I ask you to take care of Welusine, the injured Vouivre currently in my arms?' Lyd's intentions became clear in Hestia's mind.
She was conflicted for a while before deciding to help. 'Alright, I'll help but we need to be quick about it, because I don't think your friend can stall for much longer.' Hestia finished before walking away while detailing where Lyd could drop the little Voivre so that Hestia could help and keep her safe and hidden from the adventurers hunting for her.
After the distraction from Ray and Lyd placing Welusine safely in Hestia's protective arms, the Xenos went off to battle the adventurers of Orario. While the Goddess of the Hearth brought the young Vouivre to the Safety of the Hearth Mansion.
Currently...
Hestia and Welusine were discussing their respective lives in the presence of the ones they claim as their family. The goddess told her story to the young Vouivre, who in turn spoke about her short time in the dungeon.
The 2 had hit it off very easily with one another because Hestia found Welusine to be very cute, while the young Vouivre was reminded of the warm hearted Siren Ray, who always made her feel welcomed and loved, just like Bell. Hestia even shortened the Vouivre's name to Wiene as a sign of friendship between them.
The 2 new friends were about to continue their conversation about their loved ones when a monstrous pressure came over the city. "That feels like Sir Asterios' presence, so more of the Xenos have come to help from the deeper floors." Wiene said after expanding her senses.
"Hm, if what you've told me about them is anything to go by then things are getting out of hand." The goddess said as she looked at the deteriorating situation outside.
"I'm sure there's an emergency denatus because of this, but I don't think many of the other deities would even notice that I'm not there..." Hestia said sadly but shook her head at the line of thought going through her head while the world burns.
"Wiene, how about I tea..." the goddess started but was interrupted by a monstrous burst of arcanum that originated from the base of Babel. "Wh-what was that?" Wiene stuttered with fear and confusion in her voice at the absurd pressure she was currently feeling.
Hestia hugged the young Xenos trying to calm her down, "It seems like the gods have decided to bend their own rules and unseal their powers." she said as the Vouivre in her arms trembled from fear for her family's safety.
Hestia sympathized with the Vouivre as she felt the 3 unsealed deities absolutely wreck the Xenos on the surface and force them to retreat as the tables were suddenly flipped in the adventurers favour.
'Can't we all just get along?' Hestia's thought went unanswered as she comforted the monster in her arms.
Currently at the entrance to Babel
The attention of everyone was currently on the yellow clothed figure who the Xenos were bowing to. "So, you're the one who gave a blessing to these monsters? Are you ready to face the consequences of your actions, unknown deity!" yelled the boisterous voice of the god of the people Ganesha.
He was completely ignored by the yellow clothed Star God, who seemed to be more concerned about the Xenos than any mortals or gods in the area. "Ray, Lyd, Asterios, and the rest of my prescious flock, who is it that hurt you so?"the Great Old One asked as he finally looked around at his surroundings.
All of the adventurers trembled and shivered, some even passed out while foaming at the mouth, under the gaze of the King in Yellow. The 3 gods fared better than their children but they still shook and took a step back under the Great Old One's look. Hastur raised his cloth covered hand and snapped his fingers.
Instantly all the Xenos were healed of their injuries, to the shock and fear of the present adventurers. "The proof is right there, no more need for talking. I don't care who he is, send him back to Tenkai!"
Loki yelled in fury as she flares her divine aura, soon followed by Ganesha and Takemikazuchi all in preparation for battle.The Loki Familia felt empowered by the aura of their goddess as did the Ganesha and Takemikazuchi Familia's despite the latter being as small as they are, they prepared to continue the battle until the opposition was eradicated.
"Lower your power terrestrial deities, I do not wish for the loss of my followers in an unnecessary battle." The King in Yellow said with authority as he looked at the 3 gods in front of him, who stumbled slightly but maintained their aura.
"Why should we negotiate with you? A god who empowers monsters to fight and kill our children, you and your followers don't deserve the mercy of existence in Gekai!" Takemikazuchi finished his speech with finality as he raised his katana towards Hastur.
sigh* "I am but a shepherd guiding and protecting my flock from those who wish to do them harm, since the 3 of you won't back down. You've become my enemy." the King in Yellow began as he slowly released his own power before continuing his speech,"I see, then there was never any chance of stopping this. The turning point of this era!" Hastur finished as his aura exploded outward.
Hastur removed a book from within his robes and read from it's contents in an eldritch tongue, causing the adventurers to flinch in pain as their ears started bleeding. Soon the ground started shaking as a giant sunflower rose into the air above them.
While the gods were flaring their power, the Xenos moved beside Lord Hastur and the sunflower throne as it seemed like no matter what happened next, one side would be annihilated.
'all according to plan' the King in Yellow thought to himself...
At the Denatus...
The chaos from before was replaced with dead silence, as the deities looked at the unfamiliar figure cloaked in the infinite yellow coloured garments. The goddess of love, Freya tried to peer into the individuals soul with her divine eyes, but couldn't see anything through the crystal mirror.
She decided to get up and look at the mysterious deity directly to find out more about him. As Freya walked to the window she heard the fight begin between the 2 sides as Ganesha, Takemikazuchi and Loki began their assault on the mysterious god wearing yellow.
The goddess of beauty reached the window and used her divine eyes on the yellow clad individual, who was currently dueling with the 3 unchained gods in the air above the city of Orario. When her gaze met the soul of the Great Old One, Freya wished that she didn't have eyes.
All the gods were still processing the events currently unfolding outside when their attention was suddenly drawn to the window where Freya was observing the battle a moment before she suddenly started laughing while crying tears of blood, before falling to her back and began clawing at her face.
Miach moved quickly and restrained her before she could permanently injure herself, because it seemed as though she was trying to scratch her eyes out. A few more gods stepped forward to help him as they restrained the goddess of love by binding her to a chair.
Miach the god of medicine, made a request to temporarily unseal his power to heal Freya, as she may have seen something that could help them win the battle against the unknown god in yellow, who must have retaliated against her somehow.
After a little deliberation Miach's request was granted, and he began healing Freya...
Inside Freya's mind the moment she looked at Hastur...
Freya had seen many souls throughout her long life. She had judged millions of them when she was in Tenkai, with her divine eyes nothing could be hidden from her. The soul shows who and what an individual truly is, a person can lie with their mouths but the soul always reveals the truth behind the lies.
Gods were no different, their souls showed her what they ruled over and what kind of deities they really were. The goddess of beauty had believed that the yellow clothed god would be no different from the others, but she was so wrong.
When her eyes gazed at his soul, his soul gazed back and she saw things that should not possibly exist. Giant innumerable tentacled monsters much bigger than entire universes, playing accursed flutes and drums as they danced around an even bigger sleeping tentacled entity.
She saw ancient advanced races fighting one another only to be annihilated by eldritch abominations from among the stars. Freya saw a monstrous tentacled draconic-humanoid entity driving entire world's of mortals to insanity as he destroyed them.
Freya saw a world of complete yellow, the sky was yellow, the land was yellow due to the billions of sunflowers. Yellow abominations that looked like sheep prowled the land as unnameable monsters roamed alongside the sunflowers.
The goddess saw the previous world that Gekai had come from the humans and the forbidden knowledge they had gained. She saw the unseen yellow strings controlling the entire world as the yellow clothed entity played the entire world as it fought and defeated the tentacled giant, before claiming the world as it's own before it went to sleep.
The goddess of love saw it all including the yellow strings attached to her own body and that of all the deities and their children. Freya cried tears of blood, not out of sadness or fear but happiness and joy. Her mind had broken, she felt hopeless...
Back in Orario...
All the windows in the entire city broke at once while the buildings in the immediate area crumbled at the clash of the 3 unchained gods with the King in Yellow. Hastur immediately wrapped his cloth arms around the 3 deities and dragged them into the sky.
All the adventurers were knocked off their feet from the initial clash while the Xenos were barely able to maintain their balance as they prepared for round 2 of the surface battle royale. The adventurers quickly recovered before brandishing their weapons for the fight to come.
The adventurers began first this time as the warriors quickly went into close quarters combat with the Xenos while the magic casters remained behind to cast their spells.
The Xenos weren't idle as they began using skirmish tactics to whittle down their opponents. Ray, Lyd and Fear attacked from a distance with their respective abilities while others like Laura and Gros altered the terrain to make it difficult for the adventurers to move and stay focused as the bizarre landscapes around them shifted.
In the sky, the situation was even more insane than on the ground. Takemikazuchi had turned the beautiful sunny day into a rolling stormy, thunder struck affair, as lightning blitzed through the sky at the Great Old One.
Loki and Ganesha decided to attack in close quarters with their divine weapons. At first they tried hitting him individually but it seemed as though his clothes had a mind of it's own and deflected all of their attacks even if they came from behind.
They soon tried a combined attack with 2 divine weapons and a monstrous lightning bolt in the shape of an arrowhead all directed at the yellow clad Star God who responded in kind with a giant cloth covered fist, reminiscent of Hastur's first strike against Cthulhu.
The 3 unchained gods attacks combined into 1, as The Great Old One's fist accelerated to meet them halfway. When the attacks collided a sight that the mortals of Gekai would remember for the rest of their lives occured.
The sky split in 2 as the power of the combatants repelled one another. How the battle would end was uncertain to the mortals cowering in fear and awe down below. What was certain however, was the fact that the world was about to have a drastic change...
Within the shelters in Daedalus street...
Almost all of the civilians and guild personnel were forced to take cover in these bunkers as the battle outside devolved into a maddening display on the ground and an unforgettable display in the sky as the gods fought for supremacy.
All the waitresses of a pub known as the Hostess of Fertility were sitting together, hoping for the fighting to end as they were worried about the workplace that had become their home over the years.
Some of them were also worried about a certain white haired adventurer named Bell Cranel, as he had been caught up in all the fighting and they were concerned about his wellbeing. "I just hope he's ok." the silver haired waitress said with anxiety in her voice.
Her name was Syr Flova who was actually an agent of the Freya Familia sent to get close to Bell, by her deity who was currently in Babel. "You don't need to worry, Syr. Mr Cranel is stronger than most people understand, he won't die." spoke the green haired elf in response to Syr's concern.
"That being said, I would like to check on him to make sure. I'll be back later Syr." the elf finished her speech to her best friend before getting up to leave without drawing too much attention. Ryuu had read between the lines of Syr's concern for Bell and knew she wanted someone to check on him.
Syr smiled at her best friend before turning to look around for some of the children from the orphanage. She couldn't spot any of them but she had a feeling that they were alright.
On the other side of the bunker were most of the guild personnel, 2 of them were currently in a heated discussion about the situation outside. More specifically the fact that Lord Uranus had permitted a few of the gods to unseal their power.
"I'm telling you something deeper must be going on, Lord Uranus didn't allow any of the gods to unseal their power even when the 1 eyed black dragon escaped the dungeon." The half elf Eina Tulle told her pink haired friend Misha Flott in a hushed tone of voice as she didn't want to cause a panic amongst the civilians.
Misha responded in an equally hushed whisper, "But what if there was an unchained god, and the pantheon was forced to take drastic action quickly?" she asked in response before pointing out a clear window at the 4 dueling deities in the sky who were currently leveling mountains in the distance each time their attacks collided.
Eina pinched the bridge of her nose to calm herself before looking worriedly at the battle on the ground where her assigned adventurer was probably fighting for his life against those intelligent monsters, while she was safe and sound in this bunker... 'no I have to make sure he's alright' the half elf thought as she got up and unexpectedly made eye contact with a green haired elf.
The 2 seemed to have understood some unspoken message between them and nodded as they moved to leave the bunker.
Currently as the battle on the ground continues...
It was absolute chaos unfolding on the battlefield, mostly due to the actions of the Hestia Familia. The upstart Familia had stood alongside their fellow adventurers until the fight began and they turned on their fellow adventurers by aiding and enhancing the Xenos attacks.
In response Finn ordered them to be taken down with extreme prejudice for betraying the people they swore to protect. Bell and his fellow Familia members didn't seem to care following the words of their captain.
"If you're adventurers, then decide for yourself what to do! I see a group in need of aid, and as a hero I will help them!" Bell shouted as he fended off more than a dozen adventurers at once. Inspired by his words and conviction, his friends followed him into the action, regardless of the consequences.
Many of their friends among the adventurers had their convictions shaken by the blatant disregard for the natural order of things in Gekai. The Loki Familia were steadfast however and hardened their hearts for what they needed to do with what they once considered friends.
The Xenos were overjoyed but resigned as well because their first friends among the mortals chose them over their own kind regardless of the contempt they would face afterwards. This raised the opinion of all the Xenos in regards to the Hestia Familia.
'Bell are you sure this is wise, you are making an enemy of your own kind?' Ray communicated her meaning into the young adventurer's mind as she deflected and counterattacked the sword princess with her light blades.
Bell was surprised, but regained his composure before he could be caught off guard. 'Ray, I, no we are doing what we believe to be right. My Familia and I know the Xenos are innocent and will stand by you no matter what.' he responded in his mind and he could have sworn he saw a tear fall from Ray's eye even as she continued to battle for her family.
Bell Cranel felt inspired by the Xenos determination. So with newfound vigour he dove into battle against the adventurers who had stood against them with the intent of wiping them out...
Back in the Denatus...
Miach was able to stabilize and heal Freya from whatever had happened to her. The goddess in question was just waking up from the unconsciousness induced by the god of medicine.
"How are you feeling Freya, can you tell us what happened when you looked at the enemy?" Miach asked concisely as was needed of him. Freya seemed to regain her barings after a few seconds, before responding. "We've already lost." she said despairingly as she looked straight at Miach. The God of medicine was shocked by what he saw in her eyes.
All the deities were confused by what she said and a few were about to question her, when she raised her hand halting them. She then turned her gaze away from Miach and towards the other gods in attendance. The Gods flinched at what they saw in her eyes.
Instead of the alluring purple gem like eyes they were all used to, the goddess of love's eyes were black as coal without a spark of life behind them as she looked across the gathered deities. "I have seen it, the end of the world clad in the yellow robes of a conqueror."
Freya's words were dead and devoid of the usual playful undertones. "What do you mean by that Freya, what did you see?" questioned Hermes asked concerned about what was happening below as he saw Bell Cranel betraying the adventurers and joining the Xenos, to the God of trade's disappointment.
"I gazed at it's soul and its soul gazed back at me. I desired to see what the true nature of our enemy is, and it showed me everything. After seeing it, I no longer desired the sense of sight because the things I saw made me feel true despair." she began as the gods listened attentively.
Freya took a deep breath as she made an attempt to continue, but a tug on her mind told her "not yet." as her free will was stripped from her for a moment, before her eyes glazed over and she fainted again. Not before uttering a warning with the last of her strength, "He controls us..." was all she was able to say.
"Well that's unsettling, should we help the 3 outside while we wait for Freya to wake up again?" Miach said to the other gods with uncertainty in his voice as he looked at the unconscious goddess beside him.
Uranus responded immediately, "No, if what Freya said is true then we need to continue to observe the situation and act only when the time is right." the God of wind said as he stood from his throne under the guild, "I'm on my way to Babel, wait for me there." the god finished to the shock of the other deities present.
"Uranus never comes out into the open, just what does he know that we don't..." Hermes questioned as he realized the old god picked up something from what little Freya had said.
Back on the ground, with the Xenos and Hestia Familia...
The battle on the ground was fierce as weapons, skills, magic and other abilities clashed in a beautiful but violent dance of destruction on the streets of Orario.
The Hestia Familia were not the strongest group in the city by far, but they were an unpredictable wild card in the battle. They had already taken down several dozen adventurers in the 15 minutes the battle had been going on, mostly due to the distractions of the Xenos and Haruhime's level boost that strengthened her allies.
The only ones not hindered by the small group of adventurers was the Loki and Freya Familia's who were currently more focused on the stronger Xenos and left the Hestia Familia to the lower ranked adventurers in their Familia's. This however seemed to be a mistake that cost them greatly, as the adventurers were being overwhelmed by the numbers of their enemies.
Soon there was more anarchy and betrayals among the adventurers as a few of them who were helped by Bell in the past felt a change in their hearts at the current situation reminded them of how the Hestia Familia had rescued them in the past without asking for anything in return.
Morgs and Aisha saw the parallels and decided to help them out just this once. Aisha especially as she saw the high novice of the Loki Familia raise his sword to strike down the one she considered a sister, Haruhime. The scantily clad Amazon dashed forward and struck the level 4 adventurer with her saw blade, to the shock and outrage of a nearby cat girl.
Anakitty, seeing her close friend being struck down, retaliated against the traitorous Amazon as she screamed bloody vengeance. The Xenos seeing another ally, probably a friend of Bell. They quickly decided to assist with a sneak attack on the cat girl from behind.
Arles the Almiraj, used her lightning abilities to blitz the currently distracted adventurer from behind and allowing the Amazon to knock her out. The Almiraj nodded cutely to Aisha before dashing off at blinding speeds to assist her brethren.
"Well I'll be, I guess there's some truth to the little rookie's words after all..." The Amazon from Hermes Familia said as she turned her back to the Xenos and charged the adventurers. "But Bell Cranel better reward me greatly for this" she finished with a sultry look while licking her lips.
Bell was surprised by this turn of events but welcomed it none the less despite feeling some dread as he saw theas fatigue was starting to get to him and his Familia. 'Please guys let's just stop this fighting and try to talk things out...' Bell thought hopelessly as he punched another adventurer into blissful unconsciousness.
With the dueling deities...
The fight had continued for quite a long time as the 3 unchained gods continued their assault on the Great Old One without much success as it seemed like it was immune to almost all forms of damage, and the attacks it wasn't immune to healed as quickly as they had appeared. Hastur had had enough of this fight as he analyzed the power he had taken from these deities.
"I tire of this, shall we end this?" the King in Yellow asked as he began warping reality as he had done in his battle with Cthulhu. The clouds and sky became yellow and sickly as thousands of sunflowers sprouted from the planes surrounding Orario.
"What is this, what are you doing to the world!" Ganesha yelled at the cloaked Star God who was in the process of revealing his true form but stopped at the words of the Hindu god.
Hastur paused as did the other gods in the air, those watching from Babel, the citizens in the bunker and even the adventurers still fighting the Xenos as they all felt a presence invade their minds and a meaning without words formed in their minds.
"Attention mortals and Terrestrial gods of the world known as Gekai. My name is Hastur, the God of Shepherds." the meaning without words formed in the minds of all mortals and gods in the entire world getting the attention of every sentient lifeform on the planet.
"I've been on this world for a long time, long before the current life was even contemplated. You all came into existence while I was asleep after the previous world died by my hand. In other words, all you mortals and gods ever were, are or could ever be is nothing more than my dream..." The King in Yellow continued to the shock of all those listening.
"now that I have awoken, I have come to claim what is rightfully mine... this world. All mortals and gods, submit to me and live in prosperity for eternity under my protection. Resist, and death will become a mercy to you, a release from true suffering. This is my decree what is your response, inhabitants of my dream?" the Great Old One finished his speech with an ultimatum to the entire world.
In Babel with the deities...
Existential dread was not something the Gods of Tenkai were familiar with, so the claim that they were nothing more than some yellow clothed gods dream. Most deities were highly confused and concerned about the fate of themselves and more importantly their children.
Freya had awoken just as Uranus walked in. The return of one to the land of consciousness and another not seen by most of the gods since they arrived to the lower world, was enough to snap the them out of the fear induced state they were in after hearing the King in Yellow's ultimatum.
"Uranus, so you finally got off your throne and came to speak with us lowly gods have you?" the voice of Freya was heard as she regained her barings after falling unconscious earlier. "Tell me something, do you know what that creature is? Because even with the things it's soul allowed me to see, I still have barely any comprehension on its true existence." the goddess of love said as she gazed at the old god who had just entered the room.
Uranus sighed with his eyes closed before answering her, "I do, it is an entity not bound to the rules of the universe as we know it." the god of wind began as the other deities present paid attention to his every word as he explained their enemy.
"Yes it is true that we gods have all created world's of our own and after watching them thrive or die, we retreated here to be with the children of the lower world. But that one is different, it is not like us who were created by the hopes and desires of mortals. It is one born of more primal forces, isn't that right goddess Freya?" Uranus finished his tale as he looked at the goddess in question.
The deities in attendance seemed to want to know more but Freya spoke before any could question the leader of the guild. "Yes, you are correct. As this, Hastur said he is the God of Shepherds, but from what I learned from his soul, he's so much more than that." the goddess of beauty said as she looked at her peers once again.
"I've seen it, he is a puppet master putting on a show, with all of Gekai as his cast dancing on strings that they never knew were there and by interacting with the people of this world we too have been tangled up in the strings, dancing to the tune of someone else's music." Freya continued as she saw the outrage on some of the deities faces.
"Coming to Gekai was a mistake on our part, we came here seeking entertainment from the mortals, not knowing that they were the bait to draw us into his trap, we entered a masquerade party where the host had placed the masks on our faces at the door. Masks of hope, of love, of those trying to find their purpose." the goddess of love said before pausing to take a breath, she then continued.
"We thought those were our own thoughts and motivations, but was instead instigated by another. We were all sheep being led to the slaughter house by a shepherd we didn't even know was there." she finished to the horror of the others as she turned to the door to leave.
"Hey Freya, where are you going? We need to strategize, we're going to fight for our children, you can't just leave." Hermes questioned as he tried to stop her from leaving but Uranus waved for him to let her go. Freya responded to him none the less,
"I wonder if I throw myself at his feet, will he take mercy on me and my children? As I said before, we've already lost. If you wish to seal the fate of yourself and your children to an eternity of torment, then go right ahead but I won't be joining you." the goddess said with finality as she hinted at the ultimatum of the King in Yellow and left the others behind.
'At least I'll be able to watch that beautiful soul for eternity...' Freya thought as she left Babel.
With the Xenos and Adventurers on the ground...
The fighting had stopped when the King in Yellow made his announcement to the world, all the adventurers were shocked by what was revealed by the supposed creator of their world and their very own existence.
A pair of elves suddenly appeared from around one of the still standing building corners in the area. The 2 looked shocked by what they saw, with the splintered adventurer lines and the defected adventurers aiding the monsters.
More shocking was the leader of the defectors was Bell Cranel, the one Eina and Ryuu had come to check on. After making sure that he was fine the two started thinking about the words of the Xenos' leader. If they truly were nothing more than Lord Hastur's dream then there's no point in fighting against him and his followers, because he could just snap his fingers and they'd cease to be.
"What do you think Miss Lion, what should we do?" The half elf asked her companion as she observed the current situation with a critical eye. "I don't know the correct answer, but I know which answer I'll choose. That being whichever Bell Cranel decides to take." the green haired elf said as she stepped out from the corner.
She was quickly followed by Eina as the 2 made their way between the 2 groups before another brawl could break out. "Please adventurers, stop fighting. We may still have a chance to make amends with the Xenos and their leader." Eina began as she tried to diffuse the situation before the 2 largest Familia's ended up being wiped out.
The 2 sides looked at the half elf in the guild uniform with surprise, "Eina, what are you doing? You're an employee of the guild, you should be supporting us, not hindering us." the high elf Riveria said in response to her friends plea.
The half elf guild advisor felt a bit nervous under the gaze of the high ranking adventurers, but steeled her resolve to speak again, "I understand the procedure we've had in the past, but we cannot allow this to continue because all of you are endangering the lives of all the people of Orario." Eina said as she looked at the adventurers, before turning to the Xenos and raising her hand towards them.
The Xenos believing this to be a preparation for an attack, braced themselves for another attack but none came, "These intelligent monsters, are under the protection of the god in yellow currently floating in the air above the city, do you think he would take it lightly if you killed his followers?" Eina asked as a few adventurers flinched at what her words implied.
One of the Adventurers stepped forward and Eina recognized him instantly, Ottar, the King. He was the only level 7 adventurer in the city and the captain of the Freya Familia. "I see the reasoning in your words, however my Familia and I were told to defeat these monsters by our goddess, we will not fail." The King's words were final, and the half elf felt like hope was lost, until an unexpected voice interrupted the 2 groups before they could start fighting again.
The Xenos turned around and saw a beautiful silver haired woman in a purple dress walking out of Babel, "That is enough Ottar, there's no longer any need to fight." The goddess Freya said as she walked forward. "Hm? May I pass please?" she asked the Xenos in her way.
Ray nodded at the rest of the group and the goddess was given a straight path to her children. "My children, this is my decree. Stop fighting we need to create a peace between these 2 groups." the goddess said to the shock of the Loki Familia executives.
The Freya Familia bowed and said in unison, "As you command, goddess." they said in unison, as their patron deity walked towards them and past the executives of the Loki Familia who were still in shock, before Ais stepped forward in front of Freya to stop the goddess from going any further.
The Freya Familia unsheathed their weapons and prepared to attack but their goddess raised her hand, halting them before they could attack the sword princess. "What do you require of me Ais Wallenstein?" the goddess questioned the young level 6 adventurer.
"Why would you tell your Familia to stop fighting when the threat we face is right in front of us. Monsters are monsters, they are our enemies. Why are you running away!?" the sword princess ended with an uncharacteristic yell of frustration and confusion at the goddess's actions.
Freya looked directly into the adventurers eyes as she spoke to her. Unlike the deities, Ais didn't flinch but she was shocked by the lifeless look in the goddess's eyes. "We, the gods have already lost. We believed we had control when in fact we were being controlled without our knowledge." she said.
"My Familia is going to live under the wings of the shepherd instead of being a wild beast for him to kill while protecting his flock." she ended as she walked past the executive. The adventurers were shocked by what she said, but it seemed to have put everything into context with what the King in Yellow had said.
With the deities in the sky...
"If you can guarantee the survival of my Familia, I will join you." Takemikazuchi said as he realized the yellow clothed god in front of him gave only one true option. Ganesha and Loki were shocked by what the passifist said as he was basically betraying them.
The 2 were about to object to the god of storms' decision when Hastur spoke again. "I make a great distinction between each individual, regardless of what race they may be or who's flock they belong to. The choice is the individual's, and no one else's." the Great Old One finished as he gazed at the other deities present.
"Hear me for I speak truth. I have not come here to destroy, but to cleanse the world of all evil. To create a safe haven for my flock, my family. And yours as well if you desire to continue the lives you were living before with your children." the Yellow cloaked Star God finished as he awaited the answer of the deities before him.
Before Loki could respond to his words, she was interrupted again to her continued annoyance, "Please wait, don't forget about me. My children and I wish to join your flock, please accept us." said the voice of none other than Freya who had unsealed her arcanum and flew over to the currently conversing gods.
"So, it was you who gazed at my soul. Tell me, what do you think about the reality of existence?" Hastur said as he looked at the goddess who had a partially broken mind after looking at the Great Old One's soul.
Freya was slightly startled by the voice of the god in front of her. She quickly recomposed herself before answering, "I was overwhelmed by the truth you showed me. How insignificant we gods truly are, so I ask you please take me and my Familia into the future." the goddess of love finished with a bow in mid air as she was currently floating with her arcanum.
Hastur felt the hearts of her Familia and knew they would never betray her and by extension him. The King in Yellow felt the hearts of everyone on the planet and made his decision. Hastur raised his hands as he said the words that changed the world.
"Time is up, I've seen your hearts and minds, I've seen what they will do in the future and have made my choice. Let the sheep and the goats be separated. May the sheep return to their meadow and the goats be chased into the desert to wander forevermore!" the Great Old One clapped his hands and the effect was instantaneous.
All around the world, those who possessed evil desires in their hearts were immediately turned into depraved and deformed bloodthirsty goats with an insatiable hunger doomed to forever roam the uninhabited areas of the continents.
The people who possessed kind or pure hearts and desired peace were blessed with good fortune and safety from the ravenous goats that now prowled the land.
Hastur descended to the ground with the 3 gods he had been dueling with before and Freya following suit. When they arrived on the ground they were greeted by several hundred adventurers and their patron deities. The King in Yellow cleared his throat to gain the attention of everyone before he began speaking.
Gods and Goddesses, shall we discuss the future of the lower world and that of our own children?" He asked as he opened the meeting between all the races of Gekai at once with no separation as regardless of race as of now, they were all one...