Atreus groaned as he felt his whole body ache. He felt like he just got off a training trip with his father. He held a hand to his head as he sat up in his bed, his eyes slow to fully open as he tried to remember what happened last night. But everything was incredibly fuzzy and he could not recall much after meeting Yuuma. The copper haired boy stumbled out of bed and got ready for the day, all while trying to remember what had happened last night.
He… recalled something important. Something important happened last night. As he tried to remember just what this was he tripped and fell on his face as he attempted to put on his pants. He groaned as looked up to see that his room was still as it always was, nothing changed here. He didn't feel different beyond very sore and groggy. Atreus eventually was able to get himself dressed and slowly was able to make his way down the stairs of his home.
"Well look who's up, having some fun with that hang over this morning little brother?" Atreus groaned loudly as he heard Mimir's smug tone. Atreus grumbling continued as he took a seat at the family table where his half-sister was already in her highchair. Mimir was in his silly pink apron that Freya made him wear, and already putting out a plate of breakfast for Atreus.
"Don't talk to me about hang overs… not when you have them more often than not." Atreus spat back before digging into his morning meal. "What the hell happened last night?"
"Oh… I wouldn't know to that little brother. As I was very good and did my utmost to avoid peeking in on your time with your date." Mimir lied as he had seen everything and felt the greatest shame and guilt in his new and old life at not being able to come to Atreus' side during his fight with the Valkyrie. Where it came out of he had no idea. One second Mimir was watching a nice date about to turn into a horribly one-sided fight and then it was a slaughter. Mimir was not blessed with the power to move quickly or teleport. And it happened so damn fast that he was unable to contact Freya in time… though that would do little good given her cursed state.
"That's a big fat lie and you know it. Now tell me what you know." Atreus growled out as he stared hang over daggers at Mimir. The Celt just shrugged and said nothing more, letting Atreus to wonder just what happened last night.
"Best to just let things play out naturally." Mimir thought to himself as he knew that this day was going to be a eventful one. He wasn't sure what plan that Atreus' new master had for him. Likely just trying to let Atreus' body settle after being brought back to life as a Devil. The Evil Pieces truly were something very special, for all intents and purposes Mimir could not find any difference in Atreus other than being a Devil. He still had all his godly powers and all that went with that.
The sound of someone knocking on their door however caused both Mimir to leave his thoughts and Atreus to groan at the loud noise. The Satyr chuckled and left the boy and his half-sister to answer the door. There he found Murayama and Katase, it wasn't unusual for them and Atreus to walk to school together. The two girls had been some of the first friends that Atreus had made in this world when they first arrived. Childhood friends turned into something more, ah… Mimir envied the young.
"Well hello there you two, the lad will be out soon enough. Best to be quiet this morning, he's not feeling up to being his normally perky self." Mimir chuckled causing the two to look at who they thought was Atreus' uncle with a questioning look. However moments latter they got their answer and a groggy and irritable Atreus soon limped himself to the front door.
"Aggg… the sun hurts." Atreus grumbled as he felt the rays of sunlight pinch his eyes and even hurt his skin.
"What did you do now?" Katase asked as she put her hands on her hips while giving him a disapproving look. Murayama however just looked concerned for Atreus and was trying to think of ways that she could help him. The both of them were of course concerned equally, they just had different ways of expressing it.
"I don't know." Atreus cried a bit before glaring at Mimir who he knew was holding out on him with what happened last night. But the Wisest Man Alive had told him nothing… until now.
"Oh I know." Mimir said and Atreus instantly felt a shiver run down spine. Of course Mimir would wait until the time to tell him would end up being funny for the shut-in. "After your date last night crashed and burned, you came home and snuck a bit of your father's private stash. Got quite hammered in fact." Mimir told a good lie that he had no doubts would cause a wonderfully horrible morning for Atreus. The boy needed to be taught that he should not have gone on that date so causally given the circumstances surrounding it. Such as a girl just coming out of nowhere and the fact he had two girls clearly in love with him already wanting a date out of him.
"Date!" Murayama and Katase both yelled, causing Atreus to cower in pain as his head throbbed. Mimir chuckled as after Rias Gremory delivered Atreus home, the Satyr had pumped the knocked out boy with a cocktail of booze made to make sure he would be the way he was now. Mimir's own little prank to get back at the Loki of their world, who did go through a terrible trickster phase.
"Ow… owwww… that hurt." He was a God but damn did his head hurt right now. The smug and satisfied look on Mimir's face was only adding to the pain. "Yeah I went on a date last night, don't remember the end of it…" He mumbled on that last part but the girls in front of him didn't care. The fact was, he went on a date with someone that wasn't them. They knew that what they did wasn't an official relationship. When they approached him a year ago with this arrangement, they framed it just as a friends-with-benefits. They did this because they were still a little scared of their feelings but now they regretted it. Especially with them finding out just how dense Atreus could be.
"Who'd you go with?" Katase demanded while internally picking out girls in her head that could possibly have asked Atreus out. All of them were in their school and already she was hoping it wasn't someone she and Murayama couldn't compete with. And the math came out that there was generally only three or four girls that it could be were she felt a guy would trade two girls for one.
"You wouldn't know her, she doesn't go to our school and I only first saw her a few days ago." Atreus answered with a strained yet honest look on his face. He didn't understand why they were ganging up on him for this, it wasn't like he had done something wrong. Right? But at the same time he couldn't help but feel guilty at seeing Katase angrily pout at him while Murayama fidgeted nervously behind Katase. "Do you uh… want to go on a date too?" That was about the only thing that Atreus could come up with. He was answered by Katase pinching his cheek and leading him away from his home.
"That's the start of what you can do." Katase said feeling that at least something good came of this. Atreus was dragged to school, only physically halfway, by Katase and Murayama. Both of them made sure to best impart onto Atreus that he was in the doghouse until he gave them the date of their lives. In truth they were a little happy that he did this so that way they could get him to take them out. They knew that he might be brushing this off, but they planned on making sure that he knew how they felt during this date.
The two Kendo co-captains left Atreus at the front of the school, reeling from his dressing down and feeling confused and guilty. He didn't really understand why he was feeling all these things, especially when a lot of it was pulling in so many different directions. Most of which he didn't even realize fully. He also grimaced at the bright sun that was hanging in the blue sky. It felt stronger than it normally did. His body was naturally attuned to more northern climates so he always had fair skin and a not so easy relationship with the sun but this oddly more annoying than most days.
The rest of the day went by without much other incident. Atreus still felt sore and his body was a little sluggish but nothing he hadn't dealt with before in his life. What really was on his mind all day was the sense of something missing. A piece of the puzzle that was gone and he couldn't see the whole picture because of it. Mimir was hiding something this morning and Atreus knew that this current mood he had was because of the Satyr's behavior. Atreus spent the rest of the day in a daze where he was stuck in his own head, he went through his school routine. But he decided to stay late and just lose himself further in some archery training. Many on the archery team felt it odd that their captain was actually with them during practice but they were grateful nonetheless. The hours passed by with Atreus making no progress on understand the source of his unease. And by the time the sun had set he still didn't have a clue.
"You know, school closed down hours ago!" Atreus fired another arrow perfectly into its target as he heard someone shout across the archery field. He took a breath and looked to his side to see Tsubasa Yura, athletics committee head walking across the field toward him. "While I can appreciate you working your hardest, we still have to follow the rules." She said as she approved him though the smile on her face undercut the message she was trying to send.
"Sorry, the time just got away from me." Atreus said as he lowered his school bow, not nearly as good as his Talon but he couldn't bring something so obviously magical to school.
"Oh it's fine, it's Sona's rule and I think she's concerned with bigger things at the moment." Tsubasa said with a small shrug though Atreus was mildly interested in just what that was. But he supposed that it wasn't his business, the Student Council was certainly more than it seemed but like much of the oddities of this town he kept his distance. Tsubasa was an exception as he had to deal with her as she was the head of the athletics committee and as a Club captain she was the intermediary between him and the rest of the student government. He supposed that there really should be more school staff involved in all of this but never questioned it because of who he knew really ran the town. "To bad that you won't be joining the Student Council by the way."
"Hm?" Atreus turned back as was confused by this sudden change in topic. "I never-"
"I was really pushing for it too, would have been fun for us to have a little more time together." Tsubasa smirked as she leaned forward and enjoyed the jumbled look on Atreus' face. While he was a little taller than the average boy, she still was a head taller. She liked how despite every other boy was either intimidated by her height or pissed off about it, Atreus never even noticed. Or at least she never seen him make a show of it. "But things didn't work out that way. I hope you'll be happy regardless." She said as she turned on her heel and started walking out, not giving him a chance for an explanation.
"She does that every time, won't let me get in a word at all." His powers of conversation only worked if he could actually talk to the other person. But Tsubasa and her antic aside he knew that it was time to get back home. But as he was walking out of the school archery grounds and headed home he decided to take the time to go the long way home. He didn't want to deal with Mimir or his obscure comments that only would make the task of figuring things out harder.
"Well what have we here, a lost stray without its master." The sound of a voice laced with supernatural power got Atreus' attention. He looked up and saw a man in a trench coat walking toward him. He was the picture of shady hitman and Atreus wasn't in the mood to be dealing with someone like that. But the fact this was someone from the supernatural world meant he had to investigate.
"Are you talking to me? Cause if so I think you got me confused with someone else." Atreus warned as he pulled his hand out of his pocket. If need be he could summon the Leviathan Axe and it would be here in moments.
He had a great idea years ago, attach the thing to a balloon and keep it hanging above their house so he could summon it to him without worrying about it busting through peoples' houses. He had to place a illusion around the balloon and axe as it was a pretty big balloon but it was worth it to be able to have the axe able to come to him without causing to much damage in the town. Only problem was it might take awhile for it to reach him depending on where in Kuoh he was. At his current location he knew it would be a little over a minute. He hadn't summoned it yet but he was close if the look this guy was giving him was any clue.
"Watch your mouth you brat… eh… what's the point." He sighed before holding up his hand and forming a spear of light in it. "You're going to die tonight anyways." He said before throwing the spear of light toward Atreus, who dodged it effortlessly. Rolling to the side, he stopped and mentally called the Leviathan Axe to him. But he would need to stall for a minute before it could reach him. The attacking man summoned three more spears and sent them flying toward the boy, the man's eyes narrowed as out from his prey's arm came a shining bronze shield that deflected the spears like shards of glass hitting steel. "Impressive… for a brat."
"Forty seconds." Atreus mumbled to himself as he hid behind his Guardian Shield. He glanced above the rim of his shield and saw the man extend out a pair of black feather wings. He immediately recognized this man as a Fallen Angel and was dumbfounded by that fact. Why would a Fallen Angel want to attack him? As far as Atreus knew he never even met a Fallen Angel and had never done anything to upset their kind.
The Fallen Angel sped toward Atreus with a spear of light in hand, the copper haired boy ducked under the first swing and responded with a jab to the man's side. Atreus tried to aim right for his liver hoping to send him to the ground in one shot but the man had skill of his own and moved up slightly to avoid that from happening. Atreus followed up however by flipping his shield up and smacking it right under the man's jaw. The force of the blow sent the Fallen Angel reeling back with Atreus having a victorious smirk on his face. But that smirk left when he saw he didn't do nearly as much damage as he thought he would. He never fought another supernatural being from this world and so he didn't know exactly how strong they would be.
But that didn't matter, because that moment of combat was the delay that Atreus need. It seemed that the Fallen Angel noticed the incoming source of power and looked to the skies with a puzzled look on his face. Atreus just smiled at the rookie mistake on his part, this was a time to attack and he was wasting it. Atreus held up his hand waiting for the returning axe to fall in his fingers. The magic that allowed for the axe to always return also granted it the power to return back to hand harmlessly no matter how much force was created in the trip back.
Atreus held his hand up and could feel the axe swinging down and soon he felt the gush of air that came before it. But then something completely different happened. Instead of feeling the bound leather straps around the arm of the weapon, Atreus felt a searing pain dig into his hand. He gasped in pain and dropped his mother's axe to ground as he gripped his scorched hand. He stared wide eyed at the burn marks that now ran along his palm and groaned as he could still feel the sting of it. Knowing he was still in a fight he looked back up to the Fallen Angel but as he did so he felt a thud in his stomach. A small bit of blood dripped out of his mouth as he looked back down to see a spear of light pierced through his gut.
"I don't know what you were thinking summoning a weapon with such a holy aura… even if it isn't blessed by Heaven, its still blessed. A being such as yourself has no business handling such things." The Fallen Angel mocked as Atreus fell forward, a sense of shame over this loss coming over him. How did this happen, he was clearly winning in the first minute of the fight and then… here he was bleeding out. What the hell happened to make his mother's axe turn against him? He had fought so many battles and was a far better warrior than this clown in a trench coat.
"It's not fair… you got a lucky shot." Atreus grumbled as he tried to summon his Spartan Rage but found it lacking. Something was very wrong. It had to do with this spear of light. He felt sicker than he ever had been with this thing in his gut. It felt like all his power was being poisoned and tainted until it was rotting away. Atreus tried his hardest to lift up his hand, to use one of his summons or cast a illusion but all that happened was him screaming in pain as another, smaller, spear of light skewered his hand.
"Enough of this, I'm putting you d-" The Fallen Angel stopped as he looked forward. Atreus felt darkness gripping at his vision but with his last bit of strength he glanced back to where the Fallen Angel had been looking. There before he passed out saw Rias Gremory flashing into space above a red magic circle.
Atreus groaned as he slowly awoke from a dead sleep. He hadn't had a dreamless night like that since he asked his father to actually try in one of their spars. It was years ago and Atreus still hadn't mastered his mother's axe, but he was cocky and his father saw it as a good opportunity to knock that behavior out of him. Atreus rolled his shoulder as he begun to fully come aware, and as he did so his hand slid across the side of someone else in his bed. Going purely on muscle memory his hand traveled up further and cupped the generous bust of the woman next to him, eliciting an unconscious moan from said girl.
"Wait… that's not…" Atreus blinked as he didn't recognize the voice of whoever was in his bed. Plus, the amount of flesh in his hand was a bit too much for his regular bedmates. He looked down and with his free hand lifted his sheets to see a head of crimson red hair sleeping on top of him… looking very happy where she was. Atreus blinked again, that was Rias Gremory. Why? How? When? Why?! So many questions were running through his mind at this very moment. But those questions however were set aside as Rias slowly stirred awake, partly due to the new movement in the bed and partly because of Atreus getting to second base. Ever quick with his hands, Atreus' fingers were gone from Rias' chest before she even opened her eyes. Those eyes soon looked up to his and Atreus felt the same sense of uncertainty and conflict he did the last time he saw them.
"Good morning, I hope you slept well." She said as if nothing at all was odd about the situation they were in. Atreus could feel that he still had his boxers on so he knew nothing actually happened but from where was he could tell she was wearing nothing at all.
"I… what?" Atreus said still trying to compute what was happening and Rias just giggled at his confused look.
"You know its proper for someone to say good morning back or at the very least answer the other's question instead of posing their own." She said before sitting up, Atreus watched as her breasts bounced from the action and kept his lips tightly shut knowing something stupid might poor out of them. He was not the cool confident god he was with other girls, something about Rias turned that off. But he bit his tongue and tried to remember who he was and how to get through this. And so after a small moment of silence he took a breath and spoke.
"Why are you my bed naked?" He said ignoring her words with all the seriousness he could muster. It was not cold or rude but firm. He needed answers and seeing as Rias was in his home and in his bed, he felt entitled to some. Rias just smiled warmly and held her knee up to her chest as she locked eyes with Atreus once again.
"I needed to heal you, remember… you had a pretty nasty wound from last night. Skin to Skin contact is a way for my kind to exchange energy and heal each other, if I hadn't than you would have likely died." She warned with a matching seriousness to his own, though less firm and more pleased to help. Atreus frowned and thought back to last night, he was feeling off about the way Mimir had been acting and so was walking home late after practice. Then…
"The Fallen Angel." Atreus said as he recalled the fight, and how embarrassing it was. Rias however didn't react at all to his words, she still watched him with a small smile and studious yet friendly stare. Atreus wasn't happy at all with losing to that guy, even if he had some skill… Atreus was still a god and trained by Kratos the Greek God of War. He should have wiped the floor with him if not for what happened with his mother's axe. Atreus' eyes widened as he recalled what happened with the Leviathan Axe. "My axe? Where is it?" He gave a heart attack serious look to Rias and she glanced over to the side where the Leviathan Axe was leaning on the opposite wall to the bed. Atreus quickly jumped out of the bed and over to the weapon.
"I wouldn't-" Rias warned but it was too late as Atreus touched the flat of the axe and recoiled back as his finger singed at the touch. Atreus went pale as he stared as his family's axe, his weapon and his most prized possession. Something happened, something had happened to make him unable to touch it. Was he cursed? Could he never use his mother's axe again? He held his head up before looking back at the only other person in the room.
"What do you know about this?" He asked gravely, all former feelings of nervousness were gone and replaced by a latched rage. A finger was placed over a switch, depending on what she said it would either be removed or flip on the explosion of rage that was building in the boy. He watched as Rias look slightly guilty and his knuckles paled his he gripped them tighter. She hadn't said anything but already he was edging on gutting her.
"That weapon has a holy aura, its not the same as the Holy Light of Heaven. I would have to guess from the runes carved onto it and the feel of the power its Norse, Jötunn if I'm not mistaken." Rias said and it helped her understand what Atreus was a bit more. If he was the son of a Norse Giant than it was something she could understand though that left the mystery of the Greek name. It also didn't explain the amount of power he had, while the Jötnar were technically gods… Atreus still had far more power than a Demi-God should have any right to. All eight of her Pawn Pieces had Mutated upon fusing with him and even then she could feel them strain under the pressure.
"You're right, it's called the Leviathan Axe and I guess you could say it's the Giants' answer to Mjölnir." Rias' face turned to shock at hearing this axe sitting innocently in a teenage boy's room was on par with a God Killing weapon. Little did she know that it already had the blood of several gods already on it.
"Then it's no wonder it's blessed by them." Rias breathed as she tried to come to grips with what had been said. But she needed to come back to earth, as much as she would like to have something like that on her side… its holy nature prevented her from using it. "Holy weapons, no matter what pantheon they come, are toxic to unholy beings. Just like the Holy Light Weapons of the angels, blessed weapons still are deadly even to touch. The only exceptions I have ever heard of is when the user is the one true wielder of the weapon."
"That's not me, she died a long time ago." Atreus knew who was the true owner of the Leviathan Axe was. So did his father, they both knew and only hoped to live up to her memory. Rias felt a bit of sorrow at Atreus looking back to the weapon, a look of past lose flashed across his face. But then he looked back with a frown but also touches of confusion on his features. "But that still does not explain things, I'm not a unholy being… unlike you." He said and Rias had to give him credit though she knew the odds of him not knowing were low.
"That's half right." The look of pure confusion on Atreus face was adorable to Rias but she needed to remain focused here. "I am indeed a Devil, I am Rias Gremory heiress to the House of Gremory. And you Atreus have become my Devil Servant."
"No I'm a god." Atreus shot back and Rias just froze in place, her entire swagger and rhythm thrown off by that one statement. Along with how bluntly and assured he was at saying this. A dead stillness permeated the air between the two, Rias unable to fully cope with the idea that Atreus was indeed a God while Atreus was just waiting for Rias to come to terms with this.
"(cough) Be that as it may-"
"You can't ignore that!"
"Be that as it may you are still my Devil Servant. You are my Pawn, two nights ago I was called to you. You were bleeding out and dying, and I brought you back from the verge of death as my servant." Rias said trying to regain her composure, her mind was running wild with the idea that she had a god as her Pawn. Normally giving all your Pawn pieces to one person was a gamble but for Atreus he needed all of them and now she knew why. Rias didn't even think that the Evil Pieces were meant to be used on Gods but she was happy that things turned out the way they did.
"Two nights ago…" Atreus said thoughtfully with a slight monotone voice. Rias watched as he stood up and took a stance in front of his door, left foot forward, right hand out and left hand pulled back. "Nista!" Atreus shouted as he thrusted his left hand forward and an ethereal boar shout out, charging through the door passing through harmlessly but soon after a crash was heard on the other side. This was followed by a loud groan of pain. "You knew you bastard!"
"I told ya not to go on that date but ya didn't listen to me!" A voice came back through the door and then the sounds of scrambling away came as Atreus cocked back another summon. Atreus relaxed and moved back to standing upright, a sigh escaped him as he felt his anger slip away. He palmed his face as he felt his rage replace with stress and uncertainty. Through his fingers he saw Rias still sitting on his bed, naked, waiting for him to further digest what had happened to him. He felt grateful for how she had been handling this, though he supposed that some of what he said was gave her enough to think about.
"I supposed I should thank you for saying me… and it's not like you knew anything about my mother's axe. I can't blame you for that." He said as his hand slumped off his face and he gave another glance to the weapon he couldn't touch. He didn't feel mad at her for this anymore, all she did was save his life and he could see this as an exchange. His life for never touching the Axe again. But then his mind turned to dealing with the current situation as it was, and first thing first was handling his reveal of what he really was. "I would really appreciate it if you could not dig too deep into my history."
"I need something, you can't just tell me you're a god and expect me to leave it at that." Rias said playfully, happy that they were able to get to a better place. She did feel guilty for Atreus' current condition concerning the axe, a family heirloom. But the fact were the facts and they didn't care about her feelings on the matter.
"One parent is Greek and the other was a Norse Giant, can you be satisfied with that." He offered and it wasn't like he didn't want to tell her, it was mostly because he couldn't. His family had signed a contract with Nex to not tell anyone not cleared by him about their true origin. Atreus was skimming the edges of that agreement as it was.
Rias hummed a bit as she took in that information. He didn't seem too comfortable with keeping this from her, also she had to take into account that they had never spoken two words to each other before today. She didn't expect him to trust her right out of the gate. She hoped that this could change and he could tell her exactly who were these Gods that had a extra-pantheon tryst and created a son born from two worlds. It wasn't often that Gods from different mythos had children together. Rias also wasn't an expert on either the Greeks or the Norse, she knew the basics of the former and the bare minimum of the latter. It hadn't ever really been knowledge that was needed in her life as she didn't have any contact with those groups or expected to have meaningful contact in her future. Now with Atreus should would look more into the matter.
"For now we can say you are the son of a Jötunn and a Greek Mortal since your powers seem to be tilted toward the Norse." Rias said as she moved off the bed, smiling as she found Atreus blushing and looking away. "Oh is the first time seeing a girl naked?" She teased as she found the previously formidable warrior now acting so bashful simply adorable.
"No, far from it." He grumbled and Rias unconsciously frowned at that. "Dealing with you is different, mortals are easier to read and react to. You… its hard and it makes me nervous." Atreus said crossing his arms, he was too used to being able to use his powers to know exactly what to say to get what he wanted. With his family he never noticed this because they were family and he just spoke his mind. There had been a few others, mortals with strong wills but he still was capable of predicting their intentions to a good margin. But with Rias… there was this loss of direction as to what he should say. It freaked him out but he knew that he needed to get a handle on it.
"I won't bite." Rias continued to tease as she walked over to the pile of clothes nearby. Though she felt a bit of sympathy for Atreus, if indeed what he said was true than it would be a jarring feeling indeed. To always have a sixth sense and to suddenly find it gone when dealing with someone new. "Have you not interacted with many from the Supernatural World?" She asked as slid her panties back on and reached down for her bra. While talking with her seemed a little difficult, Atreus helped her with her bra without prompting. Rias frowned as she wondered where did that come from.
"Yes and no. I have met many beings of the supernatural world… it's just that they weren't nearly as civil or good looking as you." He said with a shrug, his mind thinking back to his old world and the times he and his father fought Drager and Trolls and all sorts of monsters. Since coming here, Nex was the only other person he talked to from the Supernatural World and he was a ass so often Atreus just made snide comments toward him. "Those interactions just ended with me putting an arrow through their eyes or turning them into a pincushion."
"Yes, I heard you were the captain of the archery club." She said and in the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder if the Greek Goddess of the Hunt broke her vow of chastity to be with a Giant. Would certainly explain why Atreus was so careful not to reveal his origins. But Rias shook those thoughts away, she shouldn't be scheming to find out something that was so private. He would tell her when he felt it was right. "Beyond your skill with the bow, what else is in your arsenal?"
"Well… minus one thing." Atreus said with an irritated glance to the Leviathan Axe but continued on regardless. "Master at hand to hand, most weapons I am skilled with but I specialize in axe and shield combat." Atreus said leaving out the main details that his father made sure he was a master at the Spartan ways of war, shields, short sword, and spear. Kratos also made sure that Atreus knew the modern arts of war, the copper haired boy could strip and reassemble nearly any firearm in record time.
"That's good, I'm sure we can get you a stand in for an axe." Rias offered as she finished getting dressed for the day. She made sure not to use the word replace, as some things couldn't be replaced. "But what about magic?"
"My step-mother is a Vanir, she's taught me both healing magics and nature magic of her kind But I mostly use Elemental Summons. The elements are Norse Dragon Lightning, Alfiheim Light, Helheim Frost and Winds, Muspelheim Fire, and Niflheim poisoned mists." Atreus listed off, he didn't include the base summon which was just a pure magical construct, like the one he used on Mimir. Rias listened and knew that all of these elements would be stronger than base elemental manipulation magic. Though it was limited to a summoning form. She was more interested in the fact he had a Vanir stepmother. "Also I can do illusion magic."
"I know, that was quite impressive the other day." Rias said expecting some sort of reaction from Atreus but he just raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?"
"Combat wise yes. Utility, I can speak any language I hear enough of, am able to read the surface thoughts or emotions of mortals or weakened non-mortals, and unnaturally good at anything that involves conversation." He said and Rias had a small knowing smile to the new glitch in that last power he had. Regardless of that however Rias knew that Atreus was a colossal boon to her household. The power of a god alone made him a wildly successful find beyond his other skills.
But more importantly than all of that she was happy that he seemed to be a mature and smart young man, one that hopefully would fit in perfectly with her little family. That was the biggest thing she had feared when she took him in, was if the fact she didn't know him would result in her taking in a dangerous element that could bring harm to her beloved servants. There was still many unknowns about Atreus but she had a feeling that he wouldn't intentionally hurt any of her other peerage members.
"Well, if that is all then I for one I'm ready for something to eat before school." Rias said with a beaming smile before chuckling a bit at the sight that Atreus was still in his boxers. It gave her the chance to really get a good view of his well sculpted body. Greek God indeed, but also several scars and quite a few Norse rune tattoos. "Unless you mean to stay today?" She said nodding to Atreus' current state of dress and giggled as he stampeded his way through his room to get his clothes on.
Mimir sat in his seat at the dining room table with a small bump on his head. He sipped his coffee trying to retain as much dignity as he possibly could. He knew that shit was about to hit the fan which was why he had little Svedra strapped to his chest so that he had some shield form the boy's wrath. It wasn't on the same level of his father's… yet… but it was still terrible.
But it would appear that things were coming to a head. The boy and Rias were talking seriously and things seemed to be going smoothly. That was key, right now Atreus was walking a fine line, getting involved in the supernatural world was technically something that he wasn't supposed to do by the agreement they had with Nex. It wasn't forbidden but there were rules. They couldn't tell anyone about their own world, they couldn't tell anyone about God being dead, and they couldn't tell anyone about Kratos' work with Nex. Those were the core things that needed to be focused on, everything else could be bent a little.
Atreus becoming a Devil will not go over well with their Nephilim retainer. But it wasn't like he could change it now that it happened. And Rias Gremory was the sister of the current Devil King, Nex's only power was to make people forget he existed. The idea that Rias would have to give up Atreus because a man like Nex said so was laughable. The only thing that really was the threat was the magic that bound them in the magical contract they all signed. That could in fact do serious harm, Freya had been looking into means to break themselves out of it but not too seriously. There hadn't been a real reason to, beyond being annoying Nex wasn't that bad. But with this new development there might now be some urgency.
"Mimir!" The Satyr's thoughts were broken by the sound of feet coming down the stairs and the calling of his name. He put down his coffee and turned his head to see Atreus and Rias Gremory coming into the room, the latter stopped in her tracks at seeing Mimir. He didn't bother to hide who he was and so was fully exposed, horns and glowing blue eyes and all. "You knew everything and didn't tell me, that's a dick move." Atreus said as he laid his fists down on the table.
"I have told you many times little brother, I know a great many things." Mimir said knowing that so long as Svedra was in the room he wouldn't get punched in the face. However this proved to be not the case as within seconds Svedra was whooshed away from him and not a instant later he felt Atreus roundhouse kick him out of his seat and into a corner.
"He thought I wouldn't hit him with you around, be he was wrong." Atreus said as he held up his baby half sister who was just laughing. "You have the blood of Sparta in you, violent solutions to petty problems runs in the family." He said before gently putting the baby into her highchair and taking his seat where a nice breakfast was waiting for him. Rias meanwhile had watched the whole thing at first with a bit of shock and worry but then that quickly changed to amusement and intrigue. See Atreus acting the way he was with his baby sister was in part adorable and concerning but what he said had her thinking. He said that one of his parents was Greek and now he had said that the blood of Sparta ran through their family.
"Are they children of Aries? I can't possibly think that they could be so well behaved if that was the case." Rias thought then eyed the extra plate of food next to Atreus.
"It's for you Lady Gremory, I do hope my humble food is up to your standards." The Satyr groaned from his little corner. Rias frowned as she had thought she had entered the house without anyone noticing but clearly that misconception was blown out the window. The fact that this was indeed a Supernatural household with Gods and Satyrs and who knew what else meant that any plans Rias had for this meeting would need to be scrapped. Taking this in stride she sat next to Atreus as he already started eating a very composed western style breakfast. "Just so you know, I was the one that let you in. Had you not been given permission on either of your visits to our home you would have been turned into a tree on our front lawn." Rias' hand froze as she was reaching for her utensils, she never even felt a ward presence.
"Either time? Oh yeah… two nights ago. Mimir, what happened that night as its still fuzzy for me." Atreus asked as Mimir pulled himself back off the floor and made his way back to his seat. One of his blue eyes was now black but he sipped his coffee like nothing had happened at all. "The last thing I remember was the end of my date with Yuuma and something happened that I don't recall."
"I entered the picture when called by a Fallen Angel who used one of my household's summoning flyers. You were bleeding out and she asked me to save you." Rias added as she elegantly ate her provided meal. She trying really hard not to gush over the smiling baby that was seated at the table as first impressions were very important and she was sure she could gush all she wanted at a later date.
"Really… I had a feeling that she was one that did me in." Atreus mumbled loud enough for all to hear but it was more internal than anything.
"She planned to; I could see that. But nope, she came to your defense when a damned Valkyrie appeared through a portal and killed you." Atreus noted the extra inflection that Mimir gave to the word damned. Given Mimir's strong accent he knew Rias wouldn't notice but he did. And he didn't like the implications of it. "You made a good fight but you saved the Fallen Angel you were with from a mortal wound and took the shot yourself. Like the stupid hero of fables."
Atreus ignored Mimir's comments on the matter and focused on what had been said and the results of it. He wanted to find Yuuma, that needed to happen because they had some things to discuss. There was also the matter of the Valkyrie, if what Mimir hinted at was true than that might mean that their Odin had followed them. That could be disastrous, though Atreus doubted that as Freya said that he wouldn't expend the effort to travel realities to seek revenge when he still had Ragnarok to deal with. But would Ragnarok still happen if they weren't there or did fate account for their leaving. A lot of questions that Atreus didn't want to deal with. The pressing matter was sitting right next to him, his new Devil Master.
He was now a Devil… even though he didn't feel all that different. He knew that at some point he would need to have some sort of contact with the supernatural world, he just expected it to be much later. He also didn't expect it to be with this Pantheon, though thinking on it now he supposed it was naïve to think that. Out of all the outcomes Atreus knew that this could be one of the better ones. Rias didn't seem to be a bad person and he had no real love toward Heaven or any other Pantheon for that matter so why not become a Devil. His plans for the human world were nonexistent even if his mother had different ideas on that.
"Where's mom?" Atreus said out of the blue as his thoughts brought him to that end. Mimir blinked and took a second for the sudden shift in topic.
"She is still on one of her long shifts at the hospital. I have not told her any of this."
"Good man… let's avoid that landmine for as long as possible." Atreus and Mimir both crossed their arms and shivered at the thought of what Freya would do when she found out what happened. Best thing was to let events play out until it reached the point where she couldn't do much about it. Give it time and build proof that what happened to Atreus wasn't a bad thing and he was not in an any danger.
"Is there a reason why you don't want your mother informed of this Atreus?" Rias asked recalling that Atreus said that his stepmother was a Vanir however that was still a broad umbrella word. There were Vanir gods and people that came from the realm of Vanaheim, both call Vanir. So she couldn't really glean too much from that.
"My stepmom is… protective of me." Atreus said and Mimir gave a small snort. "She's better than how she used to be." Atreus shot back at the Satyr and he gave a agreeable shrug.
"Aye… but she'll still react poorly to the thought of you dying. The odds of her listening to any word after that is small little brother and you know it." Mimir retorted back and Atreus groaned while Rias was starting to worry about the eventual meeting she would have with this woman. Then Rias thoughts changed as Atreus groaned loudly and hung his head back on his chair.
"Mom's one thing but I'm even more fucked when dad gets back… I'm going to be boy for the next decade." Atreus groaned again as he knew when his father found out about his two losses and the fact he couldn't use his mother's axe anymore he would be pissed. Though he might like the fact that he technically wasn't a god anymore… Kratos might even ask a Devil to turn him given how much Atreus knew his father hated godhood. "It's a good thing he won't be back for a month, plenty of time to get ready for my doom."
"Our family troubles shouldn't bother you Lady Gremory, you saved Atreus when you didn't have to. He was an anomaly within your territory and you were well within your right to leave him to die. Neither his stepmother nor his father will do anything to you." Mimir offered to the girl knowing that it was only Atreus how would be in trouble for his actions. Mimir himself wouldn't be in trouble given he was helpless in a fight. But Atreus would also not be in too much trouble given he died trying to save someone, neither of his parents would punish him too harshly for that. Kratos might however punish him for losing so poorly in last night's fight with the Fallen Angel. "Oh would you look at the time, you two should be off to school."
"Whatever… I don't care about anything anymore." Atreus mumbled, his head still hung back over his seat but He weakly lifted himself up and began toward the front door. Rias however stayed behind and locked eyes with the Satyr.
"You say that you family trouble shouldn't bother me however, I consider every one of my servants to be part of my family. Atreus is now my Pawn and so I will do everything in my power to see that he is safe and taken care of." Rias said already having a feeling that the dynamics in this home were far from normal. But she wanted to make absolutely sure her new servant wasn't in any danger from his own family because of what happened to him. The idea that family could turn on a person because they became a Devil was something very much on Rias' mind. Though this was the first time she would deal directly with a family of one of her servants, so she knew she didn't have much experience in this area.
"A noble cause, but I wouldn't worry about the lad too much. He's lived through trials and terrors more horrible than I dare to say aloud." Mimir said and this didn't exactly make Rias happy. Every single one of her servants it would seem had never had a easy life, but it did make her worry less to see that her newest had his troubles behind him… expect for one thing.
"The matter of the Valkyrie…" Rias began but Mimir gave her the first real serious glare she had seen out of the man.
"Is something that will be handled by us. She attacked Atreus before he became your servant, thus you have no reason to go after her. If that changes than you can inform your brother and it will be settled by the grown-ups." Mimir explained and Rias didn't particularly like being talked down to like this. But the combination of Mimir's attitude change and her rational side telling her that this was too big for her stilled her irritation. "You better get going, don't want to be late for school." He said keeping his serious tone, telling her that their time was done and she respectfully stood up, thanked him for the meal and left the house with much on her mind.
"Hopefully the Valkyrie won't return but if it does… I won't let anything hurt my family." Rias thought as she walked out of the house and found Atreus waiting for her. They didn't say anything as she led him toward Kuoh Academy but there was one last thing that was on her mind. One last question that needed to be answered this morning, they were alone and that was right for how personal this was. "Why aren't you angry at me?" She asked out of the blue and stopped, not turning around to face Atreus.
"For?" He said and it further confused Rias. Something so obvious and he wasn't giving it a second thought. She knew he was smart and wise beyond his years, but she didn't know if to think less or more of him because of this matter.
"For taking away your divinity." She asked as she looked back with a schooled expression. Godhood was something that nearly every single supernatural being clawed for. A little taste of the power of gods drove people to do horrible things. Atreus had it. He had the power of a god at his fingertips and she took it away from him. Sure he was dying and she saved his life but in the process he become a Devil and a god no longer. "I know that you don't have the power to change reality or came fully into your powers of a god given you really were dying that night. But the power you hid away, the power I could barely feel but now is so clear to me that was true divinity. But now it's gone. Why aren't you more angry about the fact you are no longer a god?"
Rias watched as Atreus looked at her then to the sky as if thinking on this question. He was more upset about not being able to use his mother's axe than not being a god. It was confusing to the Gremory, she never sought out the power of a god but she understood the appeal it had to others. Atreus' own power hadn't diminished but it was changed, it no longer had the potency of a God. No god had ever been reincarnated as a Devil before but just from what she could feel in his soul, there was something different. He had to have noticed this by now as well and he didn't seem all too phased by it.
"I can't tell you about a lot of things I should. So there should be a exchange to that, it would only be fair to you." He said still staring up to the clouds in the sky. But then he looked back down to her and locked his eyes right to hers. It was like that moment days ago, only now she felt like the nervous one. The cold blue of his eyes reminded her so much like a thin layer of ice over a ocean. But even as cold as the blue was, she couldn't feel scared or intimidated. "When I first learn I was a god, it was after I become very sick. My father risked his life to cure me and during that process… I overheard him say some things that misled me. I thought I was cursed and I knew the truth. But he corrected me, he told me that he was a god and that I was too." Atreus chuckled as he looked to the side. "My first words was asking if I could turn into an animal."
"That's what first came to you?" Rias chuckled along him, unable to maintain such a serious face with something so ridiculous as that.
"I was a child; I didn't know better." Atreus softly shot back before sighing and returning back to his earlier somber mood. "After that, my father told me why he never told me the truth. It was because he wanted to spare me. He said that the life of a god is one filled with anguish and tragedy. I didn't listen. You want to know why I'm not angry at you for taking my godhood away, it's because you've taken away my greatest fear." Atreus could not express the weight that had bene lifted from his shoulders. A haunting reminder of what could be was no longer hanging above him. Yes, he felt like something in him had stopped growing, that because of this he would never be able to fully realize his powers. A stagnation in power had occurred, it was on such a scale however that he doubted that he would notice for centuries but it was there. And it was a trade he couldn't ever wish to take back.
"Your greatest fear?" Rias asked as she saw a visible change in Atreus, his body was more relaxed from a stiffness she never noticed before. There was indeed something that had been lifted from his mind.
"After I learned I was a god, I became a person that I never want to be again." Atreus nearly growled with hatred at the memory of who he was in those days. "In my experience, gods are arrogant, self-absorbed, destructive beings that do more harm than good. It was my greatest fear that I would end up like that and I almost did. I nearly caused my father's death because of the path I was taking. Thankfully I didn't but I've always been afraid of turning back. I know it's still possible for something to happen, gods aren't the only people that can be evil. But just knowing that the curse is no longer on me… I'm forever grateful to you for that."
"Godhood is a curse but being a Devil is a blessing… interesting." Rias said as she took in what Atreus shared with her. This was a deeply personal truth and she cherished that he was willing to tell her. Now more than ever she knew that Atreus belonged with her household, she just hoped that he would continue to grow into the great man he so clearly wanted to be.
Raynare wanted to straggle something or someone. It had been two days since her date with Atreus and ever since then her nerves had been on fire. She knew that the red-haired devil bitch reincarnated Atreus into her household and Raynare had thought that just knowing he was alive would be enough… nope! She wanted him, she didn't want Rias Gremory to have him. The Fallen Angel had been on edge trying not to think about the boy that made her feel like a real woman for too short a time, but that proved pointless.
"You look like you need to get laid." Raynare snapped to Kalawarner and gave her a death glare that didn't phase her fellow Fallen Angel the least. The two of them were on guard duty on the ruined church they were using for their base. They had come to Kuoh to watch Atreus and his family under the orders of the Governor General but they were also planning a little extra. That extra was a scheme by Kokabiel who also ordered they just kill off Atreus. They had delayed a report on the boy's death so they could remain and perform the ritual in secret.
Raynare was worried about her future. For one thing she wasn't too sure she wanted to stay with the Fallen Angels given the only real reason she stayed with them was to hopefully attract the attention of Azazel but since her conversation with Atreus she had trashed those hopes. What he had said stuck in her too damn well. There was also the fact that she was sure Kokabiel would want her head when it was learned that she failed to kill Atreus and god forbid help keep him alive.
She needed an out, and while leaving the Fallen Angels proper wasn't exactly forbidden it was frowned on. And depended on which circles you ran in it was a real taboo with deadly consequences. The best chance she had was to find someone to keep her safe. The best option she could think of was maybe a Vampire Lord or a criminal underworld boss with enough power to make even Kokabiel think twice. Her options were limited and none were easy to access or convince she was worth it.
But that was her actual real problem right now. The stupid personal bullshit that was taking up most of her mind was a stupid girly crush that wouldn't go away. Yes, the answer to Kalawarner's question was yes. She did need to get laid but there was no fucking way she was going to get some mortal guy to take care of her needs. They were far to weak to top her and so she ended up killing them when they disappointed her. And right now they were on orders to leave as few bodies as possible. Someone really should tell Freed that but that was besides the point. Raynare wanted dick but there was only one guy she that could get her wet now. And it pissed her off.
"Feelings suck." Raynare grumbled in the safety of her mind as she ignored her fellow Fallen Angel who rolled her eyes at Raynare acting more bitchy than normal.
"I'm back." But both females picked up their heads at the sound of their only male companion opening the door to the church. Both looked mildly irritated at his return, they had nothing personal against Dohnaseek but nobody really liked anyone else in the group. Raynare was just a bitch to everyone and the others had their own reasons for disliking each other. But they all served the same man and they would work together out of simple fear of failing him. "Raynare, why is it that I found your target as the servant of Rias Gremory?"
"What!? That pissant fucking survived!" Raynare roared having long since prepared her reaction to the truth getting out. She knew it wouldn't be a perfect fix as she knew that she would need to actually kill Atreus for good for the mission to be complete. And that was something she was unwilling to do given her newfound feelings for him. Another reason why she hated feelings, it kept her from being a stone cold bitch, something she loved being.
"Yes, and the Gremory girl stopped me before I could finish him off." That intrigued Raynare as she knew for a fact that Atreus was way better in a fight than any of them. Even in that short fight with the Valkyrie she could tell he was a real warrior. Not like them who were all third generation Fallen Angels and were greener than grass. Sure they trained and got good marks from their teachers but that didn't matter when it came to true skill and experience. Atreus had both in spades. Just thinking about seeing him in a real fight had been some of the best fuel for her only source of stress relief. "I was able to give her some speech about thinking he was a stray and I think she bought it. Or at least wasn't willing to call me on it."
"The mission doesn't change; he needs to die. If we can ambush him and get it done quick enough than we can limit the exposure." Kalawarner suggested and Dohnaseek nodded in agreement.
"He's not that very strong, I was able to beat him no problem." The male Fallen Angel said with a smug yet dissatisfied look on his face. They then both looked to Raynare and she just sneered and mumbled something about everyone should get their chance at him. The other two decided to ignore Raynare and speak among themselves while avoiding her as they didn't have time to deal with her being extra bitchy.
"I fucking hate this, it's all your fault you stupid jackass." Raynare mumbled with far less venom than her words suggested. She held onto her knees as she pulled them close and tried to be as small as possible. The walls were closing in and things were moving fast. And unfortunately for her, she wasn't as ignored as she first thought.