Author's Notes
Story isn't dead, will be ignoring the Reviews from now on to keep it that way. Want to tell me something, either PM me or join my discord server Realm of Nonsense
"Right, that should do it, but she really should be taken to the hospital." Atreus sighed as he finished doing what he could to heal the girl he had saved. That had been a unexpected easy job, and now he had to spend the next two days serving some woman he didn't even know. All he knew was that she was a Yōkai and a leader among them. All he could really hope for is that she didn't have him do anything that could cause trouble for Rias and the Devils. "It's a lot different being a part of something now… oh well… still a fair trade." He mumbled as he picked up the sleeping girl. Her injuries had been healed on a surface level and her lifeforce was no longer fluctuating but he knew that what he did was only a temporary aide.
The former god took a breath and focused on the trail of magic that he needed to follow. A simple illusion hid both him and the girl as he made his way through the park and then the city. He eventually found himself in front of a Shinto style temple, though he didn't sense much of the trace holy power that the Fushimi Inari Taisha had. It looked like this one was just built with the style in mind without actually being blessed by the Shinto gods. But then the second that he stepped onto the property he was surrounded by various Yōkai.
"Bold of you to come back to the scene of the crime Devil." One of them growled as they held a spear to Atreus' face.
"Have you come back to beg for mercy? Don't bother." Another spoke and then they all began to mock him and tell him how he was going to die painfully if didn't hand over the girl in his arms. Atreus just blankly stared forward, somewhat bored with all this. He was just waiting and just before it looked like the guards had enough of his disrespect, he saw who he was waiting for.
"Ey! Walnut-brain, you show finally showed up! Took ya long enough!" Atreus watched Ratatoskr scamper out of the temple with the woman that hired the Devil behind him. The summoned squirrel quickly ran up Atreus leg and perched himself on his shoulder. "I'll forgive ya this time for summoning me for errands. Summon me any time you need me to spend time with that woman." The Bitter Squirrel chuckled in a way that Atreus never expected out of the foul tempered summon. But before he could comment on it the summon vanished.
"Atreus, you seem to impress me more and more. Finding my daughter so ahead of schedule." The Yōkai leader smiled as she walked into the courtyard and Atreus could tell from the small shifts in body language that she was containing herself. Likely she wanted to run to her daughter but needed to put up a front for her guards.
"I'm just lucky, the Vampires that took her were cocky and if it had been night and they had better prepared for a fight I think it would have taken me the full three days." Atreus shrugged, he knew that this had been all due to luck. His skills in tracking did come in handy but the hard part of fighting to save someone had been handicapped to all hell.
"Don't speak so causally Devil. This is Lady Yasaka, leader of the Yōkai of Kyoto!" One of the guards shouted and Atreus just ignored him though he was pleased to finally have a name. The guard was however quickly cowed by a murderous aura from Yasaka. She looked to the guard, still having a perfectly at peace smile on her face, and Atreus could see the beads of sweat form on his forehead.
"I think it is about time for you to bring my daughter to the healers now." Yasaka said in such a even and calm tone that still had a undeniable threat laced in it. The guards then scrambled to carefully gather up the child and bring off toward a nearby building attached to the main complex. Atreus watched as Yasaka continued to watch the group of Yōkai until they were in the building.
"No one would think less of you if you went with them." Atreus offered but the older woman closed her eyes as she took a few breaths in.
"Yes, a few would." Atreus felt a small bit of pity for her, if only to empathize with not being able to be by a loved one's side as they suffered. "I cannot for a moment show such weakness, not with how things in this city are. The recent purges made by the Devils have made people question my ability to protect, I must only show strength." She explained before she turned around and began her way toward where she came out to the courtyard. Atreus didn't need for her to tell him to follow, he walked behind her as they entered the building and through the halls. Inside was decorated in traditional Japanese style, Atreus could assume that it all looked exactly as it did centuries ago. "While I cannot show weakness, I can show gratitude." With that she waved Atreus into a new room, this one set up like a traditional style tea room.
"You really want that drink don't you." He chuckled and she just smiled as he took a seat at the small table in the middle of the room. There was a very old looking jar of sake already set up. "It looks like you were expecting me to impress you today."
"More like I would have been drinking regardless." She admitted without reservation as she sat down across from Atreus. He bit his lip in an effort to hold back his reaction as Yasaka's kimono opening a bit, the way she sat meant that it sagged in just the right way to expose her chest. She didn't seemed to notice or care. "But, having you here to keep me company is a much better experience."
"Are we expecting someone else?" Atreus asked as he looked at a third cup that had been set out.
"No." Yasaka said simply without further explanation and Atreus narrowed his eyes not knowing what the Fox Yōkai had in store for him but was going to watch things carefully. Very carefully, even as she leaned over to pour them their cups he was making sure to keep is eyes firmly on any funny business. "So Atreus, might I ask where you from. You have a very unique Chi that I can't quite place."
"I'm from Midgard originally but I've lived in Japan for most of my life." Atreus took the now filled cup and eyed it carefully. It didn't look to be anything more than just some very good and very old sake. A small glance to the jug that it came in spoke to its age, minimum a thousand years old. Only a being like the one across from him could have such a drink, but he doubted that it was a drink she often had. "As for the real answer you want, Greek and Jotun is the most I can say."
"Hmm, interesting." She hummed as she too took her drink. They wordlessly toasted and then took their first drinks.
The sake burned even to Atreus, while aged it wasn't very well made at all. It honestly tasted amateur. So much for his earlier thought but he wasn't an expert on such things. But Atreus said nothing and kept it down well enough. The two began to just quietly drink together with no conversation going between them. Atreus was unable to speak given he had little idea of what to say, a very unfamiliar sensation for him. And Yasaka seemed perfectly content to just have his presence, but that wasn't enough for Atreus and so twenty minutes in he worked up the nerve to speak.
"If you don't mind me asking, why am I here? You said you wanted me to drink with you because you lack anyone willing to do so not bound by social trappings. And yet… you haven't said anything but ask me where I came from?" Atreus asked as all this just felt off, it made him feel like she was planning something and he should be on guard. He had just saved her daughter's life and he was in this uneasy situation because of it rather than being rewarded. Even if he was doing all of this on the promise of no issue for his presence in Kyoto.
"Very straight forward, that will help you in certain ways in Hell but also hurt you." She said after taking another sip from her cup. Atreus just felt even more confused by this, it sounded like she was giving advice for him to be a better Devil. "I want to know what kind of man you are, I can feel a great deal of power from you. The kind of power that can be nurtured into a World-Class power. I could very easily be speaking to the next Lucifer."
"And you want to get on my good side at the beginning of my journey to that end?" Atreus asked but the only answer that he got was Yasaka taking another sip from her cup. He assumed that he was right given that she didn't deny this. "And you're so sure about this?"
"Given who your King is, who her brother is, and the sheer scale of power in you… yes." Yasaka set down her cup and gave Atreus a calculated smile. The Pawn could see her taking a long term gamble, though it had seriously little risk on her part. What harm could come from her buttering him up and trying to play nice? Not much, and there could be great reward. But even still there was something about that unsettled Atreus. "Plus, I like strong men that are confident in who they are. I don't sense a bit of doubt in you."
With that she lowered her cup to the table and her eyes focused on his cup, feeling unfamiliar with whatever customs she seemed to operate by he did as she did. The three cups that sat in the table then floated and began playing out small dance across the table. Atreus watched and could see a feint bluish energy pick at them like long sticks playing at the cups. Then they stopped back in front of him and Yasaka.
"That was a neat little trick you did." Atreus remarked as he watched Yasaka refill their cups.
"I have to try and be entertaining to my first drinking partner in centuries." She said as she finished filling her own cup. She gave him a coy smile as they once again toasted and drank from their cups. "I'm sorry for my lackluster company, I haven't had much practice in socializing in years. All that it's been lately is bootlickers and the occasional uppity moron thinking they can take my throne. If it wasn't for my daughter I think I would have gone insane by now."
"Does it really get that lonely?" Atreus asked feeling better that they were getting into some sort of conversation. Even if it felt a bit too personally to him for people that had only met that day. But then again, he had gotten to second base with Rias before he even said a word to her, and they were doing pretty well.
"I'm surrounded by people that claim they either know me better than anyone else or suck up to me with claims that they only wish to ease my mind." She snorted as a small bit of redness was beginning to form on her face. Atreus had been far more conservative in his sips so only had a small buzz that was barely anything thanks to his godly health. "All I get these days is people that think they know what I want. I don't know what I want other than to raise my daughter!" Yasaka raised her voice a bit but then looked right at Atreus with a unnerving yet thankful smile on her face. "But you? You don't know me, and you don't care."
"I wouldn't say that. You seem to be a woman that has a lot of pressure on her, to be a mother and a leader. I may not know you personally but I can tell that what you need is someone to help share this burden. And I care enough even knowing for so little time to tell you honestly that you need help." Atreus said being perfectly honest in his words. These weren't his people, the Devils or his family back in Kuoh were. The argument could be made that he was currently helping a enemy of Devilkind but Atreus didn't see a enemy in front of him. He just saw a woman trying her best but finding herself stretched thin. "Is there anyone you can trust that could help you run things or help you take care of your daughter, let you take some time off or focus on one instead of the other while another handles it?"
"You're sweet, thinking about me like this." She avoided the question as she refilled her cup. "I can tell that you're a good man, you came to my daughter's rescue before even knowing who she was. And now you're here helping an old woman while she gets drunk and complains." She said smiling and stirring her drink in a way that once again gave Atreus strange chills. There was something missing here but he couldn't place it. "To answer you, there hasn't been someone like that for a long time but I have started looking."
"If I could change the subject, what do you plan on doing about those that attempted to kidnap your daughter." Atreus said trying to get away from the previous subject as he had a sudden urge to run away at her last comment. Doing that would be pointless and rude so that was out. However Yasaka didn't say anything more than a pleased hum before finishing her drink. Then Atreus watched in silence as she did the whole rearrange the cups trick. The Pawn felt nothing but confusion and a deep seeded fear of what was going on as he was more sure than ever than this was more than what it seemed. This wasn't a friendly drink, far from it. But he didn't have any context to draw a guess as to what could it be. Just a few bits and pieces here and there that were all suspect to begin with. Atreus took the third cup he had been given this night and took a sip, almost immediately after he did so it was taken out of his hand and the entire table, cup set, and bottle of sake was magic'ed away.
"You must be tired after all the fighting you did to save my daughter. And I hate to be ungrateful for what you did for us, why don't you stay the night as my guest." Atreus was biting his lip in fear at the kind, gentle, and in no way threatening way that Yasaka spoke. Every instinct he had were fighting themselves, a part of him that felt like his basic survival instinct that in his head sounded like Mimir screamed at him to run out the nearest window and never look back. The forward thinking side that sounded like Rias told him that this could be good for Devils everywhere and told him to accept. Then there was the Kratos voice telling him to fight her and leave a bloody corpse on his way out. In the end he knew that two of those options weren't possible given Yasaka's strength.
"Thank you, I'll take you up on that offer." Atreus pulled these words out, sounding perfectly pleased and grateful but in truth he was feeling that he was making a very lasting mistake.
"NO! NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Be quiet." Kratos grunted before punching the dark skinned man in the face. It had taken a good deal of time but he had finally found the demi-god of some African god that had contracted Kratos to find his lost son. Why this particular god wanted his half divine child, Kratos didn't know or care. All that mattered was that it was another favor to be collected and later used to further his goal of creating a true home for his family.
"Listen man, you can't bring me back to my pops. Do you have any idea what he does to us?" The bloodied man had put up a good fight, he wasn't a warrior but a crafty fighter that Kratos could respect. Like a feisty wolverine cornered. But he was still no match for Kratos in the end, few beings on this Earth were.
"Next time, run to America. The Gods there are eager to take in as many lost souls as possible." With that, the demi-god looked confused before finally getting knocked out with a ending punch to the gut by the God of War. The man slumped to the ground but was quickly hefted off the ground and thrown over Kratos' shoulder.
"Wow, not even a little mercy huh?" The gray skinned man looked behind him to see the very spirit that he had intimidated earlier today. Inari smirked at Kratos before tossing a small bag which the Greek caught. "It's everything I owe." The spirit said as it floated into the air playfully then summersaulted over to the man that had just took all the offerings it had gotten for the past month. This would be the last time they would go to Vegas with any God from Egypt, they just were too damn lucky at anything but history.
"You made it sound like it would take awhile?" Kratos asked as opened the bag and saw that it was a empty void. He grumbled a bit before sniffing the air to confirm there was a smell of magic here. "This better be-"
"It will only appear before Osiris, no one else." Inari was picking its nose as it said this in a bored and condescending tone. But then it was grabbed out of the air and came face to face with a very irritated looking god. "Hey-hey! I know what happened the last time someone stiffed you, I ain't got the clout to get a resurrection so I'm telling the truth." Kratos looked at the snake like eyes of the childish looking being and after making it sweat a little tossed it back in the air. "You know, you could stand to be a little more nice. We all know your super strong… stronger than you have any right to be."
"Watch it fox." Kratos warned as he pocketed the bag and began carrying his other job toward the nearest body of water. The job called for the Demi-God to just be put in some form of lake, river, or sea and the rest would be handled.
"By the way Ghost… who was that kid with you when you came to my shrine?" Inari asked as it followed Kratos down the alley. The Greek just ignored the floating fox spirit but that only seemed to make Inari more interested. For the next half hour it would constantly bug and prod Kratos into telling all about the young man that had been with him earlier. And just as Kratos nearly grew to the point of striking Inari it would turn into its small fox for and scamper off only to return a few minutes later. While Kratos found this world's Gods to be less horrible than his own world's counterparts… they by no means were any less annoying. "Come on! You gotta tell me! Tell-Me-Tell-Me-Tell-Me-Tell-Me-Tell- huh?" Inari suddenly felt himself jabbed with something small and then was out like a light.
"Fucking Christ… does this kid ever shut up?" Nex grumbled as he put away the small syringe he had used to knock out the spirit. He then stood back as Kratos tossed his latest pray into a large pound and the two then watch as the man sunk deep into the water and then nothing. Then both peered over to try and see the body only to find the water clear and empty. "Creepy."
"Why are you here, the flight leaves in two days." Kratos said as he nodded to the moon up in the sky. This was only their first night in Kyoto and he wasn't expecting to see Nex until the very last minute before needing to leave.
"Change of plans, the meeting had turned out to be a dud." Nex mumbled bitterly at the waste of time that occurred in a bar. A place that usually brings him such joy and wonderment was used to bore him… how rude. "So hurry up and call your boy and let's get on the next flight to Peru or wherever."
"You cannot find him?" Kratos asked with a raised eyebrow. Nex was able to locate any of his family due to the contract that they signed.
"No." Nex ground out, clearly upset by this. "It's not impossible. You are different, I am far more linked to you than the others due to the job you have in the contract. The other's bounds can be smothered or shielded… or if they are in another world then I can only know which one. It's not that so he's still in Kyoto but I just don't know where."
"This is a problem, I also do not know where Atreus is. We will find him now." Kratos said stomping past Nex on his way back to where he last saw his son in order to trace his steps. Nex sighed and followed the now nearly rampaging war god hoping to mitigate the damage and attention they would cause.
"Wake up pervert!" Atreus was suddenly awoken from a great dream and was pulled down out of the wonderful bed that he had been given for the night. His eyes snapped open as he rolled across the floor and took a defensive stance perfectly ingrained into him by his training. But then he saw that the person that had ripped him from sleep's embrace was the same young girl that he had saved yesterday, and sleep wasn't the only embrace he had been taken from. In the bed that he had been in was Yasaka completely naked.
"Wha… what the hell is going on?" Atreus mumbled as he felt a headache come to him due to the odd circumstances he had woken to. He was no stranger to women sleeping with him, but he preferred to know of them joining prior to closing his eyes for the night. "And I am not a pervert, I saved your life yesterday."
"Yeah right, you're just some evil devil that seduced mother!" The mini and younger version of Yasaka shouted back at the still confused Atreus, waking her mother in the process. She opened her mouth to shout again but was muffled by a fluffy yellow fox tail.
"Kunou, you are being very rude to our guest." Yasaka said with a yawn as she pulled herself up and lifted her daughter into the air with her tail. She then looked down to the visibly confused Atreus and smiled at his reaction. "What a splendid night I had, and an even better morning seeing my daughter feeling well enough to disturb it with her willfulness."
"This happens far too often to me." Atreus mumbled to himself as he dragged a hand across his face. He'd rather not explain to Rias about how he somehow got the leader of the Kyoto Yōkai in bed despite the fact he very clearly recalled going to sleep alone. "Am I going to get an explanation for this?"
"Of course, you see you and-" Yasaka began but suddenly the sounds of fighting just outside at the complex entrance filtered through the window. Shouts of the guards charging at something and then yells of them getting batted away distracted everyone in the room. Then they heard the voice of the one attacking the Yōkai.
"Atreus!" The Pawn's stomach dropped as he heard his father calling out for him. He also quickly grabbed his clothes and started running out toward the source of the battle sounds, leaving behind a bemused Yasaka. Atreus ran through the halls, haphazardly getting his clothes back on, and soon skidded out into the open doors leading to the courtyard that currently hosted a circle of battered Yōkai guards and a determined Kratos.
"Father, what are you doing?!" Atreus shouted and instantly gulped as Kratos turned his head toward him and that glare in his eyes. But thankfully his stance relaxed a bit, he was clearly no longer in a kill mode. However that didn't mean the guards felt the same way, because even if they had just been getting their asses handed to them they still would stand and die to defend their lady. So when Kratos began to lessen his posture they all charged forward, only to cause Kratos to instantly lock back up and set the Blades of Chaos aflame. With a spin he effortless took them all off their feet with a swing of the blades' chains.
"Enough, this quarrel is pointless and will only lead to your deaths." Kratos warned, these men were only doing their duty and so he had no reason to escalate now that he knew that Atreus wasn't being held here against his will.
"Never, we will defend lady Yasaka to the day we die." One of the guards said and was echoed with similar statements by his fellow Yōkai.
"I care not for that, I only came for the boy." Kratos grunted as he walked past the downed guards. "Boy, we are leaving, Nex has finished his business and is demanding we get on the earliest plane to our target."
"Uh… that might be a problem." Atreus said as he knew that he had a deal to honor. He promised Yasaka that he would work for her during the three days he expected to be in Kyoto in exchange for overlooking a Devil in her territory. The Devil watched as Kratos gave a mild glare at that but then his gaze turned up a bit behind Atreus. He followed his father's eyes and found Yasaka had joined them, startling Atreus a bit given that he had not heard her approach.
"It sounds like our time together will be cut short it seems." Atreus felt a bead of sweat form as he worried how this might play out. It was dreadfully obvious Yasaka was a extremely powerful being on the level of a god, and then there was his father… standing there… not looking happy at all. Thankfully his worries looked to be unfounded. "I'm sure that you can make it up to me some other way at a later date." The woman said in such a way that gave Atreus chills down his spine.
"Boy, explain yourself!" Kratos shouted as he was a man that had lived far longer than his son and knew that tone very well. It was something that every married man recognized and both feared and looked forward to. It had been only a day since he last saw Atreus and this was what he found his son in?
"All I did was save a girl and now I am still very confused as to what is going on! Hell, you are easier to understand than what I've been going through." Atreus defended himself mentally exhausted from his short time in Kyoto. Nothing here made sense and all he wanted to do was go back to his small town home and never return to the big city. Yasaka meanwhile just smiled at the two and Kratos felt the urge to reach for his blades.
"We are leaving boy." Kratos said firmly as he turned back and started walking toward the exit.
"I'm sorry for the abruptness of my father, I promise that I will honor our deal at another time." Atreus said quickly with a hurried bow and then started after his father. He didn't give a look back as he still felt a tendril of unknowable fear in his soul. "Bringing me along was your idea." Atreus mumbled as he came to his father's side.
"Don't give me lip boy, but yes… it was my actions that have brought you into the view of a predator that you are unprepared for." This last part was unheard by Atreus as the two left the Yōkai complex and then silently maneuvered through Kyoto to the airport where Nex was waiting and the next leg of their journey would begin. Atreus just hoped that the rest of the trip wouldn't be so confusing.
"It feels strange, in just a short time things have changed so much and now it feels even stranger now that something that caused that change is gone." Rias mused as she and Akeno walked from their last class of the day toward the Old School Building. She had gotten a text message this morning from Atreus saying that he was leaving for South America a few days early and that he had made sure that his time in Kyoto wouldn't affect Devilkind. The very fact he needed to put that last statement in his message concerned her but she would speak to him when he got back on the matter. For now she was content in the knowledge that he was out of the danger zone of Kyoto.
"I know what you mean. Before he was this mysterious puzzle that just existed in our midst. But now he's one of us… this is the first time any of us have been separated for this long after joining." Akeno said in response, it was very true that Rias kept her peerage like a family. When, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko all joined Rias, they had never left the group and they had all stuck together. They didn't have anywhere to go but more importantly they needed that sense of home that they all had lost. Even Asia now fitted that mold. But Atreus was totally different, he had a home and a family outside the peerage. "It certainly is an odd feeling."
"Regardless, Atreus is strong enough to handle himself. And his father… I have little doubt of his strength." Akeno nodded in agreement, having seen Kratos at Atreus' sending off she could practically feel the power that man had in her bones. It felt so unreal, like Kratos' power was unnatural but not in a vile way but in a misplaced one. Like there shouldn't be a being with that kind of power existing yet here he was. "For now we have to…" Rias began but stopped as they approached their headquarters only to find Katase and Murayama waiting at the entrance. "And what business do the Kendo Captains have here?"
It wasn't exactly hard to figure out for Rias, given the two now knew the truth thanks to their relationship with Atreus. A relationship that Rias wasn't exactly a big fan of. These were two mortal humans with no spiritual potential and even worse a spiritual dependency on Atreus due to long term contact with him. Childhood friends with a god, one whose domain what have been a subtle and influence based one at that, was not a recipe for good personality formation. Rias would prefer that they would eventually fade out of Atreus' life safely and cleanly. But that was not what seemed to be happening or going to happen. Atreus had promised to make them his first servants upon getting his own peerage, all fine and good if it wasn't for the fact that as human they were only slightly above average in terms of power and the lines of consent were blurred given their mild addiction to Atreus' power.
"I always wondered about you Gremory, there was just something never right about you but I guess I just got swept up in it all to notice." Katase said as she kept a firm if mildly hostile look at Rias. Murayama tapped her friend's shoulder and gave her a mix of a pleading and stern look. Katase sighed and calmed back down. "But none of that matters now, what matters is that we don't want to be some weak humans that Atreus feels the need to protect."
"Oh?" Rias was pleasantly surprised that this was the outcome they had chosen. The Gremory Heiress had somewhat expected this to be the path they would take but still, it surprised her that it would be this quick. Without much conflict or time these two figured out that they would do more harm than good by sticking so closely to the supernatural world. "You both are certainly skilled when it comes to Kendo, your national ranking does give you that. However you are still at a level only humans can reach."
"Just because we're not Devils or whatever doesn't mean we can't handle ourselves." Katase boasted and even with Murayama staying silent she looked to agree with her best friend. Rias sighed and realized that a point would have to be made. They severely underestimated just what they were dealing with.
"Then how about a friendly wager." Rias offered and Akeno glanced to her King with a concerned look. She was normally the sadist between them but Akeno could tell that Rias wasn't playing around and was about to impart a painful lesson in humanity to these two. "A match between us, two on one with nothing but shinai. No magic or anything as such. If you win then I will admit that you are capable and worthy, and I will listen to whatever proposal you wish to give me."
"And if we lose?" Murayama asked as she was far more skeptical of all this and Katase was.
"Then you will admit that you are children that don't what they are doing and instead of demanding help you will beg for it." Rias said with the full intention of helping them regardless. If not just for Atreus' future and his wishes on the matter but also because it was obvious these girls would continue to pursue this no matter what.
"You want to challenge us, have you ever even been seen a Kendo match?" Katase snorted but Murayama didn't like this. It felt like they were being baited in but even still she was just as confident. The two of them were trained athletes, they had been doing this for years and were nationally ranked captains of the sport. Their bodies were toned and trained for it meanwhile while Rias had gorgeous curves that certainly drew the eye, she didn't look all that strong or athletic.
"Do you accept?" Rias asked and watched as Katase had a smug look of undeserved victory while Murayama still looked skeptical but didn't look to be turning it down. "Very well, shall we?" Rias said before she turned and began walking toward the Kendo gym. Akeno watched as the Kendo captains strode past her and followed Rias.
"Hmm… should I mention Rias has been trained in fencing since she was a child. I'm sure that won't translate at all." Akeno giggled as knew that even despite that fact being true, those girls were about to have a very rude awakening.
"Well this certainly is very different." Atreus said as he trudged through mud and the dense foliage of the Amazon rain forest. Not five minutes after they had gotten off their plane Nex had teleported them away and then proceeded to perform a series of jumps from Mexico City down to the Amazon. It all took about an hour with very little break or explanation for Atreus. Kratos looked to be used this sort of thing but even he seemed to unnerved by the haste that Nex had.
"The cult has humans that have traveled from all over the continent to this spot. They have been drawn by the voice of Quetzalcoatl." Nex said as he followed behind Kratos as the much larger man cut down leaves and even small trees to make a path for them. "During the Spanish Conquest, Heaven and the Fallen Angels declared a war on the Aztec Gods as they were openly walking among the mortals, something that many of the Old World pantheons had decided was best left in the past. Meanwhile the Greeks and the Norse attempted to conquer North America… only to be outed later by the New Gods of America. The Aztecs had slaughtered all the other gods of South America and they have been reduced to a husk of what they once were."
"And now Quetzalcoatl is trying to rebuild a following or something?" Atreus asked unsure if he really approved of what they were doing. To him it sounded like they were going to kill the cult and break the Aztec god. It didn't feel right as Nex was a Nephilim and worked for God, this had nothing to do with the Big Three or neutral parties in the Supernatural World. Atreus felt they were stepping outside their bounds here. And he wondered just how common this was for his father.
"The Feathered Serpent has been dead since the conquest, slain by Michael himself. What is talking to the cultists is the corpse. Even dead gods dream kid." Nex finished ominously and the Pawn still didn't feel very comforted in what they were doing. However his father was staying silent, so he would follow his example and just go along with it.
They tracked their way through the damp and heavily dense jungle, maneuvering around mammoth trees and cross large gorges. Atreus could feel halfway through their journey they had entered a different realm altogether. Reality had blended into a supernatural domain, the landscape was more extreme and begun to warp in ways that was anything but natural. Red feather like lining began to grow on the trees and snakes were abundant. In the shadows Atreus had caught large snake eyes watching them but then would blink out of existence when focused on.
"We need to make camp." Kratos said as he stood back up from examining a footprint in the mud. "Any further and we would not have the opportunity make camp safely."
"Get your last rests in kid, tomorrow will be the start of a long time of not being able to take an easy breath." Nex chuckled and Atreus just gave him a incredulous stare. Then he glanced to his father who nodded, the Devil's shoulders slumped forward a bit… having hoped that Nex was just being his normal irritating self. The three found a small flat spot between the massive roots of two trees. Setting up a camp site seemed simple enough… until the rainforest lived up to its name. With some effort on Atreus and Nex's part, they were able to set up some wards that deflected most of the rain giving them somewhat manageable conditions.
"I'm going to set up some illusions around the camp, be right back." Atreus announced and was given a warning by his father and a uncaring grunt by Nex. Atreus weaved his way through the trees and foliage, even if he had even been in an environment like this before, his experience in the wilderness and Vanir affinity for nature helped him greatly. The young man moved to a distance far enough from the camp he thought was reasonable, decided it would be best to work back to the camp as to not accidentally trip his own traps or mess them up.
Illusion Magic was something that he had only discovered when he learned about the Loki legends of this world. Knowing that he was the analog of another reality he knew that he might have some connection to the art. And he did, it was simply another language for him to master, one that involved all the senses instead of just hearing. Or at least he thought of it as such, he didn't really feel like much of a trickster even if he did make Mimir's life horrible with pranks for a time. Lies and scheming just weren't something he was raised to be very good at. His father's blood ran strong in him and while not nearly as brutally blunt as Kratos, Atreus still was very honest and valued that trait highly.
As he was laying the final layer onto the outer barrier, he knew that he was being watched. Of course he knew that they had under watch since they entered the supernatural domain but that might more passive. Simply part of the nature of the realm. This on the other hand was someone specific. As he finished applying the very last notes to the illusion in the barrier he casted a Spectral Summon in the direction of where he felt the disturbance. A out of place wolf leapt into existence, it's body sparking with the power of lightning. There was a scurry away but it was too late, a combination of the summons's speed and the shock of the attack resulted in the wolf latched down on the watcher's neck and pinning the rest of the body with its own. The snapping electricity of the summon's body coursed through the being body and caused it to spasm in its captor's grip.
"Let's see what we have here." Atreus sighed as he pushed away a branch to get a better look at his quarry. There pinned under his Spectral Summon was a snake human hybrid, through nothing like how many hoped it would like. Its entire body was scales and while it had a human upper half and snake lower one, its head was still very reptilian. Large fanged jaw hung open as two sets of eyes were rolled back in its head. It wore tribal style clothes and a nearby spear caught Atreus's attention. He walked over to the wooden and stone spear and inspected the runes carved into it. After a few moments he tossed it into a nearby tree and watched as the bark around the impact site began to rot away. "Nasty." Half hour and two more times having to stun the tribal snake-man later, and Atreus was back at the camp with his prisoner.
"Boy, what have you brought?" Kratos looked down at the snake-man that his son had dragged into their camp. He had expected Atreus to bring them a misguided human but to see something like this was unexpected. "I thought you said that the cultist would be the only thing we would be hunting." Kratos stated as Nex came out of his tent.
"They were supposed to have killed all these guys already." Nex grumbled as he came up and kicked the snake-man… resulting in him waking up and reflexively snapping at the spot in space that he had felt the kick come from. However his instincts failed him and he bit into nothing but air as he couldn't discern just what had kicked him. The snake-man blinked and found a nocked arrow and burning sword at his face. He leaned back away and hissed out something that was lost on Kratos and Nex. "Kid, what it say."
"I can't understand something I've never heard before… at first. I can tell his angry at us, pretty sure he thinks that we're more of the human cultists." Atreus said with sigh, while his powers were great they weren't infallible. He needed some time with a language, especially when it wasn't was a tongue that used purely human sounds. What made it even worse was the supernatural nature of the person speaking. "I need to hear him speak for at least five minutes in total and even then I need a good range of vocabulary before I can understand it. Speaking it should be easy though I expect it to be choppy given the nonhuman mouth needed for it."
"Great, you can't even do the thing that your supposed to be good at." Nex grumbled as he walked back to his tent while Atreus and Kratos glared at him. They then looked back down to their captive and Kratos put the tip of one of his blades back to the face of the snake-man. It began hissing out small noises at the threat.
"So all you need is to hear it speak more words?" Kratos asked as he figured threatening it would lead to some sort of verbal reaction. He wasn't exactly expertly familiar with his son's powers for those that resided outside of combat. He knew of his skill with words and pretty much anything associated with language, however he wasn't aware of its limits or lack thereof.
"The more diverse the better, so him just sputtering out the same string of insults and promises of vengeance will take a bit more." Atreus sighed as he was listening in on the snake-man's reaction. He continued to grumble and hiss and every time he looked like he was calming back down Kratos would rattle him a bit with a show of force, eventually this went on long enough to where Atreus felt he could get a general grasp of what the snake-man was saying.
The next hurdle was Atreus trying to convince the snake-man that they weren't with the cultists and in fact they were here to get rid of them. This went on well into the night and it was only thanks to Atreus' gifts with conversation that any progress had been made.
Further speaking with the Snake-man, Atreus found out that the section of the amazon they were in had long been a contested warzone for the various gods of South America… until the Aztec Pantheon came into the picture. They came down from the north and utterly crushed the weaker and less widely worshiped gods. The snake-men of this realm however had seen many upstarts and weathered them all… but then the Aztecs didn't get overthrown or leave as many others did. The tribe's stories tell of the snake-men preparing to make a last stand for their land only to be summoned by the Aztec gods, they had been given the chance to stay and keep their land so long as they guard a cave deep in the jungle's heart from any and all intruders. The snake-men took the offer and had stood guard since then. They had no idea just what was in the cave and were perfectly content to never know. They carried out their duty through the centuries, even standing strong against the armies of Heaven.
"If you did that then how'd did a bunch of humans get past you?" Atreus asked as he handed a stick of fish that Kratos had found for their dinner. It wasn't a single or several fishes, but a chunk of one monstrous one he wrestled out of a nearby river.
"They came with assssalt riflesssss." The snake-man who had introduced himself as Septi responded with a blunt and bitter hiss. "For yearssss we had relied on the remotenesssss of our realm and the inherent danger of it to ssssscare away humanssss. But thessse… fear nothing. Ssssso they came with big gunssss and flamethrowersssss."
"You grew complacent?" Atreus asked and Septi's head fell forward in shame.
"I wassss one of them. I believed the outer world wasssss beyond ussss and it was nonssssense to try to change our wayssss." Septi hissed in self-pity and frustration as he watched the fire in front of them cook his dinner. He then glanced to Atreus with a skeptical eye. "Many of my people are dead, and our ancient bound hassss been tainted by failure. We only have revenge left and after that many plan to leave the land in sssshame. We cannot leave whatever thessse humanssss have planned untessssted. You ssssay you have come to end whatever they are plotting, you make a vow this is true and I ssssshall take you to my people."
"He tell us where ow!" Nex yelled as he was struck in the head by Atreus throwing a small pebble at his forehead.
"I promise, that is what we came to do and that is all." Atreus said back after giving Nex a final warning glare. All he wanted as of right now was for him and his father to get to this cave and end this whole thing. While Atreus was enjoying the familiar sense of the old days, he knew that this was serious business and the sooner it was resolved the better. They had no idea how long they had before the cultists' ritual was complete and better stop them before they even started.
"Welcome to the Royal… oh, Argento what are you doing here?" Raynare asked as she came up to the front of the dinner to find Asia waiting to be seated. It wasn't like the Gremory household didn't make it a point to come in on her shift, but they always came as a group and never as single parties.
"I uh… wanted to speak to you please." She squeaked out as she shifted uncomfortably. The Fallen Angel sighed as she understood that it might be hard for the nun to be alone with her. It was her mother that nearly killed her by forcefully taking Asia's Scared Gear. And Raynare hadn't been especially kind to her, even her saving her life had been done rather harshly. But she was trying to be a better person… sorta… and so she couldn't exactly turn Asia away.
"Hey Yuri, I'm going on break!" There was a loud roar of curses and barked orders that emerged from the kitchen. Asia paled a bit at the sudden argument between waitress and cook, it was one of the scariest things she had ever seen. "- I'm the one bringing in all the customers with my girls so you can just shove it up your clogged asshole!" With that Raynare threw a plate into the kitchen, Asia was no wondering just how it was that Raynare hadn't been fired yet.
Thankfully the terror ended and Raynare led Asia over to a booth and brought both of them water. There they sat in uncomfortable silence with Raynare grumbling about the man in the kitchen for about five minutes before Asia had the courage to speak again.
"I need… I need your help." Asia began as she grasped her glass of water, her eyes locked on the small ripples in the glass. Raynare quit her stewing and looked up to the nervous Bishop.
"Why me, why not your King?" It was a valid question. Raynare was a squatter in Rias' territory, only allowed here because Atreus asked Rias if she could and Rias' mercy of not throwing her to the Fallen Angels. Then there was their history and the previously stated situation and it made for a extremely odd choice on Asia's part to come to her. And those were just the personal reasons, never mind the fact that Raynare knew dick all about Devil magic or anything about Asia's ability other than her Scared Gear. "Let's get things straight here, we don't like each other. Let's not pretend otherwise." Raynare started with a biting blunt tone that made Asia wince. "I'm acting nice because I have to, want I really want is for all of you Devils to shove off and let me be with my man but that ain't happening. So for you to come to me instead of Gremory is asking for trouble."
"She'll hold back." Asia started and Raynare could see that, Rias coddled her peerage like a mama bear. "I'm weak, I know it and I know I can't help anyone if I stay that way." Asia responded with more steel in her voice than Raynare supposed she ever had in her life. Raynare thought about it for a moment and then had a wicked smile on her face. It was the kind of smile that unnerved Asia but she knew that this was the only way for her to truly pull her weight.
"Okay… you want me to take you under my wing?" Raynare asked and Asia nervously nodded her head. "You want me to teach the ways of being a badass bitch that doesn't take shit from no one?"
"Well that's not ex-"
"Deal! I won't even charge you. But understand that while I'm training you, you listen to every word I say and you keep your lips shut about it to Rias. Got it!" Raynare snapped and Asia, unable to really put up a fight at this point vigorously nodded her head. This was what she knew was what she was going in for, from the moment she asked Raynare to talk she had to accept everything that came after. "Good, first thing we're going to do is get you some new outfits, then hit the nearest smut shop. The whole innocent nun thing is great and all but I think I can pull something not so innocent out of you yet."
"Mm… I think I might have made a mistake." Asia sighed as Raynare began lewdly giggling at all her plans to mold Asia into a mini version of herself.
It took about two more days of cutting a path through the amazon, which grew ever more difficult the deeper they got, but they soon came to series of gorges. The cracks in the earth circled a central pillar of stone that at its top and upper sides was a village. Its crown was a great mess of huts that were built on its top or clung its side. Connecting the pillar to the rest of the cliffsides were a maze of bridges that led to smaller groupings of huts and large nets of hammocks that hung on the cliff faces.
"Welcome, thissss isss our lasssst village. All otherssss have been desssstroyed." Septi said as they group stood on a outermost crag that overlooked most of the gorges. Nex grumbled a bit about the lack of a five-star hotel but Kratos and Atreus were both appreciative of the simple refuge. "I sssshall take you to the chief. If what you ssssay is true about your powerssss, then you sssshould have no issssue proving to him of your worth."
"What is it saying kid?" Nex asked as they began following the snake-man toward the nearest series of bridges.
"He's taking us to the chief, once we're there we'll have to prove how strong we are or something." Atreus explained and as expected Nex grumbled about the poor conditions they would be staying in. "After that, I guess we'll be shown the way to the cult?"
"It is rarely ever that simple boy." Kratos responded firmly and while Atreus knew his father was right, he hoped he wasn't. The group of foreigners followed their guide to the first set of bridges, as they cross they were eyed by more snake-people. And Atreus had to hold back some of his lighter thoughts as he saw the female snake-people. Snakes don't nurse their young so the idea that they would have the organs and bodies to do so if they had human like bodies was amusing, but Atreus always knew that many men would be disappointed at the lack of breasts on a snake-woman.
"Eh… maybe somewhere out in the world but certainly not here." Atreus thought as they were crossing the final bridge onto the center of the village. But as they came to the end of the bridge they were stopped by several armored snake-men holding up spears at them. Atreus, Kratos and Nex all watched as Septi hissed and argued with the guards over them. They must have been using a variation of the dialect because Atreus could only catch a few words out of the argument.
"Are you guys going to have to fight your way out?" Nex asked in a smug tone that Atreus really wished he would just keep to himself. Nex didn't have to ever fight, he could just vanish from everyone's perception and so he rarely took situations seriously. Eventually however the hissing came to an end and the guards lowered their spears and made way for the group to move forward. Septi gave one more hiss to them and began forward, Atreus, Kratos and Nex all followed and behind them the guards now started following as well. It was at this point that Atreus looked back and saw he could see Nex following them anymore.
"Ignore that, he is adequate at gathering information like this." Kratos said without indicating anything had happened at all to the surrounding snake-people. Atreus didn't like it as Nex simply had a unfair and disturbing amount of power when it came to privacy invasion. It wasn't just invisibility, it was complete and total denial of perceiving he exists at all. With even memories being subject to be erased if he wants. It was the kind of power that made Atreus question the truth of the origin of Nex's race.
But that wasn't what was important right now. Atreus focused back onto the massive tent that they were being led to. The many huts and tents made by the tribal snake-people were brightly colored, and all over were hanging strings of beads and often ended in nets filled with cured meat or fruit. It was honestly a assault on the senses walking through it, and it threw Atreus for a loop as to how someone with a heightened sense of smell could tolerate it.
But now they were being brought into the center most tent, inside was a central fireplace surrounded by stones that seemed to be heated up by the large bonfire. The smoke traveled up and out a hole in the top but in light came through due to the amount of smoke. Laying on each of the stones was either a female snake-person with a clutch of eggs or one with several children of the species. At the very back of the tent however was a massive stone that jutted out of the ground, in it was glowing red stones that marbled the gray rock. On it, was a large muscular snake-man with a gown of beads and a large headdress made out of a large monster's skull.
The females in the room all sat up and took up defensive stances to protect their young or eggs. The tent filled with hostile hissing coming from both the females and Septi. This all stopped as a loud smacking sound came from the back, they all looked back to see the chief standing up and holding a large staff with a large chunk of glowing red stone at its top in one hand.
"Chieftain Ssssotek, I have brought to ussss alliessss in our fight againssssst the humansss." Septi hissed out but that didn't seem to clam the others in the room. They still all looked quite hostile in Atreus's opinion. The only one he could not call outwardly aggressive was the chief. Which was at least a good sign… hopefully.
"They look and sssssmell human, you have brought ussss sssspies!" One of females hissed as she clutched one of her young children and pushed the others away with her tail.
"Thissssss one is a Devil." Septi pointed to Atreus. "Thissss one is of divine blood from far acrosssss the endlesssss sssssea." He then pointed to Kratos, who raised a eyebrow at this but given Atreus was staying silent assumed nothing too bad was happening. To him all of this was just a bunch of monsters hissing at him and each other while his son hissed at them to keep things civil. "They have come to kill the humanssss and sssstop their plot to wake the feathered god." At the announcement of Atreus and Kratos not being humans everyone in the tent visibly calmed down.
"A Devil and one with Devine Blood." The chief mused aloud as he looked down at Atreus and Kratos. "For what purpossssse doessss two of your kindssss have with the feathered sssserpent?"
"It's a job, we were hired by… undisclosable parties to stop the cult from disturbing the corpse." Atreus answered and everyone looked to the chief for his response. The large snake-man intently scanned the two foreigners, his four eyes unblinking as he considered the words. He then lowered his staff down and tapped the large stone under him three times. The females in the room seemed still unnerved by Atreus and Kratos' presence however they then returned back to their previous huddled states.
"Before the humansss came, our people had four villagessss. Thisss one wasss the only of its kind before the feathered one came to call thisss place home. After that, three more had been made. Two around ssssealing sssstones that held the keyssss to the Cave of Crimson Sssserpents. Then the lasssst one outsssside the cave'sss mouth." The chief explained and Atreus whispered all this to his father. "The humansss have not bothered to causssse trouble to this village asss it hold no value to their plotsss and sssschemess. But for us to drive them out, both of the Ssssealing Sssstone Villagess must be taken at the sssame time. You two will do thiss… alone."
"You expect us to take two villages all by ourselves simultaneously?" Atreus asked as he was sure that his father would be capable of doing such a thing, he had performed harder tasks but him? He wasn't so sure. Then there was the whole do it at the same time thing.
"Yesss, ssshould you sssucceed then we might hold a chance at taking the Cave Village. But if we were to commit forcessss to the othersss, the lossess we would suffer would prevent any possssibility of victory later on. The Cave Village is the largest and most defended, we will need all our ssstrength to take it back." The chief explained with a cold look in his eyes that Atreus understood. He also didn't care if he or his father died in the effort but cared greatly if even one of his own people perished. This way, only Atreus and Kratos were in danger and this was not only a strategic plus, but a personal one for the chief. "Assss for why you must do thisssss at the ssssame time, if only one is taken… then the other might be dessssstroyed to prevent the cave from ever being closssed again."
"So… the stones don't open the cave, they keep it closed. That's odd." Atreus mumbled to himself. He through that it might be the other way around however that did complicate things a bit. Atreus relayed everything that had been said back to his father. The God of War went silent for a moment before nodding back down to his son his agreement with what had been said. The chief also nodded and slithered back to his pedestal. Without another word Kratos turned and left the tent with Atreus behind him. They had their mission now, and their goal here was in sight.