There wasn't a comfortable place to sin in the moon chariot. It was spartan with only a deck to stand on. A few quivers of silver arrows lined the side of the chariot along with a few spears. As nice as the chariot was Nero thought it could use a change.
"You should make it look like an Apache helicopter." Nero said.
She kept stared back at him but never said a word. She shifted her hips from side to side and nibbled at her lip. He counted seven times she brushed her red hair back when it wasn't in her way. A harsh look took appeared on her face, a gold sheen graced her cheeks, and a look of concentration settled. It all happened in the span of an hour while they flew across the bright cities below.
By the land masses and cities below he could tell they were taking a scenic route. She drummed her fingers against the side of her chariot and scowled at him. He kept his eyes trained on the city below.
"You can talk to me. Tell me anything and I'll listen." Artemis's glare intensified by a flash of silver in her eyes. She brushed another red strand back. Her face gleamed with a golden blush and she snapped the reins again.
"You're a monster." She growled.
"Yea," Nero replied.
"What have you done with Emily?" She demanded.
"She's currently sleeping in her bed at home. Unless she's playing video games all night again. From what I've heard she'd doing well in therapy." Nero said.
"You're a monster." She growled again.
"Yea," Nero replied.
"Monsters eat demigods." Artemis said.
"I'm not a Greek monster." She stared at him incomprehensively. "I'm a human monster." The confusion was clear on her face. "My skills and abilities turned me into a monster." Nero said.
"So, you aren't attracted to a demigod's scent." Artemis stated.
"If I was then it might have been easier to find Emily before she found Medusa. A shame one of her statues accidently fell on her and she asked me to put her out of her misery." Her eyes flashed silver again.
"Whatever you do, don't try that lie on Athena." Artemis said.
"Does the rest of Olympus know about my monster form?" Nero asked.
"A demoness regained her godhood and the queen of heaven returned to the heavens. Everyone saw what happened and then we lost track of her. Ten demigods disappeared before they could make it to camp." Nero wanted his notebook.
"Is there a prophecy?" He asked.
"No, my brother was attacked, and his sun chariot has been stolen. He isn't taking it well. Don't look to him for an ally. He blames you for Ishtar's return." Artemis said.
"Aphrodite does too."
"She and Ishtar have a complicated relationship."
"Are there no other sun deities out there to contend with her? Isn't your father the father of the skies? How did she even reach the sun chariot?" Nero asked.
"My brother is the strongest sun god since Sol Invictus. He inherited his power from Sol after Invictus was taken from him. Much of that domains power was stolen by the shepherd god. The wings and the halo of Sol Invictus were taken before they could pass on. Ishtar still has all of her divine items and now she has the sun chariot too." Artemis said.
"How long before the shepherd god gets involved?" Nero asked.
"That passive thing won't interfere. It'll send its foul offspring in its stead to bully even more power from us." He placed a hand on her shoulder and felt it shaking. She felt fragile and cold it might have been the altitude, but he wanted her to feel better. Nero pulled her into a hug.
"It'll be alright. I'll fight for you just point me in the right direction and I'll hunt down anything be it foreign god, monster, or an insane Shepard god. We'll defeat the queen of heaven and your brother will get his chariot back." Artemis held his hand gently for a moment before her eyes blazed silver and her cheeks shown golden.
"If you tell anyone I allowed you to hug me, I'll punish you." A smile spread across Nero's face.
"It's our business no one else's." The grip loosened.
"Good, I'd hate to have to turn you into a deer and have my hunters give chase." Artemis said.
They arrived at Olympus earlier than he'd have liked. Nero was able to keep close to her until the mountain came into view. "Wind spirits are the worst gossips." Artemis muttered before pushing him away.
"By the way if a god swears on the Styx, they must uphold that oath. Something to keep in mind. I'd recommend using this information as sparingly as possible." Strangely enough it didn't clash with his monstrous side.
People were free to swear a binding contract. Freedom to decide didn't mean freedom from consequences. For instance, when he thought about marriage it was a decision. Everything after that decision could be considered consequences. Making poorly understood choices also fell into a grey area. Using the oath to force people under his will was a hard no.
"What happens when a mortal breaks their oath?" Nero asked.
"They die. Styx is an underworld Titaness and her domain is oaths. If you break an oath on her name, then she'll strike you down." Artemis said.
She parked her chariot and suddenly grew to around 15ft tall. He let out a low wolf whistle. She backed her foot up and kicked him hard. He crashed into a nearby pillar. The old Greek marble held firm only cracking a little. Nero flopped back to the ground a little sore.
"Owe, that was a bit much." Artemis stuck her tongue out and turned her head away.
Her cheeks lit up golden again. He stepped back over to her in the blink of the eye. She held her glare firmly at him. He was sure to any wind spirit passing by she looked ready to kill him.
"What's with the height?" Nero asked.
"Its to show the difference in our stations." She let out a pained sigh. "I may have to vote against you to keep up appearances if it looks like the others will vote in your favor. You aren't the first item on todays agenda. I suggest you keep quiet until your docket is up.
Nero let himself be guided through Olympus to the throne room. There most of the Olympians had already gathered at their seats. Even Artemis sat on her silver throne of moonlight. Zeus was on his throne sitting on a donut with a a look of irritation on his face. Hera looked only a little less pleased. Poseidon sat on his coral throne with a look of agitation on his face. Bits of black mud covered a portion of his beard. It felt wrong to Nero like something was watching him from it.
Ares looked pleased as a pig in shit. Athena looked neutral and hid the bags under her eyes well. They locked eyes and Nero saw approval. That wasn't what he expected. Demeter barely glanced at him. Her focus was solely on the shining angel in the room. Apollo glared at him and hadn't stopped since he entered the room. Aphrodite gave him a wink and Hermes motioned his eyes to Zeus and smirked. Dionisius looked at him with bored eyes.
A black flash later signaled the arrival of Hades. He stepped up with his black goatee and trimmed mustache. The God of the underworld sat on a throne of skulls and glared down at the angel in the room.
In the center of the room was an angel. Steel covered this messenger from head to toe. Great steel wings folded on his back and a silver halo glowed above his head. The creature turned its head and stared at Nero.
"Lost lamb, come and rejoin the flock. You do not belong among the false idols." The words carried a every promise of reward imaginable. Behind the honeyed promises was the fear of hellfire and the infinite chains of servitude.
It backed its words with its presence. Power radiated from this creature greater than even the Olympians. It stood proud and powerful unafraid of foreign territory. This creature knew it was an apex predator among the divines. The question was, what did humans do to the apex predators of earth?
Zoos, labs, and circuses, when they found an apex predator, they put it in a cage, studied it, and showed them off to crowds. The images of angels being chained in tiny cells and screamed at by noisy school children made him shiver with pleasure on the spot. He imagined this angel in a lab under the eyes of a teams of scientists being poked and prodded to test a million theories. The thought of this Metatron being blasted out of a canon and forced to do tricks in front of a laughing cotton candy fueled crowd made him smile with genuine joy.
He felt the crawling of at least a dozen spectators in his head. Nero didn't fight it. He spread his arms wide to let them see his vision of the future. The darkness spread by a false god wouldn't blind humanity forever. There might not be many to take up the torch but surely there were others that through like him.
The Arch Angel's eyes widened in surprise. For a moment he was speechless. Nero struck.
"As with all tools mankind has created your usefulness will pass. We will no longer need a false creator god. Mankind will bring all mysteries to light, and the fear of the unknown will be conquered. We'll put away the bible and its herd teaching for good. The supermen will leave them behind. We will close the book to the darkness that is god."
"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." Metatron declared. "What has led you astray child? Surely, the world under these elder fictions hasn't corrupted you."
"Perhaps, we can discuss the reason you are here instead of the soul of one mortal." Zeus said. Nero could hear the arrogance in the elder god's voice and was glad of it. Appear strong when you are weak and appear weak when you are strong. Right now, the Olympians were weaker than normal. Apollo lost his symbol of power. That cut their power deeply.
Nero remembered the future and the thousand years of darkness the world was on the brink of. That must be god's plan. It directly interfered with the monster within. He couldn't act out yet.
Just one archangel was stronger than the twelve Olympians. How was he going to weaken their power?
"Very well fictions, we'll discuss the pretender that has taken much of the heavens. We want the master bolt and in exchange we will subdue this upstart goddess. It must make you feel uncomfortable losing half of your domain." The angel turned his eyes to each of the gods.
"My father won't give you his master bolt. We'll find this woman and put an end to her. Maybe you should turn over those halos you're so found of. Aren't demons your responsibility?" Hermes argued.
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The Angel said in a joyous voice. "The possessed never new my lord. If he had known the father and submitted, then he'd still draw breath. Even one of the hedonistic can find mercy if they ask."
"What of you queen of the gods? Your husband commits adultery against you on the daily and now your authority as queen of the heavens is challenged. He refuses to give up an outdated toy for his own wife."
"My wife has a toy you can have feather brain. Its four feet long, blunt, and black and I hear angel blood makes great lubricant." Zeus growled.
"Yes, the virgin waters. Many faithful ladies wish to gift her husband with her virginity. Does Zeus deserve your virginity?" Metatron asked. "You can have your domain and your sun chariot back for a pip line to those waters."
Nero could see the whores and porn stares going right to church, the alter, and then divorce court. Why waste time? They could just streamline the process. A miracle would pack the churches denser than before.
What can the Olympians do? If they failed to subdue Ishtar, then they lose Apollo's sun chariot. If they agree then Hera loses an important part of herself. All the while no one discussed what was Ishtar's plan. Why did she subdue the sun chariot in the first place?
Ishtar was like a mix of Aphrodite, Ares, and Athena. She was a love and war goddess. Other than a few facts he didn't know much about her. She had another personality in Inana. One of her feats was actually in the bible listed as a plague on Egypt by the god of Israel. Basically, she could turn water into blood. Then there was her power to turn even gods into water skins. She had the power to take the Mes or divine powers from other gods. Which is how the took the sun chariot to begin with. The only way he could think of to actually beat her was to trick her into the underworld.
He remembered a myth about Ishtar losing her powers in the underworld. Hades might play ball for a favor in return. Nero knew she had a grudge against him for killing her husband. He could use that. Not today and probably not for a while. Even in the underworld she might be more than he could handle. She did bat aside Zeus's lightning with ease. The power to extinguish flames might make her immune to his newly acquired black flare skill. His monster form basically multiplied his attributes by ten or more.
Bottom line killing her would be difficult. What raid monster could he kill to gain a skill strong enough to kill her. Nero stared at Metatron. Within this being was the power to destroy the Olympians. In possibly only a fraction of his power he greatly outclassed them by multiple realms of power. That's what his mana sense told him. If this fraction was this strong then how much greater was his true form? If he is this powerful then how powerful is Rafael, Gabriel, Michael, and Samuel? What of the fallen angel Lucifer or the primordial counterpart of the unholy trinity Satan?
The fact that they refused to destroy Ishtar and allowed other pantheons to exist meant something. Either they weren't quite as powerful as they presented, or they needed the other pantheons. Ishtar faded but alive in the form of Anammelech. It was another mystery. He had two more assignments to do. He'd get home after this write his report and go to the next assignment.
Author's Note: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The Greek and Syrian war is heating up. I left a clue on Poseidon if you caught it tell me in the comment it isn't too obvious or too vague I hope. Please leave a review whether you liked it or hated it feed back really helps.