Sorry for the delay with this chapter. Part of it is due to a bit of writer's block and part is due to getting distracted with other things. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and have a Happy Christmas.
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OechsnerC: Thanks.
Raidentensho: I will admit I haven't thought to have Kazu get something like 'Shifting Scale' or Triania mainly due to him not using [Promotion] very often unlike Issei does but I will have a look into the Saint Seiya stuff and see if I could potentially work something like that in somehow.
Stratos263: Yep, someone is copying and mixing events from the book and movie although there's a few tweaks here and there.
Arthanos: Sorry for the delay with this chapter.
reptoholic: Thanks, hope you enjoy this chapter.
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"" - Speech
'' - Thought
[] - Sacred Gear
[] - Albion/Dragon
{} - Metatron
{} - Communication
...
Kazuhiko let out a yawn as he left the big house the next morning, thankful for Matsu giving him a pill that would help him sleep to adjust to the time difference. It was early and the camp seemed to be sleeping for the most part aside from some jogging around the perimeter and the brunet was wondering what would happen today as he moved to a clearing and summoned [Sandalphon], starting to go through the motions of the drills Metatron had first taught him which had become part of his normal morning practice since his true nature had been revealed.
[Only should do the basics this morning seeing as we don't know what you'll end up facing at each sight of those 'Persephone's Flowers'.] Albion commented, Kazuhiko mentally nodding as he thought back 'In the books they fight Echidna and her Chimera, a Minotaur, Procrustes and the three Furies but in the movie they only fight a Minotaur, Medusa, a Hydra and three Hell-hounds. Either way, there's probably be some protections around the Flowers to avoid just anyone getting them.'
{True. I imagine Lara and Perseus will help fill in the gaps of knowledge about what you'll face.} Metatron spoke with in agreement, Kazuhiko agreeing with her as he changed weapons to [Sachiel]. He continued for the next half an hour, swapping between his weapons to practice with them as he had done when he originally learnt them from Metatron.
"Morning Kazu. I didn't think I'd be seeing you awake at this time." Lara spoke, Kazuhiko blinking and looking to the side to see her in cycling shorts, running shoes and a sports bra before he restarted his drills with Ascalon as he replied "Well, I'm use to getting up at this time and doing some simple exercises to warm up."
"So, this is warming up for you?" Lara asked surprised and impressed, watching as Kazuhiko swapped weapons once more, [Matarael] appearing in his grasp as he explained "I've got about a dozen weapons I can use not including Shirohime and I need to stay sharp with each of them should I need to use them."
"And others think I do too much between my studies, martial arts and shooting practice." Lara muttered to herself as she watched him finish, Kazuhiko dismissing the angelic weapon once he had and took the time to stretch as he spoke "Well, you can't become the best without hard work."
"You heard that, huh?" Lara spoke slightly embarrassed, Kazuhiko nodding amused as he finished and asked "Going to start your morning training?"
"Yeah. I only do a run in the mornings." Lara answered, Kazuhiko shaking his arms as he asked "Mind if I come along?"
"That's fine." Lara spoke with a smile, curious to see how she stacked up against the brunet as they both started to run.
...
"Right then." Matsu spoke as she twirled on her chair to face the trio of Kazuhiko, Lara and Perseus as she spoke "The first one I'm going to send you is at an abandoned gardening centre in Leeds Point, Southern New Jersey."
"Isn't that roughly where Medusa is in the book?" Kazuhiko asked with a raised eyebrow, Lara and Perseus looking curious as Matsu nodded with a frown, "Yeah, I didn't put it together before you mentioned that."
"That is also known as Gorgon territory." Perseus spoke up, Kazuhiko raising an eyebrow as he continued "There were more then just the three sisters in the legends."
"So, what are we dealing with? A whole tribe of them?" Lara asked with a frown, Kazuhiko raising an eyebrow as he asked "Are they going to be violent at our appearance?"
"I don't know..." Matsu spoke with a shrug, "People don't exactly come back from there."
"How come we haven't heard of that?" Perseus asked with a frown, Matsu giving him a flat look as she explained "Exactly how many of you in camp bother with information from the outside world?"
"So, how do we go find the flower then?" Lara asked curiously, Kazuhiko nodding to himself in thought as he answered "We'll have to go in stealth, my flames can hide us, and we'll just have to hope that they don't sense us or someone doesn't wander in from the street or that my flames can deflect the petrifying stare of Medusa if she's there."
"That's a lot of ifs." Lara spoke with a frown, Perseus nodding in agreement as Matsu replied "True. You'll just have to be extra careful when there then. Here, these will help you keep in contact with me and, like Kazu knows, my drones will be flying around to provide a bird's eye view on things."
Matsu handed over a trio of earpieces, Kazuhiko accepting it and putting it in his ear like usual for when he was on mission for her. Lara and Perseus soon doing the same as a magic circle lit up the floor, the redhead waving the trio onto it as she added "I'll send you about a mile away so you can avoid running into them if they are outside of the centre."
"Right." The trio spoke as they moved to stand on the circle, Matsu taking a seat at the computer before triggering it to activate.
...
"...Aunty Em's Gnome Emporium..." Kazuhiko muttered drily to himself as he looked at the abandoned gardening centre, Lara and Perseus a bit away as he filed away another coincidence into his mind.
{I think your plan of using the [Solar Flames] to provide the cover needed will assure you all get in. I can take control of such if you want.} Metatron spoke up a suggestion, Kazuhiko shaking his head as he replied 'No, I should be able to do it... but can you at least keep an eye on them to ensure I cover us all correctly.'
{Alright.} Metatron agreed, Kazuhiko giving her his thanks as Perseus spoke up "We should scout out numbers and the location of the flower first."
"I can do that." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod, creating a ball of [Mist Flames] which soon changed into a winged serpent as it took to the air. The two demigods stared as the indigo construct shimmered before disappearing, Kazuhiko closing an eye to see what it was seeing as he guided it.
"That's impressive." Lara spoke as she looked to Kazuhiko, Perseus nodding as he added "How long till that arrives?"
"A couple minutes, it depends on how much is around that I've got to hide it from." Kazuhiko answered, keeping his gaze towards the gardening centre as they waited.
[You should prepare the next part in case your flames are found out.] Albion suggested, Kazuhiko nodding as he muttered "[Arael]."
"What's wrong?" Lara asked curiously as she eyed the twelve crystal doves that started to circle around them, Perseus looking over to the brunet as well as he replied "Nothing. Just getting ready for the next part."
"Anything to can tell us, Matsu?" Perseus asked, a finger pressing onto the earpiece he had as she answered to all three of them {Looks like there's no defensive wards up around the building and looks sparsely occupied from what I can get.}
"I agree with you there. Only six Gorgons from what I can see." Kazuhiko spoke up, closing his other eye to help him focus on what he was seeing through his [Mist Flame] construct before he added "The flower is in the middle as part of a water feature for a fountain."
"Can't you just grab it now with your [Mist Flames]?" Lara asked curiously, Kazuhiko shaking his head as he answered "I could but they'd know someone stole it as soon as they turn to look at it. The amount of flames I sent wasn't enough to form a realistic replacement and bring the flower back to us and sending more might alert them if any of the guards are magic sensitive. Plus I don't know how the flower will react to being moved by [Mist Flames]."
"So, we'll have to go get it ourselves?" Perseus asked, Kazuhiko nodding as he started to command [Arael] to gather six onto both Perseus and Lara before [Solar Flames] flickered into life from ten of them as he spoke "These flames will hide us from all senses although by doing so we won't be able to communicate with each other on the fly as they'll block everything trying to pass them going towards you."
"These flames will hide us from everything?" Perseus asked dubiously, Kazuhiko nodding as he disappeared in the gold flames covered him before shimmering out of sight to demonstrate what they could do. Lara and Perseus' eyes darted around to try and spot where the brunet had gone only for Lara to jump as Kazuhiko's head appeared near by as he continued "These flames focus on [Concealment]. As such they can act as a barrier to block the senses passing them, meaning using them as a bubble will make light bend around you and act as perfect invisibility."
"The only problem is using it on multiple people means it hard for you both to keep track of each other as they work both ways." Kazuhiko added with a frown, Lara frowning herself as she looked at the crystalline birds as he added "But I'll be able to track you both due to the Angelic weapon and the fact I'm creating the flames so you'll have to trust me with them."
"How will we talk to each other if these flames are going to block everything from getting through?" Lara asked, Kazuhiko smirking as he signalled to two remaining birds which ignited in [Mist Flames] as he answered "Those will allow me to talk to you both so, realistically, I can pass messages if needed between us."
Perseus and Lara looked at those two birds as they landed on their shoulders, sharing a nod in agreement as the former spoke up "Let's go get that flower then."
...
The trio easily arrived at the front doors of the abandoned garden centre relatively easy and inside fairly easily as the doors were broken. Perseus had insisted on taking the lead due to the mirror shield he held would allow him to protect himself should the [Solar Flames] not protect him against the petrifying stares of the Gorgons. Kazuhiko was in the middle, Shirohime in the form of the [Vongola Gloves] on his hands while Lara was at the rear with one of her pistol drawn and her [Twice Critical] activate in case she needed a sudden power up.
[This seems a bit too easy.] Albion mused quietly to his host as to not affect Kazuhiko's concentration which was focused on ensuring no sign of magic was noticeable from the three bubbles as one of the Gorgon's slithered past them. A violet silk blindfold covered the Gorgon's eyes with a ruby jewel set at the middle, dark venomous green snakes formed her hair, making various hissing noises as she slithered past in a Greek-style cream dress with a wide brown belt around her waist and leather armour over her forearms and torso while a curved sword was sheathed at her hip.
{Let's start moving again.} Kazuhiko heard from Perseus, relaying the message to Lara as he moved the [Solar Flame] bubbles around them in time with their movements as they moved through the front shop portion of the gardening centre and ducked behind the counter as the Gorgon came back from the small staff office that was through a door off one side to the shop floor before heading to the greenhouse portion of the shop floor which lead into the open air portion of the shop and out into the back 'open garden' of the shop. The trio moved once the Gorgon was out of the room, thankful for the large broken window behind the counter that lead straight into the open garden as they climbed through one at a time.
The open garden was exceptionally maintained with various, at first glance, realistic statues of people dotted around only in truth these were former attackers/ trespassers going by their varying outfits and some of the weapons they held. Numerous plants were in the grounds while smooth stone paths skirted the edge in a square which had turned square of the same size on it to provide diagonal paths while four straight paths lead from the second square's corners towards a circular stone path around an elaborate stone fountain of a Gorgon who held two lengths of chains which ended in short blades while a crystal flower was resting between the statue's breasts and elegant dress.
{That must be a reminder about Medusa...} Metatron mused thoughtfully, Kazuhiko frowning as he spoke to the pair "There's the flower. Let's keep on the paths."
{A guard's coming. Right side.} Lara pointed out, drawing attention to the Gorgon slithering towards them along the outer square's path. The trio started to walk towards the path leading to the fountain in the hopes of the Gorgon would continue to patrol the outskirts with the three others that had been spotted. This turned out to be the case as Perseus reached the edge of the fountain first and wasted little time jumping in despite Kazuhiko's protest "Hold on! The water is going to show your position."
{It should be fine. I'll only be here a few seconds.} Perseus replied, waving off the brunet's concern as he moved to grab the crystal flower.
{I can't believe he got impatient now.} Lara muttered annoyed, Kazuhiko gritted his teeth as he forced the [Mist Flames], that still lingered into the air to expand, covering the whole fountain in an illusion to conceal what was happening inside.
[I got them.] Albion spoke up, Kazuhiko feeling the strain lessen as the dragon took control of his [Mist Flames] that were stretched thin over the fountain as Perseus grabbed the crystal flower.
'Albion. Once he's out of the water pool the [Mist Flames] together to make a crude copy of the flower so we can avoid any alarms being raised.' Kazuhiko thought to Albion, getting a nod from the dragon as he shifted his gaze to check that the guards weren't noticing what was going on before letting out a relieved sigh.
{Got it. Let's go.} Perseus spoke pleased, Kazuhiko turning to see him hop out of the fountain and take the lead once more. The brunet let his gaze linger for a moment to see Albion form a copy of the crystal flower on the statue before turning to help guide the pair out of gardening centre.
...
"I can't believe you Perseus!" Lara started to scold the Hero descendant once they had been transported back to the Big House, "We were trying to be stealthy and you have to go and decide to get impatient at the final hurdle. What would have happened if they had noticed the rise in water level or if Kazu hadn't covered the fountain in an illusion when he was already working to hide us from those Gorgons' senses and providing us a means to see and communicate with each other."
Kazuhiko sighed as he sat back in a seat next to Matsu, watching her check over the 'Persephone's flower' to ensure it wasn't damaged, as he tried to get his headache to dull. He hoped the next one wasn't going to need him to be as mentally taxing for him as it was the main reason he had trouble using multiple flames in such a complex manner even with Metatron and Albion's help.
"I'm sorry. Its just when we got to the fountain and the guards were just patrolling the edges I figured none of them would spot me with Kazu's flames at work." Perseus replied, holding his hands up in surrender to Lara who still scowled at the young man.
"Tell me that's the real thing, Matsu?" Kazuhiko asked in a hopeful tone, "I'd rather not have to use my flames to that complexity any more today without a break."
"Yep. This is the real one." Matsu spoke with a grin before tossing a vial to the brunet as she added "That'll deal with the headache."
"Thanks." Kazuhiko replied with a nod, catching the vial easily and downing its contents. He sighed as his headache subsided before turning his attention onto both Perseus and Lara before he spoke sternly to the former "Next time you try something like that, I'll leave you to handle things on your own."
"R-Right." Perseus gulped nervously as he nodded, Lara smiling pleased as she approached Kazuhiko and asked "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine now Matsu gave me this." Kazuhiko answered with a nod, holding up the vial for her to see before Matsu spoke up, "The next flower is at... the Parthenon."
"Seriously!?" The trio asked surprised, Matsu nodding as she added "I've already scanned the area and there's no sign of a Hydra."
"That's good." Lara spoke with a sigh, Kazuhiko agreeing with a nod as he added "I doubt I could kill a Hydra without some trouble."
"How many people are about?" Perseus asked with a frown, Matsu looking sheepish as she replied "Too many for you to search about without drawing attention."
"Why don't we leave that one to later, after the museum closes, and go after the other one now?" Lara suggested to the others, getting a nod from Kazuhiko and Matsu as she explained while looking to Perseus "If we go now and its as protected as the first one innocent people could be involved or injured from whatever fight breaks out."
"That makes sense." Perseus spoke with a nod, Kazuhiko looking to where Matsu was tapping away on the computer as he asked "Is the last one not in Vegas by any chance?"
"I'm afraid it is, Kaz-tan." Matsu spoke with a chuckle, Kazuhiko sighing as Perseus frowning as he asked "What's wrong with Vegas?"
"The house of the Lotus-Eaters is there in the book and film." Lara spoke with a frown, Perseus blinking in surprise as he asked "What's wrong with that? It's not like any of us is going to get caught up in their powers."
"You and I might have a easier time of it but Kazuhiko is part Dragon." Lara answered the hero descendant before sighing as she added "He's got stronger senses then either of us so any lotus smell there is going to have a stronger effect on him."
"Here Kaz-tan, these'll block the smell out and they'll blend in to avoid people catching sight of them." Matsu spoke, holding out a pair of clear looking nose plugs for him to take as he thanked her. Matsu passing another another pair to both Lara and Perseus for them to use.
"Maybe we should eat some lunch first." Perseus tried to suggest only to be dragged over to the magic circle by Lara and Kazuhiko, Matsu smirking and using her magic to change Perseus' clothes so he would blend in better in Vegas before it flashed to transport them away.
...
Heracles let out a roar of anger as he swung a fist at the thick trunk of the tree in front of him, watching it explode under the power of his [Sacred Gear] and only destroying half of the tree started to buckle under its weakened trunk as he spat "How could that bastard of a pipsqueak defeat me without having to use his full power?"
Heracles seemed to ignore the tree that was starting to fall towards him before he threw his other fist upwards causing the rest to explode and scatter wood shards around with those that struck him bouncing off his tough skin as he added "I'm the descendant of Heracles and he's nothing special... He should have at least needed his [Longinus] to defeat me, even when I used my [Balance Break] against him, not some stupid magic based on some damn Japanese cartoon."
A few of the demigods had pointed out that last fact to him while mocking him for letting himself lose his cool against the brunet when they had seen the video of the fight. He'd even heard the truth about Kazuhiko's nature through a group of Athena's demigods searching the Devil-Net and started to share that information with a few others, Heracles being lucky to overhear it, and it had told him one thing: Kazuhiko Yuuki was a monster in human form, and Heracles was supposed to be good at slaying monsters like his ancestor.
Heracles turned at the sound of bushes rustling, his guard up as a handsome young man with short black hair and blue eyes stepped out with a smile. He was wearing a Japanese gakuran and ancient Chinese attire and an ornate spear with a dark blue rod and featured golden metal decorations, in the shapes of arrow tips, that spiral around in a double helix pattern. The decorations finish at the top of the rod of the spear which features a white circle, which is completely empty, and has a cross that fills in the circle, but not completely. There is a small silver stump which features four protrusions, two on the left and the other two on the right. The tip of the spear is silver, and similar to the rod of the spear is longer than other types of spears.
...
The trio of Kazuhiko, Lara and Perseus had appeared on the outskirts of Las Vegas due to the wide array of cameras that would easily pick them up should they use a transportation circle to get closer. So far, it had taken them about an hour of walking to get onto the Las Vegas strip and now they were only about ten minutes to finding the 'Lotus Casino and Hotel' which was home for the Lotus Eaters.
"Woah..." Perseus spoke as he looked around at all the flashing lights and displays around, walking behind Kazuhiko and Lara as the latter lead the way as she retorted "Just the next left and we should find it."
"Keep up Perseus." Kazuhiko spoke with a sigh as he looked back at the Hero descendant, Lara looking at the brunet amused as she commented "It's his first time in Vegas although I'm surprised you're not staring about either."
"Well, its interesting but we've got more important matters to attend to." Kazuhiko pointed out, Lara nodding in understanding as they continued walking before she suggested "Maybe I can show you around once all this mess has blown over?"
Kazuhiko blinked in surprise at hearing Lara hopeful tone before nodding as he replied "That would be nice. I could show you around Akihabara, if you want?"
"I'd like that." Lara spoke with a nod, brushing a few bangs back and smiling to him as they came to a stop outside of the Lotus Casino and Hotel.
[Looks like a new contender has made herself known.] Kazuhiko mentally rolled his eyes at hearing the chuckles coming from Albion, pretty sure he'd hear Yu call him a playboy when he retold the story as they got back.
Kazuhiko's eyes widened as he caught sight of a familiar red haired woman walk past them without stopping, looking skinnier then he remembered and dressed in clothes that make her look like some sort of hooker while her blue eyes were glazed over.
{Kazu...} Metatron spoke softly with concern, equally shocked that they would see Kazuhiko's mother here as the brunet swallowing a sudden rise of bile as he thought back to her 'That woman who called herself my mother chose her path already, Metatron...'
"Are you alright, Kazu?" Lara asked with concern, Kazuhiko nodding as he replied "Yeah, I'm fine. Just the smell is a bit much for me."
Perseus and Lara shared a concerned look as Kazuhiko's response as he put the nose-plugs in, hoping that the smell wouldn't be that strong to affect them. The hybrid was thankful that they disappeared once in place to avoid drawing attention while relieved that the pair seemed to accept his excuse as he twitched his nose to get use to it being blocked as he spoke "Let's hurry up and get this flower."
Unnoticed by the trio was the redhead's gaze drifting towards where they had once stood wondering why one of the young men seemed so familiar to her.
...
"Welcome to the Lotus Casino and Hotel." The woman just inside the entrance greeted the trio as they entered the building. Kazuhiko letting his gaze shift quickly to scan their surroundings as they moved onto the large casino floor and past the check in desk.
"Would you like an hors d'oeuvre?" A waitress asked Lara, the brunette shaking her head as she replied "No thank you."
"Nah, I'm good." Perseus added before Kazuhiko realised the waitress was waiting for his response as well as he replied "I'm not hungry."
The waitress nodded, expertly hiding her disappointment, before heading towards another group of people as Perseus muttered "So, have you seen the flower, Kazu?"
Kazuhiko and Lara shot him an annoyed look at his causal mention of the reason why they were here as Lara hissed at him "We're trying not to draw the Lotus Eaters on us for being aware of things."
"Sorry... But some of those games look really interesting and just figured we should get this done quickly." Perseus admitted sheepishly, Kazuhiko sighing as he retorted "It'll take as long as it does. They aren't going to let us use beyond human abilities to search this place without pouncing on us to either kick us out or try and ensure we stay here. As normal to them we avoid the extra attention drawn to us and there is bound to be people who have wandered in and still got out for not being interested in what games are here."
"Right." Perseus spoke with a nod before Lara added "Let's split up to make this search quicker."
With a nod from the two young men, the trio headed off in different directions to look for the 'Persephone Flower' within the building.
...
Perseus wandered into a large hall filled with various arcade machines as he looked for the flower, his eyes lingering on some of the games and the people from various eras sat at them, mindlessly playing them. It just showed to him that the Lotus Eaters had been working on this for a long time as he walked down the row, glancing around while politely declining food from the small group of waitresses that were milling around serving the entranced players with little concern.
'Now where would I put the flower if I was a Persephone.' Perseus thought to himself as he continued to walk as he added 'Actually, why would she put one in here...'
Perseus shook his head deciding to not think about it now lest he get distracted from his job here as he discretely moved to check the various flower arrangements in the open room.
...
Lara clenched her jaw as she turned away another waitress trying to give her a drink, claiming that it came from one of the enthralled men in the nightclub area she had decided to look in. She hadn't expected that the effect of the Lotus Eaters would still let them keep a portion of their minds enough to flirt with her when those in the other rooms she had passed by were completely enthralled with the games they were playing.
'I suppose having the extra lotuses in here as well just adds to their power here to influence the people here.' Lara thought to herself, thankful that the nose plugs did their job otherwise she might get overwhelmed by the scent which was thicker in the room to induce the non-stop party atmosphere there. There was even people from various times in history which just made the situation all the more strange for her.
'Best not to get distracted from searching otherwise they might just realise I'm not under the effects of their powers and try a more forceful measure.' Lara mentally reminded herself, resolving to redouble her search.
...
Kazuhiko bit back at the growing urge to just level the whole building at seeing all the people who had been trapped by the Lotus Eaters as he walked around the various card and roulette tables.
[It's a shame that the flowers don't give off a magical signature as we could easy search for without a load of tech.] Albion huffed annoyed, Kazuhiko mentally agreeing as he tried to discretely check another hanging basket of plants, 'It would make this a lot easier, Albion.'
{I wish we could help all these people.} Metatron spoke with a sigh, Kazuhiko nodding as he thought back 'I do as well but we don't know if its even possible to wake them up, let alone how we would go about evacuating them while keeping the Lotus Eaters from stopping us.'
"Would you like something to eat?" A waitress asked, Kazuhiko shaking his head politely as he walked past her. He paused at a roulette table to watch the group play for a few minutes before discretely observing the nearby plants. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the Persephone Flower peeking out of one of the giant hanging baskets that were attached to the ceiling and easily out of reach without using [Divine Dividing] or his flames to get up there.
'Ah... Fuck.' Kazuhiko cursed mentally, wondering how he would get it out without drawing.
[I think we'll just have to trigger this trap if we want to grab it.] Albion commented, Metatron quick to add {Need to also alert the others as well before you get it but I'm not sure if the Lotus Eaters will notice your magic.}
'We'll just have to find out then.' Kazuhiko thought to himself, letting his gaze wander around the room to see who was keeping track of him before hiding his hand under the nearby roulette table before creating a pair of [Mist Flame] mice which quickly scampered off down the leg before turning invisible.
Kazuhiko's eyes darted around once more before relaxing slightly at seeing no one react to his use of magic, concealed as it was, meaning they didn't seem to be able to sense when it was used. He frowned slightly as he waited for Lara and Perseus to arrive, wondering why that was the case, 'It doesn't make sense that they wouldn't be able to sense magic. They obviously use it with the aroma of the lotuses to ensnare people's minds but are they just amateurs or is the air so saturated with magic that minor spells are concealed by it.'
[I'm betting on the former.] Albion muttered thoughtfully, [They seem more annoyed at your continual ignoring of their offers of food and drink then anything else. Plus there's nothing really mentioned about what there plans were beyond just trapping people.]
{I agree with Albion. If they were sensors they would have picked up your power and not let you in given the risk to their whole operation.} Metatron pointed out, Kazuhiko nodding in agreement as he spotted his teammates as the Archangel added, {As for what they are trying to do here... I'm not sure what they are planning beyond possibly keeping themselves secret.}
"Hey." Lara spoke softly, Kazuhiko smiling to her as he replied "Hey, I found the flower."
"Sweet. Let's grab it and go." Perseus spoke as he and Lara looked up at where Kazuhiko was signalling only for Lara and Kazuhiko to shake their heads as the latter spoke "I don't know how they'll react to us moving to grab it... Of course, Shirohime."
"What?" Perseus and Lara asked as a noise came from inside Kazuhiko's pocket, the serpent dragon popping her head out to look around as the brunet explained "We'll head towards the exit once more and I'll have Shirohime here grab the flower and make her escape."
"Right." The pair replied with nods of agreement with the plan. The three of the young adults started to move back towards the lobby and instantly noticed the movement of the waitresses in attempting to intercept them as Kazuhiko urged "Run... Shi."
Shirohime leapt out of the pocket towards the flower, not noticed by the Lotus Eaters as Kazuhiko, Lara and Perseus broke into a run, the former of the trio throwing a hand up as he brought up the rear and added "Don't look back."
Kazuhiko threw a hand skywards, making a ball of bright gold [Solar Flames] appear above it as he closed his eyes and called out "Solar Flare!"
A blinding flash erupted from the fireball, hindering all of their pursuers as the [Solar Flames] briefly blocked their sights as it rapidly expanded. Kazuhiko using the chance to rush after the running pair into the sparsely populated lobby, only pausing to hold the door open for a few moments before Shirohime soared through the air with the flower in her mouth and dove into one of the brunet's pockets.
...
"And that's number two." Matsu spoke with a grin to the trio, setting the second Persephone flower down next to the first one.
"The nose plugs worked perfectly, Matsu, thanks." Kazuhiko replied, setting them down on the nearby table while rubbing his nose as Lara and Perseus took out their own.
"That just leaves us with the Parthenon then." Perseus spoke with a relieved sigh, Lara nodding in agreement as Matsu spoke up "You've got some time before the place would close so go relax for a bit and I'll call you later."
The two demigods left, leaving Kazuhiko and Matsu standing there as the latter turned to him as she asked concerned "Want to talk about it?"
"There's not much to talk about, Matsu." Kazuhiko answered with a sigh, "She was the one who ran away in the first place and I don't intend to inadvertently offer her a way out of her choice. Plus, Tou-san doesn't need the trouble now that he's finally managing to move on from her."
"That's alright. I understand what you mean." Matsu spoke up with a understanding nod. She could easily see Kazuhiko's point given how his mother had looked and acted from what she had observed after the trio had went into the Lotus Eaters' den and it painted the picture of a woman who had lost it all due to her choices which had started with her leaving the brunet and his father. She wasn't going to tell the brunet that his mother had recognised him once he had passed her for a second time but hadn't been able to keep up with the rushing trio as they moved to a secluded area to teleport back.
...
Kazuhiko sighed softly as he dropped the illusions as the Parthenon closed for the day, Lara and Perseus shifting from their uncomfortable location in a small broom closet. They had wandered in about two hours before closing to search around for the Persephone Flower before slipping away from the cameras only to be replaced by [Mist Flame] copies which left.
"Great. We're in but how do we get out of a locked broom closet." Perseus spoke with a frown, Kazuhiko and Lara rolling their eyes as the former moved towards the door and pointed a finger at the lock as he intoned "Alohamora"
The click of the lock shocked the other two of the trio as Kazuhiko looked back at them and retorted "Just cause I mainly use flames doesn't mean I haven't decided to pick up some other useful magics. I would have thought someone at the camp would have done something the same."
"No one ever has really..." Lara admitted embarrassed as Kazuhiko opened the door and looked around to see if anyone was about before signalling for them to follow as Perseus added, "We mostly stick to our strengths and rely on magic to hide the fights that occur around people."
"I suppose it would be harder to do without [Devil Magic] as you'd have to work out the spell rather then using imagination like Devils and Angels need to." Kazuhiko thought to himself aloud, Lara nodding as she took the lead and drew one of her pistols. The brunet watched as she slid out the magazine before replacing it with one that had yellow runes faintly glowing on the bullets before she answered "Stun bullets. I'd rather not accidentally hurt one of the guards while we're here."
"Good." Kazuhiko muttered with a nod, lifting up his hands up slightly as he added "Shi."
The serpent dragon nodded before morphing into Xanxus' [Dying Will Guns] easily, drawing an amused raised eyebrow from Lara before the trio started to slowly moving again as Perseus whispered "Let's get back to the statue of Athena, grab the flower and get out of here."
With nods from the other two, the trio made a start towards the hall with the giant statue in, running into two guards that Lara easily knocked out with her special bullets. Kazuhiko took out one guard himself with a [Rain Flame] bullet from one of his own guns before they arrived at the large hall.
"So, how do we get it down? We'll have to do it carefully lest we damage her bust." Perseus asked curiously, Kazuhiko and Lara sharing a disbelieving look before the former retorted "I can just fly up there, you know?"
"Ah, right." Perseus spoke sheepishly, Kazuhiko activating [Divine Dividing] and taking to the air before hovering before the bust of the giant statue where the flower was set in a round pendant situated there.
"Look out, Kazu!" Lara called urgently, Kazuhiko turning only to be surprised as a bronze spear flew at him as he managed to bat it away with a swipe of his arm. Below them was dozens of bronze looking, metal soldiers wielding Greek weapons coming out from behind several pillars, Kazuhiko staring surprised as he asked "What are they doing here?"
"I don't know. Just grab the flower and we can go." Perseus spoke up, using magic to arm himself with Harpe and his mirrored shield while Lara activated her [Twice Critical], after holstering her pistols, and adopted a fighter's stance as she added "We'll cover you as best as we can."
Kazuhiko nodded, turning back to grab the flower only for the sounds of 'twangs' and 'whooshes' to fill the air as he muttered "[Limit Break]. [Arael] Lightning Barrier."
The crystalline birds appeared in a circle behind Kazuhiko as he slipped into his powered up form before the [Lightning Flames] sparked into life to form the barrier that stopped a hail of arrows fired from the metal soldiers on the upper floor. A second volley struck the barrier as Kazuhiko managed to remove the flower, an glance down to Lara and Perseus showed that they were handling their own enemies alright with Lara even disarming a spearman and using it against a couple swordsmen skilfully while Perseus knocked a swordsman back with his shield before turning to cleave another swordsman in half with his sword.
"I got it!" Kazuhiko called, dropping his barrier after another volley of arrows before mentally ordering the angelic weapon to spread out and fire arrows of [Storm Flames] to destroy the archers as he dove towards a group of swordsmen and swung a fist to punch off the bronze head of one of them. Shirohime turned into [White Fang] as Kazuhiko moved his other hand to block a blade aimed at him, activating [Divider] to cut through sword and wielder in one go.
A blazing [Sky Flame] covered fist punched a hole into a swordsman who had brought its round shield up to defend itself before Kazuhiko found that the first swordsman he had defeated had stood back up, sans head, and charged back in to the brawl.
[Boost] The call signalled Lara to swing a spin kick that sent three swordsmen flying with caved in chests before fluidly going to deflect a spear thrust at her. The spear being sent off course provided the perfect opening for Lara to slam a fist into the spearman's body and send him flying with a caved chest as she muttered "How can these things keep getting back up despite all the damages?"
"They must be Hephaestus' work..." Perseus spoke as he cut an arm off one swordsman before blocking three spears aimed at him from behind as Kazuhiko pointed out "He wouldn't put these things here to get in the way. Someone must have hijacked them somehow to act as guards here."
[Wonder why Matsu hasn't spoken up by now.] Albion pondered aloud, Kazuhiko's eyes narrowing as he pressed a finger against the earpiece and spoke "Matsu, are you there?"
At not getting any response from the young woman, Kazuhiko frowned as he spoke to the pair "Someone must be blocking our communication. Push the soldiers into my flames and we should be able to deal with these easily."
"Right." Perseus and Lara called out, focusing on working their way through the swarm of soldiers as Kazuhiko switched to [Leliel] and coating them in his flames so they could function as both a defence and attack. This he demonstrated as he sent four of the eight Chakram, each covered in [Storm Flames], flying into the crowd and cut apart several of their enemies while the other half, covered in [Lightning Flames] flew to block attacks aimed at one of the trio.
More soldiers fell as the Chakrams flew around, Perseus bashing back the target in front of him with his shield so its body could be cut in two vertically by the one covered in [Lightning Flames] as it flew past. His sword swung moments later behind him to deflect a spear aimed at his back, easily pushing back his attacker with a kick before his eyes widened at seeing a giant [Storm Flame] lion stomp down on the repairing soldier before him.
"Nice kittie..." Perseus spoke warily at seeing the lion turn its gaze onto him for a moment , only to duck as it pounced over him to land on the growing crowd behind him and starting to tear them to shreds with its claws before he called out to Kazuhiko "Hey! You could at least have told me to move."
"If you didn't get distracted it wouldn't have had to do such a thing." Kazuhiko answered, holding a boulder sized ball of [Storm Flames] above his head with one hand as he cast "Impatiens: Storm."
The flames quickly broke apart into a giant flock of crow-sized birds that amazed both Perseus and Lara as they split up to take out the remaining archers and those on the outskirts of the quickly dwindling group of bronze soldiers. Lara sent him a grateful look as she tapped into her second [Boost], increasing her power once more as she easily performed a judo throw so a spearman flew into the spinning, red flamed Chakram that cleaved the soldier in half while the flames finished destroying the remains of it.
The tide of the battle turned with the murder of crows, bronze soldiers being tore to shreds by them as the [Storm Flames] helped make the job easier while the Chakrams worked to protect the trio even as they fought other soldiers with some of them getting sent skywards and into small groups of [Storm] crows or pounced on by the [Storm] lion.
"Are you two alright?" Kazuhiko asked with a huff as he watched his constructs move to destroy the pieces of their attackers before they could try and stitch themselves back together, dismissing [Leliel] and [Divine Dividing]. He kept his [Limit Break] active to help control the numerous creatures while also giving both Lara and Perseus a sweeping look to see if they had got any injuries.
"I'm fine." Perseus groaned tiredly from where he had lay down, sword and shield at his sides.
"I think I'm fine, Kazu." Lara admitted slightly breathless as she dismissed her [Twice Critical], brushing back a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she smiled to the brunet. Kazuhiko was glad his powered up state kept him calm as she still looked gorgeous with a thin sheen of sweat on her skin and even her tank top slightly damp and clinging more to her curves.
'That must be a skill of Aphrodite.' Kazuhiko absently thought, shaking his head slightly at the snort of amusement that he heard from Albion as Lara asked "Any injuries?"
"No, I'm fine." He replied with a small smile.
"Its odd though..." Lara started, turning to look at the large room they had fought in, "Those bronze soldiers are definitely Hephaestus' work but I wouldn't think they could be so easily controlled by anyone unless he let them."
"Maybe they were a gift to someone? A training tool?" Kazuhiko asked curiously, Lara humming in thought as she nodded "That makes the most sense, but for who?"
{Hey, are you three alright?} Matsu spoke in an urgent tone, Kazuhiko letting out a breathe as he replied "We're fine, Matsu."
{What happened? All my cameras just stopped transmitting and even now I can't seem to get a signal from them.} Matsu asked concerned, Lara pressing a finger to her own earpiece as she spoke "It's probably best we explain this in person just in case someone tries to cut us off once more. But don't worry we have the flower."
{That's good.} Matsu spoke with a sigh, {Come back right now then.}
"Will do. Just need to make sure the Parthenon isn't damaged." Kazuhiko retorted with a nod while seeing Perseus getting back to his feet.
The Draphalem dismissed the lion now that there wasn't any remains before taking a moment to glance around for any damages before changing the flames that fuelled the crows from [Storm] to [Star] and giving them one last order to undo the damage to the giant room.
...
Author's Note
Here's the next chapter. Can't think of much to add here so hope you enjoyed it and have a Happy Christmas.