Chapter 12: Countdown to Apocalypse

Horatius

"Shouldn't we be in sight of this supposed 'End of the World' by now? We've been traveling for awhile and these Vimanas are pretty fast."

Dulio lightly shrugs from where he's perusing an old map, glancing out over the passing landscape and comparing it to the parchment and drawings that wouldn't look out of place on the set of Treasure Island.

"It's hard to say...not many people survey these lands with any kind of regularity and I'm attempting to work off of very vague landmarks, the most recent of which dates back almost three hundred years."

A quick succession of golden flashes and kinetic cracks serve to punctuate his sentence, some manner of headless and leathery avian creature tumbling from the sky, perforated by almost a dozen swords, spears and axes from the Gate of Babylon.

"Yeah, I can see why people don't come out this way very often. What is that, the twelfth creature in as many minutes?"

"Less, actually."

Gilgamesh strides up alongside me with an irritated air, snatching the map from the blonde-haired man before scanning it thoroughly with her crimson orbs...and just as quickly huffs, handing it back to the amused individual with a grumpy expression.

"That is less a map than it is the mad scribbles of a drunken child. There is not even a legend."

"I wouldn't discount such a comparison, the pioneers who explored this deep into the Underworld were quite the eccentric lot, to say the least."

"Considering they would have to worry about being eaten by crazy demon birds every step of the way I believe that statement wholeheartedly."

Turning back to his 'map' with the air of a resigned parent dealing with a particularly stubborn child Dulio began to once more compare it with the rapidly passing landscape, trying in vain to ascertain just where, exactly, we are in relation to our goal.

Sighing to myself I turn towards the still teenaged Queen of Heroes, the Heroic Spirit lost in thought before I ask, "Well? Divine knowledge offering any hints as to where we should go or what we should do? How about tossing the bone dice once more? And don't you have some manner of potion or elixir or Phantasm that will restore you to your normal age? I've been a parent in the past so having a youth at my side isn't anything new, just mildly awkward."

The Queen of Uruk sends an irritated glance my way at the deluge of questions before shrugging, responding in kind, "My foresight and divine providence has little effect on a world in which I did not rule or become conceived in. And the Knucklebones of Fate cannot be cast more than once for a period of approximately two years, five months, one week and five days."

"Umm...why that amount of time, specifically?"

"Likely because it was based off of the Dragon's sleep cycles, being connected to the realm of dreams and precognition, among other considerations. They were gifted to me by traveling fortune tellers staying within my city, as is only natural."

"Wouldn't be the strangest of conditions I've seen for a Supernatural item..."

That dubious pleasure goes to a cursed hammer that possessed the ability to kill any being it came into contact with—even divinity seemed to be fair game, which is actually rather terrifying—as long as the one who wished to commit said homicide killed themselves with it first and then ensured the hammer made contact with their target.

...Doable, until the Magus that owned it found notes along the corpse of the last owner that specifically stated only the two involved in the complicated form of suicide could be affected within a limited time frame of two minutes.

Long story short, you had to somehow kill yourself with the hammer then make sure it made contact with your target without the use of a proxy in less time than it takes to microwave eggs.

Manage that and I'm fairly certain the Throne of Heroes accepts you merely on principle.

"As for why I remain in this undignified form? The more valuable items in my treasury are not unlimited or self-restocking unless I was to return to the Throne of Heroes. Until a means of creating them anew presents itself it would be wise to ration my horde unless absolutely needed. Rest assured, as more of my power is restored the Elixir of Youth can be negated as I wish."

A smug smirk is sent my way.

"Do you not find a fresh and youthful beauty like myself in this form attractive, gladiator? You hail from a time when many were wed and bedded at similar ages~."

It's my turn to shrug, blandly replying, "I like my women a bit taller and more mature. Sorry."

A scoff of irritation leaves the Queen (is she coming onto me? There's a frightening thought) as she mutters, "You speak of maturity yet you give the King of Combat such intense gazes when she lacks more, shall we say, womanly appeal."

"There's more to a woman's allure and attractiveness than the size of her chest, Gilgamesh."

"I did not imply otherwise!"

"You actually did."

"Tch!"

A small smile tilts my lips upwards at Gilgamesh's petulant response, amused at her irritation. Strange that she's so sensitive about the matter, having seen her in her adult form she definitely has nothing to fear.

Then again, I've never been Queen of the World. If someone blatantly said they weren't interested because of a matter outside of my control—when I'd been previously desired the realms over—I'd probably be annoyed too.

"Good! You would have made a fine student of mine, young Vali. And gotten along quite famously with a certain Hound of Ireland, provided neither of you killed the other during a spar..."

The golden-haired Heroic Spirit and I walk past the control throne, watching Scáthach manhandle Vali Lucifer around the bow of the Vimana like yesterday's groceries.

Which is actually a sight better than most would manage, the kid's a damned natural. People that can have the Lord of Spirits gleefully engaging them in hand-to-hand with nothing but praise left over are few and far inbetween.

"Heh, that's nothing. What else can you teach me?"

Rising to his feet in seeming ignorance of his split lip and bruised cheek the young man eagerly faces Scáthach and inquires about her next lesson, the maroon-haired hero calmly matching his enthusiasm with proper instruction as she goes about tapping the inside of his leg or arms at certain points, playful smirk adorning her lips the entire time.

Uh oh, I know that look. She's sizing up a particular cut of meat she would like to see on her dining table, consent of aforementioned steak not required.

Should I tell the boy that he's in trouble if we're all still alive after this? Scáthach is nothing if not driven when it comes to taking prospective students and turning them into legends or corpses along the path to success, good luck telling her no.

"Have you discerned any hint of our quarry's location, Master?"

I give the now awake Altera a long suffering look, both at her forgetfulness in not calling me by my name as well as the sight of Lilith cradled warmly in her arms, the sentient slice of armageddon possessively clinging to the Heroic Spirit like an admittedly adorable sloth.

"Nothing yet. Dulio is trying to work his way through the maps but I wouldn't hold my breath on that front. What about the munchkin, any luck with sensing our target through her?"

My pointed glare towards Lilith has the facet of Ouroboros Dragon snuggling tighter into Altera's arms—dammit, that's the exact opposite of what I wanted to happen—before quietly responding, "No, there is no scent, no trail..."

There goes that plan…

"What about you, Tobio? Any hints as to what and where we should look for?"

The dark-haired young man walks up shaking his head, light of what I'm assuming was some kind of communication spell fading from his hand.

"Unfortunately not, Horatius-san. I just finished speaking with Azazel-sama and the rest, they don't have any specific clues or leads as to where the Trihexa is hiding, only that it's in this general area."

"Swell. Hey, Queen of Heroes. Bombard the area and hope we wake something up?"

"A splendid idea. Allow me to just waste my irreplaceable treasures because you detest the idea of basic investigation."

"In this case basic investigation is literally combing the metaphorical desert. Such a scenario would be vastly expedited by judicious amounts of explosives, reducing the haystack to ashes and exposing the needle."

Crimson orbs twitch in irritation.

"You cannot literally comb a metaphor, you words are contradictory. And a needle would be much harder to find among ashes, as it is the same color."

"You most certainly can comb a metaphor, the mention of 'literally' means just that. And it's far easier to find a needle among ashes as ashes are fear easier to sift through than straw-"

"Erm, Horatius-san, Gilgamesh-san? Not to interrupt but should we not begin our search, if time is of the essence? We still don't know where, exactly, Rizevim and his allies have disappeared to."

The Queen of Heroes and I share a glance.

"Saved by the polite young man. How lucky for you, Gladiator."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Queen of Heroes."

"Yet the fact remains that my ability to lay waste to vast swathes of the land mean nothing when we do not even know where to begin such a process. Nor if our quarry is even held within an easily accessible physical plane. I could reduce endless tract of this landscape to naught but cinders yet accomplish nothing if the goal of our quest is sequestered away with space-altering magics."

"...I hate it when people other than me are right."

"You must spend a great deal of your time in a perpetual state of hatred, Gladiator."

Ignoring the Queen of Hero's snark I glance towards where Scáthach and Vali are rejoining us, asking, "What about you? Any brainstorms?"

"None that may offer us any more advantages than the ones we already possess. My attempt at locating any significant source of power has proven fruitless."

"Albion and I have had similar results."

Neither of them offer any good news as I resist the urge to sigh in frustration.

I honestly kinda miss the demon spider things from the last world we had to visit. At least they had the decency to be blatant about their desire to eat and kill us all. None of this hiding or sneaking around crap.

"Master, should you not use your and Irappu's power to locate this adversary? Perhaps a being of similar nature will be able to discern its place of resting."

Altera's solution would have merit, except for one annoying fact.

"Ordinarily I would agree, but...if the munchkin over there can't sense anything and she's some kind of transcendent primordial being—or at least a facet of one—then I wouldn't count on Irappu having much luck. Just because what we're looking for is one of the most terrifying and notorious Supernatural beings across a wide variety of histories doesn't mean we'll be able to find it if it's being sneaky about the whole deal."

"If you say so?"

Tobio's cautious confirmation of my words precludes a frustrated glance at our surroundings, unsure of how to go about finishing the rest of our mission without wasting a ton of time that we may or may not have.

"There, my love..."

My body tenses, blood running cold as soft arms and a curvaceous body presses up against mine, delicate finger extending in a seemingly arbitrary destination.

"Your prey rests beyond the horizon."

"What do you-"

And then she's gone once more.

"Horatius?"

Fucking...how is she doing this, communicating with me with seemingly no difficulties whatsoever? Has she found a way to escape the prison without outside help? I thought this was-

"Horatius!"

Scáthach's worried tone and strong grasp on my shoulder snaps me out of my spiral of thoughts, the Lord of Spirits offering me a look of understanding as I blink away the vestiges of Tiamat's most recent appearance.

"Sorry, I'm fine. Irappu got a whiff of something-"

"You've been speaking with her, haven't you?"

Any form of protest dies in my throat as Altera quietly speaks her thoughts, Scáthach also giving me a knowing expression as Gilgamesh clarifies the situation with, "You suddenly smelt of the sea and vestiges of divine power, Gladiator. And you wore the same expression that was held during your tale of time spent with the Primordial Goddess."

"...I don't know what's happening. She just started showing up before me and offering cryptic warnings after the battle with Hades. Just now she pointed me towards where Trihexa is supposedly located. You haven't seen her, I take it?"

All present shake their heads, Gilgamesh being the most obviously displeased as her face sours, tone cold as she states, "You should not allow her such easy access, Gladiator. However the mad Goddess is communicating with you could be a potential vector of entry into the outside world-"

"I know. But I haven't allowed or agreed to anything, she's coming and going as she pleases...and her body is real, at least to my perceptions."

"I would advise against allowing such a base desire to cloud your judgement, Gladiator."

Real annoyance pinches my expression, rounding on the Queen of Uruk until Scáthach places herself between us, calmly stating, "Enough. We have more to worry about than past transgressions and tragedies. The current situation is thus...do we follow the Mother Earth Goddess's advice or treat it as a trick that might inadvertently free her? Horatius, considering how harsh and conflicted your previous parting was would she not still harbor a grudge?"

I have to avert my eyes.

"I don't know."

To my relief she accepts that, continuing with, "Then we will merely have to weight the risks and benefits of our present options. We either assume Tiamat's aid will lead to a scenario in which she is benefited—perhaps even freed—or that she truly does wish to aid Horatius in his current mission."

Gilgamesh scoffs, remarking, "Trust an olden Goddess to act altruistically? One would have better odds in attempting to convince the sun to stop shining or the sky to cease being blue."

…

Once upon a time, that wouldn't have been the case. And then I had to go and betray what should have been a sacred trust.

"Not that I mean to diminish the severity of this Tiamat's threat, far from it...but if we don't take action we would still have to contend with the Trihexa itself, unless we can find a way to halt its awakening. This is a being that makes even Hades seem like small fry in comparison."

Tobio's words are sound, my mood souring as I remember it's not just Tiamat that we have to worry about...it's the creature that led us to this world in the first place, the Beast of the Sea.

Dammit, I really miss those spider monsters.

Turning to the group at large I ask, "Alright, anyone else have ideas or opinions they want to lay on the table?"

It's Vali who ventures the obvious solution, stating, "Follow your past ally's advice and investigate what she was pointing to. Whether it's a trap or not failure to investigate will result in some kind of negative outcome."

And that's honestly it, everyone else is in agreement, nods or shrugs following the intense young man's statement.

...Not that he's wrong. What choice do we have, really? Either play the odds or bury our heads in the sand, there's not much of an inbetween.

"Well, Horatius? It's your call."

I raise an eyebrow at Dulio's gracious words, archly asking, "My call? What, am I the leader or something?"

Gilgamesh smirks, clearly happy to pass this off to me if only because I seem upset by the notion.

"Are you not the oldest and wisest among us? Surely making the correct call is not above your sensibilities?"

"This sounds less like an acknowledgement of intelligence and more like an abdication of responsibility."

All the same I don't bother trying to hide my sigh of exasperation, motioning towards the distant horizon.

"We're going. No real sense in coming this far only to back out now."

There's little conversation afterwards as everyone settles in for the short ride to the destination Tiamat pointed us in.

"This is...painful almost to the point of insult."

It's only with a great deal of restraint that I keep myself from openly scowling at the sight before us as we rest atop a small hill, that of a fortress straight out of Tolkien's wet dreams.

Black metal, towering spires, jagged edges and architecture that would have left any Gothic stylist with a proud tear in their eye. Also it's massive as Hell, a good few square kilometers and jutting at least a hundred meters into the air.

Hard to miss, except the damn thing was covered with so many cloaking and concealment spells, wards and other such crap that if we hadn't had a general direction to look in as well as Lilith visibly being unnerved by what we're assuming is Trihexa's presence we would have missed the thing.

"Your delicate sensibilities can wait for another time, Gladiator. We should investigate further and lament over poor choices in exterior decorating further down the road."

"It's not often that I would agree with the Queen of Heroes, but in this case she speaks true. Criticize choice in décor once we have measured the level of threat we now face."

I roll my eyes atScáthach's tone, the mental communication carrying her wry wit perfectly well.

"Guy can't even offer up his opinion now a days...alright, how are we gonna do this? And why are you on my back?"

Gilgamesh pointedly squirms from where she's plastered flat across my spine, tone playful as she states, "Oh, are you by chance uncomfortable, Gladiator? I would have thought that you would feel at ease, always talking about being a father and my current appearance not being of any sexual interest."

"More like it's because you're surprisingly heavy."

A smug grin crosses my lips as a deathly silence falls over our observation point, a slim forearm snaking its way around my throat as the Queen of Heroes silkily whispers, "You have one chance and once chance only to rescind that statement, Gladiator~."

"Would you two focus? Honestly, why am I the one having to be the voice of reason?"

"Because you're a teacher first and party animal second."

I can smell the disgruntlement from both women, even though only one is present and in a prime position to choke me out.

"Well? Any treasures that might afford us a way to observe the interior of that monstrosity without being caught?"

Huffing at my presumptuousness Gilgamesh nonetheless manifests a small scarab-looking construct, the metallic beetle silently fluttering its wings as she lightly tosses it into the air from beneath the concealing cloak I borrowed during the Vampire extraction, my eyes tracking its flight before the artifact shimmers and vanishes from view.

"Nice. Bet that works great for peeking into the lady's locker room-"

SMACK!

Letting the bruise on the back of my skull rightfully throb I instead watch the Queen of Heroes pull out some manner of golden disk that shimmers with transmitted imagery, holding it aloft for both of us to observe as a point-of-view from the beetle.

"Nice to see the interior is just as dreary as the outside..."

The fortress is nothing but twisting and inclined corridors constructed of dark stone and metallic archways, spiraling without any sort of unifying direction.

A good ten minutes pass before Gilgamesh's scout passes yet another one of the overly designed entryways-

"Well fuck me..."

-and reveals quitethe unnatural and honestly worrying sight.

An utterly massive beast with vaguely humanoid shape, were a Human to grow several hundred meters tall, have seven heads and seven tails with four arms to top off the image. Then you have to factor in the evidence that the aforementioned heads are actually ones of creatures such as a leopard, goat, dragon, bear...all manner of beasts, if such beasts were twisted and homicidal in mannerism and appearance.

"I'll admit it, I'm impressed."

"Observe the walls, Gladiator. This creature doesn't appear to be our only threat."

"Oh for fuck's sake it has an army as escort too."

Lacing the walls surrounding the creature—like particularly nasty wasps—are countless suits of armor that look like they came straight from a Saturday morning cartoon series, interlocking plates of armor with glowing gems and animalistic helmets.

...I'd hazard a guess they only look mildly comical.

"So now what?"

"Look closer at this Beast of Apocalypse, Gladiator."

Doing as the Queen of Heroes suggests I return my gaze to the evidently slumbering Trihexa-

"Are those seals or something?"

"Not ones my most knowledgeable self is familiar with, but a conclusion that seems in line with what we were told of the Beast's state as well as its inactivity."

"And let's not forget our newest friends appear to be present as well."

Raising an eyebrow at Scáthach's wry tone I cast my gaze around the displayed arena, wondering at what she's spotted-

-and release a momentous sigh as I recognize three of the figures located near the base of the creature. That Rizevim maniac and the two 'Evil Dragons', Crom Cruach and Grendel.

"Yeah, well, I would wager they're well on their way to releasing the damn thing. Take a look at what they're channeling into those seals or whatever."

Gilgamesh and Scáthach—from where she's remotely viewing things through my eyes—focus on the miasma the grey-haired Devil seems to be messing around with, purple and black streamers snaking outwards towards the multitude of protective enchantments and gradually turning them into frayed rags, if not outright disappearing.

"What manner of magics are they using to free that thing? Surely such a myriad of protections couldn't be so easily done away with by simple spellcraft..."

"It's not a spell or anything like that they're using...it's raw energy, a brute force solution. That miasma is Hades'."

"...Oh. Well that makes an unfortunate amount of sense."

Not sure how they managed it but it seems that with the God of Death's demise they're using the strength leftover to free Trihexa. Go figure any sort of victory we earn is just to further handicap us.

"Ok, we need to figure out a plan of action, fast. No idea how long it will take them to finish whatever it is they're doing but it'd be safer to assume that it's almost finished."

"Agreed."

Gilgamesh dismisses her scouting artifact and we quickly retreat under the protection of her cloak, returning to the parked Vimana a fair distance away, everyone glancing towards us with clear anticipation.

"We're going in. Question is...how?"

"Through the front door, obviously."

Vali's predictable comment, to my confusion, seems to leave everyone else nodding.

"The young man makes a good point. We're—just to be safe—short on time and left with little room for finesse. And we would have a greater advantage if Tobio, Vali, Dulio and Lilith distract and interrupt whatever ritual they're engaging in while we follow shortly afterwards."

The black-haired young man tilts his head, asking, "Not a plan I disagree with, but for what reason will you follow us afterwards and not during the initial charge?"

Scáthach smirks in Gilgamesh's direction, leaving the smaller Heroic Spirit obviously confused as she salaciously states, "We have some matters to...fix~."

I hold back my initial frown in favor of giving the Lord of Spirit's idea genuine thought.

Mana Overcharge.

While Tantric Rituals are a widely recognized—if seldomly used, due to their intimate manner of operation—method of mana or energy transfer for me, Altera and Scáthach...it's a bit trickier, never mind vastly more powerful. Due to my functionally infinite levels of mana forming a direct contract with access to that wellspring of strength carries with it a number of risks normally not present in our day-to-day life.

My stunted and outright mediocre circuits mean that the flow of that immeasurably vast swirl of mana is carefully doled out and partitioned, only purposeful meditation and intimate control over my body allowing the Heroic Spirits to fight at full capacity.

But with a clear line of access to Irappu's source of power?

Well, the name says it all. Mana Overcharge.

At the end of the day my companions are still tied to this realm through the supply of mana, allowing them to manifest corporeal forms and bring to life their legends...providing channels of such raw, undiluted energy is like pouring jet fuel on a softly crackling campfire. True, you'll get one Hell of a blaze...but the wood will be turned to ash faster than you can say 'oh shit'.

The few times we've performed Mana Overcharge my partners have been unable to create their solid forms for several days, even astralized they feel exhausted and removed from normal reality.

Much like Altera's ability to morph into the White Titan it's a method of last resort.

And now might very well be one of those instances.

"Don't worry about us, you four. Start raising Hell and we'll be along as quickly as we can. Trust me, the reason is...kinda odd."

While clearly not expecting such a vague answer the quartet nonetheless nod, Tobio clasping my arm as he passes as we share a nod.

"Understood, we'll do our best to ensure you're not needed, Horatius-san."

A small smile tilts my lips as I wryly respond, "While that would be for the best make sure you bring yourselves back first. See you soon."

They quickly move out, a minute passing before I catch sight of Lilith manifesting a gigantic snake avatar, ripping the massive steel doors from their hinges with a titanic screech of stressed hinges.

"Explain, what strange methods require us to wait for others to do our task for us?"

Notes of clear irritation lace the Queen of Hero's voice, ruby eyes observing the three of us in turn as we simultaneously nod.

"Do you have preference in bed partner, Gilgamesh?"

Arching a perfect eyebrow the Queen of Heroes imperiously replies, "You imply that I cannot enjoy sexual pleasure with either man or women, that my pallet is lacking? A bold claim, Gladiator. You speak of a tantric ritual, correct?"

I nod, the Queen of Uruk smirking as she playfully asks, "Oh~? And here you were, implying for so long that you found this body undesirable...how quickly a man's tune changes, when the prospect of sex arises-"

"You don't do it for me, Queen of Heroes. At least not right now, I'm going to need Altera and Scáthach's help to get it up."

Cue irritated eyebrow twitching as she incredulously states, "I beg your pardon? Are you implying-wha?!"

Scáthach expertly sweeps the teenaged Queen's feet from beneath her, quickly straddling her hips and running her hands over the smaller woman's slight chest with a possessive leer, musically whispering, "Oh have no fear, Gilgamesh my lovely...Altera and I will get Horatius nice and ready for you!~"

Enter the King of Combat gently pressing herself into my side, lightly encircling my waist with arms that could crush steel as my palm finds her trim and bare waist.

"A shame this won't be a time where we can take our time and enjoy ourselves like usual...but don't worry, Queen of Heroes. We'll leave you wanting more."

...

Yeah, we know what's coming next.