Chapter 33
24th October 2008
Playboy Mansion.
The atmosphere in the camp was electric.
Everyone was in an uproar. Luke, the eponymous Archon and third in command of the camp behind the Olympian Dionysus and Chiron, had announced his resignation. Apparently, he'd found a job. Thalia had been worried about his absence - but as soon as she'd learned that he'd be working for Dionysus - and therefore able to visit the camp and the Playboy Mansion, where she spent most of her time with the Maenads, she'd gone wild with joy.
Luke had announced that he would be leaving at the end of the summer, the time to get things in order and give the campers time to organize a succession. The question on everyone's lips was: who would be elected the next Archon?
And for the first time - since the last elections had taken place in the rush to resolve a crisis - the camp had a political campaign.
25th October 2008
Lisbon, Portugal
Dionysos
Young One
Lvl 39
You are the Embodiment of [Literature, Theatre, Stories and Narratives]
The second of the Twelve Dionysian Labors has been completed
Dionysus emerged from the small apartment where Pessoa and I had been cloistered for days on end, a manuscript under his arm, entitled "The Book of Exuberance".
He got on his bike. Direction: Spain!
29th October 2008
"Take that, you dirty monster!"
Ichigo Kurosaki howled as he hit the rat-man with his metal baseball bat, the SkavenbreakerTM, which a mini-boss had previously dropped.
Kurosaki Ichigo
Swordsman with a baseball bat
Lvl 19
To his left, Sado delivered a blow with his brass-knuckles to a rat-man, while Inoue cast a buff spell.
Yasutora Sado
Tank
Lvl 17
Orohime Inoue
Healer
Lvl 15
Ichigo slaughtered the last Ratman - a "Skaven", if the name of the dungeon they'd found in the basement of their high school was anything to go by. Finally, the last of the dungeons there had been cleared... or almost. With this last rat-man, the final boss should appear at any moment.
Ever since he'd transformed into a video game character a few months ago, he'd found dungeon entrances everywhere - a goblin dungeon, a mushroom warrior dungeon... until he found one in the basement of his own school. Curious - and afraid there might be a "dungeon break" like in those Dio Corp comics - he went to clean the goblin dungeon. He discovered that he was not the only gamer in town when he found one of his childhood friends breaking a goblin's teeth while being healed by another.
Since then, the group of three friends had been exploring the dungeons they could enter from the town. Most of them were inaccessible to them because their level was too low. But the dungeons looked dormant, and if the windows were to be believed, they would not be able to access them until they were much stronger. He was curious to know what these "Moulder" or "Skryre" clans looked like.
The earth shook, and the final boss of the [Grikk Clan Dungeon] appeared, bringing Ichigo out of his mental musings.
Ikarat The Bald
Skaven Clawlord of the Grikk Clan
Lvl 30
"You weak-flesh intruders!", squeaked Ikarat. "You sneak-scurry into my place, kill my kin, and think-squeak you get away? Stupid-meat-things! Know-know this, puny-wretches," Ikarat spat.
"I, Ikarat The Bald, Clawlord of Grikk Clan,,will-kill-slay you, peel your skin off, feed-feed your flesh to the rats, yes-yes!"
1st of November 2008
NYC
Issei gave RED the ritual knife. Normally, he would have been reluctant to idly observe - let alone actively assist - a ritual where animals were sacrificed to the glory of a pagan god.
But when RED had dropped her robe, revealing herself in her glorious nakedness before his eyes, Issei found a whole new faith - and his ethics slightly reformed. He watched her as she covered herself in wine.
"Pray be to Dionysos!", he said, but RED glare made him stop. Ok, got it, mouth-shutting time, and praying in his head.
"Thanks Dionysos for the sight. And the tits. And the bum. Thanks for everything", he thought.
Rachel began to sing.
Hwæt! O Dionysos, ðū god of wōdan wōdnes,
Þū, seofon-sangor, swā ðū sylf hātest,
Gif ðū mē geunnan wīst on mīnra mōde,
Ðæt ic mæge on ðīnre wuldre wōdian.
The candlelight gave her pale skin a strange glow. But he only watched he breasts, lightly swaying when she sang.
Ic bidde þē, ðū brēostsefa brytta,
Syle mē ðæt gifu tō þrāge and tō truwan,
Sīe mīn hige hāl and gehāten ful,
Mid ðīnum wōd-fēran wunian ic þē ārað.
With a dramatic stroke, she drove the knife into the lamb's heart.
Wesa mē bēacen, ðū brytta wōdnysse,
On þissum līfe, mid lēodum and lēodas,
Gewissa mē on ðīnne wōdsceafte,
Swa ic mæge fēran on ðīnne folc-rīce.
3th of November 2008
Spanish countryside
Dio pedaled along, whistling. Life was beautiful, the scenery magnificent. In the distance, butterflies frolicked, cows grazed peacefully and an old man tried to smash the face of a wind turbine.
"Ah, behold! A towering colossus, a monstrous giant of metal and might! But fear not, for I, Don Quichotte de la Mancha, shall challenge this mechanical beast in the name of honor and valor!"
Dio watched as the old man, with a white beard longer than himself, unsheathed a massive dildo.
"With lance aloft and heart afire, I charge forth to do battle with this monster, for though its blades may spin, they shall not best the indomitable spirit of a true knight!".
Huh. It looked like a man of his own heart.
3rd of November 2008
Soul Society
Thoas wasn't sure how to interpret the situation. He'd offered to accompany the midget on a date to a super nice, classy bar, but the midget had just looked at him strangely before leaving the room.
When had he screwed up?
Lost in his thoughts, Thoas was jolted back to reality when the midget reappeared.
This time, she was adorned in a stunning traditional Yukata, the fabric flowing gracefully around her.
"So, shall we go?" she asked, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between them.
"Uh?" Thoas stammered.
With a gentle yet inscrutable expression, the midget patiently awaited his response. Thoas, eager to redeem himself, quickly summoned a smile that betrayed none of his internal turmoil.
"Of course, my Lady," he declared, his tone smooth and polished, as if the initial hiccup had never occurred. Extending his arm with practiced elegance, he invited her to join him. To his relief, she accepted, her delicate fingers lightly resting on his forearm.
3rd of November,
Spanish countryside,
Dion Quichotte, amidst the chaos of battle with the towering white metal giant with the strange rotating head, felt his heart soar at the approach of the enigmatic stranger. The sun, seemingly pausing in its celestial journey, cast a dramatic spotlight upon the newcomer—a figure so robust and sturdy, he could have rivaled Hercules himself! Well, if Hercules existed! Ahaha!
"Oh ho!" exclaimed Dion Quichotte, his voice resonating with the fervor of a troubadour, "What gallant soul dares interrupt this spectacle of chivalry?"
The stranger, standing tall at an impressive six feet and a few inches, his feet bare as if mocking the very ground beneath them, sported a shirt so sturdy it could have withstood a tempest at sea. Dion Quichotte squinted, half expecting to see the telltale signs of a seasoned navigator upon his brow. But there was none.
"I am Dionysos," proclaimed the stranger, his voice ringing with the certainty of one destined for greatness. "The future God-King".
Dion Quichotte's mustache twitched with amusement. He could hear the hair mocking him. A God-King! Well, well, well! This was shaping up to be more than just your ordinary knightly skirmish.
"Ah, Dionysos, my friend," declared Dion Quichotte, sweeping his hand theatrically toward the white metal behemoth that stood sentinel before them. "If it is kingship you seek, then you must first prove your mettle against this white giant—a fearsome creature"
The wind turbine rotated menacingly.
"But beware!" Dion Quichotte added, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "For this is no ordinary giant—it has a skin as hard as metal! A true test of valor, indeed!"
"Very well, Don Quichotte, I accept your challenge, for a king worthy of his crown must be fearless in the face of even the most ludicrous trials!"
Don Quixote watched as Dionysus pulled a small metal object from his pocket - he would have recognized it as a wrench - and gripped the ladder at the base of the giant. Uh? Why did the giant have a ladder on him?
Five minutes later, the windmill stopped, and Dionysos had his first knight.
Alonso don Quixote de la Mancha
Immortal Knight of the tales
Lvl 190
6th of November
Alaska
"No, more to the right ! The right ! There, we must build the inn for the adventurers", bellowed Grover Lee, the self proclaimed foreman. And he was doing one hell of a job! Prometheus, also self-proclaimed right hand of Dionysos, stood above him, atop a grand parapet overlooking the bustling cityscape taking shape below.
Prometheus smiled. Since Dionysos would not be a greek god anymore, he did not have any architectural constraint while building the future Thyrsopolis. Before him spread a marvel of steampunk intricacy, a city where ancient Greek mythology met the mechanical wonders of the future. Towers of brass and copper soared toward the heavens, their spires crowned with gears and clockwork marvels. Within the gates of the city - which were not finished -, Mesopotamian ziggurats stood alongside Indian palaces, while Greek temples mingled with steampunk marvels. Magic wove through Gothic cathedrals and futuristic skyscrapers, inviting all to embrace the ecstasy of life.
"Put this fucking stone higher!", bellowed Grover, which made Adrastia Zabini cast a spell at him. She was already doing menial work, and this teen dared to speak to her like that? To her?
Not far from her was Daedalus, his genius matched only by the fiery passion of the sons and daughters of Hephaistos. Together, they toiled tirelessly, their hammers ringing in harmony with the future city's heartbeat. As the city rose from the ashes of their imagination, Prometheus smiled, his heart swelling with pride at the sight of Dionysos' soul made a flick of his wrist, he consulted the windows of the Game.
Meanwhile, the Maenads, with their frenzied dances and ecstatic chants, transformed the frozen lands surrounding the city into havens of agriculture and abundance. With each rhythmic movement, they coaxed life from the earth, sowing seeds of plenty amidst the barren soil.
Dionysos would be proud of him. And if he took the opportunity to erect twelve luxurious and magical towers on the ramparts, to surround the city, and to host the club's twelve figures - and, by the way, snag one for himself, well, that would just be a bonus...A pleasant bonus...
8th of November
Soul Society
"Uh...It's there? I mean, the meeting?"
The old man at the end of the table glared at Thoas, and the young shinigami gulped in spite of himself.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto
Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13
Lvl 1,043/1,050
Okay. Noted. Don't piss off the old man.
Thoas looked around at the rest of those present. All the captains were around level 500, and the vice-captains hovered between 200 and 400. Uh. Rather heterogeneous. Thoas ignored the look given to him by a guy with something weird on his hair.
Byakuya Kuchiki
Captain of the 6th Division
Lvl 478/500
Ah. His brother-in-law. Even though Rukia had told him not to tell anyone they were together. A story about nobles or he wasn't sure what. Nobles his ass, yes. He continued to scan the assembly with his eyes and...
Sōsuke Aizen
Captain of the 5th Division, traitor and Servant of Athena
Lvl 1 113/ 1 200
What the...?