Greetings everyone! I hope you all had a happy holiday and new year! First few weeks with my wife have been great. The presents we gave each other were wonderful. So now we jump right into the battle with the Paimon Peerage and Thor's team. Let's see what happens, after a brief world building about the five noble houses of New York.
merendinoemiliano: I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Geyser: Thank you.
Battlefield: Thank you.
Altair: Thank you. Gotta have a good cliffhanger. Hahaha.
Lycans: Devils are beings of sins and pride is a sin all are flawed in.
Century: Thank you. Nah will go on our honeymoon next year.
Rebelion: Hopefully only Paimon will keep the knowledge secret. Otherwise it's gonna be a free for all.
Salazar: Patience! They will appear in due time.
Sekiriyote: ahh thank you. I sure did. 😊😊
New York became the eleventh state of the United States of America on July 26, 1788 yet long before that the Three Great Powers fought for control over the continent with the Church asserting domination. That domination waned as the centuries passed with Devils carving out territories all around New York. Some lost it to the Church while others gave it up to find new areas to take as their own. By the eighteenth century five families remained; these five noble houses are, Sallos, Stolas, Paimon, Vassago, and Agares. Through tactics and powers the five houses weathered the overwhelming attacks by the Church and still do to this day. When the five families gather for meetings, House Agares always has the final say on decisions but sometimes would agree with one or two of the other families or none at all.
In the modern era all was quiet in New York with a few minor disputes with the Church but something fascinating reached the ears of Sarroxan, current ruler of his house Paimon. Warriors from Asgard were walking about in Manhattan and through his servants and familiars spying on them learned they were searching for the treasure of Fafnir. That news was enough for the tobacco addicted Devil to lay a trap and try talking them into a deal to split the treasure. Such hope was dashed by the red haired boy calling himself Thor declaring the treasure would only belong to Asgard. He tried to be reasonable with the offer but having it shot down like that meant now battle was the only choice.
Puffing his pipe one more time he gathered demonic energy in his hand and readied a spell while shouting, "Go, my servants! Show them the might of House Paimon! But be sure not to kill them! We don't want all of Asgard to come crashing down upon New York!"
His servants obeyed and leapt into action.
Together with his Queen, Balthazar Furfur, and Bishops, Malacoda Forneus, Typhegor Beleth, enhanced the strength, speed, and defense of his Pawns, Rooks and Knights. Each of his Pawns promoted themselves; one becoming a Queen, four becoming Rooks, and two as Bishops and the rest Knights to give them more speed. Sixteen highly trained Devils boosted by strength, speed, and magic, would easily defeat five young teenagers.
Suddenly in the blink of an eye thousands upon thousands of magic seals appeared before the silver haired girl and a rainbow of elemental spells shot forward like an army of archers letting loose their arrows! Eight of his servants, both Rooks and six Pawn's, were hit and, to Sarroxan's surprise and horror, fell to the group writing in pain from the attacks. Sarroxan felt his pipe split from his lips at what he just witnessed.
Incredible! That Valkyries powers equals that of a High-Class Devil! Equal to my own!
No sooner had he yelled that in his head, the silver haired warrior maiden turned her focus onto his Queen and Bishops. Soon a magical duel began but even boosted by each other's power, Paimon's spellcasters could not hold back the Valkyries constant attacks and soon were blown off their feet. Through the dust and chaos the Lord of House Paimon caught sight of the emerald armored Valkyrie wielding a two-handed sword wrapped in flames meeting Yacheth, his bloodthirst Knight in a ferocious but swift duel. Three times they clashed before the Valkyrie twisted her body and slashed across Yacheth's stomach leaving a nasty burn scar preventing blood from leaking out like a broken pipe. The other Valkyrie and brown haired boy was tag-teaming his other Pawns; one defending the other attacking.
This was not how Paimon expected his first battle with the Norse World to go. Like all Devils, he was prideful in himself and his servants and that pride led to underestimating these teenagers. These Asgardians.
"Stop! Stop fighting!" Sarroxan shouted to his Peerage, the battle barely begun but nine servants were already on their backs.
"Does this mean you will let us go on our way?" The violet haired girl asked, her flaming sword still raised for battle.
"With how swiftly you disposed of my Peerage, I have no choice but to let you go." Paimon said, hastily stepping over to help Orlac Valac, one of his three female Pawn's, help Yacheth to her feet. Gathering his servants together he readied a teleportation seal to take them home. The last thing he saw was the redhead calling himself Thor muttering something to the silver haired Valkyrie before everything was replaced by one of many luxury apartments he owned for himself and his servants in the human world.
"Lord Paimon." Yacheth wheezed.
"Deep breaths, Yacheth." Paimon ordered softly as he laid her on the couch and let Balthazar do his word on healing his Knight, that wound the Valkyrie gave her would undoubtedly leave a nasty scar. He strolled back and forth while his servants tended to their own or to the other wounds.
"I can't believe we were overmatched so easily!" Alafaron Shax roared, his pink mohawk swishing about like a fish fin as he shook his head aggressively while Bozen Dantalion tended to his wounds, "We are Pureblood Devils! We should have been able to crush those brats!"
"We underestimated them." Bronze said.
"No. I underestimate them." Sarroxan replied after pacing a final time before slowly refilling his pipe to smoke it once again. The tobacco filled his lungs and with a deep exhale the smoke with his anger, "I should have had us recon them more before springing a trap so soon. Now they will be doubly on guard for me or the other houses attack."
Odina Blackhorse sneered at her master, "What you should have done was wait for help but you let your Pureblood pride get the better of you."
Of all the servants within his Peerage, Odina hated him for reincarnating her as his servant. Odina should be grateful for being allowed a second chance to live, he saved her from those humans she called parents who had treated her like trash. However the Native American girl was right, he should have called for one of the other noble houses to aid in the battle but his pride had prevented such which led to the current situation.
"Should we call lady Agares?" Yacheth's twin, Bacheth Barbatos, asked, "She must be told what happened."
Paimon's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses, "House Agares does not need to know what is transpiring in New York. Not unless it becomes serious."
"But the Agares must be notified of everything."
"Not unless it becomes serious." Repeated Sarroxan. His servants stare at him in confusion. Sighing he said, "The situation is not out of control just yet. Remember, Lord Agares agreed to the plan that our houses and House Stolas have equal rule over New York until the heiress of House Agares becomes its next leader."
In Spite of his loyalty to house Agares, Sarroxan had a deep resentment for them. Long ago, House Paimon was loyal to House Lucifer but that changed when House Bael came to them with an offer to give them a better position within the Underworld. When the Civil War began, House Paimon joined the rebels and afterwards, as promised, House Bael kept true to their word and promoted the Paimon family. It was assumed they would be given the rank Archduke, second in command to ruling the Underworld, but House Agares was just a smidgen more powerful making them Ultimate-Class and allowing them to take the title Archduke. This left House Paimon being promoted from Low-Class to High-Class, a rank of Duke, a decision Sarroxan hated his great-grandmother for allowing to happen.
Sarroxan was grateful to Zekram Bael for giving them a new position in the government but to see House Agares be given the Archduke title infuriated him. It should have been his family not theirs! If dueling for titles was no longer banned then his great-grandmother could have done so. Like all Devils Sarroxan was prideful about his family but he was just as extremly envious of others; envious of House Agares becoming Archduke and House Sitri, Astaroth, Glasya-Labolas, and Gremory for being blessed with gifted Devils who became the new Satan's of the Underworld. In fact his envy had gotten so bad he turned to smoking tobacco to keep it in check. A poor choice but Devil's have a stronger immune system to the drug than humans do.
"So we aren't going to contact them?" The heir of House Gamigin asked.
Sarroxan nodded as his Pawn's question, "No Solomon. Besides, once we get the other houses to aid us then those Asgardians will be no match for us."
Later
"Why have you called us, Lord Paimon? I was in the middle of a call with Lord Lucifer about internal affairs in the Underworld."
Sarroxan sat at a table looking at holographic images of three other beings; two males and a female. It was common for Devils to have violet eyes and brown hair but the Pureblood asking the question would have many mistaken him as a brother to the heir of House Bael if his hair was a darker shade of brown.
"I too wish to know why we are being called, Paimon. I too was busy watching a Rating Game, Sarroxan!" Huffed the woman, she was the tallest of them, thin and petite in proportions which was unusual for female Devils, but still managed to catch the attention of men for she had a rare color of hair which was tied into a long single braid reaching to the middle of her back, reddish brown.
"A Rating Game, Olessias? Who is it this time? Not that third son of the Phenex Clan again is it?" The other male said, rolling his grey eyes in annoyance at the other two nobles. He was the tallest of the gathered beings, towering over them like a giant protecting a gate with muscles so big a single flex would obliterate his maroon suit. His orangish-red mane was said to look like fire when battling foes. Protruding from his head were two large horns that could skewer anything.
These were Agothdorzen Sallos, Olessias Stolas, and Balgog Vassago, the other three nobles in control of New York
Olessias huffed once more, "Of course not. Lord Phenex's third son is too cocky of himself and makes every match he's in one-sided and boring. It is actually against Roygun Belphegor and Bedeze Abaddon. Their matches are much more entertaining."
Agothdorzen smiled, "Ah. Now that is a match I wish I could be watching. Unfortunately my nephew wanted me to walk around Santan Island with him. Not that I would ever deny my nephew's requests but-"
"We have Asgardians in New York." Paimon said loudly to get the other's attention back onto him, which worked perfectly.
"Asgardians?" Balog repeated, "You mean the Gods of Asgard are in our territory?"
Paimon puffed his pipe, golden eyes looking at his fellow Purebloods through the smoke, "That's right. Three Valkyries, and two ones, one calling himself the God of Thunder."
Balgo's eyes flashed, Olessias gasped, and Agothdorzen groaned with worry. Of all the things Sarroxan could tell them this was not one they were expecting. They assumed the Norse people would stay in their part of the world yet here they were in New York but why for what reason did they have to come to America? As if reading their minds, which was not a trait the Paimon family did not have, Sarroxan explained they were looking for Fafnir's treasure and that if the Devils could get their hands on it first they could boost the Underworlds economy to what it was before the Devil Civil War. When he had finished his fellow nobles had dubious looks.
"You want us to help you find this treasure?" Olessias asked.
"Yes." Sarroxan said, "Our three Peerages will stand a better chance than me alone. Plus if those Exorcists get wind of this they will be going after it too."
Agothdorzen eyes narrowed, "You said the God of Thunder is with them. I won't risk my Peerage against a God. Especially one among the top ten strongest beings."
Balog laughed, "Did you not hear him, Agothdorzen? This boy cannot be the God of Thunder. He has no hammer or power of lightning. He's obviously a boy trying to be Asgard's greatest warrior. Why would one of the top ten beings even be out here looking for treasure instead of protecting Asgard against Giants?"
"Asgard has a debt to pay." Sarroxan answered.
"Hence why it is more important to them than us." Olessias said, "Let them have it, Sarroxan. This matter does not concern us."
'It concerns us because that treasure can be of great help to us. It is rumored to hold Sacred Gears but that I find unlikely since they require a soul for them. Other rumors, which are more truthful, say super weapons of great and terrible power lie within. We can use that power to defend ourselves against Grigori and Heaven."
"Or crush them." Balog said, an evil look twinkling in his eye.
Despite all three looking to be in their early to mid twenties, Balog was the oldest of the trio and second ruler of house Vassago. His father had fallen in the Great War when leading the Siege of Heaven and nearly breaking into the fourth level. Balog has since led House Vassago through the centuries, choosing to be one of the few families to stay neutral in the Civil War to see which group would win. He had told both emissaries of the Satan and rebel factions he would not spill Devil blood, only Angel blood for slaying his father. When he heard Grigori had allied with Asgard and schism occurred due to it he had vowed on his father's name he would kill any ally of Heaven or Grigori, that now extended to Asgard.
Olessias pursed her lips, "What would Lady Agares say about this?"
"Nothing." Said Sarroxan earning a dubious look from his fellow Lords, "This decision lies upon us, Olessias. We were given leadership over New York until Lord Agares' daughter took his position. It's up to us to get that treasure for the Underworld."
Olessias shook her head, "This is a decision we never should have to make. Getting involved in this treasure hunt may cost us lives, Sarroxan. How many of your servants were hurt when confronting the Asgardians?"
"You always were one to not be too hasty." Balog scoffed at Olessias, "Do you not know how important this treasure is? The power and wealth we obtain for the Underworld-"
"You don't have to repeat what Sarroxan said, Balog." Olessias said, annoyed at hearing this conversation again, "I disagree with this action but I am outvoted. You and Sarroxan wish to find this treasure but what does Agothdorzen say?"
"I said I won't risk my Peerage against a God. Especially one among the top ten strongest beings and I stand by that." The Lord of House Sallos said, "But I know this treasure can be a boon to our people. It can be used to help Lord Beelzebub in the technology department and, should we ever make alliances, give them a sizable portion as a sign of truth."
Sighed Olessias, "Then go forth with your treasure hunt, boys. However since I too am a co-leader, I am using that power to not aid you in this foolhardy quest. Mark my words gentleman; your actions will cost the lives of many good Devils and invoke the wrath of Asgard."
"How do you propose to help if you will not lend us your strength in battle, Agothdorzen?" Sarroxan asked while Balog sneered at Olessias before her image vanished. He was certain she would tell Lord Agares of what was transpiring in New York. He just had to convince the Archduke that this action was necessary.
"I will take a page out of you, Paimon and have my servants and their familiars find, follow, and gather information for you and Lord Vassago."
The tobacco addicted Devil nodded, "Good, Agothdorzen. It is best we gather more information before acting."
Balog sniffed, "Why not just attack them now? You said with our combined Peerages we can crush these Asgardians. Or scatter our Peerage and familiars around New York in search of Leif Erikson."
"If we do that then we will be in the same boat as the Asgaridans." Said Saroxxan, "Yes we have more in numbers and have a better chance of finding him quicker but it could take weeks or months looking all over New York. If he isn't in the city he could be in the countryside, which is prohibitively under Native American control."
Agothdorzen cocked an eyebrow, "You say that as if we are forbidden to go to the countryside."
"We are," Sarroxan sighed, "It was through Lady Leviathan that she was able to make a treaty with the Native Gods under blood oath that no Devil should go into the countryside without proper authorization. If Erikson IS in New York and living in the countryside then it will be under Native Control and if we tell them why we are looking for Leif Eirkson then they too will want Fafnir's treasure."
"Thus creating more problems for us." Agothdorzen said, "We already have to worry about Asgard. We don't want the Natives and Especially the Church to learn about it."
"Then forget about Leif Eirkosn." The horned Devil retorted, "We just have to get our hands on one of those Valkyries and squeeze any information she has out of her."
"We wait and gather information before striking." Repeated Sarroxan, his temper steadily rising at Balog's aggressive suggestions, "If we strike now we won't know what they are planning next. They may involve the rest of Asgard-"
"And if they do then we show them the might of the Underworld!" Balog cut in, a red aura appearing around him, "They allied with the Fallen Angels which makes them our enemies! Why should we fear them when we have two, I repeat, two Super and Ultimate Class Devils as our current Satans, many promising heirs and heiresses of this generation, one of which, the Gremory heiress, revealed yesterday she obtained the Red Heavenly Dragon Emperor as a servant! One of the thirteen Longinus' able to kill Gods! If the Underworld has a Heavenly Dragon then what other Longinus processors may we also have? Why not collect them together and-"
"Do you not hear yourself, Balog?" The Lord of House Sollas said, a hard edge in his tone as he stared down the horned Devil, "Gather power and crush our enemies. You spout nonsense the old Satan's would say. That is not the way this new government works! We aren't going to take Devils from other Peerages for our own gains!"
Balog snorted, causing flames to shoot out his nose, "We are beings of sin, Sollas! You've always been a sloth about everything like Lord Asmodeous!"
"Enough!" Sarroxan shouted, "This bickering is pointless. Agothdorzen is right we will not trade with other Devils for Sacred Gear users to help the treasure hunt. I want THIS objective to be kept between the three of us and our Peerages. No one else must know."
"Bit late for that with Lady Stolas knowing what you intend to do. No doubt she will go tell Lord Agares about the situation." Balog snorted again.
"She was outvoted on the decision and if Lord Agares does contact me I will deal with him. For now, let us gather our servants and tell them what we will do."
In the Underworld
"What did they want, Lady Stolas?" A voluptuous dark haired woman dressed in an elegant robe asked Olessias when she exited the room.
The Lady of House Stolas looked at the woman and said, "A foreign Pantheon is in New York and those idiotic men outvoted me to kick them out with a fight."
The woman scoffed, "Men. Thinking with their fists first. This will cause trouble. Will you tell, Lord Agares?"
"Only if things get out of hand. Oliva, my loyal Queen, send your familiars to keep an eye on the boys. I want to know what is happening but right now, I have a Rating Game to watch."
In the Human World at the One-Winged Angel Hotel
"No wonder the Allfather chose you as his bodyguard! You wiped out half the Peerage by yourself!" Sigrun gushed, her idolization of Rossweisse had doubled ten fold at the power she unleashed on their foes in that skirmish.
"I see now why you focused so much on studying instead of boys." Rota added with a grin, "Your skill and quick thinking of tactics saved us, Rossweisse."
The silver haired girl was flustered at the attention she was given by her fellow warrior maidens. Never had she been praised by anyone save her grandmother and teachers at Valhalla. This was a new experience and filled her with a hint of pride. These feelings, however, did not put off her disappointment at Thor who was stomping around the room, red faced, and grumbling. She had not scolded him for he was just as disappointed in himself for leading them into a trap, allowing the enemy to know about their goal to find Fafnir's treasure and the loss of his power.
She had feared he'd lose his magic after using it all up to clear away the storm and now he had. It would return but how long he would be without magic was anyone's guess. It was worrying because the God of Thunder's power would be needed in this treasure hunt now more than ever with Devils also looking for the treasure. The Devils had the advantage in searching quicker for Leif Eirkson for they had more numbers and, as Sarroxan said, Familiars to aid in searching for the discoverer of America. Still, she would not give up the search.
"So what now?" Rota asked, "Are we gonna go back out there and try again? That Paimon Devil may already be searching for Eirkson."
"He may," Said Sigrun, "But if our hope isn't cheated we can still go to the Native Americans and ask them. Surely they may know him."
"They will." Said Rossweisse reassuringly, "I made sure to take that book from the library with us."
"What?" Said Thor stopping abruptly at hearing her words, "Why didn't you use it before? It could have saved us a lot of trouble."
"I was going to wait until we couldn't find Leif Eirkson in the city." Explained Rossweisse, "But now that we have Devils going after the treasure I will share what I know."
"Go on then. Tell us." Said Thor.
"The book is limited on knowledge about them. It only tells about the names and locations of each tribe he met. One of which was called the Seneca and they luckily are in New York. The issue is we don't know where in New York they are. That he must have been told to keep secret."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get back out here and look for the Seneca Tribe!"
"Not so fast." Rossweisse said, putting a hand on Thor's shoulder, "I don't want us running into those Devils again. If you didn't hear what we said earlier I will repeat it; Paimon must have told his fellow Devils in New York to watch out for us."
"They aren't the only ones we must watch out for." Said Cadmus from the bed, "We have the Church to worry about."
"I thought your story fooled them?" Asked Thor.
"It may or may not..." Cadmus said strolling to the window and looking outside watching people go about their daily lives, "I may be over worrying but what if the Devils aren't the only ones spying on us? I have a bad feeling that Rollo didn't believe us and sent some Exorcists to follow us back here. If he did then will have both Heaven and Hell to worry about."
"Then we deal with them when the time comes." Said Thor, "Right now we need to go back out there to ask about the Seneca Tribe. Can any of you ladies use illusion magic? No? Then we must go back out and be aware of our enemies."
"Wait a minute!" Said Cadmus, "If this place is owned by the Fallen Angels don't they have any work here?"
"No." Rossweisse said, "They own the place but don't have any working here. That doesn't mean we can still ask the staff if they know anything about the Seneca tribe. If they don't then we go to the library."
Cadmus stepped forward, "I will go to the library tomorrow. One person will be harder to find than five. And consider this a part of starting over a new leaf with Asgard."
Sigrun said, "We will evaluate your actions after we find the treasure."
The next day later
While three warrior maidens and God asked about the Seneca Tribe at the hotel, Cadmus made his way to the library. He knew he had a mission to do but couldn't help himself from window shopping, a hobby he had when he was a human and a hobby he still retained as an Einherjar. His side stop, however, did not mean he was on the alert for anyone watching or tailing him and so far nothing of the sort.
So far so good. None of the Devils or Church agents have found me yet and hopefully it can stay that way back to the hotel.
Soon he reached the library looking up information about the Seneca people. His search was quick but full of information. The Seneca were a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. A brief check on Google Maps helped the Einehrjar find the cities around Lake Ontario, one in particular he had a good feeling about, Oswego; a city right on the lakes edge and hopefully full of Seneca people.
If I had a phone I could call them but would they pick up? I know the Devils are looking for us but I don't think they could find me so easily. Cadmus thought as he exited the library armed with his new information. As he scanned the area he stopped dead when he caught sight of a Native American girl staring at him, a Native American girl he recalled seeing at the park within Paimon's Peerage. Panic seized him as she approached him casually. Should I run? No, she may be faster than me with her athletic build but she can't use a spell without revealing herself as a Devil and harming innocent bystanders!
As the girl drew closer Cadmus saw her glance about before motioning him back into the library and keeping quiet. Confused by her order he nonetheless obeyed and went back in with her right behind him. Before he could say anything she took his hand gently and, still motioning to keep quiet, let him further into the library until they were in an empty aisle.
She looked around once more then said in a whisper, "Listen carefully; the Peerages of Sollas and Vassago have joined the hunt for Fafnir's treasure. They know you're at the One-Wing Angel hotel and are watching it. As well as looking for Leif Eirikson. When we saw you leave they told me to follow you. We can only search the city so get out of here and make for the countryside. It is under the control of the Native American Pantheon and restricted to Devils unless we are given permission by them."
Cadmus blinked, a Devil was warning him about her allies plot was not what he expected to learn today. Nevertheless this was good news to know the enemy's plan. Still, he couldn't help saying, "Why are you doing this?"
Her eyes narrowed, "Because I hate being a Devil. Paimon saved me from an abusive family but exchanged it for a life of servitude! I have to follow every order and cannot run away or I become a stray and lose control of the power inside me."
Pity swelled within Cadmus' heart, she was just like him when becoming an Einherjar. He hated his second life but unlike her he had people to help him she did not. Rota told him what happened to reincarnated Devils who became strays. Remembering that she would not tell Paimon she saw him he wondered if that was her way of defying him and helping Thor.
"Thank you…" He trailed off in hopes to know her name.
"Odina Blackhorse and don't thank me until you have escaped New York."
Cadmus thanked her one last time before leaving the library with Odina following at a big distance. They were two blocks away when a loud explosion and a great shockwave ripped through the city, shaking buildings and shattering glass. Doubling his pace he ran faster, not caring if Odina was still following or not, until he rounded a corner and halted in horror to see the One-Winged Angel Hotel was on fire. The fire and smoke, Cadmus realized, was coming from their room! Fear gripped his heart Rota's safety. All around him humans screamed, swore, and pointed to the fire while others called emergency response or record the incident.
Suddenly a barrier ten times bigger than the one from before enclosed the hotel and three blocks of the city. The humans caught inside screamed and ran anywhere they could before great columns of fire erased them from existence or hails of icicles and magic bullets ripped through them like knives through paper. Cadmus watched in horror at the brutal deaths the humans suffered. Immediately knew this was not the work of the Church but rather the Devils. Truly they sank to a new level of evil to murder humans and attack Asgard in broad daylight.
"Oh ho." Said a deep melodious voice, "Looks like one went out for a stroll."
Slowly Cadmus turned and found himself face to face with a man sporting muscles so big they could rip a car in two. The maroon suit was very tight on his frame and looked close to tearing into pieces if he moved quickly. His orangish-red mane reminded Cadmus of a flamethrower with two large horns on his head.
"Who are you?" Cadmus asked, noticing Odina standing somewhat behind the horned being.
"I am the Lord of House Vassago." The horned man introduced himself, "Balog, is my name."
The Greek grimaced, the heir of the Vassago family looked like a Minotaur if it had skin instead of fur. Cadmus knew he could not defeat Balog Vassago physically or magically. All he could do was stall and hope his allies, his friends, were ok and could come to his aid.
Any preparation for confronting Vassago was stopped by Odina's voice, "Lord Vassago, what are you doing!?"
The noble shifted his gaze to the native girl, "I could say the same about you, Paimon's Pawn."
Odina's eyes narrowed, "I was chasing this warrior of Asgard but now I find you attacking the Fallen Angel hotel and humans! Lord Paimon told us to gather information, not attack."
Lord Vassago rolled his eyes, "Spying will take too long. Besides, if we can't find the Viking we may as well capture these Asgardians for information. As for the humans, we need no witnesses to see us capture them."
The native American girl scowled at the horned being, "You go too far on this act, Lord Vassago! Do you not care about the consequences of this action?"
Balog sneered, "These Asgardians are trespassing in our territory searching for a treasure that will help us. Speaking of our trespassers from Asgards." He motioned to the burning hotel to show a group of figures come blasting out of the smoke exchanging spells. One broke away from the battle carrying someone. As they drew closer Cadmus realized it was Thor being carried by Rota who was sporting a nasty cut across her face, "It seems Asgard is tougher than I thought."
Of course they are, you arrogant fool! They are Gods! Cadmus said to himself trying to see what he could do to help. He couldn't fly to help Rota carry Thor nor perform a sneak attack on Balog. What should he do? What could he do?
"Balog, call off this attack at once! Lord Paimon-" What else Odina was about to say was cut off by a fire tornado erupting beneath her. When it vanished nothing remained of the girl. Fear seized Cadmus, Balog just killed a fellow Devil in cold blood. How insane was this man?
"Oh no. It looks like Odina was killed by your God of Thunder." Balog teased, an evil smirk spreading across his lips.
A cry from above drew the two men's attention to see six Devils blasted by fire, lightning, wind, light, and explosive-based magic. Four of the six were erased from existence while the other two came crashing to the floor with a bloody slap bleeding and smoking with burns. Before the bodies hit the ground Rossweisse focused dozens of spells at Balog. For a moment, Cadmus saw concern flash across Balog before sending blasts of blue flames colliding with Rossweisse's spells creating great explosions. Unlike Paimon, Balog was stronger by how powerful his demonic energy was. How the Einherjar was going to help the Valkyrie was cut short when a familiar silver teleportation circle appeared next to the horned Devil and out came Paimon and his Peerage.
Sarroxan's golden eyes blazed with frustration at his fellow Pureblood's action, "What are you doing, Balog!? I told you to wait and watch to get more information and what happened to Odina? Her Evil Piece returned to me."
Balog pointed an accusing finger at Rossweisse, "The warriors from Asgard took her hostage and demanded we let them go! I refused and that Valkyrie killed her!"
Aqua eyes filled with surprise, Rossweisse was no stranger to killing people in combat but murdering in cold blood was an act she would never do. She was about to protect but the look of hurt and anger on Paimon's face said he would not believe her or the others. Things just got much worse.
"I tried to be nice by working together with Asgard to share the treasure and you take my newest servant as a hostage and murder her." Silver demonic energy formed around house Paimon's current leader, "Negotiation is off the table! Take that Valkyrie alive! I will punish her myself for murdering Odina!"
Cadmus watched Balog, Sarroxan, and the Paimon Bishops let loose a variety of magic bullets, blasts of fire and large icicles at the Valkyrie. The silver haired warrior maiden weaved through attack after attack while at the same time casting spells of her own to counter the dozen's of spells trying to hit her. Sigrun was right, her title as Odin's bodyguard was not to be exaggerated. Catching movement at ground level, Cadmus swapped his clothes for armor, his spear and shield ready to battle the enemy. If he was expecting close combat he was wrong for three Pawn's and a tall burly man pulled the same trick on Rossweisse while the Knights and Rooks flew straight at Sigrun to aid the other Vassago Devils she was fighting. Seeing that his shield wasn't big enough to protect his whole body, Cadmus dropped to his knees to cover as much as he could against the magic bullets the Devils sent at him.
This must have been what the three hundred spartans felt when facing the Perians at Thermopylae! Thought Cadmus as he weathered the assault.
A burst of blue fire drew his attention upwards to see it hit Rossweisse square in the chest leaving her breastplate scuffed. The force of the blast sent her Valkyrie spinning like a top and unable to dodge the magic bullets and other spells. A cloud of smoke enveloped the warrior maiden but she came bursting forth still ready to fight but not unharmed. Her armor was not only scuffed but blackened in spots, her stockings and leotard had burn holes but her skin somehow managed to stay unburned. Confused registered in his head at how that could happen before remembering Rota telling him Valkyrie armor was enchanted with defensive magic.
This isn't good, the Valkyries are hurt and outnumbered, Rota and Thor are nowhere to be found and I'm about to become swiss cheese! Will need a miracle to get out of this!
"Rossweisse!"
Cadmus spared a glance over his shoulder to see Thor, right arm in a sling and a nast bloody cut on his forehead, come limping as fast as he could to aid his friends. Rota was trying urgently to pull him back but failing. The Greek Einherjar's face paled at the condition Thor was in, just what exactly had happened up at the hotel room?
"Is that him, Sarroxan? Is that the so-called God of Thunder?" Balog taunted, his attention turned to Thor and Rota, "He doesn't look like a God. Much less possessing the power of one."
"Rossweisse!" Thor cried again.
The silver haired ignored Thor's cries as she managed to send a blast of light magic at one of the Bishops, erasing their left arm from existence. She couldn't be distracted by Thor's worry for her, she had to fight these Devils while trying to figure out the best way to escape this barrier. Perhaps with enough concentrated attacks a hope could be opened and they can escape before it closes. They just had to disengage the enemy…
"Fall back!" She called through a communication seal to her fellow Valkyries, "Repeat, fall back! Get the Einherjar, Sigrun and regroup somewhere they can't find us I'll-"
Her orders were cut off when the sound of multiple bangs were heard and soon, two Devils fighting Sigrun, and Paimon's Bishops were blasted by beams of light leaving bloody smoke wounds on them. The bangs, recognized as gunfire, was followed by a loud warcry and dozens of Exorcists came rushing out of alleyways and around building corners, all armed with guns and swords of light. Leading one group was a very tall man with a bald head and a long braided gray mustache holding two large axes glowing glow. That man Rossweisse did not know personally but knew who he was by Cadmus, Rota, and Sigrun's encounter with him yesterday; Rollo.
How the warriors of the Church got through the barrier was not a concern for it but their appearance was diverting the Devil's attention away from them. She wasted no time repeating her orders and soon went about casting spells, mostly of light for Devils were weakest to those, in all directions to keep them at bay until Sigrun said everyone was safely away before zooming around a corner and out of sight of the Devils.
Across the battlefield Balog Vassago was filled with unbridled rage because he almost captured the Asgardians until the Church came out of nowhere allowing the Norse warriors to escape. The hotter his wrath became the more destructive his Hell Fire became, every Exorcist touched by it was erased from existence. The Exorcists must have known a spell or two to slip in or they already were inside before the barrier was erected. Whatever reason it was of no consequence; he would wipe out these humans then continue the hunt for Asgard for they could not escape the barrier once he called Agothdorzen and his Peerage to strengthen it. With the Sollas Peerage's aid, nobody would be able to escape.
Underneath his rage he was smiling devilishly that his plan to kill Paimon's servant and blame Asgard for it worked so easily. Sarraxon was one of the few Devils to care for his servants and it sickened Balog, servants were only there to obey orders and die to be replaced by new ones. With so many humans populating the world every Peerage in the Underworld could easily replace a member, which he would do after he found Fafnir's treasure.
Meanwhile
"Ouch!" Wince Thor.
"Quit whining. You did this to yourself by rushing back to the battle instead of finding a place to hide and rest as I told you!" Scolded Rota while tending to the prince's wounds with new medicine and bandaging from her medkit. Rota was one of the few warrior maidens of Asgard to attend medical class but wasn't far enough in to learn healing magic yet. If she did then they would not be a squad of walking wounded.
When she finished she turned her attention to Cadmus and threw herself upon him, holding him tightly in her arms. "Thank the Norns you're ok."
"I'm alright," He reassured her, "That Balog Vassago guy said he attacked the hotel without warning. What exactly happened?"
Three hours had passed since fleeing the battle and Thor's team, wounded and tired, found refuge in a skyscraper's basement some blocks away from the hotel. All except Cadmus sported wounds from the battle and all were doing what they could in tending them for none knew healing magic. How long could they stay here and lick their wounds before the enemy found them and could they even stand another attack by the Devils with the condition they were in?
"What happened?" Growled Thor, "Is that the hallway was packed with eight Devils all ready to blast open the door with spells. Of course the Security System and Defense magic applied by Sigrun and Rossweisse held until the Pawn's promotion to Bishops. That was too much for the door and the whole room was blasted apart. And as you can see we did not escape unharmed."
"Thor shielded me from the rubble. Hence why his arm is hurt." Said Rota, gesturing to the sling securing the Aesir prince's arm, "They rushed in firing more spells but Sigrun and Rossweisse were quick to counterattack. I think they killed two before I took Thor out of the room to get him out of arms way."
"I saw Rossweisse kill four more." Said Cadmus recalling the silver haired girl's recent victories, "That means six are no more."
"I could have helped." Thor grumbled.
Rossweisse scowled at Thor, "How? With your bare hands? You can't use magic to cast spells, fly, or summon your weapons and armor. I'm not sorry to say this but you are useless for now, Thor. You are also hurt so you couldn't help anyway."
"I couldn't sit by and wait to see what happened! I had to try!"
"Had to?" Said Rossweisse, "Why had to? We are warriors like you!"
"You were struggling against overwhelming odds!"
"Enough!" Cadmus said stepping between them, "We fought them and escaped. I don't know if any of you are fit to travel but we gotta find a way out of this dome and get into the countryside. Those Devils can't pursue us there."
Sigrun looked up from cleaning the blood off her sword, "What do you mean?"
"One of Paimon's servant, Odina Blackhorse, who was murdered by Balog and blamed us for doing, told me we can escape into the countryside. It's controlled by the Native American Pantheon. They will not allow Devils entry into theirs unless necessary."
A long silence filled the basement before Rota said, "How can you trust the word of a Devil? How do we know the Native Americans won't let us pass? We are outsiders to them."
"Odina hated being a Devil." Answered Cadmus, "And I believe her. The look in her eye reminded me of myself before…giving Asgard a second chance."
As silence fell upon the basement again Thor pondered the Greek boy's information, if they escape to the countryside they may have to explain why they are in America and if so they may have to share the treasure with the Natives. Would sharing the treasure be so big of a deal even with such a high debt to owe the Dwarves? Fafnir was said to have stolen treasure all around the world but how much exactly did he steal, millions, billions, perhaps even trillions? If so then they could easily pay the debt and even share with the other realms like Elves and Giants who are friendly to Asgard. However, to share with other factions, especially the Biblical Faction, was out of the question and yet, despite their schism, the Fallen Angels had done much to help Asgard so they should be given a share of the treasure, if Azazel wants some.
He shook his head, those plans had to wait until they found the Dragon Kings treasure. For now they had to recover from the battle and get out of here as fast as possible without any more fights. With those Exorcists keeping them occupied they may have a chance.
"Why did they attack us in broad daylight?" Rota asked, "Devils prefer the dark rather than light so why do something so reckless and with so many humans about?"
"Don't you know, Rota? New York never sleeps." Said Cadmus, "Day or night they would have attacked with humans getting caught up within it. I guess that Vassago wanted to capture one of us as soon as possible. That didn't sit too well with Paimon from what I overheard. Paimon wanted to watch us before doing anything. However, now that we are to blame for killing Odina he won't be nice to us anymore."
"And we won't either." Growled Thor, his fists clenching in rage at the Devils action performed today.
They rested for another hour before gathering what strength they had before quickly and quietly leaving the basement keeping alert for any sign of Devils and Exorcists. They talked of how Rollo and Exorcists got through the barrier and they all agreed that they, like the Devils, kept watch on them before Balogs attack. Any humans they encountered fled in terror before their memories could be erased.
"This isn't good," Rota said, "Those Devils may have revealed the Supernatural world to humans."
"But who would believe them? Thor replied, "Besides I'm pretty sure the Underworld's rulers will go about wiping the entire state's memories of this event. If they can pull it off."
"If they can level a whole continent they can wipe a state's memory." Thor added before asking Rossweisse, "Can you breach the barrier?"
"I can try if I concentrate all my power on a single spot and get help from Sigrun and Rota."
"Unfortunately my skills lay in melee combat not spell casting." Said Sigrun.
"And my spell cast isn't on par with yours, Rossweisse." Said Rota.
Rossweisse's shoulders slumped, "If I can't get help it will take longer to escape and by that time will be spotted by my spells."
As soon as she said 'spell' a large blue magic seal appeared beneath them followed by a barrier surrounding them. The warriors of Asgard found they couldn't move their limbs but could still turn their head and speak. They were baffled by this sudden event before Rossweisse exclaimed, "We're trapped by sealing magic and a barrier!"
"That's right, Valkyrie, and in your current condition, you are unable to escape it." The five teens found themselves face to face with a short brown haired man dressed in a long gray jacket with a hood over his head that made his violet eyes twinkle like gemstones in a cave. His pants were tan, baggy, and tucked into brown riding boots.
"So which noble are you?" Cadmus asked, "Stolas or Sallos?"
"Sallos." The hooded Devil answered, "Agothdorzen Sallos and I must say you Asgardians have proven to be quite a challenge for Lord Paimon. He asked me to find and detain you after the Exorcists snuck past my Peerage into the barrier and attacked him and Lord Vassago."
Thor gritted his teeth, Sigrun glared, Cadmus sighed, and Rossweisse struggled to figure out how to break out of the seal and barrier but as the Lord of House Sallos said; such an act was impossible in her current condition. She was too wounded and exhausted from the fighting to try casting any spell. All she could do was form the calculations in her mind. Were they finally going to be prisoners to the noble houses of New York and forced to share the treasure with them?
"You can't have that treasure!" Growled Thor, a flicker of yellow flashing in his eyes.
Agothdorzen sighed, "I am sorry, Lord of Thunder, but we need that treasure."
"For killing your enemies!" Thor shouted.
Agothdorzen shook his head, "That is what some would want. I do not wish for war. I want Fafnir's treasure to be used to help our people advance in technology and civilization."
"Liar! You Devils only want it to rebuild your armies and hire other mythologies to fight for you in your war against Heaven!"
The Lord of House Sallos hung his head in shame, "You do not understand, Son of Odin. Not all Devils wish to see war. We too wish for peace."
"If peace is what you want then please let us go." Rota said, her tone is more level then Thor's.
"I cannot do so. Espiecally not when you took one of Lord Paimon's servants hostage and killed her."
"We didn't do that!" Cadmus protested, "Balog did it! I saw him kill Odina and blame it on Rossweisse!"
For a brief second shock flashed through Agothdorzen's eyes, did Balog truly murder a fellow Devil to instigate a fight? That moment, Rossweisse realized, gave her the time to let loose a great burst of light magic to break the seal and barrier trapping them. The hope her comrades had was short-lived when she dropped to her knees painting heavily.
"Rossweisse!" Cried Thor kneeling beside her.
"I'm sorry, Thor, but I used the last of my magic to free us. I don't have the strength to break us out of the barrier…" She panted, a bead of sweat rolling down her face,
House Sallos' leader recalled Paimon saying that silver haired Valkyrie being on par with the High-Class Devils but now she was no weaker than a newly reincarnated Devil. None of them had the strength to stop him from recapturing them after fighting Vassago and Paimon's Peerage. Agothdorzen raised a hand saying sadly, "I did not wish to hurt you but if I must in order to detain you again then so be it."
A dozen magic bullets came zooming toward the Asgards, all ready to fight but whatever they were going to do to defend against the attack was cut short when another blast of fire, twice as powerful as the previous, came hurtling toward her. Cadmus was just about to try shielding Rota with his shield when the most amazing thing happened. An enormous red circle with lines woven together like a net appeared in front of her and easily stopped the bullets.
As Rossweisse inspected the shape of the spell, for spell it was, she couldn't share her thoughts aloud on what it reminded her of, "It looks like a dream catcher."
"But who cast the spell?" Cadmus asked,
"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to hurt these children."
All eyes turned to the speaker to find an old man with a walking stick approach. He had a full head of gray hair, no beard on his chin, a sky blue button shirt, gray dress pants, and black dress shoes. Behind his glasses were green eyes that held wisdom and something more.
"Old man," Agothdorzen said, "Turn back. What you seek is not your concern. Nor do you remember this event."
It was obvious House Sallos' ruler was attempting to use hypnosis to make the stranger leave.
"Did I not say I cannot allow you to hurt these children? It is you who should turn back."
Agothdorzen's brows rose in surprise, his magic wasn't working on the old man? That was impossible unless…
"You are affiliated to the Supernatural world. Are you a magician or something else?"
"That is a question I will not answer, Lord of House Sallos."
Now Agothdorzen was on alert, not only did this old man have power to repel his magic, twice, but also knew who he was. How could someone affiliated to the Supernatural world be living right under their nose? Agothdorzen was not a great fighter and preferred to avoid battles to save the lives of himself and his Peerage but this time he would have to fight to keep Asgard from escaping. That didn't stop him from thinking how right Lady Stolas was for the trouble Sarroxan caused by attacking Asgard. Just then he felt a sharp pain between his shoulder blade and he staggered forward with surprise at what exactly hit him. Twisting his head he saw to his horror a spear sticking out of his back, blood flowing were the blade punctured his skin and the brown haired boy's arm extended in a throwing position.
He threw the spear!?
It was then Agothdorzen realized that the brown haired boy was not sporting any wounds from the battle nor fatigue! Either he stayed out of battle or was not there when Vassago attacked. Remembering the old man, Agothdorzen gathered his demonic energy only to see a dozen seals surrounding him and leaving him unmovable.
He sealed me like I did to the Asgardians! Just who is this old man? The Lord of Sallos wondered as he watched the old man stroll past him toward the warriors and teleport them away.
Somewhere else
Thor's vision had changed from the deserted streets of New York trapped inside a barrier to a hilly landscape with New York City in the distance. The redhead helped Rossweisse to her feet and stared at the old man who saved them. Who was he, how did he know magic, and why had he saved them?
The old man stared back at them then toward New York city, "This is one of my favorite spots to look at the city and where I always teleport too when I don't want to use public transportation."
"Thank you." Said Rossweisse after wiping the sweat from her brow with a handkerchief the old man provided her with.
"You are most welcome, Rossweisse."
The Valkyrie blinked, "I never told you my name."
"No, but your grandmother did and she has told me much about you."
Now Rossweisse was really confused, "How do you know my grandmother? Just who are you really?"
The old man smiled and bowed, "Ah. I completely forgot to introduce myself. I am Leif Eirkson."
The Asgardians are saved by the very man they are looking for! With that they may get one step closer to Fafnir's treasure but this will not be the last time we see the the five nobles or Rollo. Hopefully I gave each of the nobles a decent history for OC pureblood Devils. Anyway, I will see you all in the next chapter.