The Wielder of Death Magic

1141 Hephaestus

Staxius return to a less than excitable Ragno. “-master, to the tower, we need to talk,” read his interface. ‘-Elixia needs me this badly?’ he lit a smoke and headed for the tower. There, upon arrival, the ground felt heavier than usual. Heaviness was usually accompanied by the whim of a greater being, someone or something of might. He took no time in climbing the stairs and was soon in the teleportation room, wherein, the device worked.

Elixia was beside the console with a tablet in hand, and Yui was on the other side, speaking to a few students.

“Over here,” Elixia hailed. He flicked the cigarette, took a pensive scan, and walked.

“The machine’s working?”

“Yeah, I had to call in a favor from the Heavenly realm.”

“Excuse me?” he coughed, ‘-how did she get to know the heavens?’

“I know what you’re thinking, master, it’s a simple thing. Heavens can be called forth to aid if we have allies. Evidently, by sheltering the gods from the oppression of Zeus and the newly formed heavenly convention, we’ve gained the support of many deities. Though they won’t reveal their allegiance just yet, we have earnt ourselves quite the following.

“This the reason you called?”

“Partly,” she swiped, “-I have urgent news regarding the situation in Draebala. I think it best we move now. There’s unrest amongst the troops – Draebala’s not a peaceful land, and from what I’ve learned scattered information, the blood moon is upon said dimension. It is said, when the moon shines red, the army of the fallen shall awaken and seek justice on those who did them harm.”

.....

“Convenient…”

“Also,” she turned, putting another outline into his field of view, “-I’d like to welcome our newest ally. Hephaestus.”

A tall fellow rose, the arms shone a darker tone and with impressive muscle carved finely by the motion of a hammer against an anvil. The face and skin battered by the heat of the forge, the hair perpetually tied behind a dirtied cloth, Hephaestus’s narrow stare paused on Staxius, like a master craftsman scanning his tools and materials, the goddess paused heavily on certain features of Staxius.

“I refuse,” Staxius returned, “-Hephaestus, you’re ranked as one of the greater gods, you don’t need protection. A goddess such as yourself should be stronger than any foe that comes your way. It is a simple matter of fact, I’ve learned from experience when someone of power comes, they always demand something greater. I appreciate you fixing the teleportation device, truly, I appreciate the help, however, I have a suspicion there’s more to your request than meets the eye.”

She pushed out her chest, revealing her well-defined waist and stomach, “-wise,” she answered, untying the cloth holding her hair, “-I’ll leave if I’m not needed.”

“Just like that?” he rolled his eyes, “-come on.”

“What?” she reached the door and only then, after a few seconds, seemed to receive the message, “-you want me to stay?”

“What is wrong with her?” he turned to Elixia.

“Hephaestus is an interesting character. You’ll like her I’m sure. We will need weapons to go against the combined army, don’t forget they’re of higher ranks, thus, normal weapons won’t be much lest the wielder of an equal or higher rank. And here I was thinking my master was far-sighted. You truly get worked up when the subject of the Olympian gods comes up don’t you?”

“I have to,” they observed the strange entity, “-Cruse warned me once. The Olympian gods are trouble. We can’t expect an ally of such great proportion to fall into our laps. It’s perhaps a ploy of some sort.”

“If you’re worried, I could always dig into the reasons,” said a beaming Yui, “-hello master, been a minute.”

“Yui, you sure are popular with the students.”

“Someone has to teach the class since their head teacher is on leave. It shouldn’t be an issue,” they made a trio and watched the less-than-present Hephaestus, “-what is she doing?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Elixia shrugged her shoulders, “-master, do what you must, you need to leave for Draebala as soon as possible. You wouldn’t want their bodies to stay exposed to the elements for too long, would you?”

‘Right…’ he exhaled, ‘-the battle and the death of my allies.’

“Hephaestus, will you join me for a chat?”

“Sure.”

The gloomy outside was soon casting a frigid breeze, which pierced skin and rang through one’s bones. They walked into town and settled at one of the cozy inns with seating arrangements outside over the beautifully polished stone-bricked walkways. Here, the streets were mostly used by the many restaurants and inns, and a small square made by the surrounding buildings felt like an escape from the outside world.

Neither too hot nor cold, neutral weather. Staxius ordered a few drinks whilst Hephaestus wasted her time browsing the menu, finally settling on today’s special.

“Goddess,” he narrowed, “-you must understand, I’ve fought against your brothers and sisters. The Olympian gods. Why would you ally yourself with me, why not stick with your own family, they are those who kept thee alive for all this time.”

She took her time, scanning the surrounding kiosks and smelling her drink, “-I don’t know,” she sipped, “-Igna, I heard many things about you from Zeus and the others,” she spoke slowly, “-and I think you’re pretty entertaining. I’ve spent my life working the forge of Mount Olympus, I never had the time to adventure or go party. Look at me, I’m a lady but I have the sculpture and figure of a man, my skin’s battered and my face is harsh. No man wishes to approach a lady who’s stronger than them. I’m worshiped as a god, not a goddess, and no one cares about who I really am. They care about one thing, my weapons. It’s a weapon this, a weapon that, all the goddamned time. I’m sick of it. The Heavenly convention came to me for a massive order of god-slaying weapons… I can only do so much; those things require the soul and life essence of gods. I brought it to Zeus, and he said, kill off the newborns, they may be small but the souls are mature…” she lowered her head and ungripped her cup, “-I wanted to escape. No one knew my plight, no one… no one until this girl with blond hair came to me in my dreams. She said to run and look for a man belonging to the Shadows. I looked around and found your name, rather, your title, The Adjudicator, the Master of Three in One. From there, I left and I found myself here, Elixia asked me if I could help you fix the teleportation device, it was a simple fix and I was glad to do it. Something, not a weapon, it got my blood pumping. Ragno is a good place, I watched the people, demons, and whatnot, we’re different, and have been enemies. But when I look at them from here, they’re the same, we’re the same. The only difference is the appearance and ideals, aside from that, we live, eat, shit, and sleep.”

“You don’t care if I trust you or not, and the same goes for me, trust is a gamble. The landscape of intrigue has turned my mind more cynical than it should be. Even now, I can’t bring myself to accept your place here. I heard your story and I don’t have a reason to refuse. Therefore, instead of my acceptance, how about your visit to a friend of mine, she’s the arbiter of all that is knotted.”

“Sure, let’s go now.”

‘Decisive,’ he stood, ‘-I can’t wait a week to give Tharis my decision. If I’m going against the heavens, I’ll have to gain support from more than a few gods. At my current strength, taking on the whole of Draebala will be foolish. Our forces the disappearance of Kaleem, Cora, Yuria, Starix, and my children, Raphael, Saniata, and Draconis.’

*Snap,* instant teleportation to Tharis’ realm, they arrived with their posture firm on the seats and snacks untouched on the table, “-would be rude to not finish the snacks before we leave, isn’t that, right?”

“Fair,” they ate underneath a soft willow tree surrounded by a pond. Royal guards made walked to and fro, they sat firmly inside the Capital’s Castle, Tharis’ home. A horde of advisors flocked to her side, she waved her arms like swords, deflecting their grievances and parried with her words, giving insight and resolution to their plight.

‘Syhton gave her chastity and threw her chaste title away for my sake. She was there when I needed it most. Regardless of what she did with Romeo, I shouldn’t be hard on her. She’s still the one I vowed myself to… Tharis came in without warning and stole her spot. She’s got plans for the future and I doubt the arbiter has any place left in her heart for affection. She’s a rational entity, someone who will accept clear and concise arguments against her propositions. It might work, we need smokes and mirrors,’ the downed the last sip, “-I’ll be right back, have to rescue a dame.” Staxius quickly went over an arched bridge and blocked the coming horde, Tharis rose her gaze over the crowd and widened her gaze, a sense of shock grabbed her expression.

“This is unacceptable, my lady, you will not be married to a nobody. Forget about the Adjudicator, his purpose is to bring ruin to the world, there’s no point in siding with a man whose ideal is to destroy reality. Our survival is at stake… we need to call for Artanos, without your little brother’s foresight, I think ruin will be upon us.”

“My,” Staxius interjected, “-Tharis, I need a word.”

“Pardon?” the advisors made a shield in front of their goddess, “-a man of low standards has no purpose being inside the castle. Did you sneak in… leave before I call the guards.”

She rose her arms and stepped out of the crowd, “-dismissed, we will take up the conversation later. I have to attend to a guest.”

They grudgingly left, Tharis exhaled and relaxed her shoulders, “-why are you here, I thought you left?”

“I did, then I returned,” he offered a cigarette, “-care for one?”

“Sure,” she lit and puffed, “-did you come to a decision?”

“About the whole marriage thing, you must know about Syhton, yes?”

“She’s your lover and yours her. She willingly gave her a chaste title for your comfort. She’s truly a woman to be proud of. If I were a man, I’d have fallen for her the first time she smiled. She’s an amazing woman, and there’s the problem, she’s too good for you, or us.”

He puffed, “-care to elaborate?”

“I’m afraid she’s confirmed my suspicion. I only had to put the thought of you in harm’s way to sway her actions. She willingly accepted Romeo’s advances in order to make you feel safe. I don’t know what happened behind closed doors, but the problem lies there, she would do anything for you, and that mentality, is something we can’t afford currently. Would you protect her or her lifestyle?”

‘A deep question,’ he unknowingly fell inside deeper thought, ‘-this is the mistake I’ve done over and over against. I selfishly took in people under the guise of protecting their lives for my peace of mind. Once time passed, I forgot and eventually ignored those I took in, they were like toys, I found interesting. Protecting her, who am I kidding, I’ve never been one to protect another’s life, always fallen short. Her lifestyle is something I can protect… Tharis thought quite a bit on the matter, she played the villain to safeguard Syhton… she’s without a doubt the strongest woman I’ve known. Tharis’ understand what makes me tick and adjusted her plans, she’s formidable. Her idea might have merit.’

“Another cigarette,” she bumped his shoulder, “-and make it quick.”

A genuine smile escaped, “-you, Tharis, are a piece of work.”

“Look who’s talking,” they chuckled.

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