The Seraphic System
King Of Uruk

The Seraphic System

Chapter: 82

Disclaimer: I don’t own High School Dxd or any other universe used in this story. 

Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing some content in advance.

(King of Uruk)

-{Heaven (The First Realm) (Silver City)}-

The Silver City of Heaven buzzed with excitement. 

Angels of every rank and order sensed something stirring. Something momentous was unfolding by their Father's hand. 

Even the armies of Heaven that gathered around the gate sent glances its way, the thousands of Angels dressed in dark golden armour going through defence drills couldn’t help keep their attention on the massive spire. 

Word spread rapidly through the many Angels, despite the many thousands of Angels, they were all extremely close. Thousands of years had allowed for that and thus no secrets existed within the Silver City. 

Sentinels at their posts couldn’t keep their focus as they openly stared up at the spire leading to the other realms of Heaven. Thousands of Angels gathered, their wings creating a shimmering sea of light that rippled from the lowest reaches to the highest pinnacles of Heaven. 

High-ranking Angels hovered near the upper realms, their six wings behind them. 

Cherubim faces gazed intently upward. Powers, Dominions, Virtues, and countless guardian angels were all in the group of Angels. 

They could all sense something was happening. 

Hundreds of Angels had been allowed up to the sixth Heaven just a few hours prior. It had been an abrupt decision, and it had made everyone wonder what was happening.

"Father is doing something big," whispered one of them, a principality, his eyes wide. "I haven't felt this kind of energy since he was last alive."

"That and when big sister Azrael was around," another commented, adjusting his pristine white robes with an almost theatrical flourish.

"Especially when she was putting on a show for Father," a female angel snickered, her voice carrying a tinkling quality. 

That earned a major round of giggles from the gathered host, their laughter ringing like silver bells as they reminisced. 

"Something major is happening," agreed another, her white wings trembling with anticipation. 

"What do you think Father is doing?" Rakiel wondered aloud, leaning forward. 

"I'm uncertain... but perhaps it pertains to the attack that draws near," Sariel replied with a soft frown. 

That drew matching frowns from all the angels nearby, their collective expression shifting. Despite the varying degrees of concern, they all shared the same fierce fire burning in their eyes.

"Do you think the attack will be serious?" Rakiel asked, his displeasure manifesting as an icy look. 

"Father seems to be taking it seriously," Tariel observed from beside Sariel.

“Indeed. Which is cause for worry.” Another one said. 

“Why can’t we get a break.” Sariel sighed. 

“I’m sure Father has a plan.” Rakiel intervened reassuringly. 

"Yet, he's different. The rebirth has reset him. He needs to be protected," Sariel said with the sort of grave seriousness. 

“Uriel said he was regaining his power rapidly, but he had admittedly been temporarily set back.” Tariel mentioned joyfully. 

“He’s weakened.” Rakiel frowned. “We will need to be careful. We can’t have a repeat of this.” 

Nods of agreement rippled through the large gathering, each angel's expression settling into that determined look. 

This conversation had become their most frequent topic lately, discussed in hushed tones between duties and prayers.Well, that was to say that all the Angels spoke about was their Father these days. 

How couldn’t they? Since the dawn of their creation their Father had been a permanent as the world around changed sporadically. Gods fell and rose, lands changed and rivers formed. Enemies rose and sank. 

It was special. That along with the bond that they had, that everlasting love. Suddenly having that ripped away was something that they couldn’t allow to happen again. 

The little chats and conversations they had with their Father, the feeling of his presence and the way he effortlessly managed having so many child-like Angels became big things they missed. 

His return was massive, it’s something that rebirthed the light in their hearts. The bond was back, his presence was back. And they weren’t letting go of it again. 

“Agreed. I’ve had to start training in other places than the training grounds due to the sheer amount of our siblings that are there. It seems we are all set on the same path.” Takiel replied. 

“I feel like a fool. I halted all my training when he passed. Now, a potential threat is in play and I’m going to be useless.” Zasiel lamented softly.

“I wouldn’t take it too hard, I think all of us besides the army felt the same.” Sariel comforted him.

“Do you think he’s going to try to fight-“ 

Then came the shift. 

The idle chatter became muted. A wave of a strange energy they couldn’t identify cascaded down the Spiral, washing over the assembled Angels. 

While not all Angels could sense magic, there was a faint feeling in the air that overlapped the natural holy power that was being produced. 

They all looked up in wonder, their eyes sparking with a pure joy that was hard found among the supernatural world's inhabitants as they waited patiently. 

The barrier to the Sixth Heaven opened. 

Uriel and Gabriel descended through with a group of Angels they briefly didn’t recognise until realisation dawned on all of them. Gasps of astonishment rippled through the gathering. 

Figures many had thought lost forever stared back at them with joyful smiles.

"Xariel!" cried a voice from the crowd. 

A tall angel with four wings stepped forward, looking as surprised as those who beheld him. He had fallen by his own hand merely a few centuries ago, the weight of suffering he'd witnessed along with the lack of Father’s presence left no hope and proved too much for his spirit.

"Jehoel! Haniel! Razueil!" More names rang out as recognition spread.

They were all there. A thousand restored brothers and sisters. 

Half were those who had succumbed to despair in recent centuries while the other half were veterans of the Great War, angels none had seen since Lucifer's rebellion thousands of years past.

The crowd surged forward without hesitation, welcoming their lost siblings. 

Joyous reunions erupted everywhere as angels embraced their revived siblings. 

Celebration spread through all the realms of Heaven.

-{Azrael}-

The moment the death energy surge through Heaven, Azrael paused. Her dark eyes flickering in a certain direction. 

She could feel it, even in a different plane. 

A shiver ran down her spine. 

Her wings twitched behind her. The feathers of light rose on instinct. Her fingers curled against the edge of the table she stood beside, gripping tightly enough that the magically reinforced steel cracked.

She knew what this was. She felt it in her core. 

Death. 

This wasn’t decay or any sort of harmful death magic. This wasn’t the final severing of a soul.

This was resurrection.

Her breath hitched. She stumbled back, one hand pressing to her chest as she felt them. The souls. The ones she had felt in the Crypts. The ones she had wept for when no one else could see. 

Their presence was returned. 

They were Alive.

She felt her knees weaken slightly. 

Her body trembled as names she hadn’t spoken in centuries surfaced in her mind. Gophiel. Anyael. Maruth. So many she had mourned. So many she had buried with her own hands.

There was no mistaking it.

He had returned.

God. Her Father.

She had known he had returned, but this almost felt like a solidification of it. 

An official sign of his return. The one she had waited for in silence. The one she had grieved when the Heavens dimmed and the light faded. 

She had felt his death when it had happened, it was a feeling that couldn’t quite be described and despite all of her power, she felt powerless at that moment. 

A sword through her spirit. Even now, she remembered the cold that had settled over her when the realization struck. That He was gone. That He had left them. 

That Father would not return.

She had been despondent for hours, ignoring everything around her. 

Then, without a word she had gathered up a group of powerful Angels and left in search for a way to revive their Father. 

It was shameful. 

Heaven could have used her strength, especially since all the Angels with Heavenly Domains had weakened. But she had needed to focus on the task at hand with everything she had. 

She let out a breath, her golden wings contrasting greatly against her appearance. 

He was back now and she had not gone to Him.

Her fingers clenched into fists.

She had told herself it wasn’t the right time. That He had enough to deal with. That her presence would only darken His return. Many excuses had been made to delay it. 

But deep down she knew the truth.

She is afraid. More so than she has been since learning of his death. Afraid to see Him and not be recognized. She was afraid of what her beloved siblings must think at her abandonment. 

Rare was it that she had felt fear in the past few centuries so it was something that she didn’t know how to process. 

Azrael rose to her feet slowly, her legs weak beneath her. Her power idly surrounded her with an aura of death. 

She needed to face him. 

First, she needed to deal with a few annoyances in her way.

-{Kai}-

Michael didn’t waste time after making his announcement. 

A golden teleportation circle forming below us and whisking us away to Heaven’s Gate in a moment. 

When the flash of light died down, I found myself standing in front of the towering pearly gate I had gone through many months ago. It practically radiated with both light and holy power, hundreds of enchantments undoubtedly woven into each bar. 

The area around the bars shimmered with an aura of light. 

The walls that surrounded the gate were strange, a reflective white with small golden shifting patterns on its frame. The large walls had an end, with two massive cannons on either side. 

The brief question on why couldn’t anyone just jump over the wall was answered as a barely visible barrier shimmered, the only space this barrier didn’t protect being the gate itself.

“We only sensed it because we had our detection at the highest level. Shamefully enough,” Michael said, his tone completely monotone and his eyes sharper than I had seen before. “I admit, without your warning, we probably would not have noticed it.” He stepped forward, pressing a hand to the gate.

The golden bars split apart silently, parting for us. I could already feel the press of energy behind us. Behind us, an assembly of Angels was already forming behind us and I could feel the many looks of reverence on my back. 

It was still weird, but I managed to send smiles back at the preening Angels. 

Saint Peter stood at the front and immediately knelt to the ground upon seeing me. His head practically hitting the floor. 

“My Lord,” he said, not rising.

I nodded once, acknowledging him but not stopping. I was serious, my mind going into that battle state it hadn’t been in for so long. 

Mindmaven was activated, sending a sharp jolt of pain going through me as my intelligence and processing speed was truly increased. 

Michael walked beside me and we stepped through the gate.

Immediately, we entered the in-between realm. 

The space between Earth and Heaven. 

It stretched in all directions, an endless, mirrored plane. The ground reflected the sky, and the sky reflected the ground. The place that would hopefully halt anyone with bad intentions.  

Angels stepped through after us in disciplined waves.

They had quickly gone from their lax state to full alert as they followed us, a golden army protectively surrounding me like some sort of shield. 

I was surrounded before I even realized it, rows of lithe winged figures forming a protective formation around me, weapons in hand. 

They didn’t speak and their demeanour changed, instead of focusing on me with those awed and love-filled looks that I wasn’t entirely sure I deserved, they had their gaze set on everything around them. 

Their eyes went cold and they became different. 

Michael led the way forward, his eyes scanning the mirrored landscape carefully.

“They left not long after triggering our wards,” He said. “We have no trace beyond this point, whoever it was, they quickly left.”

We went towards the gate, and stepped outside the actual entrance. 

“Where does this lead too?” I questioned. 

“That’s a bit of a difficult question, the entrance to this dimension leads to multiple places. It has no one set entrance.” Michael replied. “We have a few that are guarded but some of them are too dangerous… I also suspect you made a few secret entrances that could have been found.” 

“Then that leaves the question, what was his purpose for entering and simply leaving a moment later?” I mused, looking around. 

I activated my chakra eyes, scanning for anything hidden.

Michael seemed to notice it too, but he allowed me to take charge. 

A faint disturbance caught my attention. A bend in the mirrored reflection, almost too faint to notice. 

I walked toward it, crouched down, and reached for it. 

My fingers brushed something cold and metallic.

There.

A device, no bigger than a coin, stuck to the mirrored floor. 

Carefully, I plucked it free and slipped it into my inventory. I’d analyze it later.

Michael was already next to me, his eyes narrowed. “A marker.”

I stood up, still watching the horizon. 

“Perhaps to track something?” Michael mused. 

“Or to test the barrier,” I replied with a frown.

“It was well hidden.” Michael noted. “It seems the first move has been made.”

“This realm should have stopped him. It stops anyone with bad intentions right?” I mused, “then again, that’s not hard to bypass. Simply send someone with no clue as to what they are doing to plant it and quickly leave.”

“Indeed, this dimension was more of a way to stop large forces. An army could march in and find their numbers easily halved if they weren’t prepared.” Michael said, giving me a bit more depth into the purpose of this place. 

This was the confirmation I had been waiting for. 

It was one thing hearing about what was supposed to happen, and another to see proof that something was coming Heaven’s way. I was both relieved and anxious. Relieved that I knew it was coming soon, since it set a time frame and anxious if Heaven could handle it. 

My mind went back to the quest. 

Another legendary summon…

I had learnt that beyond the Seraphs, Heaven had multiple other ultimate-class Angels. Being an Ultimate-class Angel didn’t exactly mean you had to be a Seraph.

A Seraph had access to Heavenly Domains. 

Heaven had multiple Ultimate-class Angels, along with many High-class. A group of those High-class could be equated to Ultimate-class. As someone who has risen through all the ranks of power below Super-class with my Semi-Divine Form, I knew it couldn’t be simplified into a numbers game. 

I had killed beings above my weight class. So I couldn’t rely solely on that. But God-class was on a different level. 

Having such power changed things. 

Naturally, for such a reward. All I had to do was go against a God-level threat who is apparently harnessing a Primordial’s energy. Which made this a potential Primordial level threat…

Gabriel had made the situation clear. 

It was a risk. One that could force me to use my Semi-divine form. But I didn’t have to go alone. I could bring both Jeanne and Michael. My shield and my sword. 

“What shall we do?” Michael asked. “Should I get Raphael’s research division to research the object?”

“Yes. Get Metatron’s stealth unit to look into space and make sure we haven’t missed anything.” I said, snapping out of my thoughts. 

Michael paused. “Is there something on your mind?”

I sent him a look, and nodded after a few moments.

“I want to go on the quest.” I replied after a moment of trying to word my desire. 

Michael stopped, sending me a confused look. “I heard of the quest. Gabriel was rather annoyed that you were even offered it. May I ask why?”

“There’s something I plan to gain. It’ll give me access to another ally. A permanent addition to Heaven’s forces. Another potentially God-class addition.” I replied, deactivating MindMaven. 

“Yes, but at the cost of putting yourself at such risk.” Michael replied firmly. “Perhaps if you let me go in your stead. We can complete this objective of yours without any risk.”

“I have to go, but not alone. I want to take you and Jeanne.” I responded. 

I would take everyone if I could, but that would leave Heaven too undefended. 

“You’re asking me to walk you into what could be a trap. Knowing full well I can’t say no.” Michael replied with a tired smile. 

I remained quiet.

I didn’t think it was a trap. The system quest proved their words. Whether they thought I could handle it though was a completely different matter. 

“Because I won’t. You know that, don’t you?” he continued, shaking his head. “I would follow you anywhere. You could tell me to leap into the Void and I would ask how far.” He exhaled slowly, the words weighing heavily on him. “But you’re still my father. I’m allowed to worry.”

I felt a flicker of something strange in my chest. “I know. And I’m grateful for it. But I don't want to let this opportunity pass us. Our position would be a lot better if we can do this.”

“Yes, but by the sounds of it. This is a primordial-level threat.” Michael reaffirmed.

“One that manipulates Fate.” I replied. “I have an immunity to it, meaning it’ll be useless against me and by extension you.”

Michael looked away for a second, then finally nodded once. “If that’s your desire. “I’ll prepare,” he said. “Quietly. Just the three of us.”

“Are you planning to leave through the sub-dimension?” He asked after a moment of thought. 

The Angels around us pretended not to listen, but by the frowns I could see they wanted to object to whatever was going on. 

“We’ll ask Hestia to send us out from there.” I replied, already thinking ahead.

We went back into the gates of Heaven and Michael disappeared presumably to go find Jeanne. 

I was followed by the group of Angels who guarded me protectively while I briefly inspected Heaven's defences, Angels walked atop the walls. As did many who stood behind the long walls.  

I carefully took the device, inspecting it in my hand. 

It didn’t have a lot of magical energy, something I suspected was intentional. The physical construct itself was small, metallic. A small yellow light flashed on the bottom end of it. The place where it had stuck down. 

‘Appraisal’

[Spectral Survey Node]

 A compact, coin-sized device constructed from a composite of spiritual alloys and cloaked materials, designed for passive reconnaissance. Its purpose is simple to observe and record.

{Properties}

 Ambient Trace Logging – Constantly monitors environmental energy fluctuations and records spiritual, divine, demonic, and other anomalous auras in the surrounding area. Signature imprint logs are automatically wiped upon forced deactivation.

Dimensional Camouflage – Automatically aligns itself with the energy frequency of the surrounding realm, making it nearly invisible unless scanned by high-tier sensory abilities or specialized sight techniques.

Pulse Tagging – Emits a weak, silent tracking beacon after sensing anomalies, allowing the originator to confirm realm access and gauge local divine interference levels.

Trace Rebound Seal – If tampered with, the device seals itself, releasing a brief null pulse to erase traces of energy fingerprints collected during its deployment. Designed to leave no proof behind

The small coin-sized device seemed a lot more intimidating when you realised what it was being used for. 

I looked back at the many Angels staring at me in curiosity, giving them a smile before zaps of light surrounded me and promptly teleported me back to the sixth Heaven. 

Raphael’s lab was as quiet as it was bright.

I appeared inside, the zaps of lightning fading away. 

Raphael was hunched over a table, gloves on. 

She didn’t notice me right away.

When she finally glanced up, she blinked twice, then straightened fast.

“Father!,” she said, removing her gloves.

“I need you to analyze something.” I walked over and held out the small device between two fingers. “It was found at Heaven’s threshold. Passive, cloaked.”

Raphael’s demeanour turned deathly serious. She didn’t speak. She took the object carefully with both hands, holding it with the kind of care most people reserved for unstable explosives.

“I’ll run full scans.” Her tone was sharp now. Serious.

“Good,” I nodded. “Be careful with it. I believe it has some sort of protective mechanism.” 

She gave a nod and set the device down gently into a containment slot. It slid into the table with a faint click, the symbols around it lighting up.

“You came at a good time,” she added quickly. “The dragonfire cannons are in production.”

She showed me over to a large canon, the circular gap contained a glowing dark red crystal. Its surface was silver, with a few dark lines running through it. 

I gave a quiet sound of approval.

“It’s got a simple activation sequence, all it requires is the channeling of holy power nearby. If we have a couple of Cherubs manning each cannon, we will have quite the attack power boost in regards to the wall.” She said quickly. “With the small amount provided I was able to create four cannons. I suggest we put them near the entrance since that’ll no doubt be the main target due to the barriers.” 

I smiled. 

Good. 

That was progress to the defences. 

“Are they able to go long range?” I questioned.

“Yes, I designed them for that specific purpose. Since it wouldn’t be great if we had to target our own forces near the gate.” She said,

“Oh,” she added, almost offhandedly, 

“and the healing cloak prototype? Mass production has started. Half of the first batch is already assigned to active healers. It’s functioning better than expected.”

“Perfect,” I said, a sigh of relief escaping me. 

It was good news and combatted the worry of finding, as Michael aptly stated, ‘the first move.’ 

I spent a bit of time with Raphael, before leaving her lab shortly after into the open hallways of the Sixth Heaven. I didn’t bother teleporting. 

I walked. 

Sometimes it helps to have a moment were I’m not rushing around. I made my way to where the sub-dimension gateway was housed

My thoughts drifted back to my semi-divine form.

It was still frustrating.

By all rights, it was my clearest path to evolving further into god-class territory. The burst of raw power it gave me was insane but unsustainable. Worse, it still relied entirely on my own energy to fuel it. 

No external power source worked. Not even Gabriel’s. Using mokuton I’d tried to channel her holy energy, seeing if it would trigger the transformation or lessen the drain. 

Nothing. It rejected anything that wasn’t mine. I still got the magical power, but I could only use whatever I regenerated beyond that to feed my Semi-Divine form. 

If I could find a workaround, I’d be able to quickly recharge my semi-divine form after every battle. Which would basically propel me into the higher stages of the God-class alone. 

Right now, it would allow me to resurrect alot more of the Angels in the Crypts…

Perhaps I needed a different approach, the Semi-Divine form was obviously not normal. To boost me to such power. A Semi-divine form was still divine yet I didn’t have divinity. 

I stared at the portal in silence. Nothing stirred on the other side.

Then, finally, Michael appeared in a flash of light. 

Jeanne followed beside him, her golden armor clipped over her light robes, spear strapped to her back. 

“We’re ready,” he said simply.

We entered the sub-dimension and I quickly located Hestia. 

“Gabriel isn’t going to be happy, in fact. I don’t think any of my siblings are going to be happy.” Michael muttered. 

I frowned. 

Admittedly I didn’t like this. 

But she would stop me from going. If I could get this done quietly then that would be optimal. Besides, I had many plans of escape. Along with Michael and Jeanne with me. 

If it got too much I wasn’t against making a tactical retreat and beyond that I had my Semi-divine form if worse came to worst. 

But being scared by a little risk wasn’t like me. It went against my personality and the mere thought of my new family being hurt was certainly helping me gain my motivation. 

“My Lord, may I ask what we are doing?” Jeanne questioned from besides me.

“We are going on a quest.” I replied idly. 

“A quest?” She perked up.

“Oh?” A voice came from behind us, and Tiamat strolled towards us. “Without me?” 

“Tiamat.” I greeted. “Where have you been?”

A complicated look flashed through her eyes.

“Forgive me, I found myself busy with something personal.” She replied with a smile, her slitted eyes gazing at me affectionately. 

Michael offered her a polite nod. Jeanne took a small step back instinctively.

“Personal?” I repeated. “Anything I should know?”

Tiamat gave me a lazy smile. “Nothing that needs to concern you right now.” Her gaze flicked to Jeanne. “I see you’ve brought the adorable Knight.”

Jeanne bowed quickly, dropping her head and placing a hand over her chest in respect. “Yes, my Lord has chosen me to accompany him. I will serve loyally and without hesitation.” Her tone was earnest, though a heat was present in her cheeks from the ‘Adorable.’ Comment. 

Tiamat raised an eyebrow at her, then looked to Michael. “And where exactly is this quest taking you?”

Michael answered before I could. “The Fates delivered a message to Father. A quest only he could take on.” There was a weight to his voice. “They claim someone has tapped into the sealed power of Pontus. They're using it to power a fate-warping artefact.”

“And they asked you? Why not send their own? And how did they get in contact with you in the first place?” Tiamat asked.

“I went to visit Aphrodite-“

Tiamat’s expression darkened. 

“And they interrupted us.” 

“So they interrupted you, and asked you to go on a quest for them?” She questioned. “Do they know who you are? They could be attempting to delay your recovery. You were rather well-known to put it lightly.”

“I don’t think they know yet…” I replied.

“Do you think they are trying to manipulate his Fate?” Michael questioned seriously. “I’m not well-versed on the subject but I know enough.”

“No, they can’t manipulate his Fate. But they can try read it…” Tiamat stared at me. “But they can’t do that either, for some reason your fate has completely disappeared. Perhaps this is the effect of you becoming the biblical God.”

Michael smiled. “Father always was a powerhouse.”

I felt so left out of this conversation. 

“What are the details of this quest?”

“We don’t know the full details,” I admitted, at least I wasn’t meant to. “They didn’t tell us much. Just that I’m the only one who can see it through. Someone is manipulating the sealed Primordial Pontus’ power to fuel a Fate-altering object.”

Tiamat tilted her head. “And you accepted.”

I gave a quiet nod.

“I see,” she said, stepping closer. “I don’t like it.”

“That makes two of us,” Michael muttered under his breath.

Tiamat ignored him. She stared at me with narrowed eyes. “Still, if you’re walking into danger, I will naturally be coming.”

I didn’t argue.

Mostly since I would have invited her anyway if I knew she was around. 

Jeanne stepped forward slightly. “My Lord, if I may speak…”

I nodded for her to continue.

“I will remain at your side through this. No matter how difficult the path may be. Please… trust me to carry out your will,” 

“You’ve already proven yourself,” I said simply.

Her eyes lit up, and she bowed her head lower. “Thank you, my Lord.”

“Is there anything else I need to know?” Tiamat asked, breaking the silence.

Michael gave a short nod. “We found a scout at the threshold. A cloaked device for tracking and reading energy. If not for Father’s alert, it would’ve gone unnoticed. It’s the first move.”

She didn’t speak for a moment. Then her voice dropped a little. “So it has begun. It seems your information was correct.”

“Indeed, everything is on high-alert and I will know if Heaven’s under attack so we can quickly return.” Michael replied.

That was partially why I was rushing this. 

Considering they had scouted out the area today, it meant it was perhaps the only day I could trust the attack wouldn’t be happening. 

Any other day would be a liability. 

I was glad Tiamat was coming. Having another powerhouse coming along made me feel better. 

“She’s just up ahead,” I said, already moving toward Hestia’s aura.

We found Hestia. 

“Hestia,” I called out. “We need a gate to Greek territory.” I went straight to the point. 

She didn’t need me to tell her what I was planning on doing. 

I could already see her flaming eyes becoming more erratic. 

Hestia frowned. “You are doing this?”

“Yes.” I confirmed. “Tiamat, Michael and Jeanne are coming with me.”

She was silent for a moment. “Good, I’m coming with you.” Hestia said seriously.

“Hestia-“

It wasn’t that I didn’t want her to come, but it wasn’t fair. Dragging her into my problems wasn’t something I wanted to do. Especially when it doesn’t benefit her. 

Tiamat had made it clear that she wanted to stand besides me so it was a little different.

I didn’t get to voice that though as she interrupted me.

Her burning eyes became two roaring infernos, and her face twisted into a frown. Divinity radiated out of her and her glossy black hair turned blue. 

Sparks of divinity flashed around her and the glass around her blew out. 

“No.” She said, uncharacteristically firm. “I want to do this Kai.”

Her voice gradually became softer and she relaxed. 

“Please, allow me to help. I’ve felt so useless, allow me to help someone I care for deeply.” Her tone was sincere and kind to the point I didn’t want to deny her.

The more, the merrier. I suppose. 

I had grown past trying to do everything alone. Even if it was less complicated. 

I sighed. “If that’s your wish.”

Michael watched us with a smile, while Jeanne simply observed. Tiamat was oddly okay with Hestia considering how she had reacted to Aphrodite. 

Hestia smiled brightly at me.

The little group I had created to go on this quest had quickly turned into a force that most Pantheons would be wary of. Seriously, I felt like this was the kind of thing that would be heavily monitored by all the Factions in the world. 

With a wave of her hand, a shimmer formed in the air.

We were in Hestia’s palace the next moment and it only took a little while before a burst of rose light flared, catching my attention at the familiar figure of Aphrodite.

Aphrodite was already standing at the entrance of Hestia's palace.

She smiled. "Kai." Her gaze flicked to the others.

"What are you doing?" she asked, but her tone was knowing. 

I looked at her and knew that she already had an idea of what I was doing here. 

So I didn't bother hiding it.

"I'm going on the Fates' quest," I replied truthfully.

"With all of them?" she asked, glancing between Michael, Jeanne, Tiamat, and Hestia.

I nodded. "Yes.”

She tilted her head. "You do realize if you don't mask yourself, you're going to cause a scene, right? This is a serious force, Kai. You'll draw every eye from Olympus to beyond."

"It's a good thing all of us have had the foresight to cover our presence," Tiamat smirked. "Excluding the cute knight over there."

Jeanne blushed, covering her face. "Ah, I'm sorry. I forgot."

I smiled. "It's fine, I haven't covered my presence entirely either."

I patted her head. It wasn't like she was releasing it anyway. The very air would be trembling if they all let loose in one area. I kept myself motivated knowing I was close to that level.

Hestia, Tiamat and Aphrodite sent a weird glance to Jeanne.

Aphrodite didn't hesitate. "I'm coming too."

Yeah, I saw that coming too. 

There was no room for argument in her tone. 

I didn't even try to deny her. I'd already brought a supernatural army's worth of power with me. 

“Alright,” I replied, only slightly resigned. 

Tiamat narrowed her eyes instantly. “You think you can handle this?”

Aphrodite smiled at her without warmth. “Of course. You needn’t worry, I’ll be there to help if you slip up… again.”

Michael caught my flat expression. 

“I must insist that both remain amicable, for Fathers sake.” Michael said calmly. 

Three-way tension hit the room instantly. 

Tiamat. Hestia. Aphrodite. All of them looked at each other with that same weird look I couldn’t identify. 

I decidedly ignored whatever was happening here. 

With that, I accepted the quest mentally. 

It took a few moments before the Fates stood ahead of us, cloaked and still. 

Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.

“So you have accepted?” Clotho asked, her voice calm.

“I have,” I said, without hesitation.

Michael abruptly stepped forward, his voice cold and his eyes becoming two pinpricks. “If you planned to put him into any sort of ambush, understand that I will personally tear through every string of fate that you find favourable before personally eradicating you from existence.”

His power hummed and the space around him bent. His sword appeared on his hip and it practically had its own centre of gravity that bent the space around it from its sheer power. 

I gave his weapon an impressed glance, I had never seen it before. 

The Heavenly General. 

The title didn’t do him justice at this moment. 

I sent him a slightly surprised glance, but didn’t show any outward reaction besides that.

“That same threat will be backed by me.” Tiamat said, coming to stand in front of me. “You don’t want to have a battle of threads with me.”

The sentiment was shared by everyone with me and the Fates silently observed it. They didn’t answer. 

“Am I understood?” Michael said. 

They sent him a long look before giving him a single nod, an ancient look on both sides. 

Jeanne looked at Michael in pure… excitement? She looked like she was meeting her celebrity idol. 

Her eyes practically sparkled.

While Hestia simply wore a smile, her eyes practically burned into the faces of the Three Fates. 

The Fates didn’t do anything more than that as they simply turned. With a flick of Atropos’s hand, the space around us warped.

I felt the power probe mine and asked if I had my permission to teleport, I accepted the power after a moment’s hesitation.

The world vanished.

We landed in silence.

The air felt heavier. 

A strange pocket-dimension stretched around us, filled with floating mountains and an orange hue that tinted the light. Yet, above us in the sky was a dark ocean, the occasional movement showing titanic creatures lurking in its depth. 

There was no sound. No wind. Just stillness.

It was like some sort of pocket dimension created in the depths of the oceans. 

Considering it was Pontus, I was assuming that was exactly the case.

I reached into my inventory and pulled out the mask. I slipped it over my face.

Michael and Jeanne didn’t speak as they both dimmed their presence.

The Fates were gone and their presence was nowhere to be seen. 

Some may wonder why I didn’t simply summon the entirety of Heaven’s army to deal with this.

Even now, Heaven’s army was powerful. 

That much I could see. They were a force to be reckoned with and I imagined any Devil on the same level of power would find themselves flawlessly defeated by the ancient Angels. 

The simple question was I wanted to preserve as much of Heaven’s strength as I could. And… I didn’t want any of them to be hurt. 

With my Fateless perk I was the perfect counter according to the Fates and the system quest. Plus… I looked over to the five powerhouses with me. 

I technically had the Heavenly Armies worth of power with just the five of them here. Adding Hestia and Aphrodite may potentially be overkill but I wanted to finish this as soon as possible and get back to Heaven. 

“Father, what is our objective?” Michael finally asked.

“As you know someone is using the sealed Primordial Pontus’ power, they are using it to presumably fuel a powerful artefact that is related to fate.” I informed them.

Hestia frowned.

“A Primordial power being used to fuel a fate-bending artefact? This is a rather dangerous undertaking Kai.” She said softly.

“I have a way to negate it, the artefact won’t work on us as long as I’m around. Which makes everything significantly easier and is why the Fates contacted me.” I replied easily.

Michael nodded.

Jeanne however looked out of depth. Which looked rather cute as she tried to keep up with the words being thrown around.

“Did the Fates give you any idea of where to find them?” Michael questioned, observing the area around us.

“No.” I replied.

He frowned. “So they didn’t even deem it necessary to tell you that. They’ve grown rather bold.” 

I sent him a look.

“It’s fine. I doubt they even know, and I doubt they even know who I am. Though, your appearance has probably given them an idea.” I replied with a hint of amusement. 

Honestly, I wasn’t too bothered. 

Fortune Favours the Bold after all. 

This quest didn’t seem nearly as daunting as the Divine quest before. I had a target, and I had a massive advantage against along with the power to complete it. 

“I think I’ve found the area.” Hestia said, her eyes staring in a certain direction. 

We moved quietly, stepping across floating stone platforms that drifted lazily through the pocket dimension.

The air was strange here, heavy and thick with pressure that didn’t press on the body but on the mind. Or at least, it felt like it was trying too. Unfortunately for it my mind was protected. 

Michael stood behind me like some sort of royal commander while Jeanne stayed close next to me. As did Hestia as she walked just a bit ahead of me along with Tiamat and Aphrodite. 

Hestia kept moving, her eyes fixed on something I couldn’t see. 

Jeanne moved behind her, one hand on the hilt of her spear. Michael flanked me, his wings drawn in. He had his standard golden armour on, but that wasn’t what got my attention. 

It was the sword he has pulled from seemingly nowhere, a sword I hadn’t seen before. The sword itself was rather simple in design compared to many others I had seen with overly complicated designs. 

The landscape changed as we moved deeper. 

Then we found it.

A flat platform stretched before us. At the far end stood a massive structure, floating on a large rock suspended midair. It looked like a temple or maybe a throne chamber, a long set of stone stairs leading up to it. 

An archway waited at the top.A Quick Look showed it wasn’t unguarded.

At the base of the steps stood something massive.

A beast.

Golden hide, like liquid metal fused into muscle and bone. Eight meters tall. Four legs, each one thicker than a grown man. Its hooves cracked the stone with every shift of weight. 

Two thick horns curved forward from its forehead. 

Its eyes glowed blue.

It was at the higher end of the ultimate-class. 

The beast didn’t see us immediately, when the beast finally locked its eyes on us. It didn’t roar. It didn’t charge immediately. But its head lowered, and I could feel the pressure surge.

It took a single step forward. 

Michael reacted before I could.

A single golden streak tore across the Bull’s thick body and Michael appeared to slam his palm into its ribcage. The impact didn’t sound like a hit. It sounded like an explosion.

The Bull’s body crumpled inward. Light poured from its mouth and eyes as it gave a short, broken screech. 

Then silence.

Its body hit the stone and didn’t move again.

“I’m guessing this is the place.” I said, inspecting the massive structure. 

Hestia looked curious. “I believe that was the Bull Of Heaven from the Mesopotamian Pantheon.”

"It appeared far more fearsome than the ease with which Lord Michael dispatched it would suggest," Jeanne said softly.

“It’s from the Mesopotamian Pantheon?” I reiterated.

Tiamat tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. 

“It’s a divine beast of immense power, sent as a punishment or divine enforcer, it’s under the control of Ishtar or Inanna.” Tiamat informed me. 

A wave of divine energy filled the area. 

“It would seem we’ve found the culprit.” Hestia mused, her soft eyes narrowing along with Tiamat’s. 

Tiamat seemed to have a visible reaction, as did Aphrodite. 

“Ishtar?” Jeanne replied. 

That confirmed it. 

“It would seem so.” Aphrodite replied. 

Michael appeared back next to us, completely unphased.

“Michael, would you mind sealing off the area so she can’t escape?” I questioned.

It wouldn’t do good if she simply teleported away.

He nodded, a powerful barrier coming to seal the place in a dome. The bright see-through light barrier covered the general area, and I felt a metaphysical lock spread throughout the area. 

We looked up at the top of the long staircase and a  man now stood at the top. Or rather, leaned casually. 

He looked like he’d been waiting for a while. 

He was tall with golden hair and Red eyes. His skin was slightly tanned and he wore a grin on his face. As for his clothing he wore a simple white cloak with gold lining, open down the front, showing a lean build. 

Jewelry hung from his neck and wrists

“Visitors? I don’t think Ishtar told me that was on the Menu.” He said, casually holding a long curved blade that radiated with energy. “Quite the force too, I doubt I could take many of you on. Then again, it is so hard to tell with all of you hiding your power like that.”

‘Appraisal.’

{Name: Gilgamesh}

{Titles: King of Uruk / Gatekeeper of the Old World / Tyrant of the Golden Vault}

{Race: Divine Demigod (2/3 Divine, 1/3 Mortal)}

{Power Level: 45,960}

Gilgamesh? 

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but then again I didn’t suspect that Gilgamesh would have any sort of relationship with Ishtar judging by the many myths. 

Then again, Aphrodite had shown me that myths couldn’t be trusted. 

His race interested me. 

Did that mean he was more God than human?

“It’s a good thing I’m not alone.” He grinned. “Then again, this does look fun.”

At his word a dozen of the Heavenly Bull Michael had obliterated earlier revealed themselves. 

That certainly made things harder. 

They were all peak ultimate class as well.

While the difference in God-class was notable, it only went up to a certain extent. A dozen of peak ultimate class beings would certainly fill that gap especially if these Bulls had any special abilities.

A wave of power surged from wherever the large staircase led to and I frowned.

Something was happening. 

Which didn’t serve well to us since our arrival hadn’t exactly been stealthy. 

“Don’t mind that.” Gilgamesh said, standing up fully.

Hestia sent me a look before stepping forward quietly.

“I’ll handle them,” she said softly.

I turned toward her. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, a sad but firm smile on her face. “You need to go handle Ishtar. This is your fight, Kai. Let me do something too.”

I stared at her for a moment, then gave a single nod. 

I wasn’t thrilled about it. Truthfully I didn’t like putting her in this position… I need to get stronger. 

“I’ll go with her, just in case,” Tiamat added. She shot me a quick glance, “I trust you’ll make it back.”

Her tone was cool, but the undertone was possessive. I chose not to comment.

Michael moved to follow me up the steps without a word. Jeanne gave me a bow before falling in beside us, quiet but focused.

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow as we started ascending.

“Really now? You’re just going to walk past me?” he asked, sounding amused. 

“That’s bold.”

He stepped forward lazily, his curved blade swinging loosely at his side. He wasn’t trying to hide the killing intent anymore.

Michael’s eyes narrowed and became downright hostile. He stepped forward and immensely powerful sword. 

Before he could respond, the entire area behind us erupted in a wall of flame.

A deafening roar cracked through the air as Hestia let loose a concentrated blast of divine fire. It struck the Bulls directly, halting their charge and forcing them to brace themselves. 

The whole sky above them lit up in flickering orange and gold, shadows dancing against the floating stone.

Gilgamesh’s smile widened as he felt the pressure roll over him. His body didn’t move, but I caught the slight tension in his shoulders.

“Alright then,” he said, voice low with interest. “Let’s see where this goes.”

-END-

Note: a bit of a longer chapter for you guys. Thanks for all the support as always. I do take note of download suggestions, and I'll try to add them where I can!

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