—–
Unlike the Demon Gods Pantheon, several other Gods that resided in the Realm of Vida were shaken by the news about a Demon Demigod being eaten by Kireina…
Such news didn't come from any of Kireina's allied gods, but from Apollo himself, as he had granted her his blessings and saw with his very eyes how she ate a weakened Demigod, Megusan.
However, the moment she gained a Pseudo-Divinity, Apollo's blessing was suppressed by a strange force, and he lost most of his connection with her.
Apollo, the God of Light, was rather conflicted with himself.
The news about Agatheina being inflicted on a wound by a mortal was already spread by the Demon Gods, but the culprit behind this being Kireina was only later revealed by Apollo.
The Gods of the Pantheon of Constellations, Light and Thunder had already reprimanded him for his reckless behaviors in the past, but when he decided to bless Kireina was the breaking point for them.
Apollo was always known for his recklessness, and his interest in 'interesting mortals', but he never expected that Kireina, who he saw as an interesting demi-human back then would become such a dangerous individual capable of damaging a Goddess and eat a Demigod.
To top it all, several other Gods had their blessed children eaten by Kireina. She had stolen their blessings by eating their flesh and souls, and even when they tried to revoke the blessings, they were incapable of, only being able to lower its effects at best.
Gods such as Ihmir, the Demigod of Chivalry, Khyenar, the Demigod of Military, Venia, the Demigod of Holy Righteousness, and Zeus, the God of Thunder were the ones who harbored the most hate for Kireina, as each one of them had their children killed by her servants or herself, and had their flesh, blood and souls devoured.
They weren't even able to retrieve their souls, reincarnate them or convert them into Demi-Spirits at the very least…
However, the one who was the most mocked by Kireina was Zeus, who had blessed Alice, one of Kireina's wives, the first to have been converted into a Dhampir by accident.
Zeus had blessed Alice as he saw promise in her strength and Epic Skill, her affinity with the Thunder Attribute and her beauty had captivated the lustful God, and he had planned to meet with her one day and have children with Alice…
Now all of such plans were destroyed by the Dark Fairy, her blood was drank, and she stole her blessing from her alongside most of her Skills… afterward, Alice's mind was corrupted and broken in her conversion into a Dhampir, and she became a 'wicked' Undead.
After Zeus got to know that Apollo had 'willingly' blessed Kireina, he was the one who had most reprimanded him… because Apollo was Zeus's son.
Apollo was a God of the Second Generation, his reckless and immature behavior surged from this. He was born as a Divine Species, never experiencing what was being truly a mortal, walking through a path of suffering and hardships to finally raise into divine existence.
Zeus was known for being lustful, and had several children with the champions he selected in the Realm of Vida, such children became Gods very quickly and joined other Pantheons, most of them growing as spoiled brats and having very immature personalities even if they were divine existences above mortals.
Apollo was one of the strongest of them, going through nine Divine Trials and ascending from Demigod Rank to God Rank, he was almost at the same position as his father by now, and felt like he had more liberties in what he could do.
"So it was that wretched bitch that stole my Alice! That monster! I knew it! I knew that one day it would come to make even more trouble than it was destined to do!" shouted Zeus, his mouth spitting saliva in rage.
Zeus's appearance was that of a large human, above five meters tall, his skin was of a vivid white, with blue eyes, long white beard, and hair. His body was covered in bulging muscles and he resembled an old man that had never stopped doing workouts for his entire life. He wore a simple tunic, revealing his bare and hairy chest.
"Apollo… are you sure about this?!" shouted Ihmir, the Demigod of Chivalry. He resembled a stoic man with a serious face, with short blonde hair and golden eyes, he was wearing a heavy golden armor over his body.
"Yes, Ihmir… I saw it with my very eyes… Kirei-"
"Don't say her name!!!" shouted Zeus, enraged.
"T-That monster… she devoured a Demigod who was once sealed by the Beast Gods, children of Ova-sama. I think its name was Megusan" said Apollo, with a quivering voice, his tyrannical father's attitude made him distressed.
"Can't you see what she's doing anymore?" asked Venia, the Demigod of Holy Righteousness. He had the appearance of a handsome young man with long white hair and emerald eyes. He wore a light, white-colored armor, and held a golden sword in his left hand.
"I can't, the moment she ate Megusan's soul, she gained… something akin to divinity, a 'Pseudo-Divinity' of sorts… those powers blocked the power that I had deposited in her soul when I blessed her," said Apollo, without trying to hide anything anymore.
"You fool! Why did you bless that wicked Vampire?! Have I taught you anything this whole time?! You only make your father embarrassed in front of everyone else!" shouted Zeus, he wasn't capable of containing his anger anymore. This was only because of Apollo's recklessness, there was also the anger of Kireina stealing Alice from him.
However, Apollo wasn't going to let himself be shouted by his father in front of a Pantheon filled with different gods.
"Taught?! What have YOU taught me?! Nothing! Can you even call yourself a father?! Mother was the only one who raised me… after having your fun with women, you always escape from them, leaving them to raise YOUR children! Because I share your Blood it doesn't mean that I have to kneel over you because of it! We are in the same position now; you don't have the right to yell at me and insult me to your heart's content!!!"
Apollo's words resonated over the entire Pantheon, which was located in the great Divine Realm of Jupiter, the Father of the Sky and Great God of Light and Stars, he was one of the closest subordinates to the Supreme God of the Star Ocean, one of the Supreme Gods that backed up the Central Continent Kingdoms in the Realm of Vida.
"Y-You ungrateful son! I gave YOU life! Without me, you wouldn't even EXIST!!!"
Before Zeus exploded in anger once again, a strong voice resonated through the entire Divine Realm, every God present quivered in fear as a formless pressure and a blinding light appeared.
"SILENCE!"
"I-Its Jupiter-sama…!"
"Jupiter-sama…"
"We apologize for the behavior of our fellow gods…"
Apollo and Zeus suddenly shut their mouths as the previous rage they had quickly cleansed out of their minds, only fear over a higher authority bloomed in their hearts.
"This is not a place to resolve your family issues, Apollo, Zeus! You two, or any other god that holds grudges against Apollo can resolve such things after this meeting is finished! Now, let's go back to the topic at hand… Apollo!" shouted Jupiter, whose body was not visible, but it was a mass of light and stars, in a humanoid shape. No distinct features could be noticed.
"Y-Yes, Jupiter-sama…!" muttered Apollo, his voice quivering.
Apollo continued what he was talking previously, about how Kireina had damaged a Goddess, and then was asked for help by the Beast Gods… ending once again in the relationship of her eating the soul of a Demon Demigod.
Apollo had previously missed the detail that Megusan was weakened and torn apart, sealed for hundreds of years, and then freed itself with barely any of its former strength because of Zeus interrupting him to reprimand his misconduct, but now that he did so, several gods present seemed to have calmed down and were not as exasperated.
"So, it wasn't a Demigod on its full strength…"
"That 'Megusan' had its physical body destroyed and its soul torn apart into pieces, which were then sealed? It probably didn't have over 10% of its original power then…"
"Perhaps things aren't as urgent as we thought?"
"Even a Living Deity could kill a Demigod if it were that weakened… That monster (Kireina) must be some existence close to that"
"Apollo… and all of the other Gods whose champions were eaten, and their blessings stolen… What do you think about this?" asked Jupiter, surprising most of the gods in the Pantheon, they only knew about him being a very strict god, but now he showed some kindness, asking those affected by Kireina their opinions.
However, other gods who knew better of Jupiter had already expected something like this. Jupiter, aside from his strict personality, which always followed the laws and rules made by its master, the Supreme God of Star Ocean, had a kind heart and was always worried about the opinion of its allies.
He was a god who had survived the Ragnarök with his intelligence and tactics and always knew that it was important to know the opinion of its allies to create better and more elaborate plans.
"Jupiter-sama…" said Ihmir in admiration.
"What do we think…?" muttered Venia.
"Jupiter-sama, you're asking us about our opinions?" asked Khyenar.
"I…" (Zeus)
"W-Well…" (Apollo)
"Yes, we are all Gods, and part of the same Pantheon, we all strive to serve our Master better, there is nothing wrong with asking an ally their opinions… even more, when you were affected by the 'monster'. It is clear that you did not have the intention of giving your blessings to the 'monster', but they were stolen by its strange abilities" said Jupiter.
Jupiter's words made him even more admired by the gods, the ones whose blessings were stolen, and their champions eaten talked about their grudges and what they think about the situation.
Some said that Kireina was too dangerous to be left alive, some pointed out that her growth was incredibly abnormal, others talked about her strange abilities and pointed out through Apollo's observations about her 'Divinity Devouring' Skill, and others said that her ability to change destiny could develop into something that could not be controlled shortly if no actions are taken.
Jupiter heard all of them and nodded for the time being, and after everyone was done expressing their thoughts, he spoke.
"Most of your points are valid, but we gods must not intervene with mortals if it's not necessary. I know that it must have been shocking for the youngest gods whose blessings were stolen or their champions abruptly killed outside of an 'Epic Trial', in a non-planned event by destiny… In Genesis there are countless worlds, and millions of mortals made their home here, through the years, troublesome individuals had surged all around the world, if we were to just act because there is one abnormality in the millions of mortals, we would be ridiculed as paranoiac by other Realms, and our Master would lose face with the other Supreme Gods" said Jupiter.
"T-That is… true"
"Indeed… perhaps we were exaggerating things?"
"There are so many Realms… it's not like the Realm of Vida is the entire world"
"We need to protect the Realm, but such anomalies must be more common than we thought, other gods had dealt with them with calm and by planning, using mortals against mortals," said Umlena, the Goddess of War. One of the Gods that had its champion eaten and her blessing stolen.
"There are the System and the Epic Skill for its planned events… no matter how much the 'monster' tries to change things; it can barely do anything. Scripted Events are made by the World's Will itself with the help of the Supreme Goddess of Fate and Destiny, we must trust them to deal with such things," said Jupiter.
"After all, Realm Menaces are still a necessity to the Realm, they are trials for our heroes and champions, those who triumph will become our subordinate gods, and those who lost… were just not worthy… There have been several Realm Menace in history, although most of them lost, there were a few who won and survived, the Epic Skill System itself rewards those who win, even if they are seen as evil to us," said Europa, the Goddess of Moonlight and the eldest daughter of Jupiter.
The Gods who were affected by Kireina were mostly young second-generation Gods. Ihmir, Venia, and Khyenar used to be Legendary Heroes chosen by the Gods, that were raised into Demigods after they reached level 999 and were invited by their gods to join them in the Pantheon.
They had lived for a few thousand years, but their experience was still dim compared to First-generation gods. Jupiter's children were born before Genesis was split into Realms. Europa, being Jupiter's eldest daughter, held immense knowledge and wisdom and was as respected as her father.
Jupiter then decided to inform the gods in the Pantheon about his master's plans to stop Kireina. By addressing the Epic System, and nurturing a party of Heroes, led by someone who held immense grudges against Kireina.
This individual was Isaac and its party, those who were directly blessed by the Supreme God in charge of this Pantheon.
"The nurture of a promising Hero…"
"Perhaps we should bless him, or at least his party"
"All of them seem promising… they would be able to defeat the 'monster' if they team up with the Heavenly Commandments"
"I guess we were too worried about nothing"
"A mortal blessed by Master! He will surely become a great figure in this world"
Jupiter and Europa then invited the affected gods to bless these new party members if possible, Zeus and Apollo as well. Although the two seemed rather discontent about the words of their superiors… especially Zeus, who desired to take justice by his own hands but was stopped by the authority above him.
Apollo had seen Kireina as interesting, and such thoughts still lingered inside of his mind… yet, to remain safe, he also decided to bless someone else. He was not capable of revoking the blessing of Kireina, but he was capable of doing so is Evan.
Giving up on the shining boy who had been seduced by one of the 'monster's' daughters, he tried revoking its blessing and divine protection…
"Sigh… very well then- UGH?! GIIIIIHHH…! GYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
"Apollo-sama?!"
"What's going on?!"
"APOLLO!!!"
The gods who were just seconds ago in peace talking with each other… were interrupted by Apollo's yelling of agony. An excruciating pain rushed through Apollo's entire Divine Soul as he felt a large chunk of its being taken away by a voracious jaw, while the jaw left a small 'parting gift'.
After the pain subdued, Apollo kneeled gasping for air.
Zeus and the other gods who were affected by Kireina were the first ones to rush to his assistance.
"My son, what is happening?!"
"Apollo!"
"Did you do something?"
"The monster! I tried to revoke the blessing of my previous Hero… the one who had been seduced by one of the monster's daughters… but the moment I tried to do so… a different existence grabbed on my Divine Soul… and I… Ugh…! Agh…"
Before it could finish his words, Apollo fell unconscious…
"It can't be…"
"What is going on…?"
"Someone brings the Gods specialized in healing souls, quick!"
Jupiter and Europa, who glanced at the distance grimaced the scene that had just unfolded before their eyes.
"Father… did you felt that?" asked Europa.
"Yes, Europa… Apollo's soul was attacked by something else, it's as if that 'something else' had forcefully torn a piece of its Soul… Could it be? The monster…"
"Indeed… perhaps the 'monster' has grown too fast already… she is capable of blessing others; her blessing had most likely taken over Apollo's blessing on the boy's (Evan) soul. The moment he tried to revoke it, he was attacked by the 'blessing' of the 'monster'… or that's what I suspect"
"Sharp as ever, Europa… We must inform the Master. We cannot make haste decisions… We cannot endanger the life of the gods by telling them the truth"
"Yes, father"
—–
