Serafall Leviathan POV
That motherfucker.
I'm not even mad at his little verbal poke.
Actually, I take that back; I'm a bit pissed, but compared to some of the other backhanded insults I've had to endure, it was mild.
But for some reason, it annoyed me in a very specific way, and I couldn't place my finger on why.
That's all beside the point.
I was even more annoyed because that damn Fox was using my own moves against me!
How many times have I had Sirzechs come in, flop his dick on the table, and force everyone to either square up or shut up?
I was wondering why she was being so quiet and just letting everyone argue and throw their weight around. It made sense now; she was waiting for her own help to arrive.
Dammit, I was hoping that we could maybe get a piece of the pie, but from the looks of things now, getting any scraps was going to be hard.
Stupid Red actually had the good idea to use our new alliance with Heaven to get our foot in the door here, and now that's all pretty much gone up in smoke.
There had to be at least a few humans over there that wouldn't mind becoming Devils, right? With the right persuasion and the right words to tempt them, I was sure I could get a few over to our side.
But now it's a matter of being able to even approach them.
Annoying!
Stupid Red, this is all his fault. If he hadn't been such a moron, then his stupid bastard would have been on our side!
I'm going to kick his ass again when we get back.
I forced myself to calm down.
It was rare enough for so many factions to come together for something like the peace conference we had not long ago. And now, here we are, doing something similar again for a different reason.
But everyone could see the writing on the wall. Things had been happening in the world that couldn't be ignored. The Khaos Brigade was just one problem among many.
Ragnarok.
That had the gods concerned more than they let on.
The fact that the Norse somehow survived was still…questionable. It was a fact, a known conclusion, an inescapable fate that each and every Pantheon would eventually fall.
Yet, the Norse somehow managed to avoid their promised end, this time at least.
No one knew what would happen in the future, but for now, they managed to survive. Something that even they probably wouldn't have thought possible beforehand.
Despite the fact that we had people there to observe and report back, despite the fact that we have very detailed recounts of what happened, we're still in the dark about certain things, as are others.
They're worried.
Indra would have never come here for something so 'small' before.
Sure, he apparently has a daughter over there that's being sweet on Sirzech's bastard, but that also couldn't be the full reason for his presence.
He's far too proud for that.
Ragnarok was the big one. But Indra was also attacked not long ago by his own faction's enemies. Our spies reported that the Asura stormed his layer of Heaven without warning.
The Tuatha Dé Danann have been having more and more conflicts with the Fomorians, and it's been escalating.
The kids that hadn't gone to the Norse had gone over there and participated in a few conflicts.
I even heard some rumors about the Giants waking up over on the Greek side.
And that's not even mentioning Kronos.
But Sirzech's smelly bastard dealt with that.
Which was a whole other thing.
I don't know much about what's going on with the Celestial Bureaucracy or Takamagahara, unfortunately. It's almost impossible to get the same kind of spies over in their places; they're a bit more…insular.
But I would bet my perky little ass that they're also dealing with the resurgence of old enemies.
It's like the world suddenly decided that it was too peaceful.
Now, everyone's looking for anything extra.
A little oomph to bolster their numbers, their power, and their influence.
The Norse had been openly recruiting, but that wasn't odd considering how many losses they suffered. But I've also been able to see how the other factions have been doing so secretly as well in recent days.
Now there's word about a few thousand humans who may as well all be high-class or above in power?
Even if that's an exaggeration, that's not something anyone here can scoff at. Give it a bit of time and some hands-on training in-house; those humans could push up a bit more and maybe break into the Ultimate tier.
If even one percent are able to reach Ultimate Tier, that's significant.
How many Ultimate Tier Devils did we display publicly?
Overall, last I checked, we didn't have over two hundred Ultimate Class Devils that we could deploy.
And that was…probably on the higher end compared to some factions. Granted, other factions had whole pantheons of gods, but still.
Despite our numbers still recovering, we had a lot of members. But just as well, the vast majority of our numbers were only a little better than normal humans.
Which is why we needed to chomp a chunk out of this pie by any means!
Twenty, no even ten, I would be satisfied with.
Alright, Serafall, keep your cute smile.
He obviously intentionally shot at me to get a reaction and set the tone.
I'm the cute one, the approachable one.
I'm the one who 'accidentally' flashes my panties when I bend over. People let their guard down around me.
Mid-life crisis, my perfect ass.
"Could you please tell us more about Rizevim?" I kept my smile as I ignored his jab and focused on the important thing.
The main objective was to get the humans on our side, but the fact that he apparently fought Rizevim was important.
"What about him?" He responded casually, despite the fact that he clearly looked like he had been in a fight not but a few minutes ago.
"Anything would be helpful. Like, how did you even meet him?" I kept my tone polite despite being annoyed at his obviously dismissive response.
We both knew what I was asking, but he was making me be blunt about it.
"I was taking a stroll in Sweden and ran into it." He replied with the same casual and irreverent tone.
"Sweden?" Odin responded before I could.
Sirzech's bastard nodded.
They shared a look.
There was something going on.
The way Odin showed a flicker of emotion—was that anger?
I wasn't the only one who picked up on it. I noted Athena watching closely as well. Same with a few others.
Did they know something I didn't, or were they also in the dark? It was Odin's neck of the woods, so there must be something going on there that connects everything.
But besides that.
"You were taking a stroll and randomly ran into him?" I said dryly.
"Yup." He nodded.
"In Sweden?"
"Beautiful country."
I felt my eye twitch. "Maybe I should go visit then."
"Feel free; it was nice." He didn't seem to care in the slightest. "Did you know the Vatican has a giant cannon that they shoot Father Strada out of? I didn't. Now I do."
Odin snorted. "I forgot about that thing."
If Rizevim popped up, then it isn't strange for him to show up either. It was one of the reasons that Rizevim hadn't been coming out of his hole these past decades despite things picking up in the human world.
He would constantly be harassed by someone called The Violence of Heaven.
I glanced at our Angel friends, and they didn't show any reaction. They had been here the entire time. Did they just find out, or did they already get a message secretly? Despite our alliance, we're not close; we don't share private things and all that.
Beggars can't be choosers, though; it's better than being at each other's throats.
"Enough!" Indra interrupted, his fist hitting the table with a light thunderclap. "I don't care about any Devils."
And fuck you too.
But also, he saved us some trouble. While Lucifer Jr. over there had already disrupted the earlier atmosphere and commandeered this little meeting, we could salvage something.
Lugh politely coughed. "As interesting as this is, I would like to return to the previous topic."
"I agree with the God of Light." Athena chimed in.
Anubis, a wild card, glanced at the table but didn't speak. I was surprised the Egyptians made a showing. They were reclusive enough that their words would hold more weight when discussing and partitioning out spoils. When you suddenly appear in public for the first time in centuries, people tend to pay attention and listen when you say something.
"Let us return to the topic." Amaterasu agreed.
"Aye, we're all here for the same reason." Thor nodded.
"Then let's discuss our faithful followers trapped within the Realms Between." Michael spoke for Heaven.
Everyone seemed to be in agreement.
Annoying.
I had a few more ideas to see if I could get some information out of him.
Oh well, I should be able to get something from Gabriel later if Vasco Strada was there too.
"I'll take 60% of the humans; you all can fight over the rest." Indra suddenly stated.
Everyone sort of froze as they stared at him.
I think it was just the sheer audacity.
"How about I take your mom instead?" Odin retorted.
Shit.
And just like that, the room became suffocating as the two gods started having a dick-measuring contest.
And then a third joined in, but I was surprised who it was.
Another pressure weighed down suddenly, pressing against everyone, and the source was coming from Lucifer Jr. across the table.
"You're in someone else's house; I suggest you behave." He warned.
And it wasn't just at Indra.
I eyed Odin, who just huffed indignantly.
Indra glared as, but just as surprisingly, he pulled back.
Wasn't Red Jr blood brothers with Odin? Was it some sort of play, or was he really giving Odin a warning? Was Odin in on it?
Regardless, it really puts into perspective how far Sirzech's bastard has come. Even compared to the Peace Conference…he was acknowledged back then for his previous feats. But now…he was what, twenty-something years old, and he killed the old Titan King by himself?
Indra may be too prideful to say it out loud, but he had to be wary of the brat now as well.
I don't think a second fight between them would go quite the same way as it did before.
"We can get through this faster if we all stay calm." Azazel said peacefully. "Yasaka, if you would please." He gestured to her.
The words about 'someone else's home' were specific, and Azazel picked up on it.
We were quite literally in Yasaka's home.
"Oh, do I get to speak? How novel, and here I thought I was the guest in my own home." She said sarcastically.
Normally, you wouldn't want to mouth off to gods like this, even if you had your own giant stick at your side, but her words also raised a certain point. We were essentially throwing our weight around under her roof while we were guests.
Calling it impolite would be a bit of an understatement.
It made everyone look bad.
With one sentence she managed to swing things back into her court again.
Damn, Fox.
"But since you're all here. Then let us properly discuss the matters at hand." She took the commanding position again despite being in a room full of gods.
I wonder if I could get Venelana to convince her to become a devil?
I think my life would become a thousand times easier if she were at my side when I dealt with other factions.
Well, I can dream.
No one spoke immediately.
Lugh rubbed his chin and flicked his hand as if to politely ask for permission despite not doing so. "It is possible for us to go there by ourselves."
"By all means." Yasaka smiled. "Open your own portal and find the humans within the vastness of such a place."
Lugh chuckled; I think he expected that answer. And I think he was also seeing if anyone else had a similar idea or alternative. Since no one else voiced support, he just treated it as a joke.
Even Ajuka said it would take months to just open a proper portal, and then there was, as she said, finding them.
From the videos we have, we don't know where they are or how to get to them.
"Hmph, or we could just waltz right into the one set up outside." Indra scoffed.
"You're most welcome to try. However, I do believe Scathach is sitting there waiting for an excuse. I did hear her mention that she was quite bored." Yasaka responded without missing a beat.
Indra narrowed his eyes, but Yasaka didn't show an iota of fear.
In fact, she reached over and squeezed the hand of the purple-haired one too. Raikou, if I recall, is the daughter of Indra, an older Japanese hero.
Ever so slightly, I saw Indra twitch.
God damn Fox.
She brought his daughter in here on purpose, not just as a second or a guard. The most annoying out of everyone here, the most volatile too, possibly neutered from one action.
Her threat wasn't without heat to it either.
I could see even Lugh raise an eyebrow at her threat.
We did our own research after the Peace Conference. Knowing that Red's son is lovers with and a student of the teacher of Irish Hercules really puts some things into perspective. I knew who she was, as I do with most myths and legends, but I hadn't really read into her until then.
"Careful, Indra. You might be getting some fire thrown your way." Azazel grinned.
I wanted to shoot him a glare, but I realized he was doing it on purpose.
Indra snapped his head at Azazel, but he barely bothered with the god's heated gaze.
"Speaking of, what was that, Yasaka? I never saw you do something like that before, with what you did from the videos of the war. The Rings, the Fire—did Amaterasu give you a special blessing or something?"
He's digging for information.
Yasaka's performance was definitely impressive; it made us reevaluate our original thoughts on her strength, but I thought it was just the result of training or something.
Was there something special about it?
No, by the glance from Amaterasu, she doesn't know either.
That's strange.
It's not the purpose of our meeting, but now I'm curious too. There are way too many strange things happening around them.
"I hardly see how that is relevant." Amaterasu interjected.
Hmm, she's covering for her priestess?
"I also have a question." Athena spoke up, and everyone turned to her. As a goddess of wisdom, she's always been difficult to deal with. "During Ragnarok, one of our young warriors claimed to have met Achilles." Athena gently tapped the table. "And during the war, there appears to be someone who died and returned some time later. If we take into account other figures that should be dead, it leads to a certain conclusion, a question that must be asked." It wasn't at Yasaka, but at Sirzech's son that she turned to. "Are you capable of resurrecting the long deceased?"
I think we all had this question on our minds before. It's just that no one had asked it. It sounded kind of ridiculous.
Resurrection like that—it wasn't even something Death Gods were capable of.
Dead was dead.
There were very few examples of someone coming back from the dead, and the circumstances were usually unreplicable. And yeah, it's possible for a god to 'grab' a mortal's soul at the time of their death, but that's a whole different matter.
If a mortal died, truly died, and hundreds of years passed, there's no coming back from that.
Maybe, maybe there is one thing capable of it, that damn Grail.
But from what we know of that, it can't bring back someone who's long dead, at least humans. Something that has the 'possibility' of resurrection, like a god or something of that sort—that's a whole different matter.
Yet even so, if there was the slightest chance that a faction would bring back one of their fallen gods….
There were far too many implications to worry about, and it would be a huge mess.
"Neither I nor the people around me have the means to bring people back from the dead." Lucifer Jr. sounded bored as he replied.
The most obvious assumption is that he was trying to hide it, but no one else called him out. Admittedly, there were those at the table better at reading people than me, yet even they didn't show signs of believing him to be lying.
"Unfortunate, but not unexpected." Athena answered.
Honestly, it felt like the room took a collective breath.
I was not looking forward to what would have happened had it been true.
So he wasn't lying; that's good, I suppose.
It would have just been another reason to be pissed at Red.
"Who was that blonde-haired woman that appeared, girl? The one with the red eyes that seemingly brought someone back regardless." Azazel tapped his fingers together.
He was very clearly prepared for this beforehand.
Lucifer Jr. looked at him and frowned. "My cousin."
"I wasn't aware you had a cousin." Azazel raised an eyebrow. "It's strange. She looks pretty strong, and I asked around with my friends, but they didn't recognize her either. For someone like that to just pop up is odd."
That's the first I'm hearing of it too, except, well…from our side. But I'm positive he isn't referring to our side of things.
"I think it's more surprising that you have friends." He responded.
That's an oofy, Azazel.
He continued to smile, not taking the bait. "Not just your 'cousin.' I looked into that man, Thorum? The one who appeared during Ragnarok. I couldn't find anyone who knew him either. And as Athena mentioned, there was someone going around calling themselves Achilles, also an Atalanta."
The fact that so many gods here were letting him run his mouth meant they were in support of his questions too.
There were far too many strange things around Sirzechs's bastard, and many eyes were watching him, wanting to know what was going on.
It could almost be called his entire effort that the Youkai had suddenly climbed ranks to be a top-tier faction.
Without him, what would have happened? Scathach, Jeanne D'Arc, Minamoto-no-Raikou, Jinn—the new goddess, the Pendragon Family, the various Sacred Gears, and even Izanami's presence. And that's not even getting into things like Tiamat seemingly having moved over here.
Everything was either directly or indirectly related to him.
Of course, that could have all been ours if Red wasn't a moron, but that's beside the point.
"Is there a question there, Azazel? Or are you just wanting to know what an actual example of friendship entails?" Yasaka stepped in. "Oh, remind me again, why are you even here? I seem to recall that none of the humans there had ties to the Grigori, so I am confused."
"We – " Ajuka tried to get a word in, but Yasaka interrupted him too.
"Or Devils."
I didn't say anything.
Yeah, everyone knew we were trying to steal some crumbs; there's no point in saying it out loud and making us look pathetic for it. But even so, she disarmed Azazel pretty easily with a verbal slap there and, for good measure, hit us with a backhand.
Both Azazel and I took a very brief glance at Michael.
United front, Michael.
Say something, Michael; I can play off it if you speak up. It doesn't matter what you say; just say something relevant, and I can pivot off it to change the subject.
"I never asked about Gabriel—how impolite." Yasaka dashed my hopes again. "After Wilhelm here saved her from falling, that is. I know that would have been a very difficult thing for Heaven to handle."
Michael smiled awkwardly, but Gabriel answered. "I'm doing well, thank you."
Damn, Fox.
I wanted to smack my head on the table.
And like that, we lost all momentum in this exchange. Can't swing it back without coming off as annoying or impolite. I'll need to wait for another opportunity, one that may not come since Yasaka knows what she's doing.
"I would like to ask a question." Lugh spoke up. He wasn't behaving the same as Azazel; he seemed much more sincere. Not that he couldn't handle a political situation. You can't be a king of gods and not be able to wrangle a complex situation like this. "The god that appeared during your campaign, it was Balor, wasn't it?"
"That's right." Lucifer Jr. nodded.
"You're sure?" Lugh asked.
"Crom Cruach confirmed it." He replied.
Lugh frowned. "Two old enemies of yore."
"It seems to be a recurring theme recently." Odin hummed. "Titan Daddy was just an appetizer."
"Please don't call him that." Athena said dryly.
"Yeah, I think Pops will throw a fit if he hears you call Kronos something like that." Hermes scratched the back of his head.
"Even more reason to do so!" Odin laughed.
Lugh showed a rare expression of impatience, and I think the others sensed it because they stopped rather quickly. "How strong is Crom Cruach these days? I remember he was a rare example among his kin that trained and tried to get stronger."
Lucifer Jr. held up his hand, and a familiar red gauntlet appeared on it.
"Yo!" The green jewel on it lit up. "A lot of familiar faces here."
"Great Welsh." Lugh named the voice. "I didn't expect to hear your voice today."
"Well, what can I say? I was in the mood." He chuckled. "But you asked a brat a question; I figured I could answer it better. That idiot is as strong as I was back in the day, the same with Albion."
That was…concerning.
"Azi Dahaka is also something we cannot ignore." Amaterasu spoke up; she had mostly been quietly listening in. I suppose her position was easier to manage considering Yasaka was her priestess and Japan was her territory. She didn't need to try and grab a piece of the pie; there was already a big chunk reserved for her. Her eyes turned to Anubis. "Many years ago, both my father and the Sun of Egypt slew that dragon, yet it appears again as well."
"On the same side." Susanoo added.
Amaterasu nodded, despite the fact that it was well known that they didn't get along with each other.
"Well, I suppose I can add something. I have it on good authority that the reason the dragon is back is due to their acquiring of the Grail." Yasaka said it so casually, but I felt myself freeze in place.
"The Grail?" I repeated.
"That's what I said." Her tail swished as she responded.
That is really not good.
How did she know, though!?
Does she really have an information network better than ours!?
"I'm not surprised; you pigeons keep losing your toys and causing problems for the rest of us." Indra scoffed in annoyance. "How many more times are we going to have to clean up after those stupid things of yours?"
It was hard to retort to that too.
Objectively, he wasn't wrong.
Things became tense.
"Let's not forget the reason everyone is here." Yasaka started talking again. "You all wanted to coordinate the rescue of those humans."
I just realized it was the same damn thing she did during the peace conference. A few words, and she put everyone at each other's throats, then she jumped back to the 'topic.' It makes it impossible to turn back to earlier stuff, and it puts tension between everyone else, so we can't gang up on her either.
"So, how does everyone want to 'distribute,' hmm?" She looked around.
"That many humans from different time periods with that kind of strength—they need to be carefully controlled, or they'll disrupt the human world." I spoke up, doing my best to appear sympathetic to human society as a whole.
There are no doubt going to be some that want nothing to do with the factions here, but playing it like I'm helping everyone would be the best bet.
If it's just a handful, no one will fight us for it, and the Devils can get their little snack while the others get enough to keep them happy.
Indra snorted. "That's the funniest thing I've heard in a while. You want to 'care' about the humans, Devil?"
Hah, I was waiting for this.
"Who watches the internet and other virtual sources to keep the human world safe? Who makes sure that every country's economy doesn't get hijacked by some magician with an inflated ego? Who has been keeping the masquerade up as humans entered the current level of technology that they have, hmm?" I countered immediately.
Our Devil Net wasn't just a copy; it basically latched onto the Internet that humans created, and then we started to moderate it to stop things from popping up that were harmful.
No one else could have done or would have done that had we not stepped up; that's an undeniable fact.
Second, it was Ajuka who created the magical formulas that everyone uses to passively keep an eye on things around the world to make sure there's no outside influence.
Sure, they may have stopped any huge incidents, but there's no way the gods here would have been watching closely.
That's right, it was us!
Go ahead, argue, and tell me we're wrong.
Everyone knows we do it.
Granted, we can't abuse it or use it too much to our advantage, or the other factions would stop 'letting' us have this kind of monopoly, but if we didn't outright show any abuse of the systems in place, they had no argument to stop it from happening. Though, they didn't realistically have any methods of stopping us other than starting a war.
Technically, we weren't even crossing borderlines.
They only realized how we managed to grab these 'new age' concepts from right under their noses after it was already said and done. Gods generally moved much slower than we did; it took them a while to understand what was here to stay and what progress humans had truly made.
We just needed to use it at crucial moments to gain some advantage.
Maybe we, as Devils, aren't as good as humans at making new things. But when it comes to making use of their new things, we're the best at it.
"Bah, who cares about this 'internet' nonsense'?" Odin harumphed. "I'm not giving up a single one of my believers."
I felt my face twitch again.
Don't act like a tech-illiterate old man when you're constantly shit-posting online, you bastard!
"Peace, All-Father. No one is asking you to give up believers." Amaterasu said gently.
"Is that not exactly what Indra demanded earlier? 60%, was it?" Yasaka chimed in. "I believe that would impede the Norse Faction's retainment of their own followers."
Odin glared at Indra, who crossed his arms impassively.
"I agree with my father. Giving away the mortals who follow our traditions is not something we will accept." Thor added in as well.
"Heaven will also not turn our backs on our lost children." Michael, who had barely said a word thus far, finally said his piece.
"Do you deserve any handouts? With the messes your faction keeps causing, you're lucky we don't just remove you completely." Indra threw back.
"It's non-negotiable." Michael didn't back down.
"Perhaps an alternative." Athena offered. "We can take note of numbers, then make trades from there. Compensation can be given to make all parties happy."
They were discussing how to partition the humans, yet Yasaka and Lucy Jr. were being oddly quiet.
I had a bad feeling.
"I refuse."
"No, I would only be receiving a pittance."
"I'll go no lower than 40%." Indra also added.
The arguing was increasing because no one could decide on who or how to divvy up the spoils.
This was an opportunity.
"Why don't you let us handle distributing them?" I spoke up and received a lot of glares immediately. "We won't claim a 'share.'" I quickly added, and the intense stares alleviated a bit. "We technically have no dog in this fight, so wouldn't it be best to let us handle it?"
While that was technically true for the Grigori as well, they were…smaller.
Everyone else, they had some reason to argue. But just as the Fox pointed out, we didn't have a 'reason' to be here. Now, I could use her earlier words to get our foot in the door.
They may not like us, but they'd be more willing to let us take a step up rather than letting another faction, who may make off with the 'goods,' so to speak.
This way, no one will say anything if we grab a couple ourselves for 'doing the work.' While being the spokesperson, if I found a few and whispered some words in their ears, I'm confident I could get them to willingly join up with us Devils.
As for the Youkai doing it…well, they already don't like that they have full access to the humans without any 'oversight.'
While it's true that technically Yasaka could just throw her hands up and decide not to play ball, she also couldn't handle all these factions coming down on her even with Lucifer Jr. at her side.
Everyone wanted the humans, and at this point, she couldn't stop it; it was only a matter of how it was handled.
Of course, the obvious answer wasn't lost on anyone.
Just 'let them go to who they follow.' Heaven's believers go to heaven, Norse people go to the Norse, etc.
But who here isn't greedy?
That's the minimum, the final card that anyone can throw down and end things. Once that's played, no one will gain additional benefits, so no one wants to say it outright.
They all know they won't get less than that, but they all want more.
Which is why they may be willing to let me—us—take care of this little issue so we can maybe get our own piece.
"I agree with Serafall." Azazel spoke up. "Considering the Devils don't have any humans there, wouldn't that give them the right to handle their affairs impartially?"
They didn't immediately reject, so they were considering it.
But I was worried about a few things.
Odin was, as always, a concern, and it was hard to guess what he was thinking. Indra was prideful, so he could dismiss it just out of his sense of pride. The Shinto gods…it's impossible to know what deals they made with Yasaka already.
And Anubis….
He just doesn't like us.
Us, being the three factions in general. The grudge between the Egyptians and Heaven is well known, but it also extends to all factions under the same umbrella here.
Lugh wasn't much of a talker either, so his opinion was hard to gauge.
And the Greeks, they didn't interact much with other factions, preferring to keep to seclusion.
It made the overall situation difficult to judge.
Though, the longer the silence went on, the more I thought I won.
That was, until I saw the growing smile on Yasaka's face.
I missed something.
"If we're talking about the 'right' to act on behalf of humans, then isn't there someone here with the 'most right'?" She stated.
Shit, I did overlook something.
Dammit!
It's so easy to forget!
Well played, you damn Fox.
You intentionally led it all to this point, didn't you? This is what you wanted from the beginning? Bringing him here to be your big stick was just a bonus; you wanted him here for this reason.
Wilhelm smiled.
"Considering that I'm the only one here with human blood, I should have the most right to speak on their behalf, wouldn't you say?" He stated.
Motherfucker.
I hated this damn Fox.
[Line Break]
Wilhelm POV
I admit, I was getting annoyed at how they were treating the humans stuck in the Fae Lands like tradable goods, but I bit my tongue for now.
I knew Yasaka was working her magic.
And the reaction of Serafall said it all.
She was trying to wiggle her way into everything, but Yasaka just shut her down hard.
Talking about 'rights' to speak on behalf of the humans, that would make me have the most right here.
I am half-human.
Granted, so is Raikou. But Raikou's presence here is sort of that of Yasaka's subordinate. They all had humans underneath them, so it would be awkward to try and push it there.
Whereas I had a proverbial seat at the table.
I was an equal.
It got a little tense there with some of their questions, some of which we very well couldn't just refuse to answer. Like, the obvious about a whole bunch of dead people popping up around us. But I also didn't lie, and I knew that they could tell.
I was technically telling the truth.
I had no ability to bring back the dead; neither did the others.
Technically, they weren't brought back either; servants are a strange type of existence.
I'm glad Odin was playing along. He was doing a good job of making some of them question how close we actually were in a situation like this.
I owed him a drink later.
"What about impartiality?" Serafall brought up.
"Sorry, Impartiality? Why do you think we care at all about that?" Yasaka tilted her head. "You seem to misunderstand what's going on. We're being gracious and opening our doors for you; you don't get to decide how dinner is served while under our roof. And since you seem to believe that there is a 'right' to speak on their behalf, Wilhelm here is the only one with human blood; thus, per your own words, he has the most right, wouldn't you say?"
And she just slams the door shut.
It was hard to argue against your own logic.
And Yasaka picked the perfect time to tell them to pound sound. This entire time, she was holding herself back, letting them strut around in front of her before reminding them that we aren't pushovers.
All in all, it was handled perfectly.
"So, it seems you all have a choice here. Either Wilhelm gets to handle things as he sees fit." Her smile certainly gave off an impression. "Or, you just let the humans decide."
It really was obvious, wasn't it?
The humans will decide where they want to go and what they want to do.
It was always going to be that case. I knew it, Yasaka knew it, Odin knew it, and Amaterasu knew it.
Several others here at the table were under the misconception that they had a say in things, and while they did in a small part, they overestimated how much we were willing to bend over backwards to accommodate them.
That doesn't correlate to the annoyance they could kick up if they decided to throw a tantrum, which is why Yasaka had to handle it the way she did.
Gods are greedy; they wanted to gain as much as possible for as little effort as possible.
If they had the opportunity to gain more humans of significant power, they sure as hell were going to do what they could to achieve that.
Essentially, Yasaka just couldn't tell them to fuck off.
She had to do it in a way that they couldn't get all pissy at her in return.
"You know, truthfully, I think it's a good idea to just let all of them live in Youkai Kyoto, don't you think?" I said casually.
That got a few reactions.
I was just saying that to make a point.
The worst-case scenario for them was going to happen if they didn't take the olive branch being offered.
"I agree. Let the humans decide where they wish to go. It's the most simple and logical conclusion." Athena agreed quickly.
I know for a fact that she was fully aware of everything as Yasaka was scheming. She was probably just waiting to see if she could take advantage of this little discussion. If not, there was no loss.
"Well said, Lady Athena. They are not such children that they must be guided. Let the humans decide for themselves!" Thor's voice boomed inside the room.
Odin just grunted as if he gave up.
Well, I'm sure he was also fishing too. We're blood brothers, allies, all of that, but he's too smart not to look for a good opportunity to take advantage of.
The nods and agreements came.
I think Serafall and Azazel wanted to look for a counterargument, but they were having trouble when everyone just gave up and accepted the easiest solution.
"I agree." Anubis' voice didn't carry far, but it held a certain tense to it. Maybe because he hasn't spoken much so far. "Let the humans decide; nothing else should matter."
And that should be the final nail in the coffin.
Unfortunately, this wasn't something I could just flex my way out of. We had to handle it a bit delicately since Yasaka has to, you know, run an entire faction.
"Then if everything is settled, let us adjourn and reconvene tomorrow to discuss logistics." Yasaka left no room for argument.
Just like before, she gave everyone the bare minimum and made them thankful to her.
"Wait, I have some more questions." Azazel quickly stood up to try and stop Yasaka as she got out of her seat.
"That's unfortunate." Yasaka basically ignored him as she turned on her heel and walked away.
Raikou was quick to follow.
I lingered for another moment, making sure everything was alright. I know she wouldn't be so dismissive in this kind of scenario unless it was intentional, so I wasn't worried there.
I felt a hand grab my arm.
I looked up at Indra.
He was giving me a bit of a death glare. "For my daughter's sake, I won't pursue the matter of you utilizing Hanuman's Divine Power, mortal."
Ah.
Right, that is a thing I did, wasn't it?
That one was a bit more difficult to brush off.
It was Izzy who pushed his hand away, giving him her own death glare. Indra looked like he wanted to say something to her, but Amaterasu and Susanoo at her side made him hold his tongue.
After what happened last time, Indra has to play nice. They were already being very gracious by letting Indra come back into the territory.
He huffed in annoyance and turned to leave as well.
Izzy gave me a warm smile, but it wasn't a good spot to socialize.
She had things to handle with her kids, and flirting in front of all the gods here was inappropriate.
There was a silent promise for later, and thus, I turned to leave too, catching up with Yasaka and Raikou, who had disappeared further into the home.
It wasn't hard to find them either.
Yasaka was laying her head on Raikou's shoulder, looking tired.
Her tail wrapped around me as soon as I got close, and she pulled me to their side as well.
"You did good." I rubbed her tail.
"Mou~ It's soooo tiring having to keep up with all of them. I have to play all these petty tricks just to avoid them throwing a tantrum in my house." She whined playfully.
"You did a wonderful job." Raikou also praised her. "I would not have been able to achieve such results."
"Do I get a reward~?" Yasaka said playfully.
"Anything you want." I chuckled, finding another tail to play with.
"And what if what I want is to be sandwiched between you both?" She asked without an ounce of hesitation, though it carried a teasing tone.
Raikou and I shared a look.
Mostly, it was her decision. I never wanted to force any of my girls into relations that they were uncomfortable with.
Yet, almost with the same lack of hesitation, Raikou leaned over and kissed her, even startling the floofy fox, and it was most certainly not a chaste kiss.
That was all the answer she apparently needed.
Yasaka unceremoniously grabbed her kimono and nearly ripped it off as she tossed it to the ground.
"I had to go through the entire war and to this point with you showing me those fuck-me eyes." She grabbed Raikou's collar. "It's time I get my reward."
Raikou blushed. "Oh my." She whispered with her face turning rather red.
She reached over and grabbed my collar as well. "You too, I'm getting sandwiched by you both all night. No Arguments."
And just like that, she started dragging us towards her bedroom.
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LEWD START
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If someone ever asked me, 'Do you get tired, or does it get normalized?' when I'm staring at the near-naked sight of one of my girls, the answer would always be 'Absolutely not.'
It took significant restraint not to push Yasaka down right there in the hallways after she tore off her own kimono.
Raikou is usually very soft-spoken, but even she was open about her willingness to join in, so, I was not going to be selfish and hog the fluffy fox to myself.
By the time the bedroom door closed, I was already tossing off my own clothes.
"It's not fair; why do you have such big boobs and this amazing butt to go along with it?" Yasaka wasted no time; one of her hands sank into her chest, and the other had slid down the back of her pants and was groping her ass.
Raikou bit her lip, face flushed.
She was always so adorable.
"Don't forget her legs." I joined in with my fluffy fox and squeezed Raikou's thighs as she covered her face with her hands, her reddening face peeking out between her fingers.
"Of course, I can't forget these legs. I've been having dreams about them squeezing me for days at this point."
"Hnn, don't bully me." Raikou let out a small whine.
I started playing with her other boob. At this point, Raikou was being attacked from all sides.
"Let's get these beautiful breasts out, shall we?" Yasaka began to unbutton Raikou's shirt. "I'll make sure to give them all the attention they deserve~."
I helped by unbuttoning her pants and sliding them down her legs.
Within moments, Raikou was only in her bra and panties, beat red, as both Yasaka and I showered her with affection.
"Let's get this thing off." Yasaka tossed her bra to the other side of the room. "And what a beautiful sight."
Raikou's chest was fully bare, and I would never get tired of seeing it.
There was a moment, with a bunch of flickering emotions across Raikou's face. I could see her lips twitching, and it seems like she finally settled on something.
Funnily, Raikou grabbed Yasaka's head and pushed her face between her breasts. "If you want to be spoiled, Mommy will spoil you." The way she said it was different than when she said it to me. It was…intentional from her, with a low, forceful tone.
Yasaka's tails stiffened too, and I also felt the shiver down my spine.
"Master." She looked at me with low eyes, almost narrowing. Her voice was very authoritative. "You too. I want your cock out."
She grabbed at my pants, pulling them down before she grabbed my cock forcibly.
With one hand, she held Yasaka's face between her boobs; with her other, she started stroking me.
"Don't worry." She whispered to both of us. "Mommy knows what you both want. Two indecent children, touching mommy so inappropriately. I'm very happy that you enjoy my breasts, so you will get to enjoy them to your hearts content while I help relieve Master's healthy and hard cock." She finished it by increasing her rhythm on me, as if to punctuate it, making it louder just as well.
Weren't we both teasing her? Why did it suddenly get flipped around?
Yasaka looked utterly relaxed as she pawed at Raikou's chest. "If I had never met Wilhelm and you had appeared in my life, I would have done everything I could to make you mine."
I felt Raikou's grip around my cock tighten for a moment as she paused, looking down at Yasaka.
She released Yasaka's head and put her hand under her chin, tilting it up. "Honesty deserves a reward." She said before pushing Yasaka back onto the bed. "Master~" She grabbed my arm as well.
I recognized her look too.
That domineering way she looked at people during the Grail War.
Next thing I knew, I was next to Yasaka on the bed, and Raikou was kneeling at the edge of it, her hand grasping me again as she firmly began to stroke me a bit more vigorously.
As for Yasaka.
She looked Yasaka in the eyes before pulling her panties to the side and spreading her legs.
"Ooh." Yasaka's eyes widened slightly as she let out a gasp.
We hadn't talked about it much, because her past was…a delicate subject. But Minamoto-no-Raikou was historically recorded as being married. And considering she was recorded as a man, her marriage partner was obvious.
That is to say, she had experience.
She gripped Yasaka's thighs tightly and refused to move as the fox let out her mewls of pleasure.
She let out a whimper as Raikou pulled away, her cute little tongue still extended as she licked her lips for Yasaka to see.
Raikou turned to me with a barely concealed mischievous look in her eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she was enjoying it.
"Noooo, don't stop." Yasaka whined.
"Hush." She lightly chided her. "Mommy needs to take care of both of you. I will give you both plenty of attention, so you will behave and accept what I give you."
"Ah~" Yasaka let out another gasp as Raikou pushed two fingers inside of her.
"But Mommy won't leave you unsatisfied." She returned to me, licking her lips again, and with her other hand, guided my cock to her mouth. In one motion it disappeared completely past her lips.
I grabbed the sheets due to the suddenness of it. She didn't suck my cock at every opportunity like Artoria, but she was more than skilled enough to equal her as her throat slightly bulged to accommodate me.
Raikou started to aggressively bob her head all the while she was still fingering Yasaka.
She would periodically switch again, going back between Yasaka's legs and stroking me in the meantime, constantly bouncing between both of us. And throughout it all, she kept that sharp look in her eyes, like she was a mother scolding naughty children.
I don't think either Yasaka or I expected Raikou to be the one to take charge like this.
She pulled her head free from Yasaka's legs, and she didn't immediately move to me either.
Instead, she stood up and climbed up onto the bed, adjusting herself so she was hovering over Yasaka. She lowered herself right onto her face, getting comfortable as I heard Yasaka's muffled sounds slowly disappear.
"Oh, that's nice." Raikou smiled contentedly. "That's good, just like that." She slowly moved her hips back and forth as Yasaka's hand gripped her wide hips.
Raikou shot me a look that said everything. She was very much enjoying herself, not just doing this out of some misplaced sense of loyalty or something.
"Master~" She cooed, grabbing Yasaka's legs and pulling them back. "Mommy prepared a nice warm place for you to thrust in, to your heart's content~"
I stood up and lined myself up with her soaking entrance. "She did say she wanted both of us, didn't she?"
I wasted no time pressing against her entrance; my cock slid in easily, but boy did she tighten down on me. I couldn't hear what she said while Raikou was riding her face, but she arched her back as I fully hilted myself inside of her.
"Now, relax, dear." Raikou gently started to coax Yasaka's breasts until her nipples fully hardened and gently began to play with them. "Master is going to give you exactly what you deserve. Welcome him inside so he can spurt all his warm stuff inside you."
"Mmphh~"
Seeing Raikou being so dominant towards her was making it difficult.
Yasaka was having her own troubles; I could feel her twitching and clenching all on her own with each of my thrusts.
"You were so happy to play with my breasts, but I think these ones are much better." Just as she said that, her back stiffened and she let out a little yelp. "Naughty! Putting a finger in mommy's rear. That deserves a punishment."
Though, she didn't say to stop.
Raikou played with Yasaka's breasts until her nipples hardened enough, and then she began to pull on Yasaka's nipples, gently at first, and focused on it being pleasurable if in a different kind of way.
Yasaka made a sound, like it was a mix between a fox's bark and a whine, as her whole body spasmed and shook.
She came hard, and Raikou gave her no rest, continuing the same treatment all throughout her orgasm.
I picked up my own pace, and her squeezing me was enough with Raikou's earlier attentions, and I pushed all the way inside as far as I could and began to shoot out everything inside of her.
"That's it, Master, give her all your nice warm seed. Fill her all the way up."
I let out one final grunt as it subsided, sliding my cock out of her as my cum dripped free as well.
Yasaka whined from under Raikou, who slowly began to get up, her own thighs clearly wet and dripping from Yasaka's efforts.
Yasaka was completely limp, and her eyes glazed over as she breathed heavily.
Raikou sat down next to her and gently stroked her hair. "Better?"
"Better." Yasaka breathed out, rubbing her stomach. "Full of Wilhelm's seed, and I finally got to taste Raikou. Happy~"
Raikou gave her a gentle smile. "That's good. But Mommy isn't done yet."
Yasaka, whose eyes were half-lidded, had them open a bit wider as Raikou slid off the bed and started rummaging through her drawers.
"Let's see, where are they, hmm?" She hummed to herself until she opened the bottom left drawer. "Ah, here they are." She pulled out two different toys, setting them on top. "And this one is just perfect, don't you think, master?"
Raikou was holding up a strap-on.
I found myself smiling too.
Tonight was about Yasaka, so I didn't mind not being the 'center' of everything this time.
"I think that one is perfect." I agreed.
"Wait, give me a few minutes—"
"Master, do you want her front or back?" Raikou asked, sliding the strap on up her legs, adjusting it so it fit properly. "I admit, I am partial to her front. I would very much like to show how much I appreciate our relationship."
"I'm fine with the back." And like that, I was hard again.
She did say she wanted a Yasaka Sandwich.
Well, I'm sure there would be a Raikou Sandwich before we were done too.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to push all of Master's semen into your womb~." Raikou's smile was concerning.
But also, very, very hot.
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Lewd End
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A/N
Just a mini little meeting reminiscent of the Peace Conference. Also, Yasaka is finally getting her due with Raikou. Also the lewd is there took mark if you don't care about it.
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.
And Happy New Years everyone!