NOVEL SIMPLE Arc End: Aftermath
"Why... are you here?", Athen questioned.
She was still in her Anima Pactum, she had a full day to use the Hell Armaments as freely as she liked. However, with the amount of power she possessed right now, someone was standing in her way.
"Wotan, why are you here?", she furrowed her brows.
The young man standing in her way wears a black leather jacket with the symbol of the All-Seeing Eye inside a triangle and on top of a crumbling tower. He possessed snow-white hair, peaking through his black beanie. His left eye is pure white, blinded, while his blue right eye possesses the three overlapping triangle symbol - the Valknut.
"Well, I have been informed by Miss Arco that we are going to abandon the delivery. We got what we came for.", Wotan crossed his arms, "Arjun had collected the lost prince and the lost blade."
She clicked her tongue, exiting her Anima Pactum, "Tch, what about the two kids?"
"They will manage.", Wotan shrugged, walking closer to Athen, "Gray got their luggage already, and a stealth plane is already prepared for leave."
"There is a problem.", Athen pointed out, "Charlotte."
"Ah... I read Jack's report on her.", he let out an exhausted sigh, "She doesn't do well in a team. Too much of an ego."
"And very violent too.", she added.
"If you say so. Now, we have to go.", he swiped his hands, creating Runes floating in the air, "Enact."
A shroud of mist surrounded them, and Athen felt the air shift. They were not in Mu anymore but on a stealth plane.
Her eyes scanned around, and looking at the passengers, she recognized Jack, Enna, an Indian wearing a blank blue mask, and a sleeping woman in a white sundress.
"Where is Charlotte?", Athen grabbed Wotan's collar, glaring down at him.
"Miss Arco said to leave her alone to explore by herself.", Wotan informed her.
"WHAT?!"
"You don't have to worry about that.", Jack appeared right next to Athen to slap her hands away from the man, "Silla gave an order, to leave her alone until further notice."
"Do you think I can leave her alone?!", the more she hears them speak, the less grip she has on her sanity.
Athen wanted to protect Charlotte, yet time and time again, the world threw obstacle after obstacle towards her. Why? Why is the world so cruel to her?
Is it the burden of an heir? She thought many times. Her Devil is Zagreus, the God of Blood and Life, a child born of Hades and Persephone, blessed by Zeus, owning the rightful throne of Greece.
Athen does actually have a legitimate claim to rule Greece, but for a parliamentary republic, it is not that useful.
Yet, she cannot protect those close to her. Not now, not before. Athen hated herself for that. And being a short-tempered person, she took a deep breath to calm herself down...
A black sword manifested in her hand, "Fuck it! I'm finishing my trial!", she slit her throat.
Her body fell lifeless onto the ground, blood leaking out of her body to form a pool, then bloodied arms reached out to sink her deep in.
And everyone collectively groaned.
"Arjun, it's your turn.", Wotan ordered.
"What?!", the masked man exclaimed, pointing over to the sleeping woman, "It's Gray's turn!"
Because of the commotion, the sleeping woman woke up, her amber eyes glanced at Arjun and Wotan, pushing some strains of her black hair away.
"Huh...?", she was confused.
"Gray, you can go back to sleep.", Wotan said in a calm voice.
"Okay...", she falls asleep again.
Arjun sighed, "Fucking hell... Jack—"
"Fuck no.", she rejected it instantly, "I don't want to, especially after I can get away from that crazy girl."
Jack does not like Charlotte, that fact was well established. Not to the point of outright hate, since as a doctor, she knew there was something wrong with Charlotte on a psychological level.
With a sigh, she sat back down on her seat, crossed her legs and arms, closing her eyes before speaking, "I'll go to sleep now, wake me up when we come to Canada."
Wotan took off his beanie, throwing it towards the table.
"Anyway, Arjun, how is the track coming.", he sat down, looking at the masked Indian man.
Arjun nodded, "It's almost finished, just have to adjust Gray's lines a bit more and everything should be Gucci."
"Any upcoming concert?", he asked
"In August, we'll have a tour in Germany.", Arjun replied.
"Hm.", Wotan nodded, looking over to the sleeping Gray, "We have a lot of free time, don't we? Then how about having some collaborations with some people on Utube?"
"Who do you suggest?"
Wotan showed a mischievous smile, making Arjun sigh in resignation, "Nothing good ever comes when you smile."
"Why don't we collaborate with one of our own?", he tapped the table in a rhythm, "Who is the upcoming streamer of Babel?"
"You mean Silver Royal?"
His singular eye glowed, "Of course, she might not want to sing, since that's beneath her, but think about the revenue the voice of the Library of Humanity would bring!"
Arjun can only chuckle at whatever Wotan is thinking in that head of his. After all, the Gem Holder does receive some influences from their Devil.
Wotan Russ, Gem Holder of Odin, the Allfather of the Aesir Gods. A trickster that can only rival his blood-brother - Loki.
Then there is Arjun Yuhga, the Gem Holder of Indra, the Hindu God of Thunder, and the King of the Devas. A powerful master over the elements of the heaven.
And finally, Gray Dorian, the Gem Holder of Oscar Wilde, the genius playwright and poet of the 1880s. Well-known for his witty comments and unhinged nature.
Together, they are known to the public as the Illuminati, a fairly well-known metal band of three all over the world. Though it may just be a front for one of the many mercenary groups, the trio truly enjoy their life as celebrities in the music industry.
Because of all things, nobody would expect a music band to be part of a secret organization.
And Enna is once again, having the Holy Spirit experience of just watching the show.
=0=0=
"Alpha-01 here, we found no trace of... tch, their name were erased from our mind.", Hayata clicked his tongue, he looked over to Mitsuki, who was having backlash from her Anima Pactum, "And we need a lot of medics."
Mitsuki is not feeling okay, her entire body is pale and shivering uncontrollably, suffering from hypothermia. But she still stood, crossing her arms while giving a murderous look afar.
Even without clothes, since they shattered as a side effect of her Anima Pactum, her rage overshadowed her shame.
"Whoever you are... you will pay for betraying me!", she loudly announced to the whole underground city.
"You should rest now, Mitsuki."
She glanced back, seeing Jesus holding a very pale Druid, stumbling with her steps. Her designation was D-2, she was killed by Magnum Opus after it got a Gem from a strange crow, but now she was revived by the Son of God not knowing where her fate would end up.
He put a heated towel over Mitsuki without another word before tending to the injured. He knew what the girl needed right now was not words, not congratulations because they never made the Demon Slayer happy. Praising only works on her when she successfully finishes the job.
In her line of work, failure is synonymous with death. If she failed to kill a demon or cursed spirit, her life would end.
She slumped down, covering herself with the towel.
"I need something to cheer me up..."
Her mind wandered to the recent streamer she was watching. A smile formed on her face.
=0=0=
"So, where will you go next?", Theodore asked me while munching on a sandwich.
"Hm, I think I'll get a hotel room to stay in for the night. Tomorrow, I'll go to Ataraxia Academy.", I replied, drinking a glass of spider milk.
"So soon?", he tilted his head.
"Everything is ready, all I need to do now is enroll in the academy and probably get a mission while I'm there."
I cut a piece of my Drake steak, putting it in my mouth to let it melt. Delicious.
"I see, good luck to you, Charlotte.", he smiled kindly, making me feel comfortable.
"Good luck to you too, Theo."
He widens his eyes, taken aback for a moment. Well, I just gave him a nickname after all.
I finished my steak and down the last of my milk. Theodore also finished his sandwich and stood up before me. He held his hand out to me.
I took it, standing taller than him. Well, I think he might grow up to be taller than me.
Our breakfast was quite enjoyable. Though we had to knock the staff out cold to get our breakfast, I did most of the work while Theodore just sat down.
"I think we should go now, Jack said to come to the roof and someone will take care of us."
Why does nobody inform me of these things?
"Then we should go now.", I snapped my other hand, "Delusion."
And we went to the rooftop in a flash. The damage I did was still here... and there is a... woman?
She's very lanky and tall, wearing a black silk bodysuit under a white jacket. Nothing too big. Possessing black hair, she has a messy bang that covers her eyes and a long ponytail. What creeps me out is that mischievous smile.
Wait a second.
"Nyarlathotep?", I frowned.
She did a spin, then struck a pose, "Yep, the one and only Nyarlathotep! The enigmatic Thousands Face Trickster! If you are wondering about my gender, dear Charlotte~", a cane appeared in her hand and she pointed at me, "I have many faces! I can be a man, a woman, a cow, a sheep, a dragon, a pyramid, a fly, a ladybug, an ant! I can be anything and everyone!"
To demonstrate her power, she spun and turned into... me.
So I promptly punched her in the face, then I grabbed her throat. Kicking her knees so she went down below my level.
"Don't you ever use my face.", I warned her with blaring anger, "Or I will burn you into nothingness."
Hearing my warning, Nyarlathotep changed into a thinly built man, wearing the same black bodysuit and white jacket. With messy hair and a ponytail.
A shapeshifter.
I let go, giving him some air to breathe, and back off.
"My, you are certainly feisty.", he licked his lips, "Now with the reintroduction done, I will swiftly deliver you all out of here."
"And did you take our stuff?", I asked, crossing my arms and trying to imitate Athen.
"Nah, that was Gray.", the Thousands Face Trickster shrugged, changing into a woman with amber eyes and silky black hair, she stood taller than me with her thin delicate build, "Gray Dorian, Gem Holder of Oscar Wilde, the Mocking Poet."
A poet, in other words, an artist... the second most dangerous type of Gem Holder, just behind the Eldritch.
Ah, ~ Oscar Wilde, a man who saw the folly of existence and the system of humanity~ tried to escape it, going against the flow of society. The more he tried to fight, the more he was breaking~
All famous artists, be it a painter, or a writer, people who dedicate their life to their craft are a bit... insane.
Their abilities are generally similar - reality-bending - or more specifically, forcing people to see the world through their eyes, the eyes of someone who had fallen into madness. A writer can rewrite reality as if it was their story, and just to make it more absurd... the more unstable a writer is in life, their Devil will be more powerful.
So yeah... Oscar Wilde is pretty strong. Remembering the last time I interacted with an artist, Vanessa, it was pretty traumatic.
"Now, kids.", she turned back to the male version, "Close your eyes, for witnessing my true form can only drive you insane."
!!!!!!
Every warning in my mind blared up instantly, Survive took over my body and sealed my eyes shut, even Reverie was covering my eyes with its sludge. Then Malice Fire formed a barrier around my body, as well as Euphoria dulling my senses with a combination of drugs.
Can't be too careful, my dear.
Apology for such rudeness, My Lady.
Too dangerous.
Yeah~
"We are here.", Nyarlathotep spoke.
All of my layers of visual protection were gone, and now standing on another rooftop with an open sky. No more was I in that underground city, but in Darkovah. And next to us is a stealth jet hovering over the city in its invisible mode.
"Is everyone intact? Nothing loose or broken?"
I checked my body, hm, nothing was wrong with me.
"Everything is fine.", Theodore replied first.
"Me too.", I followed.
"Good! Now please enter the stealth jet so we can return to—", I stopped him with a glare.
"I will be staying here for a while.", I said with a hint of malice, while also smiling.
"Oh, okay."
Huh, he accepted that surprisingly well.
"See you again, Charlotte.", he waved at me before entering the jet.
"See you too, Theo.", I smiled brightly, adding a bit of a blush.
And he was gone.
Now, I sighed and snapped my finger. Much to the dismay of Nyarlathotep.
"Enna, my luggage.", I commanded.
A few seconds later, Enna calmly walked down the invisible jet with my two luggage.
"Oh, Nyarlathotep.", I turned to him, "Deliver this to Silla."
I gave him the Fallen Starlight. I'm keeping my Holy Gun with me, rather, let Enna keep it because I can't walk around with a gun all the time.
"Of course— damn, this gun is heavy.", he picked them up and carried them to the stealth jet.
Now, Enna standing next to me, looking at me with a fixed wonder, "So... where are we gonna stay?"
"I'm booking a hotel.", I said as I took out my phone from one of my suitcases.
Surfing the internet for a nearby hotel, I want to find one that is close to Ataraxia...
Oh, found it.
A three-star hotel that still has rooms. The rooms here look nice, no gold at all— good for me.
Oh, I need to report my mission too. I failed, but Seria expected me to fail. I think I've known her long enough to tell what she's after. Dailing up her number, I got an instant response.
"Seria, mission failed.", I reported.
[I see, well, I expected it to fail anyway. Lilith is immortal in the sense she always existed and will continue to exist. Being Big G's experiment for a better human race and all.]
Enna, who is also listening in, nodded with a knowing look, "Yup, the fucker above might be a psycho and egomaniac, but he's not a bad person. He cares for this planet in his own messed up way."
I just wanna test out if the Akashic Records can kill her. Remus certainly did in the past.]
According to Seria, Remus killed the majority of the Gods. Killing immortal beings... wait.
"Seria, was God ever killed by Remus?", I asked.
[Hm? That's a little bit unclear since God exists in three parts, The Father, who is one hundred percent dead, The Son, JC is still walking around being his usual self, and The Holy Spirit— Oh, I see.]
The Holy Spirit is still out there...
"So... do you want me to kill Jesus?"
[I'll have to pay you thirty silver coins, but no, don't kill Jesus unless your name is Judas.]
She was taking this as a joke. So I should probably not go around killing the Son of God.
[Anyway, good luck to you, Charlotte. Remember, only break bones but don't cripple or kill! I still have a reputation to look after, what the media would think of me when my adopted daughter is a psychopath!]
Seria is being sarcastic again, she doesn't care for her reputation at all. The U.S.A. loves her because surprisingly, she is a pretty down-to-earth person. She frequently makes videos of herself playing games and testing out firearms and also gives her opinions on politics because she takes no side and has political immunity too.
"Goodbye, Seria.", and I end the call.
Now with that all out of the way, let's go to the hotel. I'll probably set up my stream for the night since...
It's a bit embarrassing to say but... I enjoy streaming.
