Darius Supreme

"I have summoned you here to go on a Divine Odyssey. The five of you are to travel to the ruined wasteland of Pokterr, home of those vermin Insects, and discover what their plans are. If possible, try not to engage them directly unless forced to." The thunderous voice of Zeus resounded within the cathedral as his statue glowed faintly. 

The five Demi-Gods displayed expressions of reverence and shock, as they had not expected that they would be chosen for a Divine Odyssey! 

Their faces flushed with excitement, even the calm Theseus had a greedy glint in his eyes since the rewards for completing such a task were great enough to allow them to increase their powers even further! that were successfully completed would see them greatly rewarded and their powers greatly increased. 

"We hear and obey!" They cried out in unison. 

Zeus' statue did not move, but one could make out the feeling of a nod of satisfaction and approval from the face on the exquisite carving and especially the tone of his voice. 

"Good. You shall set off today and return by the end of the week. Inspect Pokterr thoroughly and try to find the location of the three fugitives assisting the vile Insects from the shadows.." 

Hearing that there were actually individuals who would help the Insects left the five Demi-Gods slack-jawed. Were those idiots even in possession of the slightest bit of intelligence? 

Helping that race was the same as signing your own death warrant! 

Did they really think that once the Insects were done consuming everything else on Faust, that they would be spared? 

The best-case scenario would be that they would be allowed to survive until the end before the Insects would enjoy those helpful emergency rations! 

Hercules especially became furious as he pounded his chest. 

"Father, leave it to me! I will offer you the heads of those brutes in order to establish peace in the world!" 

Zeus' tone significantly softened when addressing Hercules. 

"My son, I'm afraid that will not be such an easy task. One of them is a Dragon with a high-level bloodline that appears to be a descendant of that Ancestor of theirs, one is a half-giant with a pure connection to Gaia and the last one is a Royal Elf in possession of two Divine Concepts at the least." 

The faces of Medea and Theseus greatly changed, but Achilles, Pyrrha, and Hercules looked confused. Zeus noticed this and sighed internally, realizing that his former plan to make his son the leader of the team would not be wise if they sought success. 

"For this Divine Odyssey, I appoint Theseus to be your leader. Obey his orders directly and follow his directives to the letter as if they came from me, otherwise you will be penalized upon return." Zeus declared grandly. 

Achilles and Pyrrha didn't seem to mind as they were aware of the tactical acumen of the fellow beside them, but Medea scowled as her eyes glinted with a flash of hatred, while Hercules looked dissatisfied. 

"Father! Shouldn't such a mission be led by the strongest? Why let this weakling who fancies cheap tricks lead those more potent than himself?!" Hercules complained with unhappiness. 

Zeus rolled his eyes, his limited patience snapping as he shouted at his son: "Fool, have you not been listening to a single word of mine?! You're merely to gather information NOT engage in battle! If Theseus is not to be leader, then who else can qualify?!" 

Hercules smacked his lips and looked away, folding his arms. The other Demi-Gods could almost swear that they could hear Zeus sighing with lament and frustration at the antics of one of his favorite sons. 

Zeus then focused on Theseus who displayed no reaction to Hercules' accusation with approval in his eyes, though the statue only glowed a little bit more. 

"Fulfill the Divine Odyssey and the rewards will exceed your wildest dreams! It is of the utmost importance that you do NOT fail, do you understand?!" 

Theseus lowered his head respectfully. "Sovereign Lord, I solemnly swear not to disappoint you!" 

Zeus was satisfied by this. "Good, good, good. Go and meet with Odysseus. He has all the necessary equipment and tools you will need." 

With that, the divine glow surrounding Zeus' statue disappeared and the temple returned to tranquility. The kneeling Demi-Gods rose to their feet and gazed at each other, now finally taking stock of their lineup for this mission. 

Achilles and Pyrrha shook hands with Theseus, while Medea ignored him plaintively, whereas Hercules sniffed with a hint of disdain. Theseus was not bothered by this, Hercules' reputation as a lout that only had his strength and combat acumen going for him proceeded him while Medea was a witch who had every reason to hate him given their history. 

After that, they headed to Sector 54, which was the one belonging to Hermes. It was a busy area that was just as populated as Waukeen's sector, but for more logistical than business-related reasons. 

Things were constantly received here and moved elsewhere at all times, forming an important area of supply for the entire city. In the center of the sector was a big dome-like building with many entrances leading to and from it. 

Many mortals worked hard by taking a part of the work from the menial jobs even up to supervisory and managerial ones. How else were they supposed to earn Dius to maintain their living in this city? 

When the five Demi-Gods passed through, all the workers stopped what they were doing to bow briefly before continuing. The five were not offended by this as they would hate for the smooth machine that was the logistics area to halt just because of them. 

Personally, many felt it would be better if nothing happened, but at the same time, they also needed the mortals to understand that they were supreme at all times. 

Theseus acknowledged the bows with a nod of his head, and Achilles, as well as Pyrrha, smiled at the mortals. Hercules put his fist into his palm while he grinned at them mischievously, but the mortals simply smiled. 

It was only Medea who ignored them as if they were trash beneath her feet. 

The group entered the dome and moved deftly through the area as they had come here many times, even back when they had been mortals themselves. 

When they reached the top floor, they entered a large chamber where one man sat behind a pile of documents and ledgers, reading through them with a pair of round-rimmed glasses. 

For someone stuck with a desk job, you'd expect Odysseus to be thin and bookish, but he was rather bronze-skinned and well built as if a master sculptor had worked on his body. 

In fact, in terms of height, build, and skin tone, he resembled Achilles a lot. The only difference was that he was bald and had a slightly bent nose. He also wore a toga that had golden accents denoting him as a fellow Demi-God. 

When he sensed the presence of the incoming five, he raised his head up and eyed them a little. He then sighed and placed his quill down before clapping his hands, summoning a few male and female mortals who worked as servants for his office. 

Without even asking them why they were here, Odysseus gave out a rapid series of commands. "You, go and prepare five Demi-God Battlesuits, three male and two female. Both female suits are for elemental and magic users while the male ones will have one spear-oriented battlesuit, one unarmed battlesuit, and one elemental battlesuit." 

"You, go to the Aviary and requisition five griffins. They should all be the non-combat and long-flying type. Make sure that you get it right this time, I don't want what happened with Perseus' and Jason's Divine Odysseys to happen again!" 

"And you, rush over to the stockpile and gather five spatial knapsacks and fill them with the best ambrosia, gallons of water, and other necessities as listed by the 'Divine Odyssey starter kit' manuscript!" 

By the time Odyssey had dealt with all the servants, the five were left smiling wryly at the efficiency of the fellow. Ever since his first odyssey had been chartered, forever coining the term, he had helped many others like Jason on their own journeys. 

After so many millennia, he had long since devised a basic set of rules for each Divine Oddysey and what one would need to increase the success chances. 

Odysseus suddenly seemed to remember their presence and frowned slightly. "Right, who is the team leader this time?" 

Theseus stepped forward, much to Hercules' disapproval and Medea's anger. "That would be me, Odysseus." 

Seeing that it was Theseus, Odysseus' expression lightened greatly as he smiled. He nodded with a look of praise in his eyes. 

"To have one of the three great Demi-God heroes in this team, this odyssey is sure to succeed!" 

Odysseus ignored the looks of unhappiness from the other two and the bitter smile from Theseus as he asked straightforwardly. 

"Anyway, what's the core of your mission this time? Are you to vanquish a blasphemous race? Recover a Divine Artifact?" 

Before anyone could correct him, Odysseus raised a hand. "Wait, don't tell me… you must find one of the illegitimate children of one of the Main Gods?" 

He smiled at them as if he expected to be right. The five could only share helpless looks before Theseus revealed. 

"Actually… we are to infiltrate Pokterr." 

Immediately, Odysseus' smile was wiped away.