Chapter 482: A Pantheon

Chapter 482: Chapter 482: A Pantheon

Chapter 482 – A Pantheon

As Sunday night slowly drew to its end, the moon unwillingly blinking its last blink before giving way to the sun, the Fallen Sect was reaching the end of their talks.

Diaila, now the Lady of Mars, and William, now Saturn, had been listening attentively to Cassius and Isolde’s words from the beginning, and they were unable to hide their surprise.

Diaila in particular began to understand that she had been invited into something far bigger than she had anticipated.

Even William was not spared. He began to grasp that this Sect was going to be a huge commitment, and he wondered if he could actually bear it.

"So this is it," Cassius finished.

He sat on his throne, leaning forward, his elbows planted on his legs, his chin resting atop his interlaced, gloved fingers. "This is what the Sect has come to be due to recent developments."

"What... what kind of recent developments could make you create a Sect for the sake of fighting Blessed and their gods?" Diaila said, her eyes slightly wide. "Do any of you understand what we are actually doing?"

"So much for a Reaper," Meadow sneered, looking at Diaila with her left eye, her monster hidden behind the eyepatch. "Aren’t you the one who was going ’murder, murder’ like a Vorn-cursed edgy girl who realized her life is worthless?"

"Says the girl with worms living inside her," Diaila scoffed. "I would so love to see a man who would—!"

SNAP!

"Oulah." Cassius let out a faint smile.

His hand was gripping Meadow’s shaking one. She had been about to strike Diaila with a slap that would have left the new Reaper sprawling on the ground like a sack of rocks.

The blow never reached Diaila, but Meadow had moved so fast that she hadn’t noticed it until Cassius caught her hand, and that reminded her of the woman who had been about to kill her with worms inside her body.

She closed her mouth, asking herself why she had been so unable to control herself lately.

She always had to retort, and that was not the wisest choice when people stronger than her, who visibly didn’t fancy seeing her face that much, were around.

’I need to shut my mouth. And this worm bitch. Fuck you.’

"Calm down, Meadow," Cassius said gently, looking at his friend.

Meadow stared at him for a long while before clicking her tongue and retracting her hand.

Sarah glared at Diaila, and Isolde spoke.

"Next time," she said, her voice flat, "I will be the one attacking if you do or say something like this again. And I won’t be stopped. I hope you realize that."

The Lady of Mars didn’t reply. But by the way her body subtly shivered at the silent killing intent in Isolde’s eyes, it was clear she had gotten the message.

William shook his head next. "If you are weak, act weak," he said with scorn. Then, as if nothing had happened, he addressed Cassius. "Concretely, what do you expect from me?"

"To be strong," the Last Born replied. "I want all of you to be strong, stronger than anything and anyone could believe you to be. And this Sect is here to help you through that, but only if we can trust you. At some point, we wouldn’t want to work with people who are with us only because they signed a Death Contract. And you..."

His sun-like eyes fell on Diaila.

"...you had better be useful. That’s the only way I will tolerate your bullshit attitude. I stopped Meadow today. I won’t stop her next time. Nor will I stop anyone else. Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Earth," the Lady of Mars replied in complete submission. Cassius was the only one she could delightfully serve and bow to without feeling bitter.

Silence filled the absence of words.

Meadow, who had been irritated, slowly began to calm down. And she grew even calmer when Sarah looked at her and smiled gently.

"How easy is it to go against Blessed and gods?" William asked. "And how can I get ready for that?"

"You have received a Swordbook," Isolde said. "Use that Swordbook to its maximum potential. One day, you could also have a Characteristic that can elevate your power."

Saturn’s brows creased. "Characteristic?" He slowly shook his head. "No, thank you. My Family doesn’t use those."

"Oh?" Isolde exclaimed. "Is that so?"

"Impure," William went even further. "Our minds must be free of any external influence and taint. A Characteristic affects you profoundly, and could even change you. That’s very detrimental for us."

His words were true, and Meadow knew exactly what he was talking about. At that moment, she wished she had the strength to be useful without needing a Characteristic.

"That’s fair." Cassius nodded, the others nodding with him. "I respect that, Will. Then all you have is your Sword and your Formless Intent. I think that’s plenty, right?"

William nodded with a serious face. "More than plenty."

The Last Born let out a grunt of acknowledgement and turned towards Diaila. "And you? For or against Characteristics?"

"I am for," she replied without hesitation.

"Then make sure you deserve it."

"I will do my best, Lord Earth."

Next, they discussed how they must keep everything secret, especially the Sect, and be very careful with their actions from now on.

The realization that they would be going against gods was scary. However, it gave all of them, even Cassius himself, a sense of urgency from now on.

They would no longer waste time doing things that would not help them in the future.

Diaila, in particular, wanted to get very close to Cassius.

Not out of anything romantic, but out of fascination with a man her own age who had accomplished so much.

That desire made her realize that she must, at the very least, be less hostile towards Meadow. But that was easier said than done.

Still, every member of the Sect was now on the same page about their goal: Against the Gods!

And for that, Cassius had decided to finally do what he should have done ever since Tysche became his goddess.

And the timing was perfect, now that his Sect had grown in might and numbers.

’It’s time to create the Pantheon, my dear goddesses,’ he said in his mind, and looked at Isolde.

The Soundless Slayer needed only one look to understand what her husband wanted, and she nodded, finding the time appropriate.

[Oh my. To think I will be in a Pantheon one day,] Tysche said, smiling. [Now I am eager.]

[Let’s create something worthy,] Marvela added. [It’s only natural, if we want to reach the ridiculous and almost impossible goals our darling wants to achieve.]

[We are ready the moment you are, Cassius,] Ananke finished.

Cassius nodded. He swept his eyes over his members, instinctively drawing their attention.

"In honor of this day, and of this night, I think it’s only appropriate that we take this whole consolidation of our Sect and our Goal to the next level," he said.

"Next level?" Sarah muttered.

The Last Born stood up from his throne and walked to an emptier area of the shattered space.

"Yes," he replied to Sarah. "We have goddesses, but they are still scattered, in a way. And I believe it’s only logical that the divine beings supporting us be under the same banner. Meaning, under the same Pantheon."

The eyes of his sect members, all of them except Isolde, suddenly widened in surprise.

Cassius smirked and summoned the Pantheon Ticket he had received as a reward for managing to shield himself from Marvela’s obsessive love.

The ticket caused the air around it to hum with power, and the surroundings to shiver like a man at the edge of climax.

Isolde, Meadow, Sarah, Diaila and even William all stood up from their thrones, putting a relatively safe distance between themselves and Cassius.

They watched with nervousness on their faces, unable to believe that they were about to witness the birth of a Pantheon.

A bloody Pantheon, like the famous Greek and Norse Pantheons.

’This meeting keeps getting more unbelievable,’ William thought.

’Cassius... Desdemona...’ Diaila was literally geeking out over Cassius, seeing him less and less as a man at that point.

Meanwhile, the Last Born took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Then he tightened his grip on the ticket and—!

DING!

Cassius paused, surprised by the unexpected notification sound.

’What is...’

He didn’t even finish the thought before a panel lit up in front of him.

[The Reluctant Queen of the Underworld has opened your Couriel. She has accepted the First Option: Leave her Pantheon, and join yours.]

The System paused, then...

[The Greek Pantheon has lost one of its main goddesses.]

Cassius’s face cracked into a smile.

’All for a pair of underwear. Oh, Queen...’

—End of Chapter 482—