Chapter 455

"Welcome, all." A bright and powerful voice that sat at the head of a round table greeted everyone, now that they had all arrived.

"Mm..." Replied a dark and cold one right after it sat down opposite the former, which was also like a head of the table...?

Clearly, there was something strange going on with the seating, but none of the others present here seemed to mind.

The two voices were clearly opposed, and were itching to get the last word in. However, another person seemed to be sick and tired of this nonsense and spoke cuttingly.

"Zeus, Hades, either the two of you act like mature adults or we all leave and forget about everything!" A female voice cried out in frustration.

The one called Zeus was a buff middle-aged man wearing a toga, sandals, and two bracers. His bright blue eyes sparkled with electricity, and his white hair, as well as brows, were neatly pressed into place in contrast.

Hades was also a middle-aged man, he had long black hair that reached his shoulders, a sharp nose and narrow, cold golden eyes. He was far slimmer and less muscular than his counterpart, looking like someone who was unwell and unfed.

"Bwahaha, no need to be so angry at their posturing Freyja, it is something we are all used to!" Odin laughed loudly while slapping his beer belly. He sat to the extreme left of the table, surrounded by lesser gods of his pantheon.

"Father is right, though I agree that Zeus has every right to reject an evil force, brother or not." Thor added while clapping his hands. He was seated directly beside Zeus, being the former's protege of sorts.

"Ah, you would certainly know well about abusing and neglecting siblings based on preconceived notions, now wouldn't you, 'brother'?" Loki spoke in a silky smooth voice, seated haphazardly beside Hades and playing with a dagger.

Odin was an elderly man with a smidgen of wrinkles on his hearty faces, with wide smile lines visible on his cheeks. He had one good blue eye while the other had been lost, now hidden behind a dark eyepatch.

He was quite short, with a powerful gut. He was the perfect visage of the modern 'dad bod' that came with age. He wore a ceremonial Asgardian attire that was quite gaudy, but could also transform into his legendary armor instantly.

Thor was his usual self, an almost perfect copy of a famous actor who had played the role back in Darius' world during the early 21st century. Short curt curly blond hair, a manly beard, bright blue eyes, and a titanium yet compact body.

He wore a set of custom-made armor that was basically a bronze vest and some war pants as well as a red cape. However, what made his aura vastly different this time was the hammer that rested on the table before him.

As for Loki, he looked like a pretty boy that should be out chasing women instead of attending such an important meeting.

Slicked-back black hair, bright green eyes, a small nose, and think pinkish lips made him slightly androgynous too. If it wasn't for his long chin and adam's apple, it would be tough to tell he was a male otherwise.

Loki wore a set of armor similar to Thor's, a vest that left his arms free and war pants, only that both of his were extremely tight and of flexible material, while being pitch-black in color.

The moment Loki spoke, Thor's casual smile hardened and he glared at his half-brother with anger. Loki just continued playing with his dagger without acknowledging the open disdain, humming all the while even.

Freyja, who had exclaimed previously, facepalmed. She was a supreme beauty with burnished auburn hair that reached her thighs, wreathed with a crown of flowers. Her face was delicate and small, with rosebud lips that were dark red in color as well as soft azure eyes filled with benevolence.

She wore a translucent dress that was grey and quite plain overall in terms of fashion. She sat right beside Odin on the left side, also flanked by her pantheon of lesser gods. Since she and Odin shared the same origins and had equal authority, they got along extremely well.

"A bunch of fools, as always." A sensual yet malicious voice sounded out, ruining the mood of the entire gathering at once.

"I wonder why I was birthed by such incompetence... then I look at those two clowns and realized I lucked out." A cold yet valiant male voice spoke.

"Why are we wasting time listening to this nonsense? I could be back in the mountains performing jakte?" A heavily accented female voice spoke with disinterest.

The leader of the three sat at the far right of the table, leading her own group of Gods and Lesser Gods. It was Hel, the Goddess of Death and Afterlife.

She was a beauty no less than Freyja, with a long, angular face, heavily darkened eyelids, pitch-black pupils, and soft, pale skin.

Hel wore an attire made of the souls of the dead, which formed a lovely silver dress that would occasionally show the face of a screaming soul.

To her right was Baldr, a warrior and also the first son of Odin and Frigg. He was similar to Loki, in the sense that he looked like a soft male. Still, Baldur was unmistakably a handsome male with curly golden hair and soft cyan eyes, his body slim, and his height average.

If Darius or anyone from earth knowledgeable in pop culture were to look at him, they would smile bitterly as he was the exact personification of the 'femboy' archetype, despite possessing a manly voice.

Finally, there was Skaoi to Hel's right. She was the Goddess of Skiing and Hunting, who loved to ride down the icy caps of mountains all year round while spearing rabbits, deers, and birds that passed her by.

She was quite pretty as well - as there were few ugly Gods - with a hard face, dark brown eyes, and pale silver hair tied into a bun. She wore a set of woolly-leather armor that glowed with an icy coldness due to its enchantments, which contrasted her fair and tanned skin.

Odin's face became ugly as he slammed the table. "Hel, be careful how you speak!"

Hel sneered. "Yes, Mighty Allfather."

Odin then glared at Skaoi. "Woman, you were never this feisty when Njoror was here to tame you!"

Skaoi's face became horrendous as she almost snarled. "How dare you, you fat fucking-!"

Odin ignored her, as she was mostly a lesser god who was lucky to marry a greater one. He turned to Baldr with fury on his face, but this fury greatly softened when he gazed at his progeny.

"My son."

It was just two words, but they contained a wealth of emotions and meanings. Baldr's face contorted, yet he remained firm as he looked away from Odin. His father could only sigh and retract his anger.

"Alright, that's enough. Let us dive into the matter at hand for our gathering." Zeus declared with a staunch tone, his eyes roving over everyone equally, even his enemies. He then nodded to Hermes, who pushed up his glasses.

"The Insects appear to have beaten back our usual attempts to reduce their numbers, hinting at something greater. Not only that, but they were supported by a Grandmaster Dragon with a good amount of the Ancestor's blood, a Half-Giant that had the closest connection to Gaia ever recorded, and an elf disguised as a human who possessed the power of more than one Divine Concept." Hermes revealed calmly.

To this, the collective here grimaced heavily. They were flabbergasted and alarmed at such a lineup. They were already having a tough time tolerating the existence of the Dragon race since the average Grandmaster among them was about a strong as a weaker God.

However, they dared not do anything because at the helm of that race stood an existence that should not exist within Faust, and he himself knew it. Now, there was a Dragon with his lineage running about causing trouble, what did this mean?

This had many implications that caused the Gods here a great fright. When the mention of the Half-Giant was made, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades had troubled faces.

After all, the Titans were their problem, especially Chronos who had tried to devour them, and Gaia who had given birth to the entire array of Titans.

However, they were still generally rebuilding after the Insect Invasion and didn't have time to chase down the giants living on Fallon and exterminate them thoroughly to prevent future troubles.

Now, this happened.

As for the elves, they were another troublesome race. They were neutral, not involving themselves in worldly matters except worshiping their Concept of Magic and feeding it endless Faith Energy.

Now, it was about to give birth to a new consciousness and become a God more powerful than any of the ones seated here.

They had long noticed such a thing, but what could they do about it?