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Chapter 259: Interlude 13

I looked at the other God present, the former Head of the Norse Pantheon – Odin. It\'s been many years since his son was passed the throne.

"It\'s an informal meeting." I bit into a little pastry. "And I quite like visiting these human establishments when given the chance." Granted, I made sure it was empty just for us. Didn\'t want humans or anyone else barging into or eavesdropping on our talks.

"Bah, we should have gone to a strip club then." Odin grumbled.

This was the former head of the Norse.....though I\'d still take him over Zeus any day. Atleast Odin was mostly harmless these days and just acted like an idiot because he\'s bored.

"While this is an informal meet, All-Father, it\'s still a meeting between different Pantheons." I said courteously. "It\'s hard to talk with women bouncing their butts in your face."

"That\'s the point, you don\'t\' talk." Odin laughed.

Well, that\'s fair point I supposed. I don\'t think he really wanted to be here, not that anyone particularly enjoyed these kinds of discussions between different cosmologies. Always full of the butting of heads and egos slamming into each other. I preferred this method, an informal meeting between some the more easy going members of the different factions.

"And I don\'t think our third member of this little get together would appreciate such a place." I pointed out as well.

"That Biblical God." Odin spat. "I still can\'t believe he did something so...horrible to those creations of his. Atleast that Azazel had the right idea! Who cares if your wings are black if you have a big pair of tits to hold onto!"

It took all of my Godly strength not to slam the palm of my hand to my face.

Though, it was kind of strange that he forced his Angels into such strict roles. Well, it definitely wasn\'t the strangest thing a God did...all of us had our quirks even as we mellowed out over the centuries as humanity evolved.

Regardless, it\'s not polite to talk about the dead – or the currently dead. There were still some talk if the Biblical God was truly dead or not. Not that many wanted to test that theory. Even if he\'d faded, Heaven still held an obscene amount of power at its disposal.

His Angels weren\'t the strongest beings in existence, but backed by the majority of Faith in the world.....even I wouldn\'t want to face them. What do the humans call it – Mutually Assured Destruction? If anyone tried to besiege Heaven, they would unleash all that stored power and could utterly annihilate an entire Cosmology. They would most likely die in the process or cease being a true faction, but no one wanted to be the ones to pop that balloon.

A Sword of Damocles over everyone\'s heads. As comical as it was to think about how one of the weakest Pantheons in the world was keeping everyone in line, I\'m also thankful that they are in fact, one of the weakest. If they had ambitions like Indra does, the world would be in a much more chaotic state. They seemed content on just upholding the current stability right now, which gained my admiration. It was one of the reasons I agreed to that peace pact all those years ago.

Some of my kin were upset about the Christian encroachment onto our lands, but I had seen/saw the writing on the walls. It was inevitable, and if we tried to press, the humans would have pushed back. And no one dared to be the ones to break the masquerade, so we were left without any available major moves to counter their expansion.

In hindsight, I did believe I made the correct decision. I feared we could have turned out like the fallen Gods in America after the waves of Christian immigrants nearly pulled them up by their roots and banished them from their homes, only to slowly fade into obscurity.

Thankfully, we still had many followers and practitioners of the old ways. Those who held reverence for us, even in this modern era. And the Church left them alone, as per the agreements.

We may not be as worshiped like the Indians, or the majority of the Eastern Pantheons, but we had a steady supply of faith and worship that had us not worrying about the future. The Sumerian Gods were a lesson that many of us took to heart.

One of the worse ways a God could die...being forgotten.

"It seems like our third is finally here." I perked up.

"Did the brilliant lightshow give it away?" Odin waived his hand flippantly. "All those brats so obsessed with making a flashy appearance."

"I apologize for being late, I was unfortunately held up." The newcomer walked inside the building. His glowing wings disappeared, and the halo above his head was covered. He appeared in mundane clothing, but that did nothing to hide the holy aura he pulsated.

"Archangel Michael." I politely greeted.

"God of Light, Lugh." He smiled back with a nod. "And All-Father, Odin."

"Brat." Odin huffed.

The Angel pulled up a seat and we were all gathered.

"In the spirit of hospitality, shall I offer you something to drink or eat from this shop?" While he was not technically under my \'roof\' so to speak, it was the courteous thing to offer.

"The offer is appreciated, but I shall excuse myself." Michael politely declined.

"Hey, why didn\'t I get an offer?" Odin interjected.

"Well, let\'s get on to business then." I ignored the Older God\'s fake whining.

"Bah, all you brats these days. No respect for the elderly."

"You\'re barely older than me, Odin." I snorted.

"Still higher up, brat." Odin laughed.

Which was something I couldn\'t argue with, unfortunately. I doubted Odin even cared about it as well, he often mingled with the \'younger generations\' as he often pointed out. I think he just did it to annoy people or get his way.

"So, shall we begin this impromptu meeting?" I offered.

"Please." Michael said with a smile.

"Yeah, that big burst of power that erupted in both of your guys\' territories." Odin said unceremoniously, jumping right into the thick of it.

"Yes, that." I supposed there was no need for the normal formalities in this situation. "The Descendants of Arthur Pendragon. I believe at this point we all know the source of the power spike happened right atop of them."

"Hmm, and don\'t forget the Magics I told you about." Odin spoke up. "I noticed some very particular things pop up over there too."

And wasn\'t that something to give though to. What kind of Magic would make a God of Magic take notice? I was also adept in Sorcery, holding some amount of domain over it, but I would freely admit that Odin was superior to me in that regard.

As for the family itself, Arthur Pendragon was someone whom I respected, as far as humans went. I would have put him on the same level as my son when speaking of them objectively. While it was a little outside of my lands and in Wales, I still watched them during that era.

"The Church sent people to investigate, but they aren\'t being cooperative." Michael added. "The former head of the family was executed after an incident occurred. We\'ve tried to get in contact with them again, but they\'ve closed themselves off."

"Why don\'t you brats just bring a few of your winged ones down there, get them to talk?" Odin seemed almost bored.

"We\'re hesitant to become hostile in case the forces that we all sensed is something that was harnessed by the family. Or more likely, if it was the cause of someone else." Michael shook his head. "And there\'s the matter of the contention we\'ve had with that family for many years now. If we simply go down and force them into anything, our other allies won\'t look upon us well."

"I\'ve heard that it had something to do with that Sword your father created." I commented.

Michael, for the briefest moment seemed to look melancholic. "We\'ve set up some Magical Sensors around our territory since the fragments of Excalibur had been stolen. All of them triggered at the presence of that power spike. However...there isn\'t a feasible way that the Excalibur fragments could have produced that phenomenon. Even when it was still whole, Excalibur was not at that level of strength."

"Yeah, it reminded me more of my son\'s hammer or this brat\'s spear." He jerked his thumb at me. "Those toys of yours couldn\'t even come close matching our Divine Weapons. No offense."

"I take none." Michael smiled. "It was a weapon meant for humanity, not for Divine hands. I\'m happy that it served its purpose and continues to do so, even at a reduced capacity."

"Perhaps that spear of yours? Your sensors may have been triggered by a similar \'source\' of holy power?" I offered an explanation.

Michael shook his head. "The Spear is currently in Japan in the hands of.....Lucifer\'s son." He smiled bitterly.

Odin erupted in laughter. "That\'s great! The Devils have your spear! Hahahaha!"

"Odin...."I let out a sigh.

Michael didn\'t seem to get upset. Not that I\'d seen him upset in many centuries. As the humans say – the patience of a saint. "Thankfully, the one who possesses it is a Half-Devil and not in communication with the Devil Faction as a whole."

"Could have messed up those peace talks of yours if the Devil brat holds onto it." Odin finally calmed down.

"Yes....the secret peace talks that shouldn\'t be known." Michael sighed.

Odin just looked smug.

"Was this the same Half-Devil who fought Susanoo?" I asked. I assumed, but I would like confirmation.

Susanoo wasn\'t the strongest God in the world, in fact, either me or Odin could\'ve handled him relatively easily since he didn\'t have his own Divine Weapon anymore, but he was still a notable God. But to be defeated by a Half-Devil, it was concerning to say the least. However, I took Odin\'s advice and was keeping a cautious distance and was willing to let others test the waters.

"Yes." Michael said simply. "Which is another reason we haven\'t tried municate with him. I don\'t wish to send any of my family into a volatile situation until we had more information."

"Hmm, it seems you brats have gotten smarter over the years. Would do none of your lot good to go demand the spear at this point. You all already got all that Faith Power, what more would the Spear do for you right at this moment that you couldn\'t live without."

"It\'s as you say, we aren\'t in desperate need for it, but it would be nice to have it returned to our hands." Michael nodded. "I will wait till after our peace talks before reaching out."

"I may join you then." I tapped my finger on the table.

"Oh?" Odin perked up. "You\'re taking those rumors seriously?"

"Wouldn\'t you?" I retorted.

"Meh, I\'m retired." He shrugged.

"Are you speaking of the rumors about Scáthach appearing in Japan under the Youkai faction?" Michael asked.

"Yes, and the more I\'ve looked into it, the more it fills me with dread." I groaned, feeling the headache of politics coming on.

"Would it not be beneficial if a strong figure reappeared and rejoined your pantheon?" He tilted his head in confusion.

"Not all of us are like your Heaven." I smiled bitterly. "Even in times of peace, we\'re a warlike people. We have strong opinions, grudges, and an overall disdain for certain people within our own families that hasn\'t gone away after centuries. If Scáthach reappeared, certain things may be dredged back up and cause a conflict when things are already teetering." I shook my head in annoyance. "Not to mention the Fomorians have been more active recently and my Tuatha De Danann are responding in kind. And as their King, I can\'t tell my people not to prepare for war against our ancient foes."

"Annoyingly, the Frost Giants are also getting a bit more aggressive too." Odin grumbled. "We don\'t know what\'s happening, but it seems like a lot of different factions around the world are getting riled up. Though I feel like I know where to place the blame at."

"Ah, so you\'ve heard about movements from them too." Probably the most universally reviled faction. Though if you asked them, they weren\'t all \'one faction\'.

"I believe I have heard these reports as well, but I have yet to make a response." Michael added.

"Those damn Fae." Odin glowered. "They do nothing but cause messes and then run away into their strange lands!"

The Fae lands, that cursed place. Not much was known about the lands Fair Folk, even to us Gods. They were nearly impregnable, and if by some chance you found yourself there, they were almost impossible to navigate even for Gods. Time was a suggestion, Space was laughed at, Direction was dismissed, and Distance was irrelevant.

"We have....pacts, old ones, with the Courts, but you know how they are. We\'ve noticed more of them springing up lately and it\'s made some of my people...anxious." The Devils were hated, but the Fae – the ones that existed in their strange realms, they were absolutely despised.

And it just so happened that many of their entrances into the human world were present in our little corner of the world. It didn\'t seem to matter to them that they were out matched in pure strength, they would still not back down and take revenge at the smallest percieved slight.

"I\'m going to tell those dwarves to start pumping out some iron weapons and pass them around. I\'ll make it so your lot can buy them at cost." Odin snorted. "Damn Faeries, trick me into laying with Troll did they? I\'ll get them back."

While Odin\'s particular reason for his hatred wasn\'t the same as ours, we would both prepare our people. Nonetheless, weapons forged by the famous dwarves of Nidavellir were nothing to dismiss even if they were basic iron weapons. I\'m sure they\'d be more valuable than anything a normal smith could create with better materials.

"I\'ll send word after this meeting to prepare for the worst. Our Holy Scriptures seems to have an effect and are able to combat their glamours and other abilities, so we\'ll start there and see what methods are still available from the old days." Michael stated.

The Holy Scriptures of their church were \'all encompassing\' as opposed to most Magics which skirted around the Fae Magics. A strange interaction that came about, but a welcomed one to have on our side.

"I\'ll let word pass down too. I\'ll go double check the old pacts we have written down and see what loopholes they have available to act on. My Druids are good about sensing the distortions in the world that lead to the paths of the Fae Lands, I\'ll have them keep in touch and scour the country for them." I offered up my own men as well.

We weren\'t concerned about ourselves being threatened, but they could certainly threaten our worshippers and our lands.

Or worse, they could try to be helpful.

Then you have things like the Black Death come back into existence again.

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