They all left the room and walked through the dark corridors that had led them there, and eventually reached the exit.
They found themselves in the forest, it was still nighttime. They decided to find a place where they could gain some height, a flat area where the Foundation pilots could come pick them up. They searched for a while before finding a grassy plateau. It was elevated and free of any obstacles, perfect for helicopters.
More than an hour passed. They were sitting in the grass, talking as they waited to be retrieved. The sun was beginning to rise, and the view was breathtaking.
Sōsuke opened his eyes to that scenery, he could only see the sky. He sat up and touched his head. "It hurts…" He called out to his friend, "Spencer?" But when he turned his head, he found himself facing Soren. "You…" He started to get up, but a hand rested on his shoulder.
"It's okay, Sōsuke. Calm down, we're safe," he was told.
"With that bastard??"
"Yes, Don't worry. Look over there instead."
Sōsuke listened, and finally noticed the magnificent sight before his eyes. He calmed down, even though he still wanted revenge.
'He hates me,' Soren thought. 'Kinda like how I hated Akyo at first. I get it now… it feels amazing to completely destroy someone.'
Sōsuke asked, "So… who exactly are you?"
Gellahan answered for them, "They are the gods I searched for so long. They are like you, beings superior to humans."
'So Spencer wasn't wrong,' Sōsuke thought. "What are you going to do with us?" he asked.
"That's not for me to decide. You'll see when you meet our superior," Akyo replied.
'Their superior? Is this some kind of secret organization or what?' Sōsuke wondered.
Shortly after, two Foundation helicopters arrived and landed in front of the group. They all got up. Akyo went to greet the pilots as usual and explained the situation. "We're taking these two men with us. Tachi will surely know what to do with them."
"Yes sir," one of the soldiers replied before approaching Spencer.
"Follow him. We're heading back to our base. There you'll be able to speak with the one in charge of all this."
Gellahan entered the helicopter. Sōsuke was standing in front of Soren. "We'll fight again, and next time I'll win," the demon child declared.
"No problem. I'll be there," Soren replied. 'It's honestly thrilling to say that knowing I'll win again, I get Akyo now, I love it'
Sōsuke headed toward the helicopter, following Gellahan. But before climbing aboard, he felt something. 'What's this creepy feeling?!' he wondered. He had never felt anything like it before; it was as if he could sense a threatening aura.
Akyo felt the same thing. He rushed toward Sōsuke and shoved him into the helicopter. 'What?!' Sōsuke thought , surprised, as he fell in the vehicle.
Akyo shouted to the pilots, "LEAVE WITHOUT US, NOW!"
Soren didn't understand what was happening. Akyo had suddenly panicked and ordered everyone to leave. The pilots didn't quite understand either.
"GO, NOW! THAT'S AN ORDER!" he yelled.
So without knowing why he wanted them to leave so suddenly, they obeyed and took off.
"What's going on?" Soren asked. He got no answer. He walked up to Akyo. "Hey, what's wrong?!" He was starting to get irritated. Then he saw Akyo's face, sweat was dripping down his forehead. 'What's happening to him?'
"Stay on guard, Soren!" Akyo announced.
"Why?" Soren still didn't understand.
"We're not alone. There are others… there are other gods here!"
"What?!" Soren took a defensive stance. He looked around, but the helicopter noise was fading, leaving only a heavy silence. 'How can he sense that? I don't see anything, I don't feel anything, but his fear is real.'
—---------------------------
Sōsuke had just been pushed into the helicopter by Akyo. He fell inside and, as he got up, he turned around. "Hey, what are you—!!"
He felt it again. That sensation. Even stronger now, even more terrifying.
Akyo ordered the pilots to lift off, and the helicopter began to move away. Sōsuke looked around, everyone seemed confused.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" he asked. No one answered. "You're not seriously leaving them there?! Didn't you feel it?!" He started getting angry. "Answer me, damn it! Something's happening back there! There is something or someone , I can feel it!"
Gellahan looked at Sōsuke, confused. "What's happening?" he asked a soldier, but nobody responded.
They couldn't hear Sōsuke. But both Sosuke and Gellahan noticed that one of the soldiers was speaking alone. Gellahan then saw the earpiece.
"Hello, base, this is H-2, respond immediately!" the soldier tried to contact his superiors.
'Something really is happening,' Gellahan thought. 'looking at their reaction , it must be bad,' he lowered his head
"Hello H-2, this is Logistics. Are you returning to base?"
The soldier answered, "We have a problem. Put me in contact with Nicolo immediately, we must alert the base. FAST!"
"Understood, transferring you now."
A few seconds passed, a small beep sounded, and another voice appeared.
"H-2, this is Nicolo. You needed me? Did you find Soren and Akyo?"
The soldier explained the situation. That instead of simply retrieving everyone, Akyo had suddenly ordered them to leave as quickly as possible. He insisted on Akyo's visible fear and explained that one of the men Soren and Akyo had captured believed that other people were there.
'What the hell,' Nicolo thought. "Understood. I'll take care of it."
He cut the communication and sprinted out of the logistics room. 'I have to reach Tachi immediately!'
He ran through the corridors while trying to contact him. 'Come on, answer!' But nothing. So he decided to find Ana instead.
He ran across a large part of the base toward her office. 'Please be there…' he thought.
He burst through the door. "ANA! We have a huge problem, is Tachi back?!"
He looked up. Ana stared at him in surprise, but she wasn't alone. Her brother was indeed back, sitting on a couch.
"Well, yes, I'm here. What's going on?" the pillar asked.
"You okay, Nicolo?" Ana questionned, seeing him breathing heavily and sweating.
"It's Akyo and Soren, they might be in danger!" he said, struggling to explain, out of breath.
"In danger? What do you mean?" Ana began to worry.
Tachi stood up. "What are you talking about?"
"The helicopters, Akyo suddenly told them to leave quickly. Søren and him stayed behind,"
"What's the problem? Explain properly," Tachi said, starting to get annoyed, not at Nicolo, but because he could feel this was bad.
Nicolo continued, "From what I was told, Akyo reacted that way because there are other gods on-site."
"What?!" Ana began to panic. "That's impossible…" she thought.
Tachi acted immediately. "They're near Bergen, right?" he asked, placing his hand on the window behind them.
"That's right…" Nicolo said.
Without another word, Tachi shattered the window and took off, flying at high speed toward Akyo and Soren.
—---------------------------
A few minutes earlier:
Soren was scanning the surroundings with his eyes. Not a person, not a sound besides the wind brushing the grass.
Akyo was on guard too. "Are you sure?" Soren asked.
"Yes, there are others. Not one, not two, I feel three presences."
Suddenly, the silence was broken by a laugh. A sly, mocking laugh.
"So, which one of you is my monstrous child?" said a voice.
'Where is that coming from?!' Soren wondered.
Then, several meters ahead of them, someone appeared, a man who seemed to come from nowhere, as if he had been hidden behind an invisible veil all along.
"I bet it's the one with the flashy hair!" the man said.
"Who is that?!" Soren asked Akyo.
"No idea. Stay alert," he whispered back.
The man was taller than them, nearly 1.90 meters, with long limbs. His hair was ginger, mid-length, but with three very long braids coming from the back of his head. He wore a long black coat with a pink fur cloak draped over it. Beneath the coat he wore nothing except extravagant golden necklaces hanging from his neck, and a brown skirt covering his thighs. His arms were bandaged, and his legs were almost completely bare.
"You look terrified, my poor little ones," he said with a twisted, fake smile. "Just wait until you see who else is invited to the party!"
Behind him, a woman appeared. She was only slightly shorter than him, with long braided blond hair. She wore a full silver armor; her gaze was cold despite her youthful appearance. She took her place beside the man, but their attention shifted to the last arrival.
'What the hell is this,' Soren thought.
A man followed the young woman. A gigantic man, a mountain, with red hair and grotesque proportions. His footsteps thundered, his stare burned. On his right hand he wore a golden gauntlet emanating a strong concentration of energy. Shreds of black fabric hung from his massive pauldrons. On his chest, a symbol, a kind of arrow pointing upward. he looked older than the others.
The ground shook, Soren turned his head. It was Akyo. His energy had erupted. Soren didn't think it was possible. 'Is he really this powerful?'
Akyo focused his energy. The ginger-haired man smiled.
"Soren, get behind me. They aren't here to play. They won't hold back…"
The ground was cracking beneath Akyo's feet, the air burning around him. Soren had never seen him unleash so much power. And yet, at the moment Akyo was at his peak, he looked the least confident.
The man spread his arms before pointing at Akyo.
"So? Who are you supposed to be? That pretty little face of yours makes me think of those damn Greeks," he said, laughing. "But anyway, you look eager to fight! Come on then, come test yourself against Uncle Loki!"