Greek Pantheon, Olympus.
A flash of light appeared in front of Olympus's main palace, and a second later, Damon emerged in the middle of the white marble alongside Grayfia and Koneko. The pure air, so different from the Underworld's, felt calming at once. With tall columns decorated in gold details, ancient statues, and an open blue sky stretching in every direction, Grayfia had to admit this place was beautiful.
Grayfia remained still for a moment, her blue eyes studying the place carefully. Devil architecture had a lot to envy from the Greeks.
As for Koneko, she moved a little closer to Damon. Her two white tails swayed cautiously behind her while her golden eyes observed the place with the wariness of a cat standing somewhere unfamiliar.
As the gods began to arrive and place their attention on them, Koneko said nothing, but her hand found Damon's clothes and held on tightly.
Damon felt the small tug from the Nekoshou with a smile. Sometimes Koneko simply made him want to squeeze her from how adorable she was. Without saying anything else, he let the neko stay close to him, and before he could move toward the palace, several more flashes of light appeared in front of them. The first one to emerge was Rhea.
"Damon!"
The Titaness crossed the distance without caring about anything and hugged her son tightly. Damon let out a small laugh when he felt her clinging to him, and he returned the hug with one arm around her back. "I'm glad to see you too, Mother."
Rhea pulled away enough to look at his face, and the relief in her eyes quickly mixed with annoyance. "You're glad to see me too? You left for a few days and ended up disappearing for almost an entire week. What the hell is wrong with you?" Rhea complained, giving Damon small hits to the chest.
Damon blinked. "Ehhh, well, let's just say things got a little out of control," the god laughed nervously.
"Yes, I can imagine," Hestia replied, approaching with her arms crossed and a serious expression. Her eyes moved over him from top to bottom, making sure there were no hidden injuries. "I don't know why, but you always make us worry, even if we know you're strong. It's inevitable," the goddess murmured while looking to the side. Damon's smile softened a little. He took Hestia's hand and squeezed it briefly. "Thank you, Hestia, for worrying about me."
"Don't thank me," she replied, though her voice lost some of its hardness. "First tell me where you were. And what happened with the meeting with the devils? Hermes could only sense you up to a certain point," the elder goddess asked. It was obvious that after everything had ended the way it had, Hestia had decided to take her role as older sister more seriously.
Hermes, who was a little farther back beside Apollo, quickly raised both hands. "In my defense, there wasn't much to explain. You appeared at the meeting place and then disappeared from the face of the earth." Apollo let out a light cough at Hermes's nervousness, trying to hide a smile.
Damon looked at the sun god with a raised eyebrow. "I hope Olympus is still in one piece, Apollo."
Apollo immediately straightened, inclining his head formally. "Of course, sir. Everything is in order. My sister and mother are doing good work with the demigods, no one is organizing a revolution as far as I could see, and the prophecies of these days have been boringly peaceful so far."
Hermes nodded from behind. "The only exciting thing was when Hera started throwing tantrums and breaking anything in her path after she found out we knew nothing about you. But that was day three. After that, everything was routine."
Damon moved his gaze toward Hera with one eyebrow raised.
The queen of the gods stood a few steps away, arms crossed and wearing an expression that promised nothing good. Her gaze passed first over Damon, then Koneko, and finally stopped on Grayfia with anger. "And who are these two?"
Koneko instinctively hid a little behind Damon, peeking out only half of her face from his side. Grayfia, for her part, inclined her head with impeccable courtesy, though her body was slightly tense. She could feel the uncontrolled power of the woman standing before her.
Damon let out a sigh when he noticed Hera's tone. He knew that expression. Suspicion, jealousy, pride, and that personality of hers capable of making something simple spiral out of control quickly.
"Hera," Rhea said before Damon could respond, her voice carrying clear maternal reproach. "Don't be like that. Can't you see how small and adorable the child is?"
Rhea's gaze softened as it settled on Koneko. The little Nekoshou blinked, not knowing how to react when the mother of the gods looked at her with tenderness. "Look at her. She's adorable."
Koneko held on to Damon's clothes a little tighter.
Then Rhea moved her gaze to Grayfia, and her expression shifted into a mix of surprise and approval. "And you... wow. You are beautiful, dear."
Grayfia grew a little stiff, taken off guard by the Titaness's direct warmth. "Thank you, Lady Rhea."
"Polite too," Rhea added, pleased.
Hera did not seem convinced. "I did not ask whether they were adorable or beautiful. I asked who they are."
Damon raised both hands, trying to cut the matter off before it grew. "Calm down, calm down. One thing at a time. The meeting with the devils was more agitated than I expected, but it has already been resolved."
"Agitated?" Rhea asked, narrowing her eyes. "Damon," the goddess said in warning.
"Mother," Damon replied in the same tone. Rhea cleared her throat, a little exasperated. "Do not answer me with my own tone."
Damon let out a low laugh, but Hestia did not seem willing to let him escape with jokes. "Explain already."
"Fine." Damon lowered his hands. He would have assumed his family already knew about the situation, but it seemed they were still in their own bubble. They did not have Demon Net, and no primordial had bothered to explain anything to them. "To summarize, the devils thought we were still the weak pantheon Zeus left behind. Several misunderstandings had to be clarified. Firmly."
Hermes murmured something that sounded far too much like "of course," but he went silent when Hestia looked at him.
Damon continued. "Kuoh is now under Greek control. The devils accepted the terms. Their leaders were intelligent enough to understand that continuing to resist me was not convenient for them."
Silence fell over the hall, more than one person already forming an idea of what had happened. Hera looked at Grayfia again. "And her?"
"Grayfia Lucifuge," Damon answered. "She was the head maid of House Gremory and the wife of Sirzechs Lucifer. Now she will be in my service as part of the terms."
Hera's eyebrow slowly rose. "As part of the terms?" Grayfia kept her face serene, but her fingers tensed slightly.
Damon noticed the detail, and his voice lost some of its previous lightness. "Grayfia is not merchandise, Hera. She was given a choice, and she accepted."
Silence settled for a moment.
Grayfia lowered her head slightly. "Lord Damon offered me a decision. I accepted of my own free will."
Hera observed Grayfia for a few seconds, measuring the difference between obedience and resignation, but in the end, the goddess of marriage nodded. "Then welcome to Olympus. From now on, you will be under our protection."
Grayfia lifted her gaze, surprised by how direct the declaration was. "I appreciate your words, Lady Hestia." Hera did not respond, but she did not insist either. Her gaze remained a little more severe than normal, but at least she had relaxed somewhat.
Demeter, who had remained silent until that moment, placed her eyes on Koneko. Her expression softened immediately. "The child smells of nature. I like her." Koneko looked up at her.
Damon lowered one hand and gently placed it on the little Nekoshou's head. "This is Koneko. I rescued her from the devils. Her story is longer, and I would rather tell it once in the throne room when everyone is present."
"Rescued from the devils?" Rhea asked, frowning. "Her clan was massacred," Damon said simply. "The ones responsible will pay."
The atmosphere changed instantly, everyone feeling sympathy for the little girl. Hestia looked at Koneko with compassion, and Rhea pressed her lips together, clearly upset to hear that a child had survived something like that, bringing back unpleasant memories.
Grayfia observed their reactions in silence. In the Underworld, something like this would have caused a storm of reactions. In Olympus, however, the responses were more personal and direct. That did not mean they were softer. On the contrary, the way their gazes hardened made it clear that their anger could manifest in different ways, even if it was not immediate.
Rhea was the first to break the silence, taking a deep breath before looking at Damon again. "Fine. Then first you come inside, then you eat something, and after that you explain everything in detail. Nothing you said can be resolved simply, and we cannot talk about this in the middle of the courtyard."
Damon smiled. "It's not as bad as you think," the god assured her, receiving a serious look from Grayfia, who knew the reality. Damon winked at her, making the Lucifuge shake her head at how simplistic the god was. "I will believe that when I know the truth," Hestia said.
Apollo nodded with exaggerated solemnity. "In Lady Hestia's defense, sir, your record does not help." Damon turned his head toward him.
Apollo straightened instantly. "But, obviously, it is not proper to question you," the sun god quickly clarified. Hermes looked away, clearly trying not to laugh.
The tension lowered enough for things to return to normal. Damon began walking toward the palace, with Koneko pressed to one side and Grayfia to the other. Rhea took his arm, while Hestia walked close with a watchful expression. Hera moved a few steps ahead of them, her tunic swaying as she walked like the queen she usually was, though Damon could feel that the goddess would certainly want something more than simple words as compensation.
As they crossed the courtyard, several minor gods inclined their heads toward Damon. Most did so with respect, but there were one or two who did it more out of fear than anything else. Damon returned their nods calmly, accepting the gesture without stopping.
Grayfia observed it all with attention. In the Underworld, Sirzechs's authority was supported by a title and a fragile peace more than by his monstrous power. That was how the Underworld worked: true power was not simply your strength, but also your rank in devil society. Damon, on the other hand, seemed more like a dictator and a true king of his own pantheon.
Koneko gently tightened her grip on Damon's clothes. He lowered his gaze toward her. "Are you okay?"
"It's very bright," the Nekoshou murmured. Damon smiled faintly. "You'll get used to it."
The neko nodded. Honestly, she wanted to see her sister more than anything, but she also did not want to make Damon rush. She was sure he would keep his word. After all, the god had been nothing but good to her.
And as the palace doors opened before them, Damon entered Olympus with Grayfia and Koneko at his side, expecting a calm meeting. Or at least, that was what the god hoped...
They had barely taken a few steps into the main hall when Damon felt two presences.... One was familiar. The other made his eyes widen slightly.
Chaos...
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Thanks for reading, lol. What does chaos even want, haha?