CHAPTER 488: HESTIA, THE GODDESS OF HEARTH

Hestia led them into a side passage, the Arachnids following close behind, with a ’slight’ change in appearance. They seemed almost human...

Each had four limbs, two legs and arms. They had clothes on, but their sharp black hair stabbed through the material, creating a strange look. Some had feminine faces, others more androgynous. Their mouths were wide, with pairs of sharp fangs hanging out, dripping with some venomous black liquid. Six black eyes on each gazed at Sera and Bea with uncertainty.

Bea kept glancing back with suspicion, afraid of the humanoid spiders’ intentions. Sera just walked beside her, keeping her eyes focused on the surrounding cavern.

Cobwebs covered the walls and ceiling. Many smaller passages opened, which led further into darkness, but somehow, even with the eerie atmosphere, Sera didn’t feel uncomfortable.

While standing near Hestia, it was like standing near a bright campfire, with friends and family surrounding her.

’God of Hearth, Family and Home, eh? Wonder how powerful she actually is. Her powers seem to affect the surroundings passively, but I feel there’s more to her story... She feels familiar...’

Sera stared at the petite lady for too long. Upon noticing her gaze, she turned towards the Angel with her usual warm, polite smile and asked, "Is there something you would like to ask?"

Surprised by the sudden question, Sera tried thinking of a polite way to begin a conversation about her origins when Bea cut in, the pinnacle of politeness!

"What are these spiders? Why can they change into humans, and why do they look hostile towards me especially!"

To prove her words, as Bea spoke, the Arachnids began growling and hissing. Hestia gave them a cautionary glance, which shut them down, but Sera saw the obvious annoyance and hostility in their dark gaze.

Hestia glanced up at Bea, her brown eyes full of honesty and politeness. However, her tone felt strained as she spoke...

"They’re Arachnids, a species of spider-like beings from the Realm known as Eq’ro..."

Neither Sera nor Bea understood the Realm’s name. It sounded like a strange noise rather than an actual name. Hestia also saw their bewilderment and quickly corrected her mistake.

"Eq’ro roughly translates to The Chasm in the human language. It’s a beautiful place where many intelligent races live peacefully, including the Arachnids!"

Bea glanced back at the dozen spider-like humanoids while scoffing, "They don’t look too peaceful to me!"

The Arachnids began growling again, but Hestia’s gaze silenced them yet again. Her tone turned even less polite as she stared at Bea with a serious expression.

"They don’t like you because you keep annoying and arguing with them. Also, calling them spiders is like calling you a monkey, not very kind. Try acting decent and I’m sure they’ll stop being hostile!"

The magnificent woman grumbled under her breath, so Sera stepped closer. She smiled at Bea and grabbed her hand. Gently, Sera lifted Bea’s hand to her face, and stopped millimeters away from her mouth.

"Please act nice, and then I might let you feel my lips touch your fingers."

A shiver went down Bea’s spine as the air from Sera’s mouth caressed her hand. Sera smiled mischievously while Bea narrowed her eyes. Her heart was being torn in two. On one hand, she had her pride, but also she wanted to feel Sera kiss her anywhere along her body; even her hand would suffice!

Sera saw the struggle in Bea’s greenish-gold eyes and, to break the equilibrium, she took a deep breath and sighed. The air whistled through her lips, sending shivers and goosebumps along Bea’s back.

The power suddenly left Bea’s body. She let go of Sera’s hand and fell to her knees before the Arachnids. With her head brushing against the stone ground in subservience, she spoke in a ridiculously respectful tone.

"I’m sorry for offending you, Arachnids. Please forgive this lowly World Tree for acting with such hubris! I promise never to raise my hand against your race, and to always hold every Arachnid in high regard!"

The Arachnids glanced at each other in confusion, while Sera just sighed and held the bridge of her nose, shaking her in regret. She overdid the teasing, causing Bea to make an utter fool of herself.

Sera quickly reached down and lifted Bea to her feet by her red petal dress. The magnificent woman grinned at the Angel, and dared to ask, "Can you kiss my hand now?"

Quickly, before Bea could realize, Sera grabbed her hand and gave the tiniest of pecks on her ring finger. Bea blinked in surprise, but by the time she noticed what had happened, Sera was already walking away along the tunnel.

"Hey, that’s it? I deserve more than a peck!"

She shouted while rushing towards the Angel. Sera simply ignored her pleas and glanced down at Hestia, who used all her politeness not to burst into laughter. It was truly a heroic test of willpower!

"Are you two perhaps a couple?"

Upon hearing Hestia’s question, both women blushed and looked in different directions. The atmosphere turned awkward rapidly, so Sera tried to save the remnants of her pride by changing the subject.

"We were a couple years ago, but we broke up... Anyway, I’ve been meaning to ask, but where did you come from? I can tell you aren’t an Arachnid."

The petite lady noticed didn’t question Sera and Bea’s relationship anymore, since it wasn’t polite to pry into other people’s business. Even though she felt their breakup wasn’t as simple as Sera made it sound.

"I’m indeed not an Arachnid. I’m from a race called Hobs. We’re peaceful household spirits who help with chores and keep the homes tidy. However, even harmless spirits like me can gain immense power upon Evolving...

"We don’t really have our own Realm, and we aren’t born naturally. Hobs just pop into existence in loving households, to help the family living there. We’re subservient by nature, but only to those with kindness in their hearts."

Everyone, even the Arachnids, listened in silence as Hestia’s warm voice echoed through the cavern. From the holes along the walls, Sera heard chittering, as more black eyes glanced out, they looked surprised at Sera’s wings, but none of the nearby Arachnids tried stopping them.

"That sounds nice, living with your chosen family carefree... How did you end up here though? You came with those other... less nice primordials. Why?"

Sera tried her hardest not to use any vulgar words. Even though cursing was part of her nature, she didn’t want to taint Hestia’s image by using impolite words in her proximity.

The petite lady barely noticed the stumble in her words, as her eyes turned reminiscent and sad. She sighed from the depths of her heart, and glanced up at Sera with a small, honest smile.

"That’s a long story. First, let me tell you a bit about myself and my origin... Like other Hobs, I came into existence in a loving household. However, that house wasn’t like most... It was a prison cell! And not just any dirty prison cell, but one from Aerin’s top security prison. Dark Prism!"

Sera and Bea just stared at Hestia in confusion, but they noted that all the chittering went silent when she spoke the prison’s name. The air also felt colder, as if reality itself feared those words.

The solemn, quiet atmosphere lasted for a few seconds before Hestia continued her story...

"In Dark Prism, there’re a specific species of criminals. Aerin’s justice system worked perfectly. People either get rehabilitated in asylums, or they get executed depending on their crime. Everyone in Dark Prism falls under the term petty criminal, but because of some mental illness they can’t receive rehabilitation...

"They get locked up in a Pocket Realm, which has infinite cells. Each cell contains one prisoner or, on rare occasions, when someone gets convicted, their family members enter with them. Together, they spend eternity inside the prison. I came into existence within a kind, loving family’s cells."

Hestia’s eyes appeared sad as the story became more depressing...

"A father, a mother, and three children. Their father committed an accidental genocide, and the Justiciars find him impossible to rehabilitate. He accepted the punishment, and his family joined in the banishment from reality...

"They loved each other, and the cell was full of laughter and warmth. I helped them keep everything clean and tidy... They treated me like part of their family..."

The petite lady suddenly halted in her tracks and glanced up at Sera. Her brown eyes held none of their previous warmth as something akin to hatred took hold of Hestia.

"When Aerin fell, the Dark Prism broke. The prison cells opened. Criminals thousands or even millions of years ago, found themselves freed. Most took the chance to escape, while others, starved for sexual interaction or starved for some living meat, began hunting the weaker inmates..."

The Angel knew already how this story ended. It wasn’t hard to guess, since many humans suffered similar fates during the Apocalypse, when Goblins appeared all over the globe... Sera herself suffered even worse, but at the hands of her own people...

"They raped everyone to death, then left their corpses for their three-headed hound. Luckily, even though I have a physical appearance, my body is incapable of reproduction or most normal functions. I don’t even have a heart or any other organs, including reproductive ones...

"Since they couldn’t rape me, that horrid family kidnapped me. They took me here, to Earth, when humans were only learning to build huts. They acted as gods and brought misery to the peninsula they controlled."

Hestia’s eyes narrowed in deep, uncontained hatred. She reached to her face, and lifted the dark veil, while staring up at Sera. The Arachnids hissed in surprise, then quickly turned their backs, like they weren’t allowed to gaze upon Hestia’s face.

The petite lady didn’t care about them. She stared into Sera’s eyes and then suddenly fell on one knee. Her eyes turned towards the ground as she bowed her head in subservience.

"I have a plea for the powerful entity known as the Last Angel! I declare my lifelong servitude to you and your family if you grant me a singular wish!"

Sera’s eyes went wide, but she tried keeping the shock out of her voice as she asked, "What’s your wish?"

Hestia took a deep breath. The air whistled past her teeth. She glanced up at Sera, her brown eyes consumed with righteous fury, her body trembling from the immense rage coursing through her veins.

"My wish is for you to grant me the sweet taste of revenge. I want to see their blood flow. I want them to suffer as life leaves their rotting corpses!... I wish you to kill everyone in the Greek Pantheon!"