CHAPTER 543: PROGRESSING PLANS

Amaterasu took a few moments to heal all the damage that Bea’s roots caused. Afterward, she pushed herself back onto her feet and stared down at the World Tree with a mix of anger and frustration.

"So, what’s the plan?" she asked, surprising everybody except Wukong.

They fully expected the primordial goddess to kill everyone after recovering, but it seemed she was an honorable fool.

Sera sighed in relief and quickly summarized the plan they had created with Odin. Both Ethereals listened curiously in silence. When she finished, Wukong and Amaterasu glanced at each other with uncertainty.

"What do you think? Is the plan viable?"

Wukong shrugged and glanced at Amaterasu to answer Sera’s question...

"Maybe. I mean, Loki can definitely persuade everyone to join the tournament. I’m also certain Tyr’s Contracts and Odin’s Runes will work... The real question is whether you’re strong enough to kill their weakened forms. Even as Stellars, they’ll be formidable foes!"

Bea giggled while an amused smile stretched across Sera’s lips. Her only concern stemmed from her lacking knowledge about Runes and Contracts. However, she didn’t carry any fears about her own ability to kill her enemies.

Amaterasu’s words calmed Sera’s uncertainty about the plan. If someone so powerful and unrelated to the Norse Pantheon could vouch for Odin and Tyr’s abilities, then Sera could trust them as well.

"Don’t worry about me. We’ve multiple measures in case my strength alone couldn’t defeat them... You won’t be fighting in the tournament anyway..."

"What?" asked Wukong in confusion. "I thought we would help you kill the other Factions! Isn’t that what we agreed upon?"

"Shut up, you idiotic Monkey. We couldn’t do anything in the tournament since our powers would decrease to Stellar Rank too. Instead of fighting directly, we’ll provide information and watch out for this Victor... Am I correct?"

Sera nodded once upon hearing Amaterasu’s question.

"Yes, indeed. We’ll handle the fighting inside the arena. We require your assistance as a source of intel and strategy, but you’ll also be the main security detail."

Wukong sighed and leaned against his staff...

"That’s no fun!" he said, outraged by the change in their alliance’s terms.

"What do you mean it’s not fun, Monkey?" asked Bea, with a wide grin. "You can watch the tournament without risking your life! Sure, it isn’t as fun as fighting, but it’ll certainly be entertaining!"

The light returned to the Monkey’s eyes as he imagined watching all those ancient fools who’d been chasing him die. And he wouldn’t even need to lift a finger!

"I see the merit in your words, Ms. World Tree. So when will this tournament be held?"

"Sometime in Autumn, so at least a month from now. Xinya will contact you about the exact date when it’s decided. For now, we won’t need your assistance, so take care!"

With that, Sera waved goodbye and glanced towards Xinya. The Asian woman nodded, drew her dao and cut open reality. They stepped through the portal, but just as Bea was about to follow, she turned back towards Amaterasu and raised her middle finger...

The primordial goddess had no clue what the gesture meant, but judging by Bea’s cocky expression, it wasn’t anything nice. However, before she could’ve done or said anything, the portal closed.

The trio reappeared in Xinya’s room and after a quick goodbye, they both went home. While yawning, they climbed into their beds and slept until noon.

Yet again, Sera and her group were left with ample free time. She spent most of her days with Bea and their kids. However, the two women took an hour per day to train together. Each time Sera killed herself, which permanently increased her strength, while Bea tried getting used to her new abilities.

Odin continued working on the Runes and, near the end of August, he came close to concluding his job. Tyr also drew up Contract after Contract, each day until his Essence ran dry.

They planned on sending Loki out with the Contracts after the Colosseum was ready. This meant the actual tournament wouldn’t be held until October, since James still hadn’t wired up the announcer system, which would transmit the entire tournament.

However, while Sera and her friends spent these days in peace, the other Factions were slowly going insane...

...

"What do you mean you can’t find her? I thought I’d given you a clear order, Hermes! Don’t return without that whore’s head or living body!" shouted a tall, powerfully built naked man.

Lightning danced along his long white beard and hair as his anger grew. A few naked men and women cuddled together in the room’s corner, fearful of the man’s temper. Their bodies were covered with hundreds of abuse marks, which made them look even more miserable.

Another, smaller and thinner man stood inside the doorway. He wore a white fabric, which looked similar to a dress, albeit it only connected over one shoulder. A peculiar staff glinted in his hand as the man named Hermes chuckled.

"Well, Zeus, we won’t find her, since she isn’t anywhere outside of these strange shields. Apollo and Artemis came up empty-handed too. We can’t do anything until she decides to leave the safety of those cities!"

Zeus took a step forward and punched a hole through the entire building. Lightning danced along his fist as he shouted in rage.

"You’re all useless! That little whore threatens us, kills Dionysus, then hides away behind her shields! Such a coward couldn’t possibly be the Last Angel! I refuse to believe that!"

"Could you two shut up? I’m trying to sleep!" shouted a female voice from the couch tucked away at the room’s edge. A beautiful woman laid there, covered by a thick blanket.

Zeus’s gaze moved to the woman. He had no eyes, only spheres of lightning dancing in empty sockets. An annoyed growl echoed in his throat as he said, "Don’t interrupt!... Stupid wife..."

"Hey Hera," said Hermes in a cheerful, mocking tone. "How do you sleep so well, while your husband fucks everything but you only a few meters away?"

"After thousands of years, I treat the moans of pleasure and pain as a lullaby. Now stop shouting!"

The conversation between Zeus and Hermes continued, neither giving a damn about Hera’s request. However, they weren’t the only Faction with similar concerns...

...

"I see. So, the Last Angel awaits her chance to attack, or maybe stalls until we make our move. Curious... Did you learn anything else, Set?" asked a tall, powerfully built falcon-headed man.

The blinding disk of pure sunlight around his head illuminated reality, creating a perfect atmosphere inside the giant chamber.

Before the man’s stone throne, a strange creature kneeled. He looked like a hybrid, created by mixing a dog with a human. His skin was black as night, as his canine features stared up at the falcon-headed primordial god.

He rose to his feet, his slender yet tall body moving with chaotic uncertainty. The creature named Set would’ve looked terrifying to anyone, but the falcon-headed man just continued gazing into his eyes.

"No, Ra. Sadly, we couldn’t bypass the shields around their cities, and while breaking them is a possibility, it would require commitment on our part. As you know, the other Factions are watching too... They patiently await the moment when someone makes a mistake..."

Set’s voice sounded like metal grating against metal. An awful sound, which would’ve caused a regular human to go insane.

"You’re correct. We can’t make the first move. There’s only four of us left. We can’t reveal our weakness... Very well, we’ll stay hidden in ambiguity. For now, hide our presence, Set."

The canine creature nodded and closed its horrific eyes. Around the pyramid, in which the remnants of the Egyptian Pantheon lived, suddenly a giant desert storm rose and hid its presence entirely.

...

The rest of the world reacted similarly to Sera’s hiding...

Lucifer felt frustrated at how useless the Horsemen of the Apocalypse were, while Castiel just waited patiently for Sera to stick out her neck... Heaven’s leader had no idea how Purity let the Angel slip by on purpose...

The Hindu and Chinese Pantheons were in a standoff. They both kept themselves hidden inside their captured cities before Asia fell under Sera’s control.

Neither wanted to make a foolish attack on another city-state, since that could give an opportunity to other Factions. They could swoop in and destroy their forces, which would defeat both Pantheon’s thirst for control and authority over Earth.

Each Faction has its own agenda... The Greeks want to do whatever they desire. Angels and Demons preferred to kill each other. The Egyptians want to regain their former glory. The Norse want to live in peace. The Hindu and Chinese were extremely power-hungry, though.

They both want supreme control over Earth and its population. While this meant they wouldn’t kill civilians for no reason, they also treated everyone weaker as slaves.

Luckily, since Bea reinforced the Aegis System even further, it took a few minutes to break in even for an Ethereal. This deterred any attacks from the Factions and enhanced everyone’s concern and fear.

This fear of each other created a kind of cold war between the Factions. It kept them at bay until Autumn grew ever closer and the tournament was only a few weeks away.

Funnily enough, while the Factions sat in their homes, waiting anxiously, Sera and Bea did the same, but for vastly different reasons.

In the past few days, they began planning their third date together, which filled them with dread, since they knew how the date would end...