Chapter 263 - 263: Man To Man

"Why do you imply that I started the war with the Seraphs? And why are you here!?"

"I did not imply it, I said it."

"That"s what she said!"

"Fight! There"s going to be a fight!"

Although there was a certain strength in both Athena and Artemis"s voices, the prisoners" screams and howls were enough to completely drown their words. The guards were trying to calm the prisoners down, even hitting their doors so as to make them stop. But alas, all it seemed to be doing was making their clamors worse than it already was.

"I suggest we leave the asylum before. Since it"s confirmed that these two are the ones you"re trying to find, we will clear them for release," Masud gestured to the other guards to escort Athena and Dionysus out, "I will handle the paper works so you do not have to worry about anything else."

"Hm," Van nodded as his eyes continued to scan the two Olympians. Dionysus looked so out of place like he truly did come from another place. Athena, on the other hand, one could even say she looked somewhat like Andrea. It was a common face, but beautiful, nonetheless.

Charlotte, as well, was staring at the two as they got out of their cell, but for different reasons-- she was trying to size them up. Dionysus wasn"t particularly muscular, one could even say he was slightly slim. Athena, on the other hand, was more muscular than Artemis. She was wearing a tank top, and the tightness of the muscles on her arms was quite obvious.

There was also a certain grace with each of her movements, as if even the most minute movement, every oxygen that pa.s.ses through her lungs, were calculated. It reminded her of the way Angela moves, but a bit more tactical-- every movement had a purpose.

Out of the three G.o.ds present here now, she was definitely the most dangerous.

"!!!"

Charlotte then could not help but slightly step back as Athena"s eyes suddenly met hers. Charlotte quickly felt disarmed, as if all of the secrets of her body became known to Athena in just a single second. Afterward, Athena let out a slightly amused expression.

"Impressive," Athena said as she pa.s.sed by Charlotte, "You"re the second mortal I have seen that is capable of equaling the demi-G.o.ds of our world, perhaps you even surpa.s.s them. It would have been great to see you at your prime."

"I second that," Dionysus suddenly jumped in between the two as he raised a finger, "I bet even the nymphs would cower at your beauty, as even now, I stand trembling with how immaculately wild your beauty shines," Dionysus then gently held Charlotte"s hand and kissing it.

Charlotte quickly pulled her hand away, slightly perplexed by the G.o.d"s actions.

"And quite strong too. Truly, you are the epitome of what humans could probably achieve… perfect in every way. May I offer you some wine?"

Dionysus snapped his fingers, and as soon as he did so, another goblet appeared in his hand, with contents already in it.

"This wine and you have the same years in you, aged to perfection… and I am sure the both of you taste splendid," Dionysus offered the goblet of wine to Charlotte, "If only I could taste you both."

"..." Charlotte"s fist was slowly being tempted to strike this G.o.d in front of her, and it took every effort she could muster to not do so.

Dionysus then sipped his wine, not breaking eye contact with Charlotte for even a second, "Oh, Artemis, why have you not introduced us yet to this beautiful lady?"

"T… that"s enough, Dionysus!" Artemis could not help but pinch the bridges of her nose as she stopped her steps, "This is not the best place to discuss this. Masud, please lead the way!"

"...Of course," Masud then signaled the other guards to hurry their steps. Throughout the walk, besides Dionysus"s continuous attempts at flirting with Charlotte, he also noticed that Athena was glancing at him from time to time, but never once did she try to talk to him.

Finally, they reached the shallow areas of the Pit and were offered a private room to talk to near the Portal. Masud quickly excused himself and also said that for security and doc.u.mentation processes, they were being recorded in the room.

But before Masud could leave the room, Van called him.

"Yes, Mr. Evans?"

"How fast can you evacuate the prisoners if something comes up?"

"...Sorry?"

"If a fight were to break out between the people in this room, how fast can you evacuate the prisoners?"

Hearing Van"s words, it was Athena that first reacted. But she did not really say anything, only letting out a light curious hum before turning her head to Artemis who was in front of her… and has been staring at her with furrowed eyebrows since they entered the room.

"It… is impossible to evacuate the Prisoners," Masud shook his head, "And if a fight really were to break out, I will only evacuate the guards, those that remain will be considered as… collateral."

"...I see. Then I suggest you take the guards away now," Van said before taking a seat at the u-shaped table.

"...I"ll take it under advis.e.m.e.nt. Thank you for caring, Mr. Evans," Masud bowed his head before finally leaving the room. And as soon as he stepped out, he could not help but feel a little nervous from what Van said.

If a fight really were to break out, then who would be able to stop it? Charlotte herself was already too much for them to handle. And if the others were even half as strong as her, then everyone in this Portal will definitely die.

It didn"t help that his father, General Salim Said, the only one that could probably even have a chance to stop their rampage, was currently in intensive care. And so, with all that in consideration, Masud decided to gather every personnel to standby near the Portal.

Back in the room, Van could not help but feel a bit nostalgic with their seating arrangement. The u-shaped table reminded him of the one back in the Student Council… come to think of it, he didn"t really do anything there. But now, they purposely left the middle seat empty for him.

"..."

"..."

"..."

It felt like Artemis had a lot to say before they arrived here, but even after a whole minute, only silence echoed through the room. It wasn"t until the sound of Dionysus spilling his wine resounded in the room a movement could finally be seen from Artemis.

And as if Dionysus"s goblet falling to the ground served as a bell for her to start, Artemis began to talk.

"You started the war against the Seraphs!" Artemis screamed as she pointed towards Athena.

"That again? Pray tell, where have you even gotten that idea?" Athena, on the other hand, was calm, with her hands even clasped together on the table.

"It doesn"t matter, I just know that it is true as she could have not lied to the current situation!"

"She? It was from a woman? Have you perhaps made contact with the Seraph herself?"

"What? No! I just got out of the Fractured World I was stuck in!"

"And how did you get out? I thought the plan was for the Messenger to send us all back to the Afterlife," Athena then turned her head towards Van.

"Don"t think you can change the topic on me, Athena! I am not as stupid as Dionysus! I had their lives by my hands and I have also read her mannerisms, she was definitely not lying when she told us the story!"

"You"ve grown, haven"t you? Then perhaps it is also time for you to stop screaming like a child," Athena slightly scoffed, "And since when were you an expert in talking to other people? Last I checked, the only friends you had were the animals that was unfortunate enough to be kept in your garden."

Artemis let out a loud gasp from Athena"s words, "At least I have friends! The only thing you have closest to you are books! And I took an oath of chast.i.ty, what"s your excuse for not having any children!?"

"Why did the talk of offspring suddenly get in this conversation!? That is absolutely childish and uncalled for! I am immune to such mundane feelings such as love!"

"Last time I checked, you were in love with a mortal, how mundane is that?"

"..." Van and Charlotte could not help but look at each other. Although it was good that there weren"t any signs of violence yet, but why did it suddenly become a wrestling of words between the two?

"Now, now. Perhaps we can discuss this more peacefully?" Dionysus once again interrupted the conversation, placing wine in front of Charlotte, Athena, and Artemis, "This one"s for you, a grape juice," he then said when he reached Van"s side of the table.

"..."

"Fine," Artemis gathered her breath as she tried her best to calm down, gulping the wine that Dionysus offered them, "But I have heard quite a credible version of the story that it is your fault that we even went to war with the Seraph in the first place."

"...Explain then."

It took almost 30 minutes, but Artemis explained the whole story that Angela told her about what happened. Even Dionysus was quiet, with his expressions changing from every part of the story told. And surprisingly, he was the only one that did not take a sip of his wine throughout the telling.

"Is… this true, sis?" Dionysus could not help but stutter.

Athena closed her eyes as soon as she heard Dionysus"s question. She then took a long and deep breath before opening her eyes and answering, "...Yes, I am afraid so."

"What, why!?"

Everyone in the room could not help but be shocked by Athena"s answer. They all thought that she was going to deny it, as she had been doing so from the start… but why did she suddenly admit to Artemis"s claims?

"None of you understand," Athena shook her head as she stood up from her seat, "Father had told me not to tell you anything, and I thought I could keep that promise. But if the Seraph"s words are true and our universe is truly beyond saving, then I will tell you…

...Olympus is--"

"Athena!?"

Before Athena could even finish her words, she suddenly dropped to the ground. Artemis quickly rushed towards her, but before she could even take 3 steps, she also fell to the ground.

"..." Van also stood up, only to realize that Charlotte was also not moving in her seat, completely unconscious.

"This is…" Van then looked towards the only other person that seemed to still be awake in the room-- Dionysus.

"Well, right on time. I impress myself sometimes," Dionysus muttered as he lifted Athena and gently placed her on the table, "Now…

...shall we talk, man to man?"