While Kiss-Shot was feeding me, I saw several women from the city cleaning up and preparing dessert.
Now you might be wondering, "Why is all this happening?" It's simple: it's because I'm the leader of Crisa.
Over a year ago, while searching for the souls of those who refused to die, I realized I was bored, so I decided to do something. And that was to lure them to a place where they believed they could save their souls, only to have them face me and have their souls taken.
I did the same thing with everyone: I was introduced as the Grim Reaper, or sometimes as Dante; I told them that if they defeated a being, they would be saved, and once they arrived, they died.
It might sound a little cruel, but these guys were playing with life and death, so they deserved a taste of their own medicine.
The only one who has managed to descend that mountain alive so far is Bemus, who was standing before me with his daughter Adara, watching me eat.
"And how is your brother?" he asked me with heavy irony.
"He's in Hades with a mother who's pregnant," I replied, and he hadn't expected that answer from his expression.
"I just want to ask you something, out of sheer curiosity: how did you manage to heal Adara?" he said, looking at his daughter.
I imagine he must have told her that I did something to her, but in her soul form, she can't really grasp what I was doing. She must possess immense mental and spiritual power to control her soul while free, but with my scythe, the souls are stored within, so she didn't feel anything that happened once I finished my work.
"I removed her entire soul; to do that, I had to remove her soul from her body and go to Hades to find her other half. Then, when I found it, I reunited them and returned her soul to her body," he replied.
Once a soul leaves its body, it has three days to reunite, because after that the body begins to decay, and since the soul no longer matches the body, it cannot return.
In short, a soulless body can only remain habitable for three days; after that, it cannot be inhabited by any soul.
Generally, souls are automatically dragged to Hades, but there are cases where that doesn't happen.
That doesn't happen with me, because by using the lifelines, I ensure that the body and soul cannot reunite.
"Is that even possible?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes, and with that, I fulfill my duty, which is to take Adara's soul to Hades, only I'll retrieve it immediately afterward," I said happily, since this meant I wouldn't have to work for a good while. "Look, Adara's name disappeared."
Berus took the scroll and looked at it.
"It's true, her name is gone," he said, to which I nodded with my eyes closed. "But the number of names here is less than I thought it would be."
Upon hearing that, I froze. I quickly snatched the scroll from him and looked at its contents. To my horror, there were about six more names written on it.
All my happiness vanished in an instant.
"That makes sense; you went ten months without looking at it, plus new names had to appear," Kiss-Shot said, looking at it.
I slammed my fist on the table we were on, shattering it into a thousand pieces, startling Bemus and Adara.
I just wanted to go on vacation; I wanted to see the other regions of this world, but since I have to do this job, I have to stay with the Greeks, unless it's part of the job to have to find someone.
After finding a new table and complaining about my job and about how an average worker was treated, we continued our conversation.
"So, what happened after we separated on the islands of the goddesses?" he asked Bemus, very curious.
When we separated, Bemus found himself lost, and after walking for quite a while, he met someone who helped him continue his journey, later introducing himself as Hermes, the god of travelers.
Hermes, seeing the crossroads he faced, blessed him with a rather useful ability.
If he had a goal or a location to reach, as long as he had an idea of its location and the name of the place, then he could get there without any map or anything to guide him.
With that, I was able to quickly reach Crisa.
Along that path, he would encounter Apollo at an inn; Apollo was courting some ladies.
When he saw Bemus, he went straight to him, since Apollo is quite the stalker, and he watched almost our entire journey, finding it amusing to see such things.
Seeing him alone, without me, I decided to give him a gift to help him reach his destination. This would be a golden sword, inlaid with gems, which has two purposes: the first is to frighten lesser beasts, and the second is to illuminate the darkness.
Quite useful. The two gifts he received weren't anything particularly grand, but they were useful and served their purpose.
He also told me that along his journey he encountered a wild Cyclops, which he was able to defeat thanks to this sword, which I named φωτόσπαθο (phospatho), meaning sword of light. With this, he was able to mow down the Cyclops and sever its sinews, and then cut its throat.
While I was recounting all this, the maids in my temple—yes, I built myself a temple—were filled with admiration for Bemus; after all, he's quite a celebrity, being the first non-divine living being to emerge from that mountain.
And I say non-divine, since here on this island, Kiss and I are treated as divine spirits despite not actually being so. I am an abnormality in a human body, and Kiss is an undead.
...
"Life's a drag," I muttered as I walked through the woods at night. No matter how "divine" I was, I still needed to eat, unlike a vampire who only liked to drink my blood.
While I was disposing of a boar, I felt someone's presence behind me.
"If you want to eat, you'll have to wait; I'm just starting to cook," I said without turning around.
"Is this how you treat a goddess, being?" I heard her voice, and it was a woman.
Given the whole situation, I already suspected who she was.
I turned around to face her.
"What else can I do? It's all the hospitality I can offer a guest, whoever they may be," I said to her face, only to look at her and let out a chuckle. "Heh."
"What are you laughing at?" she said, sounding annoyed.
"Nothing important, just that you look like your brother." "If Apollo were a woman, he'd have white hair, not to mention those big breasts and ass, and then they'd be identical." I replied with complete honesty.
"Are you trying to cut me off?" I heard his threat.
"Take it as a compliment. Not every man tries to get me into your dress. Have you ever tried talking to other men?" I began to question his way of thinking.
"I don't need to be with men; my brother and father are irritating enough," he said while complaining about the men he knew.
"I imagined that about Apollo, but not the king of Olympus," he told her with complete sincerity. "Come, sit down. I imagine you're looking for me for something, but to be honest, I'm very hungry, and I want to eat first." "You can tell me whatever you want while we eat," I told Artemis.
She hesitated, but after seeing that I was focused on the wild boar, she finally sat down.
After seasoning the boar for a while, I put it on the fire to cook; I sat down across from Artemis, a short distance from the flames.
"I imagine you're here about the incident I had with your hunting boots, right?" I said to Artemis.
"Exactly," she replied.
"So, in all sincerity, I apologize to you and your hunters, wherever they may be; it was a hunting trip, and I didn't intend to hurt you, but I honestly needed the money; otherwise, I would have had to resort to theft." I apologized for the situation, still watching the wild boar cooking.
"You're weird; you haven't looked at me this whole time," she explained.
"Seriously, should I start looking more often?" I asked.
"It's not that; it's just that I'm used to furtive glances," she replied honestly.
"Well, that happens to every woman, so you could say it's normal, especially when she's as beautiful as you."
"Are you trying to cut me off?" I heard her threat again.
"It's a compliment. Can't you say a woman is beautiful?" He replied, sounding a little more annoyed.
She remained silent and lowered her head slightly.
"No, you really can," she said, curiously agreeing with me.
I just sighed.
At that moment, I realized the meat was ready; I gave Artemis a skewer, which she took, but she stared at it, sniffing.
"It smells really good, doesn't it? Is it a trap?" she said, glaring at me.
"If it's a trap, then it's the tastiest trap you'll ever taste," I replied, eating my skewer. "Honey, it's time to eat."
Artemis gave me a strange look until she saw a woman appear behind my shadow, stretching and yawning.
"It's about time; I was so bored I fell asleep," she said, only to hug me like a koala from behind and start sucking my blood from my neck.
"Who is it?" she said, jumping to her feet and getting into a fighting stance.
"This is my partner, Artemis. This is Kiss-Shot. Kiss-Shot, the goddess over there is Artemis."
Kiss-Shot stared at Artemis, still eating, and gestured with her hand, incredibly ignoring her.
Artemis, seeing that Kiss-Shot wasn't a threat, sat back down and began eating her meat.
"So, about the huntresses," I began after a while of eating. Artemis was about to speak, but Kiss-shot interrupted her.
"Huntresses? You mean those useless nymphs whose butts you kicked because they couldn't even hold a bow properly in your presence?" Kiss-shot remarked matter-of-factly.
What Kiss said was true, and yet not. To save time and avoid fighting over the same prey, I used Conqueror's Haki on the nymphs; some survived, but even with the effects, they couldn't use their huntress skills properly, making them look useless and like novices.
"Take back your words," Artemis said threateningly to Kiss-shot.
"Why should I take back the truth? At that moment, Dante was a thousand times better than your huntresses," Kiss-shot retorted.
"Then let's settle this. Let's have a hunting competition. If I win, you'll have to take back your words and join my huntresses," Artemis said to Kiss-Shot.
"And if you lose?" she asked Artemis.
"Then I owe you one," she replied.
"Perfect, it's a deal," Kiss-Shot said with a predatory grin.
"Hey, what about my opinion?" I asked them both.
"It doesn't count," they both replied at once, leaving me speechless.
...
With a blindfold over my eyes, I drew the bowstring and shot the arrow, dodging a beast that was lurking nearby.
"It's not fair! How can you hit something without being able to see it?" Artemis complained.
"Magic," I replied, offering no further explanation.
For almost the entire rest of the night, we competed to see who could hunt what. First, Artemis acted, and then I followed.
I could perfectly imitate everything she did, and sometimes even do it a little better.
Just now, I shot an arrow from one island to another, a good distance, using Artemis's bow so I wouldn't break a regular one and could make my shot.
I removed the blindfold to see Artemis pouting, which made her look adorable.
"See, my husband is better than those huntresses you have," Kiss-Shot told her.
Artemis looked at Kiss-Shot with a mixture of anger, irritation, acceptance, and something else I couldn't quite place.
She glanced at me, relaxed, and sighed.
"Fine, I admit it, maybe you're better than my nymphs, but that's about it," she said. I imagine she was admitting defeat, since the night was drawing to a close. "Well, that's settled. I'm off. I have other things to do."
With that, she turned to walk away but paused for a moment, turned her head to look at me, shook her head, and summoned a chariot with servants to get in and leave for good.
"Well, it was a different kind of night this time," I said to Kiss-Shot.
"It was fun watching your expressions," she replied.
"Let's get back to work," I said, summoning the Buster Sword, and continued on my way as Kiss joined my shadow.
...
After a nighttime walk, we arrived at a somewhat abandoned-looking house in a small village.
Using real magic, thank you, Hecate, for your blessing. I changed my clothes and bandages into my Grim Reaper form, transforming myself in the process.
I entered the small house only to sense the presence of a single person.
Walking, I entered a room, only to see a woman lying down holding bandages, surrounded by medicine, chemicals, and plants of all kinds.
She was a woman with black hair and brown eyes; she had gray hairs, but not from old age, rather from stress and exhaustion; she had dark circles under her eyes and wounds on parts of her body covered in bandages.
She opened her eyes when she saw me enter.
"Who are you?" she asked in a panic.
"I am Death, and I have come for your soul, Aria; you have eluded me for so long, and I grew tired of waiting for you, so I came before you to do what should have been done long ago." She answered me in a chilling voice.
Her eyes widened at my response; she tried to jump out of bed and reach for me, but her weakness caused her to fall. She managed to grab my legs, though.
"Please, don't kill me, I beg you," she sobbed into my lap. "I can't die without fulfilling my dream; have mercy on me."
Seeing her like that filled me with pity, both for her and for others. So, feeling kind, I decided to ask.
"And what would that dream be?"
"That—that would be to be a mother." Damn it. "I've tried so many ways, but I never could; my body is weak, so I can't carry a baby in my womb; it either doesn't conceive or dies long before. Now I'm alone, and I don't know what to do; I'm trying to stay alive, hoping to fulfill my dream." She told me, sobbing uncontrollably.
I just stared at her, unsure what to do. I couldn't really help her, since I had no power to do anything about it.
Just as I was about to speak, I heard a voice.
"Dante, wait," Kiss-Shot said, emerging from my shadow. Aria jumped and fell backward to the floor. "Wait for us a few moments," she told the sickly woman.
She dragged me to a room farther away so we could talk privately.
"So, what's going on?" I asked Kiss-Shot.
"This is our chance to be parents," she said excitedly.
"What are you talking about?" he asked again, already suspecting what she meant.
"She has to die, and she'll only do so when she fulfills her dream, so if she has a child, she'll abandon it, unless its father takes responsibility along with its new, super-cool, vampire mother," she said, pointing to herself.
"You're suggesting I get her pregnant so we can raise her child as our own?" I said incredulously.
"Yes, what other way do we have to have children? I can't get pregnant, and like her, I want to fulfill my desire to be a mother, even if the baby isn't mine, so please, my husband, do this for me," she began, manipulating me with pity and puppy-dog eyes.
I metaphorically closed my eyes, scratched the bridge of my nose, and spoke to her.
"Okay, just for you," I said.
"Thank you so much," she said, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
(Note: This child thing is important, since with the changes I'm going to make, I need a character for something in the future.)
"Now, with all this, we need her to get pregnant and give birth safely, and for that, we need help." I spoke to her honestly.
"Do you have any idea how to solve this?" Kiss asked me.
"Something," I replied. "I didn't imagine I would use his favor so soon."
...
"The various medicines and drugs have kept her alive, but they've also strained her body. If she has a baby, she'll most likely not survive childbirth and will die in the process," Artemis said, giving her diagnosis of Aria's condition.
"I don't care about dying as long as I can be a mother; I would give my life for my dream," Aria said to the goddess with determination.
Artemis just looked at her with sadness and admiration. She then began to cast some spells, which Kiss-Shot and I watched from a few steps away.
"There, I've blessed you. Now, as the goddess of childbirth, your pregnancy will be the safest in all of Greece. This was the first step toward conception. I need to do another, but only after you have the baby inside you," she told Aria, turning to me. "When you're pregnant, let me know so we can finish this."
"Understood," I said, in my most adventurous voice, without telling her that I would be the father of that baby.
With that, Artemis left, leaving the three of us alone.
Aria looked at me somewhat uncomfortably, unsure what to do, only to let out a girly squeal when I picked her up like a princess.
"We're leaving here; I don't know how long it will take you to get pregnant, but I need to be in sight to call Artemis, and it's best if you live in Crisa for that," I answered her question silently.
"That will take time; I still have to find a partner to get me pregnant and everything else," she said, still a little nervous.
"That won't be necessary," I told her, making her look at me doubtfully. "Because I'll be the one to get you pregnant."
The place fell silent.
"WHAT?!" Aria exclaimed in disbelief.
...
Third-person POV.
*On Olympus*
In the main hall of Olympus, eleven gods were gathered. These gods were Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes, Athena, and Dionysus. Only one was missing: Hades, who only attends these meetings for very important matters.
(Note: Hestia gives her place to Dionysus, but on this occasion, she will later give it to Hephaestus.)
During the meeting, Zeus, Hera, Demeter, and Poseidon were arguing amongst themselves; Hestia was playing with two toy horses, pretending they were racing; Apollo was teasing his sister, and she was trying to shoot an arrow. Ares was polishing a sword, while Aphrodite was looking in a mirror searching for any imperfection, while Hermes was writing something, Athena was reading, and Dionysus was fast asleep.
"Well, that covers the most important part. Is there anything else to add before we conclude this council?" said the king of Olympus with his great authority.
"Oh, right," said Apollo, raising his hand like a child in elementary school. "I heard about a being who is collecting human souls and all that in the name of Hades."
This caught the attention of half the Olympians.
"A human doing the work of a god—that's unacceptable; if only my Hades were here to stop him," said Zeus with a hint of resentment, knowing that his brother was overstepping his bounds.
"He's not human; he's like an amalgamation of destruction and darkness in a human vessel," Apollo said, having witnessed Dante's powers in his stalker mode.
"How so?" Athena asked, intrigued by Apollo's description.
Artemis stared at Apollo, already suspecting who he was talking about. Although she had never seen Dante in his Grim Reaper form or using his powers, she had sensed something similar to what he described in him.
"Never mind, summon Hades immediately to come and answer for this, and while you're at it, call Hecate to help us find this being," Zeus ordered.
"Father, do you give me permission to go and find him and bring him back?" Ares asked.
"Ha, bring him back? You all know you just want to fight him," Hermes told Ares the truth with a smile.
"And the bad thing is, I'm bored, and what Apollo said already got me excited," Ares said.
Zeus paused for a moment before speaking.
"Very well, I give you permission. That way you can see how dangerous this being is and whether he's of any use to us Olympians." The latter was more of a spiteful way of stripping Hades of his authority over Dante.
"Perfect," Ares said, rising abruptly. "Now, where does that poor wretch live?"