Classified meeting space. Underworld.
In a small, hidden room that only a select few knew about, divinity of various kinds overflowed as many deities, major and minor, gathered to discuss the latest developments.
"Is everyone here?"
The calm voice of the woman with long black hair and purple eyes rang in the small gathering room, making the few gathered gods either nod or reply verbally.
"Yes, Lady Hel. All of us who are still relevant in these times are here."
The wry voice of the man with black hair and brown eyes, wearing clothing that kept shifting between traditional indian garb and ancient Chinese robes, made the goddess of Helheim nod at her fellow god of the afterlife.
Looking around the table, the woman spotted the various gods and goddesses that shared similar domains as her gathered together.
Osiris of the Egyptian pantheon.
Hades of the Greek Pantheon, simultaneously representing his alter ego, Pluto.
The man from before, Yama, the god of death, and judge of souls from both Naraka of the Hindu pantheon, and simultaneously known as Yangluo Wang, the ruler of the Chinese Underworld.
Enma-O of the Shinto pantheon.
And even Ereshkigal of the Mesopotamian Pantheon.
These were just the well-known names, with many other minor divinities of similar realms and domains gathered here as well in one form or another, signifying the importance of this event.
Seeing that everyone relevant had been gathered, Hel sat down and motioned towards her fellow god, Hades, who was the one who called for this meeting.
The god that took the form of a skeleton stood up from his seat and waved his hand, creating an image in the air that showed what had transpired in his Underworld a few days ago.
"As you all probably know by now. More than a week ago, many of the new souls that drifted into our various domains were forcefully snatched up by the energies of the Abrahamic Heaven."
The gathered gods and goddesses nodded gravely, for they too had been the victims of this sudden infringement into their domains.
But the ones who lost the most were none other than Hades, Hel, Yama, and Enma-O, as it was in their realms that the majority of those deceased souls took refuge after their mortal coil's demise.
"Originally, I thought that the Angels were being foolish and were trying to overextend themselves into domains not their own. As such, I was planning on confronting them about what had happened, along with inquiring about why their system was suddenly becoming more active than ever before."
Enma-O, the Shinto god, the Judge of the Dead, leaned forward with interest.
"What did you find?"
"Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to visit their Heaven and ask for an explanation. Because my contacts gave me some concerning news."
Hel simply leaned forward with her face in her palms, amusement clear in her eyes.
"And what could be more important than investigating why those little birds were stretching their hands into our domains? I mean, even their Kleptomaniac of a God was not as brazen as what they did this time."
Hades looked at Hel and spoke words that made the goddess sit up in alarm.
"The Lion of Heaven is still alive."
That instantly caught the attention of every god and goddess in attendance as they immediately started to whisper with worry.
In times long past, before the Great War of the Abrahamic Faction, before the times when history was properly recorded, before the times when man knew the power of fire, there was a time when gods and goddesses ran rampant on the Earth.
Every day, new pantheons and gods sprang into existence and were just as quickly snuffed out as the various realms and factions of deities fought each other bitterly, competing to claim a territory of their own where they could establish a permanent base.
It was a time of great turmoil, where divine chaos was the norm.
In those times, the Olympians, fresh from the Titanomachy, fought against the Norse, who had just begun a new cycle after their Ragnarok cycle had been completed, and they were born anew.
The Sumerians fought the Aztecs and Mayans.
The African gods fought the Slavic Pantheon.
While the Shinto fought the Chinese Pantheon and the Hindu Pantheon, which was quite a funny sight for most, since the young gods of the Shinto were going up against the primordial deities of the two pantheons.
All in all, it was a time of great chaos and disasters on Earth.
But in the home realms of these various pantheons? It was even worse, as they had to contend not only with their fellow gods, but also with outer realm beings that would appear once in a while from beyond the chaotic dimensional gap, which had no guardians in those times to keep these intruders out.
Eldritch beings of otherworldly powers and abilities that made no sense. Beings so alien that it was simply impossible to classify them in any way.
In those times, the Heavens of the Abrahamic faction kept to themselves, never revealing their presence to the mortal world, or even their fellow divine beings, unless absolutely required, while the underworld of their pantheon was a wild realm overrun with beings of absolute evil, known simply as Demons.
Yet, even such isolationist beings were also the victims of the attacks from beyond the Dimension Gap.
It was in those times that the powerful Angels of old earned their fame and reputation.
Michael, the Prince of the Heavenly Armies. He whose flaming sword cleaved many an eldritch monster in twain. His angelic kindness only rivaled by his unmatched prowess on the battlefield.
Gabriel, the Messenger of God. She whose divine eyes saw through all the lies in the world and struck at the very soul of her enemies. Her scepter unstoppable, and her shield unbreakable.
Uriel, the Flame of God. He whose holy fire was said to burn at the very space around him, turning many a 'Immortal' monster to ash.
Raphael, the divine healer. He whose healing was said to bring back even the dead.
Helel, the Morning Star. He whose light could pierce even the chaos of the Dimensional Gap.
Samael, he whose whispers could poison even the minds of gods.
Many were the angels who earned a terrifying reputation in those times of chaos before recorded history.
Yet, one group stood out among these many well-known names.
They who were weak yet stood shoulder to shoulder with their stronger kin. Not because of their power, but because of their unbreakable wills and unpredictable wit.
The eight gatekeepers of the Seventh Heaven, the ones known as the Pride of Heaves. And their leader, the four-winged angel that outsmarted and outmaneuvered many a powerful being from the beyond and brought them low with his unit of angels.
The one known as the Lion of Heaven, for his fierce determination and unpredictable cunning.
Together with his men, he was one of the most feared Angels in heaven in those times. Not because of his power, but because of his unpredictability.
Many a minor pantheon had celebrated once upon a time, when news had reached them that Lucifer had killed the Lion of Heaven and his Pride during the Great War.
But now, these divine beings felt like they were sitting on pins and needles when Hades revealed that this ancient monster had suddenly reappeared.
Osiris nearly shot to his feet in trepidation at Hades's words.
"You must have made some kind of mistake, Hades. It is impossible for that brat and his unit to still be alive. You were the one who gave that little devil Lucifer that artifact to access the Dimensional Gap, remember?"
Hades nodded in acknowledgement at those words, but he still spoke in the same neutral tone as he always held.
"I remember it very well, Osiris. But there is no denying the proof that I have gained from my contacts. See for yourself."
With another wave of his hand, the image shifted to show another one, captured in Kuoh by one of his human spies during a recent debacle between the Church and the Underworld.
Many a minor god and goddess felt like running away as they beheld the image, while many of the major gods and goddesses felt a headache coming on as they beheld the familiar sight.
The power that he held was new, and so was his clothing. But there was no mistaking that arrogant and self-righteous expressions, combined with that familiar visage that they would never forget for one reason or another.
Yama groaned into his hands as he beheld that image.
"Great. As if that brat was not annoying enough as a four-winged angel with his head up his ass. Now, we have to deal with a twelve-winged version of him."
"....If Lucifer were still alive, I would have killed him myself for this blunder. Why couldn't the little bat not even kill his former kin properly without making it everyone's problem?"
Hel bit out those words as she glared at the image, remembering a long-forgotten memory of how this brat and his unit broke into Helheim to assert dominance over her domains.
The arrogant brat got quite the beating from both her and Odin for messing with the Nordic realms, but not before he injured them in return, earning Odin's begrudging respect and her own, along with her ire.
For most of the other pantheons, it was a similar tale with the Lion of Heaven. It is the reason why they all felt either annoyed or afraid to know that he had not died and had come back to the world of the living somehow.
Enma-O leaned back into his seat and sighed.
"At least that brat's unit is not with him. Those Gatekeepers were damned annoying to deal with-"
Hades once again waved his arm, this time showing an image from Tokyo, which was taken from one of his spies in the Fallen Angel faction, showing the Cherubim Gatekeepers in their full glory as they took on Tobio Ikuse.
Despite the different appearance, all the gods and goddesses in the room could feel the familiar holy energy from these angels, making many of them swear, while Enma-O nearly fell off his chair.
"Oh, for the love of-WHY ARE THEY ALIVE AS WELL??"
"LUCIFER YOU DAMNED FAILURE OF A DEVIL!!"
The simultaneous shouts from both Enma-O and Osiris would have been a funny sight if not for the fact that nearly everyone in the room shared their exasperation and annoyance.
Hel sighed tiredly and leaned back, staring at Hades.
"So? What are we going to do about this situation? Given that the arrogant brat and his unit are still alive, it does not take a genius to realize why the heavens dared to stretch their hands into our realms. That brat has always been arrogant like that towards those he considers not his own."
"For now? I am not going to do anything. It is not yet the time to confront those annoyances."
"Even if that brat descends into your realm to cause chaos again, like in the old times?"
The flames in Hades's eye sockets intensified as an extremely overbearing aura erupted from him.
"Let him try. He will learn that he is not the only one who has become more powerful during the time he was gone. He must also learn that we will no longer put up with his annoying ways now that his father is not there to protect him from the shadows."
Soon, the meeting descended into chatter as they started discussing other things, but in the back of their minds, one fact would not leave their memory.
The Lion of Heaven had come back from the dead along with his unit, and he appeared to be just as arrogant and unpredictable as he always was in those days.
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1