Chapter 154: Our common friend. (1/2)
A short moment after Arima left Hell, the gods finally managed to stop Poseidon and Hades. The two had reluctantly ended their combat when they saw that all of the gods were being adamant.
”Fine, we'll conclude this on a tie,” Hades said as he dispelled his manifested weapon.
”What? Did you take a look at yourself? This is my win,” Poseidon huffed.
”Huh? What the heck are you talking about? If it had continued, you would have lost!”
”No, it was definitely going to end by your defeat!”
The 'mighty' gods started disputing like children and their original character was now completely broken. Azes sighed and before he was able to call them out, they fell silent on their own. They weren't the only ones.
Azes's eyes narrowed. He suddenly felt like he was being stared at by a million eyes and his fellow gods were undergoing the same experience.
”This omnipresent force… what is it?” Gabriel muttered.
”I recognize it,” Hades spoke up with a slightly worried voice and looked at Azes. ”You too,” he affirmed and Azes nodded.
”What is it?” Michael inquired.
”Pandora,” Hades responded immediately and closed the mouths of everyone. ”Exactly thirty-two thousand six hundred and forty-four years ago, Pandora appeared in Hell. The moment I sensed it, I immediately contacted him,” he said whilst pointing at Azes.
”He was the only one that I could fully trust since his Domain clashes directly with Pandora's very existence,” Hades explained and glanced at Azes. ”Your arm.”
Azes shook his head and sighed. He rolled up his sleeve and showed the black mark on his arm. It was the mark that, as the God of Order, Azes received when Pandora appeared for the first time.
”We believe it was destroyed. But Karaskan somehow retrieved it and sealed it instead.”
”Then… does this mean Pandora is in Hell right as we speak?” Aphrodite asked.
”…Apparently. But it's not only here. It's already opening,” Azes responded with a grave expression.
”What would happen exactly if the box opens?” Zeus inquired.
”Depends on who opens it and what the sacrifices made were,” Azes answered. ”Though, I'm fairly sure that the box's awakening was caused by Arima's Judgment.”
”How?” Gabriel scowled. ”That man didn't even make contact with Pandora, right?”
”Pandora demands two things to be unlocked. The first one is 'Death'. Arima fulfilled that condition by going through the Life Judgement.”
”The second one is a sacrifice. For this one, it was completed thanks to the Hunter's Cry. And there you go. That's all you need,” Azes said. ”Karaskan just had to set Arima as a target for Pandora and that was enough for it to open.”
”So, it's not only in Hell but also nearby?” Gabriel muttered.
Azes shrugged. ”I don't know. Most likely.”
”Why are you so relaxed?” Michael couldn't help but ask. Although they were gods and had the obligation to always possess a resilient mind, Azes was showing way too less worry.
”Because I don't know what to do,” Azes replied with a smile and Michael was speechless. ”Once Pandora opens, we can't stop it. We can only bet.”
”Bet?”
”Yes, bet. And hope,” Azes smirked. ”On what kind of phenomenon will the Kind Demon bring to this world.”
”But we still can find where the box is and try something,” Poseidon spoke up. ”You said it was opening. In theory, if we can destroy Pandora, seal it away, or send it into another dimension, there's a chance we can stop it from affecting anyone.”
Azes chuckled. ”Where is it then? Karaskan must have been prepared for this. He must have done the necessary preparations to hide,” he said and then thought of something. ”Maybe, the only one who could find it would be Kerberos…oh,” he exclaimed as he realized something.
”He went there already, huh?” Hades commented and Azes nodded.
Gabriel mused. Her expression showed how much she was thinking hard. It was cute how childish it looked. Then, her expression suddenly brightened.
”What if we use this?” She enthusiastically pointed at the sky.
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Back in Heaven. Only a few minutes after he met Karez, Arima was already holding him by the throat. But he was still smiling even though most of his bones were broken and his right arm was missing.
”Why don't you tell me how to stop this corrosion?” Arima asked calmly and coldly.
Karez laughed. ”You can't stop it anymore. It will go on until Heaven collapses.”
”Rather, shouldn't you be more worried about what's going on in Hell right now?” He said and Arima frowned. The reaction Karez got widened his smile. ”Although I don't know what he is going to do, I know that the Mad God is preparing somet-!” Before he could finish, the pressure on his neck tightened and forced him to stop.
Arima was looking at him with a freezing stare. Lightning burst out of his body struck the earth around. He then smirked. It was clear that the anger in his expression didn't disappear; but his unspoken rage made Karez shudder.
”You think I had no idea?” Arima spoke. ”I'm not dumb enough to forget about Karaskan. My life goal is to kill him,” he declared and Karez was baffled. ”Earlier, I suddenly lost track of Chulainn and my companions who were with him. I had no time to think about it because I was the only one capable of using Origin to come here,” he explained and Karez swallowed his words.
Arima was glaring at him with a look that could kill. ”Back then, I resisted the urge to see if it was truly Karaskan because if I had done so, I would have lost control. And I couldn't risk that and let you destroy an entire plane,” he paused. ”Well, I'm not omniscient. I couldn't guess that the core was like this. I may have a knowledge worth millions of lives but I can't be aware of everything.”
”...Then what now?” Karez managed to speak. ”Aren't you worried that your friends will die? -kuh!” His neck was strangled once more.
”It is not your role to remind me. I left an insurance,” Arima uttered.
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The gods looked up and suddenly remembered it as the blue light illuminated their faces. Even when Arima had left, the First Art hadn't disappeared. Quite the opposite actually, it continued to spread across the sky.