Reality check

“You destroy my army and dare to make demands of me while I hold your goddess’s life in my hands, what audacity! You will submit to me or I’ll return Hestia to the heavens!” he said fuming.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” I burst into laughter at this which seemed to piss him off even further.

“Why are you laughing!? You think I’m joking!?” he roared with a red face.

I didn’t think that at all but what I did think was that this guy was pretty fucking stupid. This entire time while he was angrily focusing on me he totally zoned out the fact we were literally surrounded by a field of my flames.-

If he had the braincells to rub together he’d understand that not only was he NOT in a position to make threats but he himself had been effectively captured as a hostage. Even if he were to command his few remaining subordinates to try something with Hestia I doubted they’d follow through as anyone with common sense could figure out that if anything happened to Hestia his life was also forfeit. Maybe as a god he’d be willing to make that trade but I HIGHLY doubted his familia subordinates would be willing to.-

See the thing was that when a god was returned to the heavens forcefully via being killed it took a few moments for the falna on their familia members to become sealed. In that time I could absolutely reduce Ares to ash even if it meant my death shortly afterwards. The look on the gods face when his subordinates made this understanding before him was something I burned into my memory so I could immortalize it in statue form later. Oh sure I got a LOT of hate filled glares as Hestia was returned to me with a haunted look on her face but I ignored them.-

I suppose I shouldn’t have expected Ares to just let it lie like that as when we were walking back to the city an arrow stabbed Hestia in the back. While it wasn’t immediately fatal I didn’t care. I removed it and fixed the damage in an instant with my cursed technique before turning to level my most wrathful of gazes at Ares who was holding a bow in the distance behind us with a shocked expression.-

Hestia clutched my arm hard before I could go back however.

“Don’t do it!” she begged. “If you kill him he wins. Let the others handle him, I want to go home.” she said with teary eyes that made my cold rage vanish.

With it I saw that she was right as if I killed Ares in retaliation for what he just did he’d win this whole exchange as I’d be doomed. Already I could see the small army of adventurers from Orario storming out from the city under the lead of their gods to capture Ares. They had all seen his sneak attack on Hestia and that crossed a line for all of them. If there was one thing all the gods for the most part agreed on it was that murdering a fellow god was never to be done unless there was a damn good reason.-

Ares did not have that.

Everyone watching from Orario had seen that arrow of his and that sealed his fate as everyone’s enemy. Admittedly they thought it was entertaining at first watching Ares plans get crushed through sheer force and assumed that was the end of the matter. When he shot that arrow however that opinion immediately changed. Even if I didn’t go after him myself he was fucked. Something I understood as I walked behind Hestia protectively to make sure there was no more surprises.-

One near death encounter with my goddess was more than enough for me thank you very much. The horde of people coming for Ares ass parted around us as they came with more than a few giving me approving or studying looks. I had shown my hand slightly here so everyone now knew that I was a whole helluva a lot stronger than I should be as a level three. Right at level five strong in fact, something that was no doubt going to draw scrutiny.-

Not that I cared really as at this point I was beyond such thoughts and only focused on getting home. None got in my way and we arrived safe and sound back at the manor where I sat Hestia down.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked softly.

“I can still hear the screams. How are you not bothered by it?” she asked with teary eyes.

“Because of cursed energy. I’ve told you that cursed energy is based in negative emotions. As I grow more and more in tune with cursed energy so too does my mindset. Killing is a natural as breathing to me now, something I innately gravitate towards and must keep myself in check with constantly.” I said with a sigh. 

“When I learnt that you had been taken i let go of that restraint and you saw the result. What has to be hundreds, maybe even over a thousand dead for no reason other than to show my displeasure. In the end I almost turned that murderous impulse on a god. If you hadn’t snapped me out of it make no mistake, I would have killed Ares.” I said seriously.

She took a deep breath “You won’t hurt the innocent right?” she asked seriously.

I nodded “More or less.” I said honestly.

“That’s good. I don’t know how I’d deal with it if you did.” she admitted.

“I’m not surprised. You’re a good person inside and out. You and Bell both. Your souls shine blindingly to me. ” I said with a smile.

What I didn’t say was that my soul was an abyss by comparison that stood out by sheer contrast. But that was fine by me, after all few notice the void behind the stars that dot the night sky. This didn’t make it any less of a fixture there however, just less appreciated. Bell and Hestia can shine their brightest because they can leave all the darkness of the world to me. I didn’t mind really, why would I when it was my very nature?

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