Chapter 220: Whats next

Olympus

Athena still had her eyes fixed on the essence of the Astronomy Domain when Damon finally closed his hand and the energy disappeared from his palm. The Goddess of Wisdom remained in a daze for a moment and blinked twice before speaking. "I'm definitely going to start taking your promises seriously, Lord Damon."

Damon let out a small laugh as he settled back into his seat. "As you should, dear."

A brief silence fell over the room. The only sounds that could be heard were Orion biting into his food and the occasional crack of a bone between his enormous jaws. With the conversation having died down, the black wolf briefly raised his head from his corner before returning his attention to the massive piece of meat in front of him.

Athena took a deep breath and eventually straightened herself in her seat. "In that case, I believe we should move on to the reasons I originally came here. There are several matters that require your attention, Lord Damon."

"I figured you hadn't come here just to talk about past regrets." Damon picked up his goblet of nectar, which by this point seemed like it was never going to run out. "Go ahead."

Athena decided to ignore the small comment as she cleared her throat. "First of all, it concerns Kuoh."

Damon processed her words without showing much surprise or interest yet.

"Artemis has continued sending me reports regularly and, as you ordered, the demigods have managed to considerably reduce the stray Devil population around the area. Most have been low-class Devils with the occasional middle-class one; none of them have posed any real problem for them."

Athena paused briefly before continuing. "And so far, there haven't been any major conflicts between the demigods and the Devils belonging to the Sitri and Gremory houses who remain in the city." The Goddess of Wisdom crossed one leg over the other. "However, regarding your order that they not reincarnate any humans from Kuoh... it seems it was ignored. A human named Issei Hyoudou, apparently the possessor of a rather powerful Sacred Gear, was reincarnated by Rias Gremory, Lucifer's sister."

"Hmmm... why am I not surprised?" Damon muttered.

"Would you like us to intervene, Lord Damon?" Athena asked, resting an elbow against the arm of her seat. "I could confront the Gremory heiress over the violation or, at the very least, demand a formal explanation from the houses present in the city."

"What for?" Damon snorted. "I told them not to reincarnate humans from Kuoh because I didn't want them going around hunting people from that city like cattle. But for all we know, the kid could have agreed to it willingly. That's between him and her."

"Even so, they ignored a direct order," Athena argued.

"It was an order, yes, but I'm not turning a single reincarnation into a crisis as long as they don't start forcing anyone." Damon took another sip of nectar. "Either way, let Grayfia handle it. I suppose visiting her people after being away from the Underworld for so long will do her some good."

A small amused smile appeared on the redhead's face at the thought.

"She can speak with Venelana personally and make it clear that I have no intention of making a big deal out of this, but I also don't want it becoming a habit. The Gremory heiress..." Damon shook his head slightly. "She's just a girl who still doesn't know exactly what she wants. I'd rather settle this with her mother before taking things any further."

Athena studied him for a moment before nodding. "There is one detail that may interest you. According to Artemis's reports, young Hyoudou possesses an extremely powerful Sacred Gear, possibly one connected to one of the Heavenly Dragons."

"Fuck." Damon let out a short laugh as he shook his head. "I can already guess which one. I suppose even a Heavenly Dragon can end up becoming the plaything of some high school brat. The world has a sense of humor, I'll give it that."

"You know him, Lord Damon?"

"Of course. There was a time when Ddraig gave me one headache after another. If Rias Gremory recruited him without knowing what the kid was carrying, then she's probably the luckiest person in the Underworld and doesn't even realize it."

"And that doesn't concern you? Power of that magnitude in the hands of Lucifer's sister."

"Concern me?" Damon shrugged. "The Heavenly Dragons stopped being a serious threat to me a long time ago. As long as he doesn't touch anyone under my protection, I don't care, although it certainly is a shame that power of that magnitude ended up in the Gremorys' hands first."

"If you say so, Lord Damon," Athena replied, although from her expression it was obvious that she still considered the violation more serious than he seemed to.

The Goddess of Wisdom mentally went through the rest of the reports before remembering another name. "There is also a young girl named Asia Argento. Artemis seems to have grown somewhat fond of her and, from what we know, the other demigods have accepted her rather well too."

Damon showed a little more interest. "Asia?"

"She was a member of the Church," Athena explained. "Quite devout, according to Artemis. She possesses Twilight Healing, a Sacred Gear capable of healing both humans and supernatural beings. The problem began when she used her gift to heal an injured Devil."

Damon raised an eyebrow slightly.

"The Church ended up excommunicating her for it," Athena continued. "The same organization she had devoted a good part of her life to cast her aside for using her power on someone they considered an enemy. After that, she ended up practically alone until she eventually made her way to Kuoh."

That did manage to catch the redhead's interest. "I want to meet her."

Athena raised an eyebrow. "Because of her Sacred Gear?"

"Among other things. A healing ability that works regardless of the race of the person receiving it can always be useful."

It wasn't a lie, although it wasn't the entire truth either.

A girl who had devoted a good part of her life to the Church only to be abandoned by it simply for healing a Devil could prove rather interesting. Especially now that Gabriel was beginning to spend more and more time around Olympus.

Hestia had already managed to bring the Seraph much closer than Damon had expected, but Asia could offer something completely different. Damon wouldn't have to convince Gabriel of anything or make up some convenient story. It would be enough for her to hear directly from Asia what the Church itself had done to one of its most devoted believers.

And if that ended up changing even a little of the way Gabriel viewed the institution that claimed to represent her father... Damon wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

"Let Artemis know that I'd like to meet the girl when I have the chance."

"I will." Athena nodded before remembering one last thing. "By the way, Lord Damon... it seems you yourself have become rather popular in Kuoh."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"The temple Amaterasu-sama built in the city has started attracting quite a bit of attention. Your name is circulating among the locals far more than you probably realize." Athena let out a small laugh. "Perhaps you should consider visiting Kuoh personally at some point."

"I'll definitely have to do that soon." Damon leaned back slightly in his seat. "After all, I still have a promise to keep with a certain little nine-tailed yōkai."

It took Athena only a moment to understand who he meant. "Kunou? Yasaka's daughter."

"That's the one," Damon confirmed.

Athena nodded before remembering another matter. "Actually, speaking of promises and meetings... there's a letter we received some time ago. I hadn't mentioned it because you made it quite clear that you aren't exactly interested in maintaining contact with the Norse pantheon."

That caused Damon's expression to lose much of the interest it had shown until then. "It's an invitation to meet," Athena continued. "It comes from someone named Sif. From what I was able to find out, she seems to be a goddess of some importance within Asgard and, at least from the way the letter is written, she appears to be trying to act as an intermediary."

Athena didn't know too much about the Norse pantheon either. She knew their most important deities, some of their stories, and much of what had survived in the writings about them, but she had never had much reason to look deeply into their internal structure.

Damon dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand. "I have nothing to discuss with those people. Don't even respond." He still had a rather bitter taste in his mouth after his last few encounters with the Norse. In fact, it bothered him especially because he had originally expected to get along much better with them.

"Understood. Then I'll leave the request unanswered," Athena replied without arguing.

"Good." Damon rose from his seat and adjusted his robe slightly. "I think that's more than enough for today. I have things to do and a few people to visit."

He began walking around the table with the intention of leaving the dining room while Orion remained lying in his corner after finishing his meal. The wolf had barely paid attention to much of the conversation, but one name eventually registered in his mind.

Sif.

His ears rose and, after a few moments, he lifted his head. "Wait, Damon."

The redhead stopped halfway across the room and turned toward him, also drawing Athena's attention, who seemed somewhat surprised that Orion had decided to intervene at that particular moment. "What is it?"

"I know that woman," Orion replied, raising his head a little higher. "She's the mother of those Norse brats you have running around Camp Half-Blood."

Damon shrugged. "And? I don't see what I gain from meeting with her. For all I know, she could be another piece Odin is trying to move. Besides, Sif isn't even among the most powerful figures in Asgard, so her name alone isn't enough to interest me."

Orion couldn't say the reasoning was absurd. Considering everything that had happened between Damon and the Norse, being suspicious of any approach coming from Asgard was completely understandable. Even so, he knew Sif well enough that he wasn't comfortable leaving things there.

"She's a good woman," the wolf finally replied. "There was a time when she helped me survive even though she had no obligation to do so. If she's the one asking to speak with you, I seriously doubt she's doing this because Odin ordered her to move one of his pieces. I'm sure she has something legitimate to say and, even if she doesn't seem important to you right now, someone like her could end up being useful in the future."

Damon didn't answer right away. Athena, meanwhile, shifted her attention between the two of them as she processed a completely different part of the conversation. She knew Orion and his pack had some connection to the North, but she hadn't imagined their ties to the Norse pantheon were that direct, much less that he personally knew Sif. She would definitely have to remember that information for later.

After thinking about it a little longer, Damon finally let out a sigh. "Fine. Only because you're asking."

Orion showed just the slightest hint of his fangs in a small smile before resting his head back on his paws, apparently satisfied with the answer. Damon then turned his attention toward Athena. "Accept the meeting. We'll see what this woman wants."

"As you command, Lord Damon," the Goddess of Wisdom replied. Without adding anything else, the redhead disappeared from the dining room in a flash.

Athena remained looking at the spot where Damon had disappeared before slowly turning her attention toward Orion. The enormous wolf had already settled back down on the floor, apparently ready to return to his rest as if he hadn't just completely changed his king's decision.

"You must trust that woman quite a bit to have stepped in like that," the Goddess of Wisdom commented. One of Orion's ears moved in her direction. "I don't usually put my word behind someone unless I believe they deserve it."

"That doesn't exactly answer my question."

Orion opened one of his green eyes and studied her from the floor. "Damon and I have more history than you think, girl."

Athena remained silent for a moment before nodding. "I suppose that explains why Lord Damon took your word so seriously."

Orion let out a small huff. "If I tell him someone deserves to at least be heard, he knows I'm not saying it on a whim."

The Goddess of Wisdom understood the point and decided not to push any further. She would have the chance to meet Sif personally once she arrived at Olympus and, if she really was the kind of woman Orion claimed she was, Athena probably wouldn't take long to figure that out for herself. "Very well. I'll make the arrangements for the meeting."

Orion closed the eye he had kept open. "Do that, girl."

Athena gave him one last annoyed look over the way he continued calling her that before rising from her seat and leaving the dining room. Orion, for his part, returned to resting peacefully.

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what we gonna do to sif well you already know....??