Chapter 106 - Through The Gates Of Heaven

Chapter 106: Chapter 106 - Through The Gates Of Heaven

As the light of his dismissal spell faded, Vincent landed softly on the cool grass of the backyard at his mother’s estate.

He stretched his arms high over his head with a satisfying pop of his joints and braced himself for the usual ear-splitting, squeaky noise from a certain green dragon...

"Hmm...?"

Only to be met with silence.

"Eugene?" He reached up to his shoulder... empty air.

He patted his pockets. Nothing. He checked behind his back, looked under his boots, and shook out his sleeves. Still nothing.

The realisation hit him like a brick wall.

"Oh... Oh no. I left him behind..."

He stood there for a moment, imagining the chaos the tiny dragon was currently causing without anyone to keep him on a leash. Well, all except for his two minions, Leo and Zally.

’Haaa... Yeah, no... he’s their problem now. Can’t go back even if I wanted to. Oh well.’

Satirely wiping his hands clean, Vincent turned toward the patio, calling out as he pushed open the glass doors. "Mama! Nat! Dee! I’m back!"

The moment his boots touched the floor of the living room, a streak of luminous golden light blurred across the room.

"LITTLE BIRD!"

Before Natasha could even clear her seat, Deina out-sped her, throwing her arms tightly around Vincent’s neck and pulling him down hungry, welcome-back peck kisses.

"Hey! Save some for the rest of us, titty goddess!" Natasha strode over and grabbed Deina by her shoulder, tugging her backward. She immediately stepped into the open gap, wrapped her arms around Vincent’s waist and pulled him into her own kiss.

"Vinny~ Don’t forget about mama~"

Maribelle glided over with a fond, motherly smile. Leaning in, she planted a sweet, affectionate kiss of her own. Beside them, Deina and Natasha gave Maribelle a deadpan stare that practically read they’re used to seeing this at this point.

A short while later in the loving room, Natasha and Deina sat glued to Vincent’s sides on the long sofa, each clutching one of his arms tightly.

Vincent turned his head toward Natasha and asked. "So... about Roosevelt. Did you know ’he’ was actually a ’she’?"

She shifted awkwardly, looking away with embarrassment. "I... I had no idea until Mari told me right after you were summoned away. If I knew, I never would’ve sent her here to apologise to you."

"Pfft—hahaha!" Deina burst into a fit of teasing laughter, reaching past Vincent to poke Natasha’s burning cheek. "Oh, Nat~! To think you had a secret, stacked tomboy fan!"

"Shut up, Dee! Stop laughing! It was an honest mistake..."

Maribelle sat across from them, taking a slow, smooth sip of her tea before dropping a casual flex. "Heh heh heh. The moment that child stepped into my garden, I knew. A mother’s eyes see right through those poor, struggling chest-bindings beneath her uniform. They were fighting for their life."

As she chuckled, she looked around the room, noticing something different. "Wait... where’s Eugene?"

"Yeah... about that. I kind of forgot about him. He’s still back on Pristina."

"Oh... What a shame. I had new clothes for him to try on."

’A dragon wearing clothes...? Yeah, let’s not picture that.’

The easygoing atmosphere gradually quieted down as Vincent’s expression turned serious.

"Guys... It’s time. I got a full one-week off from Maelle. It’s time I head to meet up with the Earth’s god and negotiate what it is he wants in order to sync the times between our planes."

Natasha raised an eyebrow, squeezing his arm. "Why a week, V?"

"Logistics. While roughly seven days will pass for all of you here in the Divine Realm and on Pristina, only about an hour to an hour and a half will pass for me on Earth. That’s the exact window I need to make a deal with the Earth God and handle any hiccups that pop up.

"If the negotiations end early and the clocks are officially locked in, I want to use the remaining days to spend some quality time back home before Maelle summons me again."

Deina offered a supportive smile, resting her head against his shoulder. "Go, Little Bird. Fix the issue to all our problems. I... I will keep myself steady right here waiting for you."

Natasha grinned, bumping her shoulder against his. "And if that Earth God gives you a hard time... kick his ass and force him to do it. That guy’s weak."

"Hahaha. Will do, Nat."

..........

A short while later, they arrived at the golden gates. The stern female Way-Guide stood waiting beside the podium with her stamp in hand.

Natasha, Deina, and Maribelle walked him to the edge of the glowing magic circle.

Before stepping on, Vincent noticed the quiet sadness lingering in Deina’s golden eyes.

A fond smile touched his lips. He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out the jewelry box he had bought at the dwarven smithy, and held it out to her.

"Dee, here. I immediately thought of you when I saw this... so I got it for you."

Taken aback, she carefully took the box and popped the latch open.

Inside rested the exquisitely crafted golden drop earrings, featuring tear-shaped blue sapphires.

Her widened eyes shimmered and a tear slipped down her flushed cheek as she held the box. "Hehe... I was wondering when you were finally going to get me a present like Nat’s... Thank you, Vinny. I will treasure them forever."

With a confident grin, Vincent turned and stepped into the center of the shimmering transport circle. He looked at the Way-Guide and nodded. "I’m ready. Set a course straight for the God of Earth."

Raising her golden stamp, she slammed it onto her ledger with a loud–

CLACK!

SHEEN!

A pillar of celestial white light erupted from the runes, consuming Vincent completely as he was launched into the dimensional void.

.......

"This is... just like before."

He floated through an endless, weightless white expanse – a sensation strikingly similar to the day Maelle had first summoned him to Pristina.

Moments later, the white void dissolved, and his boots touched down onto solid clouds.

Vincent looked around at the boundless, cloudy realm featuring infinite blue skies and a series of massive, looming golden gates stretching into the distance.

"Huh? Same, same... But different."

Clap... Clap... Clap...

"Well, well, well... You finally made it."

Vincent turned his head toward clapping resounding from the gate.

Walking toward him was a human man wearing a tailored black suit, casually twirling a sleek black baton between his fingers.

The man stopped, lifting his black shades up and squinting as he took a good look at Vincent.

"Wait... you’re supposed to be our trump card? You look like you’re the exact same age as those two brats behind me."

"... There’s no one behind you."

"I meant beyond these gates."

Vincent stared at him, having zero clue what this random guy in a suit was babbling about. "Uh... what?"

The man let out a sigh, resting his hands on his hips with a charming smile. "Welcome to heaven, ’o great ’demigod’..." He raised his fingers to make air-quotes around the word "demigod".

"Are you... Peter?"

"What? No. Who’s Peter?"

"Never mind. Listen, I’m kind of on the clock here, pal. Show me the way to God."

"Now, hold on just a second, ’demigod,’" the man interrupted coolly, holding up his baton. "To reach the Almighty, you must prove your worth by beating me and five other Guardians of–"

"I don’t have time to prove anything. I have to meet God now."

The man offered an apologetic smirk, dropping into a sparring stance. "My apologies, kid. But rules are rules. Now... put ’em up."

Vincent’s jaw set. "Screw your rules."

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

Right then, he erupted into his full Divine Form. Glowing blue hair flared wildly, celestial eyes burned with a blue ethereal light, and his majestic divine wings fanned out behind his back with a thunderous shockwave that split the clouds he stood upon.

"Well, golly..." The man in the suit froze in awe at the sight.

Before the guy could even process what was happening–

BWOOSH!!!

Vincent shot forward like a blue meteor...

CRASH!!!!!!

... and burst straight through the golden gates blocking his way.

The man in the suit was left standing in a swirling of clouds. His baton hung limply from his fingers as he muttered in shocked awe, "...Well... damn."

...

Flying at absolute, breakneck speed, Gate 2 eventually came into view.

Standing guard in front of it was a towering, silent Greek gladiator wielding a massive shield and a sword.

Seeing a blinding blue streak accelerating toward him, he gritted his teeth and planted his shield firmly to absorb the collision.

As the blue meteor got closer, the gladiator felt the heavy pressure of Vincent’s aura hit the hit senses. Every survival instinct in his soul screamed a single word: Move.

Listening to his gut, he quickly dove to the side.

KABOOM!!!!!!

Gate 2 was shattered into millions of flying dust particles.

The gladiator looked down at his hand holding the shield. It was trembling. He slowly clenched it into a tight fist until the shaking stopped, letting out a breath of relief that he didn’t take on the impact first hand.

.....

Up ahead, Gate 3 appeared.

Standing before the third gate was a ninja dressed in sleek, midnight-black shinobi garb.

Seeing the blue comet charging in, the ninja performed a rapid sequence of hand signs.

POOF! POOF! POOF!

A dozen shadow clones materialised, leaping into the air to intercept Vincent in mid-flight.

However, Vincent didn’t bother dodging, changing direction, or slowing down. He pinned his wings back and plowed straight through the clones like a bowling ball through pins.

KABOOM!!!!!!

He blasted straight through Gate 3, leaving a gaping, burning hole in the center of the bars.

The real ninja appeared behind the wreckage, his clones dissolving into smoke as he stared at the destruction in utter disbelief.

........

Without taking his foot off the gas, Gate 4 soon came into sight.

Standing at the fourth gate were a pair of punk siblings – a boy with punk blue hair and a girl with neon pink hair.

Looking up at the approaching blue streak, the sister tilted her head. "Is it a bird...?"

The brother squinted. "Is it a plane...?"

""No, it’s–!""

BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

""WAAAAHHHH!!!""

Vincent zipped right between the two of them at supersonic speed.

The violent wind pressure sent both siblings spinning wildly like Beyblades across the sky, as the fourth gate exploded into dust behind them.

The two of them crashed onto the clouds, their heads spinning.

"That was... awesome..." the sister slurred, rubbing her head.

"Y-Yeah... But he’s dead meat once he reaches the last gate."

......

Finally, the fifth and final golden gate appeared in the distance.

Kneeling quietly in front of the fifth gate was a strikingly cool, breathtakingly beautiful woman wearing a traditional red-and-white Japanese hakama. Her long dark hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and her hand rested serenely on the hilt of a katana.

Sensing the blinding speed of the blue comet approaching, her sharp eyes snapped open.

In a master-level motion, she rose from her kneeling position, dropping into an flawless iaijutsu draw stance.

Vincent didn’t halt his momentum for a single second when–

SHING!!

The woman unsheathed her blade in a blinding arc – but Vincent flared his wings at the last moment and dodged her precise slash by the skin of his teeth.

KABOOOOM!!!!!!!

He crashed straight through the fifth gate, blowing it up into smithereens.

The woman remained frozen wide-eyed in her draw stance as the gale-force shockwave swept past her, sending her dark ponytail fluttering wildly in the slipstream.

Then, calmly, she sheathed her katana and dropped back into a neat kneeling position on the cloud, closing her eyes as nothing happened.

......

Blasting through the remnants of the fifth gate, Vincent broke through the upper cloud layer into a tranquil, infinite white realm holding a single quiet, floating wooden pavilion.

Inside the center of the pavilion, sitting on a plush cushion... was a small white cat.

SHWOOSH!

"MEOW?!!!"

At Vincent’s sudden, sky-shattering entrance, the white cat startled wildly. Its fur puffed up and it jumped three feet straight up into the air. Vincent marched straight into the pavilion, picked the white cat up with both hands, brought it right up to his face, and screamed at the top of his lungs:

"WHERE IS GOD?!"