PHASE 66 - TRAINING MONTAGE FOR GODDESSES AND IDIOTS

The archive room’s air was filled with dreading seriousness.

“Are you sure that there is a spell that can counter all seven God Cores?” Rikkun asked.

“Not all. There is a way to prevent Helena from using some of the God Cores at her disposal. She will stay as a threat, but the spell I know will be our first step to victory.” Key said in a straight tone.

“And how can we do that?”

“. It is a secret spell from the ancient Egypt that is used to seal gods by tethering a God Core with another God Core. If we are able to do it correctly, we can chip down Helena’s divine powers one by one. And when she’s weakened, that will be our chance to deliver the final blow.”

“So you’re saying that we need God Cores to disable her God Cores?” Rikkun said.

“Precisely,” Key said in a monotone. “One is to one God Core.”

I counted the God Cores at our disposal. We have Goddess Cores of Hel, Venus, and now, Haliya. That makes three. Helena has seven. We can seal her God Core in a one-is-to-one ratio. So seven minus three is…

…Uh...

I can’t do my quick maths here! Wait, let me use my fingers!

“There’s still four God Cores on her disposal. That’s still big trouble.” Rikkun said, saving me from the trouble in computing easy math on my dumb brain.

“Actually, there will be only three left,” Key said as she revealed her right hand. Particles of light gathered on top of it and then, it shaped a glowing pink Quintessence. It’s a Goddess Core.

“Key-chan, you…” I muttered.

“Apparently, I discovered that my main prana source is the God Core of Athena embedded in my body. It must have been implanted in my artificial heart by my creator so that I can become a perfect Gate Guardian with multiple abilities being powered by a Greek God Core.” Key explained.

“You’re amazing, Key-chan! I knew that you’re special!” I clapped my hands. Rikkun’s face is also filled with amazement and slight disbelief. But he’s impressed, nonetheless.

“Once the four goddesses use the against Helena at the very same time, there will be only three God Cores left. The last time we fought her with three God Cores, Kristoff died.” Rikkun said in a worried tone. “Do you still think we have a 50% chance?”

“Yes,” Key said. “Tiara can turn into a demigoddess and use to absorb the rest. You, Alaric, has recently unlocked the new power of the , is it not? And also, Heushac is preparing a secret spell that can be used exclusively against his sister. So our chances of winning are 50.32% to be exact.”

“Woooooow!!!” I cheered once again. “You really sound like you know everything!”

“Of course,” Key said in a monotone. “ is granted upon unlocking the powers of Goddess Athena. I know every knowledge that has been recorded by humans since the Age of Gods. It’s like I can have access to a much reliable Wikipedia website by tapping invisible wifi on my brain.”

Hearing Key-chan’s deep words makes me look like a potato. An old useless potato that must be buried underground for being so stupid.

“So we’ll do that spell then!” Rikkun pumped his fist as he smiled. We both looked at each other and nodded.

“Not so fast.” Our goddess of wisdom destroyed our overconfidence. “I still have to teach the Goddesses on how to cast the . That will take at least a week to master. Since there are roughly two weeks left, we have plenty of time.”

<>

The next days of this week, the four goddesses (Eliseo/Lord Venus, Emily/Lord Hel, Asumi/Lord Haliya and Key/Lord Athena) dedicated their whole time training. Key-chan, or Lord Athena to be precise, is the one who taught them how to cast our trump card which is the spell .

Key-chan is quite strict on her guidance. They will start training at dawn and she wouldn’t allow them to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner if the goddesses failed to do what they are instructed to do. If they complained about it, Key-chan wouldn’t think twice to project a blaster on her hand and give them an electrifying beam.

Even the middle-aged Asumi-nee looks like a first-grade pupil in this type of Athenian Education… that seems more like a Spartan way of learning.

<>

Heushac is back to being mysterious. After school, he would go home early, not wasting any time for idle chit-chat with his friends. Key-chan said that he’s preparing for a secret spell against his sister, but nobody seems to know what it is. If I ask Rikkun about it, he would just say “I don’t know, that’s why it’s called a secret.” then he will shrug.

But we all know is that Heushac is working hard behind the scenes. And he’s taking it way seriously. He must be feeling guilty for what his elder sister has done to innocent people.

<>

Two days have passed.

I was astounded when one night, the two dearest boys in my life talked in private under the moonlight. For some reason, my twin brother also invited me so that I can hear his words that are only directed to Rikkun.

“Here. Take this.” Diadem revealed a red diamond from his hand. “It took me a while to recover it from the Black Cross, but now I have successfully retrieved it.”

“This is…” Rikkun muttered as he took the gem from Diadem’s hand.

He exerted his prana to materialize the weapon, and the red diamond was filled with crimson light. It slowly shaped into a curved red katana with black linings on it. To be precise, it is Diadem’s Weapon Gem back when we fought him several times in the previous year. There is no way Rikkun would ever forget such a terrifying weapon that wounded us and killed three of his friends.

“That is my katana Weapon Gem.” Diadem said. “I have sullied my hands with that dirty blade. I already took a lot of lives with that thing, including your friends.”

“Why are you giving it to me?” Rikkun said.

“I want you to hold onto it, and promise that you will never let my hands touch that thing again. I pledge myself from now on not to wield a weapon, and I shall now continue my duties as a Gate Guardian without the aid of a Weapon Gem for the rest of my life. And that will be my atonement for my sins.”

“Idiot.” Rikkun laughed. The blonde knight inspected every inch of the blade as if he’s counting the souls that have been stabbed by it. Then he smiled. “I’ll show you how to use this sword in the right way. Then, I’ll return it to you, and we’ll have another rematch.”

Diadem was awed at first, but after a moment, he returned the smile. “Fine then. I’ll be waiting for it.”

Then they made a handshake. In the background, I can be seen smiling at both of them. I can’t believe that a day where my twin brother and the man I love would be this friendly to each other. Well, they have been friends for a week now, but seeing them shaking hands gives me happiness on a whole new level.

The atmosphere became awkward and weird when Diadem started to sing a familiar song.

“Alaric is my friend~ Oh I’m grateful that I have met him~”

“What the f-” Rikkun’s words was cut down before he was able to finish.

“D-D-Diadem!?” I shrieked. “You know the Friendly Handshake Song too?”

“Of course.” Diadem innocently tilted his head like a puppy. “I used to own mother’s children books.”

“Weirdness really runs on your bloodline.” Rikkun muttered.

I made an angry glare at my boyfriend, which made him flee like a scared kitten.

<>

I also did my own training too. Every night, I would go to the waterfalls and meditate. Using my I activated my ability to each and every cell of my body to gather life energy from the water that passes through me, the fresh air I’m breathing, and the static energy of the rock where I’m sitting.

My ability has grown stronger since I unlocked my Demigoddess powers. I have stored enough energy to match the power of a single God Core in just meditating for fifteen minutes. It’s a new achievement! I have never acquired much nature energy before.

I stopped my meditation when I sensed some kind of irregularity from the water coming from up high. The source of the singularity comes from the peak of the falls.

I jumped out from the stream of water, and when I looked up, I saw the silhouette of a mysterious human. My eyes are quite nearsighted, so I decided to open up my ten wings and fly upwards.

To my surprise, it was Rikkun.

And he’s doing something that he shouldn’t be doing.

“T-Tiara!?” Rikkun exclaimed as he immediately closed his zippers.

“R-Rikkun!? A-Are you peeing on the water?!” I shrieked.

“A-Are you meditating under the waterfall?!” He answered with another question.

…

There was a whole ten-second silence.

After that, I decided to break his nose.