Chapter 442: All Alive

"What… is Solomon doing here?"

The light emitting from Van slowly dispersed as he stared at the ship that blanketed the entire sky. There was no mistaking it, it was the ship that Athena and the others should be on. Did Pontiff Irin already have them even before coming here?

No. If that was the case, then he would have definitely heard at least something from Athena. So that would mean… her people were able to drag them all the way from their location in the time they've been talking?

"..." No, there was no use thinking about that right now– he had to make sure everyone was safe.

"Before you do anything, I did not harm any of them."

And almost as if reading his mind, Irin spoke up before Van could even take a single step,

"And you also do not need to go to them, I am bringing them all here… completely safe."

And as soon as Irin said that, she raised her fist towards the ship… and very slowly opening it. And almost at the same time; almost as if imitating the way her fingers moved…

…Solomon, the spacecraft that was half the size of an entire small planet; in which the people of Vivati and all the best minds combined spent months building to be perfect– installed with an energy shield that could withstand a nuclear bomb…

…opened up like a flower.

"Please don't do anything," Irin breathed out as Van was about to rush away, "I have complete control of my abilities, but if you suddenly interrupt me– even I do not know what will happen."

"Van… that is your name, right?" Demeter placed her hand on Van's shoulder; her blood that seemed like amber, leaving a mark on Van's dark suit,

"It's… alright. You can trust the girl," she then muttered as the wound on her hand closed,

"She means well. She is better than her predecessors."

"With all due respect, old lady," Van scoffed as he shrugged Demeter's hand off,

"I don't even trust you."

"..." Demeter could really only close her eyes and sigh; still, she did not seem to take offense as she only took a step back, before looking at the almost thousands of people that were floating in the air.

And without saying another word, Demeter leaped out of the window– letting herself fall towards the almost endless sea that filled the horizon. And as soon as the toes of her feet touched the surface of the sea… the entire horizon instantly became a field of ice.

She then once again raised her head to the sky; her eyes, following only a single silhouette as it slowly descended from the sky. Her feet, following the silhouette until it landed right in front of her– Vanya.

"So… it's true."

The two didn't know each other; Vanya was extremely confused from having been pulled from the colossal ship along with the rest of the thousands of people in it. And yet, as soon as she saw the eyes of the old woman that greeted her, she felt a sense of familiarity.

"...Demeter?"

"You… know who I am?" Demeter then took in a small but very deep breath as she heard Vanya uttering her name.

"I've… heard stories of you from mother," Vanya nodded before her eyes started to scan the sea of ice they were on. The Solomon was previously just hovering above a planet's orbit a while ago, but then they suddenly found themselves being forcefully dragged away.

Athena and the others tried to find a way to fight the torrent of whatever was pulling them since they calculated that they were moving to one of the two Vessels; but alas, try as they might, it was almost as if there was an unstoppable and invisible colossal hand wrapping around the Solomon.

The only thing they could do was watch as they entered one of the Vessels. And soon, they found themselves on some sort of planet filled entirely with water…

…and now, they are here.

Whatever brought them here, Vanya knew that it was someone stronger than even Athena, much stronger; the fact that they were helpless proved that.

"You… heard stories of me?" A small and very gentle smile crawled on Demeter's face as she looked Vanya straight in the eyes, "I suppose your mother told you all about our history."

"..." Vanya didn't really answer as she just nodded. She was about to say something, but before she could do so, a small silhouette suddenly leaned out from behind her.

"Oh?" Demeter quickly kneeled as she saw a little girl that also looked exactly like Artemis when she was younger, "And who might this young one be?"

"..." The little girl only looked at Demeter's face for a few seconds, before once again hiding behind her mother.

"Yra, don't be rude. Demeter is fa—"

"Get the fuck away from my fucking family!"

And before Vanya could finish pulling Yra out, the vast sea of ice beneath them suddenly cracked; Gerald, already only meters away from Demeter with his fists already locked. There were more than a thousand of them there, and each one of them was as confused as the person next to them.

All of them were just keeping their quiet; watching and trying to analyze the situation first by watching Vanya and the old lady that suddenly talked to her interact. Gerald, however, was trying his best not to do anything drastic.

But alas, as soon as he saw Demeter trying to talk to Yra, he could no longer help himself as he rushed toward them.

"!!!"

But as he was only about a couple of meters away from Demeter, a tall figure suddenly blocked his path; adorned in full golden armor and a proud scar plastered on his battle-worn face— Ares.

Ares thumped his chest, causing a ripple to shatter the ice beneath his feet. And as Gerald was only a meter away from him, he stretched his arms to the side and smirked.

"...Tch," Gerald only clicked his tongue as he tightened his muscles even further. In truth, he was only going to push the old woman away; but since this giant of a man seemed to be provoking him, he would be more than happy to oblige.

Gerald pulled his arm back as the air around him distorted from the sheer heat his muscles were emitting. And then, with the release of his breath, he slammed his fist right on Ares's face.

"!!!"

Demeter and Vanya quickly formed some sort of barrier to entrap the visceral and colossal shockwave that exploded from Gerald's punch. But even then, some of the force was able to seep from the barrier; causing the entire small planet to tremble.

"Gerald, enough!"

And before Gerald and Ares could do any more damage, Vanya quickly stepped between the two; pushing them away from each other. Demeter also did the same, pulling Ares away and carefully restraining him in a cage of ice.

"They're family!" She then said as she placed her hand on Gerald's chest to prevent him from doing anything else.

"Family?" Gerald let out a scoff as he stepped back, "You think so too, be— Evans?"

"No, they're not."

"Father!?" Vanya quickly turned towards where Gerald was looking, only to see Van already standing there; his eyebrows, completely lowered as he seemed to be focused on Demeter and Ares, "You… you're here?"

"..." Van didn't really answer Vanya as he remained staring at the two Olympians, "They're not family. I've seen how they treat one of the Pontiffs— Demeter and the others are already completely on the World Eaters' side."

"...There are no sides here, Hermes's bastard."

Another voice joined in; calm, quiet, but almost like a thunder that reverberated everywhere. Everyone standing on the sea of ice could really only turn their eyes and once again watch in awe as a man… seemingly drowned and engulfed in a torrentous barrage of lightning slowly descended from the sky.

"There are always sides," and while the rest were looking at Zeus as he landed on the sea of ice, Van only let out a small scoff as he shook his head, "Your daughter taught me that."

"Not this time," Zeus breathed out as the lightning that seemed to be crawling throughout his entire body disappeared; finally fully revealing his face that seemed aged, but still very much dignified and filled with authority,

"The Systellions have proven that— peace that spans more than a million years," Zeus stretched his arms to the side as he took in a deep breath, "Achieved because the Systellions made sure that there was only one side."

"A million years of peace achieved by the death of trillions of people." This time, it was Vanya who spoke,

"My mother would not approve of such a thing," she then said as she looked at Demeter while making sure Yra was behind her.

"Your mother was an advent of—"

"There are no deaths."

And before the conversation could continue, Athena, who was nowhere to be seen since earlier, finally showed herself.

Van was going to run towards her, but chose not to do so at the last second… as he noticed that Pontiff Irin was walking closely behind her.

"...What are you saying, Athena?" Van whispered.

"...No one dies, King Evans," Athena shook her head as she slowly approached Van, before holding him by the shoulders as she looked straight into his eyes, "Pontiff Irin showed me--- they were alive, the people of my universe. Even the inhabitants of the Seraph's universe…

…they were all alive."