Loki pursed his lips when he saw Victor's message. The god of lies had to say this man was really cool, he was arrogant to the point of provoking one of the strongest beings around, but at the same time, he wasn't insufferable like Thor, where when the opponent was weaker, the thunder god's arrogance was even more evident.
Not only did Loki feel that way about Victor, but Freya and Susanoo felt the same. As two warriors, they could understand where Victor's confidence came from, and honestly, if they had feats similar to Victor's, they would also be confident.
Never in history had a man or woman risen from the bottom of the scale of power and gone straight to the top, becoming one of the most powerful beings in the world in just a few short years, and just this achievement alone proved how monstrous he was.
'A martial talent that surpasses even a God of War...' Freya thought analytically. Now, she regretted a little that she had let her arrogance cloud her judgment.
She should have stopped Loki with his teasing the day Aphrodite said she was bringing a guest, a guest even Aphrodite herself had told them to treat cordially.
Although she was not as guilty as Loki, she still bore some of the blame for not stopping him.
Victor: Loki, I want to talk to you.
"Huh?" Freya was so surprised by this message that she stopped for a few seconds to read it again to see if she wasn't imagining things.
'Why does he want to talk to Loki?' She questioned herself. Frankly, Victor and Loki's relationship wasn't good right now, they weren't so hostile towards each other to call each other enemies, but they weren't friendly either.
While Freya was thinking about why Victor wanted to talk to Loki.
The god of lies himself was sweating like a pig waiting to be slaughtered right now. If it was earlier, he would have responded with his usual arrogance and ignored what he did to Victor in the past, but he couldn't do that now.
The reason why he couldn't do it?
Victor had become too strong.
Strong enough to rival the strongest gods in his pantheon.
He could play pranks in the past with Thor and Odin because he knew both gods would indulge him.
But such a thing was not going to happen to Victor.
Yes, the god of lies was afraid of Victor.
A normal reaction for those who felt the 'despair' when Victor unleashed all his power.
Even the gods were afraid of the unknown, and to the gods, Victor was just that, the unknown.
They just couldn't understand the puzzle that was Victor. How did this bastard that suddenly appeared become so monstrous?
Realizing he was taking too long to reply, Loki carefully typed: Loki: What do you need from me, Demon King?
Victor: I am aware of the conflict between Helheim and Asgard.
"..." Loki opened his eyes in shock. The way he worded it indicated that he knew 'everything' about what was going on and not a few things like the other pantheons knew. How does he know that? When that thought popped into his head, his next reaction was to roll his eyes.
"Of course, he is aware. After all, his wife is bloody Aphrodite." He's wondering why his IQ wasn't working properly when he was talking to Victor. Normally he wouldn't be this surprised.
After thinking a bit, he understood why he was reacting like this: "I'm still thinking of him as a mortal..." He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
How can such a monster be a mere mortal? He really punished himself now for the gods' prejudice towards mortals.
'I must regard him as a god. I must regard him with the same level of importance as Odin, which means the same caution in dealing with Odin is necessary.'
If there's one thing Loki was good at, it was changing mindsets. After all, as a god of lies, he was a good actor, and he could play roles with maximum efficiency.
Victor: I want to talk to your daughter. Do you have a way to talk to her?
Loki unconsciously went on the defensive,
Loki: Why? Why do you want to talk to my daughter?
Victor: She is the leader of Norse Hell, and I am the leader of Biblical Hell. Is there a reason beyond that?
Of course, Loki didn't believe Victor's words. He needed to think about it carefully and understand Victor's intentions since Hela's situation now in Asgard was delicate. Destroying Bifrost using a damn dragon had the effect of causing that in a pantheon; everyone was wary of her, even Odin.
If it was in the past, Odin would go down to Helheim and ask [demand] that she do something, or even hand over the dragon if it was a normal dragon.
Odin could do this because he knew where Hela's loyalty lay. She was Asgard's ally, even if Asgard did nothing to nurture that alliance.
But now that's not possible anymore, Hela wasn't taking Odin's shit anymore, and she had a dragon eager to eat the old goat's divine ass if he tried to force her hand.
NÖðhöggr was not a normal dragon. He was a serpent dragon that was one of the beings that were waiting for Ragnarok, a beast of the 'END', capable of threatening everyone if not handled with care.
Loki: I'm sorry, but I don't trust you. If you don't give me a good reason, I can't take you to my daughter.
Loki typed with the intention of extracting more information from the conversation with Victor.
Victor: Hmm... Okay.
Loki waited... He waited for 20 minutes, but no message from Victor came again.
"Huh?" He did not expect this development. Normally, when someone wants something, shouldn't that person negotiate? Why was he silent all of a sudden? What manipulations is this man trying to play on him?
Loki: Why are you silent?
Victor: You seem to get something wrong, Loki.
Loki: Huh?
Victor: There is no negotiation. There are no manipulations. I asked you something, and you asked me something back. I answered your question, and you didn't answer mine.
Victor: That's just it.
"..." Is that the attitude of someone asking for something!? Loki has never seen anyone so disrespectful before!
Loki: How is this not my problem? She is my daughter! I have the right to decide anything regarding her!
Victor: ... Are you blind, Loki? When did I say this is not your problem?
Victor: Although you're right, that's not your problem. Hela is an adult, Loki. A thousand-year-old adult goddess. I'm sure she's competent enough to make a decision for herself.
Loki was speechless with this man's attitude. How dare he decide what's best for his daughter!?
Freya: I know I shouldn't get involved in this conversation, but the Demon King is right, Loki.
Loki: Freya!? Are you on his side!?
Freya: I'm not on anyone's side. I'm just making my point. Remember that Hela didn't need your permission when she descended to the roots of the world tree and traded with the dragon of Ragnarok.
Freya: She is no child. Odin is proof of that; he underestimated the queen of hell and paid dearly.
Loki: She's a child!
Freya: A child would never be able to do that!
The chat group exploded with conversations between the two Norse gods.
Looking at this, Victor couldn't help but think: 'For a god of lies and cunning, he's quite overprotective of his daughter... Although I can understand that feeling a bit.'
Despite understanding the feeling, Victor did not share the same feeling. Because of his overprotection, he became paranoid and interpreted his messages as hostile or something.
"As expected... Freya was going to side with you this time." Aphrodite commented as she sat next to Victor in the rest area with a view of the sky.
"You talk like they're always at odds, Aphrodite," Victor said.
"Believe me, in the past, Freya couldn't see Loki, or the god of lies would risk his life. He is not well-liked in Asgard. But thanks to my friendship with them and the chat group, they manage to get along without Freya wanting to kill Loki all the time."
"Hmm ~, looks like the god of lies has more enemies than I thought."
"You have no idea." Aphrodite laughed, "But I think Loki does it on purpose."
"What do you mean?"
"He is the god of lies and deceit, his specialty is distraction, and he does this always to keep the attention of most gods on him and not on his children."
"Jörmungandr, Fenrir, and Hela, the three children of Loki...
Loki must have the genes to make abominations. At least that's what the gods think, huh."
"Yeah ~" Aphrodite laughed in amusement as if she remembered something: "Despite being beautiful, the goddesses avoid Loki like the plague. After all, none of the goddesses wants to give birth to an 'abomination' that can turn them into enemies of Odin."
"Hmm ~, I almost felt sorry for him just now."
"Really?"
"Nah."
Aphrodite laughed even harder in a sensual, gentle voice. She laughed like that for a few seconds before her expression changed to a solemn one.
"Darling, you know I'll always be there for you. Even if they are my 'friends' whom I trust, I will still value our relationship more."
Victor raised his eyebrow: "... No need to beat around the bush, Aphrodite. Just tell me your thoughts."
Aphrodite's pink eyes look into Victor's violet eyes for a long time. During all that silence, the two were lost in their own connection feeling each other's emotions.
"For you, I would easily abandon my friends, you are my love, and I will protect my love."
"But... It would be great if you didn't antagonize Freya and Loki too much."
Victor rolled his eyes, "Aphrodite, I'm not so petty as to hold a grudge for a long time."
"That is a lie."
"..." Victor opened his mouth to say something but then closed his mouth, his lips twitching a little.
"Haah ..." He sighed, "Okay, I hold a bit of a grudge against Loki, but I'll try not to antagonize him unnecessarily unless he gives me a reason to."
"For me, that's enough." She smiled gently, "I know you won't put up with Loki's shit, and Loki himself knows that, so he'll be more careful around you, not to mention that now, you're stronger than him, even if he gets angry he will be much more meek than before."
"Not to mention that due to the current situation in the world, we need allies in various pantheons."
"Mhm." Victor was not a child. He knew how to differentiate when to be professional and when not to be.
As a king, he learned that lesson, sometimes you have to make an alliance with the enemy to keep the enemy closer to you so you can watch them.
Keep friends close and enemies closer.
Despite understanding this, one thing Victor wouldn't change was those who harm his bottom line, which was harming his family or trying to control him. They would always pay the price.
And Loki did the latter, even if it was meant as a 'joke'; he tried to control him, and he didn't like it one bit.
He was nobody's pawn. He was the leader of his will, and his blood boiled just thinking about that encounter. If it weren't for his consideration of the woman who was his wife, he would probably be thinking about possible revenge in the future. Seeing Loki and Freya arguing in the chat group, Aphrodite asked:
"Anyway, why did you ask Loki about Hela? Hadn't you made a deal with Viviane?"
"Oh? You know it?"
"Mhm, Viviane came to me for help with the mouse, and I overheard the details of the conversation."
"Is she in trouble?"
"That's not it; she came to ask for help from my connections specifically. She wants to get some nuts that the mouse is very fond of. This nut only exists in the Egyptian pantheon."
Victor's lips twitched: "He's a mouse, and he likes nuts?"
"He's also a squirrel... Most of the time." Aphrodite muttered at the end of the sentence.
"... He sounds troublesome." Victor snorted.
"Indeed."
"To answer your question, I was just looking for other alternatives in case I fail with Viviane's option."
"A second option, huh..."
"Mhm."
"Do you think Loki has something that can move between realms?" Aphrodite asked curiously.
"He is Loki, the god of lies, someone who takes pride in playing tricks on the gods. It would be illogical for him not to have something that can move between realms. In fact, it
would be weirder if he didn't have a way to do it."
"...." Aphrodite couldn't argue with Victor; what he said was something very Loki-like.
"Ugh, if Alexios could use his powers to bypass the barrier that surrounds the pantheons, I wouldn't have to do this." Invading hell is very different from invading a pantheon full of gods.
The scale of the difficulty was completely different. The moment Alexios touched the barrier surrounding the Norse pantheon, Odin and Heimdall would immediately notice the invasion.
"Hmm, if you need him, why not leave the matter to me? He is very defensive due to his situation, so if anyone asks anything about Hela now, he will react very defensively."
"At least you could treat him more 'gently' so he'll let his guard down," Aphrodite adds.
"You've got something wrong. I don't need Loki. If Viviane's contact doesn't work out, I'll look for other ways. If I don't find other ways, I'll come in by force. I have my ways of doing that; I just didn't want to cause unnecessary conflict."
Victor was already seen as an enemy of the world, and his infamy could be used against him by the gods who were afraid of him, which is why he didn't want to cause big problems that could turn against him.
"The reason for acting the way I do is that I've met someone like Loki before, and that's the right thing to do when dealing with a treacherous liar like him."
"Oh? Who was it?"
"Zagan, a cunning and treacherous demon." Victor frowned as he remembered the demon. He was the perfect picture of a merchant who couldn't be trusted.
"Ugh, that demon, huh."
"Have you met him in the past?"
"Yes, he tried to deceive me by selling a cheap product in exchange for the ambrosia of the gods." Aphrodite frowned as she thought about that encounter.
"I see ... That sounds like something he would do." Victor nodded.
Victor looked at his cell phone again: "Back to the point. To deal with these kinds of beings, we need to demonstrate superiority and authority from the start and not fall for their sweet words."
"Loki is a lot like Zagan. If I were 'nice', he would get the wrong impression and think he's in a position of power, which is extremely wrong thinking."
"Throw a trap, and wait for the mouse to walk into the trap voluntarily, huh." Aphrodite could understand Victor's reasoning. To be honest, looking at Victor's circumstances, that's something she was definitely going to do.
"Hela might be powerful with that dragon, but we don't know if she controls that dragon or not. It would be presumptuous of us to think that anyone can control an ancient dragon like that beast."
"So it is logical to think that she's isolated in Asgard, all the kingdoms of Asgard are against her, probably only the frost giants or the fire giants could ally with her, but that scenario is unlikely to happen since if Hela allies with the frost or fire giants, she would be branded as an enemy by Odin, and forces would quickly be dispatched," Aphrodite spoke her thoughts aloud.
"So a second force is needed to balance the game," Victor added.
"..." Aphrodite opened her eyes wide when she heard what Victor said:
"You're crazy, Vic. If you take such action too soon, you will truly become the enemy of the world."
Victor just grinned widely.
"I really have Diablo to thank."
"...." Aphrodite raised her eyebrow when she noticed Victor ignoring what she said.
"He has prepared so many plans for so many years. I, as his rightful successor, will reap the fruits of his labor. I really must thank him ~." His smile changed to a gentle one. It was as if he was talking about someone extremely close to him, like a brother.
"Do not worry, my brother Diablo, I, Victor Alucard, will follow your will and carry out your plans. Those usurpers who betrayed and killed you will pay for their crimes." He spoke in a fair, confident tone as if he were an older brother who wanted revenge on the man who killed his younger brother.
'Diablo is definitely turning over in his grave right now.' Aphrodite rolled her eyes, questioning her husband's sanity now. After all, he was the one who killed Diablo! Why was he acting like he wanted to avenge Diablo?
"Darling, Darling! The cinema is ready!" Violet barged into the rest area. Unlike her unclothed state when in the bathroom, she was wearing a white robe with the Snow Clan crest on it.
"Oh? That is good! Tell everyone, and those who desire to participate should go to the room."
"Yes, Sir!" Violet spoke like a soldier and then ran back to the bathroom.
"Aphrodite, can you speak with the goddesses?"
"Mhm ~, okay, I'll go talk to them." She nodded.
"Good." He smiled in satisfaction: "I think I should invite my generals as well." He grabbed his bag and pulled out a interaction orb.
...
Edited By: Davo 2138, IsUnavailable
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