Thursday, June 1st, 2045
Netherian Secret Base, Nineveh, Iraq
Dozens of miles to the east of the Ancient Nineveh city, in an underground compound, which was first built at the beginning of the 20th Century, a few people sat inside a control room which was filled with screens, surveillance feeds, and other data that Iseul was keeping tabs on.
At a rough table, Keith sat looking at the tablet which held some information about the targets they planned on hitting in the next few days, and the targets that had been hit last night by the forces of Purgatory Island.
The war had finally begun, and it was Hades who made the first move.
"The situation is getting very tense." Julian frowned as he looked through the details of last night's attack.
"Senpai, the Werewolf venom has taken effect." Iseul suddenly said but Keith only nodded and raised his head to look at Julian and Naomi. "Scared?" He playfully asked.
Since the two of them requested him to take them along, his entire Cell was present in Iraq now.
Only Zor was not at the base as he was busy with his tasks in another part of the country.
"No, Captain." Naomi resolutely shook her head and smiled. "To be honest, I am itching to beat up some puppies."
"We shall see." Keith chuckled at her words and then looked at Iseul.
"Iris, has Erra conveyed his forces yet?"
"No, Senpai." She shook her head.
"Looks like he is looking forward to meeting Hades tonight." Ian, who was quietly looking at the screens spoke. "But since Hades has already made his move, given Erra's temperament, I doubt that he is planning on sitting down and having a dialogue with him."
"Of course." Keith chuckled and then secretly sent Isuel a set of coordinates from the tablet, which belonged to a location in Syria.
He had used the System Points to know what Erra was planning, and the Warmonger was indeed planning something fun.
Without saying or asking anything, Iseul monitored the place with the satellite, not letting anyone else in the room suspect anything.
"Hey, Ian."
"Yes?" The man turned to look at Keith and raised his brow.
"Want to go and meet Hades and Erra tonight?" He playfully asked as he put his tablet away.
"You are going to reveal our presence?" He frowned.
"No." He shook his head. "So, want to come along?"
"No, thanks. I am staying here." Tronten shook his head.
"Suit yourself." Keith shrugged and then stood up. "Hodur is the chosen Arbitrator, with Abuzar and Ashur as witnesses from the Babylonian side. Hades only has Aphrodite as a witness tonight. So, I can go and be the second."
"I thought Hermes was going to be his second witness." Ian frowned.
After all, Hermes was usually a Witness at every Arbitration that took place in the last century.
"He's not coming anymore." Keith smiled and then left the room.
He walked down the tunnel and arrived in a room where Yingying and Minami were sparring with each other, and they both stopped as soon as he arrived.
"Get ready." He said. "We are going to Van, and we are going to attend an event there."
Two hours later, the three of them, now wearing disguises and different clothes, arrived at the Ninevah Airport, where they got on a scheduled plane to Istanbul.
Even though their disguises were perfect, Keith still used his magic to make them unnoticeable, and even on the Plane, the Hostesses and the passengers did not look at them.
There was already a plane waiting for them at the Istanbul Airport, and they got on it before removing their masks and changing into evening dresses.
As expected, their arrival caught a lot of attention at the Van Airport from the members of the Underworld Society.
But there was nothing they could do other than inform their superiors.
A team organised by Hermes stepped forward and bowed to the three of them, and then took them to the Lake-Side Castle where the Arbitration was going to take place.
"Lord Erebus!" An old man with pure-white hair and a pair of very dark glasses stepped forward and bowed to him.
"Lord Hodur." He smiled and nodded before politely continuing. "I hope you don't mind me coming to your house unannounced."
"Of course, not." The old man laughed. "Lord Hermes informed me a few hours ago that you would be attending the Arbitration in his stead."
"Are they here?"
"No. Lord Hades and Lord Nergal have not arrived yet." Hodur informed him. "Lady Aphrodite is here, and so are Lord Ashur and Lord Abuzar."
He has just said that when the three people he mentioned walked out of the castle to greet him.
"Lord Erebus!" The two men greeted him first with a bow and he nodded to them with a smile.
"Lord Erebus!" Valerie bowed to him, and then curiously looked at Minami.
"Aphrodite." He acknowledged her presence before he looked at the two Inheritors of the Babylonian Gods.
The Inheritor of Ashur was a tall young man, almost as tall as him, and quite handsome with black hair and dark eyes. On the other hand, the Inheritor of Abuzar was an interesting fellow.
He was quite old, one of the oldest Inheritors in this world, but he looked like he was a sixteen-year-old boy of average stature with brown hair and light brown eyes. And he exuded a sense of joy and happiness that could put everyone around him at ease.
But it was given. After all, Abuzar was the Inheritor of a God of Light, Peace, and Life. And funnily enough, his real name was Abuzar too.
"What piques your interest, Lord Erebus?"
"You will be leaving us soon, Lord Abuzar. I am just curious if you plan on Initiating it today or in the coming few days."
His words surprised the other Inheritors who incredulously looked at the young man, but Abuzar now had his eyes narrowed at Keith.
Even though Keith had not explained his words, they all understood that Abuzar had reached the limits, and there was no point for him in staying in this world anymore.
The Inheritor of the Babylonian God of Light, Life, and Peace had already started submitting himself to the Divine Law of Judgement.
"You have sharp eyes," Abuzar commented but then smiled again. "I will leave in a few weeks" He admitted.
"If you don't mind, I would like to be there to bid you farewell." Keith smiled. "I haven't seen someone ascend before."
It was true, and Keith was genuinely curious about it.
"You are welcome." The boy brightly smiled, not showing any hesitation, and then looked at the others around him, who seemed a little agitated as well. "You are all welcome. I planned on throwing a party anyway."
"Thank you, Lord Abuzar." Aphrodite seductively smiled at him, and Hodur was happy too.
However, the inheritor of Ashur seemed a little disturbed by the news.
It was understandable, after all, with Abuzar gone, only he and Erra would be left in this world.
Erra would leave too in some years, and then he would be left all alone here. The only member of his Pantheon.
Though he could leave too, any time he wanted to, he was very reluctant to do it.
This world was a haven for them, which provided them the time to grow. If he left now, his time in the Lower Heaven would not exactly be easy, not as easy as what Abuzar was going to have. And he was well aware of the dangers that surrounded Mortal Gods in Heavens.
"Please." Hodur suddenly said and gestured for them to enter the castle.
Since Keith had not had lunch, he informed Hodur about it and the Mortal God immediately had a supper prepared for all of them.
"Lord Erebus," Valerie finally couldn't keep it and spoke.
"Yes?"
"May I ask who this lady is?" She looked at Minami and asked.
The rest only respectfully glanced at the girl in question. They too were curious since they could sense a constriction from the young girl, which was something strange as they could not sense any Divinities protecting and guarding her as theirs did.
She was not an Inheritor of some God, and yet her presence constricted their hearts.
"Her name is Minami, and she serves me as my maid." He informed them, not really giving out any information since they were already aware of this, but then he playfully said something that made their hearts tremble. "However, she's a Princess and my daughter."
"What?" Valerie confusedly looked at him and then at Minami, not understanding what he could mean by those words, but Keith did not speak again.
The rest thought over his words and concluded that she was just special to Keith and he had adopted her. After all, they were well aware that the Inheritor of Erebus was still in his early twenties.
No one said or asked anything about it again, and Keith was not going to answer them even if they asked.
"Excuse me." Keith politely said after he finished his meal.
"Lord Erebus." Abuzar suddenly spoke, and Keith looked at him. "I invite you to a cup of tea later tonight."
"I will be there." He did not think much about it and nodded with a smile before leaving the dining room with Minami and Yingying.
A maid led them to the room that was prepared for them, and Keith simply went to bed without a care.
