Chapter 899 Hermes’ Delight and Disappointment  

On the top floor of Babel, only the sounds that came from the screens could be heard after Koneko and Kuroka's victory over Aktzin.

And the one who broke that silence was Serafall with a bit of a disappointed tone, "So she couldn't use her attack-oriented form nor any of the special actions of any of her other forms, huh? There were even a few windows of opportunity where she could have used the 'Titan Slayer' of her Javelin form and could have ended it then and there, but she totally missed those."

Yoruichi shook her head, "I'm sure she saw some of those, but you see, she and the other girls have developed the bad habit of copying how Kisuke does things."

Serafall turned to her and asked, "Is that why you stopped all the sparring sessions and just let them focus on monster hunting?"

"I mean, there was already no point.", Yoruichi nodded her head, "Instead of learning something new, they were only getting used to us no matter how severe or strict we were. Even though we kept pouring on killing intent, they knew deep in their hearts that they wouldn't die, so they ended up adopting Kisuke's tactic of observing everything first before acting."

Serafall touched her chin and returned her sight to the screen, "I see... That only works because Ki-tan sees the situation differently and he's already anticipating most of what could happen. To those girls, it only ends up with them being frustratingly careful and hesitant."

"T-they're just, talking normally... And Aktzin could have been dealt with easier?" muttered Takemikazuchi on the side with cold sweat running down his forehead. Although he was significantly stronger than Aktzin, being a bonafide combat God, he was still very unsettled with the fact that someone could actually kill a God without being a Deity themselves.

Of course, all of the guest Deities had similar thoughts to him, but each were minutely different. Miach, while concerned, was largely relieved that one of the problems was dealt with. Ganesha, on the other hand, was also the same, but also full of interest with his eyes shining like the stars after witnessing that a mortal was capable of slaying a God. As a God of the Masses, he finds this incredibly uplifting, aside from being somewhat concerning, "Magnificent..."

In the first place, Ganesha already had a positive impression of the Hestia and Artemis Familia's because of the technologies that they provided to enrich people's lives. It was the main reason why he agreed for his children to join the expedition.

Ignoring him, Hephaestus could only sigh and say, "So it was to this extent. I already thought that Kisuke Urahara was extremely strange, but to think it extended to his entire group."

"You're not surprised?", asked Loki.

"I am. But I already expected something like this when he created those things. Even I, with my full capabilities as a Goddess, couldn't have forged a weapon that could potentially evolve to be on par with a Divine Armament, or even surpass it. The next time I see him, I'll ask him to make me one."

Not just the guests but also Loki and Freya were speechless at Hephaestus' remark. And why wouldn't they be? After all, she's one of the few Deities that forged some of the strongest Divine Weapons in Heaven.

"You're giving it too much credit, Hephaestus-sama. Soul Gears only grow stronger alongside its user and you can create those quite easily. Besides, Bell Cranel also received the same thing and it isn't as powerful as the one Koneko used.", replied Yoruichi with a small chuckle.

"Indeed. I could make one, but it won't grow to be as powerful as that. Even if it can only happen in a very specific situation and the rarest of the rare, it's still a treasure."

"Hmmm~ Should I also ask him to make me one?" Freya asked with interest.

"I'll definitely force him to give me one if Hephaestus is saying that," Loki muttered to herself.

At that moment, the extremely quiet Hermes finally made his voice heard, "Isn't this great?"

Yoruichi and Serafall turned in his direction with questioning looks, "Hmm?"

"This is great!" Hermes repeated himself while standing up, "With your strength, the last trial finally wouldn't be a problem! You can become the beacon of this world's inhabitants!"

Yoruichi and Serafall were obviously not amused at this God's musing.

"What? Are you actually worried that you won't be able to deal with that? Rest assured as you're undoubtedly the strongest beings in the Lower World aside from Gods themselves!"

Yoruichi clicked her tongue, "Tch... And I was wondering what you're going to say. Unfortunately for you, we won't do anything against the Black Dragon or any other trial that might come up from the Dungeon. It's not our place to interfere."

"...What?" Hermes was surprised, "B-but why wouldn't you use that power to save everyone?"

"First of all, we're not heroes. Second, as I've said, we can't interfere with that." Yoruichi then looked straight into his eyes that were already glazed with craze, "Third, do you actually know what happens after the world is 'saved'?"

Stunned and shocked, Hermes didn't actually know the answer to that. All this while, he thought that after taking care of the biggest threat, it'd be the revival of the Age of Heroes and prosperity would come after. But with how Yoruichi worded and toned her question, it seems that there was more to it.

Yoruichi smirked at his obvious response and continued, "See? You actually don't know beyond what you're expecting to happen. Why don't you ask who you are working for about it? Ouranos or Zeus? Either way, it's very obvious that you only have a half-assed knowledge of things going on."

"W-what are you saying?"

This time, it was Serafall who replied while looking at Loki and Freya who has a small smile on their faces, "Well, we don't really know what's going to happen either, since all the Gods who seem to know about it don't want to say anything, not even to their fellow Gods." Returning her sights back to Hermes, Serafall continued, "But that doesn't mean we didn't do any investigation, so we have some guesses. If we're not wrong, the moment this world is 'saved' it'll be the moment it'll end."

Hermes wanted to say more, but before he could speak, a Magic Circle appeared underneath him and he was forcefully teleported outside of Babel.

Yoruichi looked at Serafall who looked annoyed, "You actually lost your patience?"

"I just really hate people like him who move in the shadows and act as if they know everything. Most of the time, they start an even bigger problem that everyone else has to deal with and I'm surely not doing that favor for him."

Serafall just sighed and returned her attention back to the screens, more specifically at Akeno, Irina, and Osiris's battle, with the former two already laying on the ground with a pool of blood while the Deity still had no significant damage done to him, "They lost, huh."

"Nothing can be done about that. He was a really bad match for both of them."