Chapter 130: Great God War II (IX) - A Hopeful Return

[Haruki Hotaru POV]

"Are you ready King Haruki?" Amaterasu looked at me as she holds what appears to be a small star.

It was bright and hot, but it seems that she was controlling the heat and light to stop it from blinding and burning me. Nevertheless, even if she's trying I could still feel the it slowly burning my skin away.

"Yes... I'm ready..." I answered trying my best to not directly stare at the small star.

"What gonna happen is that I'm gonna return you to your body, so be prepared because it would feel like you'll have a heart attack once you go back to your body." She touched the star slowly with her fingers, poking and pointing each of the small solar storms coming out of it.

Amaterasu was different from before, she looks more serious now once she has confirmed that Asherah's older sister was still alive. Of course, that squabble that I had with her made her lower her guard more toward her, but even so I could still notice that she was still shaken of the sudden appearance of Asherah's older sister.

I don't know how powerful she is but if it's enough to make Amaterasu herself to tense up around her, it's enough proof for me to know that she's not someone I cannot easily underestimate.

Asherah may be wicked to the core, but she's not the type of person to make her enemies suffer, and just experiencing her older sister power and pride I know how much of a sadist she is just basing on her personality.

Also, talking about Asherah, I don't know what to feel anymore... Before I found out that she was using me as a tool for her schemes she promised to talk to me again once the battle is over.

Looking at what happened right now it would become an awkward confrontation, well for me at least. I still remember when she didn't even care once I first called her wicked, so I can see that she just made it like nothing happened.

But I want to ask myself, do I trust her or not now that I found out that she's only using me as a tool for whatever it is she's planning. Some part of me is saying not to trust her but the other is saying I should.

I still don't know what she's planning so I can't really give a proper answer to that question, but I know someone who might though. "Hey Amaterasu, you're the one who found out that Asherah was using me, right? So do you know what she's planning for me?"

"To be honest with you that answer of mine to her older sister was just a guess, I just trusted my luck to see if my suspicion is true and as you see my hunch was correct."

"I see..." So it's all just a guess on her side.

"Enough talking, are you ready now King Haruki? Remember to stay calm, because it'll give you a massive headache along with slight dizziness once you go back to your body."

"Okay, but... Will you come with me and help us? Right now, I don't even know if we can win the fight."

Susanoo and Tsukuyomi are both fighting Yú Húang and Zeus, Bishamonten is fighting Sun, Lucas and Zephyrus commanding the army against Zhao Yun, and Luna and Dawn are both trying their best to guard my body against Freyja.

Right Freyja, Asherah said that Freyja was the one who sent me to her, but just from what happened an hour ago that whole ordeal about the Valkyrie Mist, so it appears that was all a lie.

But... It feels like I'm missing something though... Was that really all a lie? Knowing Asherah, I know there's a reason why she blamed the Valkyrie Mist.

Amaterasu looked down on the floor in dismay. "I still have something to attend to first, so you have to do your best to fend off against them until I return."

"Okay, then I'll tell them to do their best."

She looked back at the small star in front of us, her eyes were stern her long black hair was moving around slowly. "My mother Izanami-no-Mikoto, the Goddess who creates and the Goddess who empowers death, as a request from your daughter I ask you! May you guide the lost soul of Hotaru Haruki and give him the strength to fight back!"

The star spun very fast, the light coming out of it became brighter and brighter every second. I could feel the heat of the star engulfing my whole body, it wasn't hot enough to burn my skin but it was hot enough to make me lose my consciousness.

It was about 10 or so minutes that I was unconscious, I opened my eyes slowly and saw a bleached white world.

Everything was white, there was no land, no sky, no life; no everything... It was a strange feeling of isolation.

Every step I take, every footprint I lay down, nothing changes... It was all the same bleached world.

"May your soul find where it truly belongs..." A whisper came at the same time a strong wind blows.

I looked around to where it came from and saw nothing there. "Who are you..?" I whispered.

The wind blows again. "I am..." The voice stopped.

And again another wind came in front of me, my eyes closed from the blow of the wind and upon opening it again I saw what appears to be a female ghost.

"She who invites..." A strong gust of wind started blowing me away as soon as she spoke.

She who invites huh? The name Izanami-no-Mikoto when translated to English would result to the phrase "she who invites", but what does it mean?

Is the Goddess Izanami inviting every life on Earth to her beloved country? Or is she inviting life on Earth to her shrine? For me, I believe it is something more beautiful.

She's inviting me to beat the crap out of the Gods together.

***

[?∆? POV]

There he goes to set to another brawl again...

The King of Demons Haruki Hotaru, son of Jarren Hotaru and Xuntea Hotaru, what is it perhaps that made me interested in you?

Is it because you're like me? A Hero but at the same time has the blood of a demon flowing through our bodies.

That might be the case, after all both of us are unique specimen that was accidentally created by coincidence that the Gods themselves didn't even notice it.

Yes, that's all what we are... Nothing but coincidence... You might've been planned by Asherah to be one, so I cannot really call that coincidence, right? But for me, I'm something much different.

As you can see Haruki Hotaru, I am like you but at the same time I don't. I may not able to explain to you face to face, but when the time comes of our meeting I'll tell you everything there is in my life.

All I do now is sit here in my house waiting for fate to make actions for our meeting, though I cannot really rely on fate that much. After all, fate is nothing but coincidences like us.

Fate shouldn't exist like us, because how can a demon become a Hero at the same time? That's quite absurd isn't it?! Every religious people, no, even those who have no faith would be in denial that a demon can become a Hero.

We are nothing but fakers, fake beings that should never exist, still... Why do both of us exist? Why can't the Gods fix bugs like us in their own game?

Is it because they're not powerful like every books and scriptures say they are? Or is it because we are bugs that can make their game unbreakable?

No... I already know that answer to that, this whole ordeal of the Great God War is nothing but a simple game for them, but after years of continuous developing their game perfectly, we came... The first-ever bugs that has managed to ruin their perfect game.

It's laughable, isn't it? You, Haruki Hotaru the second bug in their game managed to catch the Gods attention, but me the first one haven't made a single God to come crawling down on my feet.

Well, there's one God who did but when you appeared, that attention immediately faded.

This is why I've always envied your existence Haruki Hotaru... I'm not the type of guy to be envious of someone, but that all changed when you came.

Now I finally understood what Leviathan has been feeling all the time, for thousands of years of your life, even when you were still a fetus in your mother's belly, I've envied your entire existence since then.

But how is it possible though? Why am I envious of you even if you're still a powerless fetus, well that's because of one thing Haruki Hotaru.

I may not be someone to brag about it, but unlike those pathetic beings known as Gods, I have one thing that they don't have.

I have a skill named clairvoyance, I can see the future Haruki Hotaru and I know what will happen to you and your friends from every year that will happen.

So that's why, if we see each other face to face I know your greatest weakness that you, your friends, and the Gods don't even know existed.

Haruki Hotaru, son of Jarren and Xuntea Hotaru, once we meet, once we've seen each other's faces, I can kill you in many ways.