IV - A Teeny-Weeny Little Favor

There are 12 gods and goddesses revered by everyone from all walks of life. No matter who or what you are, it is a given that you must have a piece of in-depth knowledge about the 12 divine beings that oversee the world.

The first is Deus, ruler of the gods. His domain is that of light and power, solidifying his position atop the throne.

The next is Sera, Deus' wife and queen of the gods. Her domain is that of life and procreation. While many thought of her as weak, James knew firsthand just how horrifying her powers could truly be.

After that is their child, Ara. Goddess of love and protection. She is the most popular of the bunch, especially amongst kids and love-seeking men and women.

Deus also has a brother, Fhor. The god of judgment and wisdom, revered by law-abiding citizens and feared by criminals and the other scum-of-the-earth.

Fhor's wife, Mayana, is the goddess of war and fire. She is Deus' right-hand woman, second only to him in terms of power and combat strength.

Fhor and Mayana have three children. The eldest is Pico, the god of peace and fortune. His domain is a stark contrast to his mother's, which is why they hardly ever get along.

Their middle child is Boku, known by his alias 'The Cold One'. He is the god of ice and snow, and he always got into fights with his mother. Rumors say that he disappeared from the council of gods decades ago. No one knows where he is now.

Last but not least of the children is Noe, the magus goddess. It is said that she was responsible for gifting the mortal plane with magus cores and creatures, for which she was punished by Deus.

The last 4 gods are less active, yet still equally important.

Opho, god of disasters. He originally went against the council but joined their ranks after he was beaten by their collective effort. Not even the strongest of storms or earthquakes could beat a bunch of gods with their own powerful domains.

Bon, god of hard work and perseverance. Not really a god most revered, but one prayed to often by workers and those about to undergo immense trials.

Xyra, goddess of shadows and darkness. Her powers are nearly equal to that of Deus, yet she shows no interest in taking the crown. She spends most of her time alone in her castle doing gods know what.

And finally, Jurus. He is the one god full of mystery. The reason for this is simple: no one knew what he was the god of. Plenty of people had met him in person or even accepted a quest from him, yet not a single one of them managed to figure out or even guess what his domain is.

James finally opened his eyes as he shifted back into a rigid stance after his mocking curtsy, gritting his teeth at the goddess who gave him his curse. That goddess was none other than the divine queen herself, Sera.

Sera gave him a thin smile, her pearly whites reflecting the last rays of the setting sun right into his retinas. She was beautiful, terrifyingly so. Her hair was pink like a lush azalea, the smooth and fluffy tufts done up in princess curls. She had an elf-thin figure that contrasted heavily with the regal aura she exuded, its overwhelming fragrance invading James' nostrils.

Her aura was supposed to smell like your most loved thing in life, although James was pretty sure he was an exception to the rule. All he could smell was summer and flowers, two things he hated. He disliked summer because the gods awful heat always made it such a pain to walk outside, and flowers because he was allergic to pretty much all of them.

Sera stepped closer, the disappearing sunlight bouncing off her impeccable porcelain skin. Her effervescent rose eyes locked onto James' own as she came closer, stopping once they were within arm's length of each other. She coughed softly while smoothing out her silky red tunic before opening her mouth to speak.

"I assume you know why I'm here?" Her soft yet shrill voice bounced off the brick walls surrounding them, burrowing inside James' ears as his brow furrowed at the question.

"Um... no? Why don't you grace this mortal puppet of yours with the reason, Your Majesty?" James bit back, his words laced with sarcasm.

Sera's eyes narrowed at that, James' hair standing on end as sparks of magus flitted across her eyes. As quickly as it appeared, the sparks disappeared, Sera calming down as she tutted and shook off her anger.

"Do you mean to say that I have not contacted you like this in any of your previous lives?"

At that, James frowned. It wasn't often that something new happened that he hadn't already known about or experienced in one of his previous lives. Most of the time it was just slight changes; like the name of a store being different, or a small event happening on a different date. But a visit from his least favorite goddess? Now that was a first.

"Yep. This is a first for me," James shrugged as he replaced his frown with his signature troublemaker grin.

"That's... concerning," Sera murmured, clicking her tongue as she did so. "Well, we'll just burn that bridge once we get to it."

James rolled his eyes at the use of the word 'we'. Gods had a tendency to use that word a lot, but what they actually meant was more along the lines of 'you, you, you'.

"So, what is it that you want from me? I'm not sure if you're aware, but I'm quite busy at the moment." James glanced back up at the dark sky, well aware of the fact that he was way behind schedule.

Sera's mouth curved into a smile as she beamed at him, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Oh yes. You do seem quite busy... running around and getting lost in the middle of the city at night. Not to intrude or anything on your 'very busy schedule', but I daresay you're in dire need of assistance."

The goddess' chuckling and the man's grumbling served as a suitable answer to her inquiry.

"Think of it this way. We'll scratch each other's backs. You handle my problem, and I'll handle yours. Deal?" She stuck out her hand, the radiant and unblemished skin glowing as if beckoning James to accept.

"Why can't you just do your thing yourself?"

Sera groaned at that, a very peculiar noise to hear from the usually dignified goddess. "You know the rules, James. We gods can't interfere with mortals, but you can. Which is why I'll take care of your complication. Now, do we have a deal?"

James' eye twitched as he stared at her hand, before ultimately giving in and shaking it.

"Good boy. Now hand over your gun."

"What?" James backed up from the goddess, his right hand reaching behind his back to make sure his gun was still in his possession. This time it was Sera's turn to roll her eyes as she snapped her fingers and the gun appeared in her hand.

"I can't have you run an errand for me unprepared now, can I?" As she said that, her finger hovered just under the gun's grip, right where the intake hole for its magus power boost was. Like a sapling bursting out of the earth, a tendril of light wriggled its way out of Sera's pinky before zooming into the hole.

The runes on the gun's platinum surface started to glow a shade of pinkish-gold, the engraved signs pulsing with power as Sera flooded it with her divine essence. The gun started to shake and quiver in her hands, a bead of sweat trickling down James' face as he imagined his beauty of a gun exploding from the surge of energy. Noticing this, Sera cut off the flow of her essence, the gun settling down as it miraculously managed to absorb the divine energy without blowing up.

With a smug grin on her face, Sera handed James the glowing gun, its runes steadily pulsing like a warning light for all its soon-to-be enemies.

Muttering a word of thanks under his breath, James tucked the gun back where it belonged before facing the self-satisfied goddess.

"So, what's the thing you need me to handle?"

Sera just gave him a lopsided grin, one that was eerily similar to the ones he did. "Nothing too big. Just a teeny-weeny little kerfuffle that I need you to handle." She held up her hand, pinching her thumb and index finger together while keeping them slightly apart, just enough to create a tiny gap.

----------*line break*----------

News flash. It was NOT 'a teeny-weeny little kerfuffle'.

James huffed and puffed as he ran past rows of abandoned houses. His eyes glancing upwards at the brewing clouds in the sky, threatening to make his bad night even worse.

It turns out the goddess' idea of a tiny little problem was trying to steal back her necklace from a group of bandits. She had apparently left it behind at one of her temples a couple of years ago, and needed it for an upcoming godly banquet. When she came to get it, however, she was informed by her priestesses that her temple had been ransacked and looted a few days prior. So that now led to James attempting to sneak in and steal back the necklace from what could only be called a small army. He had been able to steal the necklace just fine, the sneaking part... not so much.

"Fuck you, Sera!" James growled, clenching his fists and shaking his gun at the sky as he yelled out obscene profanities. He was interrupted by bullets whizzing over his head, his anger at the goddess momentarily put aside as he ducked into a nearby building.

James surveyed his surroundings, noting that the building used to be a potions store. There was probably a basement where the alchemist who ran the place brewed potions, so he hopped over the wooden counter and barged through the door behind it, disturbing the rats and spiders that made their home in the abandoned building as he did so.

He hurriedly rushed down the wooden stairs, taking it two steps at a time. The rotting planks threatened to give out on him as they squeaked and bent with each step. Reaching the bottom, he jumped onto the stone floor and noted the structure of the room.

There were lots of clutter and scattered items all about, making the already cramped room even harder to maneuver in. None of the bandits would be able to use their large weapons, as they would only get stuck in the small space. And they wouldn't be able to use their guns either, as the bullets had a chance to ricochet off the mossy stone walls and get shot right back at them.

They would be limited to fists and daggers, which was exactly James' kind of fight. He tucked his gun back behind him, making sure to still keep it handy as a last resort.

Heavy footsteps and loud thumps echoed from above him, and James got into his fighting stance in anticipation of the coming fight. In just a few seconds, five burly men walked into the cramped room. They all sported similarly fashioned attire; a dark leather jacket over a simple shirt, paired with light yet durable thieves' boots and flexible grey pants. None of them had any weapons on them, and James realized that the loud thumps he heard earlier were the sounds of them dropping their gear.

A balding man with a scar running down his left cheek stepped forward, and James recognized him as the leader of the bandits. The leader flashed him a toothy grin as he gave him a once over, before signaling his men to surround him.

"Give us the necklace, boy. If you do, you can leave here with only a dozen of your bones broken," the leader sneered at James as his men laughed along maniacally.

James just smirked and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out the shiny piece of bling for the bandits to see. "Oh, you mean this thing?" He held the necklace in his hand, the shiny rose-gold chain holding a wide collection of multi-colored gems fashioned into glittering hearts.

With a dramatic flourish not even the greatest of theater performers could recreate, James tossed the necklace into the air, arching his neck to catch it as it slipped onto him perfectly.

"If you want it, then you'll have to pry it off my dead fucking body."

The bandits growled as they held up their fists, their leader sneering as he ogled the necklace hanging from James' neck.

"So be it."

No further talk was required as the bandits launched themselves at James, the latter smiling as he faced them down with a wolfish grin.