Chapter 467: Gotta Go Fast

|This is the 3rd-person POV narrator, Perseus, speaking, I have taken over and captured the author under my will and have made an important revelation in today's special, it's canon information. I have also taken the liberty to release this chapter to the world as a Christmas and New Year's gift. Bye now, he's about to break free.|

|PERSEUS!!"|

|Oh, the tape has fallen off, gotta go fast.|

Perseus POV

The moment I stepped through the door, I sensed something was amiss. There she was, my parents, standing with a mix of worry and fury etched on their faces. Before I could even register what was happening, Mom Rylees had me kneeling in front of her, with Mom Nyra's grip firm as she pulled my ear.

"How could you keep something like this from us? Risking your life like that!" Mom Nyra's voice trembled with a blend of anger and raw fear, each word punctuated by the weight of her disappointment, which I could highly understand, "Risking your life like this! Becoming a celestial, do you understand the dangers? The risks? The possible consequences?"

"Yes, but I knew that you'd worry, s-"

"You thought you could just hide this from us? That we wouldn't find out?" Mom Rylee added and pulled on my other ear

"Well, if you could just let go and let m-"

"We're your family! You can't just go risking everything without considering the impact on us. Do you even realize how scared we were when we found out?" Mom Nyra then twisted the ear.

It doesn't really hurt physically, cuz you know, but I still winced to earn some sympathy and let them soften up a bit.

"I raised you to be smarter than this! To think before you leap into Dawn-knows-what reckless endeavor!" Mom Rylee exclaimed, "Do you have any idea the sleepless nights we've had worrying about you? The thought of losing you... it's unbearable!"

"I never meant to worry you. I just didn't want you to be afraid!"

"Afraid? We'll always worry! That's part of being a parent, but you shut us out, especially when it's something this serious? That's not okay. We're here to help, to support you, but you have to let us in!"

After a moment of silence, Mom Nyra spoke up.

"We'll always worry, that's what parents do..." she said quietly, "As much as I was to strangle and stab you 10 times over, you are still our son, our baby. You can't shut us out, especially when it comes to something this serious."

"I'm... I'm sorry."

"Good, because I am going to stab you, and if you break my knife, I'll strangle your life out myself."

*****

Buddy POV

The moment I slinked back to our bunker, my paws halted. There, in the midst of our familiar territory, stood a creature I'd never encountered before, a golden-hued dog, it's that Japanese dog whose name I forgot playing with Vince. Who was this newcomer?

Who was this golden imposter, and why did my owner's brother bring it here? My sleek body tensed, ready to confront this unwelcome guest. I watched as they played with a squeaky toy, their joyful barks echoing through the house.

Unable to contain my irritation, I let out a low, disgruntled growl. The intruder's ears perked up, and those soulful eyes met mine. For a moment, we locked gazes, and I swear I saw a glimmer of mischief in that golden gaze. It was then that I decided I had seen enough.

I ran to find Perseus, his brother had betrayed me.

*****

Perseus POV

I heard a knock on the bedroom door and I went and opened it, to see Rosa handing me a letter from Ruka. In her letter, she said that she trailed after her lead and Zach for days and found out that Zach was the soul merchant himself.

Zach, someone I'd come to somewhat rely on in the underbelly of the black market, had been unveiled as the elusive soul merchant, the very figure responsible for the heinous act of selling lives as if they were mere commodities.

The sense of betrayal lingered, tangled amidst the grim understanding of the harsh realities we navigated. But the focal point of my...harsh feelings right now wasn't Zach's dual life, it was the insidious dealings of the soul merchant. I have to put an end to the inhumane exploitation of lives for profit.

The heroes should be the ones dealing with this and I can force this on them, but having them know that Zach used to be a business partner of mine and me basically helping him fund some of his operations isn't good.

"Alright, we'll go and-"

"Ahem." Mom Nyra coughed behind me, "You promised to sleep in with us...remember?"

"But this is the soul merchant-"

"That can wait."

"I can go if you want." Rosa volunteered but I stopped her.

"No, you already did enough, I'll let you have some rest, you did good, don't overwork yourself."

"But-"

"Yeah, no but, you're grounded with me. Just rest."

*****

Buddy later rushed into the room and seemed a bit distraught, but my mothers already told me earlier about the dog, and I did my best to calm him down as I had him sleep together with us and he made me promise him to not get any other pets or animals in the house.

I then woke up in the morning and went to get breakfast, Ruka was there and I listened to her reports, wasn't much, but she gave me the location of Zach's secret hideout.

"You know..." she then looked down to her coffee, "You should try to loosen your aura up...it's quite...well...luckily it didn't affect your parents, but...um...if you can, please stop it, because if you don't, women will try to take off your clothes."

"Hmm...so Loki's trickster ability and silver tongue plus Satan's persuasion...results in this beguiling charm, huh...useful."

"You know what?" she got up and slammed the table, "I'm tired of waiting."

She then took out a paper and pen before handing it to me.

"Sign here, here, here, and put your fingerprint here." she instructed

"That's a marriage certificate, this is going to count as you asking me out, meaning that I'll win the bet."

"Yes, but I can't have myself coming last, so hurry up, I'll arrange your wedding with Leilah."