"...Master?"

Van quickly pushed Latanya away as her two glorious melons threatened to drown him down. Although he was used to Latanya being somewhat proactive with her advances, never once was she this clingy… or child-like.

​​

Her sharp and high-pitched voice even echoed throughout the hallway of the castle, something which Latanya would never do before… Just what exactly happened to her?

"I have waited for your return, Master Van," Latanya then kneeled on the floor as soon as she was pushed away by Van, "I hope you forgive me for my actions. It is just that when I woke up, you were no longer there. The only thing that was left was this deep longing I have for you."

"...Are you okay, Latanya?"

"Ye--"

"This woman speaks our language," before Latanya could say another word, Athena curiously approached her, also kneeling on the floor as she scanned her from head to toe, "But I have not seen you even once… but I feel a sort of connection to you. Do you recognize her, Artemis?"

"She has a familiar scent, but I can't quite tell where we might have known her from," Artemis furrowed her eyebrows as she too scanned Latanya from head to toe.

"It is enough that you recognize her scent, that would mean that she is indeed one of us," Athena nodded her head before turning towards Van, "Is this the woman you speak of that we would recogni--"

"Who are these women, master Van?" Latanya then quickly got up from the floor as she embraced Van from behind, causing Van's head to be pinned in between her to colossal melons, "You were only gone for a month and you already have concubines? My, my."

With Latanya lightly trailing her fingers on his chest, Van could not help but let out a sigh. This was at least something that the Latanya before would do, so a certain relief slightly showered Van. But after a few seconds, he looked at Athena,

"You said she was speaking in your language?"

"Our language, King Evans," Athena quickly said, "The language of the Olympians."

"...Oh," Van then turned his head upwards to look at Latanya, "Since when do you speak… Olympian, Latanya?"

"What do you mean, master Van?" Latanya blinked a couple of times as she looked at Van, her eyes showing a little bewilderment, "I have always spoken this language."

"...But they said that no one could understand you here. You were speaking in English, Latanya."

"That's weird, I would know--"

"And you are also calling me Master… just what happened to you while you were unconscious?"

"Isn't it only natural that I call you Master? I am your property."

"What? What are you say--"

"As I have told you before, my son. She will be a part of your wings."

Before Van could finish his words, a certain voice traveled effortlessly through the hallway. Even without seeing who it was, Van's eyebrows already lowered as his breaths slightly started to solidify, causing his voice to go lower.

"Are you still on about that, Evangeline?" Van breathed as he stepped forward, looking at Evangeline straight in the eyes as she slowly walked towards them, "Or should I say… Azrael?"

"So Angela truly has told you everything," Evangeline's slightly exasperated sigh whispered into Van's ears, "But you misunderstand, I am not Azrael. Azrael is dead, I am but an organic replica, a splinter of what she was. I may carry all of her memories, her goals, and her thoughts, but I can never be her."

"..." Van did not really respond to Evangeline's words as he just looked to the side, letting out a slight scoff.

Evangeline then turned her eyes towards Athena, staring her straight in the eyes, "And welcome to you, Olympians. But I can't say it's a pleasure to have you in my son's world."

Athena did not really say anything as she just returned Evangeline's glare. Although they were in a war for almost a hundred years, she did not truly hold a grudge against them, as they too, were just victims of a war that wouldn't have happened if the Olympians just kept it in their pants.

"But I am afraid we would have to intrude," Athena said without breaking eye contact with Evangeline, "We have made your son our King, after all."

"He will be more than just that," Evangeline quickly replied as she slightly stepped forward, "But it truly is beyond my expectations that your kind did not die by my son's hand, a very unfortunate development."

"The abilities of new gods are always unpredictable. My universe has birthed many a gods, and each is unique in their own way," Athena said as she too stepped closer to Evangeline, "I suppose we can call it fate that your son would end up as our messiah."

"Messiahs usually die for the sake of someone else, my son will do no such thing while I breathe," Evangeline slowly started to float in the air as her eyes looked down on Athena, "Your kind truly should have perished. Perhaps it is actually fortunate that you are alive now so that my son wouldn't have had to sully his hands by killing you…

...I will end your sorry existence by myself."

As soon as Athena saw the aggression growing in Evangeline's voice, she quickly summoned all of her weapons, filling the entire hallway with thousands of weapons.

"Enough!"

But before anything could happen, Van's roar thundered through their ears, "We did not come here to fight with Evangeline, Miss Athena."

"...As you say, King Evans," Athena then waved her hand, causing all of the weapons she just summoned to instantly disappear, "We are here to recover the body of our kin, Seraph. Perhaps we could work together on this?"

As soon as Evangeline heard Athena's words, her expression quickly shifted as she dropped back to the ground, "What do you mean?"

"If I am right, then Hermes's body should be in the hands of the Circle?"

"Did Angela also tell you that?" The tone of Evangeline's voice completely changed.

"No, I deduced it on my own. Why else would someone with your power go through all of this when you could just plow your way through that puny organization. You created it, you should also know that they are not capable of fighting you. So there is only one reason that someone like you would be this careful in approaching them…

...You're doing this for love."

"...What?" Van could not help but react and blink a couple of times as she heard Athena's words.

"Hermes's body should be fragile… and your mother here does not want anything to happen to him."

"You speak as if you know my plans, Olympian."

"Because I do," Athena shook her head as she let out a short sigh, "Because I would have done the same."

"I do not need your help in this, everything has already been set and determined. You are welcome to the castle, Olympian… but do not overstep your bounds."

And with that, Evangeline turned around. But before she left, she pointed at Latanya, "That's the Staff of Asclepius, it fell when Hermes and… Azrael were fighting. Convince my son to absorb her, it is the least you could do while you are here."

"Wait."

Evangeline was about to leave, but as soon as Van said a word, she quickly stopped in her tracks and turned towards him, "What is it, my son?"

"They said you had a prisoner… Skylar?"

"...You know of her?"

"I have seen her in my visions," Van said, "...and I think somehow, she saw me too. Just what is she?"

"My sister," Evangeline said, "A cumulation of Feathers that materialized… a new wing, as well as Andrea's biological mother."

"...Andrea's what now?"

"It is not for you to know these things, my son. Stay away from the Circle and just focus on getting stronger, this one is my flight to cross and not yours."

And with that casual but heavy revelation, Evangeline just left.

"...Did she just ignore me the whole time?" Artemis, who was quietly standing on the side, finally could not help it anymore as she approached Van and Athena.

"That is a possibility, yes," Athena quickly nodded, "There is no denying that she abhors us deeply, we would have probably tried to kill each other if King Evans was not here."

"But that was truly intense, was it not?" Athena let out a long and deep sigh as she looked in the direction Evangeline disappeared into, "She definitely smells like one of the Seraphs… but you…"

Artemis then turned her head towards Latanya, "Were you truly owned by Asclepius? I thought the staff was with Apollo?"

"I am owned by no one but Van," Latanya quickly replied. Van was still unaware of why Latanya was acting this way. He didn't think he would ever say this, but he preferred Latanya the way she was before. Was some kind of influence awakened inside of her?

"Knowing Hermes, he probably stole it from Apollo," Athena let out a sigh.

"...But the staff is Apollo's only memento of his son, he even went to war against Father for it."

"Knowing Hermes, he probably did it unconsciously," Athena once again let out a sigh, "But what exactly should with do with it… her? How is it even possible that the staff manifested into a human?"

"...Didn't Hephaestus dropped something on your leg and it became--"

"Do not speak a word of that!"

"Guys, enough," Van could only let out a sigh and interrupt before the two could start bickering again, "I will never absorb Latanya, and that is final. Perhaps we should plan on how to retrieve Hermes's body first?"

"I am afraid we truly do need your mother for this, our information is too minute for us to even think of barging through the Circle."

"...Do we truly need her?"

"I am afraid so."

Hearing the confirmation from Athena's voice, Van could only let out a long and deep sigh before scratching his chin,

"I… have an idea."