Orario.
After Freya quickly answered my questions and left for a meeting of the gods to decide what to do, I teleported to the base of the Tower of Babel and looked at the center of the vortex, pondering the answers I had received.
And I must say, everything turned out to be much simpler than I thought.
The purpose of the Tower of Babel, apart from its well-known function of restraining the Dungeon, had another, more symbolic meaning. In essence, this thing was literally a complete analogue of itself from the Proper Human History.
That is, the Tower of Babel was a magnet and a symbol of humanity's desire to get closer to the realm of the gods. And Oratorio, where the tower was built, not only had the largest population in this world, but also the highest level of security, prospects, and opportunities. After all, this is where the gods ended up when they descended into the Lower World. And this is where they later created their Familias.
The Evilus could not destroy the Tower of Babel, even if they had the power to do so. Such an act would definitely attract the attention of its creator, and obviously none of its detractors wanted that.
All roads led here, and everyone who wanted to prove themselves and touch the divine came here. Like Babylon. Like Gomorrah. Like Rome.
The center, the symbol, and the means of protection.
Freya had either seen or heard all this personally, so there was no doubt in her words. By the way, it turned out that the Beast's whisper did reach her ears, but since she considered me her Odr, she refused his services.
To sum up, the local Biblical God, like his counterpart from another world, had either clairvoyance or something similar, since he was able to foresee everything so far in advance. However, why would he want to bring about the collapse of both the gods and humanity, since Ouranos had no reason to lie to me at that time? Or is all this still part of his plan?
I thought for a moment, then took on the form of Solomon and touched the surface of the Tower of Babel. A short mental command, and all ten rings on my fingers shone with pure gold. And in the next moment...
...I was standing on the water in an infinitely distant space with a clear blue sky. And right in front of me, a sphere hung in the air, softly glowing with white light.
- "Finally, we meet, Romani Archaman. The chosen one and recognized by another version of me in another world," came a deep male voice. It sounded friendly, almost like a grandfather who had just met his son who had long since left for another country. And this feeling was very strange. To say the least. "I've been waiting for you."
I raised an eyebrow and thought, because I didn't understand how he could know me and why he was waiting for me specifically.
There were several guesses, but the first and most likely of all was...
- "And this bastard with his disgusting sense of style really doesn't mess around, huh?"
-0-
Hestia lowered her head and clutched the staff she had been given as chaos reigned around her. The emergency meeting of the Denatus was filled with fear, panic, and confusion, because what was happening outside affected all the gods, no matter how weak or strong they were.
This whirlwind of magical energy had already taken a huge number of lives, and Hestia, as one of the most compassionate gods, was particularly affected by this. Most of all, she felt sickened by the realization that Romani knew about all this.
- "Silence!" she heard Ouranos's stern voice and looked up to see him and Freya, whom everyone else was waiting for. "The situation is dire, and emotions won't help us in any way.
- "How can we calm down when our children have died because of this thing?"
- "The gods of healing can barely cope, and the number of victims continues to grow! What do you want us to do, Ouranos?"
- "We have to do something, because it continues to gather energy!"
- "Your shouting is only distracting us. Our children need us now more than ever, and if anyone decides to continue spreading panic, they will have to deal with me," Ganesha said in a tone that surprised everyone, which partly calmed the crowd. "Ouranos, do you know what this thing is?"
- "No, but we need to act quickly," Ouranos replied. "And I'm ready to listen to any suggestions that will save the situation, even a little."
- "We have to run!" suggested one of the gods.
- "I don't think that makes sense," said Freya. "Whatever this thing is, it's collecting a huge amount of life and magical energy. And considering all that, running away wouldn't help us much."
- "Then, Arcanum!" shouted another. "We must try to destroy this thing, and then..."
- "Are you an idiot?! What if the Tower of Babel is destroyed during our attacks or afterwards?!" Some goddess interrupted him. "The monsters will break out of the Dungeon, and then everything will definitely get even worse!"
- "Let's leave that as a last resort," Ouranos unexpectedly agreed. "Yahweh built this Tower of Babel in seven days, and I don't think he can do it in less time."
- "Then what are we left with?" asked Ishtar, whom Hestia knew but disliked, because the former's lifestyle directly contradicted the latter's. And now there was no time for quarrels or anything else. "Just sit and wait for something?"
- "With Arcanum, we could hold back the monsters for as long as necessary," added Apollo, a god whom Hestia also disliked because she didn't like his violent method of recruiting into his Familia and for personal reasons. "But would Yahweh even agree to build another Tower of Babel?"
There was silence for a few seconds, because no one knew what else to say. But it was interrupted by Ouranos.
- "Hermes, do you want to say something?" he asked, causing everyone's eyes to instantly turn to the named god, who, as it turned out, was the only one smiling.
- "Well, we have one option," he said suddenly and looked at Hestia, causing her to freeze and clench her teeth. "He may well be able to solve our problem, don't you think?"
At these words, Hestia clenched her teeth as all attention shifted to her.
Hermes was talking about Romani. She knew that. He knew that. But... should she?
Romani had told her that the Underworld would be a safe place, but in this case, even Hestia understood what that meant.
She didn't want to answer Hermes, and not just because of the Underground. After all, this place had been off-limits to the gods for centuries, and no one wanted to provoke the Underground.
Their Arcanum was too dangerous there, as it sent particularly strong monsters in response, and no one wanted to risk the lives of their children, including herself. After all, the Familias of Hera and Zeus had lost to the One-Eyed Black Dragon... who was now Romani's pet.
Hestia did not want to respond also because it meant sacrificing Romani if he failed. Yes, she had seen his strength and the ease with which he had managed to subdue the dragon. Even so, even knowing and suspecting that Romani might not allow this situation to arise, she did not want to risk his life.
Romani, Tiamat, and even Morgana had never harmed or planned to harm her and her Familia. They had even helped her. And Hestia, as the goddess of the hearth, embodied by the family, could not and did not want to answer now.
- "Don't be silent, Hestia," said Ganesha.
- "If you have any ideas, we are ready to hear them all."
Hestia saw the stoic expression on Ouranos's face, who knew exactly what Hermes was talking about. Hestia also saw Freya's face, who smiled strangely at her. But now she had no time for that, because all this time the pressure on her tiny body continued to increase. And when it became so unbearable that Hestia physically felt all those glances and was about to say something, help suddenly came from outside.
- "Enough!" Loki declared, jumping up abruptly. "You're pressuring Hestia like bullies in an alleyway! And they say I have bad manners!"
- "Yes, the gods are above that," Ganesha supported her. "Hestia, please..."
But he didn't have time to finish, because Hestia, like all the other gods, suddenly sensed something 'dirty' and raised her head sharply.
Denatus was held at the top of the Tower of Babel, so the whirlwind was particularly visible from there. And now it just stopped, as if everything that was happening was just a picture on the wall.
A second later, as if giving the inhabitants of this world time to realize their fate, all the collected energy was sucked into the center in an instant, leaving only one perfect smooth sphere of scarlet color in the sky, on the surface of which blue-black ink seemed to float.
Another second later, there was a crack, and a crack appeared on the sphere, after which...
...every god staggered.
The sphere emitted a wave of energy that made every creature in this world feel 'dirty'. It was as if they had been doused with viscous, sticky 'dirt'. And it, in turn, seemed to slowly flow down their bodies, slowly devouring them and enveloping them in a kind of cocoon.
Some who were strong enough in spirit were able to break free and come to their senses, but others either simply gave up or were unable to resist this 'dirt'...
Stunned, Hestia fell to the floor under the influence of the wave, slowly regained consciousness, and the first thing she saw was a junior god running towards her with eyes glowing with madness.
He ran and smiled, his arms wide open, and the words that his silently moving lips uttered truly frightened Hestia...
Now, your body is mine, Lady Hestia...
-0-
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