Chapter 180 Beginning
Artemis led Phoenix, Leviathan, and Tisha through a shimmering portal and into her mansion, which was built entirely of pure mana by twisting the large golden trees into a shape that looked like a human mansion. Nikol perched comfortably on Artemis' shoulders, chirping contentedly as his whole body was exhausted after that fight, and he wasn't in the best position to listen to what Artemis was going to tell them.
Dragging Apollo by his burnt and battered body, Leviathan followed everyone and they decided to leave Fenrir's body because it is practically immovable.
Apollo struggled against his captor, but his strength was no match for the mighty creature's unrelenting grip. His skin was raw and blistered, a testament to the scorching flames that burnt his face because of his own foolishness.
"Welcome to my home," Artemis said, gesturing around at the opulent surroundings. "Please make yourselves comfortable. I have much to explain about everything that happened from the beginning to the end."
Phoenix looked around in wonder, taking in the ornate furnishings and magical artifacts that adorned the walls. "This place is amazing," she said, her voice filled with awe.
Even though they were apocalypse beings powerful enough to challenge all the gods, that didn't stop them from being impressed by these small details.
Leviathan grunted in agreement, her massive body barely fitting through the doorway. "Yeah, it's definitely an upgrade from the caves we were living in, especially you,"
She pointed at Phoenix because Leviathan knew unlike her, Phoenix won't come out of her cave if there was isn't something interesting. She was more introverted than everyone else in the room, but at the same time, she had a flashy personality when she was outside.
Tisha was more reserved, her eyes darting around nervously. "I appreciate your hospitality, Goddess Artemis, but I'm not sure I understand why I'm here, I'm not suitable to be with all these powerful beings."
Artemis smiled kindly at the nervous girl. "I'm afraid I have some troubling news," she said. "Something has happened that has put all of our lives in danger including you and the other girls, so stay and listen, besides your ancestors used to live here."
Hearing her words, Tisha felt pure surprise, but she had to keep herself composed because she was in front of the goddess, she worshipped.
Phoenix frowned, her fists clenched in anger. "So what do we do?" she asked. "We can't just sit here and wait for another purge to come after us. What do you want to tell? As long as Nikol stay hidden something like that won't happen again,"
Artemis nodded in agreement. "That's true, we don't know what will happen if he got to know that Fenrir is free and Nikol is alive," she said. "That's why I've brought you all here. We need to work together, we will protect him,"
As she gestured towards the chairs arranged neatly in the grand hall after telling what she was expecting from them, it was hard not to notice their regal appearance. Each one seemed to stand proudly like a throne fit for a king, with intricately carved wooden frames and plush velvet cushions in deep shades of crimson and gold. The high backs towered over those who dared to take a seat, and the ornate armrests were embellished with glistening gems that sparkled in the soft candlelight. It was as if these chairs had been crafted specifically for royalty, with every detail carefully considered to exude an air of prestige and power.
"I'm out, I don't need any more troubles," She said but she didn't leave instead she kept looking at Nikol's face with a hard look on her face.
"..."
"Stop pretending, even after all the fights and jokes, we both know you love him, even though my love for him is greater than you, I know for a fact that you care about him," Leviathan said with her eyes closed.
She was trying to sort out everything that happened, so she can come to an ultimate solution.
*Tsk
"Me and my weak heart!" Muttering those words, Phoenix took her seat again while asking Artemis to continue.
She also sat near the group with a composed look and started telling rather interesting to all three of them.
"It all started when-"
***
"Ehh! Is that really okay? I think you shouldn't do this, playing with our creation physically is a taboo," One of Artemis's sisters muttered, as she saw her behaviour.
"Huh? What makes you think I care about rules? I make my own rules, isn't that right darling?" Next to her was a naked elf, who had longer ears than a normal elf but she still looked like a normal elf. She had an intoxicated look on her face because of the pleasure goddess showed her, but she knew it wasn't just pleasure because Artemis dearly loved her.
"Tasha Elastina, I won't say this again, leave the heaven dimension, you're not suitable to be here," Artemis's sister warned her, but Artemis wasn't going to let her insult her love, so she quickly kissed her and gave her some of the purest mana, which slowly modified her body.
"Oh! Your ears are longer than before and your mana is becoming more pure," Artemis muttered but her sister had a furious expression on her face.
"Do you have any idea what you just did? You created a whole another race Artemis, and not just a normal race, it's a superior race,"
Artemis just put out her tongue and showed a carefree expression until they heard a huge earthquake-like thing happening in heaven. The reason they were panicked by this situation was because the heaven dimension couldn't have an earthquake. And it really stood out as, it might be a sign of an incoming disaster.
"What's happening?"
"..."
All three of them were equally scared, but they soon heard the voices of the gods and goddesses, and their panicked screams.
"Tasha, get dressed, looks like something is happening," Artemis said and got up from her spot, with her sister, she left the room and approached the door to what was happening.
As Tasha hastily put on her clothes, she could hear the commotion outside growing louder. She could sense that something was terribly wrong. She quickly slipped into her one-piece dress and rushed to join Artemis and her sister at the door.
"What's going on, my goddess?" Tasha asked, her voice shaking with fear.
"We're not sure," Artemis replied, her bow at the ready.
She had the ability to use any long-range weapon with precise aim and accuracy, so she was known as the goddess of hunting by others.
As they pushed open the door, the trio was immediately greeted with the sight of destruction. The walls of the great heaven were crumbling, and the screams of the other gods and goddesses could be heard over the deafening roar of an unknown beast.
"What in the name of the heavens is happening?" Tasha asked, her voice barely audible over the chaos.
Artemis glanced at her with a look of concern. "We don't know, but we have to find out."
As they made their way towards the centre of the destruction, they caught a glimpse of the creature responsible for the mayhem. It was a massive wolf, with fur so shiny it appeared to be made of pure violet light. The sight of it made their blood run cold with fear.
Tasha's heart pounded in her chest as she watched the beast destroy everything in its path. "What do we do?"
"What else! we fight! We fight to the death," Artemis replied, pulling out her bow and arrow. "We can't let it destroy everything we've worked so hard to build."
With fierce determination, the three of them charged towards the beast, ready to do battle. As they clashed with the wolf, their godly powers clashed with its immense strength. Tasha had the power to control the golden trees of the heaven dimension thanks to all the pure mana, Artemis gave her so she used it to restrain the wolf while Artemis and her sister went on the offensive.
For their support, many other gods and goddesses also came, but the battle was intense, with each strike causing the ground to shake and the air to crackle with electricity. But despite their best efforts, the beast proved to be too powerful, and it seemed as though all hope was lost.
"What is this wolf? How can he stay so strong when we higher beings attack?" Artemis didn't know what was happening, she didn't understand what was going on. Her whole mind was in chaos mood, as she tried to sort out what was happening.
"My children! Evacuate the area, this wolf is not something you can deal with," It was a familiar sound for most of the people in the heavenly dimension, and some of the clicked their tounges when they heard it but, the same cannot be said for Artemis who looked like she got called by her long lost parent.
The previous rebellious nature and playfulness she had was nowhere to be seen, instead, she looked like a child that is waiting for her mother to come and pick her up after a long day.
"Tasha, follow me, if she says we should evacuate, we should do that," Artemis said and grabbed her lover's hand and started running on the opposite side leaving her sister, who looked even more pissed off as she chose her lover instead of her own sister.
"You! Why are you choosing her instead of me?" Following them with her asshole clenching in fear of being attacked from behind, Artemis's sister questioned but in response to her Artemis only showed her tongue pissing her off even more.