Chapter 1079: In Hot Water
“Babeee, we said we were sorry!”
“I-It was just a little greeting, we swear!”
Abaddon was receiving a firsthand account of what Izanami’s bad side was like, and it was absolutely frigid.
He thought Lisa was scary when she got mad. Izanami made her look even more cute and cuddly by comparison.
All of Valerie and Tataina’s pleas fell on deaf ears. Zahara wouldn’t even look at them, and the temperature around her was becoming increasingly arctic.
She clung tightly to Abaddon’s arm, and didn’t spare the other wives so much as a single glance.
In fact, the more they pleaded with her, the closer she got to him. They were now running the risk of her becoming embedded in his skin.
With Abaddon and his family being the only deities in the nevi’im pantheon, that meant they had an entire section to themselves.
So no one around could have possibly interfered in this situation. But that didn’t mean certain family faces weren’t watching.
Abaddon made eye contact with Nyx, Gaia, and Shiva. All of whom either snickered or shook their heads in exhaustion.
‘Don’t judge us over here, you bastards! We’re going through some things!’
Nyx took pictures of them, and so did Gaia. He wouldn’t be surprised if those photos turned up in the family chat.
‘…Damn it.’
Things had gotten so chaotic for a moment that Abaddon could almost forget that his family was separating after today.
He looked down at his children and saw that they were closer together than normal. For the most part.
The only pairing that didn’t seem quite so energetic was Bashenga and Courtney. They were sitting together, but they weren’t talking with each other.
Courtney seemed to be dealing with a great bit of emotional turmoil. Her brow occasionally twitched as she shifted in her seat back and forth.
Bashenga, on the other hand, was just his usual brooding self. He stared forward like a complete statue, with thoughts that were only known to him.
If Abaddon didn’t know any better, he could swear that his son was trying not to look at something.
“…” Slowly, he turned his gaze in the opposite direction.
He hadn’t noticed before, but Thea was occasionally glancing in her brother’s direction. After that, Abaddon finally felt he had the whole picture.
‘Are you two still fighting!?’
Thea flinched and paused her conversation with Nubia.
Her eyes were as big as saucers as she looked toward her father.
‘I’ve been trying to get him to talk to me for weeks now, but he won’t even stay in the same room as me anymore! I don’t know what else to do!’
Abaddon sighed. He turned back to Bashenga.
‘Bash. Go hug your sister.’
‘…’
The vein in Abaddon’s forehead began to throb. ‘Boy, I know you hear me. Stop being stubborn, that’s your blood.’
Bashenga manifested a pair of headphones over his ears.
With a single thought from Abaddon, they crumbled into sand.
‘Bashenga. Stop ignoring me when I’m talking to you.’
Bash disappeared from his seat next. Abaddon was so mad that he could spit.
His son went all the way across the aisle to the Greek section to sit with Gaia and the rest of the Progetenoi.
Abaddon showed his son a smile that was not a smile.
‘You know what, boy..? Just wait until we get home.’
At that, Bashenga finally responded. ‘If you try to hit me, I’ll tell mother.’
‘Hitting you is going to be the least of your problems, you little-”
“My assembled divine family. Welcome.”
A flash of blue light shone above the colosseum.
All of the gods in attendance stood up as Asherah descended into view.
In her usual white dress and veil, she was a most alluring figure. A single glance at her inspired awe and feelings of immense reverence.
A stage and podium had been erected at the bottom of the colosseum. Asherah landed just beside the wooden pedestal with the grace of a fawn.
“I thank you all for taking the time to be here on this day.” Asherah began. “For those who are unaware, we are here to pass judgment on an attempted crime committed on-”
“So sorry! We were almost late.”
The air within the colosseum shifted.
Abaddon in particular became visibly agitated.
The entire colosseum echoed with the sound of leather shoes falling against the marble floors.
As the footsteps came closer, the air became much more humid.
When a figure stepped into view of the gods, there were a few who clutched their pearls and others who seemed bordering on outrage.
“I hope we haven’t missed anything too important. Just the boring roll calls and unnecessary ‘hellos’ would be fine.”
Percial smiled, undaunted by the hundreds of scowls that were being directed at him. More footsteps came from within the tunnel.
Lucifer, Michael, the remains of the seven sins, and the heads of the Ars Goetia all appeared behind their leader.
They all wore black tuxes and bow ties in a joking attempt to make the demons seem more ‘mannerable’.
Just looking at the lot of them together was sickening.
“It took us quite a long time to get here, I’ll have you know. So far up…” Percival sighed. “You should really make some accommodations for those of us who live in… lower altitudes.”
“You shouldn’t be here!”
“Begone, demon! You defile this place with your presence!”
“No, let them stay! Their blood will lubricate my axe well!”
Percival held up his hands with a shocked expression.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s with all the hostility, fellow jurors?? Last I checked, Hell’s denizens weren’t the ones on trial today. And since the call was for every supernatural faction… I’m afraid we have a right to participate.”
The problem with demons, or at least higher-ranking ones, is that they aren’t brainless brawlers.
They are smart, meticulous planners who excel at exploiting loopholes and sowing discord with just their presence.
There is a reason why trials in heaven actually work.
It’s because when the pantheons are called, from the moment that they enter the colosseum, they are effectively signing a non-aggression pact with everyone else who is in attendance.
This has been the law ever since the white city and the black towers were first forged. And it is how well-known enemies like Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu are forced into public spaces, with neither of them being able to do anything about it.
It’s all for the goal of allowing everyone to say their piece.
This isn’t the first time a public enemy of the gods has used this loophole. It probably won’t be the last either.
But that didn’t mean seeing Percival here was any less grating.
Abaddon felt Ayaana grab his arm.
He turned and looked into Lailah’s solid gold eyes. Her unwavering gaze cut through the fog of his temper.
Lailah had predicted that Percival would come. She told him as much beforehand.
No words were exchanged, but his gaze was seemingly pleading for him not to make a scene here. The consequences for breaking one of heaven’s oldest laws weren’t ones that anyone could easily take on the chin.
Percival looked around for the next person to question his right to participate, but he didn’t find anyone else willing to do so.
“…No more objections then? Good, we’ll be taking our seats then.”
Asherah gripped her podium tightly. “…Do it quickly, and do not interrupt our proceedings.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it.” Percival smiled as he started walking towards the demon’s section. “I’m a big fan of the rule of law, you know. It’s best when it’s inflexible and rigid with no room for deviations or outliers and-”
“Just. Sit. Down.” Asherah repeated.
“Yes, just like that, I love it!” Percival said gleefully. “Gods, it’s like the butter on my bagels. The homelessness on my heroin.”
Percival’s chatter wasn’t on the list of the most disturbing things about his arrival. But that was by design.
Valerie found herself grabbing Courtney and covering her eyes.
At the back of the demon horde, Beelzebub waddled along with nude women chained to his hip.
The former demon queens were crawling behind the horde on their hands and knees.
They were almost unrecognizable. Their once unblemished bodies were covered in wounds and burns, and the collars they wore were embedded in their necks.
Their eyes were lifeless and had no light. But everyone could sense the humiliation felt by these once very proud women.
All of a sudden, the demon horde came to a stop in tune with Percival.
The antichrist was about halfway up the steps when he suddenly turned around.
“It’s so empty here… not a very cozy vibe, don’t you think?”
Asherah’s eyes were glowing beneath her veil. “…What?”
With a gross smile plastered across his face, Percival pointed across the colosseum.
“The Judicator doesn’t mind if we sit with him, does he? I mean, given that his stands are so empty after all. He has plenty of room; he could even fit two Beelzebubs over there!”
The laughter of the demons filled the air. All except for Beelzebub, who was the butt of the joke.
Abaddon’s blood was boiling again. Lailah tightened her grip on his arm until she almost broke it.
But Straga had no such restrictions.