chapter 265
<b>Chapter 265:</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">The Queen’s sister, Antiope, gave us a quick tour of the pce when we arrived. I had to admit that it was a very beautiful ce to live. It was a Greek paradise, and I could definitely see myself vacationing here with my family in the future. The only thing the ce reallycked was electricity. The Amazons still used candles and torches to light their halls at night. I didn’t notice before since we had been outside most of the day, but the nights here were a bit of a culture shock.
<b>[I wonder if they have working plumbing? Or do they all poop in buckets still…]</b>
<i><span style="font-weight:400">‘You know what, I don’t think I want to know the answer to that question.’</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">“...And finally, this is the throne room,” Antiope said as we reached arge pair of steel double doors. Guarding both sides was a pair of Amazon warriors who had clearly been informed of our arrival. They were gazing at Artemis reverently. “The Queen is inside, and I have news that the Princess is also set to return soon.” she informed us.
<span style="font-weight:400">“The Princess? You mean Wonder Woman is arriving soon?” I asked with a tinge of excitement. She was my favorite DC heroine.
<span style="font-weight:400">Antiope nodded. “Yes, Lady La. My niece sent word a few days ago that she would be arriving soon. Apparently, there has been some trouble in man’s world that she wishes to discuss with us.” Antiope shrugged indifferently and muttered something about there always being “trouble in man’s world.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Who’s Wonder Woman?” Artemis asked me quietly while Antiope was distracted talking to the guards.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You’re half-sister. She’s the daughter of Zeus and the Amazon Queen. She’s basically the top female superhero in this Universe.” I whispered back and Artemis nodded in understanding.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We shall see if she lives up to the hype, as they say.” Artemis said indifferently. She was pretty used to her father pumping out demigod kids every few years. Artemis had told me that she and Apollo tried to never get too attached to their half siblings since they almost always died young. Most of the time when they were attempting some asinine quest to try and impress their father. I’m d that guy is gone, he sent far too many children to their early deaths. I never understood the point of Demigod Quests. Most Quests were very either petty or justpletely unnecessary considering the gods could solve most of their own problems with the snap of their fingers.
<span style="font-weight:400">The two guards pushed open the doors and we stepped inside the throne room. At first nce, the ce wasn’t asrge or as grandiose as the Asgardian throne room. This one was about half the size and I couldn’t see a hint of gold anywhere. The Amazons didn’t seem to care about showing off their wealth.
<b>[I don’t think they have any wealth. It''s not like they can make a lot of money living amongst themselves on an Ind for over a thousand years.]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">Realization dawned upon me. <i><span style="font-weight:400">‘Le gasp! The Amazons aremunist!’ </i><span style="font-weight:400">Not a single Amazon I had seen today had been carrying any form of currency at all. Even as we walked through the markets, it seemed like all the women could simply take whatever they wanted.
<b>[Oh snap, I think you’re right! Remember when I said that your date probably wouldn’t end without the ind sinking. You should sink it now along with all thesemies! Embrace democracy, or you will be eradicated!]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">I internally giggled. The System obviously wasn''t being serious.
<b>[You don’t know that…]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">We strode inside. There were about a dozen guards to our left and right as we approached the throne. Queen Hippolyta sat atop it, but she looked more nervous than regal at the moment.
<span style="font-weight:400">To the right of the throne was arge hearth that I imagined was used to keep the ce warm during winter. It was currently being tended to by a young servant girl. A girl who looked out of ce considering the Ind wasn’t supposed to have any children on it after Diana.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s a bit chilly in here. Add more wood to the fire, girl!” the Queen ordered the girl before her attention snapped back to us. She stood up from her throne and greeted us properly. “Greetings, Goddess Artemis…and her current consort, Lady La. Themyscira is always happy to host the divine,” she said while bowing her head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Except for Hercules…” Antiope whispered venomously to herself from nearby. “He is never wee here.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“It is a very beautiful Ind,” I said sincerely. “We really enjoyed our date here today. Is there a reason you wanted to see us?” I asked the Queen.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I don''t appreciate being summoned at the drop of a hat,” Artemis added, her voiceced with annoyance.
<span style="font-weight:400">The Queen bowed her head to Artemis even further. “I apologize. When I asked Antiope to bring our visitors before me, I didn''t expect them to be two Goddesses. I heard you both arrived through a magical portal. I feared you were agents of Circe, or members of the group my errant daughter has been parading around with for the past few years. The Justice League…” She spoke the name with annoyance.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You don''t like the Justice League?” I asked her curiously. “Aren’t they heroes?” I hope we weren’t in some kind of dark DC universe. Was I going to have to deal with Ultraman?
<span style="font-weight:400">Hippolyta shook her head. “The League does not stand for Justice. They only exist to inte their own egos and morals. My daughter has forgotten what it means to be a warrior after she joined them. Warriors have to make hard decisions, they cannot show mercy to enemies who will show them none in return,” she said. She seemed pretty passionate about her opinion.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What''s the Justice League?” Artemis whispered in my ear.
<span style="font-weight:400">“They''re like the avengers but they refuse to kill their enemies,” I whispered back to her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What''s the point of that…? Then your enemies will juste back and attack you again.” Artemis muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hippolyta sighed loudly and nodded her head. “That is correct, Lady Artemis… And they do. My daughter has fought the same viins <i><span style="font-weight:400">DOZENS</i><span style="font-weight:400"> of times in the past few years. Every time she and her <i><span style="font-weight:400">friends</i><span style="font-weight:400"> put those viins in prison, the viins end up escaping and wreaking more havoc upon man''s world. Sometimes, those viins aren’t even locked up for more than a few weeks before they manage to escape.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“That sounds… repetitive?” I replied while tilting my head. “It doesn''t have anything to do with us though, does it?” I asked her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I''m sorry, you are correct.” Hippolyta apologized. “I do not wish to vent about my daughter''s poor life decisions in front of my guests. Instead, I wanted to invite the two of you to a feast in your honor. My daughter is also set to return in an hour, the feast will be then.”
<span style="font-weight:400">That sounded like a fun way to end the night. The food the Amazons had cooked for us earlier had been delicious. I had no problem epting her offer. I told her that we would be happy to extend our date a few hours longer.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Maybe I can talk to your daughter for you when she arrives,” Artemis suggested. “I admit that there are times when you should spare your foes, but that is not every time.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Queen smiled at Artemis gratefully. “I admit, I was hoping to request that, I just didn''t know how to bring it up. I’m proud of my daughter for sticking to her own principles so vehemently, but not if those principles keep putting her needlessly in danger,” she said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“While we wait, I''m going to go visit with Hestia.” I said while walking towards the “servant girl” tending the hearth nearby. It had taken me a couple nces to figure out why the girl looked so familiar to me. She hid her Divine Power well, but she couldn’t hide from my Observe skill.
<b>{The Goddess of the Heath (DC)-Hestia: Level 81}</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">She was slightly weaker than my Universes Hestia. I figured that was because there were far fewer demigods in this Universe actively worshiping their own pantheons.
<span style="font-weight:400">Gasps rang out across the throne room from royalty and guards alike after I spoke. Everyone was looking at me in shock before their eyes all turned towards the young girl tending to the hearth.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hippolyta looked more shocked than everyone else by far. “L–Lady H–Hestia!? W–What? How…”
<span style="font-weight:400">The young girl stopped tending to the hearth and turned around. She perfectly resembled my Universes Hestia, except she appeared much younger. She pouted at me as I approached. “I''ve been tending to the hearth here for hundreds of years and no one ever spared me a second nce until you arrived, Outsider.”
<span style="font-weight:400">By “Outsider” she clearly knew I wasn''t born in this Universe. She could probably sense that this ce wasn''t my “home.” No doubt she also knew that my Artemis wasn''t her actual niece as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hundreds of years!?” Queen Hippolyta looked mortified to hear that deration. “Oh Gods… I''ve been treating an Olympian as a simple servant girl for hundreds of years…” She may or may not have had a small mental breakdown upon realizing that. “I called her “girl” so many times…” Her knees went ck and she slumped to the ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hestia nced at the Queen and shrugged. “I didn''t really mind. I didn''t want everyone to put me on a pedestal here. I just wanted to live in a ce that felt like home again. I ran away from Olympus and came here centuries ago.”
<span style="font-weight:400">That…honestly sounded like something Hestia would do. She was one of the few Goddesses who never seemed to care about how people addressed her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You haven’t been to Olympus in hundreds of years? How did we never know of this? How does Zeus not know?” Antiope asked as she squatted down and patted her sister''s back. Hippolyta was sobbing to herself in mortification…
<span style="font-weight:400">“I left a decoy behind on Olympus. It''s basically a puppet loaded with my memories and a tiny bit of divine power. The fact that not a single member of my family realized I reced myself after all this time pretty much speaks for itself,” Hestia replied sadly.
<b>[Oof! There’s being unobservant, and then there’s just straight up being ignorant!]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">Artemis walked over and gave her “Aunt” a small hug. “I''m sorry to hear that, we live together in our home and we get along quite well. After Zeus got killed and Olympus was destroyed of course…” she whispered awkwardly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Wait? W–What!?” Hestia sputtered. “How did that happen?”
<span style="font-weight:400">I shrugged. “He fucked around and found out. We all knew it was bound to happen eventually.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Hestia furrowed her brow but didn''t disagree with me. “I suppose you have a point there. My younger brother has made many enemies over the milenia. There’s a reason he hardly ever leaves Olympus anymore. I don’t know how long he would survive outside his ce of power.” she said and I agreed with her. The DCU was a dangerous ce to be an arrogant asshole.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Are you going to join us for the feast?” I asked her. “I''m sorry I exposed you. I thought everyone knew who you were honestly. I did think the way Hippolyta addressed you wasn’t very nice though…” I said thatst part loud enough for everyone to hear. I found the Queen’s reactions to be funny.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Please forgive me, mdy! Forgive my centuries of ignorance!” Hippolyta let out another sob in the background while begging Hestia for forgiveness. Were Dogezas a Greek thing? They were now.
<b>[You''re mean, host.]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">“I suppose I will join the feast now that everyone knows about me,” Hestia said while waving her hand and conjuring three chairs by the fire. She gestured for us to sit next to her. Artemis and I epted the gesture and sat down. “While we wait for my niece to arrive, why don’t you two tell me about your own Universe,” she suggested.
<span style="font-weight:400">We all started chatting while we waited for Wonder Woman to arrive. For once, I think the System was wrong and we were actually in for a pleasant evening. We would have a nice dinner, Artemis would have a small chat with Diana–although I doubted it would aplish anything, and then we would portal back home.
<b>[Uh huh…]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">…
<b>Wonder Woman</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">“Why are you doing this, Diana?” her aunt asked her in despair.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I apologize, Aunt Hestia, but it’s time for a new world order. The Olympians cannot be allowed to exist. You are a threat to his rule!” Diana said as she swung her sword. Hestia’s head separated from her shoulders. It ttered onto the floor. Diana frowned. “That’s odd…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“What’s odd?” Kal-El asked as he walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. His ck and yellow costume was drenched in Ichor–God blood, but Diana didn’t mind.
<span style="font-weight:400">She reached down and picked Hestia’s head off of the ground. “There’s no blood,” Diana said as she examined the head in her hands. “This is a puppet. The real Hestia isn’t here.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kal-El frowned and let go of Diana. “That’s disappointing, I was hoping to eliminate all of the Gods in one fell swoop,” he said while gesturing to their surroundings. They were standing in the most famous amphitheater on Olympus. The ce where all the Gods gathered together whenever they felt like passing judgment on Mortals. On this night, the entire amphitheater was painted in a brand new shade of gold. Olympian blood was sttered almost everywhere. Every single god and goddess who dwelled on Olympus had been in by herself and Kal-El. “At least Hestia is one of the weaker Goddesses, right?” he asked Diana.
<span style="font-weight:400">“She should be,” Diana said. “Even so, I wouldn''t underestimate her when we find her. She is the older sister of my father after all.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kal-El smirked. “Don''t you mean your former father.” He reached down and picked up Zeus''s severed head. “Are you sad that your dad''s dead?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Diana shook her head. She was actually d he was dead. “You know, this is the first time I''ve ever actually met him in person. My mother told me that she crafted me from y and he gave me life, but we all know that''s not what happened. He forced himself upon her and she had to cover that fact up. If she hadn''t, the Amazons would have all rebelled. Zeus would have sent Hercules to try and conquer my people a second time,” she exined her thoughts to her beloved.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kal-El unceremoniously dumped Zeus''s head in a garbage bag they had brought with them. Itnded right next to Hercules''s head. The man who had enved the Amazons, the man they hated above all else. “This gift should turn your people to our cause, right?” he asked her. “They should follow me as their only god now?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Diana nodded, although she wasn’t absolutely certain. “Delivering the head of Hercules should sway most of the older Amazons to your side. Some of the younger Amazons might resist at first, but they will eventually submit to your rule all the same.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“That’s good,” Kal-El said before checking the <i><span style="font-weight:400">yellow ring</i><span style="font-weight:400"> on his finger. “Ring, what’s the time?”
<b>“It is currently 8:30 PM.”</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">“Right on time,” Kal-El said. “Your mother’s expecting us.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Diana did onest sweep of all the bodies. She made sure none of the Gods were faking their deaths. She had almost been disappointed at how easy wiping out her own pantheon turned out to be. When she confirmed they were all truly dead she turned back to Kal-El and smiled widely. “The Earth is now yours, Kal-El. The UN has fallen, Antis has fallen, Batman has been finally captured. All that’s left are the Amazons and the world will bepletely under your control.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Kal-El nodded grimly while gazing at the yellow power ring on his finger. “As it should have been all along. Metropolis would still be standing if I had done this sooner. I wouldn’t have lost Lois…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Diana grimaced in annoyance. She hated how Kal-El still had thoughts about his dead wife and unborn son. They were gone and she was here. She ced a kiss on his cheek to try and distract him from those unnecessary thoughts. “Come, Themyscira awaits us...”
<b>XXX</b>