The Holy Knight of DxD

Chapter 51: Endgame (Part 2)

 When Athena regained consciousness, she immediately saw that she was in a different room from hers in Mt. Olympus. It was quite bare, without anything particularly showy or out of place.

"Hmm..." She muttered while trying to move.

"You shouldn't move too much." Athena turned to the male voice and noticed Y/N entering with a tray.

"Your injuries were quite severe." He said, helping her sit on the bed. "You'd be dead if it wasn't for Jack. You should thank her later."

"Where am I?" Athena asked.

Y/N blinked. "This is my house."

Athena brought a hand to her forehead and finally remembered everything. What seemed like a normal day on Olympus had turned into hell because of an unexpected betrayal. The gods had tried to fight, but many had fallen.

"Fine. I thank you for healing me, but I have to run now," Athena said, preparing to get out of bed.

Y/N was uncertain whether he should laugh or get angry. He sighed and kept calm. "Your power is almost exhausted and your wounds are still open. Return to Olympus and you will almost certainly die."

Athena made a frustrated face. She hated to admit it, but Y/N was right. But her father and the other Olympians might need help. As Goddess of War and Wisdom, it was her duty and pride to fight and dispense strategies to the allies.

"Could you tell me what happened?" Y/N asked.

Athena nodded and drank a sip of water before beginning to tell: "After the sentence, Zeus ordered to improve the defences of Olympus. Hephaestus has strengthened the artillery and the others have strengthened the barrier around it. However, when Cronus assaulted Olympus, Hephaestus' machine exploded after their first use."

"Was it a sabotage?" Y/N brooded.

Athena merely nodded. "Hephaestus created a breach in the barrier and his tools had been sabotaged by him."

"Hephaestus?" Y/N said, surprised.

Athena nodded.

Hephaestus was the God of Forge of the Greek Mythology. He was the son of Hera and the husband of Aphrodite. His life sucked as he was repudiated by his mother, repeatedly humiliated by the other gods and cheated by his wife.

"We fought, but there was something strange. Although Hephaestus is the God of Forge and is naturally strong, this time it was as if the Authority of Ares was with him," Athena pointed out. "I don't know why, but the way he fought and the fury he had was very similar to my brother's."

And this was no different for the Titans who had all been invigorated and made immortal by the power of the Sephiroth Graal.

"Is the flee of the Titans always the work of Hephaestus?" Y/N asked, but he shook his head immediately after. "Hephaestus is as ugly as hunger, but he isn't stupid. After all, he had trapped Hera with cunning. He wouldn't have acted knowing he was drawing Zeus' gaze."

Athena had to admit bitterly that it was true. Hephaestus was just as the myth described him: ugly. But his inventions were recognized by the King of Olympus himself.

"Don't even try." Y/N massaged his temple. "You are a Goddess of Wisdom as well as War. You should know that Hephaestus' actions are not unexpected."

It was not difficult to understand why the God of Forge had done what he had done, even Athena had understood. Revenge is a dish that must be served cold after all.

"If you go there right now and in your current condition, all you get is an inglorious death," Y/N harshly declared. "There is no glory in death. Dying for an ideal serves no purpose. What is worthy of praise are the results obtained."