The Hydra Sin (SDS)

Chapter 20-

As she promised, Merlin left not long after her chat with Hel to go watch the fight between Ban and Meliodas, but before she did that, she left me with a huge pile of books and others old scrolls that contained information on the Asgardian people.

She only left me with one warning on the books, "Remember Janis, next to nothing is known about this topic, so most of what is in there will be myths and speculations; take everything you read with a grain of salt." I took that into account and quickly realized that if something seemed extremely farfetched, then it probably was.

Hel was a ton of help as I sorted through the vast amount of materials; if I was ever in doubt about any of the information I came across, she was able to confirm or deny it. The more I searched, the less hope I felt. All the information I found talked about how powerful the gods were, and how futile it was to fight against them without divine aid.

I searched for what felt like hours, with no success, and I didn't even have a plan in mind until I found something that finally helped me to form a plan. "Hel, listen to this, 'While the All-Father is often seen as cold and uncaring towards anything not related to Asgard, every day he sends out his two raven companions, Hugin and Munin to fly around the world and even through the realms to report what they find to him. It is not determined whether he did this as a form of self-protection, or as a sign of some form of caring for the outside world, but scholars of agree that many mortals found that this was a more reliable way for mortals to contact the God if they were ever in dire need of help.'

'Little is known about any who have tried to contact Odin through this method, but there are always story's and these tell of a pair of war-hardened birds the will appear from the eat, in an area that will give them a view of the entire world.'"

I finished reading and felt Hel's curiosity, "I can confirm these raven's existence Janis, but I fail to see their significance. They are just simple ravens; how can they help us against my father?"

"Well, everything we have read said that it would be impossible for people such as us to win against Loki without the aid of Asgard, so my idea is to get the aid of Asgard." I could sense that she still wasn't understanding, so I continued, "Hel, this source tells us that these birds are a good way of contacting Odin; if we can convince him that letting Loki take this realm over would be an extremely bad thing for them, then we could get aid. I know that this is a long shot based off of one rumor, but I might have a way to contact these birds."

"I am a banshee, a creature of death; ravens are also closely connected to death and nature, so I should be able to make a connection with them with Durendal. Me being a banshee allows me the ability to sense death, and since you put me in charge of stabilizing the world of the dead, that ability has heightened."

"Hel, my idea is to launch a two-front attack on Loki, one that would be led by Merlin and the sins; this would be a deception of some kind, I know Merlin, and her ability to plan something like this is unparalleled. The other front would be me and any help I manage to get from the gods."

As I finished, I sensed a form of pride coming from Hel, "I believe that this is a logical plan, however, it would take some precautions being placed. Be warned, Janis, if you take this path, you will not be able to turn around, nor will you be able to gain assistance from your friends. My father is sensitive to the bonds that people have with each other, so if he senses a link between you and any of the others, he will instantly be on guard; how do you plan to deal with that?"

I thought about it for a minute, then a sad smile slowly appeared on my lips, I knew what I had to do and why; this would not be easy, but I knew that it was our best chance at survival. I grabbed a blank sheet of parchment and a quill and scribbled out a note to Merlin before I ran out the door.

Merlin's POV

I smirked to myself as I walked through the town to my house; the fight had been one of the funniest things I had seen in a while and I couldn't wait to tell Janis about it. I never really had socialized with the girl before this, but now that I was getting to know her, I sensed an amount of sarcasm and intelligence that I greatly appreciated. She was one of the few people I could talk to about my experiments without a cattle-like look of confusion coming to her face; and even better than that? She was able to assist me in an intelligent manner, which actually made my job easier.

I couldn't wait to tell her about the fight, not because Ban and Meliodas beat each other to a pulp, but because Howser and King fought, and it was one of the funniest things I had ever seen. Seriously though; King may be incredibly talented fighting with his Chastifold, but he was greatly lacking when it came to anything more than that. I would have to try and rectify that somehow.

I entered my lab and looked for Janis, but all I found was a slip of paper on the table with her handwriting on it. I read it and my smirk widened into a full-fledged evil grin, "Oh Janis, how thoughtful of you to give me this gift, I knew I liked you." I said quietly to myself when I walked out the door to find the sins, leaving the paper behind, I knew what it said, so there was no point in taking it, it was time make a plan that would make this girl proud.

(Imagine a slow and dramatic camera zoom onto the paper that Merlin left on the table)

I like the idea of a two-sided attack, don't you? I'll be gone to get the second side ready, but I leave the God of Trickery and Magic to experience your particular brand of welcome.

I know I can trust you with this, good luck my friend.

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A/N AAUUGGHH!! Sorry about the wait, and the short chapter, but I have hit a brick wall, and I'm trying to get past it. I know that things can't really come to an end quite yet, but we are approaching the final battle, so get ready! If you have anything you really want to see, just let me know and I'll try to make it work!

-klypso01