Chapter 293 Threatened Upon Returning

"Another teacher quest, huh? So… you want me to master the way of the spear or something? You think my skills are subpar?" I turned to the towering man behind me.

"Absolutely not, but compared to the foes you'll face in the future, you'll need his training," Ares responded before letting out a hand to help me up.

Slowly, I took it before a glowing purple portal revealed itself behind me.

"But, you may go back now. No need to use that item straight away… you can save it,"

"Thanks… I guess"

Just as I was about to turn around and leave to go back to my siblings, I saw the man before me reach out his hand for a handshake.

Calmly, I glanced at it multiple times, shuffling through tons of reasons as to why he was doing this, but in the end, I decided to stop overthinking and grabbed his hand.

It was dead cold and had the roughness of sand due to the built-up calluses from each experience of his on the battlefield.

"Goodbye, son," He announced, but the disgust was too much for me to handle as I let go of his hand and didn't turn back.

I walked through the portal, not even daring to look back before my vision distorted, and my stomach churned like the inside of a washing machine.

VWOOP

For a while, it felt like I was hanging in limbo, floating aimlessly through a black void that not only numbed my senses but numbed my mind.

I was no more than a floating corpse with just the slightest bit of consciousness.

But a golden ball greeted me, filling my body with newfound senses and pulling me in the correct direction as to where I was supposed to be going.

"We'll have a meeting once I'm ready… I'm a bit busy as of now, but we'll get our plans started soon… I expect much from you, so don't disappoint me," The golden ball almost smiled before knocking me backward and sending me flying through the void at hyper speed.

Athena?

The faint voice sounded like Athena, but I couldn't check any longer as my senses dwindled yet again, and soon I found myself stumbling out of a black portal.

I collapsed to the ground with a loud crash, garnering the attention of a couple making out all the way at the end of the hall.

My eyes twitched to check if the portal was there, but thankfully it had disappeared, causing the couple to think I was just drunk or crazy.

Either one would do, to be honest, since after that trip, my head was spinning, and my mind was in shambles.

"Ugh… what I was doing again before I left… that's right… we came to an inn after fighting that demon lord bastard and traveling back to our main territory… ugh… I need some sleep," I muttered, stumbling through the door and seeing Findir already sound asleep in his bed.

I lightly smiled before lying down on my respective bed, feeling a wave of exhaustion rush through me and holding my body down.

Even though I had such a nice bed and room in Ares' domain, I felt completely at home with my siblings right here with me.

"Shit… I'm so pitiful," I lightly chuckled and couldn't help but let out a little grin as I fell asleep.

…

When I awoke, a pale face with long black hair mixed in with streaks of purple flowed down the sides of his head.

"What is it? Couldn't sleep and need somebody to cuddle with?" I asked drowsily before sitting up.

The man stepped to the side, revealing his massively long black horns, which displayed his overwhelming power with an almost untouchable grace.

"Findir… it's time to wake up,"

As I slowly woke up Findir, the man let out a comment that made me freeze in place.

"You smell like ichor…." A deadly sharp voice permeated through the room, and within just a few seconds, a black claw grabbed me from the back of my neck and wrapped its malicious fingers all the way to the front of my neck.

The claw didn't press into my throat, but I knew if I made any suspicious movements or possibly even took the wrong move, then I would die instantly.

"Give me a good reason as to why you smell like ichor… there are no such beings down here besides Hades, yet I know you are incapable of touching him,"

"Chill out for a second… I'm sure you already know that I'm a demi-god, so why even ask such a stupid question," I attempted to gaslight the powerful being, but such a pitiful tactic didn't work against him.

"Your lips… the smell is on your lips… you drank the blood of the gods- no, it was mixed in with something: a few more potions that allowed you to consume it… you had help from external beings to drink ichor,"

Shit… do I really have to tell him.

"I drank my own blood… and the only reason why it sounds like it is mixed with something is due to the fact that I recently drank a few stat-increasing potions… it probably hasn't dissolved into my bloodstream yet,"

"So you're saying you're already producing some ichor as a demi-god?"

A pale face appeared right next to my calm and collected expression, his chin resting on my shoulder and the claw slowly unraveling from my neck.

"Your heartbeat is dead clam… maybe a bit too calm… are you trying to gaslight me right now?" He asked, and his expression was quite terrifying, to say the least.

Calling it demonic would be an understatement.

"I would never dare to," I smiled lightly, and as he reeled his face back from my shoulder, I kept calm and collected.

Findir hadn't woken up yet, thankfully, because he would've ruined my concentration,, that was to keep my heartbeat and breathing under control.

"Tch… then slit your wrists and prove you have some ichor flowing through your veins… demi-god,"