Chapter 464 Shinto Gods!
Abaddon ended up bidding the Greek goddesses farewell, although he left them with a promise that he would find a solution to their current status here.
The next pantheon he decided to travel to looked a bit different from most.
A traditional Japanese style temple, and the largest he had ever seen.
It was adorned in bold and beautiful black and red coloring with a myriad of beautiful orange lanterns hanging from the shingles.
'How beautiful… Valerie has been asking to renovate, I wager that I should let her.' Abaddon thought.
He would have liked to intrude inside and see what the inhabitants had done with the place, but they were already sitting outside.
Two men were sitting in a seiza position just outside the front door, with their eyes closed and seemingly in a deep meditation.
The moment that Bagheera landed on the grass, they opened their eyes.
The only similarity that the two shared between them was that they were Japanese; but in terms of looks and build they couldn't have been more different.
One was an older man wearing traditional Buddhist robes and holding a black and gold staff.
In true Buddhist fashion, his head was shaved and had a natural luster and shine to it that was as grand as the rising sun, paired with a simple shaven beard.
Judging by his demeanor alone, he had a serious and steadfast nature; paired with an underlying peaceful temperament.
His black eyes seemed to be inspecting Abaddon closely, in the same way that a grizzled old war veteran would analyze the new blood.
The man sitting beside him was much more familiar; and far from something unseen in these lands.
He was handsome and chiseled, youthful and benevolent.
He had long, oil black hair that was tied into a ponytail with a golden pin.
His deep golden eyes were locked on Abaddon's form and seemed to be filled with reverence; a feeling that did not seem to come easily to this being.
He wore only a pair of dark blue hakama pants adorned with gold trimmings, and his pointed ears were pierced with two large and meaningful gemstones that seemed to radiate power.
Four black horns jutted out from his mass of radiant black hair, and dark blue scales appeared in splotches around his cheeks, hands, chest, and feet.
Like 80% of Sheol, he was a dragon.
"Hachiman and Ryujin… I seem to have kept the two of you waiting." Abaddon replied as he slipped off of Bagheera's back.
*In Japanese* "You know us..?"
"Think nothing of it. Rest is intrinsically important to growth. Even for us gods."
While Ryujin seemed to be passively awestruck in front of Abaddon, Hachiman was calm and behaved as if he were in front of a regular everyday person.
"I was a mythology buff. I know quite a lot of gods, and I would never fail to recognize my own kin." Abaddon sat in front of the two men cross legged, and Bagheera rested beside him like an overgrown corgi.
Dragons don't know every written language automatically, but if they search their shared memories or hear them enough, they can gain a fairly proficient understanding.
However, Abaddon wasn't really confident in his pronunciation of Japanese characters; so he opted to speak as he normally would to avoid embarrassing himself.
"A scholar then… how unexpected. You certainly don't give that impression." Hachiman noted.
"It's the tattoos, isn't it?"
Displaying his capacity for humor, Abaddon further altered his image in the minds of both men.
Not independent of his own decisions, Abaddon had culminated a certain image in the minds of most gods that was at best authoritarian, and at worst genocidal.
It wasn't until meeting him for the first time that most realized that he was about as far from both things as one could get.
Well… kind of.
"I must admit that I was not expecting the two of you to come to my side. I cannot think of anything I might have done to earn your faith… for one of you that is."
Ryujin smiled wryly; deciding not to offer any comments.
"…Tea?" Hachiman suddenly asked.
"..?"
Waving his hand, a small wooden table appeared in front of the group, complete with a pot of steaming hot tea and the three china cups.
Abaddon normally would have refused politely, but then eventually decided against it.
Hachiman poured him a cup of tea and he accepted it with a bit of apprehension.
But upon having a taste, he found it to have a surprisingly mellow flavor and delicate aroma.
It was quite lovely.
He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but his earlier apprehension likely stemmed from the fact that Mira and Lailah have tea with enough sugar to send an elephant into a diabetic coma.
"You say that you are a scholar of us gods, yes? Then I must ask you, do you know what divinity I lord over?" Hachiman suddenly asked.
Abaddon's answer was quick and without beating around the bush.
"War."
Immediately, the old god nodded and smiled discreetly for the first time.
"War is… often not what people think. It is not glorious or a means to cement one's status above others. It is an irreconcilable course of action that fills the hearts of the world with suffocating strife and anxiety.
I divine over war, yes. But I see it's active forces and liken them to a means to an end, with the ultimate philosophy of 'peace through strength'.
My belief and the one I impart to my believers is that the strongest warrior has the necessary responsibility to ensure peace for those without power.
I believe you to be the strongest force in this war, and if you speak true about your ideals, then they are surely in align with mine."
Hachiman seemed content not to say anything else, as if he believed that he had already made his point sufficiently.
Abaddon casted his gaze towards Ryujin like he was waiting to see what he had to say.
"And you?"
"I felt hit only natural. I come from you, as you are blood of my blood and flesh of my flesh. Besides, I dislike the scrutiny that I have been placed under that is spearheaded by the norse and the greeks.
It likely won't be long before the others like Long Wang and the eight kings reach the same conclusion and join your side, but I garner that it is still hard for them now. As you may already be aware, we are famously stubborn beings."
Abaddon nodded, already somewhat expecting to hear an answer like this at some point.
After all, there were more dragons classified as gods besides he and his family.
He was hoping that he would run into one of them on earth, but judging by the way that everyone there reacted to him, no dragon had been on earth for a very long time.
"I thank you both for your faith in me. To the best of my ability, I will ensure that it is not misplaced." Abaddon said sincerely.
"...You're surprisingly humble for a dragon." Hachiman muttered in awe.
"I concur with that." agreed Ryujin.
"And polite."
"Yes, but I believe most of us are-"
"And interacting with you doesn't make me want to punch you in the face."
"Alright you old bastard now I feel like there is something you are trying to say."
Abaddon chuckled underneath his breath as he finally got around to finishing the last of his tea.
"I don't like people who are arrogant and overly prideful, so I make a concerted effort not to fall into those bad habits. Wouldn't want my precious children learning to grow up to become insufferable little tyrants, would I?"
"Your children... the primordial beasts?" the war god asked for clarification.
"A few, but not all." he admitted.
"The people in your lands say that your daughters are quite the beauties!" Ryujin said with a smile. "Perhaps you might introduce us and-"
"I will make your death excruciating and abominable." Abaddon's smile was so joyful you'd think he just given away a priceless compliment.
"N-Nevermind, I will simply admire them from afar."
"They are too young for you, you needn't look at them until they turn 250. And even then you will only be allowed to glance at them from the street."
"U-Understood."
Hachiman laughed so hard that it seemed like he was going to split his sides open.
Abaddon had to admit that he did not find the pair to be mortifyingly unlikeable, and even considered them to be on the same level as Papa Legba.
"I must admit, my first impression of shinto deities is quite the pleasant one. I daresay I look forward to meeting more."
Both Hachiman and Ryujin looked at each other again before smiling wryly.
Confused, Abaddon and Bagheera turned their heads to the side.
"...What?"
"We assume you know that another of us is here, but... we wouldn't exactly call them pleasant and well adjusted."
"How bad could they be exactly?"
""...""
"...I'll go find out for myself."
""That is probably for the best.""
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