Chapter 807: Wolf Heist Plans
"You’re not thinking about that issue again, are you?"
At Hades’ probing question, Arthur silently averted his gaze, whistling suspiciously.
This made Hades sigh and facepalm before saying, "Arthur, she’s literally sealed in stone. If I so much as tamper with even the smallest part of that seal, it would instantly alert all twelve Olympians that something’s going on.
And even if I could somehow do it without drawing their attention, haven’t I told you time and time again that she’s not someone I want to get involved with under any circumstances?
There’s absolutely no way I’m letting you use her blood to cast the Ancestral Regression spell. You’re just going to have to settle for Kronos."
When Hades said this, Arthur raised both hands in surrender and replied, "Okay, okay okay, bummer—but fine."
Then, rotating his body a full 360 degrees, he drifted off toward another part of the domain to check on something else.
As he moved, he said, "Ah, right, Dad, you heard about Fenrir, right? And the situation with Jormungand?"
Hades nodded. "Yes, it’s actually one of the reasons I’m suspicious about Odin’s so-called fallout with Zeus. What are the odds that both of them start making bold moves at the exact same time, yet claim to be at odds?"
Arthur shrugged and answered, "Well, I have no clue about that part, but I do have a few plans involving Asgard, and hearing that Fenrir’s sealed kind of makes those plans a little easier."
Turning back toward Hades, Arthur asked,
"Fenrir’s a god-killing wolf, right?"
"Yes, the fates of Asgard divined that Fenrir would bring about Odin’s end," Hades replied.
"Ah, right, the prophecy about Odin becoming dog food. Pfft...they literally called Fenrir a dog," Arthur laughed lightly before continuing.
"Anyway, what if someone were to release Fenrir from the seal Odin placed on him? Someone who, let’s say, might just have the power to turn him into a god-killing godslayer wolf?"
The question left Hades staring at him with confusion.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Realising he wasn’t exactly great at speaking in riddles, Arthur laid it out plainly.
"At some point in the future, I want to free Fenrir from his seal and turn him into a godslayer. Fenrir’s race isn’t godslayer, even if he is a god-killer.
But how much more dangerous would he be if he gained the powers of a godslayer?"
Hearing this, Hades finally understood what Arthur had in mind, but that didn’t mean he supported it.
"In order for you to do that, you’d have to go into Asgard. That’s Odin’s domain."
And Arthur said, "Yeah, yeah, I’m going to have to do that. But obviously, I’ll only go when I have enough power to handle whatever Odin decides to throw at me.
It’s not a plan I intend to carry out for the next few centuries. Still, I’d like your help in refining it. I don’t really know much about the actual relationships and temperaments of the Asgardian gods, but you certainly know more than I do, so..."
Hearing this, Hades nodded and replied, "I see. So that’s what you were after. Yeah, I can help with that."
And so, father and son began mapping out a wolf heist targeting the Asgard universe. That was the scene Lucifer walked in on, and after giving Arthur a long, deadpan stare, he ended up joining in to help plan the wolf heist as well.
Of course, since it was a plan meant for centuries down the line, none of them put too much effort into it, just enough to turn Arthur’s rough idea into something that could actually be called a plan.
When they wrapped up, Arthur headed straight to Lucifer’s wine collection and snatched a bottle of million-year-old Dwarven wine, which he popped open without ceremony and poured himself a glass.
That, naturally, got him chased all across the planet by Lucifer, but since the wine had already been opened, it had to be drunk.
While sipping on it, Arthur suddenly remembered something.
"That’s right... Come to think of it, Mum told me you two first met in that Dwarven universe. Bracken, wasn’t it?"
And when he mentioned Bracken, Hades, also enjoying some of the wine, nodded.
"Yes. At a bar. Golden Glass."
When Hades said the name, Lucifer immediately paused, then slowly turned toward him.
"Wait... you’re sure it was called the Golden Glass?"
"Yes," Hades confirmed with a nod.
Lucifer sighed at that, and seeing his reaction, Arthur raised a brow and asked,
"Uh... is there something wrong with the place?"
"It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it. It’s just..."
Lucifer trailed off, then snapped his fingers, using light magic to conjure three-metre-tall-and-wide projections of the Numbered Multiverses.
He zoomed in on the First Multiverse, revealing over a thousand glowing golden markers scattered across the projection.
Then, repeating the same with the other multiverses, he added more golden markers, hundreds across each one.
When he finished marking them, Arthur looked around and asked, "What’s this supposed to be?"
Lucifer replied, "Those are the Golden Glass Casinos and Bars I know of across all multiverses."
"There’s thousands of them?!"
Arthur voiced the same shock Hades clearly felt, and Lucifer nodded.
"Yes, and they’re all owned by a certain Cosmic Gambler."
The moment he said that, Arthur went quiet, a name already popping up in his mind.
"No way, right?"
His mutter made Lucifer instantly realise Arthur was thinking of the same person he was.
"Yes. It’s exactly who you’re thinking about."
Arthur sighed, pressing his fingers to his temple, and seeing that, Hades, still out of the loop, asked,
"Who are you both talking about?"
"Ranus," Arthur answered. "The Eternal of Space. He’s the owner of the Golden Glass."
"And what made you arrive at that conclusion?" Hades asked, raising a brow.
Setting down his glass, Arthur explained,
"Well, when I met him, it was in a casino. Later on, I heard from Lostvayne that he’s sometimes referred to as The Gambler. Then there was Lucifer’s reaction just now, and the name popped into my head, and I thought No way, right? Turns out, it was yes way."
"I’m curious about the place, though," Arthur added. "I kinda want to see where both of you met."
He stopped levitating, his feet landing on the ground as he made up his mind.
"I’ll head there first before going to Draco Sirus. I guess I’ll move out tomorrow."
And just like that, after casually announcing that he’d be leaving the universe within the next twenty-four hours, Arthur created a Cosmic Gate and returned to Aeturn to inform his mother about his decision.
He left Hades and Lucifer behind, both of whom simply stared at the spot where he had been standing. After a brief silence, they shook their heads and resumed sipping their wine.
Hades then looked over at Lucifer and asked,
"Come to think of it, my father can’t stand you. What exactly did you do to him?"
Lucifer raised an eyebrow at the question. "Huh? Kronos? Oh, actually, it went like this..."
And just like that, the two of them kept talking, choosing to completely ignore Arthur’s abruptness.
◇ ◇ ◇
Arthur hadn’t been joking about his decision to leave for Bracken the next day.
When Layla arrived with Nicole that morning to ask for something, she found Arthur standing in his room beside a Cosmic Gate that radiated an overwhelming amount of energy.
"Where are you headed? That thing looks scarier than usual."
In response, Arthur, while tossing another video game disc into his subspace, said,
"Bracken."
"Where’s that?"
"In some nearby universe cluster that calls itself Neutral."
"..."
Layla went quiet at his reply, while Nicole walked over and sat on the chair beside his game shelf, asking,
"How long are you planning to stay? Is there a time difference like the other universe?"
"Bracken doesn’t seem all that different from Hell. But after Bracken, I’m heading to Draco Sirus, which I should’ve gone to six months ago.
That place might have a few differences."
Arthur’s words made Layla realise that he really was about to leave the universe.
’I’ve known him nearly all my life, and his randomness still surprises me. It’s like he actively looks for new ways to shock me.’
Shaking her head, she stepped forward and asked,
"Before you leave, can you give me access to the Royal Library? I need to grab some books."
Arthur didn’t bother responding. He simply reached into his subspace and tossed a card at her.
When she caught it and took a look, she realised it was his personal access card to the Royal Library, which was normally off-limits.
"...you shouldn’t be handing this out..."
"It’s not like you can actually steal anything in there. Just give it to my mum when you’re done."
Arthur replied as he decided to bring his entire Gate of Baldr collection along.
Moments later, spatial energy gathered on Nicole’s shoulder, and with a soft popping sound, a tiny humanoid figure with blue skin appeared.
"Hmm? Oh, hey Undine," Arthur greeted with a glance, and the Great Spirit perched on Nicole’s shoulder couldn’t even respond at first, frozen by what she saw.
[When did you become a Low-Tier Deity?! You were only a Half-Deity the last time I saw you, and that wasn’t even a full year ago!]
"Well, it hasn’t been up to a year since I hit Low-Tier either."
Arthur responded while closing his subspace. He then stepped over to Nicole, pulled her up and into a hug, and said,
"I’d love for you to come with me, but from what I’ve heard, the place is a bit too high-level."
Nicole didn’t mind too much. Leaving the universe for long periods wasn’t something she had in her plans at her current power level anyway.
The trip to Kriwon had been a rare exception that Arthur had practically strong-armed her father into allowing.
"Stay safe," she murmured as she returned the hug, and Arthur nodded lightly.
"I’ll try."
He gave her a light kiss, then turned and pulled Layla into a hug as well.
"Tell my mum I’m off to Bracken."
With that, Arthur turned around and leapt into the Cosmic Gate.
