Villain: The Play of Destiny

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Mr Wednesday?" Keith brightly smiled at his acquaintance and asked.

"My Apologies for the inconvenience, Mr Demiliore." Wednesday apologetically nodded to him. "Lord Erra wants to discuss something with you."

"If it is about my Shadow, Ingrid, I am not willing to listen to what Mr Azdaan has to say." He simply said and then looked the Babylonian God of War in the eyes.

"She's not someone you can keep." Erra wore a light smile on his lips as he said that. "Do you even know who she is?"

"I do, Mr Azdaan. Just like I know who you are. Just like I know who Mr Caspian is, and just like I know who Miss Valerie is." He said and greeted both the Poseidon and Aphrodite with a slight nod.

His words caught them all off-guard since he had not used their Titles but their real names, which in the case of Poseidon, only a handful of people in the world knew.

"You are a pleasant surprise, Mr Demiliore!" Aphrodite sonorously giggled and then mischievously looked at Poseidon. "So your name is Caspian. Are you two acquaintances?"

The blonde-haired man did not confirm nor deny Keith's words and kept looking at the handsome boy in his deep brown eyes, trying to read through him.

Aphrodite did not mind being ignored by the man who was centuries old despite looking in his forties, and she swayed her hips as she approached Keith, presenting her soft hand to him.

"I was looking forward to meeting you at the after-party, Mr Demiliore." She meaningfully smiled at him.

"I had some plans for the day." He shook hands with her, and much to her surprise, he did not seem affected by her charm at all.

"Interesting." She brightly smiled. "Hope you had a day to remember."

"I did." He smiled back at her. "And may I ask why you are here, Miss Valerie?"

"I heard that old Erra planned on making some trouble for you, so I came here to make sure things didn't get out of hand."

"Oh." He nodded understandably. "Thank you for showing concern for me. And here I was, thinking that you had something to ask me about on behalf of your new paramour, Hades."

His words caused the smile on her lips to go stiff, and her green eyes narrowed at him.

"Why would you think that, Mr Demiliore?" She curiously asked, ignoring the surprised eyes of people around her, who were unaware that she was sleeping around with the new Hades.

"Isn't that because of my Shadow?" He smirked at her and asked. "You have the same intentions as Mr Azdaan here."

"I see." She dropped her friendly persona and seriously spoke her next words. "She will bring you harm, Mr Demiliore. It is in your best interests to sell her to me. I can give you twice the sum you have spent on her."

"She's not for sale." He shook his head and ignored her as he looked back at Erra, telling him off the same thing.

Erra was not smiling anymore, and his dark eyes were coldly looking at Keith.

"You can not kill me." He teasingly smiled. "I am sure you know more about me now. But if you are willing to take the risk, give it a try."

His words made Erra's eyes colder. Yes, he was the Mercenary King of one of the most Powerful Organizations in the Underworld. But even he could not openly kill the Grandson of the Deputy Governor-General of the most powerful country in the world. And even if was willing to bear the losses, he could not start on it here with Poseidon standing by his side.

Erra knew who Poseidon represented today, and he was not willing to make an enemy of the person who organized the Scarlet Auctions.

"I can not kill you, but you need to learn a lesson today." He grimly said as a bracelet appeared on his left hand. "You must not offend people who are far more powerful than you, Young man!"

A strong momentum descended upon everyone present, and those weak ones immediately fell onto their knees as their consciousness was threatened.

It was the Divine Presence of a God, something that the Mortals could not bear without harming themselves.

A few people who were next to Erra stayed unharmed, and both Aphrodite and Poseidon were among them. But right now, everyone who was sober was looking at Keith in sheer shock.

He was holding onto Rebecca, who was swaying on her feet, and his eyes glanced at his people, who were all on their knees, trying to fight the suppression. His eyes then returned to Erra and the coldness behind them sent chills up the spine of people who caught his gaze.

"You were right about yourself. You are old and reckless, Nergal." He coldly said and summoned his God Ring, unleashing a Divine Presence that he had never bothered testing before.

But he knew how it worked, and he understood it far better than these other Inheritors of Divine Legacies.

His Presence was so powerful and controlled that it not only freed his people from the suppression but also pushed back Erra's Presence as if it was nothing in front of him.

Everyone watched in horror as Keith started floating in the air with wisps of Darkness appearing on his body, eventually taking the form of a black flame burning all around him protectively.

The wild winds swayed in the surroundings, but terrifyingly, the world was deathly silent right now, and an eerie cold was numbing their senses. Even the sky seemed to have started darkening faster.

The weak ones had already lost their consciousness and were convulsing on the ground in fear. And even the strong individuals like Wednesday and Aphrodite were on their knees, looking absolutely horrified, trying their best to catch their breaths.

"There's no greater fear than the fear of Darkness, little Nergal." Keith coldly spoke, and every word he spoke hammered onto Erra's consciousness.

The Babylonian God of War tried his best to protect himself, but eventually, his Divine Presence burst like a bubble and a wave of dizziness assaulted his senses, making him sway on his feet.

"That's enough, Lord Erebus." The blonde man lightly said, breaking the silence, seemingly not affected by the Divine Presence.

Keith coldly glanced at him, but seeing him politely nod to him, he receded his Divine Presence.

As soon as the pressure over Erra's consciousness wore off, the Babylonian God of War cried out in rage and a strange dark miasma started oozing out of his body.

"Erra!" Poseidon yelled out in a warning, unleashing his own power where Pillars of Water rose from the Ocean and the Earth started trembling in a blatant threat, a spectacle that mortals were never meant to come across.

His actions were loud and clear. If Erra made a move on Keith now, he would find the Olympian God of Seas against him.

Erra's mind was drowning in rage that stemmed from his humiliation, but even in this state, he knew better than to go against Poseidon, knowing well that he simply stood no chance against the Old Man of the seas. This realization also brought some clarity to his mind, and his heart constricted as he thought over what would have happened if he had attacked Keith right now.

"Forgive me for being reckless, Lord Erebus!" He clenched his fists and apologised with a slight bow before turning around and walking away.

Things calmed down as soon as Erra walked away. The Earth stopped trembling, and water settled back down in the ocean. The restless waves that were gearing up mysteriously calmed down too, bringing the blue waters to their peaceful state.

Poseidon waved his hand, splashing water on the faces of those who were unconscious on the ground, and within a minute everyone was back to their senses.

"Leave." He ordered them, and the men of Erra immediately scrambled away. "I hope you won't pursue the matter, Lord Erebus." He politely said.

"It depends if they behave or not." Keith lightly said and then turned his attention to his people.

He checked on all of them, making sure that they were all right. And everyone except for Rebecca was fine.

The blonde girl was still in shock at everything that she had just witnessed, and her body was trembling in fear as she realized that these people were not just playing around with the names of Gods.

"Shhh..." Keith hugged her waist, pulling her into him, where she struggled a little but eventually settled down. "It's fine." He gently whispered in her ear before turning to look at the guests. "If there is nothing important, please leave us alone."

"Forgive me for coming uninvited, Lord Erebus!" A tall and lanky man with pin-straight black hair said. "I am Hermes, and I hope we will meet again on a better day." He politely bowed and then disappeared from everyone's sight, running away at a speed that would even put the most Powerful of the Vampires in the world to shame.

"I shall take my leave too." Another man, who was visibly quite old and wore a pair of glasses on his eyes politely bowed. "I am Hodur, and I welcome you at my Temple anytime you want to come, Lord Erebus!"

"Thank you!" Keith politely smiled and accepted his goodwill, and the Old man smiled back at him before walking away with his men.

Wednesday did not say anything, and together with his team, he politely bowed to Keith before leaving the place.

Only Poseidon and Aphrodite stayed behind, and the Goddess of Passion was fearfully looking at the young man.

"My Apologies..."

"You may go, Miss Valerie." He cut her off and said, which made her flinch, but she nodded her head and bowed before leaving as well.

After everyone else was gone, Poseidon stepped forward and approached him, putting everyone around him on high alert.

Caesar was about to step forward when Keith raised his hand and stopped him.

"Are you okay?" Caspian frowned and asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Keith grinned at him.

"You pushed your Divine Presence far beyond what your current strength allows you to do." He narrowed his eyes at him. "It's suicidal, Lord Erebus."

Those words made everyone turn to look at Keith in worry, and Rebecca's body trembled a little in his embrace.

Keith knew what Caspian was saying was true, but he was perfectly fine right now. Tired, very tired, but there were no other side effects that he was prepared to suffer when he took the risk.

"I just need some rest." He assured the God of Seas, who seemed genuinely worried about him.

"I see." Caspian nodded to him. "I hope you won't have to push yourself again like that." He said and nodded to everyone behind Keith before walking towards the water.

"Is he..." Rebecca looked at Caspian in disbelief when he started walking on top of the water.

The God of Seas eventually sank into the ocean, disappearing from their eyes, but leaving a profound impression in their memories.

"Yup. He can walk on water." Keith chuckled and said, but then his body swayed and was caught by Caesar.

"Young Master!" The old man worriedly looked at him.

"I am just tired and in need of some sleep." He assured him, but did not refuse his support. "Can you help me to my room?"

"Of course!"