The Prime Control Chapter 17: To meet a god

“So… the Hunter can use fire…”

“Yep, and he’s stronger than me by a long shot.”

Grace considered my words.

“That explains so much… but… why didn’t he utilize it until now?”

“I don’t know, but there was one thing that confused me…”

Brent looked at me in curiosity.

“What was confusing?”

“He went into a mana fury when I told him that I used control on Mordred.”

Grace snapped at me.

“A mana fury?!”

Taury nodded.

“Yeah… it was odd. He… was so furious he decimated both of us… though… one thing was even more confusing…”

Grace looked at her.

“What could be more confusing than that?!”

She looked up at the earth atronach.

“He backed off the moment he learned that William was a father.”

They blinked… I blinked too. I didn’t even realize that.

“The Hunter… seems to be unique for demons. I wonder why?”

Taury had an idea.

“Fey have anomalies that act differently then others… what if the Hunter is the demons’ version of an anomaly.”

Brent thought of that…

“Hm… maybe demons all originated as different species originally.”

“Where’s this coming from?”

“Well. Mordred became a demon as a result of the curse, so maybe other demons spawn that way… not necessarily a curse, but more like a one p*nch man situation, where a certain emotion in overdrive makes them a demon.”

I was curious about his idea.

“So, what exactly is this emotion?”

“Still working on that, but maybe Mordred can also have multiple emotions, but his broken state doesn’t allow him to.”

“Okay… so, how does this relate to the Hunter.”

“Maybe he also became a demon through unconventional methods.”

I thought for a moment and Taury nodded.

“That would make sense, especially given that demons typically can’t use magic, yet he can use almost a supercharged fire.”

I nodded.

“Yeah, I suppose that would make sense, but somehow I doubt he’d be kind enough to tell us.”

Then Amy had an idea.

“Maybe the reason he backed up was because he became a demon for a child of his, and that could be why he’s so protective of Mordred, because he sees Mordred as a sort of replacement for his kid.”

I nodded.

“That makes sense.”

“So… could we possibly use Mordred to lure him into a place of weakness?”

I thought for a moment.

“Maybe, but would we want him in a position that he could go into another mana fury?”

Taury shook her head.

“Using Mordred as bait is a last resort, because as far as we know, that’s a death sentence. First, we need to figure just how much fire he actually has.”

I nodded.

“The fact that he’s been hiding this the whole time isn’t good. That means two things.”

They looked at me, so I elaborated.

“He’s revealing one of his cards now, one he’s hidden in his hand for… millennia. This means he’s readying to use it. And he was stronger than Morgan before using it…”

“So…”

“He’s preparing for something big.”

“Could it have something to do with this mysterious ruler of demons that Astella mentioned.”

I nodded.

“He specifically said that the ruler wanted me alive.”

“Meaning…”

“If that ruler is anything like the Hunter… that’s not a good sign.”

“Any ideas?”

I looked at Amy.

“The Hunter seems insistent on being a commander, maybe, if we could convince him that the ruler doesn’t see him as anymore than a useful idiot, we could weaken him enough.”

Then Taury sighed.

“Either that, or he’s get the idea to prove himself by annihilating us.”

I looked at her, and she looked back.

“It’s always a good idea until it actually happens, then it never goes to plan.”

I blinked and she raised a brow.

“Remember, I’m older than the romans, I’ve seen people try that so many times I’ve lost count.”

“Has it ever worked out?”

“Really only against idiots. And the Hunter is most certainly not an idiot. He’s probably one of the smartest demons out there.”

I nodded.

“So, what’s a plan you’d use?”

“Hm… knowing the Hunter… and knowing fire… If we could get him into a place with massive wind pressure, we may be able to quench his magic.”

I blinked.

“What about a vacuum instead?”

“I suppose that would work…”

I smiled.

“Alright, I’m going on a quick trip after school.”

Then Amy thought for a moment.

“By the way, if both of you are here, then who’s watching Ruby?”

“Oh, I dropped her at Morgan’s place.”

Amy blinked.

“Is that safe?”

“Maybe… Morgan isn’t dumb enough to mess with an infantile, or let her get hurt, so it’s definitely safe for Ruby.”

Grace shook her head.

“You two are way too not scared of Morgan.”

“Why would we be? She has no leverage over us, and we are both of comparable power to her.”

Then Brent sighed.

“But does she know that?”

“Nope, but she is somewhat scared of me, and at this point, I have most of the councilors liking me more than her, so she wouldn’t make a move unless she was certain that the others wouldn’t get involved.”

“That… is… impressive, actually.”

“Yep.”

I smiled.

“Though, I do want to eventually bring Morgan to my side, or, if I have to, control her.”

“Why?”

“Think about it, Taury’s power in the Sylvian Woods is almost supreme. That’s because she rules that world. Morgan is of comparable power to her even in said woods. Can you not see how good it would be to have an ally with that much power here?”

Grace thought for a moment.

“That makes a lot of sense.”

Then I nodded.

“Besides, I still need to refine my will, if she just resists it, that wouldn’t be very good.”

“But you can control her.”

Grace gestured to Taury, and I shook my head.

“That’s because she was willing to be controlled. The more willing, the easier it is.”

“I see…”

“So, I don’t know if I could control Morgan. Because the Hunter was entirely immune, but people like Mordred, I could.”

“So…”

“I need to be sure I could before I try.”

Then Brent.

“Why not practice on Wings?”

I shook my head.

“Because remember, I made her fully loyal to me, meaning, she couldn’t actually resist my control.”

Taury sighed.

“Unfortunately true, and even if I wasn’t, I probably still wouldn’t be able to resist.”

Then I grimaced.

“I also got to stop showing up to school injured.”

Amy nodded.

“Yep, much of the horror is gone at this point, we’re just like, oops, he’s hurt again, wonder what happened.”

“Yeah…”

“And with your quick recovery, there are a lot more people stating that magic is real.”

“What about Cherry?”

Grace stepped in.

“She’s remaining mostly quiet about it, but she has stopped ragging on me for believing in fey.”

I looked at her with a smirk.

“In those days, how often were you tempted to just take off your head to shut her up.”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

“Has she had any problems with her back?”

“Nope, it seems that you remade her spine pretty well.”

“Good.”

“Yeah, in fact she’s been more flexible than she was in the past.”

“Huh… so I did well.”

“Yep.”

“Nice…”

I smiled. My body magic was getting more precise.

My elemental magic was also getting more refined.

Now I just needed to do my neutral magic… which I could practice if I could find that dang goblin’s house.

I’ve spent some time searching, even consulting Morgan, but she had never heard of Dee.

I entered my history class and saw that we had a sub.

“Excuse me, but where’s Ms. Pan?”

The lady turned around. She was a regular human.

“Oh, she’s not here today.”

“Is she okay?”

“Yes, she’s taking a teachers course.”

“Oh… didn’t know college professors took those.”

“They do. Find your seat please.”

I sat in my seat, and Taury had a strange look.

“What?”

“She didn’t want to explain much.”

“Subs do that normally.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“Kind of a keeping privacy thing.”

“That makes sense.”

“Yep.”

I sat down and the sub stood as people entered.

“Alright, so today, we are going to learn about Greek mythology.”

Then I whispered to Taury.

“Now that I think about it, did Morgan inspire Gaia?”

“No, actually, her mother did.”

“Her mother?”

“Yep, a spriggan named Gaia. She was massive, so much so that people thought that she was the planet itself.”

“Wow…”

“Yeah, she absolutely loathed us.”

“What happened to her?”

“Well, we killed her.”

“Huh…”

“Yep, she became so much of a threat that we had too. It was actually one of my greatest accomplishments.”

“Wow. How strong was she?”

“Well, her forest stretched across the globe.”

“Wow… how did you win?”

“Me and the other superpowers distracted her long enough for Morgan to do something that instantly killed her.”

“Wow…”

She must have cut her heart… I can only imagine how massive it was.

“Yeah, it was hard, as her avatar was also massive, standing taller than a mountain.”

Then the sub finished taking attendance and spoke.

“Alright, so, first, what do you know about the mythology.”

One person raised her hand.

“Yes?”

“Pretty much every story can be boiled down to, ‘unfortunately, Zeus was horny.’”

Everyone began snickering, including Taury.

“Ooh boy, that is accurate.”

“Alright, anything else?”

One guy raised his hand.

“Zeus married his sister.”

Taury cringed.

“Unfortunately, also accurate.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, he was the epitome of scumbag. He actually started out decent. Many thought he’d get with the mermaid that he was raised with, but instead, he went for his sister.”

“Yikes.”

Another student raised his hand.

“He was jealous of Hades’ appearance, so he made him run the underworld so people couldn’t see him.”

“Well, he didn’t really like Roman, so I can see where that came from.”

“Hades kidnapped Persephone.”

That caused Taury to cough.

“What? That sounds like a rumor that Zeus would spread.”

I whispered.

“What’s the actual story?”

“Roman and Persephone visited each other to play board games.”

“Some think they were romantically entangled.”

“Yeah, I could see where that came from, but as far as I know, they were buddies.”

“’Were?’ What happened to Persephone?”

“She died in the battle with Gaia.”

“I see.”

Then Adeline raised her hand.

“Hephestus was kept hidden because he was ugly, despite him having one of the kindest hearts.”

Then Taury snickered.

“So, was he ugly or hot? Because Roman was both of them.”

“Apollo tricked Artemis into shooting Orion.”

Taury raised a brow.

“He tried, to which she threatened him and stormed off.”

“Artemis midwifed Apollo right after her birth.”

“Not too far off actually.”

I looked at Taury.

“Really?”

“Yep, she was an Archon, similar to atronachs, they are sentient at a young age, but they can think through their actions a lot clearer.”

“Wow.”

Then another student raised his hand.

“Athena was Zeus’s favorite child.”

Taury sighed.

“I was one of the few members of the group he couldn’t trick into his bed, so he decided to label me his daughter instead.”

“Zeus controlled lightning.”

“Light, but close enough.”

I looked at her.

“What was Zeus, anyways?”

“He was a light atronach, one of the few to ever exist.”

“Oh.”

“So, yeah, he was strong as all get out. He was supposedly at Gaia’s level, but he never actually wanted to fight her.”

“Is he still alive?”

“Yep, I actually know where he is.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Though, he’s not a fun guy to be around.”

“I’d imagine.”

Then another student raised her hand.

“He became a golden shower to impregnate one person.”

Then Taury grimaced.

“He did… he also tried that with me… he regretted it.”

Then I whispered.

“Would it be a good idea to meet him?”

“Why?”

“Because we need strong allies, and even if he is insufferable, he may be a useful ally.”

She sighed deeply.

“You know what? Why not?”

_

“So… you want to meet Zeus…”

We were in my flat. I called Grace, Amy, and Brent, and Cherry came over as well.

“Yep.”

Aoi was doing a handstand and bragging about how strong she was to Ruby, who ate it up.

Brent looked at me.

“Zeus… like the king of the Grecian gods.”

“Yep, that’s the one.”

“Do you even realize how dangerous that would be?”

Taury snapped.

“The only danger you’d be in is if he got jealous, so William’s in more danger from him than you.”

“My point still stands. How would you even get to him?”

I smiled.

“Well, we have Athena/Aphrodite.”

I gestured at Taury who did an overdramatic bow.

Then Cherry blinked.

“Wasn’t Athena born from Zeus’s forehead.”

Then Taury started snickering.

“Oh, I remember when I did that. The Greeks were terrified. It was hilarious.”

“What’s the actual story?”

“So, Zeus got irritated that I wouldn’t listen to him, so he pulled up a random prophecy and ate me when I wasn’t looking, so I, with Excalibur, burrowed out of that atronachs head, and got out in front of a ton of Greeks.”

“Wait… so you were also Metis?”

“Who?”

“The mother of Athena, who Zeus ate…”

“Oh, then probably.”

She was snickering at the memory.

Brent focused on something else.

“Excalibur?”

“Yeah, that blade is much older than Arthur. It used to be mine until I decided to become the Lady of the Lake.”

Grace was focused on something else.

“Wait, so… that means you were in the battle of Gaia.”

“Yep.”

“Wow…”

I nodded.

“She told me a bit during history class.”

Grace looked in awe.

“I was told she was the most powerful spriggan ever.”

Taury nodded.

“She was so powerful that some of her trees are still around.”

I looked at her.

“Really?”

She smiled.

“Yep, ever heard of redwoods?”

“She was the redwoods?!”

“Yep, told you she was strong.”

“But… those trees are massive… and they used to be global…”

Grace asked in curiosity.

“How did you win?”

“Morgan had a strategy that worked. No one actually knows what it was, but hey, it worked.”

I spoke.

“I think I know what it is, but I’d rather not share.”

“Fair enough, a way to instantly kill a spriggan definitely shouldn’t be shared, but it could be useful if we are ever in a deathlock with Morgan.”

I nodded.

“It definitely would be useful.”

Grace snickered.

“Next you’re gonna say that you know a way to instantly kill atronachs.”

“I do with fire.”

She blinked.

“… Really?”

“Yep.”

Taury sighed.

“I’m guessing I know where you learned these.”

I nodded.

“Yep.”

She sighed deeply.

“Goodness.”

“Yep.”

Aoi looked at me.

“So, when are we meeting the god of thunder.”

Taury shook her head.

“He’s in Greece, so we’re going to have to wait for a break.”

Then I thought for a moment.

“Wait… how did he marry his sister, if he’s an atronach.”

“Not biologically, but they always called each other sister and brother, and still do, so it’s just kinda weird.”

“Huh…”

“Plus, he’s a downright scumbag in every other regard, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he would marry his sister.”

Amy looked at Taury.

“Doesn’t he go after some of his own kids?”

“Yep, he’s an irritating pervert. Thankfully, he doesn’t go after me anymore, but I do warn you, if you want to join us to meet him, he will likely try to get you in his bed one way or another.”

Aoi looked at her phone then squealed.

“WILLIAM!”

“What?”

“Daniel is coming to the college for the concert later this week. I’m so excited!”

I blinked.

“I swear, if he ends up being Zeus I’m quitting.”

Taury looked at me.

“What? Where’d you get that from?”

“It just seems like something that’d happen at this point.”

“… okay?”

Amy was a bit confused.

“What?”

“It’s nothing. Just the timing feels like comedic foreshadowing.”

“???”

_

“Alright, Ruby, the first thing you must understand about fire, is that it is what brings life, however, it can just as easily take it away.”

We were visiting Roman, who’d started a garden with the Seed of Humanity. They sent out a radio signal telling Roman’s story, so people knew that they didn’t need to fear the atronach.

He was currently giving me and Ruby a lesson. Ruby moreso. I was watching and following along.

“Now, the first thing we need to do is test your raw power.”

Then he stretched both arms back and launched a wave into the wasteland.

“Now, William, you first, fire at me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, it’s standard, besides, as a fire atronach, I can take it.”

I blasted at Roman, and he blocked it easily.

“You are quite powerful; with training you may even exceed me.”

“Um… really?”

“Yes, it’s quite impressive.”

Grace came to catch up with Roman a bit and was sitting with Taury, watching the lesson.

“Now, Ruby, do what your father did and launch a wave at me.”

“Okay, uncle Roman.”

She stretched her arms back and both me and Roman felt the heat. He shot up a very powerful shield the moment she released it.

The wave was the size of a tsunami, and I saw Roman release the full extent of his magic to match it.

He slowed it down, but the wave still hit him causing him to gasp.

He panted.

“Right… she’s half-light… I forgot.”

“What?”

“Light is the most powerful type of atronach. So… she has the potency of light, but the flame of fire as well… she may just be the most powerful atronach… ever…”

“Really?!”

Taury also seemed shocked, but Roman nodded.

“With proper training, she may be a match for one like Gaia.”

“Wait… so… how is she so strong?!”

“Beats me. I would say it’s because of the light, but… even Zeus couldn’t put me in that situation with just a wave.”

“Wow…”

“So, her raw is stronger than Zeus’s refined… you may want him to teach her light.”

“Could it be the way she was formed?”

Roman thought.

“Intertwining magic… hm… that may be it, especially if both of you were in mana furies when it happened.”

“Now… let’s work a bit on control.”

“Alright.”

“Produce a single spark.”

He raised his hand and a spark came off.

Then I raised my hand and did the same.

But, when Ruby raised her hand, a spark of life came out.

“Never seen a spark like that…”

“Wow… it takes a lot of magic to do that…”

“William?”

“I call it a spark of life, it’s a combination of light and fire. It’s what makes my synthetic arm and leg work.”

“Wow… and she… just crafted it.”

“Yeah.”

“Could she theoretically make new life entirely?”

“Maybe with enough training.”

“Incredible…”

Then I thought of something.

“What if she inherited my real magic?”

“That’s possible… I mean, if your magic is what allows you to use fire and other elements, then maybe… fire… William… have you used it on me?”

“Uh… maybe?”

Grace blinked.

“You did?”

I nodded shyly.

“It was the time I deflected his attack.”

Grace was thinking more on what happened then as Roman began guessing.

“Is it some kind of time control? No… that wouldn’t explain Wings’s immunity to the name command… command… hm… could it be mind control? No that wouldn’t make sense, how do you deflect an attack with mind control.”

“By making you think I deflected it.”

He blinked.

“Really?”

“Yep. I was quick enough to at least use it.”

“So… you didn’t deflect it?”

“I mean, I did stop it.”

“That… is still rather impressive, but how were you able to control my will?”

“I… don’t actually know. It may have been the surprise.”

“That is possible.”

“Still felt like a hot iron dropped on my skull for the slightest command.”

He gave a prideful look.

“So, my will is still incredibly powerful.”

“Yep.”

“Nice.”

Then he considered Ruby.

“If she can use such a power… an atronach’s will in addition to her nigh limitless raw potential… she may be almost a god-level being.”

“Wow…”

“We should test it… How though.”

Ruby thought for a moment.

“Control.”

Then Roman blinked.

“I guess not.”

I nodded.

“Yep, I don’t think it worked.”

Ruby moped.

“Don’t worry, you’re still ridiculously powerful, you just don’t have one aspect.”

“Yeah… but papa cool when controlling, I can’t be cool.”

“No, you’re cooler. You’re so much stronger than me.”

“Woah, really?!”

“Yep.”

“WOW!”

She seemed really happy and began doing a little dance.

I laughed, then Roman got us focused again.

“Ok, do a fire flow.”

“Fire flow?”

I was confused, so he smiled.

“Yes, flow the fire like water.”

He raised his hands and moved it like a water bender.

Then fire flowed from him like a stream, that he guided in a circle around him. It was beautiful. Like a stream of light moving.

Me and Ruby were both enamored by the stream, and Roman smiled.

“Your turn.”

Both me and Ruby failed to do it. The max we could do was a little spurt of fire before it fizzled.

Roman smiled.

“Tell you what. Homework. Don’t come back for more training until both of you can do it.”

We nodded in determination, and Taury snickered.

“They’re so excited.”

Grace smiled.

“You can definitely tell how they’re similar.”

_

“Hm… so, you are thinking of meeting Zeus.”

I was talking to Roman while Ruby and Taury went on a hunt.

“Yeah, if I’m going to face the Hunter and his master-“

“Who told you about his master?”

“Astella.”

“Hm… I see, that makes sense. Sorry, its just… I don’t think that you quite get who exactly you are planning on facing.”

“He already has some focus on me, so I need to be prepared.”

“What?”

“Yeah, the Hunter said that his master wanted me alive.”

“I… that’s not good.”

Roman began shaking.

“I won’t elaborate now… but yes. Zeus would definitely be a massive boon to facing that one.”

“Yeah… is he as bad as Taury describes?”

“Worse, she was somewhat of a late comer when it came to that group. He was the epitome of scumbag and womanizer. He thought that if a woman existed, she was his for the taking.”

Then he smiled.

“I tricked him once, that way.”

I blinked.

“I’m interested.”

“I’m sure that Grace has shown you how many appearances we can take on as atronachs.”

“Yes?”

“Well, once I made him think I was a female fire atronach, and he showed great interest. After he spent the better part of a day trying to seduce me, I spoke and he fell flat on his butt after recognizing my voice. Hera would not stop laughing for weeks after that.”

I snickered.

“That sounds hilarious.”

“Oh, it was.”

Then he leaned over.

“Bit of advice when dealing with him. Make sure you have one woman with you. If not he won’t listen to a word you say. Though, with Athena with you, you should be good.”

“Wow…”

“Yep, he in fact, barely listens to his own children,”

Then I thought for a moment.

“If atronachs can interbreed, then why hasn’t a hybrid like Ruby appeared before.”

Roman smiled.

“Good question, that’s because when they breed, either the weaker type is born or twins, and with light, it’s almost always the weaker one.”

“So… does he have any children with insane light magic?”

“Yes, he dated some fey, and some humans.”

“Hmm… wow. May I ask a bit about mythos?”

“Sure.”

“Who was Chronus, actually?”

“Hm, he was Gaia’s life partner, and Morgan’s father.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Morgan actually was more kind in those days. She inspired Demeter, but that’s less known.”

“Wow… who was Hestia?”

“Ah, that’s actually one of Wings’s names.”

“I thought you said that she was a newcomer.”

“Yes, but she was still there rather early. She joined shortly after Chronos’s defeat.”

“Wow, how was he beaten?”

“Well, I’m sure you heard that he ate us, correct?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, in reality, he set up conduits to siphon our magic into him, spiraling his own magic, as three of us were atronachs, he had a near limitless source. Morgan eventually fled and pleaded for help, but she was caught and Chronos was about to simply kill her when a meteor fell near him.”

“Was that?”

“Zeus. He stepped out and saw the elf.”

“Elf?”

“Yes, elves and spriggans are close enough related that their child will be one or the other.”

“I see…”

“Yes, anyways, he stepped out and saw the elf. Upon Chronos attempting to subjugate him, he simply annihilated him. The infantile marked Hera, and she raised him…”

“So…”

“Yes… that’s why most of us found their relationship odd.”

“Jeez.”

“Indeed. That was certainly an odd scenario, anyways, that was the defeat of Chronos and Zeus’s arrival on earth.”

“Wow…”

“Yes.”

“So, when I meet him…”

“He’s going to definitely go after Wings… and get rejected again.”

“Yeah… let’s hope he doesn’t try.”

He sighed.

“Just don’t go overboard, he is definitely stronger than the Hunter. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was comparable to the demon leader.”

“Oh…”

“Yes.”

“Well, I should get going, thank you for the mythology lesson.”

“No problem, I have plenty more stories.”

I walked out and towards the tesseract.