More and more sights of abundance tantalized their eyes until they reached the Great Hall of the god King. The god King wasn't around. They found some other gods waiting there for an audience instead. Kroft was feeling slightly displeased that he would have to wait for the god King.
'It is probably a show of force to make us wait.' He grumbled. Then he noticed that the other six waiting gods were all grand gods. They were also weak like him.
"Please tell me these are not new grand gods." He asked the angelic escort jokingly.
"Yes, your divine grace. They are all new grand gods." The escort then left the room.
'I am screwed. I don't know how, but I know that I am screwed.' He screamed inwardly.
This was the moment that he realized that becoming a new god might not have been the best decision he ever made. He continued to smile outwardly, the two new gods made for a total of eight new grand gods. Either they had been waiting for a long time for an audience with the god King or they ascended together in a relatively short amount of time. They mingled and asked the questions that were troubling all of them. The grand gods didn't know much but the little information they had between all of them only proved their suspicions right. The six grand gods hadn't been waiting for a long while, just two days at most. That means a lot of powerful gods have died recently. Things didn't look good at all.
Thankfully they didn't have to wait for long before their host arrived. Having to stew with a gnawing feeling of dread isn't a pleasant experience even for a god.
The god-king showed up in a bright flash of light. Kroft noticed that the god-king was wearing armor and had strapped on many other weapons. He was like a 2.6m tall suit of armor. The god King was practically dressed for battle. Either this was his normal attire which he always wore for whatever reason, even in his own house or he was preparing to fight or he has been fighting recently. Kroft hoped for his sake that it is the first reason.
"Welcome to my humble abode." Ode spread his arms in a grand gesture. His voice boomed and echoed within the large hall.
"Humble my foot." That was what Kroft would like to say to Ode. He didn't have any good feelings toward this so-called supreme of the pantheon. The god was too showy, something he appreciated a little while ago, but when combined with the fact that he had made grand gods wait here for him for two whole days, the showy attitude became unpleasant. The god King was either disrespectful or he was gathering them here so that they wouldn't be able to run around. Both were unpleasant options. Still, he smiled and greeted the god King.
"It is nice to meet your great Majesty." The other grand gods also kept their feelings of discontent to themselves and exchanged pleasantries with their host.
"Would you like some refreshments or something nice to eat? I have this really expensive imported fish that will just blow your mind. Why don't you give it a try?" Ode offered.
"Thank you for your great hospitality but some of us have been here for some time. We have things to do and arrangements to put in place as new gods. We can't afford to be so carefree as you." One of the grand gods rejected it.
"Is that so? It will be a shame to miss such good food. It won't take a lot of your time." Ode insisted.
The talk of food made Kroft even more impatient to end this encounter. It reminded him too much of his father. He just wanted to leave this place. He would ask other gods about the questions he had later.
"Unfortunately so. Can we please get this meeting over and go on with our lives?" Kroft made the rejection this time.
"I am afraid you can't leave. At least not yet." Ode replied casually. His attitude and the way he sat on his throne began to irk Kroft. It was irking him a lot to be disregarded like this.
'I'm still a grand god. You can't treat me like this.' He complained inwardly.
"Why not?" A grand god asked.
Ode sighed before replying. "You see, if it were in normal times, you could be considered lucky for chancing upon the Godhood of a fallen god. But right now, not so much."
"Does this have to do with the grand god that is currently being attacked?" Another grand god asked. It was the grand god that accompanied Kroft here.
"Sadly so. It is partly why this is a bad time for anyone to be a god. But why don't we put off this unpleasant conversation until we have eaten? It is terrible dinner conversation after all." Ode clapped and multiple 10-winged angels appeared. A table of food also appeared at another corner of the great lord. Ode stood up from his throne and walked toward the table. He didn't invite the gods to join him again because he didn't need to. The sight of the angels intimidated the grand gods so they followed the god King. His 12 winged Angels were not in sight, but the gods were sure it would be easy for Ode to summon them. It's not as if it will ever be necessary to summon such a level of strength anyways, the present amount of power here is more than enough to put the new gods in their place. So they settled down at the table and grudgingly ate.
The food was magnificent. At least Ode thought so. The other gods at the table didn't seem to like it very much, they sure didn't say anything even if they thought well about it. There was no dinner conversation or small talk. There were no compliments for the chef or to the host for that matter. He may be their warden and might have robbed them of their freedom but politeness does cost a thing. He would have accepted it even if they had put up an act or a show of false appreciation. He knew he shouldn't care about their opinion because what does the opinions of soon-to-be-dead gods worth? Still, a simple thank you will not be the death of them. Their death is scheduled for later.
There was an exception though. One of the new grand gods, the god of food and cooking enjoyed the food very well. He ate with gusto even though he didn't want to. His divinity may have compelled him to eat but he staunchly refused to complement the chef. That was the worst crime at this table. Others merely went through the motions, but this guy asked for seconds, yet he was still being moody about the whole forceful imprisonment thing. Clearly a hypocrite, or worse, someone that isn't honest to himself.
Ode overlooked all these acts of disrespect. Here he is, being a magnanimous host but they just wanted to spit in his face. It is okay though, the least he could give them is their last meal. It is up to them to savor such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to eat the Dinko fish.
The Dinko fish leaves in the depths of an empowered and active volcano. It is not some ordinary volcano, but one with a mana Ley line. The enhancement due to the continuous supply of mana makes the volcano unreachable by anything beneath the level of transcendents. It also makes the fish impossibly delicious. The fact that the fish can only be harvested by transcendents should be enough to make anyone appreciate it, but that isn't all that the fish provides. The flesh of the fish erupts in tiny bursts within the mouth that mimics an erupting volcano. It is like eating tasty bubbles. The sensation and taste explode the senses and brings utter euphoria. It is a priceless delicacy.
When he thought about it some more, he realized he shouldn't have brought his prized fish to some people that are going to die soon. It is frankly a waste of good fish. The fish ought to be offered to visitors that will have the opportunity to tell people or brag about it. These people will only be able to take the testimony to their grave. And even then, they might not be honest about the taste because of how they died. The realization spoiled his mood and ruined the rest of his dinner.
"What a waste of good fish." He grumbled, loud enough for them to hear.
They might be unhappy with him, but he is also unhappy with them and he wants them to know that. He had felt obligated to treat them to one last meal because the last meetings turned out badly. He had expected a little friendly interaction with them if he fed them his prized fish.