[The Stone Catacombs]
[Gathering Place of The Council of Nine and One]
The neutral world of the Stone Catacombs was still as peaceful and mystical as Jason remembered. Jason, Gina, and Hesbeath appeared from the teleportation zone within the tall tower opposite the Stone Catacombs, and Jason took in a deep breath of the fresh air as he looked around him. Jason honestly never thought he would be back here so soon. It had been a few months since the trials, and Jason couldn’t help but feel like he was a completely different person compared to the Jason who came here three months ago! Gina was also looking around with a curious expression as she appreciated the beautiful scenery, but Hesbeath was completely neutral to everything! Hesabeth looked towards the main castle of the Stone Catacombs, and she frowned slightly while thinking about the trial that was about to take place. Hesabeth couldn’t help but feel like this entire trial was just an irritating nuisance, and Hesabeth would much rather be on Earth with her beloved so she could finally meet his family!
"Welcome, Queen Hesabeth, Seventh Seat in the Council of Nine and One. Welcome, Jason Marc of Earth, Dead Apostle of Fire. Welcome, Gina Fey, Spirit Sage of Wind. It is an honor to host you all once more at the Stone Catacombs. I am the Head Keeper, and I shall be your guide for today. I implore you to please keep to the laws of Neutrality while within this world to avoid punishment. If you have need for any assistance, please do not hesitate to approach me or any of the Faceless Keepers."
In front of the trio, the Faceless Keepers were standing respectfully in a neat, straight line, and the Faceless Keepers all bowed their heads in greeting. The Keepers still wore their long black cloaks with the hood and mask that covered their faces, and the person who spoke up was the Head Keeper, who stood in front of the line of other Keepers. Jason and Gina both nodded to the Keepers respectfully, but Queen Hesabeth simply ignored them as she glanced to the side, where her guards from Minori were standing in an organized line while waiting for her. The guards all saluted once they saw their Queen looking at them, and Hesabeth only gave them a single glance before she finally turned to Jason and spoke in a calm voice.
"I shall be heading towards the council room then, darling. As things stand, I am still a member of the council, so I am required to appear in my high seat. But remember that you are well supported in that hall. You do not stand alone."
Hesabeth reached up to stroke Jason’s cheek softly as she said this, and Jason smiled at her. At the side, all the guards from Minori felt their eyes widen slightly when they saw their Queen acting so affectionately with Jason, and when Hesabeth leaned up to kiss Jason, the guards were stunned! One of the guards even took a half-step back and gasped, and another guard had to elbow him to make sure he didn’t go overboard! The guards couldn’t believe it! Their Queen had finally chosen to be with a man! And of all the men she could have chosen, it turned out to be the Immortal King!? This was huge news!
Hesabeth smiled as she separated from Jason, and Hesabeth went to give Gina a quick emotional hug before she turned and began to walk quickly towards her guards! All the guards snapped into attention once they saw Hesabeth approaching, and Hesabeth looked over them all with a heavy gaze before she walked towards the wall in front of her and vanished through it!
In truth, Hesbeth knew exactly what she had been doing when she kissed Jason earlier! It was a way to show her guards and the council that she was in a relationship with this man! Hesabeth was not the sort of woman who cared to announce her relationships to the peasants, so Hesabeth was going to allow the guards to handle spreading the news for her! Let the people know the precious child of the Primordial Expanse has chosen for herself a man, and Hesabeth would not tolerate any form of disrespect towards her or her new family!
Back on the teleportation platform, Jason let out a small chuckle as he easily figured out what Hesabeth had planned and Jason just took Gina’s hand and began to move towards the wall as well. Jason knew that some of his Vympir subordinates were actually meant to be here to welcome him to the Stone Catacombs, but Jason had sent a message to Lamina earlier to make sure that no Vympir showed up to greet him at all. Jason wanted to make sure that Lamina and the other Vympirs didn’t treat him any differently from how they used to, so the council wouldn’t think that Jason was interested in taking the throne of Nox. Jason already told Lamina that he wanted her to remain as both the leader of Nox and the Eighth Seat of the council, so it would be best if Lamina just continued acting as usual.
Jason was sure the council would definitely bring up Jason’s position as the wielder of the Blood Oath, and they might try to use that as a reason to either take Lamina away from the council or to make sure Jason couldn’t join the council. But Jason also knew that the council needed Lamina! If the council didn’t need her, then they would not have rejected Lamina’s resignation back when she presented it! So Jason was banking on Lamina’s importance to the council to make sure that he controlled how things turned out here! Lamina had already gone into the Hall of Heroes with the other members of the council to wait for the trial, so Jason would see how the rest of the council treated her before he decided on what he would do next!
Last night, when Jason, Gina, and Hesabeth were in bed together, they spoke about how things would go today! Gina had obviously been worried about what the council would do to Jason, but Jason and Hesabeth both told her that things would be fine! The council couldn’t give Hesabeth a punishment that was too harsh since that would only lead to more destruction, and they couldn’t really blame Jason for a lot of the things he did since he had been under Gillian’s control when he fought against the Machina, and the only reason he was involved in the destruction of so many worlds was because Hesabeth had been attacking him! At most, the council would fine them both, and that would be the end of it!
Jason walked through the familiar halls of the Stone Catacombs, and he appreciated the beautiful architecture as well as the view of the floating blue clouds outside the windows. The Head Keeper who had greeted Jason and Gina was also following behind them at a respectful distance, and Jason just ignored him as he followed the path he remembered from last time toward the Hall of Fallen Heroes.
"Hey, where did they say the bathroom was again? Is it around here?"
Jason heard a voice coming from somewhere in front of him, and he turned the corner to see a small group of four lizard-like creatures walking towards him! The creatures stood on two legs, and they had brown scales that were covered with long robes that dragged behind them. The moment the lizards saw Jason turn the corner, they all gasped in shock and quickly moved out of the way, and Jason ignored them as he continued walking with Gina.
"That’s him, right? The Immortal King? He’s the one on trial today."
"Hey, don’t point! That might be your new Overlord soon!"
"There’s no way he’ll be the next Overlord! The Machina are now an endangered species because of him! They’re sending him straight to jail."
"Did you feel his mana? Damn, he’s scary."