Chapter 2: Enter the Virtue Lords

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Overlord: Celestial Crusade

"I can't wait to see"

Ten minutes passed since Aethaion ordered Jasmine and Marie to gather the Virtue Lords in the throne room "*I wonder what the Virtue Lords will be like now that everything is real...*" he thought concerned and before he could finish his thoughts, the room's opened widely and Jasmine along with Marie entered and bowed their heads from the door's corners.

"Lord Aethaion, as you ordered, the Virtue Lords have been gathered before you" said Marie and the seven NPCs began walking.

However "Lord Father Aethaion!" shouted Sophrosyne who was slowly running towards him excited, with everyone on the room being bewildered by this sudden behavior "You are here, you are here!" she shouted excited while hugging him and rubbing her head on him.

Aethaion was frozen from shock "*W-What should I do? She is like a child, so I can't just scold her for that!*" he thought and a glow surrounded his body that cleared his mind, with him then coughing "I feel and accept your love, Sophrosyne, but please refrain from acting like that during meetings." he told her in an imposing but warm tone while touching her head, with her stopping and her eyes widening from realization.

"I'm so sorry, Master and Father!" she said apologetically while bowing.

"It's ok.Also, call me Master for reasons of equality." he said and she respectfully nodded while returning in line. "My Virtue Lords, the great line of defense of Elysium Fortress, I called you because from what I discovered, our base is in a new and unfamiliar world!" he explained and they got shocked.

"Preposterous, my Lord!" said Kratos with a deep and menacing voice in disbelief as his fire wings flared up and Aethaion extended his hand in a reassuring manner.

"I understand your shock and disbelief Kratos, but we must keep a cool head and plan our course of action." said Aethaion and Kratos calmed down.

"My Lord, I believe we must first fortify our defenses and then gather information!" proposed Nerida while taking a single front step and bowing.

"I suggest Lady Nerida and Lady Sophrosyne fortifying our defenses and me going to scout the area." proposed Themis with a soft and calm voice.

"Alright, this is what we will do. Nerida and Sophrosyne will take care of our defenses, Kratos will prepare to intercept any possible assaults along with Leto and Panisher while you Themis will scout the area!" declared Aethaion in agreement.

"My Lord" they shouted in unison while bowing.

"Before you go, I have some questions for you all." he said with an aura of light surrounding him and they stopped and turned around "First, Kratos, what do you think about me?" he asked Kratos first who bowed upon hearing his name.

"The one whose power brought Seraphim to the top and made its name the synonym of power." he honestly said and Aethaion nodded.

"A stiff but pleasant Lord" replied Panisher bowing.

"Thank you for your brutal honesty Panisher." thanked him Aethaion who pointed at Leto.

"The one that placed us at the top with his power and an individual I would love to drink with." said Leto and ended up eagerly smiling while bowing.

"Thank you Leto, and it's too bad I can't drink." replied Aethaion almost chuckling from her answer and then looked at Themis "Themis, please tell me, what do you too think of me" he asked and she bowed lightly while holding her dress.

"An intelligent and resourceful commander and strategist whose plans made the guild grow. A man who the other Celestial Ones trusted and had only good things to say, my creator included." she said.

"*They really trusted me huh? I knew it but still, hearing it makes me happy* Thank you very much Themis. Now, Sophrosyne" he said and she did a jump excited.

"My Father, my Master and the one that has developed the functions of our base along with the other Celestial Ones!" she said excited, making Aethaion uncomfortable who then looked at Emmef Elataf "Y-Yeah, Emmef, what about you?" he asked quickly to get rid of his awkwardness.

"The greatest of the Celestial Ones. A man of courage, power and irresistible charm." she said, with Aethaion feeling akwardness again, this time from her lustful tone, and Nerida looked at her angry without anyone but him noticing.

"Finally, Nerida, what's your opinion about me?" he eagerly asked, with her bowing.

"The Celestial One who stayed with us in his undending love and mercy, a love that we will always return many times over, forever. Please, don't hesitate to use us as you see fit and don't care at all about our well being in the process!" she boldly claimed.

"*W-What's with this opinion and declaration?!*" he thought shocked "I see, thank you all for sharing your opinions about me. I promise to do anything in my power to become worthy of all of your expectatios and images of me. You are dismissed." he said and they bowed their heads before leaving the throne room whose doors closed by Jasmine and Marie as he sat down.

The seven of them were outside the door "So that's how Lord Aethaion is in such situations...amazing" commented Kratos amazed and Sophrosyne chuckled.

"Oh my, I barely could contain myself to stay in place and not go kiss him." said Emmef in ecstasy, with Nerida gritting her teeth.

"Fufufu, that's my Lord Father for you! Didn't you feel his incredible holy aura?! He is the best!" she said while squeeling, with Nerida coming in front of her with visible anger in her face, something that made Sophrosyne stop and tremble.

"You foolish kid! How dare you be so undisciplined in front of our Lord?!" she asked furious, with her white hair waving with a blue glow "We insignificant specs of dust are tools with no will when in front of him and yet you dared to be so casual and desrespectfu!" she yelled at Sophrosyne who had a smile of anger.

"Heh, all this is simply the ranting of a woman too afraid to come closer to the Lord she loves in *many* ways. You are just jealous because I'm small, cute and our Master accepted my daughterly love!" she ended up shouting pissed.

Nerida took a step back and seemed embarassed "W-what?! W-W-Well, he is my creator and the leader of our guild so of course I will l-love him" she managed to say "but me, jealous of you? You are so in your little world that you mistake it for being reality, shrimp!" she shouted angry and in protest.

"What?!" asked an angry Sophrosyne and both were butting heads, with the two other Virtue Lords seeing this disappointed.

"Sigh, this is such a waste of time." commented Kratos while shaking his head and then Themis got between them.

"I understand how you both feel, but leave this for another time, okay?" she said and both got embarassed "I leave our defenses to you two. I will go scouting." she said and then disappeared.

"I will return to my own room, excuse me." said Kratos and walked away, leaving behind the two girls who looked at each other along with Leto and Panisher.

"Well, we will indeed discuss this at another time," said Nerida while returning to her composed self "so let's get to work." she said and Sophrosyne nodded. After she left, Nerida grabbed Emmef and pinned her on the wall "I'm warning you only this once, if you dare to make a move against the man I love, you will pay!" she said angry while her hair were again waving in a blue color and being covered in a blue aura, much to Emmef's indiference.

"Heh. I too am a creation of the Celestial One and have every right to display my loyalty and love in every way possible. Like the shrimp said, you love him romantically but you are too much of a chicken to do anything, unlike me who will do *anything* for him and his love!" she claimed and ended up looking at her in anger and disgust, with her too flaring a violet aura and both were glaring at each other, with both stopping after a minute "We too will continue this another time." Nerida said while calming down and now having her back at her, teleporting away.

Ten minutes after

Themis was flying above the mountain range while looking beneath her "There must be something around here, it can't be totally empty." she said disappointed and as she said that, she finally saw something that made her lifeless eyes widen.

"Oh my." she said interested.