CHAPTER 548: THE ULTIMATE PROVOKER

Nearly an entire month passed by, when the Colosseum was finally ready for the tournament. A few days later, Tyr also informed them that all the Contracts were written.

The strategic masterminds of both the Angelic Order and the Norse Pantheon sat together at the end of September, and they discussed the plan once more.

Sera signed each Contract, which was necessary for it to work. The other participants will need to sign it too otherwise, the Contract won’t work.

After careful consideration, they decided on the tournament’s date. It’ll be held a month from now, on October 28th.

Back at the Colosseum, James began working on the electronics, while Odin went to find Loki... It was time to share their plans with the trickster...

At first, he wasn’t a fan of the errand boy job, but he quickly folded under the promise of provoking others into their demise. He soon teleported away carrying the Contracts, while his entire body trembled with excitement.

His first destination was the most messy and easy to provoke Faction... The Greek Pantheon!

The tall, handsome man appeared inside a beautiful hall carved from white stone. The floor glistened from frequent cleaning, while vines grew over the tall pillars. Strangely, the hall had no roof, so the morning sun’s rays could freely shine wherever they desired.

Loki stood there for a moment, awaiting someone to address him. However, after a few seconds of waiting, he grew bored. He took a deep whiff of air and with a smirk followed the disgusting smell of semen and blood.

He entered a side corridor, where the noises finally reached his ears... The mix of moans and screams, which wiped the smirk off his face...

To be fair, Loki wasn’t a saint either. He sometimes took his pranks too far, which led to some people’s deaths. But unlike the Greek Pantheon, he never tortured or raped anyone... He was the God of Chaos and Tricks. His hobby was laughing at others, but he hated seeing them actually suffer!

The noises came from multiple rooms. Some were women, others men, but the worst were the few children’s cries for help, which reached Loki’s ears.

A thoughtful expression appeared on the lanky man’s face. He played with his long blonde hair while crafting an idea, which would certainly get everyone’s attention. Soon, a wicked grin grew on Loki’s face as he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

All the screams of suffering went silent, and a moment later, frustrated shouting echoed along the corridor, creating a beautiful symphony in Loki’s ears...

Multiple doors flew off their hinges as the so called Greek Gods stepped out. They were all naked, angry and frustrated.

Closest to Loki stood a thin, small man carrying a scepter, Hermes. On the other side, a young woman with an athletic build and tied up long brown hair appeared, looking hatefully at a similar-looking man with the exact same build but short, curly brown hair, Apollo and Artemis, the twin gods.

There was also a perfect beauty with long pink hair who stood beside a tall, muscular warrior, Aphrodite and Ares. Near the end stood another powerfully built man, but with a dark blue beard and long curly hair, Poseidon. Finally, there was a strong, beautiful woman with ample muscles and gray, wise eyes, Athena.

At the hallway’s end, a bearded white-haired man appeared, electricity dancing in his eyes, Zeus. Behind him, a pale, beautiful mature woman glanced out with exhausted eyes, Hera.

"What the fuck happened?! Loki, you fucking asshole! What’ve you done to my toys?" shouted Zeus, his voice shaking the entire building.

The Trickster just chuckled and shrugged...

"They must’ve grown bored with your hospitality. I’m sure they’ll find a better home in New Athens... Anyway, I just popped in to give you the good news! I heard from Dionysus that you seek world domination after killing the Last Angel!"

Zeus growled, clearly dissatisfied with Loki’s answer. However, he grew interested in the Trickster’s words, so he let him continue the annoying speech.

"About a month from now, the Last Angel organizes a tournament... The Tournament of Earth’s Fate! You see, the winner of this tournament will receive total control over the planet’s residents, since they’ll be the only ones left standing! It’s a deathmatch, and the winner takes all!"

The Greek Gods glanced at each other, either with doubt or excitement. To convince everyone, Loki tossed them all their Contracts, which they quickly began skimming through.

Most of them chuckled in disbelief as they read the clauses and restrictions, but a few seconds later, most of them signed it. Only Athena and Hermes read every single word, and by the end, even they signed it.

The threat of losing was nothing compared to their desire for victory...

Upon seeing how little provocation it took to convince the Greek Pantheon, Loki faded away with an annoyed expression. He hoped the next destination would require much more instigation to bait them into singing their Contracts.

However, there was something nobody could’ve accounted for. Everyone believed Loki’ll need to convince the primordial gods and bully them into compliance. Sadly, this wasn’t the case, and a few hours later, he reappeared inside the conference room with Odin, Sera and the others.

He looked madder than ever as he punched a hole through the wooden table. He took a few deep breaths while the Runes glowed along the table’s surface and repaired the damage.

"You fucking assholes! I swear you won’t have a single normal day in your entire lives!"

The people inside the room shared confused glances, while the angered Trickster’s eyes turned more annoyed...

"What happened?" asked Odin with narrowed eyes. Even he felt shocked at Loki’s unusually vehement reaction. "Did the primordials cause you trouble? They sent you away and attacked you?"

"What? Of course not!" answered Loki, and before he could’ve continued, Sera cut in with another question.

"Then they refused the Contracts? Did you fail to provoke them into signing it?"

"Not at all... That’s the issue! I didn’t even need to provoke them! I went to each Faction and, after reading the Contract, they all signed it without further questions!... Nobody refused to sign it!"

Suddenly, everyone gathered inside the chamber sighed and nodded in understanding. Loki wasn’t angry because people sent him away without signing the Contracts... On the contrary! He was annoyed because they agreed too easily!

A few seconds of silence passed before Bea glanced towards Loki with a wide grin...

"I guess we tricked the Trickster God into helping us. Sucks to suck!"

The handsome man’s gaze gradually moved towards Bea. A too-wide grin grew on his face as pure insanity appeared in his eyes.

He soon burst into mad laughter as he shouted, "Tricking me?! The Trickster himself?! How ironic! Marvellous! I’ve never been tricked before! Is this how it feels? This annoyance and irritation I feel... Is this how all my victims feel?! I love it! I need to trick more people! I need more chaos!"

Loki’s laughter continued echoing inside the room as his body faded out of existence.

Odin took a deep breath as a headache already burned inside his mind. Whatever Loki planned to do next, it would certainly cause much trouble, and he’ll need to clean up the Trickster’s mess.

"Well, at least everyone will attend the tournament." said Bea while leaning back in her chair. She smirked and winked at Sera, and the Angel revealed a similar cunning smile.

"Yeah. The Contract will prevent anyone from changing their minds... The real question is if you can guarantee victory, Sera. While we placed many restrictions on our enemies, we can’t do anything about the experience they gained over thousands of years... How confident are you?"

"Oh, don’t worry, Odin. If the Runes and Contracts work, our victory is already sealed!" said Sera, but she didn’t elaborate on her exact plan, which annoyed Odin. The trust between them improved over the past months, yet Sera still didn’t reveal her secrets.

"Hmm... You’re quite certain about victory. I wonder why..." mumbled Odin while brushing his long beard with one hand.

An awkward silence spread around the room as multiple people narrowed their eyes at Odin suspiciously. Sera just continued smiling, and with a light chuckle, broke the quiet.

"Thank you for helping us, but don’t act so suspicious towards your allies. Wait until October 28th and you’ll understand my plans... Now if you’ll excuse us, I need to announce the tournament to my people!"

With that, Sera and her entourage stood up and walked through the portal opened by Vicky. The room emptied out as the portal closed shut, yet Odin felt uncomfortable, as if a pair of eyes continued watching his every move.

He sighed deeply as the flapping of wings reached his ears. Soon, two ravens landed on the table before him, Muninn and Huginn, his trusted spies.

"Did you see anything strange while exploring? How are the Angelic Order’s cities?" asked Odin, while giving scratches to both birds.

"They’ve got lots of beautiful women there. Sadly, they all worship and love the same Goddess!" croaked Muninn in an annoyed tone.

"They don’t like ravens. Just flying close to their shield caused branches to automatically attack me... I don’t like them!" croaked Huginn in a similar tone.

Odin nodded in understanding, then with a heavy sigh stared out towards his city. Long ago, people also worshipped him, which felt both intoxicating and disgusting. He hated that feeling, yet hearing how everyone loves Sera made him nostalgic.

"Thanks for the intel. For now, stay by my side until the tournament... I know enough to make my judgements..."