The Seraphic System The Lotus Hotel

The Seraphic System

Chapter: 29

Pa/ t reon details at the bottom of the chapter if you're interested I'll keep posting regardless.

(The Lotus Hotel)

"What..?" I questioned, baffled.

The cursed-eyed gorgon still bowed with her head down in submission.

"Please allow to join you," she begged.

Yeah, that's what I thought she said. Again, I wasn't sure what I had done to cause this. Sure, I had not outright killed her and said a few nice words, but that wasn't enough for her to want to join , was it?

Then again, she had been neglected and treated as a monster for possibly thousands of years due to the curse. I still wasn't sure if this was the version who had been raped by Poseidon or not, either.

I felt a small pang of unwanted sympathy. Maybe getting an empathy skill wasn't as good of an idea as I thought it would have been.

"Why would you want to join ?" I asked. I was still just a teenager with a bit too much power, even if I looked a lot older.

Which, co to think of it, may be an angel physiology thing. Did angels mature at a faster rate?

She looked up at again with those eerie glowing eyes.

"Why wouldn't I? You're the first being to not treat like so sort of creature. You have incredible power for your age, which ans you'll be a powerhouse when you fully mature, and you're an angel. Beings who are noble and kind, aning you won't stab in the back like many others," she explained with a surprising amount of logic.

That… actually made sense.

"You're the first chance I've got at not spending the rest of my existence alone. The main reason is you can resist my curse, which I thought only other divine beings could do. Gods who can't be trusted. Even if you are an angel and the fact you're not in heaven with the rest is strange. You're my only chance," she continued.

"Just, please treat with fairness and I promise I'll serve you loyally. I'll even perform an oath on the Styx to show my loyalty," dusa asked, a pleading edge to her voice.

I don't think Athena would be happy if I went along with this…

I could see a use for her; those cursed eyes could beco a weapon against weaker enemies. Despite my strength, enough high-class beings could overwhelm if it ever ca down to it.

The problem was none of my angels had the sa boon given by the system to resist her curse. If she were to join , she would have to stay in my pocket dinsion while I sorted things out.

Since I found it easier to move alone.

How could I trust her not to hurt them? Of course, I could look into buying or even building so sort of visor for her to control it.

Looking at her pleading visage, I clicked my tongue.

A plan ca to mind.

Fuck it, we ball.

"Fine. But there'll need to be so ground rules," I said.

My plan was to bring her along for the quest so I could get a better view of her character and see if I could trust her with the secret of my ability to create angels and my pocket dinsion.

This was going to be so complicated to explain.

-Scene Break-

Walking out, I spotted Annabeth and Percy, who both smiled in relief as they saw . They began running towards , only to pause as dusa, with her blindfold tightly secured around her eyes, stepped out from behind .

They looked at my relaxed posture and then back at dusa, their expressions filled with confusion and wariness.

"Relax, she's coming with us," I said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Coming with us…?" Annabeth echoed as if the concept was so foreign she had to vocalise it.

"Yeah, we had a talk and she wants to co with us," I explained.

They both gave appalled looks as Annabeth quickly walked over to .

"One second," she said to dusa.

"What the hell are you doing?" she whispered furiously.

"Improvising," I replied truthfully.

"That's THE dusa, the Gorgon who's been killing hundreds of demigods and satyrs for centuries," she said, scowling.

"I'm aware," I responded dryly.

She slapped my arm.

"Take this seriously. She's dangerous and a liability. I can't believe I even need to tell you this," she said, throwing her hands up.

"Why take everything so seriously? Where's the fun in living like that?" I questioned curiously.

I didn't act maturely on purpose. I had the capability for sure, but it reminded of my family— all serious, manipulative business people who chased money so much they could barely spend it.

"I don't think this is a good idea dude." Percy chid in.

"Also, dusa promised to make an oath of loyalty to Styx. I wanted you to be there to see it so you could be at ease. I doubt she would be able to break it, and she seems to have pure intentions," I quickly reasoned, making her pause.

"She agreed to do what?!"

"An oath on the Styx. Now, if you'll calm down and trust , we can get on with this quest. dusa will be a good addition due to her cursed sight," I continued, undeterred.

"dusa, co here, please," I called out, Annabeth flinching.

dusa slowly and steadily moved towards , being deliberate.

"Can you make that oath now?" I asked, and she nodded.

"I swear I shall serve Kai faithfully, so long as he doesn't harm in body or mind," she uttered, a rumble of thunder following up, proving the oath had been made.

An oath on the Styx was soul-binding and ant she would face a terrible backlash should she break it. It wasn't foolproof, but it was enough to prove her sincerity, as it would be extrely difficult to bypass.

"Right, now that's settled. Let's get a move on before we get sward," I clapped my hands, jolting both Percy and Annabeth, a quick gesture to the shadows starting to coalesce around us.

Staying in one location for too long with a Demigod's natural aura drawing monsters in was a bad idea. The fact I had blasted my angelic aura probably didn't help either.

"Fine. But I want to stop by the Gateway Arch along the way," Annabeth huffed.

"No," I denied.

"Wha-what?! Why? It's a marvellous piece of architecture and it's on the way," she retorted angrily.

"Because this isn't a field trip? Percy was told to go west. So we keep going west until we et whatever fate the dickish oracle proclaid Percy would et. But you know what? Percy is the team leader. If he wants to go and play on a school field trip instead of saving his mom, then go right ahead," I calmly replied.

I knew I was being a dick, but I didn't want to deal with such a pointless detour. I found it stupid that it happened in the first place. I get Annabeth hasn't gone out much, but that didn't excuse it.

Annabeth's mouth, which was about to reply, snapped shut. She looked towards Percy with a mixture of emotions, surely wanting to go see the arch but also wanting to save his mom.

Percy grimly thought about it for just a mont.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth, but I need to save my mom. You can see it another ti," he said, nodding to gratefully.

She sighed, but nodded. Only looking a little disappointed.

I felt sothing's gaze on for a split second, making turn around and look up at the skies in intrigue.

Hmm.

Yeah, maybe I should just stick to following Percy.

I clapped my hands together once more.

"Ti to commandeer a vehicle like my original plan. Seriously, what's the point of morals if they get you killed?" I announced it to the group.

dusa smiled and followed .

"Hey, wait! No," Annabeth shouted.

Percy shook his head in exasperation but not denying , seemingly on board with the idea now.

I strode into the middle of the road with dusa in tow like a king, Annabeth still trying to get to stop as she dodged cars that quickly slamd to a stop.

A sports car quickly ca to a stop in front of as I chose my target.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing, you fucking asshole?" a rich-looking man shouted, his voice only slightly slurred.

He had been drinking, I could sll it.

Perfect.

"Excuse , sir," I said, walking towards him.

"I would like to personally thank you for your donation to the cause," I continued, picking him up by the scruff of his rather good-looking suit.

"What the fuck?" he shouted as his ass was dropped on the ground. I threw him a wad of cash, mostly to placate the frowning Percy.

Annabeth wasn't going to be agreeable to it anyway.

I had chosen my target well, using my chakra sight as I had now dubbed it to pick out soone who looked wealthy enough to not be bothered. I was lucky that I caught this guy.

Hopping into his vehicle, dusa sat next to with a rather sexy small smirk on her face. Percy hopped in behind us, and Annabeth scowled as I sent her a raised eyebrow.

"Fine," she gritted out. "At least you paid the man so money for this thievery."

I humd. Looking over the various buttons, I was forced to trip the poor man over with a small gust of wind magic. He had just been about to charge , presumably in an attempt to reclaim his vehicle.

"Is it thievery if I paid?" I asked and didn't let her answer as I continued.

"That's a good point." Percy replied thoughtfully.

"Also one small problem. I can't drive."

Percy and Annabeth stared in disbelief.

"Good thing is I'm a fast learner," I assured them.

Putting my foot down on the pedal, we went speeding off.

Off to Las Vegas we go. Much better without all the Gateway Arch shenanigans. Driving wasn't that hard. Well, crashing wasn't. I don't think if I did my driving test, I would get past the first five minutes.

Still, no one was hurt, so it was fine.

It took an hour for Annabeth and Percy to settle down. dusa seed perfectly fine since she was seemingly the only one who realised that even if we crashed, we would be fine.

Human mindsets were more restricting than people would imagine. I was sowhat glad mine was abandoned when I was reborn, even if it was due to my damaged mind.

Another hour of reckless driving and a police chase at one point had us arriving in Las Vegas. Already the scene of scantily clad won and n could be seen walking down the streets.

Stopping the car, I looked up at the darkening sky and back to the two tired-looking Demigods. dusa was fine and simply gave a smile as my eyes passed over her.

"Let's find a place to get so food and freshen up," I said after a brief but comfortable silence.

"Finally." Annabeth threw up her hands. "I've been asking to stop for a rest the past hour."

Percy frowned. "Do we have ti?" he asked in a grim tone.

"I'm sure half an hour for a small rest won't affect the life of your mom. It's best we let you rest a bit instead of making brash decisions that could lead us into a worse situation. Ultimately it's up to you." I finished with a shrug.

To be honest, I wanted to go into the Lotus Hotel. While the ti dilation was risky, it would work into a plan of mine to safely negotiate the return of Sally without any trouble.

Hades had two secret children and he wouldn't appreciate it if that information was leaked to his lovely elder siblings. Blackmailing a god probably wasn't worth this amount of hassle, but Percy was my friend, soone loyal besides my angels that would have my back when he matured into more power.

Going to the Lotus Hotel and finding them ant I wouldn't get caught lying with the bullshit lie detector all gods seemingly possessed. I'd have to get my hands on sothing to let us instantly escape the underworld after I blackmailed him.

Of course, I would butter him up with the fact that Percy truly doesn't have his helm, which was his reason for stealing Sally.

I opened the car door, and we all exited the vehicle.

"Lead the way," I told Percy.

He seed to be annoyed that I kept forcing him to be the leader of our little dysfunctional group, but I could tell he was grateful for my input. Percy, being the ball of chaos, picked a random direction into Las Vegas and started walking.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked as we walked side by side.

He looked at for a mont before sighing. "I'm managing," Percy replied, looking a bit downcast.

I gave him a friendly shoulder bump. "We'll get through this. Trust , I've been in so pretty bad situations. I'm an expert," I assured him.

He grinned slightly. "You've been through sothing like this? You plan on telling about it one day?"

"Of course, but right now we're focusing on you," I deflected.

"Do you think I'll find my mom?" he asked quietly.

"You bet you will. That's why I'm here. You've got your super-powered friend to help you out," I replied with an exaggeratedly cocky tone.

Percy looked at , tears welling up in his eyes. "Thanks for being here, man."

I held out my fist for a bump. He grinned and bumped it back. We both looked over to Annabeth bickering to an amused dusa fondly.

The city seed to be becoming more lively as the sky darkened. I wondered if these casinos held supernatural security, or could any being with magic walk in and just empty it.

There was definitely more to the eye around here, but I didn't intend to find out. I doubted the Lotus Hotel was the only weird place around here. An eerie lack of monster sightings definitely suggested it.

I grinned as Percy paused. I had been worried my presence would have inadvertently made Percy not find the Lotus Hotel, but looking at the doorman giving us a friendly smile, despite the fact we had just reached the dead end of a road, confird that so things just don't change.

The Lotus Hotel was appealing to the eye, to say the least. It was seemingly made to draw people in with its colourful and eye-catching design. It made sense since all they needed was a good appearance to draw people inside where they would be entrapped.

The building was large, with a symbol of a coloured lotus adorning its main entrance. Many massive windows peered into gas and entertainnt.

Activating my chakra sight, I saw a barrier covering the entirety of its boundaries, and a glimpse inside showed a thick invisible fog that contained a weird energy.

Presumably the lotus effect that puts people into a trance.

Having chakra sight had been informative as to how magic worked and moved.

"Greetings, children. You look mighty tired. How about you co in and enjoy so gas?" the well-dressed man offered kindly.

Both Annabeth and Percy looked suspicious, making nod in appreciation. They were both fast learners.

"I don't think we have enough money to afford such an expensive place to stay," Annabeth said, looking at the luxurious red carpet leading in.

The man smiled. "We are currently hosting an event that allows people to stay free of charge."

Annabeth's suspicion doubled. Percy looked at .

"Sounds interesting. What's the event called?" Annabeth probed.

"The Lotus Petal, a charity event. All are welco," he replied with ease.

"A charity event?" Percy asked.

"Yes," he said simply.

"Sounds fun. Let's go check it out, we can always leave if it doesn't suit our needs," I casually said, walking inside and giving a wink to the receptionist who wore a tight smile.

While so may consider it stupid to bring them inside with , leaving them outside would be even more dangerous, considering the fact I was pretty sure there was so sort of temporal barrier that affected ti around the place.

Leaving both Percy and Annabeth outside would an even if I quickly planned to go in and out, they could be waiting for a while, in which they could be attacked or decide to co in and find .

Either way, they had no argunts as they followed in. I spotted dusa frowning in thought as she looked around, her eyes lingering on the massive lotus sign.

Instantly, we were greeted by a soothing scent. Presumably, the airborne charm effect started working its magic. Percy and Annabeth's eyes glazed over just a tad bit.

dusa looked alert as she quickly turned to .

"My Lord, I believe we've mistakenly entered a lotus eater den. We should retreat before you all get affected," dusa quietly said, away from the ears of the lotus eaters disguised around us.

"Firstly, please don't call 'my Lord,' and secondly, I'm aware. There's sothing, or better yet soone, I need to find before we can leave. Take care of Annabeth and Percy while I search around," I whispered back to her.

She paused for a brief mont, seeming to be caught off guard by my decision before she nodded, looking relieved that I wasn't affected by the weird airborne magical effect.

"Yes, young master," dusa said.

I sighed.

I had a feeling I would just be going in circles if I asked her to refer to in a casual manner.

"This place looks aweso," Percy muttered.

He was correct. Gas filled the area, free food and drinks were spread across tables, and booming music created a lively party atmosphere.

"Why don't you both get so drinks and snacks while I go to the bathroom?" I offered.

"Good idea," Annabeth nodded. Percy followed as they went over to get so food. dusa gave a nod as she followed.

I shook my head in amusent as I glanced around the large room, full of people. Mostly young teenagers playing gas. All of their eyes were heavily glazed over, giving them a glassy texture.

I noticed so of the people playing gas around wore old eccentric clothing that was blatantly out of date. I had to wonder how long this place had been in operation.

It was kind of dark to think these people had probably had a family who had searched for them relentlessly while they played gas here, uncaring of anything else.

My eyes trailed to the lotus eaters who served people drinks with happy smiles.

'Appraisal'

{Na: Agnar}

{Title: Lotus Guard}

{Race: Lotus Eater}

{Power Level: 2000}

So, not very strong. Compared to a normal baseline human, they would be more than capable of handling normal humans. I was more interested in what drug they used that could even affect demigods, who I was pretty sure had quite the natural resistance against things like this.

I guess it didn't matter for now, I didn't have a lot of ti to waste. I knew roughly what the appearance of two children of Hades should look like. But there were hundreds of teenagers walking around, so it wasn't too easy.

My eyes scanned through the crowd for a few minutes as I was forced to continually decline offers of drinks from the lotus eaters, who seed to be watching a bit more carefully than the rest.

Finally, I stopped to kiss bickering over a ga. The first a young boy with ssy dark black hair that was slightly dishevelled. His eyes were a dark brown colour and his skin was almost too pale.

Beside him stood a girl that looked to be about sixteen years old. With wavy dark hair a similar colour to the boy next to her and black hair, she was the epito of a teen goth girl.

Her skin was just as pale. Was it so sort of trait gained from being the child of Hades? There was pale skin then there were these two.

'Appraisal'

{Na: Bianca Di Angelo}

{Title: Child Of Hades}

{Race: Demigod}

{Power Level: 5100}

{Na: Nico Di Angelo}

{Title: Child Of Hades}

{Race: Demigod}

{Power Level: 4920}

Found you.

-{Gabriel}-

She had taken her eyes off the general location of the mysterious angel that had eluded her for so long for rely a few hours. Gabriel ran a hand through her curly, impossibly soft golden hair in frustration.

Her tracking ability hadn't been working even as she systematically attempted every hour. She hadn't slept a wink as she was determined to bring her fellow angel back into the safe gates of Heaven.

It had been tedious. She had distracted herself by comforting the poor nun who had her faith confird abruptly. Having your faith confird was a massive deal for humans.

They believed with all their heart, of course. Or the kind maiden of God wouldn't have devoted her life to her deceased father. It was sothing that both brought Gabriel pure joy and deep sadness.

With the faulty system of Heaven, souls that were ant to go into Heaven had been put in a strange sort of limbo. Inaccessible by Michael, no matter how much he tried.

Heaven was perhaps one of the most secretive planes in existence, closed off from the world and with the angels all locked within. No one knew of Heaven's cities or how angelic society worked.

The pause in the flow of souls had been troubleso. Along with no saint to act in God's stead on Earth, the Church had been weakened heavily, even if they didn't know of it.

The Church had once been a force truly able to rival factions by itself. It was the earthly force of God while angels stayed within Heaven as His eternal helpers.

A saint was a special person who, in basic terms, carried the avatar of God. Only one could be chosen every century, and they were always incredibly powerful.

To be a saint was to carry a pure heart. It was to beco a leader within the Church and make decisions that represented God. It was an honour and sothing every human who worshipped the Abrahamic God strived to be chosen for.

There hadn't been a saint in a long ti. The system had automatically chosen one even after the death of God, with His residue power alone. But even that had dried up.

That had been a dark day for the angels. The day the last of their Father's residue holy power dried up.

The last saint had been a beautiful woman nad Jeanne D'Arc. A kind girl who had been wronged due to the negligence of both Michael and the Church.

After that, consequently, humans to this day who didn't know of God's death believed that God had lost faith in them, which made all the Church for centuries try and repent as only the pope knew the truth of the situation.

Gabriel let out a downright vicious scowl that didn't look fit on her unfathomably beautiful face. Plump, insanely kissable lips twisted. Gabriel didn't have enough negativity to hate, but she certainly disliked her elder sibling Lucifer, which was hard for an angel who was normally filled with pure positive energy.

In human terms, she absolutely fucking despised the existence of Lucifer.

Everything had gone wrong since Lucifer's temper tantrum.

She shook her head and cleared her thoughts. The situation was that she had ditated to keep a clear mind for the eting she was soon to have with an angel who had been exposed to the harsh world that was Earth.

ditation had helped her stay an angel, with the temptation to fall and give in to the despair she felt at the loss of her Father being lessened as she ditated.

Then much to her complete dismay, when she woke up from her brief ditation that had only lasted a few hours, she had used her tracker ability to find him ages away from her.

Of course, she had wasted no ti, letting her wings loose as she avoided being spotted in the air. Then what had happened? The troubleso angel who seed intent on escaping her had gone off the radar.

Her tracker powers weren't working, aning he was in yet another sub dinsion of sorts.

She smacked her soft, pale cheeks in pure annoyance. She had a general direction of where he was.

Gabriel could feel it.

She would soon et this evasive angel and finally deliver him back ho with her.

Note: Gabriel Encounter has been written before you get annoyed. I know it's been dragged out a bit but trust it's for a reason. It'll be coming in the next few chapters.

-END-

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