Chapter 154: The Twin Gods and the Awakening

Thanatos couldn't bear to watch and quietly averted his gaze.

Whenever his older brother wore that kind of smile, it meant someone was about to suffer terribly.

Objectively speaking, after so many years of being inseparable—having witnessed all kinds of delightfully sadistic sides of Lord Hypnos—the God of Death should have been somewhat used to such a sight by now.

However...

Shuddering silently, the Lord of Death turned his face away—sadistic tendencies or whatever, how could anyone ever get used to that just like that!

He wasn't a masochist!

Seeing that her Majesty the Queen of the Underworld—who was even more worry-some than his sadistic brother—had already cheerfully, or rather, enthusiastically gathered with Hypnos to study that something which sounded profoundly esoteric known as the "symbiotic connection," Thanatos curled his lips in boredom. His gaze inadvertently swept over the black-haired heroic spirit who was listening with rapt attention to the discussion between Hypnos and Kurama...

"No way... Another one?"

The God of Death frowned fiercely, feeling severely excluded from the mainstream group.

However, he never liked to waste energy pondering things that he didn't need to worry about as long as Hypnos was around, nor did he feel that the addition of Kurama and Diarmuid necessitated any change in his own preferences.

Therefore, the expression of the God of Death softened rapidly at a visible speed. In less than few seconds, his previous deep grievance transformed into present leisurely self-contentment...

Hypnos, who had watched the entire process of his foolish younger brother's facial transformation, gave a subtle, ambiguous chuckle.

"?"

Sitting across from him, Kurama blinked in confusion upon seeing this.

When he followed Hypnos's unwithdrawing gaze to see Thanatos sitting by himself and openly daydreaming, a very distinct layer of undisguised, teasing, and bantering faint smile welled up in the fox demon's emerald eyes:

"I see."

"............"

Hypnos felt his aged face (so to speak) flush red under Kurama's knowing gaze, which seemed as though he had seen through everything.

"Please do not lose your focus, Your Majesty the Queen."

Seeming to have been caught red-handed in his private thoughts and growing somewhat annoyed out of shame, the God of Sleep said in a rare, rigid, and deep tone, forcing himself to concentrate back on the matter the two of them had been discussing.

Unexpectedly, the red-haired fox demon on the opposite side, who possessed an extremely gentle, harmless, and handsome face, smiled and shook his head instead. The words he uttered made the tips of Hypnos's heart tremble with ambiguity...

"The one who is distracted... is not me, you know?"

He spoke in an exceptionally soft tone.

With that, he cast another meaningful glance toward Thanatos.

Even as an Olympian god whose divine essence inherently carried a touch of unprincipled depravity (Hypnos: ......If you put it that way, what does His Majesty make of you? The only exception? ==), after being teased with such an obvious implication, the God of Sleep could no longer maintain his composure and pretend as if nothing had happened.

He frowned with utmost subtlety.

"This matter... I do not want him to realize it just yet."

Lowering his voice to a near-whisper directed at Kurama, the God of Sleep looked at his foolish younger brother with an unbelievable degree of gentle indulgence.

"Thanatos and I have been brothers for I don't know how long. We have been together since birth, facing others as twins, and likewise facing each other in the same manner."

"I do not wish to casually shatter this tacit understanding without him having any preparation, because the consequences brought about by an accident due to insufficient preparation..."

Turning his head back, Hypnos looked at Kurama with unprecedented seriousness and solemnity:

"I do not wish, and will never want, for Thanatos to bear that burden alongside me."

"This point... Kurama, you can understand that, can't you?"

He no longer used the title "Your Majesty the Queen," which carried more mischievousness and retaliation than due respect and deference. Instead, he called Kurama by his first name, just as they did long ago before the fox demon and the Lord of the Underworld had communicated their hearts and confirmed their relationship.

This represented the absolute seriousness and earnestness of Hypnos's attitude when uttering these words, as well as his minor—and even reluctant to state clearly—concession and compromise, demonstrated first within the unilateral "standoff" and wrestling match with Kurama...

The fox demon silently met his gaze for a long moment.

"You don't really think I would be so lacking in tact as to truly ruin the careful layout you've painstakingly built over the years just because of a little bit of mischief and naughtiness, do you?"

Finally, amidst Hypnos's slightly nervous and uncertain gaze, Kurama shook his head and chuckled softly.

"So, in your heart, Hypnos, am I really such an outrageous and unreliable person?"

As he spoke, a pair of clear, glossy, jade-green eyes cooperatively displayed a hint of sorrow and wounded expression...

"............=口=!"

...Young man, who on earth are you?!

For a split second, Hypnos didn't even have time to conceal it, displaying an unprecedented expression of... utter shock and foolish bewilderment that completely clashed with his usual persona.

Watching the God of Sleep's rare, uncalibrated, and irrational reaction, Kurama pursed his lips slightly, the smile on his face deepening.

"Sigh~ This is truly heartbreaking."

He spared no effort in continuing his act, though with an expression so full of teasing undertones, it would be difficult to hide from Hypnos, who was gradually recovering his wits.

The Lord of Sleep thus ungracefully and silently twitched the corner of his mouth—

Don't make the intention to tease someone so obvious! In that case, wouldn't all his previous solemnity, nervousness, and worry become utterly ridiculous!

To his surprise, before he could utter a single word, the fox demon opposite him suddenly straightened his expression and slowly shook his head.

"Not ridiculous at all."

He said earnestly.

"To lose one's usual composure and rationality for the sake of what one values and cherishes; to become unable to see the situation clearly, grow anxious, prone to panic and clumsiness; to easily fail to see the truth and fall into embarrassing and awkward situations..."

"Aren't all these things bound to happen naturally?"

"Whether mortals or gods, in the face of such matters, they are... simply unable to remain aloof, aren't they?"

As he spoke, the fox demon gazed quietly with an unprecedented gentleness at the blonde god, who was gradually calming down amidst these words:

"Therefore, I don't think your previous reaction was shameful in the slightest, Hypnos."

"In fact, this is probably... what will make Thanatos all the more likely to recognize and accept your feelings."

"Because you aren't acting on a whim, or misunderstanding your own emotions due to illusions generated under certain specific conditions. Rather, you truly and completely view Thanatos as a beloved partner you wish to walk hand in hand with, and you are seriously considering the future you will share together..."

"This point is extremely, extremely important."

Having finished these words with a smile amidst the God of Sleep's wide-eyed astonishment and faint shyness, the fox demon nodded at him with a final smile:

"Well... That is basically the attitude Hades and I share regarding this matter. Sorry for playing such an extreme trick on (?) you earlier. It was entirely because His Majesty the ruler refused to make a move and yet wanted to finally confirm the two of you—more accurately, most importantly, your true feelings—that I had to resort to this desperate measure."

"If you want to complain, go find that brooding His Majesty of yours who uses 'few words' and 'being unaccustomed to it' as excuses to leave the role of playing the bad guy to me!"

Completely unconcerned about any flaws in his choice of words, Kurama stood up, swept a condescending and aloof glance at Hades, and then left for his room carrying Mokona.

Leaving behind only a dumbfounded Hypnos and Lord Hades—whose expression remained virtually unchanged from beginning to end, even when called "brooding" by his lover—sitting there staring blankly at each other, or rather, the former staring blankly at the latter.

Had it not been for the God of Sleep's exceptional psychological resilience, allowing him to snap to his senses within just a few breaths and swiftly return to that elegant, composed, and unfathomably wise deity, Thanatos would likely have noticed something was amiss long ago.

Even so, the usually extraordinarily dense God of Death perceived a hint of anomaly today with surprising sharpness.

"What's wrong?"

He looked at his older brother in bafflement.

"Weren't we discussing that inexplicable spiritual body?"

Why did Kurama go back to his room first?

Hypnos smiled soothingly at him, "Nothing. The discussion came to a temporary pause, and he took Mokona back to rest."

The white fluffy creature was the apple of Kurama's eye, and basically everything had to make way for it in his presence.

This wasn't the first time Thanatos had deeply realized this fact, so he nodded out of sheer habit without a second thought.

Seeing that he didn't pursue the matter further, Hypnos couldn't help but let out a massive, highly inconspicuous sigh of relief.

Continuing like this doesn't seem to be a viable solution either.

Narrows his eyes, the God of Sleep thought to himself.

Since he has already gained His Majesty's acknowledgment...

The brilliant golden eyes silently watched the dense younger brother opposite who still seemed entirely oblivious to all of this. The blonde deity lowered his gaze quietly, the possessive and overbearing gleam in his eyes gradually... sinking into the shadows cast by his drooping hair, leaving only a slightly bizarre, pleasurable arc curving at the corner of his lips—

It seems some plans can be implemented ahead of schedule...

***

HOMRA Bar.

Kusanagi Izumo continued to preach to the person sitting in front of the bar counter who was entirely lost in thought while polishing a glass:

"…So I'm saying, Suou, there's a limit to how much of a headache you can be! Right after something like that happened, you go out alone without a terminal and without a word, not even knowing where you wandered off to. Do you have any idea how anxious it makes the people under you?"

"Huh?"

Closing his eyes slightly, the red-haired man sitting on the high bar stool in an extremely lazy posture responded seemingly unconsciously. That deep, elegant, and sexy nasal voice, carrying a sort of strong sensual suggestion, involuntarily caused a tiny, fragmented electric current to spark deep from one's tailbone, climbing all the way up to the top of the head, spreading a numb sensation to every single nerve ending—a sweet yet terrifyingly bizarre illusion...

Izumo, who had been earnestly reasoning all afternoon only to receive such a perfunctory response, sighed silently.

"I know how out of control your emotions are right now, and how much you want to vent them."

He put down the glass in his hand, his gaze passing through the light purple lenses to land straight into the amber eyes of the person opposite him, which shone sharply as if flames were leaping within them:

"However, Suou, we always need to find a target for that venting first."

"............"

The man who was being admonished looked at him silently without speaking.

Izumo raised his hand and waved the terminal in his hand which had just received a new email:

"Yata-chan and the others found some intelligence over there. How about it? Want to go take a look together?"

"…Let's go."

The man didn't answer directly, but abruptly stepped down from the bar stool and walked outward without looking back.

Izumo, accustomed to this crisp and decisive style of action, shook his head helplessly and reached out to grab a jacket.

"Wait for me and Anna, Suou!"

With that, he hurriedly rushed out from behind the counter.

Unexpectedly, the moment he lifted his foot to chase after the figure that had already walked out of the shop door, his hem was abruptly caught by a small, delicate hand.

Izumo lowered his head and saw that the white-haired girl—whom he had thought would be closely following their King and had already gone outside—was raising her head, looking up at him silently with an expressionless face on her delicate little face...

"What is it, Anna?"

The blonde handsome man bent down slightly, looking into the girl's dark red eyes with utmost patience.

The girl, dressed in an ornate Gothic Lolita outfit, shook her head at him.

"Suou... won't go out of control."

She said softly.

"Tatara's red... hasn't disappeared."

"!!!"

In an instant, because of the girl's words, Izumo widened his eyes in astonishment.

While in a distant place, as if to corroborate Anna's assertion, a pair of light brown eyes flickered slightly through their long eyelashes before slowly... opening up...