As Adonis walked onto the Spartan dreadnought it felt unlike anything Adonis had experienced before. He had been on many types of space ships in his past life. From the barely held together cruisers. The occasional frigates. Even one luxury heavy cruiser for a body guarding mission. But none of them had anything on the Spartan dreadnought's.
The ship itself was enormous, large enough that even calling it a ship felt wrong. It was a fortress. No a city of steel and discipline drifting through the void of space, its shape long and imposing, its armored hull dark as midnight with blood-red lines etched into its frame like a surgical design.
Adonis realized the dreadnought carried the same aesthetic as House Blud and the Spartan Empire itself, functional, brutal, and unapologetically proud.
As Adonis stepped from the smaller cruiser with Harmonia at his side and Arionna pacing beside him, he immediately felt the difference in the atmosphere. Mars Castle had always felt like a training ground and a hidden home but this ship felt like a moving fortress made for war.
The hangar bay alone was massive. Rows of smaller strike crafts rested in ordered formations along the walls, while transport vessels and heavier boarding craft sat elevated in magnetic docks overhead. The crewman moved with efficient precision, Adonis could tell there was no wasted steps or movements, no unnecessary speech. Every person looked like they knew their role.
Or everyone was on their best behavior because the son of the leader of the empire was on their ship. And further ahead waiting for him was a formation welcoming him aboard.
Several Spartan warriors and officers stood in two perfect lines facing inward, creating a path directly toward the center of the bay. Men and women alike stood in black and red uniformed armor that had bronze lining.
Their skin ranging from dark brown to Sunkissed brown and lighter to rare fair tones of colored skinned, their black and brown hairs were tied back into buns or cut in sharp military styles.
Their shields were large, round, and ebony-black, with a blood-red V branded into the surface. Their spears were long and dark, the shaft almost black, while the tips were either blood-red or gold.
Adonis recognized that immediately. Gold would signify the squad leaders in each platoon. While Black were for the basic grunts. Red symbolized the platoon commander's.
At the center stood two high ranking officers who clearly outranked the rest.
The first was a woman with Sunkissed fair skin, her black hair tied back into a tight bun, her face was stunning and beautiful, it seemed like it was carved from marble itself. She had a red overcoat hanging from her shoulders over her uniform. By the chest of her uniform hung a small bronze badge in the shape of a Spartan spear.
Next to her stood a tall man with a lean but powerful build, he was of the fairer skin complexion with black hair cut into a medium high fade. His facial expression equally composed, he had deep blue eyes which were striking in a room full of, amber, brown and the occasional lavender and green. His uniform didn't have the same bronze badge as the woman. There was one though, but instead of a spear it was a sword, and there was a sword hanging from his hip as well.
The man gave off a certain pressure that put Adonis on edge.
Adonis knew these two high ranking officers weren't normal by any means. Just wearing a bronze badge means these two have worked directly with the highest ranking officer in the empire and the Blud Clan.
He recognized the woman but not the man. But what surprised Adonis the most was the sword badge. Those were given mainly to those trained in the art of swordsmanship by the Grand Regent of the Empire.
Before Adonis could take more than a few steps, a voice rang out.
"SPARTANS! ATTENTION!"
The entire formation snapped to life in an instant, as spears struck downward in unison and shields lifted and angled to the front of the warriors. The sound reverberated through the hangar bay like thunder.
The woman and man in the center stepped forward and gave a Spartan salute.
"Greeting Young Lord Adonis. I am Fleet Admiral Owl, this is my second in command, Admiral Astrapios " she said in a cool, clear tone. "Welcome Thirteenth Son of House Blud to the Spartan dreadnought. The Spear."
Adonis returned the salute without hesitation.
"It is an honor to meet the great Sofia Owl," he said evenly. "Leader of The Spear, New Sparta's first responder against any foolish or brave enough to threaten our galaxy."
That made the stoic woman's expression shift if only slightly, but enough that Adonis and Harmonia caught it.
Sofia lowered her arm and studied him more carefully. "I did not expect you to know of me, young lord."
Adonis kept his face calm and reserved. Inside, however, his thoughts were moving quickly.
Of course I know of you. Your thee Sofia Owl.
"Owl" was not a normal surname in the Ares Galaxy. It was one of the honored-names given to those born with the blessing-mark of Athena. Making that person inherit several abilities at birth.
Many are born with incredible battlefield foresight, sharp memory, and mental adaptation in combat. With a few having the ability to fight very well.
In his past life, Sofia had not just been known, she had been respected and remembered as a hero.
She had come from the Athena House after finishing her education at the Athena College on New Athens, one of the greatest centers of knowledge in the known galaxies. Then, instead of pursuing a career in politics or scholarship, she sought a real challenge.
So she fought and joined Leonidas's Blud elite warriors unit in the exploration campaigns of the New World.
Five years later, after repeated success in conflicts, monster culls, and impossible battlefield recoveries, she had been awarded the rank of Fleet Admiral, an extraordinary achievement. Considering the Athena House was not one of the direct branch houses of the Blud Clan, but a linked sub-clan by alliance and marriage.
This is mostly due to those in the Athena house are demigods in a very loose sense of the word. They hold some divine power in their veins, and occasionally some have risen to be great warriors, mages, leaders and more. But their numbers are not as big as the other branch houses.
But due to the quality of the children that come from that house and their achievements, their reputation has never been questioned.
Unfortunately for her that holds true in his past life… During the Blud clans civil war she died, when a mythical creature was let loose, and she had died protecting civilians. Adonis had never forgotten that. She ended up achieving alot just to die the way she did.
But out loud, he simply said, "I have read journals of the Patriarch early campaigns in the New World. Your name appeared often." Which was also true.
That earned him a clearer response of respect. Not just from Sofia but from her Warriors.
Sofia inclined her head. "I appreciate your words, my lord. But compared to your father and his other elite guard… those warriors were true monsters." She paused for just a breath. "Especially the Slayer."
Adonis smirked faintly and nodded. That title, too, he knew. The Slayer is definitely a monster, there were rumors the slayer always wore an armor that covered their appearance so no one knew their gender.
But what Adonis remembered his siblings saying in passing in his past life. Was that the Slayer was supposedly on the same level or close to the level of strength, as the Grand Regent or the Patriarch himself.
Adonis never met the Grand Regent, or the Slayer so he didn't know how much that was true. He never saw the Patriarch fight either, so he just brushed it off as idol gossip.
Adonis and the others began walking, the formation parted for him as Spartan warriors remained at attention. Harmonia stayed at his left, Arionna moving like a silent shadow between them.
Sofia continued in a more formal tone. "We have been informed by your nanny that the pirate leader initiated the Rite of the Blood Glove. As tradition dictates, we will observe but not interfere."
Adonis nodded. "Understood."
They arrived at the inner hangar bay containment section, a wide open chamber modified for prisoner transfer. It was a large translucent containment cell.
While the pirate ships, or what remained of them, had already been secured externally. Their crews were in the cell restrained, and lined up as they were taken out of the cell, to the near center of the bay under guard.
Adonis's eyes immediately found the pirate captain.
She was taller than he expected, she was lean, wiry, with pale skin and short black hair cut unevenly as if done with a knife. Her eyes were black and had a fierce gaze, she seemed restless. Her clothes looked like scavenged spacer gear: a thick black tank top reinforced with a single chest plate on, ripped cargo pants, and worn ankle boots.
Her crew looked similar, mostly men, with a few women, all carrying the same look of those who lived in their ship, stealing with barely a care for even basic hygiene.
Adonis could smell the scent of the decontamination rays on them. From the slight discoloration on their skin as their clothes moved. Showing small spots of dirt it missed.
In this universe decontamination rays are used to stop the spread of other worldly germs, bacteria and more from mixing in a confined space such as star ships. They are also what is considered a form of bathing for most crews aboard, considering large ships don't have the luxury of always taking showers.
Adonis knows that people like to ignore the fact that a lot of the water is recycled and cleansed urine of the crew mixed in with the water in some ships. Some people accept it and others hate it.
Then the captain tugged against the cuffs around her wrists the moment she saw Adonis. "Hey!" she barked. "You can't do this! The rules of the Rite say I get a fair fight!"
Sofia then snapped her fingers. The restraints on the pirates disengaged immediately and fell away with metallic clicks.
"You will be given a fair fight," Sofia said coldly. "Do not mistake that for freedom aboard my ship."
Harmonia stepped forward then, still dressed in her elegant nanny attire. Which somehow made what happened next even more unsettling.
She did not look like a warrior. She looked poised and refined like a lady. Everything about her was controlled. From her garments, to her graceful posture. But her lavender eyes had gone bright and cold, and the shift in her presence was impossible to miss the moment she saw the pirates.
The pirate captain's bravado faltered for the first time. Then she pointed angrily. "No. I want my duel with the brat. I challenged him."
Adonis stepped forward slightly, translucent mana humming around his skin. "I don't recall accepting your challenge," he said, his voice cool. "Though I don't mind cleaning up filth like you." He said with eyes that looked cold and ready to kill. His mana began to rise faintly around him.
Then Harmonia's hand lifted in front of him at once. "No, young lord." Her voice was calm, but final.
"She challenged me and I accepted the challenge, we must obey the rules." Harmonia did not take her eyes off the pirate.
"If she wins, the House of Aphrodite will have paid its debt in blood," Harmonia continued, her tone turning colder. "But should I lose and the young lord wishes, House Blud will then be entitled to exact any toll it wishes."
The pirate looked flustered, then furious. "That's not fair!" she snapped. "Your cheating!" The words had barely left her mouth before Sofia and the male officer beside her both sighed.
Adonis, muttered under his breath, "Idiot you should have stopped before you made this worse for yourself."
Harmonia sighed too. "You should have not said that."
The pirate captain looked confused. "What?"
Then the hangar bay began to shake. Like the very air in the hangar bay was being warped. like reality itself had shivered.
The pirates panicked at once, stumbling backward and shouting. But every Spartan aboard remained calm, disciplined, and utterly still.
Even Arionna just sat down beside Adonis and began calmly licking one paw.
Then the air between Harmonia and the pirate captain cracked. It split apart except what lay behind it was not another room. It was a dark void, impossible space, a tear in reality itself. And from it stepped a woman.
No... not just a woman but being not many people can say they seen.
Her skin was bright red, almost blood-like in color, it was smooth and flawless. Her hair was long, ebony-black, shining like silk as it cascaded over her shoulders. Her face was beautiful in a way that was temptingly dangerous. Her lips were full supple and glossy in a ebony black color, and very inviting, she had high cheekbones, and pitch-black eyes with crimson irises that gleamed in the hangar.
She wore flowing fabric so thin and artfully cut that it seemed to reveal, and conceal at the same time. It was a dark navy blue color with shifting black lines that moved across the cloth. It hid what needed hiding while making the viewer feel as though they had seen more than they actually had.
On her back were wings of the same color and a thin red tail swayed lazily behind her. Small horns curved from her head.
The entire hangar bay tensed, as even those accustomed to battling horrors of the universe were caught off guard.
Adonis's eyes widened just slightly.
That's An Oath Keeper.
Oath Keepers are beings of the oath above all order that maintains the cosmic causality of the oath made by the gods. When the oath's fairness is called into challenge a being is sent to oversee the duel, and insure both sides fight on as equal terms as possible.
The Oath Keepers mostly consist a of a council of high level and powerful beings. Mainly angels, demons, fey, and a few mortal beings in their ranks. Like Paladins. Mages, or even Knights.
Adonis had only seen one a few times in his past life. It seemed like this one Oath keeper is of the demon race. Belonging to probably one of the sub categories of the fiends.
The pirate captain stared in utter confusion, then horror. "You're a devil."
The woman smiled. Her smile was wide and bright, her teeth were white and pristine like marble. Her voice was smooth, silky and lilting, and, strangely enough, carried an accent that reminded Adonis of old English nobility.
"Aren't you a clever little thing," she purred. "But not clever enough to know not to call me here."
The pirate stumbled backward.
" But I didn't call you devil!"
Adonis spoke before Harmonia could. "You did actually."
The pirate looked at him wildly.
"When you enacted the Rite, you swore on the Oath. You put your life, and your family's bloodline on the line in a balancing of cosmic scales. When you claimed unfairness after the challenge had already been accepted, you invoked a clause of the oath that says all duels will be fair as possible. Now an Oath Keeper had to come to ensure that fairness. Should you be found in the wrong of knowing false claim you will be punished."
The pirate's face drained of color. "Punished... how?"
The winged woman smiled wider. "My, my. A cutie and a smart one. Your from the Blud House. I recognize that pressure anywhere even from a child." She turned slightly toward Adonis, and for a moment her tail drifted in his direction. Only for Harmonia to step subtly in front of him.
"Oath Keeper," Harmonia said sharply. "He is not part of this. I am. I accepted the challenge. So please do your job."
The being vanished in a instant. Then reappeared directly in front of Harmonia, close enough that the being was intimately close to Harmonia. Adonis's entire body went tense to the point his mana dissipated.
But Harmonia did not flinch, her gaze didn't falter from the pirate.
The being tilted her head, smiling as she gently traced two fingers along Harmonia's cheek.
"Oh my? A daughter of Aphrodite, and from the main house as well."
Her voice lowered. "I haven't seen one of your kind in one of these in a very long time. I thought your bloodline were lovers, not fighters."
She laughed softly and leaned closer, almost inhaling her scent. "My, my. You smell so…" Her eyes darkened. "Interesting. More than beauty and lust, even more than love. I smell....Oh my that's hate." She said more intrigued. "The type of hate that has burned for millennium. I only know very few beings that carry this type of hate in their blood, you smell like..."
The pressure in the room suddenly shifted. Harmonia's aura did not flare outward like a Spartan's. She radiated a pressure that warped air inward, everyone felt it. Even Arionna hissed at the pressure Harmonia was releasing.
" I will say this one more time. That is enough Oath Keeper." Harmonia said quietly those words caried weight.
The Oath Keeper reappeared instantly back beside the pirate captain, smiling more genuinely now. "Oh my look at this. You really are strong. Why the bloody hell are you just a nanny of all things?" She said with a amused look on her face. "I don't think I've ever met one quite like you before."
Then she straightened, wings folding neatly behind her. " Fine, fine. I will stop teasing." She cleared her throat with theatrical elegance. "I am Oath Keeper Shara."
She flashed a smile full of white teeth and just a little too much delight. " And correction I am not a devil thank you very much. I am a fiend." she paused for a moment. "A cambion, to be more specific."
She then looked around the hangar. "I have come to oversee the claim of unfairness and cheating that this…" Her gaze settled on the pirate captain for a moment as she tried to find the right words. "…foolish girl has so graciously made."
The pirate captain swallowed hard. She wanted to snap back , but she knew if she did her head could be sent rolling.
"Should her claim be correct," Shara continued, "I will extend my favor to balance the scales of this duel that is within my authority." Then her smile disappeared. "But if she is wrong, or to be exact if she has called me to waste my time, I will exact punishment onto her."
The pirate now looked seconds from collapse.
Shara clapped twice.
A lavish chair appeared out of nowhere behind her a high-backed seat of black velvet and dark wood. She sat with elegant ease, crossing one long leg over the other. As a parchment and quill manifested in the air before her.
She tapped the quill once against her lip. Then she looked at the pirate captain.
"Now then, Miss Fool." Her crimson eyes gleamed. "Tell me how this duel is unfair."