"Themis...?"
The energy Zeth felt at the moment, he had felt it before in Heaven. It was still fresh in his mind, his meeting with the Goddess of Justice. After all, it's not every day Zeth got to see a woman taller than him. He could still remember the first words that instinctively escaped his lips when he saw the goddess.
'Mommy!?'
Zeth's eyes sparkled at the thought of seeing the goddess again, though to his disappointment, when he turned around, the source of the energy was a boy instead. The smile on Zeth's lips had never dropped so fast...average height, blond hair, no facial hair, and a very delicate build.
The pretty boy stood before him smiling, but he couldn't smile back. After all, there were two kinds of people Zeth couldn't get along with...women without assets and men without balls.
Walking out of a small van, two or three old priests dressed in gold and white, along with a few more people in similar attire, followed after the pretty boy. Immediately, Zeth understood what was happening. There were other people here to clear the Dominion as well.
The evil pretty boy had come to take his Dominion. Zeth was enraged enough that he was already holding his breath, in case he needed to use Reaper's Breath.
"It's nice to finally meet a fellow employee!" the pretty boy approached with an astonishingly bright smile. "You emit the aura of death...are you an employee of Death? I didn't know Death had an employee...a handsome one at that."
Still holding his breath, Zeth looked at the pretty boy with a surprised expression.
'Handsome? Me? Yes, of course...I am handsome indeed.'
His hand lifted, almost brushing through his hair, but then he stopped, trying not to reveal his hairline. After a second of consideration...the pretty boy didn't look so evil, perhaps worthy of holding a conversation with.
"You have good eyes, pretty boy."
Zeth said with a proud smile, then realized he had called him "pretty boy" out loud. The blond-haired guy, on the other hand, blushed, avoiding his gaze as he stuttered.
"I...ahh...my...thank you. But my name is Milo...though you can call me...pretty boy."
Zeth felt a weird shiver run down his spine. This...this was not in the genre of his expertise.
'What the hell is wrong with him?'
Again, he didn't let it show on his face. Taking a deep breath, he thought about how Alfred would have dealt with the situation. Then, with a mental plan, he extended his hand for a handshake.
"My name is Zeth. As you have guessed, I am an employee of Death."
But before he could complete his sentence, the pretty boy chimed in with starry eyes.
"I know you. I have seen you on TV. Everyone knows you!"
'They do?'
Zeth glanced back at the official who had stopped him from entering the Dominion just now. Then he looked back at the pretty boy, who looked at him in awe. It was weird...very weird.
"You are an employee of Themis? Am I wrong?"
"No, you are right. I am the Bringer of Justice, an employee of Themis!" he said proudly, raising his hand.
He had seen these eyes before...a retriever...the pretty boy reminded him of a golden retriever.
'Infectious, very infectious.'
Zeth thought, avoiding the pretty boy's gaze. What the hell did Mommy Themis see in him to...wait...was she into pretty boys?
Naturally, Zeth's eyes shifted to the old priests, who had organized a small setup with a microphone and a speaker to make a stage. Milo noticed his gaze and began explaining innocently.
"Oh, those are the followers of Lady Themis. Though very few of them were left, I was lucky to find them around me. Don't you think?"
Zeth's eyes locked onto the priests giving a speech, while another one was distributing food packets. He saw the mood around them lift slightly, but didn't understand why.
'If I knew they were this hungry, I could have bought a food truck.'
It was a missed opportunity to gain followers. Wait, why was he still thinking about followers? Didn't he already get enough? It was only fair if he let Themis have some as well.
The pretty boy continued his explanation. "They also agreed to help me with Dominions and get other people to know about the goddess. Thankfully, I don't know what I would do without them."
Nodding, Zeth looked around him, almost as if the environment had suddenly shifted. He had to take into consideration that not every other god was broke like the God of Death. Though Themis was not as popular, clearly she also had a few hundred followers.
There were powerful gods like Zeus, Thor, and Buddha, with millions of followers spanning thousands of years. And then there was the Sun God, whom nearly half the Earth followed directly or indirectly for millennia.
Zeth couldn't help but wonder how Death was the only one with no followers at all. It made sense. Who would like to pray to Death? Still, a god without followers meant the god would perish...so technically...Death should have some followers scattered somewhere.
It couldn't be zero, right? Not to mention, after his advertisements, it had to be in the hundreds of thousands.
'Just can't wait to meet that skeleton and see his reaction.'
Giggling to himself, Zeth suddenly realized he was in the middle of a conversation. Somehow, the pretty boy was still babbling.
"...actually nervous because Themis doesn't have any employees nearby, but I was really happy when I saw you. Now that there are two of us, we can clear the Dominion together, can't we?"
The pretty boy looked at him with puppy eyes.
"You will help me, right?"
Zeth's eyes squinted. He instinctively stepped back, and the pretty boy stepped forward. What the hell was wrong with that kid?
But then again, wasn't this exactly what he was looking for? No...this was perhaps for the best. An employee of Mommy Themis was bound to be stronger than him, so if all he had to do was follow the pretty boy and stab a monster or two, then they could easily clear the Dominion without any issues.
Except...there was still one problem.
"Ahh...but I don't have a permit to enter the Dominion."
He scratched the back of his head. As if the pretty boy had been waiting for that response, he immediately pulled out a few folded papers from behind his back.
"Oh, don't worry, I have five!"
Zeth's eyes lit up. He couldn't help but pat the pretty boy on the head like a proud dog owner.
"Then what the hell are we waiting for? It's time to conquer the Dominion."