Chapter 856: I didn’t say anything.

"Aphrodite remained seated on Vergil’s lap for a few seconds after saying that, as if that simple sentence closed the matter. For her, maybe it did. Hercules would come because she asked. Hercules would help because she asked. Hercules would probably complain, threaten someone, ask too many questions, eat anything he found, and then set out to solve the problem with the absurd calm of someone who had already fought impossible monsters for worse reasons. Vergil, however, did not accept vague answers easily.

"How exactly can Hercules help find Frey?" he asked.

Aphrodite rested one hand on his shoulder and tilted her head, thinking about the best way to explain. "Hercules is good at tracking impossible things."

Freya frowned. "Isn’t he just... strong?"

Aphrodite looked at her with an almost offended expression. "That is what lazy people say when they do not want to understand my brother."

Seris raised an eyebrow. "Now I am interested."

Aphrodite took a deep breath, adjusting herself more comfortably on Vergil’s lap. She did not seem embarrassed by the position, even with Freya, Sapphire, Seris, and Alice in the room. To her, being there was natural. Vergil was her safe place, and in that moment she had no intention of pretending otherwise.

"Hercules is strong, yes," she said. "Absurdly. Irritatingly strong. But strength was not the only reason he survived the labors, the monsters, the gods trying to manipulate him, and all the tragedies they threw onto his back. He has instinct. A very irritating kind of instinct. He enters a place and notices which wall is going to collapse, which monster is pretending to be dead, which trail was made to deceive, and which person is hiding something because they are afraid."

Vergil remained silent, listening.

Aphrodite continued, "And he has experience with regions that do not obey common sense. Underworlds, ancient monsters, death routes, curses, entrances that only appear when someone suffers enough. He has gone down where other heroes only sang about going down. He has returned from places where the living should not breathe."

Freya looked at her with more attention.

"You think he can track Frey inside Helheim?"

"Not alone," Aphrodite said. "But he can help us not fall for the first lie that appears. Hela warned us about voices, false guides, and faceless Valkyries. Hercules is good at noticing when something is trying to seem too natural. He is not academic like Seris, nor refined like Hela, nor careful like a witch. But when something is wrong, he feels it."

Seris crossed her arms. "That is useful."

"I know."

"And irritating."

"I know that too."

Sapphire rested the spear against the wall and moved closer to the low table. "Has he ever been to Helheim?"

Aphrodite shook her head. "Not that I know of. But he has been to the Greek Underworld. He has been near gates, judges, restless dead, and things that tried to use guilt against him. Helheim is different, of course. Colder. Quieter. Less theatrical than Tartarus and cruel in another way. But the logic of crossing a territory of death without letting it eat your head from the inside... he understands that."

Vergil looked at her. "Does he know how to deal with voices?"

Aphrodite made a face. "Depends."

"Aphrodite."

"He knows not to trust them. But he is also the kind of idiot who answers just to provoke them."

Seris closed her eyes. "Wonderful."

"I said he was useful, not perfect."

Freya became thoughtful. The name Hercules seemed to occupy a strange place in her head. It was not exactly trust, but it was not rejection either. Like everyone, she knew stories. Heroes crossed pantheons through rumors. Even among the Norse, his name existed as strength, as tragedy, as brutality, as a man who killed monsters and carried too many pains. Freya had perhaps underestimated him because she associated him only with Olympus. Now she was beginning to realize that, if even Aphrodite spoke of him without contempt, perhaps there was something different there.

"You trust him," Freya said.

Aphrodite looked at her.

"I do."

"Even though he is from Olympus?"

Aphrodite’s gaze changed. It did not become hostile. Only serious.

"Hercules suffered because of Olympus more than he served Olympus."

The room grew quieter.

Vergil noticed the weight in her voice. So did Sapphire. Even Seris stopped looking amused for a few seconds.

Aphrodite continued, lower, "He was used, pushed, deceived, charged, and turned into a symbol by people who never had any right to his blood. Zeus treated him like a trophy when convenient and a problem when inconvenient. Hera did what she did. Other gods smiled from afar. And in the end, when they sing about Hercules, they pretend it was all greatness."

Freya lowered her eyes a little.

Aphrodite let out a short laugh, without joy. "My brother is not Olympus. He is one of the things that survived Olympus."

Vergil watched her for a few seconds.

"You speak of him differently."

"Because he is different."

"And you like him."

Aphrodite smiled, this time for real, though tired. "I do. He is loud, overprotective, excessive, and thinks threatening every man who speaks to me is a valid form of care. But he has a good heart. Irritatingly good."

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "Did he threaten Vergil over the phone?"

"Of course."

Vergil looked at her. "He threatened me?"

Aphrodite looked away. "A little."

"Define a little."

"He asked if you had hands."

Seris blinked. "Hands?"

Aphrodite sighed. "Because if you had touched me in a way I did not want, he said he would tear both of them off."

The room fell silent.

Sapphire began to laugh.

Alice also seemed far too satisfied with the sentence.

Vergil closed his eyes for an instant. "He said that knowing who I am?"

"Yes."

"Interesting."

Aphrodite touched his face. "Do not fight my brother."

"That depends on him."

"Vergil."

"It depends very much on him."

She narrowed her eyes. "I am serious."

"So am I."

Freya watched the exchange with quiet curiosity. It was strange to see Aphrodite like this. The image many pantheons had of her was dangerous beauty, desire, manipulation, vanity, and romantic chaos. But there, sitting on Vergil’s lap and speaking of Hercules, there was something much simpler. Family affection. Weariness. Loyalty. An almost childlike trust in the older brother who could do anything.

Freya felt a pang she could not name.

Frey.

She looked at her own hands. The anxiety returned, but smaller. More contained. She thought about how she spoke of Frey. How she searched for him. How she became irritated just imagining that someone had used him as a key. She and Aphrodite might be rivals in similar domains, but on that specific point, there was an unpleasant understanding between them.

Siblings could be hell.

But losing them was worse.

Aphrodite noticed her silence.

"Freya."

The Norse succubus raised her face.

"Hercules will not treat Frey like a piece of investigation."

Freya stood still.

Aphrodite continued, "He is rough, but he is not cruel. If he enters this, he will search for your brother as someone who understands what it is to have family used by gods and monsters."

Freya swallowed dryly.

"Is that supposed to reassure me?" she asked.

"No." Aphrodite answered honestly. "But maybe it will help you breathe a little."

Freya let out a weak laugh. "It almost worked."

"Almost is enough for now."

Vergil ran his thumb along the side of Aphrodite’s waist, a small, automatic gesture. She relaxed a little against him, but her gaze remained on Freya.

"Besides," Aphrodite continued, "Hercules has contacts who do not like gods, but like him. Ancient mortals, spirits, reformed monsters, some beings who should hate him and still owe him favors. If Frey left a trace on some border between realms, maybe someone saw it. And if someone saw it, Hercules is good at making that person talk."

Sapphire smiled. "With diplomacy?"

Aphrodite looked at her. "Sometimes."

"And when not?"

"With his arms."

Vergil murmured, "More direct."

"You will like him," Aphrodite said.

"You insist on that."

"Because it is true."

"He threatens to tear off my hands and you think I will like him."

"He threatens to tear off the hands of anyone who comes near me. It is practically a greeting."

Seris brought a hand to her chin. "Greek family dynamics are worse than I remembered."

Sapphire looked at her. "You heard Hela talking about Loki minutes ago."

"I know. We are having a difficult competition today."

Aphrodite sighed and looked at Vergil again. "Hercules will not obey orders just because you are king. He will not bow either, will not speak prettily, and will not pretend he is not evaluating you."

"I do not need him to bow."

"I know. I am warning you because he will like that too."

Vergil held her gaze. "You really want me to like him."

"I want you two not to try to kill each other in the first five minutes."

Sapphire laughed softly. "That is a more realistic goal."

Aphrodite pointed at her. "Thank you."

Freya, still thoughtful, finally spoke. "If he has already dealt with the Greek Underworld, maybe Hela will tolerate his presence?"

Aphrodite turned to her. "Maybe. Hela does not like heroes. But Hercules is not a pretty song-hero to her. He is a living man who descended into the territory of the dead and returned without breaking completely. That has weight."

Seris agreed. "It does. Death domains remember who crosses their borders and returns. Sometimes with respect. Sometimes with hunger."

"Then we need caution," Vergil said.

"Yes," Aphrodite replied. "Hercules will be useful, but he cannot lead the investigation. He is instinct, strength, and endurance. You are the anchor. Seris is the arcane mind. Freya is the bond with Frey. Sapphire is combat and containment. I can deal with Hela and keep emotional bridges under control."

Sapphire tilted her head. "You organized that quickly."

"I seem distracted because I am beautiful. That is different."

Seris smiled. "I am stealing that line."

Aphrodite ignored her and kept looking at Vergil. "And before you say no, I am going too."

Vergil narrowed his eyes. "Aphrodite."

"No."

"You did not even hear me."

"I heard it on your face."

Sapphire let out a low laugh, clearly satisfied to see another woman using the same logic against him.

Aphrodite held Vergil’s face with both hands. "Hela answers me. Freya needs someone who understands the kind of bond that can be used against her. And you need someone who can notice when a false voice tries to pass itself off as love."

Vergil stayed silent.

The argument was too solid to be dismissed immediately. That irritated him.

"You are not a main combatant," he said.

"I know."

"You will not approach ancient passages without protection."

"I know."

"You will not use bonds from my family as anchors."

"I would never do that without your permission."

"Aphrodite."

She held his gaze, serious. "I will not do it."

He studied her face for a few more seconds and then nodded once. "It will be discussed."

She smiled. "That was a partial yes."

"It was a maybe."

"With you, that is practically a yes in armor."

Sapphire pointed at Aphrodite. "I said something similar earlier."

Vergil looked at both of them. "Are you comparing strategies?"

"We are learning," Sapphire said.

"About how to deal with you," Aphrodite completed.

Seris murmured, "I should write a manual."

Alice answered dryly, "Do not write it."

Freya watched everything, but her mind seemed distant again. The name Hercules had opened an idea she still could not fully hold. Strength. Instinct. Crossing. Someone who had survived death domains. Someone who understood being used by his own pantheon. Maybe, for the first time since she had started searching for Frey, she was not imagining only a desperate search carried out by herself. There were people moving. Names gathering. Paths being opened.

That should have relieved her.

But it also frightened her.

Because the more people entered the search, the more real the possibility became that Frey was involved in something too large for one sister to save alone.

Vergil noticed her gaze. "Freya."

She blinked and returned to the room. "Yes?"

"Hercules can help. Hela authorized entry. Seris will track the fragment. You will train control."

Freya let out air slowly. "Are you listing that so I will not panic?"

"Yes."

She laughed softly, without humor. "It works a little."

"Then keep listening."

Freya nodded.

Aphrodite looked at her with less rivalry than before. "When Hercules arrives, do not try to measure domains with him."

Freya frowned. "Measure domains?"

"You are nervous around me because you feel that our domains are similar. With Hercules, you may feel something else. He has a very... physical presence. Very alive. For a newly transformed succubus, that can be intense."

Freya grew uncomfortable. "Are you saying I could lose control with him too?"

"I am saying it is possible."

Sapphire smiled. "That would be a terrible first impression."

Freya covered her face with one hand. "I hate this."

Vergil spoke calmly. "Then control before he arrives."

"How much time do we have?"

Aphrodite looked at the phone. "With Hercules? Depends. He said he would come quickly."

Seris looked at her. "Quickly in god terms, hero terms, or overprotective brother terms?"

The answer came before Aphrodite could speak.

A light tremor ran through the room.

Not threat.

Distant impact.

Everyone went still.

Then another sound came from outside the palace. A muffled crash, followed by witches’ voices shouting in the corridor. They were not screams of absolute terror. They were more like cries of indignant surprise.

Seris closed her eyes for an instant.

"Please tell me he did not fall in the main square."

Aphrodite rose slowly from Vergil’s lap.

Vergil stood as well.

Sapphire took the spear.

Freya went pale. "He already arrived?"

Aphrodite sighed.

"I said he would come quickly."

In the corridor, a witch shouted:

"There is a huge man asking who Vergil is and why his sister was sitting on his lap!"

Aphrodite brought a hand to her face.

Sapphire began to laugh.

Vergil looked at the door.

"Interesting," he said.

Aphrodite immediately turned to him. "No."

"I did not say anything."

"You said it with your eyes."

Seris passed by everyone toward the door, murmuring, "Great. Another normal day in Salem."

Freya took a deep breath, still nervous, still frightened, but now with something new mixed into the fear.

Movement.

The search for Frey had finally begun to leave paper.

And, apparently, the first reinforcement had fallen from the sky.