Blessed by Night

"I asked you if you wanted anything." Anna shrugged. "You told me no already though."

"Because we're on a mission?"

"And I haven't let my guard down one time... not even as I fill my stomach with nuggets." Anna threw another morsel of chicken in the air and caught it like a seal.

When she received no applause, she flipped off all of her family members angrily.

Except for Malachi, whom she tried to feed a single nugget as a show of her love.

Mal wasn't actually hungry, but refusing the gift of food from Anna was almost a surefire way to end up on the business end of her cold shoulder.

"Alright, thank you for waiting so patiently."

Arias suddenly pulled up a chair at the table and sat down among the awkward family.

"I've got about five minutes for my break, so we'll have to compress our conversation a bit for now... How was the drive up here? Did you enjoy it??"

Malachi snapped his fingers and the shadows on the floor spit out a bound and gagged Ryo.

"Ah... Yes, I should have expected you discover him when his reports stopped coming in... I kind of thought he was dead though." Arias admitted.

"He should be." Serana muttered icily.

"Where's Morgan?" Mal finally asked.

Arias finally observed Mal closely for the first time since his arrival and he finally seemed to notice something off.

"Hey... You're looking normal again! That's a wacky little surprise, how'd that happen?" Arias' eyes sparkled with genuine interest.

Malachi felt the teeth inside of his mouth sharpen to a point while his claws nearly doubled in length.

"What?!" Arias asked innocently. "We just covered the fact that my spy hasn't been keeping me in the loop, so I'm not caught up on the lore!"

"Morgan. Where is he?" Mal asked, much less patiently than before.

Arias seemed to realize that he wasn't going to get anywhere like this so he sighed aloud and complained.

"He's fine, he's fine, just asleep. You're free to take him with you if you like. Consider it a gesture of goodwill."

"How magnanimous of you." Mal sneered.

"I know, right?" Arias smiled almost as brightly as the deity who gave him his powers.

"And if you need even more proof of my overbearing kindness, I've taken the liberty of arranging you all some accommodations for the duration of your stay!"

"...Accommodations?" the group asked at once.

"Well, yes! I have to be a good host after all."

At that moment, a woman in a grey pantsuit entered the restaurant and made a beeline directly for Arias.

She stepped over Ryo's body coldly and bowed in front of Arias and the group. "Everything is ready, boss."

"Great." Arias cheered before making introductions.

"This is my personal assistant Carly. She'll be getting you all settled in and take you to retrieve that sleepaholic Morgan.

She'll also be responsible for acting as your tour guide and giving you a proper showing of all we've built here."

For some reason, Luna felt like she recognized this woman, but she was unable to put her finger on exactly why she seemed so familiar.

"Oh, and could you do something with Mr. Ryo here too? He's sort of disrupting the sort of family friendly atmosphere we try to cultivate here at Mickey D's."

Carly sighed- feeling that once again she was being asked to do a job that she wasn't quite being paid enough for.

She picked up the bound man like he was a duffel bag before she turned to Malachi and the rest of the group.

"The Nightfall group, yes? Please come with me outside, the car is already waiting for us."

Malachi and the girls exchanged a look between each other in silence.

This situation was far too strange and none of the Saints knew exactly how to navigate it.

But eventually, once Malachi stood up, the girls unanimously trusted his judgment and followed behind him without complaint.

They were almost out the door when Arias timidly raised his hand.

"O-Oh, Carly has already been told you'll need help with finances so c-can I have my wallet back..?"

Anna stared at him coldly.

"What wallet?"

While Arias looked crestfallen, Anna smiled smugly as she interlocked her arms with Mal and her mother.

'You know I usually wouldn't condone things like this, Annalise, but… I guess it's fine just this once.' Joanne thought.

'Thanks, ma. Nugget?'

'…Sure.'

Malachi wouldn't admit it to himself, but watching Anna rob a guy with no remorse was probably the most attracted he had ever been to her.

'Maybe I also had a thing for bad girls all along…'

-

The car waiting outside for Malachi and the girls was a sleek black limousine.

The family, plus the two aides they brought to accompany them, all piled in while still waiting for the other metaphorical shoe to drop.

As the car cruised along the streets, the group could see a very bright and civilized world around them.

It was like they were staring at a fully revived New York, only with significantly less garbage and rats.

Malachi didn't know what he was expecting a world ruled by Arias to look like.

Perhaps there would be humans in chains..? Or maybe there would be no humans at all.

And there were far too many blessed here for one.

The more Mal's senses became heightened, the easier it was to spot the difference.

Purely from an observational standpoint, blessed seemed to walk differently compared to humans.

They carry themselves with a discrete sense of invulnerability that is unique to their own kind.

But even without looking at them, Mal could close his eyes and sense the power emanating off of each one of them.

While far beneath his own, it was definitely still there.

And the other thing he had noticed was… there were a lot of blessed here.

Too many in fact.

There are roughly 2,500 deities in total.

Among those numbers, not all gods have taken blessed, and those that have are divided up into the major continents of the world.

They should have been much more difficult to come across than what he was currently sensing.

"Curious about our numbers?" Carly asked from the front seat.

Malachi met the gaze of the woman who Arias had called his assistant.

Her eyes temporarily glowed white and her lips curled into a small smile.

"I suppose… that may be my doing."