Foundling

But before the expletive words came out, Leizert swiftly stood up pulling the fishing rod. "Yay, there's a wise one who recognize my patience."

Huh? Dhyto put a stupid look as his anger sank from the bottom of the barrel. Rather than wise, that fish is stupid. Biting without even bait, its brain must be the same level as yours, Leizert.

"Lucky. The Gods are blessing me."

You're a God yourself, idiot. Though no one wants to receive blessings from the God of war.

"My lunch!!!" Leizert towed the fishing rod until the hook was out of the water. But instead of fish, a glass cylinder was hanging from the string. "'A—re?" Leizert's forehead creased. "Is this some kind of species of fish here on the surface?"

"Stupid! That's clearly not a fish! It's not even alive!" Dhyto pointed at the glass cylinder. "It's obviously a thing! It's a thing!" The mecha really wanted to dissect Leizert's brain to check if it was malfunctioning.

Leizert pulled the rod effortlessly then the glass container with four feet height and two feet width stumbled on the ground. Klang! From the sound of it, it was pretty heavy so maybe it was not empty. But the glass in front was opaque green so the inside wasn't visible. Both Leizert and Dytho were ogling in the capsule.

"Hhmmn… Maybe there's a treasure inside," Leizert muttered while scratching his chin. "Oh, there's an inscription down here." He casually pointed and read it. "Capsule K-3. Do not open. Hence, you'll regret it." The inscription was written in English but because Gods were capable of polyglot, they could pretty much understand all the language and alphabets existing in any realm. Polyglot was a bilingual spell that naturally gifted to superior beings who understood the interpretation of countless words through soul resonance. Gods obviously acquired this ability by birth since their souls were sacred and spiritually could span and adapt through the existence itself of an individual. Basically, their depths were shapeless. Their level of understanding was beyond a human's imagination. It wasn't knowledge per se with concrete origin and explanations. It was just naturally present like an eye that can see and an ear that can hear. Yes, it was close to the phenomenon of sixth sense. Witches and Espers had the same ability but unlike Gods, theirs were not gifted but learned. Long ago, humans, demons, and Gods were casually interacting in one world. But differences played its role as a barrier of peace and sword of threats. Humans were born territorial. Gods acted superior. And demons committed crimes. It was resulted to shunning of each other's existence until it came to the point that humans didn't already accustomed in supernatural things. The proof could only find now in old testaments and mythical books. Only few believed and almost none were aware. Those who believed gained magical and spiritual knowledge. The so called witches and mages were one of them. But none of those were matter anymore. Humans were already erased. Even him down the surface, he couldn't detect a life with soul. There were no traces of the will to live that humans had in their presence. Only emptiness filled the atmosphere of the earth.

"H-hey Leizert, don't do anything stupid. It's maybe a hazardous chemical. We better follow the instruction and do not open that contai—wooahhh!!! You're opening it?!!! Don't!!!"

"Too late." Leizert smirked as he pushed the red button. But the capsule remained silence. "Huh? Nothing is happening." He pushed the button again and again until he loses his patience. "Is this thing broken? Hhhmnn… Can't be help. I'll fucking smash it," he muttered as he snapped his knuckle.

"What are you planning to do?! Please avoid violence!"

"Do you have a can opener or something? You're a robot, aren't you Dhyto?"

"What are you saying?! That's the most hurting insult you've ever say, you damn fool! I wasn't made just to open some tin can!"

"What are you angry about? I'm talking about that thing." Leizert pointed the button numbers on the capsule. "It must have an access code. Apollo could open Loki's vault to steal porn magazines."

"How dare you call my master a pervert?!"

"Believe me, he is a pervert. And top of that, a cross-dresser freak."

Dhyto couldn't argue on the last one. "Oh forget it! Don't blame me if this suspicious thing just explodes." The mecha pulled out a cable from its chest. He connected it to the port of the capsule. A few seconds later, the green light under the numbers were glowing simultaneously. It was emitting a sound similar to a starting computer engine. "What the hell is this code?! It's super complex!"

Leizert snapped his fingers. "I knew it! There's surely a treasure inside."

"Oh shut up! Gods couldn't even consider the most precious gem on earth a butt's glass."

"I'm different from those fools. And you can't even decode a human password. How pathetic for a great Apollo's creation," he mocked.

Dhyto growled. "Watch me, stupid! I can do this! You've gotta take back those words if I open this thing! You've got to praise me in front of Master!" It took Dhyto a while before he completely analyzed the encryption inside. "Humans were more capable than I thought."

"They were more capable than a piece of junk like you. That's certain," he commented before he pushed the button again.

"What?! This piece of junk just helped you and that's all you've got to say! Give back my effort—" Dhyto paused when the capsule suddenly opened like a hatch and released a mist smoke. They both flinched and taken aback.

Kachang! Kachang! Kachang! There were so many accesses that were detaching—lots of bands and deadbolts. And then finally the inside was visible.

Leizert flicker his eyelids when he saw the content. "What's this thing?" he pointed.

"You're really stupid! It's not a thing!!! It's a human! It's a human baby " As if a cue, the creature had its first breathe. It gasped like running out of air.

"Uuuu—waaaahhhhh!!!!!!! Uwaaaaah!!! Uwaaaahhh!!!"

"Damn it! Is it an attack?!" Leizert asked with pained expression while covering his both ears.

"Uwaaah!!! Uwaaaahhhh!!! Uwaaaahhh!!!"

"This baby is just crying for crying out loud!" Dhyto leaned forward and reached its arm to the creature. "H-hi… We're not going to hurt you so rest assure."

"Uwaaah!!! Uwaaaahhh!!! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!"

Dhyto stepped back abruptly. "I guess it's too young to understand."

"Young?" Leizert ogled to the thing. "Is this tiny little thing really a human? It didn't look like those dudes I killed on the war."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…" The mecha looked at the God with pity. Even though Leizert lived for thousands of years, he probably didn't see a baby or a child at all. It didn't mean that he's stupid for that lack of knowledge. Gods didn't take an interest in human's interpersonal relationships in the first place. They ignored their existence yet they punished their wrongdoings. Gods were arrogant in nature. There were rumors in Yggdrasil—that the cause of the apocalypse down the surface was the human's progressing civilization. They were attaining more and more to preserve their kind. It wouldn't be surprising that there were persons who dreamed of eternal life. There were two keys in achieving that—science and sorcery. Humans spent their lives on studying the anatomy of their specie—to treat disease and maintain a youthful and healthy body. But humans couldn't defy time. That was their limitation. Until someone discovered spells and magic and applied it to science—the so called alchemy. Gods couldn't ignore that the forbidden spells were used to break the law of nature. They couldn't accept that the humans would go beyond their limitation. They thought it was their responsibility to stop the inferior beings who didn't know their place. There was always a price to pay in every decision and mistake. And it came to the point of Armageddon.

"Why is this little thing survived?" Leizert poked the crying baby's cheek. "It doesn't look tough at all."

"Of course! How can it be tough if it's this small?! It surely can't even kill an ant. What do you have in mind, really?" Dhyto stared at the capsule. "This thing maybe functioned as a life support system. Master told me that there were human scientists who studied a feasibility to put the body in a cold sleep."

"How did he know that thing?" Leizert asked suspiciously.

"Unlike you he's not stupid enough to ignore significant existences. Although in your case, you treated humans as playthings. Master viewed them as leaves of information—his very own book of knowledge."

"Ah, in short his guinea pig for experiments," he concluded. "Who's the worse again?"

"Shuudap! Anyway—"

"Uwwaaaah!!! Uwaaaahhh!!! Uwaaaah!!!"

"Is wailing really that fun for this human?" Leizert grimaced with his hands on his ears. "Can I get rid of this?" He took the piece of cloth that was covering the child and suspended the creature in the air. The creature cried louder.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Dhyto complained.

"This little one is so noisy. I'll shut it up."

"How cruel can you be?! It's probably hungry. Don't just resort to killing nonchalantly." The mecha took the baby and carefully held it. "Ssssh… It's okay. The monster won't do anything to you as long as I'm here.��

"Hey, are you referring to me?"

Dhyto became a statue as he felt the tugging of a pointed thing at his back. He was pretty certain that it was Leizert's sword. "I-I'm just kidding. No need for threatening. Anyway, we've got to feed this human baby."

"A day or two without food wouldn't eat its lifespan." Leizert returned his sword to its sheet. "I'm pretty hungry myself but I probably could still go on for a week or two."

"You're comparing yourself to this fragile thing? Oh please! At least use your common sense. You're a monster and this one is a mere human who can't even walk or talk. It's like the distance between heaven and earth."

"Ho-ho, do you want me to put you in a dormant state that also can't even walk or talk? Why am I arguing with you, anyway? It would be a lot easier to shut you up. One hit. Less talk."

"Please don't kill me. I'll rip my own mouth if I ever call you a monster again! I promise!"

Leizert took a glance at the creature that Dhyto cuddling. "A chess piece survived on a wrecked board, huh? Humans aren't extinct yet like those fools above think. Is this a will against heaven? Or the rebellion of human from their fate?" He couldn't help but smirked. "Interesting. Dhyto, hand me that child." Leizert didn't wait for the mecha's response and just seized the baby. He looked directly on its eyes as he swung it in the air. Fortunately, it stopped crying the moment it saw Leizert's face. The creature maybe too young to comprehend but like any other child, it imprinted the image of the first person it saw like the way a newborn stared to its mother. The skin contact with the same firmness and temperature was very familiar to a human. It was out of instinct that made the child reached its tiny hands on Leizert's face. And that made the God of war frozen on his feet. His eyes widened as he felt the warmth and ticklish sensation from those little fingers. Suddenly that crumbling world turned brighter than the garden of Eden. He blinked a few times when the child on his hands started giggling.

"Hey, Leizert. Are you alright?" Dhyto poked him. "It's rare to see that someone actually getting attach to you. Animals feared you. Women hate you. And your very own parent is cautious to you."

"This kid…" he muttered in a trance. Then all of a sudden he returned it to Dhyto with a blank expression. "Have no fear. How boring…"