The Next Guest
Copyright© 2025 by Pars001
Chapter 12
Ephus - Demi-god
Quinn Markov - human wife of Ephus, blessed by multiple gods
Egyptian Dieties
Bast - Goddess of cats, protection, joy, dance, music, family, and love
Serket - Goddess of scorpions, medicine, magic, and healing venomous stings and bites
Anhur - God of war and the sky bearer - Full brother of Bast and Sekhmet
Japanese Dietes
Amaterasu - Japanese Goddess of the sun (head goddess)
Wakahiru-me - younger sister of Amaterasu, goddess of the rising sun
Benten - Japanese Goddess of love
Hachiman - Japanese God of war
Greek deity
Enyo - goddess of war and destruction
Shuten-dōji - King of Japanese Demons
Ibaraki-dōji - subordinate and Lieutenant of Shuten-dōji
Oiwa - disfigured and vengful female spirit
Jorōgumo - spider that can shape shift into a woman
Gashadokuro - a female spirit that takes the form of a giant skeleton
He laid down to rest after the day that he had and was immediately surrounded by his four wives that were there. A moment later, the two Japanese goddesses that were with child, also lay with him.
He sighed as he felt all of them pull in closer to him, all of them sighing in contentment. Ephus shook his head as he realized that he was far luckier than he thought he had been.
The next morning, he awoke and walked out, allowing the five with him to sleep longer. A smile crossed his features as he looked at all of them.
It was going to be more interesting with the addition of more children. Ephus sat to meditate, something he hadn’t done in a long time.
He didn’t look up at the approach of soft footsteps. Then another pair as they drew closer.
“Morning my wives Bast and Quinn, checking up on me? I am fine as you can see, just meditating,” Ephus said with a large smile on his lips.
Bast looked at Quinn as she nodded, “After all this, husband, we will always know where you are. We can’t risk you going into situations without help, or backup.”
Ephus sighed as he nodded just as he thought things were going to more interesting and complicated. “I am afraid that this will take a great deal of energy on all your parts in order to do this.”
A smile came to Bast’s lips as she said, “Not really husband when it concerns you.”
Ephus smiled as he thought that there were always ways around things like this.
Bast and Quinn looked at the smirk on Ephus’s face. They both knew that he was already thinking of ways around them.
“Do not think that we can be so easily disswayed,” Bast said, a smirk mirroring his on her face. Behind her, Quinn was also nodding her head in agreement.
Ephus faltered a moment, then his smile returned. “We shall see my wives, we shall see. Things aren’t always as they seem.”
Bast sighed as she shook her head, “With you, husband, everything that we see is usually what is happening. We know that you have an uncanny ability to help all that are distressed.”
“I know as well as the others, you remember, I used to be human also. There’s not much that you can say that I have also seen.”
Ephus sighed as he knew that for the moment he’d been beat but only for the moment. He then hid the smile he had as an idea came to him around this.
He remained quiet a few moments before Hachiman came into the room. Bending down, Hachiman whispered in Ephus’s ear, causing Ephus to turn and stare at him.
“Are you certain of this?” Ephus asked.
“I have checked on it personally, it is the truth,” Hachiman said. “Do you wish to act?”
Ephus looked at him as he thought about what he had just learned. “If, as you say that it is true, then we should go as soon as possible.
He looked at his wives as they nodded. Then he and Hachiman vanished, appearing near the last hideout of Shuten-dōji.
Hachiman and Ephus extended a hand toward the rock face in different areas. They both then looked at each other as they hadn’t detected much.
Hachiman pointed to a spot as he said he felt a chamber. “I feel it now, though I don’t feel an entrance,” Ephus said. “Illusion magic?”
Hachiman nodded as he released a sound wave to the rock face. The entire mountain seemed to shake as it passed through.
“Try now,” Hachiman said as Ephus started to re-scan the rock face.
Ephus did, then suddenly took off far faster than Hachiman could follow. When he caught up, Ephus was removing thick chains from the third minor goddess slumped there.
Ephus roared as he grew far too bright for Hachiman to look at him. Then the light dimmed and Ephus had a huge ball of energy that pulsed like it was alive.
Even Hachiman backed away from the sheer amount of power he felt. “Brother?” he asked. The ball was staring to fill the room as Hachiman had to back out.
“Shuten-dōji! This wasn’t necessary, you will pay for this!” Ephus shouted as he released the energy and it shot straight up.
Quite a few miles away, Shuten-dōji was still trying to heal. The air was suddenly rent as Ephus’ voice shouted at him, Shuten-dōji! This wasn’t necessary, you will pay for this!
He shook it off as he continued to heal. Suddenly there was the sound of something heavy falling through the air toward him.
A moment later, a ball of energy far larger than the room he was in passed through the roof and struck him. Briefly, Shuten-dōji seemed to light up as he started to dissolve to almost nothing.
His screams were hardly heard by anyone as almost all of him was gone. Through the pain, Shuten-dōji tried to remember what he had done as his healing very slowly started again.
All three of the minor goddesses looked at Ephus with almost complete terror at the power that he’d shown. All three of them were still weak, though Ephus had replaced almost half their energy.
Ephus looked at them as his extreme anger melted away. He then looked at Hachiman with a look of concern as all five of them vanished, appearing back in Takamagahara.
Ephus smiled at Amaterasu, then her sister and Benten. Serket and Bast rushed to him, Quinn behind them as Ephus’ legs started to wobble.
Hachiman looked at Amaterasu with an almost look of fear on his face. He had seen great power from her, but even her at her strongest didn’t compare to what he’d seen Ephus do.
“Such anger and rage, it was frightening the power I saw from him. Just the energy ball that he released made me glad that I am his friend,” a slightly shaking Hachiman said.
Both Enyo and Anhur looked at each other as they knew how strong Hachiman was. “How much stronger than you?” Enyo asked.
Hachiman turned to them as he whispered, “It felt as if I was feeling two of him. I knew that human emotions could strengthen them, but not that much.” Here he turned to Amaterasu, “I’m sorry, but he was many times beyond even your power.”
Amaterasu nodded as she watched Ephus collapse into the arms of his four wives. She knew he had that much power, which was why she was so glad that he was there to help them.
She had already started the second ring of protection out from Takamagahara. She only had it about thirty miles out and had enclosed three small villages already.
She was trying, as at present she could only do a few miles a day. The three she had included had helped to power her more, though only a bit.
She sighed, it was going to take quite a while to re-establish the protection she had before all this started. At least Shuten-dōji wouldn’t be able to retake the areas now.
She then turned her attention to the three weak minor goddesses that were before her. She had to heal any of the scars and injuries that they had received from Shuten-dōji.
Another thing she thought about Shuten-dōji as she started to work on the minor goddesses. When they had all felt the huge energy that Ephus had released, Shuten-dōji had nearly disappeared.
All his wives had a worried look on their faces as they laid Ephus on a small bed. Ephus was mumbling in a low voice, “Never again, if I can help it, never again.”
They all seemed to be even more worried as he continued on though he was weak. “I am afraid that he used almost all his energy. This isn’t good if he can’t recover quickly,” Bast said.
Both Enyo and Anhur stepped up and placed a hand on a shoulder as they started to pour energy into Ephus. Less than two minutes later, they stumbled back partly drained themselves.
“By Odin and Zeus!” They both said as they sat. “It was like it was sucked out of us by a machine!” Anhur said and Enyo gasped.
They all looked at a now struggling Ephus, who said, “You both know I can drain you faster than you can react. I have to thank you though, what you gave helped greatly.”
They both nodded, still panting slightly, when they tried to speak, Ephus held up a hand to quiet them. Bast leaned closer as she whispered, “I have been drained like that but not from a drain like that.”
Serket, Quinn and Ephus himself blushed a deep red at these words. “Though it is embarrassing, I have to also admit, I too have experienced that.”
Quinn, at first, nodded her head, though she had started to open her mouth. Finally, she spoke, “I have survived twice in an hour. I am surprised that I hadn’t been with child sooner.”
This time, it was Ephus’ mouth that was hanging open. “You know that none of you complained at the time, but that can be changed, as in, I won’t ever again.” With that, Ephus crossed his arms. “I am sorry that I was such an inconvenience to all of you”