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Los Angeles - In a quiet coffee shop in Santa Monica
After leaving the airport, Ryo followed Annie's invitation here for a short break.
The café had already been cleared out. Lounging on the sofa, Ryo wore a lazy smile as he studied the red-haired woman across from him, whose own smile looked just a bit too forced.
"Sorry, but it seems all the fancy restaurants nearby were fully booked."
Annie's voice was polite, but her eyes weren't hiding a thing. Neither of them believed that excuse for a second.
As a Campione, Annie hadn't built a faction of her own, but plenty of so-called "big shots" in the mortal world were dying to curry favor with her. Getting a table at a restaurant would've been effortless.
So, Annie wasn't making excuses because she had to. She was just venting her irritation.
Irritation that had been simmering ever since Ryo got off that plane and immediately started pulling her along by the nose.
Glancing past her, Ryo watched West at the bar move like he owned the place, pulling tools from drawers and cupboards with practiced ease. He also noticed Lilianna guarding the door, maintaining the barrier. Then he chuckled.
"So, does Miss Annie come here often?"
He said it because West's familiarity with the shop made it feel like a regular haunt.
Annie, however, answered without missing a beat. "This café is mine."
She added casually, "By the way, the house specialty is the latte. Want to try one?"
"House specialty, huh? Then I'll give it a shot," Ryo said with an easy grin.
"Double latte," Annie called over her shoulder to West, before turning back to him.
When the lattes and desserts arrived, Annie slowly stirred hers with a spoon, eyes fixed on Ryo.
"All right. We've got a quiet place. Time to tell me your terms, Ryo Yagami."
Leaning back into the sofa, Ryo's tone turned playful. "As much as I'd love to invite Miss Annie to an activity that lasts till dawn… I decided against it."
The corner of Annie's mouth twitched. Her smile froze.
"Sorry, but aside from your face, I don't find you the least bit attractive."
"Oh, thanks for the compliment then." Ryo shrugged, still smiling.
"Let's keep it simple. I want information about Heretic Gods and Divine Ancestors."
"Divine Ancestors?" Annie raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.
Information on Gods was understandable—any Campione flying all over the world clearly aimed to hunt them.
But seeking out Divine Ancestors? That was strange.
Divine Ancestors were fallen mother earth goddesses who had lost their divinity. In desperate moments, they could transform into heretic gods.
But honestly? They rarely did. Facing a God-Slayer was suicide. Why fight when they could just hide?
Most of them were masters of survival, experts in disappearing. Either tucked away in the Netherworld or hiding in some forgotten corner of the earth.
They were powerful, immortal, and annoyingly hard to pin down. If cornered, many could simply kill themselves and revive later to escape.
That's why most God-Slayers didn't bother with them. No power to gain, endless trouble to invite—thankless work.
And besides, good luck even finding them.
Which is why Ryo's request made no sense. Chasing Divine Ancestors was like deliberately stepping in dog crap.
But Annie knew Ryo wasn't an idiot. He wasn't some random fool named Yagami.
So if he wanted Divine Ancestors, he had a reason. That made her very curious.
Ryo caught her stare and chuckled. "Want me to clear up your doubts?"
Her eyelid twitched. "Is that… a paid service?" she asked with a thin smile.
"Of course," Ryo replied firmly.
She knew he was either fishing for a ridiculous price or just trying to tease her, but still asked, "How much?"
"The whereabouts of a single Divine Ancestor," Ryo said lightly.
"Deal." Annie agreed instantly.
Because she had exactly that kind of intel—and she'd been dying to get rid of it.
The target: the King of Flies, Asherah.
A venomous woman who used humans as suicide bombers, kidnapped civilians for leverage, and generally made Annie's life a nightmare.
So now? Handing over Asherah's location to Ryo came with zero guilt.
Annoying people tearing each other apart while she sat back to watch? Perfect.
Ryo's smile deepened. He didn't know Annie's exact thoughts, but he could guess.
This idiot never even considered the possibility that Asherah had been his real target all along.
Or maybe she thought Ryo could just stumble into her by luck, since Asherah made herself such a nuisance to Annie.
But come on.
Asherah deliberately revealed her location over and over, not because she was careless—but because she hated Annie so much she couldn't resist taunting her.
Otherwise? A Divine Ancestor who specialized in terrorism, religious cults, and human bombs wouldn't be easy to find. Her skill at hiding was terrifying.
Need proof? Black Prince Alec had chased Guinevere, the Queen of the Divine Ancestors, for decades and never caught her, and that woman was far less cautious.
So if anyone wanted Asherah, their best bet was to get intel from Annie—the one she couldn't stop antagonizing.
Satisfied with the direction things were heading, Ryo picked up his latte, took a sip, and said calmly:
"I'm tracing King of the End. According to my sources, one of the Divine Ancestors holds the key to his revival."
Annie's brows twitched. The name alone stirred memories.
When the number of Campiones exceeded what the world could bear, the King of the End would descend to cleanse the earth.
Rumors called him the strongest steel hero, the King of Kings, a savior who appeared at the world's very end.
In plain terms—the ultimate enemy of God-Slayers.
"You're not afraid of dying, huh," Annie muttered.
Clearly, the King of the End wasn't someone to mess with. Summoning him would require an extraordinary ritual.
This kind of thing never ended well. Worst case, all of Los Angeles could be leveled.
Annie herself would never try it.
But if Ryo actually pulled it off? Oh, she'd definitely get involved.
Over a decade of being a God-Slayer had taught her one rule: if there's a God to kill and a fight to be had, you don't miss out.
With that in mind, she asked curiously: "So, are you planning to get the Divine Ancestor's contact info?"
Divine Ancestors did have secret ways of communicating, but they rarely used them. Many of them hated each other anyway—splintered into factions.
Some longed to reclaim their divinity. Some gave up and worshiped the steel hero. Others tried to stay neutral.
Old grudges from their divine days only deepened the rifts.
But yes, there were hidden channels, usually through the Netherworld.
Ryo didn't answer. He only smiled.
Annie sighed, realizing he wasn't going to say more. "Fine. I've only got one Divine Ancestor's location. Intel came in just this morning—she was spotted at an intersection here in LA."
Without hesitation, Annie gave him everything she had on Asherah.
Ryo might gain something from it, but she? She wasn't losing a thing. In fact, this was profit in some way.
Ryo calmly pulled out his phone, tidied up the intel into a neat text, and hit send.
---
Downtown Los Angeles, a private room in a teahouse.
Athena sat at the head seat, fiddling with her phone.
In the farthest corner of the room, Lu Yinghua sat cross-legged, his face stern. His voice was low and heavy. "The gangs in LA are saying they still haven't found Asherah."
"No word from Lord Yagami?"
Athena replied without looking up from her phone. "Nothing yet. He's probably still negotiating with the local King."
Then she raised her head, giving him a puzzled look. "By the way, human, why are you facing the wall?"
"I hate women. Especially pretty ones." Lu Yinghua snorted.
"If my master hadn't ordered it, I'd never work with someone like you."
"...?" Athena gave him a look but decided not to push it.
After all, that was Luo Hao's mess, not hers.
Just then, her phone chimed with a new email.
.
.
.