— — — — — —
Inside a traditional-style hotel in Kyoto. Nyx, whose already voluptuous figure was made even more eye-catching by the tight clothes hugging her body, suddenly sprang up from the sofa, her gaze sharpening.
"The trigger activated?"
She muttered to herself before turning toward the door and calling out, "Thanatos."
A flattering male voice immediately answered from outside.
"I'm here, Mother."
"Where are Hypnos and the others?" Nyx asked directly.
"They're resting on the floor below. Samael's seal has nearly been completely removed as well. You may use the power of the Dragon Eater at any time."
"Good." A smile spread across Nyx's face. "At least it wasn't a waste making you all crawl out of Hell for this."
"You praise us too highly," Thanatos replied respectfully from outside the door. "This is simply our duty as your children."
"Hmph. Is that so? Then I suppose I can skip the rewards."
The moment she heard the word children, Nyx's mood instantly soured.
'If you don't want the reward, then fine. It's not like she cared. They were just divine constructs anyway. Trying to flatter themselves had its limits.'
Outside the door, Thanatos fell silent, seemingly regretting his choice of words.
This time, though, the usually temperamental Nyx relented first. "Still, there'll be incentive bonuses. The top three contributors in this operation will receive my divine blood. I'll make them true offspring of mine."
"Thank you for your generosity!" Thanatos's voice instantly became excited. "I'm sure Hypnos and the others will be overjoyed to hear this. They'll devote themselves fully to basking in your glory."
"Enough with the bootlicking. Go make preparations. And have the surveillance teams pay extra attention. We need to find an opportunity when Ophis is alone."
"Yes!"
Thanatos responded respectfully before hurrying off to notify his siblings.
In Greek mythology, Nyx had no shortage of "children." Gather them all together and while there might not be dozens of Satan-class fighters, finding three or four certainly wasn't difficult.
Nyx herself wasn't especially strong, but her ability to create powerful beings was exceptional.
Or rather, Greek goddesses in general were frighteningly skilled at creating monsters.
Take Gaia, for example. Despite only being around Heavenly Dragon level herself, she had created Typhon, one of the ten strongest beings in the world, and even possessed the ability to control him.
In a sense, this biological engineering was the true foundation of the Greek pantheon. Nobody knew exactly how many monsters or heroes existed within Greek mythology, and that uncertainty itself was their greatest deterrent.
...
Not long afterward, after making all her arrangements, Nyx leaned back into the sofa cushions with a faint smile curling at her lips.
"Now all that's left is waiting for Ryo to let his guard down, and then..."
Knock knock knock.
A knocking sound interrupted her thoughts.
Nyx froze briefly before frowning.
"Didn't I tell you all to go prepare?"
At a time like this, the only ones who would dare bother her were her useless creations.
And right now, the thing Nyx least wanted to hear was anything unexpected.
She still had to prepare for the forces of the three factions. How had something already gone wrong before the operation had even properly begun?
"Miss, you've got a package."
A practiced shout came from outside the door, sounding exactly like a real delivery worker.
Which only made it more suspicious.
A high-end traditional hotel having package delivery in the first place was already abnormal.
Nyx immediately floated up from the sofa, changing into a more mobile dress as pitch-black wings formed from pure darkness slowly unfurled behind her.
Then, with a creak, the door opened on its own.
Ryo walked in wearing a delivery uniform, carrying a neatly wrapped box with a cheerful smile on his face as if he belonged there.
The instant she saw his face, Nyx recoiled sharply, fear flashing through her eyes.
"You?! Why are you here?!"
"Miss, I think you misunderstand something." Ryo's smile grew even brighter. "We've never met before. And as you can see, I'm just an ordinary delivery man."
"..."
"The supreme leader of the three-faction alliance delivering packages personally? Now I'm curious what exactly you brought me." Nyx's tone was harsh and mocking, but the panic beneath it was impossible to hide.
She was terrified.
Truly terrified.
Like a little girl who had just hidden during hide-and-seek, only to turn around and immediately find the person playing the monster standing right behind her.
Shock and panic flooded her mind nonstop.
"Something interesting, of course."
Carrying the gift box tied with a ribbon, Ryo walked over to the sofa opposite her and sat down leisurely. He placed the box on the table, untied the ribbon, and slowly reached a hand inside.
"First, let's play a game."
"The rules are simple. I ask a question, and Miss answers it. As long as you answer honestly, the game won't enter the punishment phase."
"I was—"
"Miss, what's your name?" Ryo interrupted her before she could speak.
Nyx glared at him angrily, clearly annoyed at being cut off.
"3, 2, 1... 0."
Ryo counted down rapidly before shaking his head with exaggerated disappointment.
"Time's up. What a shame. Punishment phase begins."
Nyx immediately became alert.
Then a shrill scream suddenly echoed from downstairs.
"AAAAAHHHH—!"
Along with the scream, Ryo slowly pulled something out of the gift box.
A severed head.
A head Nyx recognized instantly.
"Th-Thanatos..."
Nyx stared blankly at the dripping, wide-eyed head in Ryo's hand, horror filling her face.
She hadn't sensed anything.
Nothing at all.
And yet Thanatos, the strongest Grim Reaper comparable to an ordinary Satan, was already dead.
How...?
"What a pity. Seems the punishment target wasn't you this time."
Ryo smiled as he casually placed Thanatos's head onto the table before reaching back into the box.
"Oh right, I forgot to explain. Punishment targets are selected from you and everyone connected to you. Instant death, regardless of distance. Completely random."
"Simple rules, right?"
Then he looked up at her again, "Now then, let's repeat the question. What's your name, Miss?"
"N—"
Nyx opened her mouth, then abruptly covered it, terror spreading across her face.
She refused to believe an ability this bizarre could exist.
No. This wasn't even power anymore. This was something fundamentally abnormal. No magic or spirit power should have been capable of this.
She refused to believe it was real.
"What kind of joke is this? You just killed one of my test subjects beforehand. Did you really think that would scare me?"
"3..."
The moment she heard the counting begin again, Nyx shuddered violently and immediately tried to flee. She reached for the wall behind her, intending to smash straight through the exterior and escape.
But at that moment, Ryo casually added, "Oh, I forgot one more rule. If Miss leaves this room, punishment activates immediately."
Nyx's hand froze against the wall.
She didn't dare gamble.
She didn't care about losing experimental subjects, but she absolutely cared about her own life.
But if she answered... if she started complying...
Fear filled her eyes.
She could already imagine what would happen next.
She'd become a toy in Ryo's hands, answering question after question like a puppet dangling from strings while he played with her at will.
"2..."
The voice sounded like Death itself whispering beside her ear.
"1..."
Ryo slowly began pulling his hand out of the gift box again.
At that same moment, Nyx suddenly felt something invisible wrap around her throat.
A massive unseen hand. Tightening. Firmly.
She could even feel its warmth.
"0..."
Nyx finally broke.
"My name is Nyx! Nyx, one of the five primordial gods of Greece! The Primordial Goddess of the Night."
She screamed the words out desperately.
"Oh, so it's Miss Nyx."
Ryo immediately shoved his hand back into the box.
Nyx collapsed onto the floor at once, clutching her throat while her legs twitched uncontrollably.
For a moment just now, she had truly felt death closing in on her.
Then Ryo smiled gently and said, "Now then... second question."
The little relief Nyx had just managed to recover instantly sank straight into despair.
.
.
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