Just like that, the goddess Athena answered Akuto's invitation. One large hand and one small, one man and one woman—their hands interlaced.
If you measured intimacy, holding hands was nowhere near a kiss. And yet… Athena felt as though her heart and Akuto's had never fit together so perfectly.
Unfortunately, that sense of harmony didn't last very long.
"A confession? When did I ever confess to you?" Akuto raised an eyebrow. "You're saying I confessed—when?"
"Hm?"
At that, Athena's calm, deep-set eyes seemed to flare with killing intent.
So the man in front of her was saying this: the one who'd pulled her into a rebellion this grand, and kissed her twice—hadn't just confessed to her?
"Ah? You mean that just now?" Akuto scratched the back of his head and gave a helpless laugh. Even under Athena's killing intent, he only found her adorable.
Because while she was glaring at him like she wanted to cut him down, her brows and eyes had turned a cute, candy-colored rainbow.
Seeing how frankly adorable she was being, Akuto decided not to tease her any further. If she really bristled and exploded, he'd be the one dealing with the fallout. Besides, pushing her into a state where she blurted out her real thoughts like this was pretty ideal.
"If you want to count it as a confession, sure, you can count it as one," Akuto said with a smile. "I did deliberately let our emotions bleed into each other during the kiss so we'd both feel it more."
"Though if that counts, Athena… didn't you confess to me, too?" he asked lightly.
Back then, she could feel him—but he could feel her just as clearly.
If the first kiss—back when her authority got snatched—started with her being the one to move first, with Akuto following up more decisively once she couldn't dodge away…
Then this time, Akuto moved first, and Athena ended up being even more proactive than he was.
Sure, part of it was the succubus bloodline's influence. But judging from how Athena responded emotionally—and the way she'd taken it as a confession in the first place—it wasn't like she'd done nothing, either.
Athena's response was immediate:
"Hah?!"
The silver-haired loli goddess puffed up like an offended kitten.
Did this man even hear himself? He'd taken two kisses from her, and during those kisses he'd even slipped his tongue in—yet he still wouldn't admit he'd made an implied confession?
Shameless. Spineless. Unbelievable.
The first kiss might have started with her, yes—but in Athena's eyes, that was because Akuto had led her into it. It was Akuto being evil from the beginning, trying to use that method to steal her authority, so he'd coaxed her into kissing him first!
Ahem… yes. That way, it didn't count as her being proactive.
Athena could only frame it like that.
Because the alternative was absurdly humiliating—something like: "Goddess Athena got addicted to kissing Akuto and couldn't stop, and afterward tried to seize the moral high ground by forcing him to confess so she could reject him."
Obviously not.
"Alright, alright—fine. Let's say it's exactly the way you want it to be," Akuto said, smiling as he waved a hand.
He'd never planned to make her admit it out loud. He only needed her to realize it for herself. And from the way she'd puffed up, she clearly had.
Besides, there was plenty of time. Athena's attitude had already shifted dramatically compared to before, and Akuto rather enjoyed the feeling of slowly… training a goddess, step by step.
"Hmph. Isn't that the truth, exactly as this one said?" Athena crossed her arms over her chest, clearly satisfied with his "attitude."
He was aggravating, sure—but at least he didn't seem like the type to take what he wanted and then pretend it meant nothing.
With the "Akuto confessed to me" answer secured, Athena smoothly moved into the next stage.
"In any case, the alliance is settled. Now there is only one matter left."
"That is… who is primary, and who is secondary."
"If possible, this one would prefer to settle it through actual combat. However, the current this one cannot perfectly unleash all of this one's strength…"
Her meaning was obvious. Now that they were allied, she wanted to determine who led and who followed—based on power.
From her recent contact with Akuto, she'd already confirmed the fact that, as things stood, she wasn't his match. But that assessment was based on her current state.
If she could wield her true body's power—or fully restore her Heretic God form—she believed she would not be without a chance.
At full Heretic God status, a Heretic God's strength could rise to the peak of chief-god level. It still wouldn't equal Athena's true self within the Divine Realm, but in her view, defeating Akuto wouldn't be a problem.
The reason Athena wanted to lock down the leadership position quickly was simple: from the "memories" Akuto had shown her, she now roughly understood his power level.
In her eyes, Akuto was impressive—but he hadn't surpassed chief-god level. That meant he wasn't qualified to be the one guiding an alliance with her.
And yet she also knew his growth was terrifyingly fast. If she dragged this out for years—longer, even—who could say whether Akuto would end up obtaining power that surpassed her true body?
So Athena decided to confirm her dominance while Akuto still hadn't fully matured.
For someone who'd once been a goddess-queen, Athena's hunger to lead really was intense.
Unfortunately for her, she'd forgotten one small detail:
The information Akuto had sent her wasn't complete.
He wasn't about to hand Athena a full report on what he could do at maximum output. He hadn't told her anything about the "system," either.
So Athena made a miscalculation.
Or rather—under Akuto's gentle, deliberate guidance, she made a miscalculation.
"Athena," Akuto asked with a smile, "you mean you want to recover your Three-in-One state, then go fully Heretic God and fight me to decide the alliance's hierarchy?"
"Indeed. That is precisely what this one intends." Athena smiled faintly. She genuinely enjoyed talking to someone intelligent.
"This one knows you progress at an astonishing pace. But as the goddess-queen of the Greek pantheon, this one also has this one's pride."
"Isn't it former goddess-queen?" Akuto chuckled, helpfully reminding her.
"Hah?"
"Alright, alright—goddess-queen it is," Akuto said, shaking his head. Athena was hissing more and more lately. This tsundere goddess act was, admittedly, pretty entertaining.
"Hmph. In any case, this one acknowledges your potential," Athena said. "But it is also a fact that your current power does not match this one's true self."
"If we form an alliance now, then you—who do not surpass this one's true body—should naturally be subordinate. However, this one is willing to grant you an opportunity, in recognition of the infinite possibilities you carry."
"If you can defeat this one after this one restores the Three-in-One state… then this one will acknowledge you as the alliance's leader."
After circling around, the conversation returned to the original issue—
The Gorgon Stone.
Only now, Athena's desire for it wasn't merely Heretic God instinct. It had become a tool—something she needed to fight Akuto for the right to lead.
Seeing Athena finally step onto the path he'd been waiting for, Akuto smiled, satisfied.
"Fine. I'll get you the Gorgon Stone as soon as possible." His smile sharpened. "But I'm not satisfied with your terms."
"Oh?" Athena lifted a brow. "And what dissatisfies you?"
"Athena, on the surface, 'the incomplete you fights the not-yet-fully-grown me to decide leadership' sounds fair," Akuto said. "But in reality, I have no reason to accept."
"Is the Divine Realm so empty that you're the only goddess-queen? Can't I ally with someone else?"
"I'm sure that whether it's Nüwa of the Chinese pantheon, Lucoa of the Aztec pantheon, or the Sumerian goddess Inanna… they'd all be quite willing to work with me."
Each of the goddesses Akuto named was, like Athena, a goddess with a dragon-serpent origin.
"…"
The moment Akuto mentioned other goddesses, Athena stared at him with the wounded, resentful look of a wife catching her husband straying.
Damn it.
She'd wanted to lock everything down while Akuto hadn't fully thought it through. But he'd still caught on.
"You didn't refuse outright," Athena said coolly. "Which means… you want to negotiate."
"This one likes speaking with intelligent people. So—state your terms."
Ever since Akuto brought up other goddess-queens, Athena stopped playing tug-of-war with him over trivialities. Once you invoked other goddess-queens, dragging things out only soured feelings and pushed Akuto closer to actually considering them.
Athena did rather like Akuto. And she understood that naming those goddess-queens was negotiation pressure, not a literal plan.
But if this didn't resolve, he really might go elsewhere.
So Athena began calculating: what, exactly, was Akuto about to ask for?
"Good. As expected of Athena—you always go straight for the vital point," Akuto said, smiling.
"I agree with dueling you after you go fully Heretic God. But I think the victory conditions should change."
"If you win, I'll acknowledge you as the alliance's leader, and I'll cooperate with everything I have—so you can break free from fate, and transcend the constraints of this world's divine 'destiny' for its gods."
"But if I win…" Akuto's eyes narrowed slightly. "I want you to put this on—then give this Heretic God incarnation to me."
As he spoke, Akuto produced a collar he'd been keeping in his "easter egg box," waiting to deliver.
He still had a quest: collars for three goddesses and three female Godslayers.
For the rare rainbow-tier reward, Akuto needed to properly… train these proud, high-and-mighty goddesses and female Godslayers.
Training Athena would be his first step.
(End of Chapter)
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