In the spacious corridor, a rude and direct retort echoed, carrying an unabashedly provocative tone.
Athena's golden braid coiled at the back of her head seemed to move slightly, and a faint hint of surprise flashed in her blue eyes that seemed to see through worldly affairs, but it was quickly masked by a deeper calm, the woman was not angered, only the corner of her lips curved slightly, almost imperceptibly.
"So, since when did the Lord of War start caring about the servants in the hall of wisdom?"
Athena's voice remained steady, like the finest sandpaper, gently polishing the listener's nerves, "Or is it, Ares, that you have finally taken a slight interest in our 'plan'?"
The woman's voice was so pleasant that William even felt the pain caused by the repulsion of his soul and body had substantially lessened—
At the same time, William keenly sensed the magic in the woman's voice, a magic that seemed to want one to reveal their heart, now like the most skillful locksmith, using professional tools to pry open William's mouth, trying to make him speak the truth.
"..."
Controlling Ares' body, William let out a disdainful snort, stepping forward, "Interest? Don't use your calculating mind to speculate about me; I just happened to pass by, this servant knows that... damned Demon." From Helbo's mouth, William clearly knew how this group of Gods referred to him.
Legend had it that the Demon guarding the Emotion Magic—like the Hell Three-Headed Dog as a gatekeeper to the Netherworld—was akin to a challenge needing to be overcome.
"Fear has never belonged to wisdom."
The woman's response remained indifferent, "I'm just reminding you not to be confused, that Devil's existence itself is a huge variable, our plan allows no mistakes. Since you've already learned your lesson, just stay here obediently, we will naturally secure the final—"
"Boom—"
Suddenly, a deep yet penetrating loud noise came from the depths of the Divine Hall, followed by the ear-piercing sound of glass and metal being forcibly torn apart.
Everyone present instinctively turned their heads, looking towards the direction of the sound—
They saw the dome of that area—some white stones carved with flame and anvil patterns protruding and cracking from the middle, a large, fuzzy, pitch-black figure rudely burst out, accompanied by its movement, stones fell like rain.
...
Slightly earlier.
Kabuda was a bit tired—it was obvious that the size of this palace was not designed for a Niffler; just crossing this corridor in front of it had consumed a lot of energy, let alone having to avoid those guards in half-armors—
However, fortunately, following the "guidance from the deep" (referring to the terrifying racial talent of the Niffler tribe), Kabuda had already found its destination—
Sneaking through the ajar door, the air inside the room was hot and dry, permeated with the strange smell of metal smelting, magic tempering, and mixed rare minerals.
In the center of the room, a gigantic furnace looked like a dormant volcano, with dark red magma flowing inside, walls, ground, corners were filled with various weapons, armors, and tools flickering in different lights—from the icy blue crystal long sword to the golden spear entwined with thunder—
No matter its design, in Kabuda's eyes, they were all bling bling.
"!"
Kabuda was so excited that it couldn't utter a sound.
Yet, the last shred of reason in the Niffler's mind made it glance around, its small bean-like eyes eventually settled on a figure turned away from it, a tall man with red beard and hair who was squatting in front of the furnace, rhythmically dropping the gigantic hammer in his hand—
"Bang! Bang! Bang bang!"
"Squeak squeak!"
Kabuda sensed an opportunity, it darted swiftly along the wall to the pile of weapons and treasures, its two arms bursting with strength wholly mismatched to their thickness, lifting that sword even trolls found too large, stuffing it into the pouch on its belly—
Then, the sword was indeed stuffed into it.
Next were spears, gem-studded shields, golden mistletoe vines... and...
Kabuda blinked at the cup in front of it—a delicately crafted golden cup with two handles, but the sheen was somewhat dull.
Not shiny, thus unattractive.
The unappealing golden cup was decisively ignored by Kabuda, the Niffler continued to strive to stuff the next glittering golden big sword into the pouch... Finally, amidst the constant loud noises, the busy Kabuda master finally completed its diligent work, looking at the room it "cleaned up," the Niffler was moved to tears—
"Squeak~"
It excitedly squeaked softly, rubbed its tiny paws together, then swung its rear at the still hammering man before preparing to slip away with its bulging belly—
But, as it passed by the golden cup again, the Niffler stopped—
Hmph... you're here already?
Following this principle, Kabuda hesitated but still extended its magic paw towards the golden cup—however, the instant its paw touched the cup, a sudden change occurred.
A tattered black soul appeared from the void, and the moment it did, it turned into a puff of black smoke, directly charging at the Niffler stuffing the golden cup into its pouch, but was blocked by a blue screen of light in front of the latter. Nevertheless, Kabuda was startled, its paw trembling slightly, the golden cup slipped and fell to the empty ground—
"...Clang!"
Thus, the smith in front of the furnace laid down the hammer in his hand, turning to look over.
He was an ugly man, with unruly red hair like tangled weeds, his face covered in soot and scorch marks showing extreme anger—he clearly noticed the disappearance of his treasures and also noticed the only suspicious... creature, the small pitch-black thing.
Without the slightest hesitation, Hephaestus waved his large hand, a scorching fire serpent shot out from his palm like a living thing, whistling towards Kabuda—
The Niffler was scared out of its wits, its right paw instinctively slipped into the pouch, even though the pouch was filled with "loot," Kabuda precisely found the small "compartment" where, with force from its claw tip, the blue Talisman Stone shattered—
"Buzz—!"
A powerful magic instantly exploded from the Niffler's tiny body.
The external manifestation was—grow quickly!