The humiliating defeat, followed by the days of imprisonment and research, lingered like the foulest mire on the edges of the woman's consciousness, bubbling up nausea-inducing memories. But at this moment, she pushed these distractions aside, like dust being brushed off a robe.
She was walking on the streets of Paris.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through thin clouds, lazily casting its glow on the façade of Haussmann-style buildings. The scent of coffee mixed with the wind from the Seine River. The woman wore a clean and neat Muggle outfit, matched with her exquisitely chiseled features reminiscent of Ancient Greek sculptures, making her the most attention-grabbing person on this street—
However, the passersby on the sidewalk were completely unaware of her presence. Their eyes occasionally swept over her position, yet it was like passing over a patch of empty air, without a single focused glance, let alone awe or curiosity—
An intricate Muggle-Repelling Charm surrounded her like an invisible force field, allowing her to walk quietly through this modern city.
Soon, she stopped at the entrance of a bustling open-air market.
This place was filled with the sounds of vendors selling their wares, haggling, and various cheap foods, a common corner of Parisian life.
But, her gaze skipped over the bustling crowd and landed on an inconspicuous stone platform at the entrance, weathered with time. It looked like the base of a long-abandoned fountain, almost blending in seamlessly with its surroundings, revealing no flaws.
Without a moment's hesitation, she stepped forward steadily, and a simple-looking Magic Wand slipped into her palm, precisely pointing to an indentation on the stone platform invisible to the naked eye.
The next moment, no dazzling special effects nor deafening booms occurred, only a slight distortion of space for a brief instant, before the world before her peeled away like faded oil paint.
Soon, the bustling sounds of the market resumed—
But unlike the Muggle vendors just now, hawking discounted jewelry or spices, every store on the street had completely transformed. The once narrow space had significantly expanded invisibly, and the air was filled with the rich scent of Magic Potions.
This was a wizard black market hidden within the city, larger in scale compared to London's Knockturn Alley.
In those pale golden eyes of the woman, there was not a ripple of emotion as she put away her Magic Wand. Her goal was clear, her steps swift, quickly passing through the dense crowd.
This time, the Muggle-Repelling Charm obviously had no effect on the surrounding wizards—
Finally, that face brought her the trouble it was bound to bring, with many gazes falling upon her, filled with the greed of spotting prey.
However, the moment those gazes met the golden eyes, all greed scattered like being pierced by a sharp knife.
Subsequently, these people seemed to suddenly forget what they had wanted to do, turning back, continuing with their previous activities or conversations. In such a scenario, Athena seemed to walk in another realm, with no one able to remember she had passed by just a moment ago.
Indeed, the woman was none other than the "Wisdom Goddess" of Olympus, completely vanished as if into thin air for over half a month.
The reason was none other than evading a potential pursuit by that person, while thoroughly cleansing her body and soul to prevent that man from leaving an undetectable magic trace or thread on her.
For half a month, she traveled seemingly aimlessly across half of the Eurasian continent.
During this period, she constantly switched vessels, discarding dozens of spare puppet bodies, employing every detection magic she knew to conduct comprehensive screenings and exterminations from physical form to soul, from magic core to the most subtle mental fluctuations. This process was intricate and painful, with some methods even bearing considerable risk.
Yet, she had no other choice; facing an overwhelmingly powerful and meticulously sharp-minded enemy, she was acutely aware of the fate awaiting her if she somehow fell into the enemy's hands again.
Only until the day before yesterday, after completing the final and most thorough examination, could she finally confirm—her body, magic, and even the depths of her soul bore no foreign, suspicious magic thread, allowing the heart that had been lodged in her throat since her escape to finally settle back in its place.
And only upon ensuring her own safety did she decide to proceed with the next step of her plan; hence, she had found herself here.
The woman continued walking, ultimately arriving at a fork in the path.
At the junction of three roads, two massive reddish-brown tents stood side by side, their fabric seemingly tanned leather from some Magical Creatures, emitting a faint fishy odor.
The next moment, a burly guard leaning against the tent pole squinted his eyes while smoking, instinctively reaching out to block the figure heading straight toward the tents.
But the latter didn't even break stride, merely raised her gaze slightly, the cold golden eyes sliding indifferently across his.
Thus, the man's movements froze in place, the vigilance in his eyes wiped away like with an eraser, quickly replaced by a blank daze.
Then his outstretched arm drooped powerlessly, his mouth slightly ajar, almost dropping the cigarette. At the moment he was burned by the ember, he shook his head as if he had merely been absent-minded for a moment, reluctantly muttering something nobody could hear before lowering his head again to focus intently on the sand beneath his feet.
In this way, Athena walked into the larger tent on her left without any hindrance.
It was far more spacious inside than it appeared from the outside, obviously employing the Capacious Extremis.
This seemed to be a warehouse?
All around the tent's interior, various strangely shaped Magical Creatures continued to hiss within their cages. Materials shimmering with all sorts of lights were piled up in the corners. Countless figures moved back and forth inside the tent, engaged in quiet yet rapid exchanges.
Simultaneously, everyone who noticed the woman's presence encountered the same fate as the guard at the entrance upon meeting those pale golden pupils—
Their consciousness briefly disturbed and covered, rendering a momentary blankness, coming to life after she had passed by, resuming their previously interrupted activities.
Soon, she went directly through the chaotic entrance hall, heading toward an inconspicuous room in the depths of the tent, hidden behind a heavy curtain.
Pulling the curtain aside, inside was a relatively quiet, simply furnished office, a well-dressed wizard wearing a top hat, seemingly the person in charge, sat with legs crossed behind the desk, frowning as he pondered over a crystal ball in hand. Hearing the movement, he sharply raised his head, anger instantly shadowing his face, ready to rebuke—
The woman's eyes glowed once more.