"BASTARD!"
Inside the hall where the stone-made pedestal stood, Barca watched as Riezel forced his way deeper into Knossos by violently destroying the terrain, and his eyes had already begun to go bloodshot.
"STOP IT! STOP RIGHT NOW! YOU CAN’T DO THIS! YOU REALLY CAN’T!"
He clutched his hair and screamed hysterically at the water screen in front of him, as if doing so might somehow make Riezel stop, and by the time his shouting ended, tears were actually streaming down his face.
One could easily imagine just how much damage Riezel was inflicting upon Knossos for it to cause such anguish to the descendant of Daedalus.
Not only Barca, but even Ishtar’s expression had begun to look somewhat unpleasant.
"If this keeps up, that powerful warrior won’t come straight here, will he?"
At the side, Kali tilted her head and spoke in a tone as though the matter had nothing to do with her, but that was exactly what Ishtar had been thinking.
How many floors Knossos truly had was something Ishtar herself did not know, but she did know which floor she was currently on.
The pedestal capable of controlling the various mechanisms within Knossos was located in a hall deep within the labyrinth, and this place served as the stronghold of the Evilus remnants and was known as the Master Hall.
The floor on which this hall was situated was the 9th Floor of Knossos, and at present, Riezel had already reached the 3rd Floor by destroying the labyrinth’s structure. If he were allowed to continue like this, it would only be a matter of time before he reached the 9th Floor, where the Master Hall was located.
"What a terrifying kid."
Ishtar could only sigh and force herself to calm down.
"Is that so? I find him rather appealing, actually?"
Kali offered a completely different opinion, her tone unhurried and relaxed, as though she was not worried at all about the enemy breaking in.
"Hahh..."
Finally, Thanatos, who had remained silent all this time, let out a sigh of his own before speaking up.
"It seems I’ll have to go meet this so-called Liberator myself."
As he spoke, Thanatos stood up, which instantly drew the attention of both Ishtar and Kali.
"You’re going to meet that little monster?"
Ishtar spoke up in surprise.
"Heh, that’s quite a bit of courage."
Kali added with evident interest.
"What else can I do? I can’t just let him keep charging down like this."
Thanatos spoke helplessly, spreading his hands.
"If he reaches this hall, our control over Knossos could be disrupted, allowing the Loki Familia, which has already become a caged bird, to escape."
"Of course, if that were the only price, it wouldn’t be too bad."
"But if that little monster keeps going and enters the 10th Floor, then things will truly become troublesome."
At Thanatos’s words, Ishtar and Kali immediately exchanged glances.
"Hearing you say that, does it mean there’s something on the 10th Floor that absolutely must not be discovered?"
Kali’s interest only grew stronger.
"What else are you hiding down there?"
Ishtar asked bluntly, not beating around the bush.
However, Thanatos merely smiled and shook his head.
"Sorry, that part counts as a trade secret, so I can’t just reveal it," Thanatos said with a flippant smile. "Unless the two of you are willing to engage in deeper cooperation with us—or better yet, join us outright—only then would I tell you."
Hearing this, the two goddesses present rejected the idea without the slightest hesitation.
"Although what you’re doing does seem rather interesting, unfortunately, it does not align with my aesthetics."
As Kali spoke, the interest in her voice vanished in an instant.
She was a Goddess of War who controlled bloodshed and slaughter, and her purpose in descending to the lower world was to revel in a feast of blood. At first glance, this motive seemed highly compatible with Evilus, yet Evilus’s way of operating exclusively in the shadows was fundamentally at odds with her interests.
What Kali loved most was an environment like Telskyura—standing on a stage before countless spectators, listening to their cheers and excitement while watching brave warriors slaughter one another.
Evilus, on the other hand, would stop at nothing to create chaos, resorting to methods such as binding Kaenseki together for mass self-destruction. It was certainly bloody enough, but there was almost no actual combat to be seen.
In Kali’s eyes, the warriors that were not fighting with all their might, not roaring in fury, not throwing punches or launching attacks, but instead simply committing suicide, causing bodies that could have fought to wither away in an instant, were nothing short of a complete waste.
Because of that, she had no intention whatsoever of joining Evilus.
If Ishtar had not told her that the two girls she had once let go were about to appear here, she would not have come at all.
And as for Ishtar, she was even more direct.
"Do you really think I could hide in some sunless sewer like you?"
Ishtar delivered these words without the slightest restraint, the insult barely disguised.
Who was she?
She was a goddess who controlled beauty, and the reason she envied Freya was precisely that Freya drew too much attention, constantly standing at the center of public focus, her allure far surpassing Ishtar’s own.
In other words, Ishtar believed that, as a Goddess of Beauty, she ought to live beneath the gaze of others and under the spotlight, like a dazzling serpent queen, freely displaying her charm to the world.
Someone like her would never willingly become a member of Evilus, reviled by all, even if the things she did had already begun to resemble Evilus’s methods.
Thanatos was well aware of this.
"Well, that really is a shame."
He spoke with genuine pity, though the smile on his face never faded.
"In any case, I’m going to meet that kid now. Please wish me luck."
Thanatos turned around, intending to leave the Master Hall, but at that moment, Ishtar suddenly called out to him.
"Wait. I’ll go with you."
Hearing this, Thanatos froze on the spot.
"You want to go as well?"
Kali raised an eyebrow as she looked at Ishtar.
"Yeah," Ishtar replied with a bewitchingly beautiful smile. "Thinking about it carefully, a male who could rise from being a mere rookie to someone even more outrageous than that vixen’s boaz in just a few months—if I could make him mine, he’d be far more reliable than that King."
If she could win Riezel over, what would there be to fear in dealing with King?
In Ishtar’s eyes, Riezel was even more terrifying than King.
Because of this, her heart was stirred, and she found herself drawn to this young man who had earned the recognition of various gods and was publicly acknowledged as someone who constantly broke through his limits.
"With him, even without resorting to any little tricks, I could crush that vixen’s familia beneath my heel—let alone the fact that I still have Haruhime."
"If Haruhime’s magic were used on this little monster, just how strong would he become?"
"Standing before such a version of him, what would the Freya Familia even amount to?"
As these ideas surfaced, Ishtar’s heart inevitably grew heated.
"Hmm, so be it," Kali said, seeming to see through Ishtar’s thoughts, and suddenly smiled as well. "In that case, I’ll go meet this powerful warrior, too."
Ishtar immediately shot Kali a glare.
"Don’t look at me like that," Kali said, waving her hand. "I was just thinking that if such a powerful warrior’s bloodline were to spread within my Telskyura, it would surely give birth to countless strong warriors. Ishtar, if you manage to claim him, then let Argana and Bache from my side share a night with him. All I want is for them to bear that warrior’s children. As for the man himself, I won’t take him back to Telskyura."
Kali’s proposal noticeably softened Ishtar’s expression.
Ishtar did not reject it outright.
After all, aside from being a Goddess of Beauty, she was also the de facto master of the Entertainment District, the goddess of a familia that operated in the red-light district.
Matters of sexual relations were not something she avoided—on the contrary, she considered them part of both human nature as well as divine nature.
One should know that within the Ishtar Familia, she had her own male consorts, who likewise worked in the Entertainment District to satisfy the bolder tastes of certain women.
Because of this, Ishtar merely said one thing to Kali.
"You or your kids can spend a night with him if you want, but you have to come after me."
It was only natural.
A male so powerful—without question, the first to savor him had to be herself.
"Alright, it’s settled," Kali said, before shifting her tone. "Provided you can actually get that warrior."
"Heh..." Ishtar immediately scoffed. "Do you even know who I am?"
It should be noted that the reason she was called a Goddess of Beauty was that she possessed a powerful weapon known as ’Beauty.’
Just as a Goddess of Smithing’s forging techniques, a God of War’s combat skills, or a God of Wine’s brewing craft could far surpass mortals even with divine power sealed away, the beauty of a Goddess of Beauty was likewise a charm that had already reached the divine realm.
Once her charm was unleashed, not only mortals of the Lower World but even gods would be bewitched, becoming utterly infatuated and obedient to her every word.
Needless to say, this was the most fascinating and most feared ability of a Goddess of Beauty.
Up until now, Ishtar had used this charm on others more than once, turning them into those beneath her skirts and making them her most loyal servants. Many members of her familia had experienced this firsthand, which was why quite a few of them secretly feared their temperamental goddess.
Ishtar had never once considered the possibility that someone could resist her charm or remain unmoved by her allure, so in her eyes, the outcome was already decided.
Maybe the only possible issue would be offending the Loki Familia.
But so what?
"As long as I have that child, sooner or later, both the Freya Familia and the Loki Familia will fall beneath me."
With her long, seductive legs, Ishtar took the lead and walked out of the Master Hall.
Kali smiled and followed her in silence.
Thanatos, however, narrowed his eyes slightly and murmured under his breath.
"Will it really be that easy?"
Had Ishtar already forgotten that the very reason the Lower World was so fascinating to the gods was that it was filled with the ’unknown’?
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next Chapters early at: /VALRRR]