Chapter 816: I didn't get the daughter, but I got the mother... Kinda.
"Hmm?" Victor looked to the side and saw Persephone approaching him.
Persephone's departure from the group caught the attention of Aphrodite and Thanatos as well; they wondered if everything had gone well.
Just like Victor, they also refrained from eavesdropping on the conversation between Persephone, Adonis, and Violet.
Thanatos thought it would be extremely rude to do so, and he also wasn't that interested in this particular topic.
In Aphrodite's case, she simply wasn't interested anymore. Unlike these women, she had moved on long ago, so their family drama didn't concern her.
Persephone said nothing and just sat in silence near Victor.
"Disturbed?" Victor asked as he returned to fiddling with the game menu.
Instead of answering, Persephone asked, "Were you listening?"
"I wasn't," Victor spoke. "I don't need to listen to know how it would unfold."
"... It's true. I forgot that you are Adonis too," Persephone said awkwardly.
"That's a somewhat inaccurate statement." Victor declared as he chose his character. As always, he picked the woman who seemed the craziest. He didn't even care if she was good or not.
"Eh?"
Aphrodite, Thanatos, and Persephone looked at Victor curiously.
"The first time I merged with Adonis, yes, you could say that I had a lot of Adonis' personality in me, but that's no longer the case after so many evolutions."
"What you see before you now is an amalgamation of billions of souls." Victor's body transformed into a kind of crimson darkness, and hundreds of red eyes began to appear all over his body.
Victor's main eyes were looking at the game in front of him, but the hundreds of scattered eyes were staring fixedly at Persephone and the group around her.
Thanatos and Persephone trembled slightly when they heard what he said.
Aphrodite didn't mind much because she had seen this form before. She also knew that this was a direct reflection of Victor's soul, and she couldn't help but notice the changes in appearance, such as the obvious silhouettes of dragon wings and horns.
"He's completely a dragon both in soul and personality..." She wondered just how strong Victor had become.
"Calling me 'Adonis' due to who I am is incorrect. After all, if you follow your reasoning, I would also be the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Diablo, Kronos, and Nocturnos." Victor's appearance returned to normal, and he looked at Persephone.
"I am Victor and only Victor. The beings I consume are not me; they are just a tiny fraction of me, a weakness amid hundreds of millions of them."
For a long time, Adonis occupied a significant part of Victor's existence, but that was no longer the case. After feeding on so many ancient beings, that influence had diminished considerably.
"... What a terrifying existence you are, Victor."
Victor just smiled slightly at Persephone; he didn't care at all about the woman's internal terror or Thanatos'.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Thanatos, choose your character."
"... Eh? Oh... Yes, okay. I'll go with Ken then."
Victor narrowed his eyes. "Could you pick someone else who doesn't use those damn Hadoukens? It's quite annoying."
He was getting irritated with Thanatos just spamming without stopping this annoying attack.
Because of this annoying tactic, he was having a tough time in the fight.
"If it's in the game, it's meant to be used," Thanatos said.
Victor just snorted at these words; he wasn't going to whine because he was losing. He would just get better and beat him.
A glint of amusement appeared in Persephone's eyes for a few seconds when she saw Victor and Thanatos' attitudes, but soon that glint of amusement vanished, and she returned to her neutral and somewhat melancholic state.
"I never thought Adonis felt this way."
"Hearing the victim's words about your actions shocked you so much?" Victor asked.
"Yes... If it were someone else, I wouldn't care as much, but when it was someone I cared about, the words were quite impactful." Persephone didn't hide her discomfort; it felt futile in front of him.
"Mm." Victor nodded wisely as he resumed fighting with Thanatos in the game.
"From the start, you and Agnes weren't the victims in this situation."
"My Violet and Adonis were."
Persephone merely nodded, agreeing with Victor on this.
"I know that; I've realized that too." She sighed and continued. "But in the end, it doesn't matter. I just have to live with my actions."
"Oh?" Victor stopped fighting for a few seconds and looked at Persephone.
His crimson violet draconic eyes looked at the goddess as if he were peering into the depths of her soul.
A look that made Persephone extremely uncomfortable, feeling utterly exposed in front of him, as if she couldn't hide anything from him.
"Unexpected... Did you really mean that? Seems like the spoiled goddess has matured much more than I thought." Victor spoke as he returned his gaze to the game, only to realize that half of his HP had been taken by Thanatos.
"Really, man?" Victor said to Thanatos.
"It's not my fault if you're looking somewhere else," Thanatos spoke neutrally.
For a moment, Victor thought about just blasting Thanatos out of existence, but he held back. He wouldn't get irritated because of a game, he had moved past that phase, he was no longer a teenager...
Victor's controller broke when he lost again. "Okay, that's it. I'm going Dark Ryu."
Victor remade his controller and chose Ryu.
"I'll go with Ken then; I'll stop your evil Ryu!" Thanatos said a bit excitedly, having more fun than he thought possible.
The fight began again, as did the conversation between Persephone and Victor.
"Gods take a long time to grow up, but eventually, they find their maturity."
"That's quite a bold and incorrect statement, Persephone," Victor said.
"The only reason you and Aphrodite changed was because things happened in your lives related to people you care about, leading you down that path."
"Eh?" Aphrodite pointed to herself, wondering why her name was suddenly mentioned. She had been quietly observing everything like an innocent bystander.
"If it weren't for that, you would still be the same: spoiled, arrogant, and blind to reality."
"Interactions outside of your comfort zone, interactions with people you care about, or wiser people than you, perhaps even encountering someone peculiar, the method doesn't matter. The fact is, people change with the experiences they gain throughout life."
"The same applies to gods, but this process is somewhat stagnated because you gods have a lot of arrogance within you, and you live in a bubble known as Olympus."
"Hardly any of these gods have room to mature; evidence of my words is the current state of Olympus."
"Tell me, who on Mount Olympus has currently 'matured' like you and Aphrodite?"
"… Hephaestus?" Persephone spoke.
"He hasn't matured. He's just harboring a lot of hatred in his heart, understandable hatred," Victor explained and smiled a bit when he landed a PERFECT on Thanatos.
'This character is definitely easy to play and broken.' Victor chuckled inwardly.
The face of the God of Death narrowed, and he said, "Again."
"Okay."
"I give up... I can't think of anyone," Persephone sighed, feeling that she should stop talking about gods and this and that; it would only come back to bite her later.
"I'll answer for you... The only gods that are changing on Olympus are the goddesses that Aphrodite brought to Nightingale. Leaving the bubble known as Olympus has completely transformed them. I wouldn't call it maturity, but more like getting a breath of freedom, isn't it? After all, having a child as a king can be quite exhausting."
"Goddesses... My mother..." Persephone narrowed her eyes at Victor, a thought crossing her mind. 'Is this man sleeping with my mother?'
"I can see your thoughts from miles away, Persephone."
Persephone shuddered a bit at the sudden voice close to her and looked at Aphrodite. "What?"
"Get your mind out of the gutter. Even if he were sleeping with your mother, it's none of your business."
"And just for context, he's not. He doesn't need any goddess other than me." Aphrodite huffed, causing her assets to bounce in a way that greatly irritated Persephone.
Though annoyed, she kept her composure. "... Unexpected. I thought he had already slept with all the goddesses."
"If it depended on those goddesses, it probably would have happened. But Victor isn't interested in them. Their mindset needs to change for him to be interested. Probably the only one he wants to deflower right now is Hestia."
"... I mean, everyone wants Hestia." Persephone shrugged, knowing that as one of the Three Virgin Goddesses, she was highly desired.
'I think it's two virgin goddesses now, considering Athena's fate is uncertain.' Persephone thought.
"Don't compare those foolish desires of those gods to Victor." Aphrodite narrowed her eyes.
"He wants her because she's helped our family a lot. He doesn't want to use her just for a night like the other gods; he wants her forever. Which means taking care of her, pampering her, and giving her what she deserves."
Of all the goddesses, Hestia was the only one Aphrodite wouldn't go berserk over if Victor were to sleep with her.
"....." Persephone opened her mouth but quickly closed it as she understood what Aphrodite was implying.
'A potential wife candidate, huh?' Aphrodite thought a bit about it and then shrugged. In the end, it didn't matter much to her. Her chances had gone out the window a long time ago anyway.
Aphrodite sat down beside Persephone and whispered, "Play your cards right, Persephone."
"Huh?"
"If you do well, I'll arrange things for you." Aphrodite's pink eyes shone cunningly.
Persephone knew this goddess well enough to understand that she was up to something.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb. My strongest divine aspect now is love. I can smell from miles away the scent of your jealous, damaged, rejected, and abandoned love."
"As the goddess of love, it's my duty to fix that. Do you want my help?"
Persephone narrowed her eyes, using the power of the Ruler to shield her mind from the concept of love's analysis. Despite her divinity, it seemed that Aphrodite was still ahead of her when it came to divine matters.
Which was quite irritating. While she hadn't made any progress with her own divinity and had merely borrowed an external power, the woman in front of her had progressed even further with her divinity.
Persephone put up her natural defenses with the aid of the power of the Ruler and the support of the Underworld, preventing the concept of love from analyzing her soul.
Aphrodite didn't mind Persephone's action, just waiting for her response.
"Mind your own business, Aphrodite. I won't be a part of your plans." Persephone huffed and turned her face away.
"Really? Even if this plan involves hunting down your former husband?" Aphrodite smiled like a fox.
"... Explain."
"Of course." Just as Aphrodite was about to begin explaining, she felt a foreign divine power near Victor and turned her head.
The same happened with Persephone and Thanatos.
"Hmm... To think she would wake up so quickly."
[Your inner world is hundreds of times more potent than the outside world, Darling.] Roxanne explained. [Given this fact and my assistance, it's natural for her to awaken quickly.]
[... Inner world?] Victor asked curiously. [Since when do I have an inner world?]
[Your soul hasn't just become stronger, Darling; it has changed and essentially become the soul of a dragon. Among all souls, dragon souls are the strongest, much like those of the gods. And that's just a normal dragon.]
[Your soul, being that of a Progenitor, is even more special than that of the gods. It's strong and versatile, and due to this peculiarity, something happened when it fused with my essence. Darling, once you're done with all your tasks, come talk to me; I'll explain what happened... And please, don't freak out.]
Victor narrowed his eyes slightly at Roxanne's final words, but he just nodded, replying:
[... Okay.]
Victor stopped playing, not caring whether he'd win or not and opened his hand. Beams of golden energy began to gather in the palm of his hand until a small body began to take shape.
Soon, the appearance of a doll-sized goddess emerged in his hand.
Metis, the goddess of wisdom and Athena's mother was reborn once again.
"... Hmm..?" The girl sat up, rubbed her eyes, and stretched, causing her long black hair to obscure her modesty. Then, she looked around curiously, her gaze sparkling with innocence and curiosity—a rather unconventional look for the goddess of wisdom that Aphrodite knew.
She almost seemed like a newborn child... When Aphrodite saw the narrow eyes of the goddess, the crimson eyes so much like those of a dragon, when she saw the goddess's black hair so different from her former blonde, when she noticed a small bump on the girl's forehead suggesting that something like a horn might grow there over time.
'Don't tell me.' Aphrodite's eyes widened a bit.
"Well, I guess I should've expected this. After all, her soul was divided, and she was quite weak. If it weren't for the natural resilience of the gods and her status as a second-generation primordial goddess, she probably wouldn't even exist now." Victor analyzed the goddess's small form. He had thought she'd return as an adult goddess, but it seemed she still needed to recover.
Hearing the masculine voice near her, the girl looked up and opened her eyes wide when she saw those crimson-violet eyes watching her.
A loving smile appeared on her face, and she exclaimed:
"Father!"
"..."
A deafening silence fell around the room. Even Violet, Agnes, and Adonis, who were conversing among themselves, had to stop and look at Victor.
When Violet and Agnes saw the miniature woman in Victor's hand, dangerous glints appeared in their eyes.