"This… has to do with fate…"
Erica knew that this was the moment to prove Akuto's claim.
Perseus: "As for now, let us first grant the slayer of gods his reward."
After he spoke his final words, Perseus scattered into golden motes of light and vanished.
Then… nothing happened.
Saint Raphael didn't faint. The aura around her didn't change in the slightest.
Normally, the first time a Godslayer completes the act of slaying a god, their consciousness crosses into the realm between life and immortality, where they meet Pandora.
But now, nothing happened.
In other words, even though she had killed a god, Saint Raphael wasn't acknowledged. She didn't become a so-called Godslayer.
"So Godslayers really are chosen by fate…"
Saint Raphael let out a soft sigh, and her gaze toward Akuto only grew firmer. If that was the case, then she had even more reason to seize the Godslayer's method from Jupiter together with Akuto.
She believed that, with Tony's personality, once he learned the truth, he would never choose to refuse.
"Yeah. In a certain sense, the Godslayers and the gods of this world are both pretty pitiful," Akuto said, nodding.
In the next second, Akuto raised the Holy Lance in his hand.
[explosion: create-the-"190"-world! (Creation Explosion!)]
In an instant, the scene replayed: the exact moment Perseus had just dispersed.
"Wumm…"
Then Akuto tossed out a golden disc carved with profound and intricate divine runes.
Its name was: the Usurpation Disc!
In the blink of an eye, the Usurpation Disc drew in every last mote of light Perseus had become, collecting them cleanly within its body.
…
After finishing the collection, Akuto turned to look at Athena.
"Now then. Time for round two."
Just like that, under the disbelieving stares of every magic society leader present, Akuto casually tossed the "Gorgon Stone" to Athena.
"Smack."
Athena lifted a small hand and caught the Gorgon Stone, her expression complicated.
No matter how she imagined it, she never would've thought this was how she'd regain the Gorgon Stone.
But since she'd already formed a contract with Akuto, she had no intention of breaking it.
So the goddess, still wearing a Fusō-style middle school uniform, raised the Gorgon Stone high as powerful dark divinity began to gather around her small frame.
Moonlight spilled like water across the ground and over Athena's slight figure.
Akuto watched that petite silhouette, the corner of his mouth lifting with a faintly amused smile. From Athena's eyes alone, he already knew she'd made her decision.
At this moment, Athena still held a youthful, doll-like form.
A cute blue knit cap rested lightly atop her short, moonlit white hair, the strands fluttering in the night breeze. Her pale-yellow school uniform fit her small body neatly, a soft yellow sweater layered over a crisp white collar.
Beneath her black pleated skirt, slim legs showed through blue knee-high socks.
But Akuto could clearly sense it: the divinity sleeping within her was awakening. An invisible pressure spread through the air, as if the entire space trembled in anticipation of the goddess's return.
Before Akuto's eyes, Athena's power unfolded under the moon. Then she closed her eyes and softly began to chant, calling forth a great echo from two different eras:
[I chant, chanting the hymn of the triple-bodied goddess.]
[Binding sky, earth, and darkness, it is reincarnation and wisdom. I chant, chanting the song of the goddess brought low. A queen, yet deemed a taboo serpent, it is a queen's lament.]
[I chant, chanting the poem of the goddess split in body and soul.]
[Defiled by a lofty father, it is the humiliation of the mother. My name is Athena: daughter of Zeus, guardian of Athens, the eternal virgin.]
[In the past, the earth mother who birthed all things! In the past, the lord who ruled the underworld of darkness! In the past, the wise queen who knew the fivefold heavens!]
[I swear: Athena shall return as the most primordial Athena!]
Her red lips parted as she recited a hymn of Words of Power, calling the dark earth-mother queen back to her origin.
It was like a hymn, like a prayer, like a sacred praise.
As the chant continued, Athena's body began to change.
The first to transform was her hair.
That moonlit short cut lengthened at a visible rate, spilling downward like a silver waterfall.
It grew longer and thicker until it reached her ankles, shining like liquid mercury beneath the moon. At the same time, the pure white shifted into a deeper, more mysterious silver-white, as if each strand held the weight of starlight.
Her blue knit cap dissolved without a sound, breaking into motes of blue light that merged into the night. In its place appeared a blue-black olive circlet, elegant and ancient, drawing back the hair at her brow and revealing the dignity unique to a Greek goddess.
Her face changed as well.
The round softness of her earlier features stretched into refined, youthful lines, shedding the childish edges and revealing the grace of a maiden.
Her violet eyes deepened, like the most secret stars in the sky, or an endless vein of amethyst. When she lifted her gaze, the divine brilliance within was enough to make any mortal's heart tremble.
At the same time, her height rose rapidly.
Her uniform began to look tight, and the pale-yellow school outfit was the first to dissolve into light, revealing a Greek-style white goddess robe forming beneath it.
The robe looked simple at first glance, but every fold seemed designed by a divine artisan, flowing with the sheen of moonlight as she moved.
At her waist, a blue silk sash appeared from nowhere, wrapping around her slender figure as if alive, tying itself into a complex, elegant knot.
That blue against pure white formed a perfect contrast: it emphasized her figure while lending her a harsher edge of sacred authority.
Golden adornments manifested next. A delicate gold necklace appeared at her throat, and golden bracelets etched with ancient runes formed at her wrists. None of these were mundane objects; each released a faint pulse of divinity, harmonizing with her presence.
As the change reached her lower body, Akuto's breathing stilled for a moment.
The black pleated skirt dissolved into flowing light, leaving only the robe's hem as it finished taking shape.
Her blue socks faded away, and her feet were revealed, flawless and unblemished.
Then golden Greek sandals appeared, elegant and refined, fitting her perfectly and completing the goddess's attire.
When the final trace of change ended, the one standing under the moonlight was Athena, restored to her true form.
Silver hair fell like a waterfall to her ankles, drifting softly in the breeze.
The blue-black olive circlet gathered part of it neatly, framing a face without a single flaw. Her violet eyes were deep as night, carrying the divine radiance of the goddess of wisdom and war.
The Greek white robe outlined a youthful figure in full bloom, while the blue sash emphasized her slender waist. Golden ornaments glittered with a mysterious light, weaving together with the pressure of her divine might.
Akuto studied Athena's completed transformation, a clear note of appreciation in his eyes. This was the true form of a goddess: gentle in beauty, yet uncompromising in authority. Every detail landed exactly where it should, balanced between youth and majesty.
"Is it finally complete, Athena?" Akuto asked softly, his tone faintly amused.
Athena slowly opened her eyes, violet light flickering with layered emotion. She didn't answer immediately. She lowered her gaze and examined her new form, slender fingers brushing the blue sash at her waist with a calm, elegant motion.
Moonlight rimmed her silver hair and white robe, making her look like a goddess stepped out of ancient Greek myth.
And in truth, she was.
In this moment, the earlier petite guise was gone. The one standing here was the triple-bodied goddess, Athena, who ruled wisdom and war.
Athena had returned to an ancient posture.
She descended in this form because, in the myth itself, this was the form she now held.
In the myths, she had also been stripped of her ancient status as the highest earth-mother goddess, demoted into being Zeus's daughter.
Within the divine realm, the Gorgon Stone existed as well, but now it was kept in the hands of Zeus and other male gods, and she had always been waiting for a chance to take it back.
"It really is a nostalgic feeling," Athena murmured, looking at her own hand. Yes. This was the way she was meant to be.
"Sounds like you're fairly satisfied with this form," Akuto said.
Athena, now in a maiden's body, looked at Akuto with a hint of teasing in her eyes.
She could feel Akuto's gaze clearly, direct and intense.
Athena didn't dislike it. A gaze like that was proof of her allure as a goddess.
And she enjoyed seeing the Akuto who had orchestrated everything and played her in the palm of his hand, now caught by her divine charm.
With that, Athena basked in Akuto's attention for another beat, then lifted her hand gracefully.
[By Athena's true name, I command:]
[Darkness, manifest here. Drive away the sun's favor, and extinguish Prometheus's fire!]
[Stars across the sky and the pitch-black wind, answer. Here, restore the night of antiquity!]
"Wumm…"
Almost instantly, centered on Athena, dark divinity spread outward in a rushing wave!
A starless night descended.
(End of Chapter)
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