[Idiot...]
In that sa second...
FWOOSH!
A surge of dark water swallowed whole, crashing over like a tsunami.
I thrashed underwater, forcing myself to swim upward for air—but I couldn’t. Above was nothing but endless, suffocating water. Every ti I thought I was close to the surface, it slipped farther and farther out of reach.
W-What the hell—
SPLASH!
I was suddenly spat out of the water, my back slamming into a field of soft flowers as I slowly opened my eyes.
Where did I end up this ti!?
I scrambled to my feet.
There was no ti to waste. I couldn’t trust Julius to hold that thing back for long, and I wasn’t even sure if this place I’d ended up in was outside of ti.
I wasn’t even sure if I was still alive.
"G-Goddess Nyx...?"
I tried to speak, but no sound ca out.
Huh?
I looked around and saw nothing but endless purple flowers carpeting the ground like a serene field. Above , countless stars hung in a void as dark as nothingness.
Where am—
"Mortal."
A voice ca from my left, and when I turned to look...
I saw a woman draped in white fabric that clung to her curves and left scandalous stretches of skin exposed. Her skin was pale as fresh snow, smooth and inviting, and her face... her face was devastatingly beautiful—sinful in how heavenly it looked, like temptation wrapped in a goddess’s features.
Wait... she looked familiar...
Evelina!?
"Do you like the appearance I’ve taken on?"
Her voice washed over my entire body. It was like Evelina’s succubus powers, but far... far more terrifying.
There was no mistaking who it belonged to.
It was Nyx.
"Tell , what happened there?"
"H-Huh?"
"I’m talking about you releasing the False Hydra."
Nyx stepped forward, then began to float, moving as if she were swimming through water. The mont her hands wrapped around the stars that looked so distant...
She plucked them out, the way you’d pick an apple from a branch.
"That place... I filled it with enough of my divine magic to keep outsiders away. Why did you ignore my warnings?"
"B-Better question, why aren’t you killing ...?"
I asked, stunned. I knew ti was against us, but I couldn’t help it; I had to know. She’d abandoned . She knew I’d clashed with demons—her mortal enemies.
So why bother with at all? Better yet, why not go to Julius instead?
"Killing you? I have no interest in such mortal ideas of revenge, and even if I do, it doesn’t last long."
Nyx laughed softly, cradling the star in her hands as if it were her child, before pressing it back into the sky like it was nothing more than a sticker.
"So, answer my question, mortal. Why did you disobey my warnings?"
"Telling mortals to stay away only makes them want to do the opposite, you know?" I joked, fully aware that excuses weren’t going to work here.
She was a goddess. What chance did I even have of lying to her successfully?
"Ridiculous answer."
She cupped her cheeks with both hands and lay back in midair. I didn’t know where to look. She was beautiful, unbelievably beautiful, and that alone was enough to make my nerves crumble.
But at the sa ti... she was still wearing Evelina’s face and body.
So technically, I was admiring Evelina.
Before I could spiral deeper into that ridiculous line of thought, she spoke again.
"I’ll help you contain it, just like I did for heroes in the past."
She drifted through the air toward , turning until she faced directly. She reached out, one finger brushing my skin, forcing to et her gaze.
It was like staring into an endless cosmos of magic.
"What do you suggest...?"
"Well... you beco my champion. That is all."
"What...?"
"You’re powerful, and you seem to be smart. I admire those qualities."
Seriously?
In exchange for helping , she wanted to beco her champion? To give even more power?
It sounded like a win–win... and it definitely sounded like the kind of deal I would’ve taken in the past. The kind of deal I would’ve jumped at on my first day in this world.
But now? I’d rather not make deals with endlessly powerful beings again, even if this one was far more... morally kind than Beelzebub.
I didn’t want to be dependent.
Besides, if she decided not to help , I could just teleport Evelina away from the city and let everyone else deal with this False Hydra, or whatever Nyx had called it.
"I refuse."
I answered with a sarcastic smirk.
And, to my surprise—
Nyx laughed. Softly, even. Gods... Evelina would murder if she knew this was happening.
"Good answer. You really are your father’s son."
Nyx finally let herself drift down, and the entire realm bent around her. The flower field seed to roll from beneath my legs up past my back before everything snapped back to normal.
I found myself lying down again, this ti with Nyx suddenly beside , my head resting on her lap.
Guess the textbooks weren’t lying.
She really was the most motherly of the pantheon.
"Then I’ll give you a hint instead... okay?" Nyx said.
"You know... I thought you’d be madder."
"Centuries of watching over your kind have helped control my emotions better."
...Well, that actually made sense, I guess.
"Your black flas. Use them."
The mont I heard those words from her, I realized I had one more question.
"You’re okay with cursed magic?"
"It’s better than demonic. Besides, it’s still magic born from the natural world. Better than that..." She paused. "Disgusting chaos you used in the past. So I’ll allow it."
I nodded. Again, it made sense. I couldn’t tell if I was being stupid for agreeing with her so easily, or if she really was just that convincing.
But wait...
"Is that the only hint!?"
"Yes, and don’t complain. Now get going, stay in my realm any longer and you’ll turn stupid the mont you go back to the real world."
She flashed a dangerous smirk before pressing her hands over my eyes and forcing them shut.
She’s supposed to be a goddess, right?
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