— — — — — —
Ryo stared at the tightly bound Athena, wrapped up so thoroughly she looked like some oversized cocoon. Then he looked up at Algol, who stood on the staircase with her arms crossed, looking absurdly pleased with herself.
Taking a deep breath, he asked as calmly as he could, "What happened?"
Algol grinned, "Isn't it obvious?"
Ryo's gaze returned to Athena. "How did you even catch her?"
His expression was far from calm.
He'd heard nothing about this. And if something this huge had happened, Shiroyasha definitely would've mentioned it.
So... even Thousand Eyes had no clue?
Algol lifted her chin proudly, "What do you think I fought that bald monk for?"
Ryo's mouth twitched hard, "You fought the Buddha just to capture her?"
Algol shrugged. "Had to. She was hiding in Mount Meru. I wanted to snatch her quietly, but that guy caught me."
She sounded genuinely annoyed at the failed stealth attempt.
Ryo just stared at her blankly.
He didn't even know where to begin with that.
Picking a fight with Shakyamuni Buddha over Athena...
At this point, there was no point calculating gains and losses. She'd already brought her back.
What was he supposed to do now, return her?
Still, there was one thing he couldn't help asking, "And he just let you leave?"
"Yeah. We only exchanged one move. After that, he let me go. No idea what he was thinking." Algol shrugged, unconcerned.
Ryo understood immediately.
There was only one reason for that. It wasn't worth it.
Offending an Algol who'd just become a three-digit rule-breaker over Athena? That was a losing trade no sane person would make.
Of course... there was also the possibility Athena herself had wanted this.
With that thought, Ryo looked down at her, expression odd. "You going to keep pretending to sleep?"
Athena opened her eyes at once and calmly looked at him. "So it really was you helping her."
Ryo's face didn't change. "So did she catch your true body, or just one of your avatars?"
Athena replied calmly, "Does it matter? They're all me."
She didn't look remotely like a prisoner. Which made the sight of her tied up like this while acting so composed even more ridiculous.
Ryo almost laughed.
Athena noticed, "If you want to laugh, go ahead. This was... unexpected, even for me."
Then she added calmly, "But it may not be a bad thing. At least during the Godslayer War, my safety has improved considerably."
"Tch." Algol clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed. "You're already my prisoner and you're still acting so smug."
She walked over and kicked Athena.
Athena rolled down the staircase with a series of heavy thuds before landing on the floor.
Ryo's heart skipped a beat.
But then he saw Athena simply sigh, saying in her usual calm voice, "Still such a childish temper... No wonder I could always trick you like a little brat."
Algol exploded. "Who are you calling a brat?!"
Athena didn't answer.
She just lay there on the floor, tilting her head slightly to look at Algol.
Her gaze was... strangely affectionate.
That look immediately sent a chill through Algol.
She rubbed her arms in disgust. "Damn it, stop looking at me like that. Believe me, I'll rip your eyes out!"
Athena answered lightly, "Go ahead."
"You...!" Algol stomped angrily. "Believe me, I can make you regret it. I can run every torture imaginable on you."
"I believe you." Athena's tone stayed flat. "But before that happens, my consciousness will already be transferred somewhere beyond your reach. If you'd like to play with an empty shell, feel free."
That only made Algol even madder. "You ugly witch, how are you still this annoying even after I caught you?"
Athena smiled, "Because you won't and can't kill me."
Her voice remained steady as she continued, "With your temperament, the most you'd think of is humiliating me, destroying my faith by tarnishing my image."
She shifted her gaze toward Ryo. "The furthest you'd go would be having Ryo strip me of my virgin goddess status and sever that aspect of my divine authority."
Ryo's mouth twitched.
Hey, could you two stop dragging me into your divine drama?
Wasn't his silence making his position obvious enough? Did he really have to spell it out?
But Athena wasn't done provoking her. "Let me think. You probably considered using hideous creatures to violate me, but you know that if you tried, I'd kill myself first and revive through the contingencies I left outside."
She smiled. "So the compromise is obvious. Hand me to Ryo as your tool for revenge... or perhaps as a toy."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But you should think carefully. If you do that, the man who helped you ascend may very well be stolen away by me instead."
"..."
Algol instinctively shot Ryo a sharp look.
Then she realized what she'd done and immediately glared at Athena instead.
Athena let out an amused hum and her smile deepened. "That expression... are you actually worried I might take Ryo away?"
"Interesting." She laughed softly. "I take back what I said. You're not a child anymore."
Her eyes gleamed. "So you've reached that age already. I'm proud of you."
"You... you...!"
Algol couldn't find the words to retort and could only stamp her foot in frustration.
Seeing that, Ryo sighed, 'Just give it up. You're never winning against her.'
Then he walked over and crouched beside Athena. "Stop provoking her. Do you really want Algol to keep coming after you like this?"
Athena replied calmly, "If I truly wanted this feud to continue forever, I wouldn't have sent my true body here."
Ryo blinked.
Her true body?
That meant... this really was the real Athena.
"It's your real body?" Algol's expression changed immediately. Her eyes sharpened.
Athena looked up at her again. "What if I said I wanted to resolve our grudge?"
Algol froze.
Suspicion flooded her face.
For a moment, she was even questioning whether this was really Athena's true self.
After all, Athena had outplayed her before. Many times.
Against a cunning old fox like this, one who ruled over wisdom itself, caution was mandatory.
Algol snorted. "Nice try. I'm not buying it. Real body or not, as long as I keep you locked here, all your tricks are useless. You can sit there and wait."
She turned and started heading up the stairs.
Ryo called after her, "Where are you going?"
"To eat!" Algol snapped without looking back. "You deal with her. Just don't let her leave the estate. Looking at her pisses me off."
Ryo stared at her retreating back, speechless.
If she annoyed you that much, why drag her back here?
Shaking his head, he looked down at Athena. "Well. Congratulations. You've earned yourself a few days of safety."
Athena lowered her gaze toward the restraint bands around her body and shook her head faintly. "I wouldn't exactly call this safe."
Ryo shrugged, "At least for the next few days, Algol won't want to see your face."
"A few days mean nothing to me." Athena chuckled softly. Then her eyes shifted back to him. "And what about you?"
"Me?" Ryo frowned.
Athena smiled. "What's in front of you right now is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity."
"Opportunity?"
A bad feeling crept into his chest.
Athena's smile widened. "This is the first time in my life I've been completely powerless to resist since becoming an adult."
Her voice dropped, almost teasing. "A mature beauty, still a virgin, completely powerless to resist... Doesn't that make you want to do something?"
Ryo fell silent.
...Seriously.
Tied up like that, with every curve on display, and you're still trying to tempt me?"
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