A spiral of anxiety and shock ran through Amaterasu's body as she heard Junichi's claim. Her legs started to shudder, and words came out of her mouth involuntarily, "Your companion? You mean your… wife? A goddess like me?" Despite her trembling voice, a small sense of defiance overtook her. Amaterasu slowly started gaining her footing and stood up facing Junichi.
"How could you even think that one of the divine goddesses who oversees the Trails will abandon her duty to become your wife? Just because you won my trial doesn't mean you get to claim everything, Dungeon Dueller!" Amaterasu almost screamed at a pathetic attempt to establish her dominance back.
Despite her last effort to maintain her position, deep down, even Amaterasu realised that she hadn't seen anyone like Junichi before; a man who has the powers to back his ambitious claim. She let out a sigh and accepted her new reality: "Very well, sir."
Junichi let out a laugh after hearing the word "sir" from Amaterasu. Meanwhile, Komorebi and Yuuhi also joined them and acted as surprised onlookers – Komorebi with a grin and Yuuhi with a wide smile that screamed her awareness of the new competition. "So what happens to the Trials now?" asked Komorebi, unable to withhold her curiosity.
"The Trials?" Amaterasu answered with a concerned face, "I think that is an interesting conversation I'll have with Mother Raito. But whatever the consequences, I have to become a companion for Sir; a witch can never back down from her promise." She looked at Junichi with a growing intrigue.
"That reminds me, Amaterasu, what do you know about the Black Purgatory and the Phantom King?" Junichi asked Amaterasu. Amaterasu's face changed its complexion. The names seemed to hit a cord that was hidden deep within her; a memory and knowledge she didn't want to remember. She firmed her grip on her staff and looked towards Junichi with reluctance. After several minutes of hesitation, she finally spoke.
"The Black Purgatory is a sacred realm that only those who are descendants of God and those punished by God can access. Thousands of years ago, God banished a man to that realm, the Phantom King of the Dreaded. However, the Phantom King could not withhold his thrust for power and fought until he conquered every speck of that realm". Amaterasu paused before continuing again.
"While it is true that the only way to access the realm is through Mother Raito and completing the Trails, there is also anoth…" Amaterasu stopped. Junichi's eyes glimmered in ambition and curiosity as he grabbed Amaterasu's shoulders. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, highlighting her pale skin and long platinum-blonde hair. "Another?" Junichi asked while shaking Amaterasu.
At that point, Amaterasu was completely overwhelmed with emotions she never knew existed. After decades of hosting the Trails, no man has ever been so close to her, let alone touched her. Her entire body started to throb with an unexplainable warmth as she looked straight into Junichi's eyes. "A goddess, falling for an adventurer", her mind sending warning signals.
She quickly shrugged off the feeling and regained her senses. "Yes, there is another way to access the Black Puragatory", she finally spoke. "It's through the mountain of Shinda. A mountain filled with the reanimated fallen and undead souls of every adventurer who appeared in the trial for decades. There is a tunnel at the peak of the mountain, and it leads straight to a different domain, the domain of Marishka, the demi-demon princess who is the gatekeeper of the Black Purgatory."
"This Marishka you speak of, is she sexy?" Junichi's eyes started to wander into endless thoughts and imagination. Amaturasu shrudded of Junichi's hands and hit his head with her staff, but was careful enough not to hurt her future husband too badly. She then turned to Komorebi and Yuuhi, who were just silent listeners, "Is Sir always like this, drooling over women?"
While Komorebi looked down in embarrassment, Yuuhi confidently lifted her hands and gestured, "I mean, he is a strong and handsome man who clearly knows his priorities, I guess." She turned to Junichi, who was rubbing his head where the staff hit him, and grabbed his cheeks gently and spoke, "Let's just leave it at a man who is looking for the end of the tunnel."