"Prostrate thyself."
The heart of every mortal there leaped. Every living being there trembled. Ali felt her body jerk in response. The billowing flames trembled, the desert breeze died down, and the moon froze in the sky. It was the word of god.
However, with that one command, Marzner and the other Warsa soldiers dropped to the ground, prostrating themselves before the goddess with a well- trained reaction.
"Ha-ha-ha !"
Freed from Allen's protection, Ali's eyes widened as she saw the bizarre scene of Marzner and the other soldiers obediently kneeling there in the sand. There was something off about all of them. Their cheeks were flushed, and drool was dripping from the corners of their mouths as they peered up at the goddess calmly standing before them.
There was no longer any vulgar or lecherous thoughts lurking in their eyes. There was nothing left other than a desire to please the being before them. They were utterly enthralled. It was as if their souls had been removed.
"Do you want my love?"
"Y-yes, milady! More than anything in this world! Please, milady!"
"I see. But that's a problem. I already decided I wouldn't forgive you. If I don't exact some kind of punishment, I won't be satisfied. How could I love children such as you?"
"B-but…?!"
Marzner and the others were being trifled with by the goddess's every word, battered by sadness and despair. There was already a smile on Freya's face as her silver eyes sparkled, and the witch's words continued.
"But I've got an idea that might work. If you kill yourselves and wait for me in heaven, then maybe—"
The next instant, the soldiers' face warped into manic grins as they drew their weapons.
"Understood! I'll be waiting, beloved goddess!"
The tragedy was over in just an instant. The soldiers all slit their own throats with their swords or else thrust the blades into their chests. Marzner spun what sounded like a ritual prayer as he pressed his staff to his throat and cast his spell. There was a flash of light and a thunderous boom. His smiling head flew high into the air, falling to the ground before it reached the heavens.
"...What…happened…?" Ali whispered as she trembled at the sight.
There was a synchronized splash of blood and then they all tumbled to the ground, forming a mountain of corpses. Their eyes were still rapturous as their souls passed beyond the desert's sky and raced off to the heavens. In obedience with Freya's divine will, they had all killed themselves. As Ali struggled to remain standing, Allen's low voice rang out behind her.
"She charmed them." "What…?"
"That is her charm." His face twisted as he hid the awe he felt toward his patron goddess.
"What you said before, about how we were all enthralled by her beauty." "That isn't true at all."
"As if."
"She hasn't used her charm even once since she first came to this town." The Gulliver brothers chimed in in response.
Time froze for Ali as she realized what they were saying. Freya hasn't used her power to charm anyone in the entire time we've been together? So everyone who set eyes on her until now was simply captivated by her beauty? The phenomenon that had just shaken Ali's soul to its core, that was
Freya's true charm—
"If she were to use her charm…it would put an end to everything." "Even we in her familia would become nothing more than puppets."
Hegni's and Hedin's eyes narrowed as they looked at the goddess before them.
Even the followers who bore Freya's ichor on their backs were dizzied by
the force of it. And Ali, who had resisted the goddess's beauty, would have crumpled over had Allen not protected her. Incidentally, Bofman had been kicked in the back of the head by Grer, and his head was half-buried in the ground while the rest of his body twitched. The bundle of carnal desire managed to avoid being charmed thanks to the pain and the shock.
"We can crush ten thousand armies. But she…she can seize absolute control over those same ten thousand armies," Ottar finished.
The reality of what he was saying left Ali utterly speechless. If Freya felt like it, she could literally end everything—steal a country, usurp a throne, even rule the entire mortal realm. Her power was overwhelming, capable even of affecting beings on the same level as her. And other than deities and monsters, she could captivate every being in the mortal realm in an instant. It was absolute domination. Not a beauty whose face could launch a thousand ships but a witch who would rule the world. Her domain extended to as far as her gaze and voice could carry.
But despite that, the reason Freya did not try to rule everything was so that she could amuse herself. And more than anything else, it was out of respect for the mortal realm. Freya understood that there was nothing more empty, more meaningless than her ability. For what value was there in effortlessly acquiring everything? If she charmed everything and moved the whole world according to her whims, it would be as if the world were dead. That was why she did not use her charm in matters involving the mortal realm. The one and only exception was when her divine wrath was incurred.
"So then she…"
Meaning Freya's charm was invincible. And from everything they were saying, Ali realized that even what Freya had carried out just now was not actually serious, which elicited an unstoppable shudder.
—If she ever seriously used her charm, everything would be nothing but a farce.
She finally understood the true meaning of what Allen had said during their journey. And why he had gotten so enraged by what she had said. They had sworn their loyalty to Freya of their own volition. It had nothing to do with being charmed by her. They were not puppets in thrall to her but followers who had willingly offered up everything for her.
"…"
Regaining her composure, Ali looked at the goddess before her who stood
right in front of a fountain of blood and yet had not been marred by a single drop of it. The soldiers were stained with blood, every one of them still grinning, still clinging to their faith in her as they collapsed. It almost evoked the image of a crimson lotus. The goddess of beauty stood in the middle of it all, smiling as their souls began their journeys to the heavens.
"When I go back to the heavens, if I can still remember this day, I'll grant you my love. Only if I remember it, though."
Her smile was that of a queen who mercilessly toys with the souls of others.