This time, Athena was truly about to explode.
"Freya! Is this your intention as well?"
Athena knew that talking to a madman like Ryou was useless, so she directly questioned Freya.
"Ara~ I can't control such a powerful man~"
Freya smiled charmingly, completely feigning innocence, but her eyes clearly showed a hint of pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.
Although she had accepted compensation from Ouranos, anyone who had their Familia members and other half abducted would not be without some resentment. Freya was clearly taking this opportunity for revenge, and Athena, being in a weak position, had no way to fight back.
For the first time, the proud and undefeated goddess felt so powerless and full of grief.
However, the Zodiac Twelve were her carefully selected direct child, with top-notch abilities and loyalty. Without them, her Familia would become an empty shell.
Seeing the goddess in a dilemma, the gentle mermaid beauty Umi proactively spoke up.
"My lady, please do not worry about us. The Familia can be without us, but it cannot be without you."
She seemed completely unconcerned about the consequences of staying behind. Her smile was sincere and sweet, and her beautiful face shone with a sacred light, like a saint ready to die for her faith.
At that moment, even Ryou was moved. Umi's current appearance overlapped with that of Joan of Arc before her execution by fire.
"She's right, Goddess! Let the three of us stay."
Leo also smiled heartily, trying to comfort Athena. Then she turned to face Ryou.
"You human, do whatever you want to me! If I frown even a little, I'm a disgrace to the Beast Humans!"
Leo's words immediately drew the ire of many Beast Humans adventurers present, who began to curse loudly. However, she didn't care at all and bared her teeth at them, looking every bit the wild beast.
"Well~ this is the first time I've felt so in sync with you, you dumb cat."
Cancer also stood beside Leo.
"Grrr! Don't call me a cat, you crustacean!"
It must be said, the Lion People do have a different focus of concern than others.
At this moment, Umi spoke again.
"My lady, please rest assured. Our bodies and minds belong to you, and we will not let anyone desecrate them."
"Goddess, me too!"
Leo and Cancer, who had been bickering, hurriedly echoed.
Their words were filled with determination. It was clear that if Ryou tried to do anything improper to them, they would immediately take their own lives to preserve their chastity.
Their loyalty to Athena even moved him Unfortunately, the hero of the enemy is the nemesis.
Because they were like this, Ryou was even more determined to use this opportunity to sever Athena's power,
"Nguyen Ryou! I swear by the name of Athena, I will make you regret this!"
Athena's eyes revealed boundless hatred that could incinerate Ryou to ashes. She then turned to leave with Bell's body.
"Stop!"
Seeing her actions, a hint of suspicion flashed in Ryou's mind, and he quickly stopped her again.
Perhaps used to it by now, this time Athena merely turned back and spoke coldly.
"What, do I not even have the right to take away the body of a grandson for his grieving grandfather?" (Spoiler: Adoptive grandson.)
Ryou felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint it. Moreover, in this world where gods exist, there might be ways to resurrect a corpse. At least from the original work, he knew of one method: embedding a special magic stone into an adventurer's corpse to resurrect them as a monster.
However, not even allowing someone to take away a corpse seemed excessively unreasonable. Although Ryou's contracted Heroic Spirits were fine, the nearby adventurers were starting to give him strange looks, and even Freya hesitated to speak.
It was impossible to stop Athena from taking the body away.
But then, Ryou had a sudden idea.
He grabbed the corpse from Athena's hands and pretended to inspect it. Taking advantage of Athena's momentary distraction, he quickly inscribed several identical primordial runes on Bell's body, shaped like the letter 'F' in English. Magical flames instantly ignited Bell's corpse and, within seconds, reduced it to ashes.
Once it's ash, let's see how you resurrect him! Facing Athena's fiery gaze, Ryou wore an incredibly relaxed smile and made a pleased gesture.
"Alright, Goddess. I was worried that carrying a corpse would be both tiring and unbecoming for you, so I provided a cremation service. No need to thank me."
"Well, I really have to thank you," Athena said through gritted teeth, nearly spitting out each word.
"You're welcome. By the way, my time is very tight..."
Before finishing his sentence, Ryou suddenly tapped his toes and, in a flash, appeared behind the severely injured Aquarius, chopping her delicate neck and knocking her out. Leo and Cancer were shocked and hastily assumed defensive positions despite their injuries. Unfortunately, in their weakened state, it was futile. Ryou quickly punched them both in the abdomen, knocking them out cold.
"I wonder how much these top-quality goods could fetch at an auction on Pleasure Street? What do you think, Goddess?"
"Hmph!"
Athena coldly snorted, clenching her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
"Oh, right! To prevent them from committing suicide, I think I should cut their tendons first."
Ryou deliberately eyed the three's arms and legs, as if looking for places to start.
Athena fought the urge to break her seal and smash his head, closing her eyes tightly. When she opened them again, they were filled with extreme coldness and indifference.
"They are your spoils of war. You may dispose of them as you see fit."
After coldly delivering this line, Athena collected Bell's ashes and, without looking back, left decisively.
She can endure this!?
Watching Athena's retreating figure, Ryou's eyes showed deep wariness. It seemed that this proud goddess, under his deliberate provocation and humiliation, had not fallen but instead evolved like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
Did I just create a more powerful enemy for myself?
Interesting! Let's see whose methods are superior!
"Ryou, you're not really going to mutilate them and sell them at an auction, are you?"
At this moment, the straightforward Jeanne rushed up, asking seriously.
"What are you thinking? Do I look like such a despicable person?"
Ryou couldn't help but feel amused. It seemed his performance as a villain had been a great success, fooling even Jeanne.
"You're not despicable; you're a pervert!"
At this moment, Atalanta, who was nearby, added her remark.
"It seems our little cat's tail is itching again and needs some help from her master," Ryou said with a smile, raising one hand in a grabbing motion.
Atalanta instinctively covered her round bottom, her cheeks turning red.
Her sharp tongue clearly wasn't enough; not only did it fail to penetrate his defenses, but it also drew his attention.
At this time, Freya comforted the recently rescued Syr and then brought her over to Ryou.
Looking at the two silver-haired beauties who appeared like sisters, Ryou couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion.
Just as Ryou thought they were coming to thank him out of formality, the goddess's first words nearly made his jaw drop.
"You seem to be unmarried. Will you marry Syr?"
"Freya!?"
Syr, who had been shyly unsure of how to face Ryou, found her mind alternating between a thousand words and complete blankness.
But the goddess's straightforward proposition shattered Syr's indecision.
Seeing Freya's meaningful gaze, the intelligent Syr immediately understood her good intentions. Syr marrying Ryou is the same as Freya marrying Ryou.
On the other side, after the initial shock, Ryou began to hesitate.
Syr was special to him, which made him unwilling to make a hasty decision...
However, as an otaku who lived in the second dimension and had never experienced physical intimacy, Ryou underestimated the skills of a seductress.
"Are you worried that your lack of experience will lead to an unharmonious marital life? Don't worry, Syr is part of myself, it is my duty to teach you both how to truly enjoy marital bliss~"
As Freya spoke, she ran a finger along her lips.
The same gesture, performed by this goddess, carried infinite allure.
Her words were filled with blatant hints — no, they were outright statements!
In an instant, countless inappropriate terms flashed through Ryou's mind, such as twin sister combo, 3P, and can it be considered Oyakodon.
Ryou felt a sudden itch in his nose, obviously struggling to withstand the seductress's advances.
The goddess's bold declaration of love instantly excited Freya's familia's adventurers, whose fiery gazes seemed to want to burn him to ashes.
Ryou felt like he could see three primordial runes — FFF! — floating above their heads.
But he couldn't care about that now; he had already surrendered under the skilled seductress's advances.
"Th-then I'll follow your lead," Ryou stammered, feeling his usually nimble tongue suddenly tie itself into knots.
"Very well, leave everything to me!"
Freya beamed, her peerless beauty radiating even more dazzlingly.
As for the mischievous Syr, her face was completely red, and she didn't dare lift her head.
"I will ensure that you experience true earthly bliss~"
"Great~ ah!!!"
Just as Ryou was being completely mesmerized by Freya, the straightforward saint could no longer stand it.
She walked directly behind Ryou, grabbed the flesh at his waist, and gave it a hard twist!
Ryou screamed in pain, and he quickly learned a lesson: twisting someone's waist was a natural skill for women, even for a village saint like Jeanne.
Jeanne, however, didn't pay any attention to him. Instead, she looked at Freya with a face full of anger.
At this moment, the saint was no longer the distant and noble symbol of purity, but rather a jealous young girl experiencing her first pangs of love.
With Freya's high level of skill in reading people, combined with her observation of how the other contracted Servant treated him, she quickly pieced together most of the situation.
Freya felt a mix of complex emotions, both resentment and joy.
The resentment stemmed from the fact that Ryou had too many close and excellent female companions, making it impossible for her and Syr to have him to themselves.
The joy, of course, came from the increased chances of her plan's success.
Jeanne seemed aggressive, but a seductress like Freya was not a match for a pure saint.
Freya only needed one sentence to defeat her.
"Oh my~ Are you also Ryou's lover? What a pure and beautiful child."
"Huh!? Wait! I'm not! I didn't!"
Jeanne's cheeks instantly turned red as she waved her hands wildly and stammered her explanation.
But Freya just smiled at her with a look that said, 'I understand, you don't need to explain.'
And so, a potentially fierce confrontation was easily defused by the seductress goddess.
On the other side, Loki's familia was completely sidelined by the two forces, and Loki could only slink away with her famillia.
Before leaving, Loki tried to take Ais with her, but this time Ais firmly refused.
Loki was greatly disappointed and tearfully cried out, "My Ais-tan has been completely taken away by a wild man!"
As for Apollo's familia, almost all members, except for Apollo himself and those outside, perished. This included Hyakinthos, the one favored by Apollo and the captain of his familia.
As for Apollo himself, Ryou magnanimously let him go on the surface, only confiscating all of his familia's assets.
In secret, however, he used telepathy to notify the god-slaying expert, Scathach...
Ryou knew well the dangers of leaving loose ends, so there was no way he would let Apollo go. It was likely that Apollo's body would grow cold as soon as he left the city.
Thus, the great turmoil initiated by the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena, seemed to have been quelled on the surface.
This debut of the goddess ended in a crushing defeat.
However, everyone knew that this was just the beginning of an even greater storm, a more enormous and terrifying storm brewing that would sweep across the entire world.
...
Crash!
In the secret stronghold of Athena's familia.
The elegant goddess was acting like a hysterical shrew, sweeping cups and bottles off the table and onto the floor.
The sound of shattering glass filled the air.
This noise only made the goddess more irritable.
"Go, send invitations to all the gods in Orario. I'm convening a divine assembly!"