Feeling that Freya was home and watching him, Alex waved at her and immediately teleported to her room. Looking around, he noticed that aside from Freya, only Ottar was present, his face as expressionless as ever. Nodding at Ottar, Alex approached the table where Freya was already pouring tea. Alex looked at Freya suspiciously, wondering if she had truly been expecting him or if she watched him around the clock. The thought made him shiver, as Freya might have a "Yandere" tendency.
However, after some thought, Alex decided that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If handled correctly, a "Yandere" could be very beneficial. Alex decided to observe Freya's actions a bit longer, uncertain if this was the same Freya who, in the canon, brainwashed an entire city into believing Bell was part of her Familia and that Hestia had stolen him.
"I see you were expecting me," Alex said, sitting at the table and watching Freya.
"What makes you think I was expecting you? Maybe I just wanted to have afternoon tea, and you happened to arrive at the right time," Freya replied, pushing a plate of cookies closer to Alex.
"Well, then I'm lucky to have tea with a beautiful goddess," Alex said, eyeing the plate of cookies and feeling his suspicion about Freya deepen.
"Won't Hestia be jealous if you call me beautiful?" Freya asked with a sweet smile.
"Beauty is subjective, and everyone has their own idea of what beauty is," Alex replied, avoiding a direct answer.
"So, why have you come to see me today?" Freya asked, sipping her tea and never taking her eyes off Alex.
"Actually, I just came for a visit and wanted to ask you a couple of questions. If you don't mind, I'd also like to invite Ottar to a training session," Alex replied, eating a cookie.
"I'm flattered that you decided to visit me. But what do you want to ask me that made you come all this way?" Freya asked, her eyes sparkling with interest.
Alex noticed the sparkle and began to suspect that Freya might be someone to avoid. But if she had set her sights on him, it was better to accept it and try to avoid unnecessary deaths if she got upset.
"I think you already know what I want to ask," Alex replied with a faint smile. Freya gave a sweet smile and pretended to think.
"You want to know about Ishtar? But why bother about Ishtar when you can just ignore her?" Freya asked with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.
"It's not that I'm overly interested in her. It's just that I might have ruined some of her future plans and want to understand what she might do," Alex said, trying to ignore the gleam in Freya's eyes. Hearing his words, her eyes returned to normal, and she continued to smile.
"And what did you do that could have ruined her plans?" Freya asked, looking at Alex with intrigued eyes.
"Do you want the short story or the long one?" Alex asked, causing Freya to look puzzled.
"What's the difference?" Freya asked, not understanding where he was going with this.
"Alright, then the short one. I accidentally ended up on her territory, met a girl who supposedly worked for her, and then I kidnapped her," Alex explained, causing Freya to sigh.
"But you didn't explain how you ruined her plans," Freya said, narrowing her eyes.
"The girl I kidnapped was supposed to be sacrificed so that Ishtar could strengthen other members of her Familia. She wanted to forcibly raise their levels. And it's likely related to you," Alex said, pointing at Freya, who started thinking after his words.
"Are you saying Ishtar is foolish enough to do something like that?" Freya asked, and Alex rolled his eyes, realizing she was pretending.
"Freya, you know that doesn't work on me. Can you give me a brief rundown of who Ishtar is and what to expect from her?" Alex said, almost rolling his eyes to the other side. Freya laughed, seeing how Alex was acting.
"And what do I get in return for this information?" Freya asked, wanting a gift from Alex.
"I knew you wouldn't tell me for free, so I prepared this," Alex said, pulling out a handbag that matched Freya's outfit.
"Oh, Lady Freya, please accept my humble offering so that I may receive the answer to my question," Alex said dramatically, holding the handbag with both hands and lifting it for Freya to take.
"I see you made it in my favorite colors," Freya said, taking the handbag and examining it in her hands.
"Why aren't you following the script? You could at least play along," Alex said sadly.
"Actually, this is your handbag, and why are these my favorite colors? You're the one who has to carry it," Alex said, not understanding what Freya was getting at.
"Then what are you wearing?" Freya asked, pointing at Alex's clothes. Looking at himself, Alex realized he was still wearing his usual black and red outfit.
"I thought you dressed like this on purpose so that our outfits would match better," Freya said in an innocent tone.
"It's just a coincidence. And about the handbag, it has two variations. You can carry it over your shoulder with the chain, or use it as a clutch by removing the chain," Alex said, changing the subject and explaining how to use the handbag.
Deciding to demonstrate, Alex showed Freya how to use the handbag. Freya, having received the new handbag, started playing with it, trying out different ways to use it. Alex watched as Freya, like a child with a new toy, put various items into the handbag and immediately took them out. When she finally tired, Freya stood up and walked to the mirror to see how the handbag looked with her outfit, trying different ways to wear it.
Satisfied that the handbag suited her perfectly, Freya returned to the table and looked at Alex, wanting to thank him for the gift. However, she didn't know how to express her gratitude, as Alex had given her the handbag to get information that was essentially useless. For the first time in many years, Freya felt a slight pang of guilt for her actions. If Alex had heard her thoughts, he would have just looked at her with a crooked smile, knowing that in the cultivation world, such things were very common, though not as refined as the handbags he gave to other girls.
Alex noticed that Freya had finally calmed down and was looking at him with a small sense of guilt in her eyes. He couldn't understand why she was looking at him that way.
"Looks like you liked it," Alex said, noticing Freya as she sat back down at the table.
"It's a nice gift, but I can't accept it. This information isn't worth something so valuable," Freya said, wanting to return the handbag, even though she liked it very much.
"No need to return it; it's my gift as a token of friendship. In some worlds, such things are very common," Alex said, not thinking about what he had just revealed. Freya heard his words, and her eyes sparkled with interest.
"What do you mean by other worlds?" Freya asked, looking at Alex, who realized he had said too much.
"Aren't you a goddess and supposed to have such information?" Alex asked, trying to dodge the topic.
"No, I don't know. Maybe Ouranos knows," Freya said, shaking her head to deny his assumption.
"So what about other worlds?" Freya asked, her eyes gleaming with the desire to know more.
"Maybe we can pretend I didn't say anything?" Alex asked, trying to avoid the topic.
"No, you have to tell me, and don't think you can escape," Freya said, grabbing Alex's hand.
"Alright, I'll tell you briefly. Where I come from, there's a rather interesting theory. It's called the multiverse theory," Alex said, and Freya's eyes sparkled even more. She pulled up a chair and sat next to Alex so he couldn't escape without telling her something so fascinating.
"Go on, and don't even think about running away because I know where you live," Freya said, sitting beside Alex and holding his hand.
"Alright, I'm not going to run. It's my fault for speaking without thinking. The essence of this theory is that every choice we make creates a separate universe, encompassing all possible variations of fictional and non-fictional worlds," Alex said, looking out the window. His words had a profound impact on Freya. Ottar, who had been standing silently all this time, paid attention to Alex's words and began to ponder.
"In simpler terms, every time we face a choice, the universe splits, creating a new one. For example, if I ask you to kiss me, you have a choice—to kiss me or not. Thus, in one universe, you kiss me, in another, you don't, not to mention other variations where you hit me and so on. If you've read stories and other tales that describe fictional characters, there's a high probability that these worlds exist," Alex explained everything he knew and understood about this theory.
"You mean there are many different worlds?" Freya asked.
"That's right, there are bad worlds and good worlds," Alex said but stopped mid-sentence, causing Freya to feel confused.
"Wait, bad and good universes. Villains who can cross universes, world infection," Alex began to mutter to himself, causing confusion on Freya's part as she watched him mumbling something under his breath.
"What's wrong? Why did you stop talking?" Freya asked, watching Alex, who had a very tense look on his face.
"Damn old man, I knew it couldn't be that simple," Alex shouted, standing up from his chair, startling Freya, who nearly fell over.
"I should have guessed what this could lead to," Alex continued to fume, realizing that his peaceful, lazy life might be in jeopardy.
"What happened? Why did you suddenly get so angry?" Freya asked, looking at Alex, whose eyes were blazing with fury.
"No time to explain. You're coming with me. Ottar, get ready, you're coming too," Alex said, looking at Freya and calling out to Ottar, who had been listening the whole time. Ottar looked at Freya, seeking her command. Freya, being a smart woman, began to understand that something was amiss and nodded to Ottar, indicating that he should go too.
Seeing that Freya and Ottar were ready, Alex approached them, placed his hands on their shoulders, and teleported to the training grounds where everyone was training at that time. The flash of light caught the attention of those training, and they realized their break was over. But when they saw Alex, looking grim and focused, they understood that something serious had happened. Hestia, ready to run to Alex, noticed his stern expression and realized that something important had happened again.
Alex scanned everyone who was training and stopped at the goddesses. "You three, come with me," Alex said, giving the goddesses no choice. They didn't understand what was happening but followed him silently.
Leading the group of goddesses to his workshop, Alex continued to ponder that the situation might be even worse than he had thought. Entering the workshop and pulling out the board with the plan against the semi-villains, Alex began erasing it, making space for new notes.
"Alex, what happened and why did you come back so grim?" Hestia asked, worried that Alex was angry again.
"I'm not grim, but if my theory is correct, this could turn out badly for this world," Alex said, looking at the board.
"What do you mean by 'badly'?" Loki asked, losing her playful tone.
"In the literal sense. If I hadn't accidentally blurted out to Freya, I might not have thought about this for a long time," Alex said, turning his gaze to the goddesses.
"Alex, did you tell her who you are?" Hestia asked, which piqued the interest of the other goddesses, especially Freya.
"No, I didn't say that. I accidentally let slip some other information," Alex said, sighing heavily.
"So who or what are you?" Loki asked, bursting with curiosity.
"I'll tell you later. Right now, we have a completely different topic to discuss," Alex said, pushing Loki aside, who pouted and sat on a chair.
"In short, there are countless worlds, both fictional and non-fictional. And in these worlds, there are various beings—from the weak to those who can destroy entire universes," Alex said, scaring the group of goddesses.
"What are you trying to say?" Hestia asked nervously.
"I mean that there are good and evil beings. The evil ones typically cause genocide and such, but these can cause genocide on a much larger scale," Alex replied, his expression growing even more serious.
"Why are you telling us this?" Hephaestus asked, understanding that Alex wasn't sharing this information without reason.
"There's about a 30% chance that these bastards have been contacted by beings from outside this universe and want to conduct an experiment here. They found an idiot who will be their pawn, and this idiot thinks they have a partnership," Alex said, starting to write on the board.
"Are you saying that someone or something has decided to make this world their playground?" Freya asked after some thought.
"Maybe yes, maybe no. But it's better to be prepared for the worst. And these beings are definitely not ones the gods of this world can handle," Alex replied, contemplating who might be involved.
"Do you have any idea who it could be?" Loki asked, seriously looking at the board.
"No, there are too many possibilities. From those who devour worlds to those who erase entire timelines," Alex answered, trying to get a hint using his memory.
"Then what should we do? If these beings are that dangerous, can't they just destroy this world and move on?" Hephaestus asked, frowning.
"Tell me, Hephaestus, if you were a villain with so much power, and you knew that nothing in this world could harm you, what would you do? Would you destroy the world immediately, or would you slowly annihilate it, enjoying the suffering of its inhabitants?" Alex asked, looking at Hephaestus, who frowned at his question.
"I think I would slowly drain it and enjoy the suffering of the beings that inhabit it," Freya answered. Everyone looked at her and took a step back. Freya just smiled sweetly, which frightened them even more.
"But it's only a possibility that other beings are involved. Let's hope it's just my paranoia," Alex said, laughing awkwardly, not believing his own words. "So it's best to be prepared in case my suspicions are correct."
"Now will you tell us who you are?" Loki asked, making everyone look at her with twitching eyes.
"Why are you all looking at me? This shorty knows everything, and we're left in the dark," Loki continued, shrugging. Hestia, hearing her words, wanted to attack Loki.
"Hestia, if you still have that sheet, you can show it to them. I don't mind," Alex said, looking at Hestia, who had calmed down after his words. Hestia looked at Alex nervously, her gaze asking if he was sure it was worth revealing such information. Alex nodded, indicating that he didn't mind.
"Stop looking at each other and get the sheet out, Hestia," Loki shouted, already losing patience. Hestia's eyes twitched, and she took out the sheet with Alex's statistics, placing it on the table for everyone to see.
The trio of goddesses began looking at Alex's statistics and were horrified by what they saw. They shifted their gaze from the sheet to Alex and back, trying to process the information.
"Now it makes sense why you're so powerful," Freya was the first to speak, seeing what was written on the sheet. Her eyes began to shine even brighter, realizing that Alex was exactly the one who could give her the freedom she desired and alleviate her boredom.
"You're not angry with me, are you?" Loki asked nervously, realizing she had made a mess.
"Well, that explains a lot. But Alex is Alex, so I'm not opposed to who you are," Hephaestus said, understanding why they had kept such information hidden.
"So, you can travel to other worlds?" Freya asked, her curiosity piqued, wondering if Alex could travel to other worlds, her life would become even more interesting.
"Hmm, I haven't tried yet. I'll need to try it after we find out if these idiots are connected to anyone or if they started all this on their own," Alex said, lighting a cigarette to calm his mind.
Seeing that Alex had taken out and lit a cigarette, Loki asked for one too. Alex thought for a moment and handed her a cigarette. Loki, trying smoking for the first time, coughed but liked the aftertaste of the cigarette.
While Alex and his group of goddesses were discussing the possibility that the group of idiots had some external help, Erebus was in his secret room, contacting someone to obtain more black crystals for enhancing monsters and creating chaos.
"Erebus, why have you contacted me again? We agreed not to communicate so frequently," came the hoarse voice from the communication device Erebus used.
"I need more of those black crystals," Erebus said immediately, not wanting to waste time.
"Really? And why do you need them? Haven't you received enough already?" the voice asked.
"The experiments failed, and the last successful specimen was killed before it could reveal its potential," Erebus replied, gritting his teeth in anger.
"Hmm, is there someone in this world who can kill a creature with that power implanted in it? That's quite interesting," the voice said cheerfully.
"Will you give me more crystals? Better yet, give me ones that are stronger than the previous ones. I want to enhance more dangerous monsters," Erebus said, losing his patience.
"Don't forget who you're talking to, Erebus. Everything you've received was given by me, and I can take it all back. Then you'll go back to being the rat you really are," the voice responded maliciously.
"Don't cross the line. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have gotten close to this world," Erebus said, clenching his teeth in rage.
"Haha, you're amusing. You're right, without your help, I wouldn't have been able to reach this world so easily, but that doesn't mean I couldn't get here at all," the voice replied, laughing at Erebus's words. "Since you've entertained me, I'll send you a batch of new crystals. But don't forget who you're working for, Erebus," the voice added, ending the conversation.
Erebus, staring at the disconnected communication device, gritted his teeth and began smashing everything in sight, cursing the being that dared to humiliate him. A mad smile appeared on his face, and his eyes became even fiercer. Erebus vowed to take revenge for the humiliation. He didn't realize that such villains leave no traces and, if their plans fail, they usually destroy everything immediately and start looking for a new toy.
Time flew by unnoticed. The next god meeting came, and all the girls from Hestia's family had leveled up. Hestia, prouder than ever, boasted about how her children were becoming stronger. She boasted so much that she began to annoy Loki, who came every day to oversee her family's training. One day, Loki's nerves gave out, and the battle between the Loligoddess and the Flat Goddess began again. Freya started visiting Hestia's household more often under the pretense of helping Ottar become stronger, but all the girls knew she wanted to get closer to Alex. Alex, keeping an eye on the red-light district, noticed that Ishtar hadn't returned, and the other members of her family weren't going to act without her orders.
The day of the next god meeting arrived. It was midday, and Alex was lying on Hephaestus's lap, who was stroking his head. Alex and Hephaestus had become very close during this time, and Hephaestus no longer felt shy about the affection Alex showed. Alex enjoyed the soft strokes of Hephaestus, marveling at how her hands remained so soft and tender despite her work.
While Alex was enjoying himself, Hestia burst into the house, leading someone with her.
"Alex, look who I found!" Hestia shouted as she entered the hall and saw Alex lying on Hephaestus's lap. She was already accustomed to this and wasn't jealous.
"What's the matter, Hestia? Who did you bring?" Alex asked, not opening his eyes.
"I kidnapped... Actually, invited another member to our family," Hestia said, initially stumbling over her words, then correcting herself.
"You did what?" Hephaestus said, setting aside her book and looking at Hestia with a frown.
"It's your fault she became like this," Hephaestus said, pinching Alex's cheek, causing him to open his eyes.
"It's not my fault; she became like this on her own," Alex said, getting up from Hephaestus's lap, eager to see who Hestia had brought.
When Alex stood up and looked at the person Hestia had brought, his eyes met those of the stranger, and he realized that something was amiss.
To be continued...