After the group finished dinner, everyone began to disperse, planning to meet later at Hestia's home. The girls from the Loki Familia decided not to go home and headed straight there. Loki, thinking she could walk with them, noticed no one was following her. At that moment, she realized she had to go alone. She started acting like a spoiled child who had been abandoned.
"Why don't you want to come with me?" Loki cried, drawing the attention of passersby. 'I thought we were family! Why do I have to go home alone?'
The girls from the Loki Familia just rolled their eyes at their goddess's behavior.
"Alex, tell them to come with me. What if something happens to me?" Loki shouted, running up to Alex and tugging on his arm.
"Get off him, flat-chested! He still needs to pick up Freya," protested Hestia, trying to pull Loki away from Alex.
"No, I won't let go until he tells the girls to come with me!" Loki screamed, refusing to let go of Alex.
At that moment, Alex's face was completely blank. All his thoughts were occupied with trying to understand why everyone he knew clung to him like koalas and demanded things. Passersby observed the scene of one goddess trying to pry another goddess off a guy with an expressionless face, indicating he did not want to be there.
"Loki-sama, let go of Alex," said Riveria, approaching Loki and grabbing her by the scruff like a cat.
"You finally decided to come with me. I knew you wouldn't abandon me," Loki said happily as she was held like a cat.
"Sorry, Loki-sama, but I don't want to make a detour just to pick up one person," said Tiona, hiding behind Alex.
"How can you say that? Frodo is your captain and a member of our family," Loki said, pretending to be upset.
Riveria's eye twitched at her goddess's behavior. Loki refused to calm down and drew even more attention with her antics. The vein on Riveria's forehead was ready to burst when a savior arrived.
"Loki, enough noise. We have more important matters,' said Alex, starting to stretch Loki's cheeks to make her stop talking.
'Stop pulling! I won't make any more noise. Just let go, it hurts!' Loki yelled as Alex stretched her cheeks.
'Good. Now go home to pick up Frodo,' said Alex, releasing Loki, who began rubbing her reddened cheeks.
'But I don't want to go home alone. What if I get kidnapped? I'm so beautiful,' Loki started to say, and no one could hold back their laughter. Seeing everyone laugh, especially Hestia pointing at her, made Loki's anger peak, and she was ready to attack Hestia.
'Okay, you won't have to go home if you're afraid of being kidnapped,' Alex said, making an "OK" sign towards Loki.
'What do you mean by that—' Loki didn't finish as Alex teleported her home.
Everyone stared at the spot where Loki had vanished, then looked at Alex, who was responsible. At first, the group couldn't comprehend what had happened until Tiona started laughing, which led to everyone else joining in. Even the silent Ais smiled, looking at Alex.
"Well, the noise is gone. Now you can head off," said Alex, giving a thumbs-up, which caused another wave of laughter in the group.
"I don't want to go either! Send me home too," said Hestia, shaking Alex's arm and acting like a child.
"Alright, I guess I'm now a portable teleporter," Alex sighed tiredly, earning sympathetic looks from the group. But no one refused to teleport straight home.
After sending the rest of the group home, Alex decided to check one more time where Freya was to avoid wasting time searching for her. Sensing that Freya was already home, he decided to teleport directly to her. At that moment, Freya, who had just returned home and was about to change, had taken off her dress and was in her underwear. Approaching the mirror, she nodded to herself, confirming that she was still as beautiful as ever. Remembering how Alex reacted to her beauty, Freya could only hope she had become even more beautiful. She wondered why Alex wasn't attracted to her beauty, and the more she thought about it, the darker her eyes became. Her thoughts went in the wrong direction: Freya began considering kidnapping Alex and hiding him from all the women he might attract. She didn't realize the danger of her thoughts, but she didn't reject them, and her desire to be with Alex only grew stronger.
Lost in her thoughts, Freya was looking towards Alex's home when her reverie was interrupted by a bright light appearing in the room. She turned and saw Alex.
"Yo!" said Alex, raising his hand in greeting. "Am I interrupting?" he asked, looking at Freya standing in her underwear.
"Did you come to spy on a goddess who decided to change?" Freya asked with a smile, approaching Alex and placing her hand on his cheek.
"If I knew you were changing, I would have warned you before coming in," Alex replied, spreading his hands. He noticed that he didn't react to her half-naked appearance, and her eyes began to lose their light, replaced by an unpleasant feeling in her chest. Giving in to her emotions, Freya asked:
"Am I not attractive to you?" Her eyes began to fill with darkness.
"Freya, I've already told you that I find you beautiful, that's a fact. But I don't think it's appropriate to look at a girl standing in front of me in her underwear," said Alex, ignoring the changes in her eyes.
"I never said I was against you looking at me," replied Freya, trying to see any emotions in Alex's eyes.
"Thank you, of course, for the permission to admire your beauty, but unfortunately, we're not at that stage in our relationship where I could allow myself such liberties," replied Alex calmly, not wanting to upset her.
"So if we take that step, you'll look only at me?" Freya's eyes became even more obsessed.
"Freya, you know I can't do that," said Alex, taking her by the cheeks.
"You're rejecting me?" Tears began to appear in her eyes.
"I'm not rejecting you, Freya. I'm just not going to abandon my family," replied Alex, shaking his head. Light appeared in her eyes at his words.
"I'm not against your obsession and your character. I like you, but I won't abandon the people who love and value me," Alex continued, stroking her cheeks to help her relax.
"So, you love me and want to be with me?" Freya asked, hope appearing in her eyes.
"You could say that. I have started to develop feelings for you over the past three months, but I'll say it again: I won't abandon my family," Alex said, looking into her eyes, where hearts appeared. For a moment, Alex's mind short-circuited, and he couldn't understand how that was possible.
"I don't mind other women in your life, but remember, I won't let you leave me. If you try to run away, I'll lock you up and never let you out," Freya said, and her eyes filled with darkness again. Alex couldn't understand how her eyes changed like that. He knew she was the goddess of love but didn't realize how bad it was.
"If you want to stay with me, then I'm the one who should say you can't escape. After all, the Demon King always kidnaps beautiful girls and locks them in his castle," Alex said, looking at her obsessed eyes.
"I never planned on leaving you. We will always be together. Always," Freya whispered in his ear.
Alex and Freya continued to look at each other, not wanting to look away. Freya's eyes sought to memorize every detail of Alex's face so she would never forget what he looked like. Alex decided to accept this goddess's obsession, not only because he knew he couldn't escape her but also because he had feelings for her and didn't want to give her to anyone else. He was also obsessed with the love for the people around him but knew how to hide it.
Freya could no longer hold back her feelings and decided to take a bold step. Standing on her tiptoes, she brought her lips closer to Alex's face, wanting to kiss him. When their lips met, an electric shock ran through Freya's body, and her desire only grew. Alex responded to the kiss of the goddess of love, filled with her passion and obsession. After the passionate kiss, Freya's eyes were clouded. She wanted more, as what she experienced couldn't be described in words. She brought her face closer to Alex's again, longing for the next kiss, but they were interrupted.
"Freya-sama, I heard some noises. Are you alright?" Allen shouted, bursting into the room and seeing Freya in her underwear hugging Alex.
"Who are you? And what are you doing in Freya-sama's room?!" Allen shouted, drawing his weapon and pointing it at Alex.
"Allen, you can..." Freya wanted to say.
"Allen, you bastard! I'm going to strangle you," Alex shouted, letting go of Freya. "Damn eavesdropping cat," he added, pulling a stick from his pocket. Freya, who wanted to ask Allen to leave, was surprised by Alex's outburst as he approached Allen.
"You know it's rude to barge into a girl's room!" Alex said, pointing the stick at Allen, forgetting that he himself had burst into Freya's room.
"What did you do to Freya-sama?" Allen asked, ignoring Alex's tone.
"I didn't do anything to her, but I'll do something to you," Alex replied, approaching Allen.
"Just don't hit him too hard," Freya said, not wanting her servant to suffer too much but believing that Allen deserved punishment for interrupting such a pleasant moment.
After that, Freya's room was filled with the cries of the eavesdropping cat-boy who loves interrupting romantic moments. Ottar, standing by the door, didn't move since Freya hadn't ordered him to enter. The beating of Allen lasted a good five minutes. When Alex finished, Allen was kneeling with his hands raised. He had a bruise under one eye, blood flowing from his nose, and a noticeable lump on his forehead resembling a horn.
"Now you'll know better than to barge into a girl's room without permission," Alex said, standing over Allen, who had a hurt expression on his face.
"You barged into Freya-sama's room yourself and still dare to blame me!" Allen persisted.
"Freya doesn't mind me coming in," Alex replied, giving Allen a smack on the top of his head.
"Alright, Alex, stop hitting Allen. He's already realized his mistake," Freya said, stopping Alex. Allen heard her words and looked at Alex with a proud expression, causing Alex's eye to twitch and a desire to hit that stupid cat again.
"If Freya had been against me barging into her room, she would have screamed or kicked me out," Alex said, sitting down next to Freya. Allen's proud smile froze, and he didn't know what to say.
"Ottar, you can come in. I have something to say," Alex called out, ignoring Allen, who began to doubt his life choices.
"How can I help?" Ottar asked, entering the room. After three months of training, he considered Alex his teacher and acknowledged his strength. Ottar knew that his mistress loved Alex and didn't mind, as he saw Freya as a mother figure and wished the best for her.
"I actually came here to get you for a discussion. But then this happened and that happened, and I kind of forgot," Alex said, shrugging his shoulders, causing confusion in Ottar.
"Did something serious happen?" Freya asked, looking at Alex, who was calmly sitting beside her.
"You could say that. And, most likely, radical measures will need to be taken in this situation," Alex said with a heavy sigh. Freya noticed his heavy sigh and decided to take his hand to comfort him, although she wanted to touch him or dive back into a kiss.
"Before we leave, Freya, did you learn anything at the meeting?" Alex asked, squeezing Freya's hand, causing her to smile happily.
"As you suspected. Erebus is definitely part of that group, and Thanatos was absent. Some gods who were on the list were missing," Freya said, snuggling closer to Alex, wanting to feel his love.
"When Uranus mentioned the strange monster found in the dungeon, Erebus subtly smiled, but I noticed it," Freya added, hoping Alex would praise her. Alex noticed that Freya also began to act spoiled and could only smile crookedly while patting her on the head.
"This bastard is probably gloating because, while everyone was busy, he was pulling his latest trick in the dungeon," Alex said, staring at the ceiling and trying to resist the urge to run to Erebus and beat him with a stick. He needed to lure out a bigger fish, and for that, Erebus had to continue his plans and eventually make a mistake.
"What has he done?" Freya asked, looking at Alex, who was glaring irritably at the ceiling.
"I'll tell you everything once we get to my place," Alex said, shifting his gaze to Freya, and his expression softened, causing her to smile.
"And, Allen, here's a new task for you: install this device at Thanatos's house and do it discreetly. Then, once you've completed the task, come to my place," Alex said, tossing a small cube to Allen, who was still kneeling.
Allen caught the cube and shot an irritated look at Alex. Seeing Alex reach into his pocket, Allen flinched and looked away, not wanting to get beaten again. Realizing that Allen had learned his lesson, Alex decided it was time to leave. He started getting up from the couch, and Freya, not wanting to let go of his hand, stood up with him. Alex put a hand on Ottar's shoulder and teleported to his home. Allen could only click his tongue in irritation, realizing he had another task ahead of him.
Alex appeared on the first floor of his house and found it empty. "They must be at the training grounds," he thought.
"Let's go, they're probably downstairs," Alex said, heading towards the basement.
"Don't you want to at least give us a hint about what happened in the dungeon?" Freya asked, snuggling even closer to Alex.
"I'm too lazy to repeat everything twice. It's better to see it first-hand than to explain," Alex answered in a lazy tone, which only made Freya smile. Ottar was also interested in the event, as he attended the training not only at Freya's request but also to protect the goddess he saw as a mother.
Descending to the basement where the training area was located, Alex approached the door and went inside. The scene before him was one of relaxed chatter and lounging, as if they were at a picnic and had no problems. Alex could only smile at this scene, and the desire to ruin it filled his thoughts.
"Hey, I'm back!" Alex shouted, attracting the attention of the group. Hestia, noticing Freya clinging to Alex, gritted her teeth in irritation and wanted to lunge at her, but was stopped by Hephaestus.
"Alright, now that everyone is here, I want to show you something and tell you about it," Alex said, trying to ignore Hestia, whose angry eyes could have put a few holes in him.
"This is the remains of Goliath after his mutation," Alex said, pulling out a massive skeleton from his bag. Everyone in the room stared wide-eyed at the black skeleton.
"Wasn't there supposed to be a corpse of the monster, not just a skeleton?" Finn asked, looking at the skeleton before him.
"Well, due to some of my actions, only the skeleton remained," Alex replied, looking at the group. The gathered people continued to stare at the skeleton, trying to understand why it had become like this.
"Hey, you two, are you kids who need to touch everything?!" Alex shouted, running over and grabbing Tiona and Loki, who had decided to touch the skeleton.
"We won't do it again," Tiona and Loki said in unison, as Alex held them. At their words, Alex could only roll his eyes irritably at their behavior. He understood that Loki wanted to stick her nose into everything, but he couldn't understand why Tiona decided to do it as well.
"Why did Goliath mutate like the previous monster?" Finn asked, trying to think rationally.
"Good question, Frodo. When I escorted the girls on their raid and we reached Goliath's room, we had an interesting listener who decided to tell me everything," Alex replied, causing Finn to roll his eyes in irritation. Everyone tried to suppress their laughter at Finn's nickname.
Alex decided to recount what happened in the dungeon and how he met Savina, who told him everything without mentioning that he had forcibly extracted her memories. He described the black crystal she was supposed to implant in Goliath to test its effectiveness. Finally, he began to describe the battle with Goliath. Alex wanted to explain the best way to deal with the mutated Goliath, but he was interrupted by the girls, who exaggerated the battle heavily without providing any useful details. Loki's family members listened attentively, thinking it was a story about a hero who fought and defeated a dangerous monster. Even the goddesses listened intently, eager to remember every detail. While the girls recounted how bravely Alex fought Goliath, Allen arrived but didn't know where everyone was and just stood in the main hall. Alex sensed his presence and teleported him over. Allen gave Alex an irritated look, which Alex simply brushed off. Seeing that the girls didn't want to stop their story, Alex took the guys aside to talk.
"Allen, did you set up the cube?" Alex asked, looking at the annoyed cat.
"Yes," Allen replied in an irritated voice.
"Thanks," Alex said, which made Allen's eyes widen in surprise, and he looked at Alex in astonishment.
"While the girls are talking, I'll briefly tell you what needs to be done with such a monster," Alex said, and the guys began to listen attentively. "This bastard is quite resilient. It takes him 15 to 20 seconds to regrow limbs, and that's after I've severed all his limbs. Surface wounds, like cutting muscles and tendons, heal in about 5 seconds. Destroying his bones takes about the same amount of time as regrowing limbs. And most importantly—this abomination gets stronger from rage and the more it absorbs the power of the crystal inside it."
"You're saying these idiots have already reached the point where they can implant crystals into monster-rexes?" Finn asked after hearing Alex's account. Alex could only nod in response.
"Damn it! That's not good at all," Finn said, clutching his head. Ottar merely frowned.
"I think this was just an experiment. Whether it succeeded or not is irrelevant. Most likely, they want to implant this crystal into the one-eyed dragon," Alex said. At his words, the guys breathed in cold air and broke into a sweat.
"Well, shit! If they pull this off, it will be complete chaos," Finn cursed, surprising Alex, who didn't expect the hobbit to use such language.
"Finn, I need you to gather your family members and come here tomorrow. I'll create a few things that need to be placed in the dungeon. Your family will go into the dungeon under the pretext of a raid and set up these devices," Alex outlined his plan, to which Finn nodded seriously.
"Allen, you'll be needed tomorrow as well. I want you to place similar devices around the city," Alex said, turning to Allen, who nodded seriously without attempting to object.
"Ottar, you'll need to keep an eye on Freya and inform me if anything happens because I haven't set up protection for her house yet," Alex said to Ottar, who nodded, indicating that he wouldn't let him down.
"Finn, here are my notes on the monster. Review them and prepare just in case. I don't know if these bastards have created any more similar monsters," Alex said, handing over the notebook. Finn took it and thanked him.
Alex left the guys to discuss their plans and went over to the goddesses, who were listening with interest to the story. Approaching them, he called for them to follow him.
"Well, the shit hit the fan sooner than I thought. And their plans are moving faster; it seems Erebus is starting to lose patience," Alex said, looking at the goddesses.
"What are you going to do?" Freya asked, expressing general curiosity.
"Right, we haven't even dealt with Ishtar yet, and now there's another problem," Hestia said irritably, crossing her arms.
"For now, we'll set Ishtar aside; she's not the main issue at the moment," Alex replied, not wanting to think about the woman just yet.
"And what do you propose?" Hephaestus asked, sensing that Alex intended to take some drastic action.
"There's only one option right now. I'm going to go and kidnap Thanatos," Alex said, causing the goddesses' eyes to widen.
"What do you plan to do with him?" Loki asked, not dismissing Alex's plan.
"I'll extract memories from this bastard and find out who he's connected to," Alex said seriously, understanding that action was needed.
"Are you sure you can kidnap him without anyone noticing?" Freya asked, looking at Alex.
"That's easy, which is why I asked Allen to set up the cube at Thanatos's house," Alex replied, causing Freya's eyes to widen as she understood his reasoning.
"If you're going to do this, I trust you. Just don't put yourself in danger," Hestia said, realizing that there was no other option.
"Alright. So as soon as I leave, go to my workshop, and Hephaestus, get that chair," Alex said, looking at Hephaestus.
"That chair?" Hephaestus asked, recalling the chair Alex had created. The other goddesses didn't understand what he was referring to.
"Yes, that chair," Alex confirmed, causing Hephaestus to flinch slightly, which did not escape the notice of the goddesses.
"Then I'll be going and will return soon," Alex said, kissing the goddesses before leaving, making sure to include Loki, who might start causing trouble again.
Meanwhile, Thanatos was pacing around his room, irritated that Savina had not yet returned, and he began to think that the plan had failed again. He was about to start smashing everything in his room when he didn't realize someone had entered his quarters under the cover of night and was quietly watching him. Calming down, Thanatos stood and looked at the mess he had created, becoming even more agitated, until he felt someone's presence behind him. Trying to turn around and yell at the uninvited guest, he heard the last thing he managed to perceive before losing consciousness: "Happy New Year, bastard." And then everything went dark. Until the last moment, Thanatos did not understand how someone had entered his quarters or why he was attacked, as he had not revealed himself.
To be continued...