"Lady Kali, why did we have to run away?"
Argana looked at her deity with deep confusion. "Isn't this practically the same as hiding from that goddess?"
"Truth be told, I am indeed hiding from her!"
Kali pursed her lips, her face full of wariness.
"That Ishtar is the Goddess of Beauty with a charm ability. Even without using divine power, she can easily drive earthly beings into madness, completely robbing them of their sense of self until they become her dogs!"
"Just like that beauty goddess Freya?"
"Exactly!"
"Then what about that beautiful boy...?"
An intense sourness welled up in Argana's heart as if she'd eaten a lemon, her features twisting together.
"Don't even think about taking him away. His life is as good as ruined in Ishtar's hands now."
The loli goddess let out a troubled sigh. How could she not feel regret too?
Who wouldn't want to keep such a beautiful boy locked up at home every day, wishing to make him disappear from the entire world? Even she, as a deity, wasn't immune to such vulgar desires.
"Being able to get a taste is already good enough. I'm in the same boat as you—only getting scraps!"
"Even so..."
Argana felt deeply aggrieved. She was the one who'd worked so hard to capture the beautiful boy, yet she could only get scraps and couldn't even stay in Kali Familia, letting Ishtar reap all the benefits.
Though resentful, she was powerless to change it.
Against a beauty goddess's charm, unless one killed her through ambush, once affected, they'd become her dog, their life ruined in her hands.
No matter how bold she was, the thought of becoming a dog groveling at someone else's feet filled her with dread.
Moreover, ordinary people wouldn't dare defy a god's majesty.
"Lady Kali, Lady Argana, Loki Familia's Tiona and Tione have arrived at our familia's entrance."
Soon, an Amazon girl came to report to them.
"Oh! They're finally here!"
Kali's face lit up with excitement upon hearing this.
"Since we can't enjoy the beautiful boy right now, let's savor the taste of blood first!"
A bloodthirsty smile also appeared on Argana's face.
...
"Your assumption isn't entirely accurate."
Having sorted out her thoughts, Ishtar no longer held back.
"To be precise, Kali Familia is just like me—they've gotten involved with Evilus."
Eiji narrowed his eyes.
"So you mean...?"
He already had an inkling of the truth.
"What I mean is, I established contact with Evilus long ago and even funded them with substantial resources."
Ishtar pressed herself against him, her hands roaming freely.
At the same time, her eyes shimmered with an unusually alluring light, capable of making anyone abandon reason and drown in desire.
"Mmm... You're not as proper as you seem!"
Ishtar glanced down at the gauze covering her chest and let out a soft, amused laugh.
"Your technique is good."
"Practice makes perfect."
"By the way, the artificial dungeon you entered earlier was also built with my financial support... Hey, don't hurt me!"
Ishtar was proudly recounting her achievements when she suddenly yelped in pain, shooting him an annoyed look.
"My apologies, I got a bit carried away. I didn't expect you to be so wealthy."
Eiji spoke with remarkable calm.
"Hmph, you don't need to imagine how much money I have. Just know it's more than you could ever dream of."
Ishtar clearly took pride in this as well. "If you join my Familia, you'll have endless wealth too... but I digress."
She lowered her head, leaving a kiss mark on Eiji's neck.
"I formed an alliance with Evilus long ago. I was the one who guided Kali in, even helped smuggle them into Orario."
That's right.
All of this was Ishtar's doing.
Funding Evilus to build that terrifying artificial dungeon, assisting the Kali Familia's infiltration into Orario, collecting humans and demi-humans with special talents.
And all her efforts had just one purpose from beginning to end!
"I'm going to drag that arrogant woman down from the top floor of the Tower of Babel!"
The mere thought of that silver-haired goddess made Ishtar gnash her teeth.
"She looked down on me in Heaven, and now she's above me in the mortal world too! That damn bitch, what makes her so superior? Why is she always more popular than me?"
"Not long ago, she even personally came to my Familia and killed my captain. Phryne's death means nothing, but this insult I cannot swallow!"
The goddess's heart burned with hatred.
Phryne's death had made her more cautious.
She accelerated contact with the Kali Familia, brought them into her territory the very night they reached Lake Lolog, pressured Evilus to move faster, personally went to inspect the goods... all to exact revenge on Freya!
This wasn't impossible!
After all, while gods might dislike using their brains, none were truly foolish!
When a god truly sets their mind to something, the consequences are always far more terrifying than imagined!
Ishtar was no exception.
For years she'd painstakingly gathered forces from all sides.
The curse of nullifying magic, the rare enchantment to forcibly raise one's level!
Evilus's labyrinth, housing a corrupted spirit at least equivalent to Level 7!
Plus the formidable Kali Familia!
Combining these forces would make crushing the Freya Familia effortless!
Yet she still felt it wasn't enough!
She would never underestimate divine power, especially not Freya's!
Thus she set her sights on a new trump card!
"That's you!"
Ishtar gazed at Eiji with fanatical intensity.
"That magic you used to defeat the corrupted spirit—once unleashed, none can withstand it, not even Ottar! With you, the Freya Familia is finished!"
Yes.
With Eiji, with that spell of his, Ishtar would become invincible in the mortal world!
Freya could be crushed with a single hand!
Dominating the surface world wasn't beyond reach!
The sight of Eiji destroying the Heavenly Bull had given her this absolute confidence!
And with this confidence came unprecedented possessiveness.
She must have this boy at all costs!
Not just as a female, but for revenge and ambition!
This was why she had the Kali Familia capture Eiji, even exposing Sharay's curse and Haruhime's enchantment!
And making him join her Familia would be child's play!
A single Charm would suffice!
As long as she could turn him into her obedient dog, there'd be no need to worry about him disobeying in the future!
As for retaliation from Loki Familia?
If she could destroy Freya Familia, why would she fear some measly Loki Familia?!
"Wait, why haven't you...?"
Ishtar lowered her head.
She had been admiring her future masterpiece, fantasizing about trampling Freya underfoot, when she suddenly noticed something.
Something utterly bizarre—something that should have been impossible.
There wasn't the slightest trace of infatuation in Eiji's eyes.
His gaze was completely clear.
Being stared at by those eyes, Ishtar suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.