— — — — — —
In the end, the six God-Kings withdrew.
After Athena made her declaration, Zeus, Ares, Apollo, and Artemis also revealed their presence.
Once they understood the stance of the Greek pantheon, the six God-Kings left in silence.
But everyone knew — nothing had been resolved. If anything, the conflict had only deepened.
After they were gone, in front of Athena's Temple of Wisdom…
Three figures appeared out of thin air.
At the front stood Zeus, a mature-looking man with wavy white hair and a beard, carrying a heavy, commanding presence.
To his right stood Poseidon — tall, broad-shouldered, with seaweed-like blue curls, dark skin, and sharply defined features.
On the left stood a goddess.
She had long silver-blue hair, wore a single-shoulder white Greek-style robe cinched at the waist with a golden belt, outlining her refined figure. Her features were delicate but held an aloof chill. Even standing beside Zeus and Poseidon, she kept a deliberate distance.
This was Artemis, the Moon Goddess.
The moment the three manifested, Zeus stepped forward. "Athena. You need to explain."
The heavy stone doors of the temple opened on their own.
Seeing this, none of them hesitated. They entered.
They walked the long corridor until they reached the center of the temple, beneath a towering statue of the goddess — and there stood Athena.
She was surrounded by countless stars, each one a glittering mote saturated with divine authority.
Those tens of thousands of divine stars formed a blue galaxy, circling and enclosing her.
A sacred hymn reverberated gently in the air, whispering her exalted name:
{O Trinity Queen!}
{You are wisdom made manifest, the mercy of the earth, the incarnation of war.}
{You are the one and only true god—}
The moment they heard that chant, the three gods instantly understood her state.
Artemis stepped forward with a frown. "Athena, who set you up?"
This was clearly an abnormal shift — a change in divine essence. And that chorus wasn't worship from others… it was Athena herself stabilizing her own divinity.
Only now did Artemis understand why Athena hadn't shown herself before the God-Kings.
If the other pantheons saw her like this, it would place her in a terrifyingly dangerous position.
The last god to be pushed into the position of a so-called "One and Only True God" had been Yahweh of the Cross Pantheon.
And Artemis still remembered clearly how the gods of Little Garden united against him.
It was only after Jesus ascended into the two-digit ranking that the Cross Pantheon escaped that deadlock.
Well—only for Jesus to later shove Yahweh into a rather awkward position. But that was another story.
And because of how strange things happened, some began to suspect that "Jesus" was an impostor, a name stolen simply because no one back then was actually called Jesus.
And why would they suspect that? Because the name itself was easy to change after being passed through a long chain of translations: Hebrew → Greek → Latin → Old French → English. Yet faith had already anchored itself to the name Jesus in the end.
Anyway, back to the topic. Artemis asked Athena: Who set her up?
But Athena didn't answer Artemis directly. She only shook her head slightly — she really didn't know.
"Unfortunately, the Little Garden's core is still shifting. My transforming Spirit Rank can't fully manifest yet. I'll know the truth later."
Athena spoke calmly, as if this monumental shift in divine hierarchy had nothing to do with her.
Hearing that, Zeus's gaze grew unreadable. Was Athena really the victim of a scheme?
He wasn't sure.
No one knew Athena better than Zeus.
This goddess, born with Metis's wisdom, was brilliant beyond measure — her schemes and calculations went far deeper than anyone could guess.
Someone like her, getting caught in a trap without even knowing the culprit? Hard to believe.
No — Athena definitely knew something. She was choosing not to reveal it.
That incomplete Trinity alone was enough to put Zeus on guard.
He could smell it — the scent of conspiracy.
Beside him, Poseidon was also watching Athena carefully, clearly thinking the same thing.
Although in his case, Athena becoming more powerful wasn't necessarily bad. At least it would keep Zeus occupied.
But before any of that, the most pressing issue was still the earlier confrontation with the six God-Kings.
With that in mind, Poseidon asked directly. "And those divine seats you seized due to your shift — what are you planning to do about them?"
When a god's divinity shifts, it's possible to unintentionally occupy positions belonging to other pantheons.
It was much like how the Greek and Roman pantheons were seen as two names for the same gods.
Such mythic overlaps had occurred even after the gods arrived in Little Garden.
It was rare — but it happened.
It was just that Athena's case… had spread a little too wide. It had affected six God-Kings.
Which made the impact much larger — and dragged the tension between the Greek pantheon and others straight into the light.
But calling it an unforgivable disaster? Not necessarily.
That was why Zeus and Poseidon were still keeping calm.
After a moment of silence, Athena raised a hand.
Several silver-white motes of light appeared, floating gently into Artemis's palm.
"Artemis. Give these divine seats to Lady Hestia. Ask her to mediate on my behalf."
When it came to diplomacy, handing it to the ever-peaceful Hestia — the goddess with the widest connections — was the best choice.
As the eldest of the main Greek deities, Hestia was kind, approachable, and had connections even gods couldn't comprehend. She was exactly what Athena needed now.
At least she didn't have to worry about Hestia stabbing her in the back.
"…Got it."
Artemis sighed, storing away the divine motes. Then she added quietly: "Be careful."
Athena nodded, then turned to Zeus and Poseidon.
The two men exchanged a glance, pretending to find some pretext — and left ahead of Artemis.
Once the three were gone, Athena's previously calm expression shifted — confusion clouded her features.
"Strange… Who set me up?"
Unlike Zeus suspected, Athena genuinely didn't know who had done this.
"It's not Zeus. Not Poseidon. Ares doesn't have the brains. Apollo doesn't hate me that much…"
She thought for a long, long time — and still couldn't think of anyone in the Greek pantheon capable of pulling this off.
As for Hermes? She didn't even bother suspecting him.
He didn't have that kind of brain.
"Was it an enemy from outside the pantheon? No… why would anyone willingly hand me an incomplete Trinity-class divinity?
If they were my enemy, they should know I would never walk the Trinity path.
What — just to disgust me?"
Thinking of someone doing it just to spite her, the first name that popped up was Algol.
But that didn't seem right either. Algol was under her constant watch. Pulling off something this subtle was unlikely.
Athena frowned deeply.
Pantheon by pantheon, enemy by enemy, she crossed them all off in her mind.
Then, after eliminating every possibility — she remembered one last person.
The man she'd met just two days ago.
The one Shiroyasha once warned her not to harm— Ryo Yagami.
…Could it be him?
Athena's heart filled with doubt.
.
.
.