"It is indeed Ikelos..."
Dionysus's mood was complicated. He could clearly feel it was Ikelos's corpse, yet he never imagined that Ikelos could truly be killed.
Loki said nothing, only sweeping her gaze across the gathered gods.
"Ikelos is completely dead. Ouranos has already asked the gods of Tenkai, and there is no news of Ikelos's rebirth."
She paused, then opened her once-narrowed eyes. Those blood-red pupils were filled with both 'surprise' and 'sorrow.'
"So at this moment, I can say with certainty—Ikelos has truly been slain."
"As a god, all that remains of him is this broken corpse."
The gods fell silent for thirty seconds.
Staring at Ikelos's body, they were certain this wasn't a dream. Even in a dream, they could never imagine such an absurd sight.
"To think someone could actually kill a god..."
One deity murmured in disbelief.
The death of Ikelos, a fellow god, was a tremendous shock. "His Divine Core has been taken, his soul completely vanished, and even his Authority is gone."
Just as Loki said, Ikelos was dead beyond doubt.
"But... who could have done it?"
Yes, the act of godslaying was the gravest of crimes.
In the past, 'godslaying' only meant children of the Genkai striking against gods, but none had ever truly killed one.
A god cannot kill another god.
Which meant that this time, Ikelos had indeed been slain by a child of Genkai.
All the gods turned their eyes toward Loki, the host of this Denatus.
But she merely waved off their stares as if shooing away flies.
"Don't look at me. I don't know much, and some of what I do know might have been deliberately leaked..."
At those words, everyone instantly realized Loki held information. Restless, they all began speaking up at once.
"Well, it's still better than us knowing nothing at all."
"Exactly. Since everyone's here, if you share what you know, we can all analyze it together."
"You think I'm here to do the analysis for you? Do you really think I don't see through your little tricks?"
Loki shot back with a mocking laugh, unreserved and sharp.
Still, she hadn't intended to hide anything. After all, this information wasn't exactly valuable.
"Ikelos's time of death was last night. The Guild is certain of this."
"And not just the Guild—Hermes escorted that man into their custody, so he can vouch for it as well."
Among the gods, Hermes raised his hand and nodded slightly, confirming his testimony.
The deities mulled over the timeline, concluding that Ikelos must have died after being imprisoned.
"Ikelos's corpse was found inside the Guild's cells. Yet before that, no screams were heard, and nothing unusual was reported from his cell."
"I can trust this much. The Guild wouldn't publicly admit to something so humiliating otherwise."
That was true.
Ikelos had died in the Guild's dungeon, and during his death not a sound was heard. Didn't that alone highlight the Guild's incompetence?
Even if it were false, they wouldn't risk the Guild's reputation like that.
By making the report public, the Guild was essentially declaring it wasn't their incompetence, but the enemy's skill that had been overwhelming.
Still... wasn't it possible the Guild had colluded with the enemy?
Before the other gods could voice the thought, Loki spoke up first.
"As for the idea that the killer colluded with the Guild, that doesn't add up. Pulling something like this would be far too obvious. Besides, if the Guild really wanted to play that game, they wouldn't have allowed two of Ikelos's children to step forward and identify him."
That... made sense too.
If the Guild had orchestrated this, they wouldn't have left so many loose ends.
"And another thing—what benefit would the Guild even gain from killing Ikelos?"
"If it was about making an example, killing that bitch Ishtar back then would've been far better. She was a marked member of Evilus. If they'd taken her down, none of us would have objected."
Loki wasn't trying to defend the Guild—she was just pointing out the inconsistencies.
Why would the Guild kill Ikelos?
Because he supported Evilus?
If that were the case, wouldn't deporting him have been enough? Was there really a need to kill him outright?
Hardly.
And Loki was right—if they wanted to make an example, Ishtar would have been the better target.
"...Which is why I've ruled out any connection between the killer and the Guild."
"At least, I don't believe the Guild would play such games inside its own stronghold."
That did sound reasonable. Loki's deduction was convincing—the Guild wasn't likely to do something like this.
And in truth, it didn't look like the Guild's work at all.
"Then could it have been Evilus?"
"...Pfft!"
That suggestion made Loki burst into laughter, even letting out an unrestrained string of "hahaha"s.
"Please. If Evilus were really that capable, would they grovel like dogs in front of Zeus and Hera?
"If those brats had a Godslayer among them, their first targets would've been that lovesick fool and me. Choosing Ikelos, of all people, to strike down? What, were they afraid he'd leak their intel?"
The gods from Evilus could only darken with exasperation.
Crude as Loki's words were, she wasn't wrong.
If Evilus had a child with the power to kill gods, their first strike would have been against Freya and Loki, catching them completely off guard.
If luck was on their side and they managed to eliminate both Freya and Loki, the balance in Genkai would have tipped entirely.
But unfortunately, Evilus clearly had no such child.
'If they had ties to the Guild, they wouldn't act against it. And if they had ties to us, they wouldn't have killed Ikelos.'
"A third force—that's the explanation that fits best."
Loki voiced her conclusion before any of the other gods.