"It's over?"
Watching as Luo Shu led Tenka Yatogami over, Nia Honjo couldn't help but shed tears of relief.
At last!
The issue with that Mother had finally been resolved!
Though Nia knew she was lazy, even she had a shred of ambition.
Later, when the newly joined Spirits like Miku Izayoi and the little Kotori Itsuka had become Demigods of Top Tier Class, she was the only one left at Hero Rank, and a Hero without a Class at that. Staying in the Familia like this was indeed a bit awkward.
Being a Spirit yet dragging everyone down was downright embarrassing.
Back when Raziel's abilities were still highly useful, it wasn't so bad. But judging by recent events within the Familia, Raziel's limitations were becoming increasingly apparent.
Take, for instance, the recent invasion by the Apostle of Night, Nak, or Echidna's schemes—Raziel hadn't been able to detect much of anything.
For the Spirit symbolising Omniscience to be this underwhelming was something Nia Honjo found utterly humiliating.
But now, with Mio Takamiya's matter resolved, she could finally ascend to Demigod.
Just thinking about it made Nia Honjo want to throw herself into Luo Shu's arms and bite him.
And she was fully prepared to do just that.
But just as she spread her arms to pounce, Tenka Yatogami suddenly stepped between them, her face cold as she demanded:
"Human, hand over the power of Raziel."
"Huh?"
Nia Honjo was dumbstruck, her face turning green as she stared blankly at Luo Shu:
"No way... Luo Shu, how could you lose?!"
"What? Lose what?" Luo Shu blinked in confusion. "Are you talking about my fight with Tenka?"
"You didn't lose? Then why is she..." Nia Honjo pointed at Tenka Yatogami, her expression completely bewildered.
"Whether I lost or not is none of your concern," Tenka Yatogami frowned, her tone icy. "Hand over Raziel's power, human!"
Hearing this, Luo Shu suddenly realised that Tenka's tone had led Nia to misunderstand, so he quickly explained:
"What Tenka means is that she wants you to sign the Familia contract as soon as possible."
"Oh? Oh!! You should've said so earlier!" Nia Honjo grumbled as she pulled out the contract scroll from her ring. "With the way she was talking, I thought she'd won!"
"Hmph!" Tenka Yatogami snorted, clearly holding Nia Honjo in low regard.
But for her, that was only natural.
Unlike Nia Honjo, who had become a Spirit by occupying a Sephira Crystal, Tenka Yatogami was born as the consciousness of a Sephira Crystal—a true, orthodox Spirit.
People like Nia Honjo were merely mortals who had stolen the power of her sisters.
The fact that she hadn't drawn her blade to reclaim the Sephira Crystal already spoke volumes about her restraint.
Only after personally witnessing Nia Honjo sign the contract and seeing the Angel spiritual equipment manifest upon her did Tenka Yatogami close her eyes. After a moment of quiet contemplation, she sighed softly:
"The connection to Mother has finally been severed."
With her, the embodiment of the Tenth Sephira, signing the Familia contract with Luo Shu, her link to Mio Takamiya had been cut.
Actions like Mio's partial personality possessing her would no longer be possible.
Similarly, with the Tenth Sephira under Luo Shu's control and the Second Sephira's return, the completion of the Fourth Pillar had not been triggered.
As a result, Mio Takamiya had no way to regain her True God powers, break the seal, and descend once more.
This meant that, aside from the condition Luo Shu had proposed, Mio Takamiya had no other path forward.
But... after assisting Luo Shu to become a True God, would he really keep his promise?
Tenka Yatogami couldn't predict the future, so she could only blend into the Familia, keeping watch over Luo Shu, supervising him until the day he fulfilled his promise.
This passive waiting was something Tenka Yatogami found unbearable, yet had no choice but to endure.
Fortunately, just because she couldn't accept it didn't mean someone else couldn't.
After briefly closing her eyes, the 'Tenka Yatogami' who reopened them underwent a sudden transformation in demeanour, becoming gentle, elegant, and even a little silly.
Sensing the change in 'Tenka Yatogami', Luo Shu instinctively asked:
"Tohka?"
"Eh? You recognised me?" Tohka Yatogami stared at Luo Shu in astonishment, exclaiming, "That's amazing!"
"Wait a sec, let me try again. See if you can guess right this time."
Tohka Yatogami's face turned red with effort as she adopted a cold expression.
Seeing this, Luo Shu fell silent for a moment before asking with a mix of amusement and exasperation:
"Isn't this still you, Tohka?"
"Ehehe~" Tohka Yatogami instantly broke character, unable to maintain the cold facade as she scratched her head with a silly grin. "Because Big Sister didn't want to come out, I had to try changing myself."
As she spoke, Tohka Yatogami suddenly rubbed her stomach, which promptly let out a loud gurgling sound.
Seeing this, Luo Shu couldn't help but laugh:
"Hungry?"
"Let's go then. I'll take you to the canteen for a meal first."
"Food?!!"
Tohka Yatogami's eyes lit up immediately. Thanks to the basic knowledge she gained upon joining the Familia, she fully understood what food was. The mere thought of delicious dishes made drool drip messily from the corner of her mouth.
Luo Shu grabbed Nia Honjo, who was clutching her head in pain, hoisted her over his shoulder, and strode out of the Divine Kingdom.
...
Tokyo, Ikebukuro district.
Rain began to fall as the twilight of the setting sun deepened.
The scene of half sunlight, half drizzle caught many pedestrians off guard, forcing them to either quicken their pace or seek shelter.
Mahiru Shiina walked silently through the streets, completely unbothered by the light rain, her head bowed as if counting ants on the ground.
Remembering the words she'd heard earlier, and the formal proposal to live independently she'd made to her mother, made Mahiru's heart twist painfully.
'Moving out is fine. At least you won't be in the way here.'
'Always wearing that pitiful expression - you're definitely that man's child. Just as useless.'
'I'm tired. Don't bother me here. If you know what's good for you, leave quickly.'
Recalling her mother's cold expression, Mahiru stopped walking and murmured to herself:
"I really am... an unloved child, aren't I?"
Just then, a woman's voice full of amusement sounded in Mahiru's ear:
"My my, little missy, you seem rather troubled~"
"Who's there?" Mahiru blinked in surprise, looking around but finding no one.
This strange occurrence made Mahiru instinctively tense up.
Yet at that moment, the voice spoke again from right in front of her:
"I'm right beneath your feet~"
Hearing this, Mahiru Shiina lowered her head and immediately saw a pure white fox with jet-black eyes.
"A fox... that can talk?"
Just as Mahiru was stunned, the fox before her revealed a sly smile:
"Nice to meet you, adorable little miss. I'm Echidna. Pleased to make your acquaintance~"