Tia Dalma: "..."
She didn't fully understand the professions Morin mentioned.
But just from the sheer number alone-
Was he really a normal human?
"You're holding a creation of Hephaestus," Tia Dalma said coldly. "And a very powerful one. Something no outsider could possibly use."
"You must be his offspring."
Morin: "???"
What was she talking about?
Still, he reacted quickly.
"And?" he asked calmly.
After a brief thought, Morin understood her logic.
Hephaestus-the god of fire and craftsmanship.
She had misunderstood the Darkin Blade Aatrox and the mini-mecha he had just used.
That made sense.
In this era, even gods-unless they possessed special foresight-would never imagine that humans who still relied on sails would, in a century or two, master electricity.
Let alone create weapons and artifacts comparable to divine creations.
To anyone, that would sound like fantasy.
Something impossible.
So Tia Dalma mistaking Aatrox for a creation of Hephaestus was perfectly reasonable.
Let her misunderstand.
Morin didn't mind her overthinking.
Waiting and observing was the safest choice.
Staying low. Gathering information.
"I know your purpose," Tia Dalma said icily.
"Tell me," Morin replied, genuinely curious-but he didn't show it.
Instead, he used a small conversational trick.
"Let's see if you're right."
As expected, she took the bait.
"You want to release the sealed gods!"
"I will never allow it!"
"Sealed gods..." Morin caught the key phrase immediately.
On the surface, he acted exposed, his expression darkening.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Your acting is terrible," Tia Dalma scoffed.
"Young man, you think you can deceive me?"
"From the moment you summoned that iron giant and stated your conditions-"
"And when you asked about the gods' whereabouts-"
"I was already certain of your intentions!"
"...That does sound convincing," Morin admitted internally.
"Give up," Tia Dalma said, assuming victory. "I will never let you succeed."
"Why are you so opposed?" Morin countered.
"Afraid they'll threaten your position once they're free?"
"Ridiculous!" Tia Dalma snapped. "My position?"
"Do you mean my current state?"
"I am only carrying out my master's will!"
"Your master..." Morin latched onto the word, probing further.
"Who?"
"The great goddess of wisdom and battle," Tia Dalma said proudly. "Athena."
Morin: "???"
Athena?
Weren't you a sea goddess?
Shouldn't Poseidon be your master?
"Of course not!" Tia Dalma sneered when Poseidon was mentioned.
"How could that lewd, debauched god be my master?"
"My master is the purest goddess of wisdom-Athena!"
Morin: "..."
Wait.
Then what exactly is this relationship?
And if you switched allegiance because Poseidon was immoral-
Your own behavior doesn't exactly scream Athena-approved.
You're getting expelled for this.
"Heh," Morin said, suppressing the urge to comment. "Then our goals may not completely conflict."
A normal person would have asked where Athena was.
Morin didn't.
That would expose his lie.
What he had already confirmed was enough.
The gods were sealed.
Who sealed them?
Which gods?
Given the Greek gods' temperament, if they were still free, the world would be in chaos.
It was highly likely that all of them were sealed.
Only Calypso remained.
And Calypso was Tia Dalma herself.
Morin's curiosity deepened.
He continued speaking in deliberately vague terms, letting her fill the gaps.
"The time hasn't come yet," Tia Dalma said firmly. "Even if the seal breaks and my master returns, I will never allow it."
"So Athena is sealed too... and what does 'the time' mean?" Morin thought.
Outwardly, he looked tense.
"Even so," Tia Dalma continued, eyes cold, "my father... cannot wait."
"Do you understand what would happen if the seal breaks now?"
Her aura surged.
"The time is not ripe. The gods' power has not yet been worn down."
"If the seal opens before I reclaim my divine form-"
"A godly war will erupt."
"The skies will drown in thunderclouds."
"The oceans will never rest."
"The land will shatter in endless battle."
"The dead will return from the spirit world."
"The world will be destroyed."
"A godly war..." Morin frowned.
A rough outline formed in his mind.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" he asked, feigning panic.
"My father never said any of that!"
Tia Dalma's eyes lit up.
She finally saw an opening.
"I can guess how he deceived you," she sneered.
"Did he promise you a divine spark?"
"To make you a god?"
"Along with beauty and wealth beyond measure?"
"How... how did you know?" Morin asked, looking thoroughly exposed.
As if relieved, Tia Dalma sighed.
"Humans are humans. Barely twenty, shallow schemes."
"I've already seen through you."
"Why do you think they fought back then?" she continued. "Do you really believe they'd give that power to you?"
"Wh-What happened back then?" Morin asked blankly.
"Let me guess," Tia Dalma pressed. "He told you something vague about the past?"
"About... an object?"
Morin slowed his words deliberately.
"A... spark?"
As expected-
"A divine spark," Tia Dalma cut in.
"I think so..." Morin replied cautiously.
"That's right," she nodded.
"A godly war erupted because of it."
"One day, Hades, god of the underworld, fought an unknown being."
"He was killed."
"All that remained was a single divine spark."
"Unknown being?" Morin asked.
"Of course you wouldn't know," Tia Dalma said, clearly enjoying herself.
"No god knows."
"That being left nothing behind."
"Only Hades' residual power."
"The battle was brief-but it nearly erased the entire underworld."
"Afterward, the gods claimed ignorance," she sneered.
"But who would believe them?"
"That spark belonged to a major god."
"Whoever obtained it could become the strongest god on Olympus."
"And so-war."
"Mountains collapsed. The earth cracked."
"It was the end of the world."
"Countless gods and mortals died."
"Finally," Tia Dalma said, "my master stepped forward."
"She summoned all gods to an island-Cerus."
"And activated a prepared grand array."
"All gods were sealed."
"Time would erode their power."
"And when the moment came-"
"I would break the seal and suppress them."
"There are still five hundred years left."
"So I will never allow you to interfere."
She finished.
Morin received everything he wanted.
He believed maybe half of it.
At best.
Athena sealing all gods alone?
Possible?
All gods obeying the summons-except Calypso?
Unlikely.
And entrusting everything to a sea goddess?
Even more unlikely.
Athena was the goddess of wisdom.
She wouldn't gamble her life on unknown variables over centuries.
Time changed everything.
There were too many holes.
Morin didn't expose her.
That wouldn't help him.
The worst outcome was a fight.
He was confident he'd win.
But information came first.
"How do you prove this?" Morin asked skeptically.
"Prove it?" Tia Dalma frowned. "How?"
"I can't. Not until I reclaim my divine form."
"Then I'm sorry," Morin said coolly, eyes narrowing, "but without proof, I won't allow the seal to be broken."
Maybe squinting made people look more threatening.
"...Then there's only one way," Tia Dalma said after a pause.
"I'll take you to the spirit world."
"The spirit world?" Morin frowned.
"The other side of the world," she said slowly. "The end of the world."
"It was once the underworld."
"Now it's broken."
"Ruined by the gods' power."
"You'll find your proof there."
"...Alright," Morin said after a moment's thought.
"I agree."
"But first," he added, "I need a weapon."
"What weapon?" Tia Dalma asked impatiently.
"A trident."
"You know where it is."
"The Trident of Poseidon?" Tia Dalma frowned.
"That's not real. It's just condensed sea curse energy."
"The real trident is sealed as well."
"I know," Morin replied calmly.
"I'm just curious about that one."
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