The Golden Apple
Three days remained until the voting day.
The first of Frondier's group to arrive in the capital was Carla.
No, it was Athena, possessing Carla's body.
‘Gregory must have already figured out my location. He’s probably reported it to Frondier by now.’
From Athena’s perspective, she couldn't tell which of the countless birds flying past her were Gregory's eyes.
However, she understood the nature of Gregory's ability.
‘To gather most of the information by handling a large number of small animals, and to transmit the collected information to others in real-time. It’s not much of a combat ability, but it’s certainly convenient.’
However, the birds or rats he controlled were of little help in battle.
Gregory could only control them; his aura or mana couldn't be channeled through them.
They could only see and speak on his behalf.
‘In that case.’
Athena slipped into the crowd. The capital was already packed with people due to the upcoming vote.
Athena checked her surroundings. She saw a few birds, but they were far away. Still, she couldn't let her guard down. The rats were also Gregory's eyes.
‘Let’s do it once here.’
Athena deftly switched masks within the crowd.
Of course, she didn't know if Gregory had noticed this process.
But the mask was enough.
Athena would now change masks every time she had enough cover in the crowd. In addition, she would change them regularly even after getting a place to stay.
‘The animals Gregory controls are indistinguishable from ordinary ones. Their mana levels are almost identical.’
However, conversely, this meant that the amount of mana interfering was so small that it was indistinguishable. They couldn't do anything more than an ordinary small animal could.
It would be impossible to find Carla by sensing her mana. He would have to rely on sight.
‘Phew, to think I have to go through all this trouble to avoid the ability of one human.’
Athena, now with a completely different face, gave a slightly tired smile.
“Well, bye-bye. See you later.”
* * *
[Tsk.]
Gregory clicked his tongue.
‘Even though she's borrowing a human’s body, a God is still a God.’
One of the crows flew towards Frondier, who was also airborne.
[I lost her.]
“As expected, she used a mask?”
[Yeah. She’s more thorough than I thought. I saw her switch masks the first time, but she’s doing it in places where my vision is blocked. Under bridges, inside stores. And she always chooses crowded places.]
Frondier felt strange at his words.
‘Thorough, huh…? Then her acting back then was truly remarkable.’
Frondier recalled the first time he met Athena.
To be honest, she had seemed like an immature airhead, but Athena's current movements were like a different person altogether.
[What is Athena’s goal? Did she completely play you?]
“No, she probably accepted death when she faced me.”
Frondier had met Athena in the Pandemonium.
In the Pandemonium, one of them was bound to be trapped, and only Frondier could get them out. And there was a pretty strict countdown.
No matter how cunning a God may be, they don’t deliberately act in a way that diminishes their dignity. Such things cannot be included in their plans.
In that sense, Athena had fallen tremendously. She wouldn't have even considered that she would lose a soul fight to a human, and it was beyond her expectations that Frondier would return after escaping the Pandemonium.
[Then I don’t understand even more. She knows she can’t win if she meets you again.]
“Well, that’s true.”
Thinking about it that way, was she still prepared to die?
“There must be something more important to her than her own death.”
[…The upcoming vote in the capital?]
Gregory’s voice was full of disbelief. Well, it was a natural reaction.
It was Frondier and others who were worried about the war between Gods and devils, not Athena. She was a God herself. In other words, she was a decision-maker who could fire the first shot of the war. Basically, she wasn't in a position to worry about war.
This meant that this situation unfolding in the capital of Palma itself must be important to Athena.
And Frondier felt a strange sense of foreboding about it.
‘…The Golden Apple…’
The story of the Golden Apple that appears in Greek mythology. An object that simultaneously provoked Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena with the single phrase, "To the fairest goddess." This rivalry between the three goddesses later became the catalyst for the Trojan War.
A competition of beauty, with Hera and Aphrodite involved, was already suspicious, but now Athena was also heading to the capital.
If this was an unavoidable flow, did it mean that an incident comparable to the ‘Trojan War’ would also occur in Palma?
“…I need to tell the others about this.”
[The others?]
“The Falind continent. If only we can get word to Her Highness Philly, she’ll be able to respond somehow.”
[Respond how? You think something happening in the capital of Palma will affect Falind?]
“If a war between Gods and devils really breaks out, and if Vishnu’s words are true, then humans who have received divine power can escape at any time.”
[…Ah!]
Gregory also realized.
How do Gods restrain devils?
By possessing the bodies of humans they have bestowed divine power upon and attacking the devils directly.
Gods are everywhere.
There are many people in the Falind continent who have received divine power, and naturally, most of them are strong individuals who play a part in maintaining the Empire's balance of power. Especially the Zodiacs, almost all of them possess divine power.
“If it’s someone who received divine power from an Olympian God, they could invade here at any time through possession. Or they might be executing devils hiding within the Terst Empire right now. Perhaps even as we speak…”
Frondier frowned.
The first person who came to mind was, of course, Aster Evans, the hope of the Empire who had received the divine power of Baldur.
Aster had overcome and let go of Baldur, but seeing Carla's case, it wasn't impossible for Baldur to latch onto Aster again.
‘Baldur isn’t a god from Greek mythology, and Aster’s mental strength is strong enough, so it should be fine, but there’s always a chance. Besides, the problem isn’t just Aster. Simply put, it would be more troublesome if the Zodiacs had their bodies taken over.’
The justification of executing devils was extremely convenient from a God’s perspective.
It’s a way to seize the body of a human bestowed with divine power without diminishing their faith. After all, hatred for devils runs deep.
“But it’s alright. Mother is watching.”
Frondier remembered that his vision was shared with Malia.
The information Frondier saw was instantly transmitted to Malia, and Malia would now go to meet Philly.
[…Hmm. Come to think of it, I forgot to mention something, Frondier.]
“Yes?”
Gregory said, sounding somewhat embarrassed.
It was hard to tell with a crow’s face, but his voice sounded that way.
[…I met Malia de Roach.]
“…?”
Frondier tilted his head, still mid-flight.
What did Gregory just say?
[So, um, she found out about everything. Fortunately, she promised to keep it a secret, which is why I was able to come this far.]
“…You know, you would have been in big trouble if my mother had made a different judgment, right?”
To which the crow replied,
[You have no idea.]
“That damn bird.”
[It was Aster’s fault! I was trying to help Aster, but he got suspicious and grabbed me by the neck! He dragged me all the way there!]
Frondier sighed.
It was a miracle he was still alive after being caught by Aster and found out by Malia.
“…I’ll have to explain everything to Mother later.”
Frondier muttered, feeling a little down.
Read ahead by supporting me on Ko-fi. Tiers starting at 10$ per month and you can access upto 40 advance chapters! Choose your tier by clicking the 'Support me' button! Join our discord server for latest release updates and novel discussions. Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel. Bonus chapters on reaching milestones. Happy reading!