A Slip of the Tongue
Zeus departed from the Demonic Realm alongside the other Gods.
The Demonic Realm had abandoned the 72 Devils who had impersonated Gods. Since those words had come from the mouth of the Demonic King himself, there was nothing more to be done here.
"Ahem. Good work, everyone."
After the Gods had withdrawn, Satan addressed the group.
Lucifer responded, "Good work? We didn't do anything."
"Exactly, you worked hard by doing nothing. It couldn't have been easy."
Satan's words were half-joking, but also half-true.
Zeus's provocation, the murderous intent radiating from the other Gods, the undisguised disgust and contempt in their eyes...
Enduring all of that had required a great deal of patience from the Seven Deadly Sins.
"Now then, shall we see what's happening in Palma?"
"Ah, yes."
Astaroth reacted instantly.
He had left a gate open somewhere in Agoris. With a simple magical manipulation, they could observe the situation in Palma.
However...
"...Tsk."
Several gazes were fixed on Astaroth, who was quick to follow Satan's orders, their expressions laced with displeasure.
"Do you think a war has broken out?"
Mammon inquired, to which Satan merely shrugged.
"It already has. Why else would Zeus have come all the way here?"
A screen materialized before them, similar to the one used to observe Baal, but this time, they could only watch.
"And what do you intend to do by watching? Curious about Baal's response?"
Beelzebub questioned, but Satan shook his head.
"No, I'm curious about Frondier."
"...Didn't you pretend to be unconcerned about him in front of Beelzebub?"
"That was a lie. How could I not be?"
Satan replied with a chuckle.
His eyes, gleaming with a chilling light, were fixated on the screen.
"He's the first in a long time to truly anger me. I thought he was all talk, but he actually defeated Belphegor."
Lucifer nodded in agreement.
"I'm also curious about his power. We don't have much information here. How did he manage to defeat Belphegor?"
"Not to mention he's been a thorn in Satan's side, constantly thwarting his plans."
Ever since Frondier appeared, Satan's plans had been going awry.
Yet, Satan simply smiled.
"It was just a minor crack in a grand scheme. In the end, we've reached this point, haven't we?"
Indeed, the bigger picture remained intact.
Satan had become king, and the troublesome 72 Devils would soon be gone. The Demonic Realm's power might weaken as a result, but he had already prepared for that.
"I wonder how it will turn out this time."
At Satan's words, everyone's attention returned to the screen.
"What will you do in this situation, Frondier?"
***
The plaza where Aphrodite and Athena confronted each other.
Citizens, devils, and Gods.
And concealed among them, observing the situation, were Frondier and his companions.
[..., Frondier.]
The crow spoke in a low voice.
[Baal has failed.]
"Failed? What do you mean?"
[The Demonic Realm has no intention of saving the 72 Devils. Beelzebub just informed Baal.]
Gregory, who had been observing the conversation between the two with his bird's eyes, relayed the information to Frondier.
"Satan has become king?"
Frondier questioned in surprise.
Had the Seven Deadly Sins reached an agreement? To overcome this situation?
'But why Satan of all devils?'
Even if they all agreed that someone had to be king, Satan being the chosen one was a different matter altogether. If it were based purely on power, he would have become king long ago. There had to be another reason.
'Arald told me to become the Devil King, and now a king emerges...'
Frondier pushed the thought aside and focused on the situation at hand.
Baal was a problem, but the situation here was also urgent.
An overwhelming tension had already gripped the entire plaza.
However...
'Whoa, they're both so beautiful.'
Only one person remained oblivious.
'So that's Aphrodite. As expected of the Goddess of Beauty!'
Sybil, unable to read the atmosphere, was busy admiring the two Goddesses.
Unaware of the situation in Palma, Sybil had sought out Frondier, guided only by the feeling that 'now was the right time to come.' For her, the ongoing beauty contest in the capital was nothing more than an event.
Of course, there had been a sudden attack while she was enjoying the event, but even Charon, who had attacked her, now stood frozen.
'What's the big deal? They keep calling me a devil, a God...'
Sybil found it rather offensive to be labeled a devil.
She herself had harbored such suspicions.
A child loved by fate.
So loved that anything hindering her was eliminated.
Sybil possessed no divine power.
She had believed that her extraordinary luck was a gift from the Gods, but they never responded to her calls.
That's why she had worried that she might be a devil, but not anymore.
It wasn't that she had found evidence proving otherwise.
She had simply stopped caring about such things.
"Aphrodite, you seem more desperate than I thought. To reveal yourself like this."
Athena remarked with a fearless smile.
The surrounding people, believing it to be Carla's words, were taken aback.
[Enough with the amateur dramatics, Athena.]
Aphrodite's words were sharp.
Athena's eyes narrowed.
When a God possessed a human, other Gods generally refrained from exposing it. It was considered an act of diminishing their faith.
It was practically an unspoken rule, not absolute but one that everyone generally followed.
'Trying to tarnish my image? It seems that wound is bothering you quite a bit, Aphrodite.'
Athena was vaguely aware of Aphrodite's circumstances. Bound by some injury, Aphrodite desperately needed the Golden Apple.
'But it seems there's more to it than that.'
Athena glanced at Sybil.
Even Athena herself had thought it would be difficult to find a human as beautiful as 'Carla.'
Yet, the women Frondier brought with him were all stunningly beautiful. It was as if he had sought out and gathered only such individuals.
And now, this girl had appeared out of nowhere.
'I've never heard that the Falind continent, or rather, the Etius continent, is particularly known for its beautiful people.'
Right now, Aphrodite was concerned about the Golden Apple, but Sybil was a significant distraction.
Just as Athena, the Goddess of War, pursued war, the Goddess of Beauty pursued beauty.
The problem with Aphrodite was that her 'beauty' applied to herself as well.
While Athena was the Goddess of War, she wasn't war itself. Aphrodite, however, sought to become the embodiment of beauty.
The tragedies born from this dangerous pursuit were countless.
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