Confirmation Kill (2)
"Why...?"
When Athena asked back, Aphrodite pressed her.
"In the Pandemonium, one of us has to die. I'm alive, so that means Frondier is dead. Why do you even question it?"
"...."
Athena closed her mouth.
At her silence, the surrounding Gods looked at her.
"Athena, you feared Frondier's Ekleksis. You said that the God who enters the Pandemonium with him would surely die."
"....Aphrodite, you."
"How do you know that, Athena? How do you know about Frondier's power?"
"Because I fought Frondier too."
"In the Pandemonium?"
"Yes."
"Then how did you come out? Why are you both alive?"
"....That is Frondier's power."
Aphrodite's eyes turned cold.
However, it wasn't just her; the surrounding Gods also found Athena's words strange.
"....Are you saying Frondier can cancel the Pandemonium?"
"....No. He can re-enter."
And by the same principle, probably exit as well. Athena hadn't seen it herself, but she wondered if Frondier might have escaped from the Pandemonium with Aphrodite in that way.
"That's absurd."
Aphrodite declared.
"No God will believe such a thing, Athena."
"Aphrodite."
Aphrodite was full of suspicion.
Conversely, Athena found that strange.
Their thoughts were not aligned at all.
'Aphrodite, you entered the Pandemonium and came back out too.'
Aphrodite definitely entered the Pandemonium with Frondier.
And it was under Frondier's lead.
Then she must have experienced Frondier's Ekleksis. Yet she was doubting Athena.
No, the bigger problem wasn't even that in the first place.
'How could Aphrodite have won?'
It wasn't that she underestimated Aphrodite.
However, with the Ekleksis that Frondier possessed, it was absolutely impossible for Athena or Aphrodite to win with their power.
Frondier erased the enemy's Ekleksis like an eraser. And being an eraser, he himself had no scenery.
If you draw a line with a pencil, the eraser erases it. This went beyond the issue of compatibility and was closer to causality.
'Normally, Frondier would have won without a doubt. He must have gone easy on her.'
But why?
What reason would Frondier have to go easy on Aphrodite?
'....Did the two of them join hands?'
The two were inside the Pandemonium for quite a while.
No one knew what they talked about.
But Frondier was good with words, so he might have persuaded Aphrodite.
Aphrodite needed the Golden Apple. She dreamed of restoring her body and returning to Olympus.
But the vote had already gone awry, and who knew when the opportunity to obtain the Golden Apple would come again.
However, if Frondier offered to give her the Golden Apple with his own power at that moment...
'Aphrodite, did you fall for such sweet talk?'
It was just a suspicion for now.
However, since Aphrodite had emerged victorious from the Pandemonium, Athena couldn't shake the thought that she might be on Frondier's side.
On the other hand, Aphrodite had the exact opposite thought to Athena.
'As expected of Athena. You cooperated with Frondier. Re-entering the Pandemonium, what nonsense.'
Just as Athena thought, Aphrodite had a conversation with Frondier.
However, it wasn't about joining hands.
Frondier didn't tell such a simple story.
Instead, he told Aphrodite a story that would be unimaginable for Athena.
'Frondier chose death to save a devil.'
Even though they were devils, she had to admire his willingness to sacrifice himself for his subordinate.
She felt a sense of awe at his words, saying he would enter the Pandemonium himself and lay down his life.
But that Frondier was alive?
'You just don't want your lies to be exposed, Athena.'
Athena had already persuaded everyone that Frondier's Ekleksis was stronger than a God's.
And how did she know? Because she had experienced Frondier's Pandemonium.
To maintain that absurd lie, she had no choice but to claim that Frondier was alive.
In other words, at this point, both Athena and Aphrodite had the same thought about each other.
You're on Frondier's side.
Neither of them had actually joined hands with him, but they began to suspect each other.
"....Let's set aside the truth of that matter for later."
Hermes stepped forward.
"Let's return. No matter what Lady Athena thinks, our victory is clear."
"....Alright."
Athena couldn't accept it, but she nodded.
Only she believed that Frondier was alive.
Or maybe he really was dead. Aphrodite's survival was the greatest proof of that, and the reason everyone was so sure of their victory.
'....That Frondier.'
Was he truly dead?
As Athena turned around with the other Gods, her gaze lingered momentarily on the spot where the devils had scattered.
* * *
"....Peaceful."
I was lying inside Aphrodite's Pandemonium.
Ironically, a short respite had come in the midst of enemy territory.
"The most uncertain part of this operation was 'losing,' but it seems to have worked out well."
I wanted to stop the war.
I didn't care about the humans fighting amongst themselves, but I couldn't tolerate the involvement of Gods or devils.
If they were going to toy with humans, it seemed only fair that I toyed with them.
However, things in Agoris were already much further along the path to war than I had thought, and that damn thing called fate really seemed to be at work.
I don't know about a rolling stone, but a stone that has started to roll doesn't just stop.
The stone of war had already begun to roll, and preventing the war from happening altogether was extremely difficult.
There was only one way to stop a war that had already begun.
Victory or defeat.
"Even if it's a lie, if everyone believes it's true, then it's a true victory."
The Gods had killed the Devil King.
It would serve as fitting retribution for the devils' provocation.
I lost to Aphrodite and was trapped within her Pandemonium.
And this part was quite difficult.
I intended to lose to Aphrodite. That was the only way she would be convinced of my death.
But I didn't know how to lose.
'It was the same with Baal, but being trapped in the Pandemonium doesn't mean you're completely dead. It's not like you're declared the victor only when your mind is completely broken.'
I knew because I had won against both Baal and Athena and escaped their Pandemoniums, but they were both still alive.
Of course, it was a close call, but they eventually came to their senses and returned to normal.
I could re-enter the Pandemonium, but when I won, I was always forced out. That wasn't something I could control.
So I had to truly lose. At least enough for Aphrodite to be able to leave on her own.
That's when I came up with an idea.
'I can't tell my companions about this.'
Just as I had won by erasing Baal and Athena.
To lose, I erased myself.
This power was undeniably mine. Even if I erased myself, I was sure I would be fine.
Of course, regardless of my confidence, if I told the others about this, they would probably beat me to a pulp, furious. Asking if I had lost my mind. And they wouldn't be joking.
'First, to deceive Aphrodite, I'll accept her power, and in the process, I'll gradually erase myself.'
If I did it slowly, the Pandemonium would naturally expel Aphrodite.
And I did it.
I managed to lose.
"And if I told Gregory to leave after 10 minutes, that should roughly take care of it."
I checked my smartwatch just in case, but as expected, it wasn't working.
Well, this was the world of souls, so it was nothing more than a decoration here.
So I had no idea when exactly 10 minutes would be.
But it was better to be safe than sorry. I didn't know the situation outside, so it might be difficult to move me. It would be troublesome if I woke up too early and made eye contact with a God.
"....Alright."
When I felt enough time had passed, I stood up.
I didn't know for sure, but 10 minutes must have definitely passed.
"Let's go back."
And just like I always did, I opened the door of the Pandemonium.
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