Everyone was stunned when Athena introduced herself. They didn't dare to make a move nor make a sound.
A real god was standing before their eyes.
A higher being that rules mortals.
They were rooted on the spot. A god could kill them with a snap of fingers. They were like an ant in front of a god.
No one expected that they would meet the goddess of their legion this way.
Alice, Eztein, Isabella, Franklin, and Yenxa stood behind Souta. It was their fault for not recognizing the goddess of their legion. They didn't know if they should apologize or not.
They understood why Souta was acting like that.
"It's my pleasure to meet you, My Lady. I, Souta, leader of the Astros Squadron belonging to the Tenth Grain War Third Set of Pallas Division, at your command." Souta greeted Athena politely as he introduced himself.
Athena nodded at him before she looked around.
"Two monsters... A human, a demi... And a demon. And all of you had strange lifeforms inside your body... Quite a peculiar group you have here."
She smiled before she turned her attention to Souta.
"It is as you say, My Lady," Souta replied to her formally.
By strange lifeforms inside their bodies. Maybe she was talking about the parasitic essence eater. As expected of the perception of gods.
Alice flinched when she heard Athena's words. Just like what she expected, the perception of the god couldn't be blocked by a mere artifact. It would be a different matter if the said artifact was a universal grade.
She didn't know what to do in this situation. What if Athena captured her and the other? Then, it would become her fault for being a demon as she inflicted others with her problem.
She subconsciously glanced at Souta waiting for his reaction in this kind of situation.
"It seems that you have a lot of circumstances," Athena said.
"Yes, My Lady. It's troublesome but we could somehow handle it." Souta replied to her.
"Can you tell me where you came from?" Athena asked.
"I'm from a large country called Hebrei Kingdom in Giza Continent," Souta turned his head to look at Franklin, Isabella, Eztein, and Yenxa, "The four of them are from a sub-world."
Lastly, he looked at Alice and said, "She's from the Demon's Land but she's my classmate in the Hebrei Kingdom."
"Hmm..." Athena hummed as she looked at the people behind Souta. She slowly opened her mouth and asked, "Can you leave the two of us alone? I have some to say to your leader."
She then remembered something. She smiled and placed her index finger in front of her lips, "Also, can you not tell anyone that I'm here? No one knows that I've visited this place. They will get angry at me if they know that I'm here."
By "they" she meant the leaders of the various Divisions of her legion and her heroes.
The others nodded politely before they left the room. Alice took a glance at Souta and saw him nodding at her before she left. She trusted him that he will do everything within his powers.
After everyone was gone, Athena glanced at the door and said, "It seems that she trusted you."
"I trust her and she trusts me. It's mutual." Souta replied to her. He bowed and stretched out his hands, "How about you take a sit first, My Lady?"
"Okay." Athena nodded and accepted his offer. She pointed at the chair in front of her and said, "You should sit too."
"Thank you, My Lady," Souta said before he sat down.
She looked at him intriguingly. "Can tell me how did the two of you meet? If it's a problem you don't have to tell me."
Of course, Souta would tell her the story.
Who would dare to reject her?
Well, even if he didn't tell her the story between him and Alice, she wouldn't find fault with him. She was just curious about it. She wasn't a narrow-minded person.
Slowly, Souta told her the story when he was still in the Ladros Institute.
Athena just listened to his story with her eyes closed. She was imagining in her mind the words that were coming out of his mouth. The place, the event, and everything were forming in her mind.
After a while, Souta finished his story.
"And that's how we end up in this place."
Athena opened her eyes and said, "You didn't lie. I can see a few universal grade artifacts in you just like what you told me."
Of course, Souta didn't tell her everything. He changed some of the details for his own convenience. He didn't even tell her the abilities of his artifacts and he knew that Athena would ask about it.
Also, even if she knew that Alice was a demon she wouldn't discriminate her. She was that sort of god.
She was still the same goddess that he knew. She never changed.
"My Lady, I want to ask what makes you come here?" Souta asked.
"Oh," Athena raised her eyebrows. Then, she took out a small white marble and placed it on top of the table. "Do you know what is this marble?"
Souta shook his head as he didn't have an idea. It was his first time seeing it and he was curious. He actually wanted to touch it and inspect it using the system but that was too rude.
"This marble is a relic. It sensed that you have a Cosmic Body." Athena spoke slowly.
Souta was shocked but he didn't show it on his face. He couldn't believe that Athena had an artifact that could sense his Cosmic Body.
No, no, he was staying here for a long time but she only came here after he perfected the Cosmic Body. It means that the artifact only detects him after he completed integrating all the body parts.
As for the Cosmic Body... He shouldn't lie to her but he will hide some things.
"Yes, My Lady. I just perfected the Cosmic Body." Souta answered truthfully.
"I see... So that's why it only reacts now. So you only refined it now. No wonder." Athena nodded as she placed back the marble in her pocket. She then looked at him seriously and asked, "Do you know what it means to have a Cosmic Body?"
Souta shook his head and said, "No, I just know that it's a powerful ability that could help me in the future."
"Before I answer it I just want to know where did you obtain the Cosmic Body," Athena asked.
"Inside the living labyrinth that I've told you about, My Lady," Souta answered.
"Is there anything else beside it?" Athena asked.
"Nothing aside from a huge amount of mana fruits and treasures," Souta said without changing his expression.
'How strange? The Cosmic Body should be one with the Thirteenth Sign but the relic is telling that he didn't have any Star Zodiacs in his Cosmic Body.' Athena said inwardly.
Souta finally understood why she was here. She had an artifact that could sense his Cosmic Body so she must be targeting the Thirteenth Zodiac Ability.
Of course, she wouldn't be able to detect it even with an artifact. The [Cosmic Authority: Ophiuchus] was sealed by the system. No one would be able to detect it unless he unsealed it using skill points.
"Having a Cosmic Body means that you are qualified to take hold of the power of Zodiacs. I'm sure that you've heard about Zodiacs, One of the Three Bringers of Calamity, right? All members of Zodiacs had that power." Athena explained to him with a grave expression. "If I have a relic that can detect Cosmic Body, then surely they have something similar too."
Souta nodded. If what she said that true then it would be a problem.
"I've been staying here for too long. Prepare yourself I will call you later and this time it will be an official meeting." Athena said with a smile before she stood up. "Don't worry, I help you hide it."
Souta stood up and bowed, "I understood, My Lady."
"Bye-bye. See you later," Athena waved her hand with a bright smile before her figure was enveloped by light. When the light dissipated, she was already gone.
After she disappeared, Souta heard Saya's voice in his mind.
'Ufufu, that's terrifying... I could feel her gaze upon me. She sensed my existence.'
It was natural. Athena was a god, not just an ordinary god so sensing a consciousness inside a sword was easy for her.
'Is it really alright? That god knows Alice's identity, you know?' Saya asked.
"Yep, it's fine. If it's Goddess Athena, then we don't need to worry. She's not the type of person that will discriminate others. It will be a different story if we started a killing spree in this place." Souta assured her.
He recalled that Athena will call him soon. Her words bothered him. She meant that Zodiac could detect his Cosmic Body if he entered their range of perception.
"Tsk! I should really prepare myself. But for now, I should finish my evolution since I have to meet Goddess Athena soon."
