“Belle,” William said firmly. “Her name is Belle.”‘
“Right,” the Primordial Goddess replied. “Just a single person, but the ripple she created when she left shook the very foundations of a Pantheon that once stood above others. Now, they only exist in Myths and Legends. So, in a way, the Prophecy succeeded in a roundabout manner.”
pan-d a-n0vel.com The Primordial Goddess crossed one of her legs over the other before giving William a smirk.
“You who have overthrown your father will one day suffer the same fate.”
the Primordial Goddess lightly tapped the armrest of her throne as she arched an eyebrow at the Half-Elf, who was digesting everything she had said.
“And it all started with you going to the past, meeting Hebe, and fighting your father in a duel that made her fall in love with you,” the Primordial Goddess added. “Aside from the Primordial Gods and the first generation Protogenoi, all Gods age. The Power of Belief sustains them, and they could live for tens of thousands of years without a problem.
“But, Time doesn’t wait for anyone, including Gods. Slowly, but surely, they too, will age, with very few exceptions—like those who already live in the Underworld, and those who maintain the balance of the worlds, like the Gods of Destruction and the Gods of Rebirth. Even if they lived for a million years, age will still catch up to them and they, too, will fade and join the other Gods before them who have disappeared from the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods.”
William took a deep breath before clenching his fists.
“So, are you saying that it is Belle’s fault that the Gods that belonged to your lineage died?” William asked. “Is this the reason why you have been targeting her?”
“Yesn’t,” the Primordial Goddess replied. “It is not solely because of me, but the lingering hate of the Gods who blamed her for their demise.”
“Is there a way to remove that grudge?”
“Of course there is. But, you already know the answer to that, right?”
William frowned. Optimus had already told him that in order for the souls of his wives to be returned with him, Belle must die. Naturally, this was an outcome that he didn’t want to happen. Because of this, he needed to negotiate with the Primordial Goddess, who was keeping the will of the Gods that died.
A grudge that lasted for ten thousand years.
“Aside from Belle’s death, is there really no other choice?” William insisted. “There must be another way, right?”
“I wonder?” the Primordial Goddess gave the Half-Elf a teasing smile. “Well, I guess there is a way. But, in order for the past grudges to be resolved, you need to pay the corresponding price. Are you prepared for that?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
The Primordial Goddess then waved her hand and the projection of a battlefield appeared in front of William.
Countless Giants could be seen for miles on end, numbering in the tens of millions. The weakest of them were Millennial Ranked, which comprised half of their entire army. The remaining half was composed of Myriad Beasts, over a Thousand Demigods, Hundreds of Pseudo-Gods, and three True Gods of Destruction.
It was a force that could easily destroy a world, if they all attacked at the same time.
“If you manage to survive the onslaught of the Army of Destruction, I will consider past and present grudges wiped clean,” the Primordial Goddess stated. “But, this is just one of the conditions. There are two more.”
“I’m all ears,” William replied.
Since the battle with the Army of Destruction was already inevitable, this condition was fine with him. If he didn’t win the battle against them, there was no need to worry about what would happen in the future because he would already be dead.
“If you manage to win the war, you must name your first child with Nisha, Dias,” the Primordial Goddess giggled. “Just so you know, that child is destined to overthrow you when he grows up.”
The corner of William’s lips twitched. If he survived the war against the Army of Destruction, his own son would overthrow him?
Not a chance!
“Okay, I agree to this condition,” William replied. ‘I’ll make sure to discipline him properly, so he won’t do such a thing when he grows up.’
“Heh~” The Primordial Goddess smirked after hearing William’s thoughts. “You are quite optimistic, aren’t you?”
William ignored the Primordial Goddess’ teasing remark and asked for the third condition.
“The last condition is simple,” the Primordial Goddess said as she pointed at the constellation that appeared in the sky above her domain. “You are going to ignore her for the rest of your life.”
The constellation above the heavens shone brilliantly, and the colors of the stars turned crimson red. Clearly, the constellation was not pleased with the last condition that the Primordial Goddess gave, making the Half-Elf sweat buckets because the last condition was a death flag.
“I’m just joking,” the Primordial Goddess giggled after seeing William’s constipated expression. Clearly, she was just making fun of the Peeping Tom who was eavesdropping on her conversation with the red-headed teenager.
It was then that a serious expression flashed over the face of the Primordial Goddess.
“I want Ahriman’s Soul,” the Primordial Goddess stated. “If you are able to give that to me, as well as abide by the two conditions I stated, I will not lift a finger, move my lips, or bat my eye against Belle. All past and present grudges will be wiped clean.”
“Okay,” William agreed to the Primordial Goddess’ conditions. “I also have a condition.”
“Oh? Did I hear properly? Are you asking me for a condition?”
“Yes. My chances of winning against the Army of Destruction are already abysmally low. If there will still be infighting between Nisha and me, then that already low chance will become zero.”
“So, you don’t want to have any infighting between you and Nisha’s forces, right?”
William nodded.
“Okay, I can agree to this,” the Primordial Goddess. “From this moment onwards, she will not target any of your wives, lovers, or do anything that might jeopardize the preparation against the war with the Army of Destruction.”
“Thank you,” William bowed his head respectfully. “Um. If possible, I’d like to ask a favor. Could you help return the soul of my wives to me?”
“Hahaha.” The Primordial Goddess laughed sarcastically. “Very funny. If you want your wives back, get them back yourself. Just remember that if you ever face Thanatos, you will not only be facing the God of Death, but a Father who had his precious daughter taken from him.
“Erinys is one of my granddaughters, so I want her to be happy as well. But, this issue must be settled between you and Thanatos. I have no intention of being a third wheel.”
William sighed. He knew that the possibility of getting the souls of his wives back by asking the Primordial Goddess to intervene was small. Even so, he still thought that it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Now that he knew that Erinys’ father, Thanatos, was going to make things difficult for him, he was now feeling uneasy about how he could take his wives back from the God of Death, who wanted to tear him apart.
“Go,” the Primordial Goddess said as she waved her hand. “I hope that the next time we meet will be under better circumstances. Goodluck, my Prince, your greatest challenge is yet to begin.”
Soon, the dark world, and the Primordial Goddess, disappeared.
The Half-Elf found himself staring at a clear blue sky, and a gentle breeze blowing against him.
“Did you have a nice nap, Your Majesty?” Nisha, who was currently providing William with a lap pillow, asked.
“Nisha?” William blinked. “How long have I been napping?
“Four hours.”
“Eh?”
William couldn’t believe that he had spent four hours talking to the Primordial Goddess. Their discussion hadn’t even lasted for more than an hour, but after giving it some thought, the Half-Elf decided to not worry about it.
Just as he was about to prop himself up from Nisha’s lap pillow, a brilliant flash of light appeared beside him.
Within that light, Wendy, Estelle, Belle, Astrape, Bronte, and Titania, emerged.
The six ladies glanced down on the Half-Elf, whose head was resting on Nisha’s lap with steely gazes.
William knew then and there that things were about to get messy if he didn’t clear things up with the six ladies who had spent several hours tracking their location with the help of the Bifrost Bridge.
