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Loki looked up, a hollow look on her face. Hestia involuntarily winced when Loki's voice dropped to a soft, shallow whisper. "Then he's probably the worst monster to have ever come out from the Dungeon."
Hestia gulped. Her mind flipped through ancient memories like they were pages of a book. Horrifying scenes of decimation and destruction at the hands of ancient monsters flashed before her eyes. Grotesque, senseless violence beyond even the Gods' imaginations. Gargantuan, lumbering beasts even among the monsters that laid waste to entire civilizations.
Hestia still wasn't sure how they'd been defeated.
The very notion that Kusanagi Godou could surpass their threat seemed laughable to her.
Except Loki wasn't laughing.
"You're telling the truth, aren't you?" she asked gravely.
Loki nodded. "Stay away from him. From one God to another, Hestia, stay away from Kusanagi Godou," came her somber warning.
Hestia felt every hair on her body stand when Loki uttered those words. She hadn't seen a God experience fear like this since the Great War. She took another moment to fully take in Loki's disheveled appearance. Frazzled hair. Sinking, dark, eyebags. A complexion that simply reeked of desolation. It was hard to imagine that a lone human man could have such an impact on Loki, the goddess of mischief herself.
Kusanagi Godou.
She still remembered the day he had simply given the Grimoire to her. Her choice had been obvious. She wasn't going to sacrifice Bell's growth for the sake of cutting down a debt she had already been prepared to shoulder. She had never actually gotten to tell him that she'd given it to Bell, despite the fact that he had come down more than once to claim his daily free snack.
In fact he had come almost everyday. She was always aware of his presence, hiding behind some obscure corner, or simply watching from the rooftops. Like Freya, she could sense souls somewhat, even if she kept it a secret from most people. Godou's entire being stood out from the crowd like a splotch of mud did on a wedding dress. It was revolting, and tainted the entire market. In her time in Orario, Hestia had never met a soul so tormented and in pain.
That alone had told her that something was off about the human being named Kusanagi Godou. The way he sometimes seemed content with watching her for half an hour without revealing himself and then leaving had also disturbed her greatly. But within a few days, she had understood the rationale behind his actions.
Godou only ever claimed his free snack mere minutes before she closed shop. If she ever sold out before that, he'd leave without a word. He didn't want to get a free fried potato when it meant that Hestia would be losing a potential sale.
And that's when Hestia confirmed what she had longed suspected. The world had wronged Kusanagi Godou somehow, she knew. The ominous aura he wore stood testament to his trials and traumas. And yet despite that, he had not quavered. Beneath that darkness and suffering lay a soul of pure gold, one that seemed to capable of matching even Bell's. He had been hurt greatly, and had gone to extreme ends to not be hurt again. He shielded himself with his pain, deluded into thinking that constantly tormenting himself with misery and anguish would numb him from it eventually.
And there was another soul that didn't understand the dichotomy of love.
Kusanagi Godou was broken, and despite Hephaestus' confidence in her, Hestia wasn't sure if his soul was one that she could fix.
But maybe somebody else could.
"I refuse."
Loki's alarm was visible. "Hestia, you don't understand, he's-"
"I understand enough. And I refuse to listen to your warning."
Loki's inner turmoil bubbled to the surface. For a few seconds, the redhead was obviously considering letting the cat of the bag. But Hestia didn't care about that. She didn't want to know about it after all.
"Loki. Do you trust Kusanagi Godou?"
"I..." She faltered. Hestia could recognize the guilt written all over Loki's face.
"Because Kusanagi Godou trusts you. Or at least, he did."
Loki blinked."What do you mean?"
"I don't know what he told you. Nor do I intend on finding out. But whatever it is, it's clearly a big deal, isn't it? Something he normally wouldn't want people knowing."
Loki nodded dumbly.
"So why would he tell you, Loki?"
Loki's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. "I..." She hesitated, "I may have done something very stupid, Hestia," she confessed.
Hestia titled her head. Loki was the God of Mischief. She was literally the authority on doing stupid things. "What?"
"I made a Divine Vow to him."
"WHAT!?"
Loki flinched, and Hestia momentarily regretted raising her voice so suddenly. Then she remembered why she did it in the first place. "Loki, what have you
done? Do you even know what happens if you break a Divine Vow?"
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Want to read more?
The next 10+ chapters are already available on my Patreon!
By joining, you'll get:
📖 Early access to future chapters
🗳️ Polls to shape the story
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🔥 Bonus scenes & content you won't find anywhere else
👀 Don't fall behind—others are already ahead!
👉 patreon.com/FanfictionTakashi
(If link doesn't show, just search on Google: FanfictionTakashi Patreon)