After sending off everyone, Asahi returned to Aimi’s side. She wasn’t by Riveria’s side but standing amidst the cluttered safe floor. He walked up to her and gazed down the tunnel carved into the dungeon’s ground. The passage was narrow and dark, extending to depths his senses couldn’t reach, even after using the Domain of Insight — the passage was much deeper than the size of a city.
The dungeon had grown tired of his antics and opened a path straight to its heart. It wanted to settle the matter once and for all.
“Asahi-sama, are we going now?” Aimi asked, sensing the deep aura lying in the inviting maw of the dungeon. “This might be a trap for you.”
He smirked. “Dungeon-chan is inviting me to her hole. How can I reject her sincere request?”
“Never rejectin’ a maiden’s heart. Yup, that’s the man I love!”
The wind whistled and carried a playful voice to them. A pair of perverted arms snaked around his waist before hugging him. He could name the owner of the lithe body by just her breasts. Only one woman in his harem was this “well-endowed.”
“Yer drunk mistress reportin’!”
(I’m sorry, my love…) Klyscha apologized. (She got me...)
Asahi sighed. “Loki, how did you convince Klyscha?”
He had lied in order to keep Loki out of the secret expedition. Her body was so weak that the shockwaves of a high-level battle would obliterate her.
Observing a tournament by his side and walking into a trap laid out by the dungeon were different matters. A slight mistake would lead to her demise — something he never wished to happen to anyone close to him.
And frankly, he had yet to comprehend the complications of Loki’s mortal vessel and its connection to the body dormant in Heaven. Without fully knowing her vessel’s reaction to damage, he wasn’t willing to bring Loki or any other goddess from Orario into danger.
Loki’s face was awash with happiness as though she could sense his consideration. “Asahi, gimme some leeway, please. Ouranos and other senior gods keep their mouths zipped on the dungeon’s deep secrets. I wanna meet this evil entity controllin’ the dungeon from the shadows. Asahi, please. You are my only hope to uncover this scandalous riddle.”
Asahi peeled her hands and turned around, still holding her hands over her head. Loki grinned faintly at him, then raised her head. Her always-squinting eyes peeled back as a pair of red pupils stared at him without blinking as though showing her undaunting resolve.
Loki took his silence and took a step in his direction. “I know it’s dangerous down there. Ya are the only one who can protect me while fighting every monster in the world.”
She had a playful and foxy side as the head of her Familia. But he and her closest friends knew the stubborn pride hiding beneath her sly demeanor. She’d stop at nothing once she set her mind on something. It was the same when she made up her mind about her feelings and came straight at him.
He sighed before revealing a smile. “Klyscha, get Ruby and Rini here. They’ll be the bodyguard for this frail alcoholic goddess.”
Ruby and Rini were free, while Saeko and the rest were exhausted after work and the wedding arrangements. Ruby was, frankly, the best bodyguard Loki could have inside the dungeon for her meticulous control over dreams. Without any worries for Loki, he could focus on mowing down the monsters with Rini and Aimi.
Well, he had his own avatar to double up his manpower, but he didn’t feel like controlling two bodies at the moment.
(On it!)
“Yes!” Loki jumped in a fit of excitement. Standing on her toes, she threw her arms around his neck and coiled her legs around him, clinging to him like a pet, who reunited with its master after years. “I freakin’ love ya!”
“Geez. What trick did you use on Klyscha? Reveal thy hand, trickster.”
“Ohoho, nothing groundbreakin’,” Loki whispered and playfully bit his shoulder before looking at Aimi. “Aimi-chan, did ya know yer husband and Klyscha got a mutual imperfection?”
Aimi looked genuinely curious. “Their deep love for family?”
“Nope. They both are weak in front of a determined maiden.”
Loki’s confession left Aimi wide-eyed for a moment before she nodded her head.
“You’re right. When I first met Klyscha, it was on the worst terms possible…”
It had happened in a dark void Aimi believed to be made for repentance. A form of punishment for her crime against Asahi. Well, it really was made to torture Aimi. Even after knowing Klyscha’s identity, she hadn’t backed down and declared her desire to be with Asahi.
To test her words, Klyscha had put Aimi through several tests that nearly broke her mind. Aimi still prevailed in the end by sheer determination.
And the same method worked on Asahi after she became his monster-hunting machine. She won his heart with her dedication.
Asahi just shrugged at the secret that was known by everyone in his family. “Women have always been my weakness.”
“Ahaha.”
A few seconds later, Ruby and Rini appeared before him. Ruby observed her crude environment for a moment before noticing the redhead goddess clinging to Asahi. The Dragon God of Dreams began a staring contest with Loki.
“Who is this ugly woman now?”
“Are those horns real?”
Both redheads blurted out different questions at the same time.
Loki’s face twitched. “Didja just call me ugly?”
She may be less curvy than most women around Asahi, but her face still popularized her as one of the most beautiful women in Orario. There was this midget goddess who called her Loki No-Boobs. Nobody ever called her ugly to this day.
Ruby grinned. “Cause you are ugly by Asahi’s standards. I’ll let it go since being ugly isn’t a crime.”
Loki felt like she was dealing with Hestia. The grown beauty with dragon horns was that egregious with her words.
“Don't take Ruby's words to heart. She is a little too straightforward.” Asahi patted Loki’s back and stared at Ruby. “You have no idea about my standards. Loki is a fine woman, whether it’s beauty and personality. She is my best buddy, I could say.”
Loki snickered at the praise. “Ya heard that? I'm a fine sweetie.”
Ruby ignored Loki and turned to Asahi, smiling sweetly. “How is my mate doing these days? I heard that you were having a wedding soon. I’ll join as a guest.”
“As long as you promise to behave.”
Ruby bared a toothy grin. “I am not impulsive like Ddraig.” she waved at Rini and Aimi silently looking down the tunnel. “You’re Rini and you’re Aimi. Klyscha told me about you.”
Aimi and Rini glanced at each other before introducing themselves to Ruby. They had met Ruby before but didn’t do a proper introduction.
Meanwhile, Loki squinted like a hawk, eying Ruby’s horns. ‘Did she call Asahi her mate? Is she seriously a dragon?’
(Yes, she is.) Klyscha ended her inquisitive thoughts. (She is the Dragon God of Dreams. My love beat her to pulp in a fight. Lots of drama happened, and now she is a part of our family.)
‘Drama is cringe, ain’t it?’
(Sounds convincing coming from you, Loki.)
‘What? I don’t do drama.’
(You never cried when you were unsure about your feelings. It never happened!)
‘Why do these shorties bring pain to my life?’
(Your troubles are about to increase, young goddess.)
Klyscha ended her divination with an ominous laugh that left Loki shuddering.
‘Explain!’
(Fufu.)
Bestia
Tftc🙂
TFTC