255 255: An all out Asset [pt2]
“How despicable. To attack me when the other gods are not here. Did you plan all this, Lady Dheva? How devious of you.”
No one had seen this attack coming. That was why no one could have prevented this from happening in the first place.
Lady Dheva had aimed for the time when no one was present in the tower to attack it. And she had successfully managed to break down the defenses of this place.
But of course, she had not done it alone. To be able to come this far without help, it was clear that she knew the tower inside out.
Or perhaps, she did have help in the end. After all, the south was not lacking in resources right now. They might have suffered a crushing defeat at the tower’s hand but they were still thriving overall.
“I have no idea what you mean. This all had nothing to do with me in the first place. It’s a total coincidence that I am here in the first place.”
Bullshit. Even if Lady Minerva did not see the smirk Lady Dheva had, it would be impossible to even consider those words.
How could the tower fall under an unplanned attack? Surely the other side had planned meticulously and then decided to strike when the tower was at its most vulnerable state.
Minerva refused to believe any other outcome that was possible right now.
“I see. So you are in a strong stage of self-denial, huh? If so then I should tell you the real reason your tower fell off. It’s because you did not keep a tight leash on your dogs and they ran away.”
“Yup, that’s right. It was your people who became the cause of your downfall.”
Minerva waited for the shock to come and paralyze her but that did not happen. Things just made too much sense that Minerva could not even be surprised at that.
Of course, someone had helped the south put to infiltrate the tower. How could an unrelated party manage to enter it so deeply if not for inside help?
But who would be foolish enough to betray them like that and still have such high authority? No matter how much Lady Minerva thought about it, she could not narrow it down.
“Oya? Are you putting too much pressure on your brain? Don’t since it will be the last time you do so. Your core is a little worn down due to all the abuse it takes but it can still be used. I am so glad to take it from you.”
Lady Dheva had a creepy look on her face and it made Minerva panic. She knew that it was a given for the south to know the goddesses and their cores.
They did have three of them right now and they were all really powerful. But to go after actively seeking them was a foolish decision that would have gotten them killed.
And yet, these people had no fear of their own. They were gunning for the position of the most powerful person in the world.
“You! How dare you make fun of me? You have no consideration for your life.”
Minerva had no magic after her core was sealed but her body still wanted to defend itself. She made a swipe with her clawed hands but the leader of the south managed to dodge that hand quite easily.
“Be careful with how you try to kill me. I don’t want to see you get in trouble with your beloved people.”
“I don’t know what you are…”
There was a fine line between pain and comfort. But it was really easy to cross that and Minerva felt someone stab her in the stomach which made her cross that.
This was the first time in her life as a goddess that Minerva was feeling this much pain. Someone was gripping her core and it was an uncomfortable feeling.
“I am sorry but this is all for your good. I know your existence is more of a curse than a blessing so it is time to lay you to rest.”
“Fuck you. To think that I wanted to be friends with you because of your appearance. But you are nothing like that child from long ago. You are an egoist and selfish bastard and I cannot wait to see you die.”
The joy was stripped from that face faster than Minerva lost consciousness. Her body felt heavy but her mind felt light.
The only regret Minerva had left when she closed her eyes was that she had not gotten to kill this lady with her own hands.
Time and time again she had wanted to kill Lady Dheva but had stopped because she had a very familiar face. It was a face that forced Lady Minerva to wait and become soft in its presence.
“And to think that all it took was nostalgia to take the fearsome goddess down. How disappointing. Won’t you say the same, Clove?”
Lady Dheva looked toward the goddess who held the core in her hand. Her golden eyelashes fluttered as she looked at the core in her hand.
But her face was impassive and held no trace of emotion. She was like a doll who had discarded her emotions and no longer knew how to feel.
Perhaps Lady Dheva wanted to see guilt or remorse on her face but nothing was shown on her pace except detachment.
“I was long prepared to do this so I had no attachment to her anyway. But it is time to clean up this place and make other people lay to rest. We cannot leave the evidence of our dead behind.”
Lady Dheva looked taken aback for a moment before she let out soft laughter. Somehow, she was not surprised that this was how things were going in the end.
Every day, Clove was evolving closer and closer into the goddess she was supposed to be.
“Y-You really did end up betraying us all? Why? What did we do wrong for you to be this angry with us?”
Clove froze as soon as she heard Quince’s voice. It was not something she had expected to hear this soon but she should have been prepared to meet him.
He was someone who was a part of the tower and took pride in it. Unlike Clove, he was devoted to his beliefs and was a good guy.
He made Clove’s heart hurt because he reminded her of Aurora.
He had been a dear friend to Clove once upon a time but now she no longer knew what to do with him. He was an obstacle in her way but she could not bring herself to harm him.
However, Lady Dheva did not have the same problem as her.
Lady Dheva’s powers lashed out toward Quince but he managed to block them with his blade and even make a counterattack. Lady Dheva let out a whistle of appreciation and looked interested in his skills.
“A daring little thing, aren’t you? But your skills are not bad. Perhaps you would be interested in joining us? Who knows, I might take pity on you and give you power?”
Lady Dheva looked a little fascinated and it reminded Clove of Aurora before she had gotten together with her.
There had been a time Aurora had shown interest in Quince and his performance as well. At that time, Clove had held her desire to speak back and take things for granted.
She had been sure that Quince would not end up taking Clove’s woman away because he was afraid of her and respected her.
But now was no longer the case.
“Don’t bother talking to insignificant bugs. We don’t need weaklings like him to come with us. Let’s get going since we already have the core we need.”
Clove did not want to harm Quince but that did not mean she wanted to keep on seeing his face either.
She just wanted to go on her way and not look at this mess ever again. But it seemed like the world had other plans for her than this. And Quince attacked her as soon as she turned her back.
Unluckily for him, there were just too many obstacles in his way and this time it was Asami who decided to take action.
No one knew where she came from but she knocked the kid out in record time and before anyone knew it, she had thrown the kid down into the abyss.
There was no telling where he would end up being or even if he was still alive or not after that. But no one said anything.
Not until Clove exploded at Asami.
“Why did you do that? He was harmless and I could have handled him all on my own…”
“You could have but you did not need to. Don’t forget what our objective is and what we promised to do. You need to kill your emotions Clove, or you will be swept away by them. And no one wants to see you suffer here.”
Clove’s emotions were divided but she was still really worried about Quince now.