Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 797: Panthea’s Obesssion [3]

Tall skyscrapers.

A cool breeze.

Fluttering golden hair.

“…The view from up here is nice, isn’t it? Whenever I am feeling tired of worn out, I come here to have some time for myself. It’s nice…”

The woman slowly turned around, revealing her stunning features and eyes.

“Don’t you think so too, Emmet?”

*Puff*

Smoke drifted in the air.

A man stood not far from her, quietly staring at the smoke that drifted in the air.

“It’s not bad, I guess.”

Not once had he looked at the surroundings.

There was something about the man’s gaze that simply didn’t feel as though it was there. He appeared to be looking, and at the same time not.

“Hey…”

The woman pouted, staring at the man in front of her with annoyance.

“There are so many people lining up just to see me, and yet, you take my appearance for granted. You know I like you. Why won’t you like me back?”

*Puff*

Emmet took another drag of the cigarette in his hand, feeling the subtle tingle at the back of his throat.

He relished the sensation before smoking everything out.

“I like to smoke.”

That was all he said.

*

Feeling the warm embrace of the woman known as the ‘Goddess’, I froze on the spot, unable to react in time. Even if I was capable of reacting in time, I didn’t think I would’ve been able to dodge.

“…It-It’s been so long.”

Her voice trembled as she hugged me, pressing her head against my chest. Almost as if she was trying to plant her scent onto me.

I shivered uncontrollably at the action, trying to pry myself away from her.

However, her grip was simply too strong.

“Hey…”

“I know… it took so long for me to figure it out, but now that I know, we can finally be together again. I missed you so much. Don’t throw me away like you did in the past. I don’t know what I’d do if you throw me away again.”

I threw her away…?

Her words brought a sudden headache to me.

I didn’t recall anything of the sort, and even then, my memories of her were still rather hazy. I could only recall a certain scene on a certain rooftop. Back then, I hadn’t even paid any attention to her.

My thoughts were clouded by thousands upon thousands of visions of the past, present, and future.

It was all I could see and think about.

She was the last thing on my mind.

But most importantly…

“How did you figure it out?”

“Figure what out?”

The Goddess raised her head to look at me, the flames in her eyes flickering with what I thought could be described as ‘excitement’.

I felt a shiver run down my spine.

‘Creepy.’

I really wanted to push her away, but I just barely held myself back. I needed to understand how she managed to figure out my real identity. I didn’t think it was obvious. Could it be that she felt something with my blood?

…Or maybe, Toren had told her?

“Does it matter? What’s important is that the two of us are finally reunited. We can finally be together again. I’ve already thought of all sorts of things that we can do together. We can go on a tour of the Mirror Dimension. We can go eat in certain places that I’ve seen. We can also start planning for when we get out. I’m thinking of getting married beneath the bright yellow sun.”

Her grip tightened over my arm, and for a moment, I struggled to breathe.

“I’m not letting you go, Emmet. Now that I’ve finally found you, I won’t ever let you go.”

“…..!!!”

I nearly screamed in despair.

This girl!

She was batshit crazy!

“Never. I’m never letting go. Never. Never. Never.”

Something in the air began to shift, and my entire body started to shudder as Panthea hugged me even more tightly.

Her tone also started to grow colder.

“I don’t know what I would do without you. I can’t have you leave my side again. If you leave my side, I’ll be empty again. I just barely found the meaning of my life again, and I don’t think I’ll be able to live without you. I’ll make sure you never leave again.”

“…..!!!”

I really wanted to cry out this time.

What sort of bullshit scenario was this!?

Why did a Goddess have to be obsessed with me? To the point where they’d do anything to keep me with them. No! Fuck…!!

“Should I cut your legs and arms? This way, you won’t be able to run away? I don’t really mind that. So long as I have you, then everything is fine. You may even look ugly. I don’t care. I just need you…”

The more she spoke, the crazier her words became.

The flames within her sockets flickered even more fiercely, and I felt something dangerous in the air.

‘…I finally understand why Noel never revealed my identity to her. She’s batshit crazy!!’

But more than anything, I could tell that this craziness wasn’t natural. This was most likely the side-effect of the powers that she held. Each God had grown mad due to the powers, and Panthea was no exception.

“The two of us can live forever. With Noel’s blood, I can make sure that’s the case. Even if we’re stuck in the Mirror Dimension, that’ll be fine with me. Hehe…”

My heart tightened with each word.

I had to think quickly.

This situation…

It was becoming extremely dangerous for me.

‘Think! I need to think of something…! Think! Think! Think!’

“What about kids? Should we have kids? I think I’ll be fine with two. Two boys. Just thinking of having two boys that look like you… hehe—”

Before I knew it, my hand reached for her head, and I pushed her away directly. By the time I realized what I had done, it was already too late.

“…..”

“…..”

The surroundings turned silent, and I felt a certain chill run through the room.

I nearly felt like cursing, but I knew that there was no point in doing so as I slowly turned my attention towards Panthea and pressed my finger under her chin.

“You’re getting way too excited.”

“…Huh?”

I raised her chin slightly and looked at her directly.

“You’re making me uncomfortable.”

“!!”

Her face changed, and for the briefest of moments, I noticed hints of panic.

‘I can work with that.’

She was clearly obsessed with me. In that regard, the last thing that she wanted to see was my anger and dissatisfaction with her.

Of course, I still needed to be careful.

She was batshit crazy.

“You’re talking about future this and future that, but you haven’t really asked about how I’m doing. I’m kind of saddened by that.”

“Ah, that…”

“Do you really love me like you say that you do?”

I took a few steps back, tapping onto my ring and taking out a pack of cigarettes. Although I was no longer against smoking, I still hesitated for a moment. But it was only for a moment as I soon lit one up and took a drag.

*Puff*

Smoke once again drifted into the air as I looked at the Goddess.

‘How the hell do I get out of this situation?’

Although she looked obedient, I knew that she was anything but obedient. She could very easily keep me sealed, and if I tried to weasel my way out, she’d probably go through with her previous words about cutting my legs and keeping me locked in place.

‘…How fucking annoying.’

*Puff*

I took another drag of the cigarette.

‘Considering her current injury, I don’t think it should be impossible for me to beat her. The only issue is that I probably won’t be able to beat her quickly. Rather… By the time that I manage to do something, the Living Saint and the Seats will most likely already be here.’

This was quite a troublesome situation.

“It looks like you’ve… still not given up on your smoking habit.”

The Goddess’s voice reached me from in front of me. Looking back at her, I tapped the top of the cigarette, letting the ash stain the ground before nodding.

“I guess.”

*Puff*

These were shit cigarettes…

They were shit ones that belonged to Kiera. Still, it was going to make do for now.

“You know, it’s not good for you. I know that you’re no longer a regular human, but I still feel like it’s bad for you. If you… would stop it.”

“Hm?”

I squinted my eyes while staring at Panthea.

Seeing her current self, she looked completely different from how she was before. She looked shy, almost hesitant.

The crazy bitch who was present a moment prior was completely gone.

‘Interesting.’

This was going to make things a lot easier for me.

Tapping onto the top of the cigarette once more, I was just about to speak when the Goddess tapped her fingers together, looking a little shy.

“…I just wanted to know something. I don’t know if you’re willing to speak about it. I’m just really curious, that is all.”

“Hm?”

Staring at my cigarette, and seeing that it was pretty much done, I tossed it to the side. The Goddess paid it no mind as she looked towards the ground, looking even shyer. For some reason, staring at her, I felt a certain sense of dread.

‘I don’t like where this is going.’

“Are you in any relationships?”

I held my breath, feeling her eyes flicker in my direction.

For some reason, the question felt loaded.

I swallowed nervously, trying my hardest to keep myself composed. In the end, I shook my head.

“I… am not.”

“Are you lying?”

She asked again. This time, her tone was a lot less sofer, and… somewhat colder.

I opened my lips, but soon shook my head.

“No.”

‘It shouldn’t be possible for her to know unless she has connections with the world outside. But as far as I’m aware, she doesn’t have any. But what if Toren told her? Maybe if he—’

“Are you sure?”

A cold voice filtered across the room, causing my heart to come to a sudden stop.

Every part of my body tensed as I fixed my gaze on her.

And then—

Biting her nails, she started to speak to herself.

“Why would he lie to me? I thought our relationship was extremely strong. Why would he lie? I mean, does he think I’m stupid? I’ve seen her. That stupid black haired bitch.”

Hearing her words, my eyes started to widen.

She knows!?

But then…

“I thought it was just a film of his. I was fine with accepting something like that. That’s why I didn’t do anything. I should’ve killed her when I had the chance, but no, I can’t show my true form in the real world. How troublesome… How troublesome….”

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

The rhythmic, yet loud beat of my own heart echoed loudly within my ears.

Staring at the Goddess, my lips quivered.

That…

Her words…

‘She knew… She knew all along.’

No, in fact…

She seemed to have met me in the past.

But who?

Who could she have… Wait.

A certain figure appeared in my mind, and my eyes slowly started to widen.

Certain words began to replay in my mind. Ones that I had heard in the distant past. Right before snapping and getting myself ‘killed’.

‘Say… about what I said earlier, what do you think about marrying me?’

‘Thinking about it. If you end up marrying me, nobody in the world will ever cause you trouble. I know you’re really talented, so if you had someone protecting you at all times, you’d be able to grow without a problem.’

The timing…

The words…

The everything.

She…

She was there all along.

She was…

The Saintess of the Round Table.