Chapter 801: Kidnapping a Goddess [4]

The journey to reach the other side of the Crimson Sea from the Remnant South was fairly long.

Having already experienced the journey in the past, I was mentally prepared for the long journey, and as such, I immediately made myself comfortable the moment the ship started to move.

Leon, Aoife, and Evelyn also seemed to be okay.

But there was one exception.

"Ueerkh!"

A figure hunched over the sides of the ship, gripping them tightly as vomit flew out from her mouth.

It was a rather comical sight to see, especially with all the curses that followed each puke that came out of her mouth.

"Bloody fucking ship!"

"...Get me out of this fucking shit!"

"I’ll—Euerkhh!!"

I paid no attention to her retching and got to work, dragging Panthea into a separate room before fixing my eyes on her. She was clearly weakened, but with her power, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she managed to escape the moment I let my guard down.

Clank!

Closing the door behind us, there were only the two of us present.

Her face was pale, her hair a tangled mess. Her lips were dry and cracked, and the flames that once burned in her eyes now flickered weakly, barely holding on.

"Where is Noel?"

I asked for the sake of asking. I didn’t expect her to give me an immediate answer, but...

"He’s actually not far from here. He should be locked up in Veltrus’s domain."

"Huh?"

I looked at the Goddess in stupor. Did she just answer my question?

’No, it might be a lie.’

"Heh... I can see that you don’t believe me. However, I’m not lying. He’s locked up there since Veltrus is the only one capable of creating chains that can keep him properly sealed."

I was once again rendered speechless.

’Is she really telling the truth?’

But why was she telling me the truth? What was it with the sudden turn of events?

"...I’m offended. Did you really think I wouldn’t tell you the answer?"

Panthea offered me a smile, albeit a weak one.

"You should know better than anyone just how much I like you. If you need something... of course I’ll tell you. You want to see Noel, right? He’s located in Veltrus’s territory, near Clora’s territory."

I opened my mouth, trying to get a few words out, but staring at her, I didn’t know what to say. I was still struggling to believe her words. How could I?

She was batshit crazy.

"...Hah, it looks like you still don’t believe me."

Panthea smiled once more.

This time, it looked more out of amusement than anything else.

In the midst of my confusion, her body began to emit a faint glow. Instinctively, I reached for her injury, but my hand slipped straight through her, as if her body had turned to air. A powerful glow took over the room shortly after, blinding me.

"Ukh!"

I tried to react, but it was too late.

By the time I opened my eyes again, Panthea stood before me, her lips pulled into the same amused smile as before.

"Would you look at this? I’m free."

Her finger pressed forward, lifting my chin slightly as my entire body froze.

’Wha... What just happened?’

"Don’t tell me you actually thought you could keep me in your grasp, right? Hehe."

Panthea giggled, bringing her hand to her mouth.

"Although I would like that very much, I’m afraid that it’s just not possible. You’re not yet strong enough to accomplish that. Even if you’re containing my injury."

"....."

A heavy pressure bore down on the surroundings as the Goddess spoke. However, at the same time, as I stared at her, I felt that something was off.

She...

’It doesn’t look like she’s angry at me for what I’ve done.’

"I am a little offended about what you’ve done, but I did need to take a little breather from that place. You gave me the right excuse."

Panthea giggled again, the flames flickering in her eyes as she looked at me.

"I can see your confusion, Emmet. I won’t deny it. I allowed myself to be ’kidnapped’ by you. Mainly because I wanted to be with you a little longer, and also because there’s something else that I’m trying to achieve."

Her gaze slowly lifted, turning towards the distance.

"...I’ve been passive for too long. A lot of people within my Domain have grown a little greedy. If I’m not wrong, they might even try to kill me the moment you leave my Domain."

"....."

Honestly, I wasn’t surprised by her words.

"It’s the Living Saint, isn’t it?"

Panthea merely offered me a smile in response.

She seemed a lot calmer now than she was before.

"Some people... are just not satisfied with what they have. Despite everything that I’ve given them, they want more. It’s a pity considering how much they’ve devoted to me, but this is just how human nature is. You just can’t be satisfied unless you have the thing you so desire."

Her eyes fell on me once more as she spoke the final words, causing my back to shudder as the flames in her eyes flickered.

I didn’t move, nor did I make a sound. My mind churned in every possible direction, scrambling for a way to escape the situation I’d found myself in.

’She seems calmer now, but I don’t know what she might do later. Even though it looks like she allowed her to be kidnapped, I’m sure she’s mad about my ’betrayal’. What should I do? Should I do the same thing? Would that even work?’

I started to feel desperate.

This situation... It was clearly not good.

From the looks of things, the Goddess was a lot stronger than I had previously anticipated. It seemed like fighting her was impossible.

Then...

"Don’t worry. I’m not going to harm you or the people that are here."

Panthea’s voice shook me out of my thoughts, prompting me to look at her a little differently.

"You’re not?"

"No, I’m not. In fact, I won’t be staying here much longer. I only wanted to find an excuse to leave and monitor the situation with my Domain carefully."

"But aren’t you a Goddess? Why can’t you just leave?"

"...It’s not that simple,"

the Goddess replied, brushing a strand of her silky blonde hair behind her ear.

"As a Goddess, I’m bound to the people within my Domain. Most won’t notice it, but those with enough power will. The moment I leave the Ashen Spire, they’ll sense it instantly through the connection we share."

"Still, you’re a Goddess. Even if you do decide to leave, what can they do to stop you?"

"I’m not the same as I was in the past."

Panthea looked at me deeply.

"My injuries are a lot more severe than you might think. As of right now, I’m not much stronger than the Living Saint."

My brow rose.

’She’s weakened by this much?’

"I’m going to take this chance to see the situation within my Domain properly. Now that we’re a distance away from the beacon and church, it should be much harder for them to detect me. This will give me enough time to prepare accordingly."

Lifting my head with her finger once more, she got a good look at me before her body started to fade.

"...You’re not exactly the same Emmet that I love. You’re him, but you’re also not him. It looks like your memories have yet to fully recover. I’ll wait until that moment before coming back to you."

My lip twitched upon hearing her words.

Suddenly, I didn’t want to regain my memories.

But just as her body was about to fade completely, she left a few more parting words.

"Given how your memories are lacking, I’d like to remind you of something. Don’t underestimate the five of us. We’re not as weak as you think we are. Just like that, God Hunter, haha. I did previously say that Clora has died, but is that really the case...? That girl is even more scheming than I am."

"Huh?"

Panthea disappeared before I knew it.

"No, wait."

I looked around the room, trying to see any traces of her. However, she was completely gone. Regardless of how hard I tried to sense her, she seemed to have disappeared completely.

"What did she mean by that?"

Suddenly, I started to have a bad feeling.

If her words were true, then was something happening to Delilah?

I bit my lips, taking a couple of breaths to calm myself down.

’No, let’s not fall for her words like that. Delilah is incredibly strong. I’m sure that even if Clora is not dead, she’s still not able to beat Delilah. Although...’

I suddenly thought about my current situation with Panthea. About how she had played me right into her hand, and how she used me to get what she wanted.

’I also got what I wanted, but this has been her goal from the start.’

But was her crazy act real or fake?

I wasn’t so sure anymore. That being said, there was no doubt in my mind that she certainly had an obsession with me.

’I’d still like to keep some distance from her, but I know for sure that I’ll be seeing her soon.’

My stomach churned at the thought, but there was something more troublesome that I had to deal with at the moment.

I thought back to the words that Panthea had told me, and I covered my forehead.

"If what she’s saying is true, then the moment we step outside her Domain, the Church of Light will come after us without hesitation. They might already have us locked and are just waiting for us to leave."

This...

I bit my lips, turning to reach for the door and heading directly towards the upper deck where Anne and the others were located.

"Ueeeekh! Fucking...! Uekhhhhh!"

Ignoring the puking Kiera, I confronted Anne directly.

"We might need to make a slight change to our course."

"Huh?"

Anne blinked her eyes, the confusion clear in her eyes. Before she could mutter out her confusion, I spoke, "Head for the Clora Domain. That’s where we’ll head next."

There was a certain somebody that I needed to meet.

A certain someone that I hoped was still there.

Thinking about Panthea’s words, I started to have a bad premonition.

’I really hope she was lying.’