Chapter 201: Goddess Hephaestus, Taken Down!
"Sigh."
Looking at Artemis and Hestia beside her, Hephaestus felt utterly exhausted.
Just now, she thought they were comrades in the same trench. Then, in the next moment, she became the lone one left behind. The world changed too fast, and Hephaestus felt she could not keep up.
"Ethan, come with me for a moment. There are some things I want to discuss with you alone."
"Okay."
Ethan nodded and prepared to leave with Hephaestus.
However, Artemis was hugging one of his arms, and for a moment, he could not break free.
"Artemis, wait a little."
"Come back soon."
Artemis glanced at Ethan, then at Hephaestus. She felt a little reluctant.
There had already been Freya. Now there was Hestia too. If Hephaestus was added as well, what had once been a fight between two goddesses would become a struggle between four.
Then, Ethan followed Hephaestus a short distance away.
They made sure they could not be seen from there, and that Artemis and Hestia would not hear their conversation.
"Here should be fine."
"All right. Goddess Hephaestus, what did you want to say to me?"
"I just want you to see something."
After saying this, Hephaestus took a deep breath. Then she slowly reached up and removed her eye patch.
In the next second, what lay beneath the black eye patch was not a blind eye, but a hole like a black void. It gave off an extremely strange feeling.
Ethan was also a little shocked. In the original story, the true appearance beneath Hephaestus's eye patch had been mentioned, but there had never been a real answer.
Now, Ethan had seen it for himself.
It was not related to "horror" or "fear," but it carried a strange, unsettling feeling.
If someone saw it at night under dim light, it really might scare them.
"This is my true face. After seeing it, do you have anything to say?"
Hephaestus looked at Ethan. This was the second time she had revealed her "true face" after descending to the lower world.
The first time was long ago, when she showed it to her Familia. In the end, aside from Tsubaki, the other children all became afraid of their goddess.
Hephaestus could understand that.
After all, a god who should have been flawless had such a flaw. It was natural for people to imagine unpleasant things. Besides, she truly did look rather "frightening."
Although everyone apologized to her afterward and promised they did not mind and would no longer be afraid, mortals could not lie before gods.
They respected her, but saying they were not afraid was only a comforting lie.
After that, Hephaestus never removed her eye patch in front of anyone again.
Today, Hephaestus chose to let Ethan see her "true face" with his own eyes.
If Ethan was willing to accept this version of her, then giving herself to him would not be impossible.
She was not some virgin goddess, nor did she reject unions between goddesses and children of the lower world.
"It's beautiful."
"Beautiful?"
A moment later, after hearing Ethan's answer, Hephaestus nearly failed to keep calm.
What did he mean, she was beautiful? Even she herself thought this version of her was ugly and terrifying. It had nothing to do with "beauty," right?
Yet Hephaestus could feel that Ethan's words were not a lie.
"If we go by what you mean, Goddess Hephaestus, then I'm probably countless times 'uglier' than you."
As he spoke, Ethan released [All the World's Evil].
The "evil" he had absorbed during this period had caused [All the World's Evil] to swell several times over. Black mud had already overflowed and was now dripping from every part of Ethan's body.
It was chaotic, noisy, and hard to describe. Ethan was the embodiment of "evil."
"This—!"
Looking at Ethan, Hephaestus was deeply shocked. How could a mortal child of the lower world carry such terrifying "evil"?
This was impossible.
Even the black calamity that brought countless disasters to the ancient earth a thousand years ago was probably not as terrifying as Ethan.
"All the World's Evil is what I carry. In theory, all the malice produced by humanity in this world will be blamed on me."
"Compared to that, Goddess, your little flaw probably isn't even enough to shine my shoes."
"You…"
Hephaestus opened her mouth, but for a moment, she did not know what to say.
"Then let me ask you in return. Would you accept such a 'filthy' me, Goddess?"
"You're using my own question against me. You really are clever."
Hephaestus rolled her eye at Ethan and spoke with a trace of emotion in her voice.
Although she did not answer directly, the answer behind her silence was already clear.
"A child of the lower world has gained the affection of three goddesses. No, four goddesses. In the past thousand years and the next ten thousand, you're probably the only one."
"That is my honor. It also indirectly proves how outstanding I am."
"Hmph. Such a sharp tongue."
Hephaestus rolled her eye at Ethan, then raised her hand to put the eye patch back on. After all, being exposed like this did not feel good.
"Mm—!"
However, before she could act, Ethan grabbed her.
If what happened before had been drunken passion, then this time, Ethan was taking the initiative alone.
Hephaestus's lips were taken, her defenses broken, and her gaze met Ethan's.
As Ethan looked at her, his eyes did not shift away in the slightest.
"Mm!"
More than ten seconds later, Hephaestus finally reacted and pushed Ethan away.
At this moment, Hephaestus's face was flushed, and the way she looked at Ethan carried emotions called shyness and embarrassment.
Being forcefully kissed by a man was absolutely the first time in Hephaestus's life.
"Goddess Hephaestus, your beauty loses to no goddess."
"Shut up. I'm not Hestia, who gets confused after being coaxed a little."
"But you didn't reject me, did you?"
"You…"
Pointing at Ethan, Hephaestus did not know how to refute him.
However, that heated kiss had truly moved her.
Not to mention, the wild events after drinking during the day still lingered in her mind. This man was definitely not an ordinary man.
...
"Hm? Why does my head feel itchy? It's only been a few days since I washed my hair."
Inside a workshop in Orario, a red-haired man busy in front of a furnace suddenly felt his scalp itch, as if something were about to grow out of it.
…
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