(Image: Athena)
…
Faced with the Wisdom Goddess's forceful kiss, Akuto performed the classic "all talk, honest body" routine quite well.
Normally, even if Akuto's close-quarters combat ability was inferior to Athena's—given she was a Heretic God—he would not have been "broken through" this quickly.
However, after weighing everything, Akuto still half-resisted and half-indulged, finally relaxing his clenched teeth.
On one hand, he truly did want to taste what the Wisdom Goddess Athena was like.
On the other hand, he intended to set a trap for Athena. Because if his guess was correct, the reason she was kissing him so forcefully was primarily to engrave the "Kotodama of Contract" into him.
If so, then she would inevitably have to pour her power into his body.
And if that happened… Akuto could…
…
On the other side, Athena still had not realized what was coming—while the "heavy artifact" on Akuto's chest was, ironically, far more sensitive than she was.
After all, Akuto had personally said he liked her. If the person who liked her did something like this, becoming a little flustered but ultimately loosening up was perfectly normal.
After prying past Akuto's defenses, Athena pressed in without hesitation, keeping him pinned in place as she drove a thick surge of Underworld Power into his body—flooding every corner, every pathway, every hidden recess—attempting to read him completely while forcing the contract to take root.
And on Akuto's side… he very quickly obtained the result he had predicted.
[Ding~ Detected abnormal energy intrusion. Absorbing…]
Athena's dark divine power vanished into Akuto like a mud ox sinking into the sea, fully "received" by the System—converted entirely into Akuto's own strength.
Under normal circumstances, even if Underworld divinity entered the body, it would not produce a result like this.
In ordinary battle, even if Akuto was eroded by Underworld divinity, it would not trigger the System's self-protection mechanism.
But Athena's situation was different.
She was injecting her power not just to attack, but to probe Akuto's whole being—also to use the "contract" kotodama to bind him so that he could not go back on his promise.
Against a force that carried the properties of "manipulating body and mind," the System automatically triggered its defensive protocol, absorbing every invading strand of power.
In the next instant, after confirming that the "Ring of Usurpation" was operating normally—and that his strength was rising at high speed—Akuto immediately exchanged for the gold-tier "Succubus Bloodline" through the System.
…
"Hm?"
Because her output kept receiving no feedback, and her own mental state was starting to feel subtly off, Athena finally sensed that something was wrong.
By all logic, even a Campione's special constitution would be affected by a direct internal infusion of the "Kotodama of Contract."
Yet against Akuto, her power seemed utterly useless—disappearing completely inside him.
"Ngnh—!"
Because Athena was not the type to admit defeat, after hitting a wall, her choice was—
She released Akuto's hands and committed fully, launching another decisive close-range push.
This time, Athena used both hands to secure him more firmly, minimizing any gap and maximizing contact, determined to raise her output to the limit and force her power deeper.
"…"
Akuto fell silent for a beat, then accepted the goddess's even bolder, more assertive kiss.
He had to admit: he rather liked the feeling of being the one being overwhelmed.
A kiss where you hold the initiative was excellent, of course.
But a kiss where you yielded completely had a different kind of pull.
Still, as Athena became more intense and more absorbed, Akuto's own thoughts began to blur around the edges.
After all, Akuto's base strength had not yet broken through to the Super Maou tier, while Athena—even with an incomplete divinity—was still unquestionably a Super Maou-class existence.
If he did not rely on high-tier formulas or special methods to stimulate his body, then in a pure close-range struggle, Akuto would inevitably be at a disadvantage.
So Akuto decided to do something else—something that would keep him both alert and, frankly, more satisfied.
Thus, while Athena poured herself into the "Kotodama of Contract," Akuto's hands did not remain idle either.
One side was Athena, pushing her power to the brink.
The other side was Akuto, taking advantage with equal determination.
Their "battlefield" was Athena herself, and the contest became all-encompassing.
…
Athena's expression—usually calm to the point of indifference—finally showed a crack.
On one hand, she realized that no matter how violently she forced her power forward, she could not truly make it "take" inside Akuto.
On the other hand, she realized Akuto was not as simple as he looked.
During the kiss, he did indeed appear inexperienced, letting her control the rhythm from start to finish.
Yet the way he moved otherwise was far too practiced—clearly not the behavior of a novice.
Put together, the answer was obvious.
Akuto knew his own constitution was special. He knew what she was trying to do. And he had deliberately played along to accomplish his own goal.
"Tsk…"
Athena clicked her tongue in irritation—then immediately regretted it, because she forgot the state they were currently in, and forgot that she was no longer dealing with a "one-way" exchange.
In truth, up until now, Akuto had been absorbing Athena's power—swallowing it all down and refining it into his own.
Athena "taking" something from Akuto—this was the first time.
"Hm? This is…"
After drawing in a trace of Akuto's energy, a fleeting pink, heart-shaped glimmer seemed to flash in the depths of Athena's violet eyes.
It lasted only an instant before she suppressed it.
But even after suppressing it, Athena discovered something unsettling:
The more often she stayed in contact with Akuto, the more she wanted to draw in more of his power.
To stop herself from taking in any more—before she slipped into an even stranger state—Athena loosened her hands, intending to push him away.
Yet the moment she released him—
Akuto reached up, just as she had earlier, lifting her chin with one hand while steadying the back of her head with the other.
By rights, Athena's strength was far above Akuto's. The reason Akuto had been able to fend off her pressure was largely because he was leveraging the dragon vein.
But now Athena discovered—Akuto could actually contend with her head-on!
"Don't tell me… you absorbed my power?!"
Just as Athena said, Akuto's strength had already climbed another step—rising directly from Maou-class into Super Maou-class!
Clearly, her guess was correct.
Under normal circumstances, the System could only ensure Akuto would not be controlled by Athena's "Kotodama of Contract." It could not guarantee anything beyond that.
But inside Akuto, there was the "Ring of Usurpation."
So, under the condition that Athena had voluntarily poured her divinity into him, the Underworld divinity that should have been absorbed defensively by the System was instead seized in full by the Ring of Usurpation!
At this moment, fully half of Athena's divine power had been drained away—swallowed together with the goddess's lingering breath, refined, and transformed into Akuto's own strength!
…
It was precisely because Akuto realized he had stepped into Super Maou-class that he chose, late in the exchange, to purchase the "Succubus Bloodline (Gold)."
In the early phase, a Super Maou tier was already more than enough.
And it was precisely because Akuto had exchanged for the "Succubus Bloodline (Gold)" that Athena began to notice, toward the latter half, that she increasingly wanted more intimate contact with Akuto.
After all, a kiss was already an extremely close form of contact—one that rapidly increased "intimacy density."
With that chain of moves, Akuto had seemingly done nothing more than accept a goddess's kiss—
Yet he had obtained the kind of authority that only a true Campione should have been able to seize.
…
Realizing she had not only been taken advantage of, but had also had her power absorbed, Athena's anger surged.
The fragile thread of rationality that had been barely holding her back finally snapped.
"Bang—!"
A colossal serpent-like creature burst from the ground and slammed into the two of them, forcibly separating them from their clinging closeness.
Akuto had no intention of finalizing any "ultimate relationship" with Athena here and now, so he simply allowed her familiar to tear them apart.
The moment they separated, the System's prompt rang out inside Akuto's mind.
[Ding!]
[Ring of Usurpation activation successful!]
[Usurpation target: Heretic God Athena.]
[Congratulations, Host. Rewards acquired: Kotodama of Death; Ancient Night; Primordial Kotodama; Medusa's Evil Eye; Reaper's Scythe; Underworld Retainers; Earth Mother True Body; Arrow of Disease and Lifespan's End; Wall of Dark Ascent…]
Under the Ring of Usurpation's effect, Akuto not only raised his strength into Super Maou-class, but also obtained a large number of authorities belonging to Athena.
It could be said that Akuto could now proudly call himself "Little Athena"!
…
After separating from Akuto, Athena stood atop the great serpent, glaring at him with eyes full of fury.
"Despicable! To steal my authorities with such base methods!"
Athena truly had not expected Akuto could absorb her power—much less use that absorption to seize her authorities.
The thought that she had not been defeated in battle, and yet still had her authorities taken, filled her with humiliation and rage.
What did it mean to "lose the wife and the troops"?
This was exactly that.
Not only had she been kissed and patted for nothing, she had even had her authorities taken—moreover…
Even her original intent—"engrave the contract kotodama so Akuto must hand over the Gorgon Stone as promised"—had failed to be achieved!
Akuto licked his lips, savoring the lingering trace of Athena's fragrance, then shrugged with a smile.
"Despicable? On what grounds."
"Athena, I never told you to kiss me. And you only gave me a goddess's kiss because you wanted to take the opportunity to make me something you could control."
"Since you initiated it, what standing do you have to call me despicable?"
"And besides—aren't you the Wisdom Goddess? Now that someone has made the Wisdom Goddess fall into his trap, don't you think, as the Wisdom Goddess, you should reward him?"
"…"
Athena fell silent.
Akuto had indeed tricked her, but she had to admit—his words were not without logic.
"Hmph. Then take those authorities you 'stole' as my reward to you."
"The next time we meet, I will personally reclaim this humiliation!"
Athena did not pursue the matter further, only left him with a threat.
In truth, it was fortunate she had only lost power in the moment—her authorities themselves still existed. As long as she rested for a period of time, she could recover to normal.
Otherwise, if recovery had been impossible, she would have had no choice but to fight Akuto to the bitter end.
(End of Chapter)
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