"Freya!"
The blurred scene before her gradually came into focus, revealing a figure Ishtar least wished to see.
In that instant, countless emotions surfaced across her face.
Jealousy. Shock. Fear...
The goddess instinctively tried to step back, but the cold wall behind her blocked any retreat.
"Ishtar, it has been a long time since we spoke face to face like this."
Whenever Freya appeared somewhere, Ishtar would always avoid her from afar, rarely appearing on the same stage. Even when they did meet, Ishtar would remain silent.
Because whenever the two goddesses of beauty stood together, most gazes would inevitably be stolen by one of them.
And that one was always Freya.
They had finally met again at the banquet hosted by the Ganesha Familia, yet there had been almost no exchange between them.
No matter how hard Ishtar tried, she could never steal the crowd's attention away from Freya.
Why are you more eye-catching than me?
Why do you stand at the pinnacle of Orario?
Ishtar envied everything Freya possessed. That was why she had resolved to cooperate with Evilus, hoping to overthrow her.
Yet no one could have imagined that before Ishtar's plan even began, the Pleasure Quarter—her stronghold—would suffer such an assault.
At first, Ishtar could not guess who was responsible.
But now that Freya herself stood before her, the culprit could only be her.
Just as Ishtar had always regarded Freya as a thorn in her side, she believed that someone who shared the same authority as herself must also be Freya's enemy.
"You did all of this, didn't you, Freya?!"
Ishtar shrieked hysterically, as if every misfortune she had endured over the years had been caused by the woman before her.
Freya tilted her head slightly and glanced at Elise, who had yet to fully reveal her form beside her. Then she smiled softly.
"Yes... and no."
"I did participate in this plan, but only in the final step."
"Sending you back to Heaven—that is my task. Everything else has nothing to do with me. What you wished to do never concerned me in the slightest."
"But this time... you truly provoked someone you should not have. Even I am a little angry."
"Your task...?"
Ishtar froze.
Freya's tone made it sound as though someone had assigned her a duty—and that she was even enjoying it.
Impossible.
This was Freya.
Who could possibly speak to her from a superior position?
Ishtar envied Freya, yet she also had to admit that Freya truly stood at the very top of Orario. Otherwise, she would not have been so fearful.
From another perspective, was she not, in a way, one of Freya's admirers?
"What do you mean by that, Freya?" Ishtar was furious, but not yet blinded by rage.
"Was I not your thorn in the side?" she screamed, no longer caring about appearances, voicing the doubt that had long festered in her heart.
Freya's reaction, however, shattered her completely.
"Hm?"
The silver-haired goddess covered her mouth lightly with one hand, looking at Ishtar in apparent surprise.
"So that's what you thought, Ishtar."
"How unfortunate. You were never worth my attention."
Freya continued to smile gently, unaware—or perhaps fully aware—of how devastating those words were.
"Even this plan was not proposed by me. I am merely helping someone I like."
"How can this be..."
Ishtar collapsed to the ground weakly.
The one you had always regarded as your mortal enemy never even bothered to look at you properly.
How crushing must that be?
"That is enough reminiscing. It is time to act, Lady Freya."
The cold voice from the side sounded like a final verdict.
Ishtar turned toward it with hatred blazing in her eyes.
Though the figure before her was still obscured by mosaic-like distortion, a goddess did not judge others by appearance alone.
As a goddess of beauty herself, even if she was not as extraordinary as Freya, Ishtar could still glimpse parts of a soul.
It looked familiar.
Every soul was unique, yet some were unmistakable.
And the soul concealed beneath those layers of mist...
Had she not seen it at the banquet earlier?
"You are... Elise?"
Ishtar stared in disbelief as the golden figure gradually revealed her true form.
She had never expected Elise to be involved as well.
"Then does that mean... Astraea too?"
Only now did Ishtar begin to understand the chain of events.
So you were the root of all this.
"No. It has nothing to do with Lady Astraea. This was entirely my doing."
"The time has come, Lady Freya."
After speaking, Elise gave Freya a slight nod.
The meaning was clear.
It was time.
"Very well, very well. I truly cannot refuse you."
Freya laughed softly and slowly approached the trembling Ishtar.
"Wait, Freya! I swear I will never do such things again. Just let me go this once!"
"I will never seek revenge! Even if you wipe out my entire Familia, it does not matter... just spare my life! I do not want to be sent back to Heaven. I beg you!"
Ishtar's pleas stirred no reaction.
Seeing Freya draw closer, she clenched her teeth and turned desperately toward Elise.
"Elise, spare me! I can offer compensation. Please, make Freya stop!"
"I will do anything!"
"Lady Freya!"
As though Ishtar's words had piqued her interest, Elise suddenly called out, causing Freya to pause.
Joy flickered across Ishtar's face.
"Is something the matter, Elise?"
Freya turned back, curious about her reaction.
"When you strike... please make it hurt."
Not a single word Ishtar had spoken was believable to Elise. Leaving her alive would only invite disaster.
Freya's earlier words had already shattered Ishtar's spirit.
Now it was her body that would follow.
Buzz—
A terrifying surge of energy erupted from the center of the alley, spreading outward across the entire city.
Before the stunned gazes of countless mortals and gods, a colossal pillar of light shot into Heaven with a thunderous roar, illuminating the sky as though it had been split apart.
Orario...
No—the entire world understood what such a sight meant.
It was...
The return of a god to Heaven.