Chapter 416: Bait for the Group
So she just obtained Divine Authority like that?
Liliana wondered if she was dreaming and pinched herself. It didn't seem to hurt much—
"Owwww!"
She couldn't help but cry out in pain, glaring furiously at the blonde demon before her.
"What are you doing?"
"I saw you weren't pinching hard enough, so I helped. This way you won't think you're dreaming, Lili"
Erica's seemingly kind gesture earned her a look from Liliana that clearly wished she could strangle her.
Now with Lili joining them, Erica felt somewhat more at ease.
Truthfully, she still felt a bit of unease inside, but having dragged her close friend along made her feel more secure, like having someone to share the burden when doing something wrong.
Well, she really was quite mischievous.
"By the way, who is that child?"
Liliana had been curious from the start about the silver-haired girl who looked about twelve or thirteen years old.
While she was being contracted and granted Authority, this young girl had been sitting nearby, elegantly sipping tea.
So, was she one of the contractors too?
"But if she were also a 15th-level contractor, she should have been able to sense the other party to some extent. Unfortunately, there was no sensation at all—the other party appeared to be just an ordinary little human girl."
"This child? Little sister Athena~"
Erica said this playfully, earning a sharp glare from the silver-haired young girl.
At present, this sealed goddess didn't even need to be tied up—she wouldn't run away anyway.
After all, the current Athena was practically no different from a human little girl. How far could she possibly run in this state?
End up wandering the streets outside?
Moreover, she would get hungry too. Although she was a Heretic God and couldn't starve to death, the sensation of hunger would surely be unbearable.
Furthermore, if some pervert were to target her by accident, she would be left with nothing but tears of regret.
Though, come to think of it, in a certain sense, the current Athena had already been targeted by a certain pervert, which was why she ended up in this state.
"Huh? Little sister Athena?"
Did Erica have such a relative as a little sister? And even named Athena? That's really—
Uh—!
It couldn't be that Athena, could it?
After all, the performance of one of the Heretic Gods that night was so obvious that Liliana had naturally recognized her.
Had that Athena been slain by him, only to be imprisoned and transformed into this young girl form?
Speaking of which, since ancient times, male gods in mythology have also enjoyed conquering Earth Mother Goddesses, taking them as their companions.
So, was this why Athena hadn't been sent back to the myths?
This truly caused Liliana's image of that great goddess in her heart to plummet yet another notch.
"Do not address me so casually!"
"Ah, sorry!"
"Apologize for what, Lili? Right now, she's nothing more than a little girl."
"Hmph!"
Athena snorted coldly and didn't wish to say anything more.
Just wait—once she managed to break free, she would make sure to teach each of them a proper lesson.
So, she once again cast a frosty gaze toward the figure sitting not far away, who was currently reading some documents.
As if sensing her stare, he looked up and met her eyes with a smile, causing Athena to sulk and turn her face away.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw him approaching and furrowed her brows.
"Do you know this?"
He asked her, holding up a photograph.
"I don't."
She truly didn't recognize it, but what was that monster in the photo?
"By the way, what is this? And it's been dismembered?"
This was Erica, who had also come over to take a look.
The document in his hands was obtained by Lucretia from Princess Alice, who claimed to have captured a very peculiar monster.
As for what exactly it was, Erica wasn't sure either.
She and Lily had gone to visit the princess at noon, but since the princess was unavailable to receive guests, the two of them left.
Afterward, they had a confrontation, and then Lily was tricked into coming over.
"A monster from another world."
"Huh? This is a monster from another world?"
Earlier, Lucretia had asked for her cooperation, using her as bait to alert the princess's people so that Lucretia could investigate the matter of the other world more deeply.
Unfortunately, Athena arrived too quickly, and the plan fell through.
"Isn't it something like a Heretic Beast?"
Liliana, who had also come over, was equally astonished.
But upon closer inspection, if it were a Heretic Beast, it wouldn't be possible for its body to be dismembered like this and still remain intact, right?
"So how did this thing get here?"
This was a serious issue, so Erica's expression grew a bit more severe.
"As for that, it's related to Lady Aisha."
A faint voice came from the staircase nearby, where a seductive witch seemed to have regained much of her strength and was now descending.
At this moment, she gave Erica the impression of being even more enchanting and mature, exuding a stronger feminine charm.
This was likely a change after having tasted the forbidden fruit.
"Lady Aisha? Uh, did she open a passage to another world?"
Liliana's voice rose slightly, tinged with panic.
Among the Campiones, this lady was one of the more mysterious ones and also a Satan prone to causing major trouble.
Who would have thought she'd stir up such a huge problem this time!
No wonder when they went to the princess's place today, they saw many high-ranking figures from various associations gathered there, along with two Campiones in the mansion.
Clearly, the situation was extremely serious!
"What? I understand."
This was Erica answering a phone call, and the news on the other end left her somewhat stunned as well.
After hanging up, she spoke softly to the person she served.
"The Far Eastern island nation is preparing to reopen the Western Heavenly Palace."
"Reopen the Western Heavenly Palace?"
Liliana, who also understood the implications, was equally taken aback.
It was said that a deity was enshrined there—unlike the Heretic Gods who ran amok, this one protected people.
The reopening, of course, wasn't for tourism like a scenic spot.
It was to summon the enshrined deity to deal with something, which meant certain rituals were about to take place.
"This is suspicious."
Because the information seemed to have been obtained a bit too easily, as if the other side intentionally leaked it to lure something out, Erica found it highly suspicious.
"This is probably meant to lure us over."
The one who answered was Lucretia.
Earlier, when she returned the Prometheus Secret Art, she learned that they intended to create a Campione for the Far Eastern island nation.
Unfortunately, the plan was disrupted due to his appearance.
Then, she and Erica had also clashed with two Campiones, which would surely shock the other side and possibly lead them to connect it to Pandora.
And Pandora must have also made some deal with the people of the Far East, so she too became aware of the existence of a Campione who did not belong to her side.
Thus, this leak of information might very well be bait.
To lure out those from her side...