As he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a pretty young girl with childlike features.
No, rather than beautiful, it would be better to describe her as cute. With a childish face and petite figure, she wore a thin white dress, her purple twin-tails tied with white ribbons, falling on both sides with an inexplicable allure.
Despite her youthful appearance, this girl had more "womanly charm" than any similar-looking person Adam had ever known — even Hestia with her magnificent bosom couldn't compare.
He was currently lying on his back, his head cradled in her arms. Inhaling the fresh scent emanating from her body, he didn't get up but instead lazily stretched.
"Oh… are you awake?" The girl cradled his head, greeting him with a gentle smile, "Good morning, my lovely child."
"Mm, good morning."
Adam wouldn't be fooled by her appearance. Even half-conscious, he hadn't forgotten how she had manipulated Ra with ease.
She was a dangerous woman, despite her childlike appearance.
Although he had raised his guard internally, he showed no change on the surface, continuing to chat and laugh with her.
But... what was this feeling of closeness in his heart?
"What a mysterious child you are... do you rely on your mother this much? How does it feel to lie in mother's arms?" The girl maintained her cheerful tone, finding his reaction intriguing.
Adam gave her a thumbs up and said, "Mm, it feels great! By the way, mom is..."
"Mom is just mom, as The Fool, as the mother of you who slew a God."
"...I don't think I have a mother with this kind of figure."
Already lying on his back, his gaze climbed up from her abdomen, and after passing a steep cliff, there was her beautiful face, without any obstruction.
"My goodness~ What are you thinking, you naughty child." The girl covered herself, while lightly tapping Adam's forehead with her finger. She seemed a bit angry as she said, "Has your personality been affected? You seemed so mature earlier — why are you being so frivolous now?"
"Ah, what if I said this is my true nature, what would you do then?"
"Then as your mother, I would naturally have to correct you."
"Haha, then I'd be in trouble."
He was just playing along.
When dealing with this type of woman, the wisest choice was to follow her pace, joining her game of misdirection to confuse the true objective.
They were both skilled at this verbal sparring.
"So... where is this place?" Adam wanted to get up but was held down by the girl, so he had no choice but to ask, "First I'm fighting for my life against someone claiming to be a God, then I mysteriously appear here, and suddenly I have a 'mom'... honestly, I'm confused. It would be great if 'mom' could explain things to me."
"Of course, of course, for my lovely child, mom will grant your request!" Pandora raised both hands high, saying cheerfully, "Because you who slew Ra are The Fool, and I, Pandora, am the mother of all Fools, you are my child. Explanation complete!"
"...You haven't explained anything at all!" Adam sighed and held his forehead.
As expected of a Witch, she excelled at confusing people with her chatter.
"Eh? You didn't understand? Then let mom explain again." Pandora lightly touched her lips, feigning coyness as she said, "The middle-aged man you fought was a God, a Heretic God. Because you fought with your life on the line and successfully slew him, you are now a Campione... Congratulations on becoming one of only 7 people in the world! How wonderful!"
"Campione?!"
"Oh my? You know about it?"
"...Well, sort of." Adam let out a long breath.
Although he knew about this, his knowledge came from a different source, and Pandora clearly misunderstood.
This Campione, though its name resembled a certain clothing brand, was actually something entirely different.
Godslayer!
These were humans who could slay Gods through sheer luck or coincidence. By risking their lives in battle, they earned tremendous rewards.
The Authority of Gods!
The Gods of mythology, after escaping from their myths, became Heretic Gods who brought suffering to earth by violating the very mythology that created them.
Yet among humans, there were always fortunate individuals who, by chance, successfully slew a God to save the earth.
Through the Circle of Usurpation, these individuals would then obtain the God's immense Magical Power and Authority!
"So, I'm now a Campione too...?" He clenched his fist in disbelief, finding it incredible that he had become a Campione by mere chance.
"Yes—! Indeed a new Campione! Congratulations, my dear child!" Gently cradling his face, Pandora offered sincere blessings to her newborn child.
"So, the God I slew was the Sun God Ra?"
"No, no, no, that's not quite accurate." Refuting his words, Pandora explained, "That great one wasn't simply a Sun God, but a Creator God. With his different Divine Attribute, he possessed more unique aspects. However, the fact that you could slay him really surprised me!"
With her coquettish and cute appearance, she wagged her finger with her nose held high, looking quite proud.
Seeing her like this, it was hard to tell who had actually hunted down the God. Or perhaps she was simply proud as a mother of how outstanding her child was?
What a strange woman.
"Though you say that, in reality, you were pulling strings behind the scenes, weren't you?" Adam asked, "In the final moment, I heard Ra's angry roar, and while I was half-conscious earlier, I heard quite a bit of your conversation."
"...Is that so, you found out. But I only gave you a little help at the end, I didn't get too involved! Being able to hunt down that exceptional Creator God was all your effort."
After being exposed, Pandora showed no embarrassment.
Instead, she behaved like a proud mother, enthusiastically encouraging her child. It was as if she wanted to help him regain his confidence.
Unfortunately, had Adam not overheard the conversation between the two afterward, he might have believed her.
"That Creator God, why did he want to escape?"
"...Eh?"
"When I was fighting him, he said he was tired of being Heretic, that he wanted to escape the constraints of mythology. Why?"
"Well... how should I put it... um..." Pandora's pretty face twisted in a peculiar way.
She spoke ambiguously, trying to change the subject, clearly reluctant to tell him.
But Adam already knew why. He didn't press further and instead changed to another question.
"Then... what about you?"
"What?"
"Even Creator God Ra wanted to escape mythology, to get rid of the inconvenience of being a Heretic God. What about you? What are your true thoughts?" Adam looked directly at her.
Pandora fell silent.
She was a Witch, a pitiful person placed here by the Gods to conduct the Circle of Usurpation for mortals who successfully slew Heretic Gods.
From ancient times, as a mother, she had witnessed too many of her children killed by Gods of Steel, only for new children to be born through her.
Here (Netherworld), she had always been alone.
Wanting to leave!
Wanting to go out!
Wanting freedom!
✧✧✧
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