"You... despicable!"
Athena knew perfectly well that after Akuto's strike landed, something strange had started happening to her body. When she looked at him again, a trace of yearning had crept into her gaze before she could stop it.
And that was obviously why he had chosen close combat from the very beginning.
"Despicable?" Akuto asked with a smile as he pressed forward again. "Athena, couldn't this just be my way of showing that I like you?"
The two of them traded blows as they spoke, fists and legs colliding in rapid succession.
"I already told you. If you like me, then confess to me first, and only then kiss..." Athena stopped halfway through, unable to finish.
"And only then kiss your toes, so you'll consider it... is that what you were going to say?" Akuto asked, grinning as he finished the sentence for her.
"Hmph! The part after that is unnecessary!" Athena was genuinely afraid he might do something even more outrageous.
"No, it's necessary. I'm the kind of man who keeps his word."
"No! It isn't! I think it would be perfectly fine if you weren't that kind of man!"
"Oh? So not keeping my word is acceptable? Then I guess the contract between us doesn't have to be honored either."
"What? A contract is a contract. Of course it has to be carried out."
"So in other words, you think my spoken promises can be ignored, but a contract must be enforced? That means you want me to be the kind of man who can only be trusted once a contract is signed?"
Athena fell silent.
She realized there was no point arguing with Akuto about this sort of thing. His skin was far thicker than hers, and she had, in fact, misspoken.
At the same time, Akuto also realized there was no point trying to win a verbal argument with Athena. With her habitual tsundere evasiveness, any attempt to prove her feelings from any angle would simply be dodged.
In that case, he might as well keep breaking through physically. Only while pushing her limits like this could words steadily wear down her bottom line.
So, with curious unspoken agreement, the two of them stopped talking and resumed their clash of bodies.
Akuto moved as smoothly as flowing water, without the slightest pause.
He twisted aside to evade the goddess's kick. His arm coiled like a serpent, slipping around Athena's defense, and as he brushed past her, his fingertips casually grazed the firm line of her waist.
The touch was cool and elastic. The exquisite feel of a goddess's skin traveled straight through his fingers.
Athena's body shuddered violently, as if struck by lightning. For an instant, disorder crept into her offense.
Akuto seized the opening, stepped in close, and drove a heavy knee into the upper part of her thigh.
It was not a lethal blow, but it was enough to make her leg buckle and destroy her balance, sending her toppling toward the ground.
Since Akuto was a gentleman, he naturally chose to offer the falling goddess a hand. Only, when he caught her descending body, he conveniently slipped an arm around her waist and lifted her upward.
The silky feel of her robe mixed with the sensation of her body, and Akuto found it thoroughly intoxicating.
"Hmph! I knew it!"
Athena's golden eyes practically blazed with shame and fury as she struggled to shove him away.
But Akuto's strength was like iron clamps, locking her firmly in his arms. The harder she struggled, the more it stirred that intoxicating sense of conquering a goddess within him.
"You... you've gone too far!" Overcome by the strange sensation coursing through her body, Athena did something she would never normally do.
She threw her arms around his shoulders and bit down on him.
Seeing that the goddess was truly getting flustered, Akuto decided not to push her too hard just yet. He loosened his grip and let Athena slip free of his restraint.
But that was only the beginning.
How could this possibly be enough? In Akuto's eyes, every part of Athena was perfect. How could he possibly focus on only one part of her?
Very soon, his attacks stopped being limited to decisive strikes. Instead, they turned into a dense storm of close-range contact, full of teasing provocation.
Fingers brushed across her ribs. A palm pressed against her waist and stomach. A forearm blocked while deliberately disturbing her balance at close range. Every touch landed with exacting precision on the goddess's most sensitive, most difficult-to-admit places, bringing her a strange mixture of pain and tingling heat.
As her contact with Akuto grew more frequent, Athena's breathing began to fall into disarray. The anger in her eyes slowly grew laced with something more hurried, more restless.
Her struggle shifted from full resistance to something weaker. Sometimes, after a particularly stimulating brush of contact, a sharp intake of breath would slip from her lips.
She had never experienced a battle like this.
Every inch of her divine body that he touched sent unfamiliar, dangerous signals racing to her mind.
Akuto sensed every change in her clearly. With a sudden burst of force, he pinned her fully against the cold ruins beneath them. His weight and strength completely suppressed her. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, close enough to feel each other's pounding heartbeat and feverish warmth.
Athena wanted to say something. Her violet eyes, dark as the night, glared up at Akuto from beneath him, filled with anger, humiliation, and a trace of confusion and wavering even she herself had not noticed.
Akuto did not give her the chance to speak.
He lowered his head and claimed the goddess Athena's captivating red lips in a forceful kiss.
"Mmph...!"
Athena's pupils shrank abruptly. She struggled violently in disbelief. But her arms were pinned down, her divine power sealed, and after the earlier close-quarters fight, most of her stamina had already been spent. All resistance was futile.
Her lips were cool and soft, carrying a faintly sweet, divine fragrance.
Akuto's kiss, on the other hand, was burning and invasive, brooking no refusal and no doubt. As the victor, he indulged himself freely in the sweetness that belonged to the goddess of victory.
At first, Athena resisted stubbornly. She kept her teeth clenched, trying to turn her head away, angry muffled sounds rising from her throat.
But Akuto had both refined skill and unshakable patience. Like savoring the rarest vintage, he chose first to let Athena's defenses soften before gradually tasting the wine itself.
And to make sure her resistance did not interrupt his progress, he used one more trick.
The spiritual power of the true Red Dragon Emperor billowed forth. In an instant, an aura beyond the Chief God class completely wrapped around Akuto's body.
[I...!]
[Awaken as the Two Heavenly Dragons who seize the principles of supremacy from the gods themselves...]
[Scorn infinity, and grieve for dreams...]
[I shall become the Red Dragon's Overlord, and sink you into the purgatory of crimson lotus flames!]
[Juggernaut Drive!]
Because he had already begun fusing with the Red Dragon Emperor's dragon soul, Akuto could now enter Juggernaut Drive without summoning the dragon armor.
Even without the armor, every aspect of his offense and defense in this state had already reached the Demigod Dragon level.
In terms of physical offense and defense alone, there was almost no difference between Akuto now and Akuto after fully summoning the Juggernaut armor. The only things missing were the flashy armor itself and a few abilities that could only be used while wearing it.
As for why he had entered Juggernaut Drive without calling forth the armor, the reason was simple.
Akuto did not have a habit of kissing people while wearing armor.
"Hm? This is..."
Athena, who had been slowly sinking into the kiss, was jolted awake by the sudden shift in his power.
"It's nothing," Akuto said as he lightly supported the back of her neck and tilted his head, savoring the goddess from a different angle. "I just used my real strength to make sure the goddess in my arms wouldn't break free."
Athena was the strongest woman Akuto had ever kissed.
And long before he had ever crossed into this world, he had already liked Athena very much.
Because of that, even Akuto found himself uncommonly absorbed.
A goddess's allure truly was extraordinary. When someone of roughly comparable power stood this close, even he could not remain unaffected.
"Hmph... really?" Athena murmured softly. "Then why does it feel to me as though you simply wanted to show me your strength, so that I would willingly become your partner?"
Even as she said that, however, her tightly shut teeth slowly relaxed.
That was her answer to him.
It was because she had acknowledged him that she allowed him to deepen the intimacy between them.
After absorbing Perseus's Authority, Akuto's strength had been impressive, but not enough to truly enter her eyes. It could be said that until he revealed the evolved Holy Spear, Athena had only regarded him as a promising collaborator, not as an equal.
Later, when Akuto drew the evolved spear and raised his power directly to the Demigod Dragon level, Athena gradually began to take him seriously. Even if it had been with the help of a weapon, he had undeniably gained strength comparable to that of her true body within her divine domain.
And then came now.
After entering Juggernaut Drive, even without a weapon, Akuto's power surpassed the Chief God class. With a weapon in hand, he even exceeded the strength of her true body within her own divine domain.
But the final blow, the one that settled everything, was the expression on his face as he kissed her: completely absorbed, completely enthralled.
When Athena saw how utterly captivated he was by her, the chill in her gaze gradually softened.
Perhaps it was because dragons and serpents had once been sacred creatures under her mother goddess. Something inside Athena, something that belonged not to the goddess but to the woman, something long dormant, was quietly awakened by the way Akuto was so plainly entranced by her charm.
This boy called Akuto was powerful, arrogant, and overbearing.
But he really did like her.
Women liked powerful, domineering men.
But they also liked the moments when a man let a softer side show.
Especially when that softness was shown only to them.
"You... do like me, don't you?" Athena asked at last.
"Of course," Akuto answered firmly. "Athena is the person I like most in this world."
A trace of understanding and helplessness crossed Athena's face.
Through his emotions, she could tell every word he said was true.
"It seems the only time you're willing to yield in front of me... is when you're taking advantage of me."
After saying that, Athena shot him a look, half annoyed and half resigned.
Then she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back of her own accord.
(End of Chapter)
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