"I thought you would run away." Dane looked at Anthea, a slight smile on his face.
But Anthea's demeanor was not so at ease; she tried to remain calm.
"Please believe us, we did not come for war."
"You're not very convincing like that."
Dane pointed around, indicating for her to look at the surrounding damage.
Anthea knew she was in the wrong, offered no defense, and simply apologized.
"If there's anything I can do to make amends for all of this, I'm willing to do it. Please forgive my sisters; they've just... been trapped for too long."
Then Anthea suddenly asked, "Is Mary... alright?"
What's going on? Did they become friends?
"You want to see her?"
"Can I?" Anthea asked cautiously.
Dane activated teleportation magic and brought her to Mary's location.
Mary was still fast asleep. The power of Sloth seemed to have activated the source of magic within her. Dane detected the rapidly increasing magical power within her.
However, Mary had not practiced mental secret arts; her magic was entirely converted from life force.
If left unchecked, she would likely be drained of life force by the runaway magic and die.
Fortunately, there was still a Witch, a master of witchcraft, here. She temporarily stabilized the situation within Mary's body.
Dane touched Mary's head with his finger, and divine power seeped into her forehead, helping her completely stabilize her life force and prevent its continued loss.
Although Anthea was the youngest among the Gods, she was not ignorant and could see Mary's condition, hence her heart was filled with guilt.
A few seconds later, Mary's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyelids slowly opened, revealing a confused expression.
"Where is this place... Shazam!"
One second she was confused, the next she saw Shazam standing beside her and couldn't help but exclaim.
Poor Anthea was almost ignored... "Mary, I have come to fulfill my promise." Dane gave her a gentle smile.
Mary felt so happy she was almost bubbling over. She had always thought her agreement with Shazam was just a dream, but she had also held onto a somewhat unrealistic fantasy, hoping that dream was real.
And now, the truth had finally become real as she wished, yet she felt a sense of unreality, as if in a dream.
She suddenly became anxious, wondering how she looked. Would she be ugly?
Several years had passed since their last meeting, and Mary had changed a lot; Westerners certainly seem to develop much faster.
This was more than just a girl maturing; I'd believe it if you said she was completely remade!
At this moment, Anthea had to clear her throat lightly to make her presence known, otherwise, she seriously doubted Mary might never notice her.
"Ah! It's Anthea!"
Hearing the sound, Mary finally noticed Anthea standing to the side. She was very embarrassed and quietly hid her face under the covers.
Her impression of Anthea had not changed because of her two sisters. She was very grateful that Anthea had stood up for her and resisted the Goddess's coercion at that time.
"Mary, I'm so sorry, none of this should have happened. We just hoped to restore the God Realm and didn't want to hurt anyone."
Mary still offered the same suggestion: "Shazam is here now, why don't you ask for his help?"
Anthea's expression became a little awkward; she couldn't very well say that Shazam had just beaten up her two sisters, could she?
"You said you want to restore the God Realm, how exactly do you plan to do it?" Dane asked at this point.
Anthea quickly replied, "We plan to replant the golden apple in the God Realm and then use divine power to stimulate its growth."
Dane frowned, "But the Tree of Life that grows this way will be deformed."
For divine objects like the Tree of Life, natural growth is best; artificial stimulation is most likely to produce malnourished things.
In the movie "Shazam! Fury of the Gods 2," it indeed grew up malnourished. Of course, a larger reason for its condition was acclimatization issues; the human World was not suitable for its growth, but excessive forced ripening was also one of the reasons.
Anthea explained, "Sister Hespera possesses the power of nature. As long as she can reclaim her divine power, she can use her own strength to cultivate a healthy Tree of Life."
"Although this tree cannot compare to the one in the golden apple sacred garden of the Old Gods era, it is already enough for us to live."
The entire Atlas Mountains now only had Three Goddesses; all the others were divine servants, so they wouldn't consume much divine energy.
The Tree of Life was highly anticipated by the Three Goddesses because it could synthesize divine energy suitable for Gods through photosynthesis and respiration, which could extend the lifespan of Gods and enhance their magic power.
Of course, this increase in power could not be compared to the flourishing period of ancient beliefs, but it was already the best option for the Three Goddesses at present.
It must be said that what Wizard Shazam did back then was a bit unethical; he almost completely stripped Atlas Mountains of all its Gods, leaving them with absolutely nothing useful.
No wonder Calypso and Hespera hated humans so much.
This hatred was all caused by Wizard Shazam.
Speaking of which, Dane suddenly remembered that the Old Wizard seemed to be imprisoned in the God Realm right now, didn't he?
So he asked Anthea, "Is the Wizard currently imprisoned in your God Realm?"
Anthea didn't understand how he knew, but she didn't hide it, nodding to confirm.
At this moment, the Witch's expression suddenly changed, and Dane's expression also subtly shifted.
This expression caught Mary's attention, and she quietly asked, "What's wrong?"
Dane merely gave Anthea a subtle smile: "Your sister is truly a remarkably audacious woman~"
While Dane intended to let Calypso cause trouble, it didn't mean he would allow her to mess around in his own home.
"I'll leave this to you." He instructed the Witch, and in a flash, he disappeared.
Anthea's heart sank, and she suddenly thought of something, but with her magic sealed, there was nothing she could do even if she wanted to.
Mary watched, bewildered, but she didn't say a word, merely scrutinizing the uniquely styled Witch up and down with her eyes.
This was someone who had never appeared in public, and Mary keenly sensed that her relationship with Shazam was not simple.
This made her heart tighten, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable... At the Rock of Eternity, Calypso sat atop Ladon's head, bursting into the Rock of Eternity through the interdimensional gate.
Ladon's enormous head completely tore the gate apart and was still pushing hard to get out, but before it could succeed, Dane, accompanied by lightning, landed in front of it, instantly catching Ladon's attention.
Ladon as a whole looked like a dragon formed by intertwined branches; every inch of its muscles seemed to be twisted from withered branches.
Only the blue light emanating from its facial features made it look like a living creature.
Dane looked at the messy surroundings, feeling somewhat speechless.
Did I not try hard enough just now, giving you some unrealistic fantasies?
Just one more dragon made you so arrogant?
"Shazam? You've come at just the right time!"
Calypso patted Ladon's big head, and Ladon roared towards the sky, intense blue light erupting from its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Both master and servant didn't seem very intelligent.
At this moment, a power of fear emanated from Ladon, attempting to invade Dane's mind.
See, aren't you teaching a fish to swim?
A yellow-green lantern ring flashed on Dane's right middle finger.
Parallax, connected to Dane's mind, also sensed the power of fear radiated by Ladon, and instantly became enraged!
The power of fear could only be commanded by one person!
Just as Ladon was still baring his fangs and showing off, the lantern ring in Dane's hand emitted a strong composite light, shining on Ladon's huge face.
You would never have imagined a dragon's face could contort into an expression of "terror."
Calypso was also within the range of the fear light. Both she and the "jealousy" within her had their inner fears ignited.
Calypso feared aging; before her eyes, an aged face, no different from Hespera's current appearance, had already emerged.
Her eyes were cloudy, her hair like chicken feathers, and she could even see age spots on her face.
She shrieked, her voice echoing throughout the entire Rock of Eternity.
"No—!"
Meanwhile, the "jealousy" within her saw another illusion, yet coincidentally, what it feared was merely a shadow of reality.
What it feared was Shazam himself! The man opposite, wreathed in lightning, at this very moment.
Ladon whimpered and retreated, his massive body instantly withdrawing into the God Realm, seeking to avoid the lantern ring's light.
Parallax, however, gorged itself on fear. This time, Dane didn't restrain him, so he absorbed it ferociously!
He nearly drained the life force of both "gods" dry!
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