Chapter 100: Ch 99: Goddess Paphelia’s loss

Aiden walked toward Goddess Paphelia’s temple with Goddess Apophis’s hand on his shoulder. It looked like a sweet and possessive gesture at first, but only Aiden knew what it actually was.

It was a warning for Aiden not to try and run away from her again.

’My goddess is so possessive. She is telling me that she is going to kill me if I try to run away again. Not that I ran away in the first place. But still...’

Aiden was fine with this arrangement.

Most people would feel suffocated under such constant pressure, but not Aiden. In fact, he was exactly where he wanted to be.

The villagers looked at him and his goddess with an air of awe. Even they could sense Goddess Apophis’s divine aura as she walked after Aiden. And their instincts warned them not to approach the goddess unless she asked for them.

But Goddess Apophis did not spare anyone a single glance until they reached the main temple. And then Aiden threw the door open, allowing his goddess to enter.

It was at this point that Aeloria’s mind caught up with what was happening, and she threw herself in front of Aiden and Goddess Apophis to stop them.

"Please wait here. I am afraid I cannot allow you to step your foot any further than here. It is Goddess Paphelia’s sacred domain and I-"

"Step aside. I will not say this again. I am already furious after what happened. Do you think I am going to take it lying down? Step aside-"

"I will not."

sigh

"Then I will just walk past you-"

"I will not allow this."

Aeloria threw herself on top of Goddess Apophis’s legs in order to hold the goddess back. It was foolish of her to think this would work, and as expected, Goddess Apophis was getting annoyed by this as well.

"Let go of me..."

Goddess Apophis warned Aeloria, who did not let go. Her grip remained tight, and her desperation shone in her eyes.

"I will not let you harass my goddess. I will stand as a shield-"

Goddess Apophis was losing her patience with Aeloria, and she ended up smashing her in the stomach.

And yet, Aeloria did not let go.

"I...will...not...let...you...harm...*cough*"

Goddess Apophis had hit Aeloria hard enough to make her cough blood, and yet, the female priestess refused to give up.

She was not as devoted to her goddess as Aiden was, but her devotion was commendable.

’Unfortunately, she chose to serve the wrong goddess. It would have been better for her had she chosen Goddess Apophis.’

After all, Goddess Apophis had come here for Aiden specifically when she could choose to ignore him. But Goddess Paphelia was nowhere to be seen.

"Goddess Apophis, maybe we should let her go-"

"Let her go? No way. She had an equal hand in kidnapping you from my domain, so she needs to be punished as well. Do you want to object to this?"

Goddess Apophis asked, and Aiden immediately took his suggestion back.

"I have no objections. Your will is my will."

He assured the goddess, and she nodded before turning toward Aeloria once more.

"Now then, shall we continue where we left off?"

Goddess Apophis asked, but Aeloria did not speak. She was too busy keeping herself alive and looking up. But it was too hard to do under all this pressure she was under.

"I will give you one chance to redeem yourself. Come and serve me. If you do, then I will spare your life-"

"What about my goddess?"

Aeloria asked, turning the attention toward saving Goddess Paphelia first.

Unfortunately, Goddess Apophis was not in a forgiving mood.

"That insolent wretch will have to pay for what she did. Not only did she break my barrier and throw demons in there, but she also took Aiden. That is an offense punishable by death. She forfeited any claim to her life when she did that."

Aiden was flattered by his goddess’s anger, but Aeloria looked even more determined and kept a hold on Goddess Apophis’s legs.

"In that case, I cannot allow you to head any further. I will only allow you entry after I am dead. But if you harm my Goddess, my curse will follow you for life-"

"This is enough, Aeloria. You can stand down now. I no longer have any desire to see you begging like this."

Goddess Paphelia finally came out of her chambers, and maybe it was Aiden’s delusion, but she looked far younger than usual.

She also looked shorter, and Aiden’s instincts told him that this had something to do with her powers being drained out after losing her followers.

"Goddess Paphelia, please head inside. No, please run! It is not safe for you to be here."

Aeloria tried to protect her goddess, but it was of no use. Her goddess had already stepped outside and was facing Goddess Apophis now.

"You took Aiden away from me-"

"I did. And so what? Are you going to kill me? But remember, once you end my life, it will be up to you to ensure my followers are alright. The conflict of gods should remain and end with the gods."

Goddess Paphelia sounded like she had matured all of a sudden. She was talking about a god’s duty and responsibility, among other things.

Aiden felt impressed but sad at the same time for her.

But Goddess Apophis had no intention of letting things remain as Goddess Paphelia wanted.

Goddess Apophis stepped forward, and the atmosphere around her seemed to become heavier.

"You speak as if you have already accepted your death. Do you think you will die so easily?"

Goddess Paphelia smiled bitterly.

"I have. I lost almost all of my followers and most of my divine power. I am no longer the goddess I used to be. Soon, I will disappear as well. Isn’t that what you would call a perfect death."

Aiden remained silent as he watched the two goddesses face each other.

"But that does not mean I will apologize for what I did."