'Wait, I'm Supposed to Become a Goddess?! But I'm a Guy!'

The hall was still trembling from what had just happened. Large swath of dust falling off from the ceilings, the chandelier swayed and fell, and the chairs uprooted from the floor, their screws blown away under the impact.

...

Eerily quiet, not a single drop of noise, not even any sound of breathing was heard.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

Like a bunch of statues just petrified, seemingly to be under the curse of Medusa.

Their hearts were beating wildly still. If not for the City Lord's presence, these people would have stormed the door in seconds to escape.

And yet, despite being in such a state, everyone was restless, their heart were still shocked from the scene just now, it was deeply imprinted into the depth of their mind.

They recalled it vividly, the cold decree that shouldn't have come from a petite figure such as her, and their knees that voluntarily refused to obey their brain's pulses, kneeling down on the spot!

How horrible was it that with a single word, their bodies voluntarily obeyed an unknown being while outright refusing them!

Their hands gripped the nearest surface, chairs, clothes, anything to steady themselves.

It felt like they had just been born again, the ability to find balance was lost, the ability to talk was stripped away from their mouths, and the ability to think came to a halt at this very moment.

Their toes curled inside their shoes, their backs drenched in cold sweat.

Even the air felt heavier as if the lingering presence of that suffocating force still refused to fully leave.

They still remembered it vividly, like flashing pictures.

The eyes... They were red and bottomless.

When god gazes down onto the earth, the mortals suffer, mutate, and turn into monsters.

But of course, it was just a saying. No one truly witnessed or changed into one...

After all, it was a saying from the warp. It wouldn't be logical for such a thing to occur here, right?...

...

Among the many that had fallen to their knees. Adrian, too, had fallen to his knees under that terrifying pressure.

His breath was unsteady, his pupils trembling as he stared at the unconscious figure on the floor.

Then, a firm pat on his shoulder came from the side. He twisted his gaze, seeing his father on the side.

The dean stood firmly, though there was an unreadable expression on his face before a slow grin slowly spread across his lips.

"Boy…" His voice was calm, yet it was filled with something sharp. "This time, your luck has shot through the roof"

"It's a disaster and also a slowly darkening star!"

Adrian turned, his throat dry.

The dean’s eyes flickered from Adrian to Mize, lingering on her delicate, unconscious form.

But the pictures from moments ago still lingered. He took a deep breath and muttered deeply.

"Her strength by awakening alone could rival that of a tier 3 awakener! Her future is limitless! Especially her territory later!" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Get her into our family. No matter what, even if you have to cage her like a hostage, do anything to make sure she falls into our hand"

"And if she escapes into the warp, go and find her until the end of the earth!"

"Do you understand?"

Adrian clenched his fists, a bit reluctant in his eyes, but he nodded.

"Yes, Father."

After all, he had already decided on the same thing.

A special, gradeless profession was already rare enough, even in the bigger cities.

But this?

A Goddess path. Unknown divinity.

Even the title alone carried the weight that could shake the foundations of power on this planet.

After all, this path had always been a mystery among the countless other paths.

It wasn't that particularly rare to the extreme. Instead, there were still a lot of people with the same path as Mize even at the current time.

But all of them had always been the same. Unbounded and cannot be controlled no matter what.

Despite having affiliated themselves with certain forces, they weren't an entity that could be dictated freely.

No one knew the full extent of their strength, as, in the course of history, these people that bore the name under this path had always been mysterious and seldom took action.

Adrian stood, adjusting his expression. His eyes scanned the hall, gauging the atmosphere.

Now was the best time to act.

The rest of the onlookers clearly had the same thought.

Mize was completely vulnerable.

Unconscious.

Defenseless.

If they were the first to extend a hand, to show goodwill, they could gain her favor.

Some of the recruiters had already taken a step forward.

Even the City Lord himself seemed deep in thought.

But then.

BOOM.

The air split apart.

A sudden crack in space itself, as if the world had been torn open as the air screeched like a slowly warping mirror piece.

From beneath Mize’s own shadow, something emerged.

It wasn’t rushed.

It wasn’t sudden.

It flowed, twisting, shifting, moving like a liquid of darkness until it formed the shape of a tall figure.

A man.

A demon-looking man...

A freak yama Lord has appeared.

Dressed in flowing black, his cloak billowed in an unseen wind, his silhouette solidifying as he effortlessly caught Mize’s unconscious body in his arms.

His cold, piercing gaze swept across the stunned hall, taking in each and every expression.

Then, he smiled.

A soft, pleasant smile.

"Pardon me, everyone." His voice was smooth, almost casual.

"But I’ll be taking my wife home before anything unsightly happens here"

The moment the word wife left his lips, several people flinched.

Liam adjusted Mize in his hold, cradling her carefully. His smile deepened, but his next words sent a chill through every soul present.

"After all…" His tone remained light as if he were discussing the weather.

"I’m not really in the mood to slaughter an entire city today"

Drip.

Like a single drop of water disturbing a still lake, the energy in the room trembled.

It wasn’t an outward explosion of power.

It wasn’t loud, wasn’t violent.

It was subtle.

A barely-there ripple that carried a horrifying implication.

The closest one to him, the City Lord himself, was the first to react.

His shoulders tensed, his expression unreadabletensneath his cloak, before he raised both hands slightly in a measured, non-threatening gesture.

His voice remained calm.

"It seems…" He exhaled, his posture shifting ever so slightly. "That there’s been a misunderstanding, good friend. You may take her away. Please. We have no intention of creating trouble"

There was no arrogance in his tone, though his eyes were subtly taking sharp glances under Liam's feet, 'so many? It seems to be a very rare summoner profession,' he swallowed, his iris trembling, 'And there seem to be ten of thousands? Hundred thousand? What utter monster!'

No condescension.

Just pure survival instinct.

It wasn't that he was afraid, but there consequences of their battle here might cause countless other unwanted casualties.

And from the look of it, there might be a small chance of him escaping if things turned sour.

Liam chuckled, his gaze unreadable.

"Of course"

His voice was warm, yet the hall still felt cold.

From the sidelines, Ailin’s hands were clasped tightly before her chest.

She hadn’t dared to move this entire time, watching everything unfold with sheer tension.

'Please, Mimi… be safe'

'We will meet again'

Her heart pounded painfully in her chest.

Liam took a slow step forward, his shadow curling unnaturally around his feet.

But just before leaving, he suddenly paused.

His head tilted ever so slightly, his gaze drifting to the VIP seating area.

More specifically, to a certain father and son pair.

Adrian’s fingers twitched. His father, the proud and towering dean, remained still.

Liam smiled.

But this time, it didn’t reach his eyes.

"As for you two…"

A slow, deliberate pause.

His voice lowered.

"Don’t cross a line you’re not meant to."

A step forward.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

"Or else…" His voice softened further, almost a whisper.

"I will annihilate your whole family"

A breath.

Then.

Laughter.

A deep, booming laugh erupted from the dean as he stepped forward, his powerful frame exuding confidence.

"Bwahaha! Boy!" His voice carried through the hall, his tone unbothered.

His sharp gaze flickered toward Liam’s feet, taking note of the numerous shifting figures hidden within his shadow.

"Don’t get too full of yourself just because you’ve got a lot of numbers!" His grin widened, teeth flashing.

It was a clear taunt. A challenge.

But Liam?

He merely scoffed.

"Whatever."

And with that.

He vanished.

Leaving behind only silence.

And an entire hall of people too stunned to even breathe.

-----

-----

-----

Mize stirred, his body shifting slightly beneath the soft sheets.

His fingers twitched, the lingering haze of sleep making his limbs feel heavy and sluggish.

For a moment, he simply existed in that half-dreaming state, the quiet hum of the room pressing gently around him.

His lashes fluttered.

Then, slowly, his eyes cracked open.

A soft glow of morning light seeped in from the window, casting long streaks across the familiar walls.

His vision blurred for a moment before sharpening, revealing the familiar sight of his bedroom.

“My house…?” he murmured, voice hoarse, the remnants of sleep still clinging to his throat.

One hand lifted lazily to his forehead, fingers rubbing at his temple as a dull ache pulsed behind his skull.

It wasn’t painful, just… disorienting. Like his body was adjusting to something new.

He shifted, nudging his shoulder against the pillow before turning over completely.

The silk of his dress slid effortlessly against his skin, the fabric still neat, untouched, exactly as it had been before he lost consciousness.

No wrinkles. No rips. Not even a speck of dust.

Liam.

“Did he carry me here after the ceremony?”

His voice was barely above a whisper as he pushed himself upright, the cool air of the room brushing against his exposed skin.

His feet slid over the edge of the bed, toes curling slightly as they made contact with the polished floorboards.

He sat there for a moment, breathing in the quiet.

It felt… surreal.

Because he remembered everything.

From the very beginning to the end of the ceremony, he had been fully aware.

Even when the so-called awakening process took place, when the strange power surged through his body, making the entire hall suffocate under his presence, it was all him.

Not instinct.

Not unconscious control.

It was deliberate.

He had been… playing.

'And it was quite fun too' Mize grinned inwardly, standing up from the bed as he stretched slightly.

His steps carried him toward the bathroom, slow, deliberate, his fingers brushing through his long hair as he absently recalled the sensation from before.

It was like an almost endless energy cruising through his vein. But he himself knew the truth that it was just an illusion of power.

But still...

Raw.

Overwhelming.

Unstoppable.

"It was as if, with every gesture, I could cause immense destruction to the world"

"For the mortals to obey me"

He wasn’t exaggerating.

At that moment, he had felt it.

A vast, boundless strength.

It wasn't just power.

It was dominance of a higher being.

His very existence could bent reality around him with words alone.

Not because of force, but because of something far more terrifying, innate superiority, the level of lifeform in that state was something beyond what the human race was currently sitting on.

Mize sighed, reaching for the sink as he turned on the water.

His reflection flickered in the mirror, and for a brief moment, he swore he saw it, his own eyes gleaming with that same unsettling radiance.

"System," he called out, letting the cool water run over his fingers.

[Yes, Host?]

He rubbed his face, blinking, still lingering in his bones.

"That power back there... was that the so-called adjustment you made for me?"

A slight pause.

Then, the mechanical voice responded.

[Yes, Host. The Path of a Goddess is an extremely rare profession, but not entirely unheard of in the history of mankind. Due to the scale of the population, similar professions have existed in the past. As such, the Host will not stand out too much]

[And the divinity follows the host current and ultimate goal. The path of the Goddess, Beauty Divinity]

Mize stared at his reflection for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly.

Not stand out too much?

He wasn’t sure if that was comforting… or a warning.