Demeter stood frozen against the wall, as though every ounce of strength had been drained from her body.
Her fingertips had gone pale where they pressed against the stone.
The usual warmth and mischief had vanished from her amber eyes, replaced by a hollow confusion unlike anything Dio had ever seen from her.
She was a goddess.
She had lived for hundreds of millions of years and witnessed the births and deaths of countless mortals.
Demeter had believed there was nothing left in existence that could truly shock her, nothing capable of shaking a heart that had long since risen above ordinary mortal concerns.
Yet Dio’s casually spoken revelation had cut through everything she thought she understood.
Her world, the city she protected, the children she treasured, and even Demeter herself—could all of it truly be nothing more than a story written for the entertainment of people in some distant world?
The memories she cherished, the moments that had brought her joy and sorrow, and every day she had spent beside her Familia…
Were they merely lines of text and images arranged on a screen?
If that were true, then what meaning did her existence have?
Had every emotion she felt, every decision she made, and every bond she formed been predetermined by some unseen author?
Her fingers trembled.
Her breathing became rapid and uneven, and an unbearable pressure settled over her chest until she could barely draw air.
Then a hand suddenly reached out and pinched her cheek.
The touch was warm and undeniably real, delivered with an almost offensively casual lack of respect.
Demeter snapped back to her senses and found Dio’s infuriating face directly in front of her.
A wicked grin hung from his lips as he gently kneaded her cheek between his fingers as though it were soft dough.
“Goddess, did the truth break you?”
His tone was shamelessly playful, and the deliberate provocation in his eyes made it clear that he was trying to drag her away from those suffocating thoughts.
“If you’ve completely stopped functioning, perhaps you should let me take advantage of the opportunity while you’re still warm.
I’ve always wondered what a goddess tastes like.”
For a moment, Demeter could only stare at him.
Then anger erupted inside her, instantly scattering the confusion and fear that had consumed her.
This bastard was trying to take advantage of her at a time like this!
Her fist drove straight into Dio’s stomach.
“Gah!”
The blow was harder than any she had given him before, backed by the formidable physical strength she retained even with her divine power sealed.
Dio folded around her fist like a cooked shrimp and stumbled backward with both arms wrapped around his abdomen.
Cold sweat immediately broke across his forehead.
“Goddess, that one was too hard!”
His voice rose into a pained whine as he grimaced at her.
“I’m one of your children!
Is this how you treat your own Familia?
What happens if you break something?
Who’s going to take you to another world then?”
“That was your punishment for saying something so shameless!”
Demeter glared at him.
The light had returned to her amber eyes.
It was mixed with anger and embarrassment, but at least the painful emptiness from moments earlier was gone.
She drew a deep breath, as though trying to expel every chaotic thought from her chest at once.
Then she straightened her back and regained her usual composure and divine dignity.
Once she had truly calmed herself, however, a far more serious possibility entered her mind.
Her gaze sharpened as she watched Dio continue rubbing his stomach.
“You told me all of that without showing the slightest concern.”
Demeter’s voice became quiet and penetrating.
“Does that mean you can already leave this world?”
She had lived far too long to miss the implications.
Dio had casually revealed a secret capable of overturning everything she understood about reality.
He would never have done that if he still depended entirely on her or this world.
The fact that he dared to expose the truth suggested that he already possessed a way out.
“You tell me.”
Dio looked up with his usual irritating grin.
He did not answer directly, but his careless confidence made the words sound like the matter meant nothing at all.
Demeter’s heart sank.
She stared into his eyes, searching for some hint that he was bluffing.
There was none.
His gaze was clear and relaxed, without the slightest trace of guilt or hesitation.
He genuinely did not seem concerned.
Not about this world’s fate, not about how she might react, and not about whether she revealed his secrets.
Because he could leave whenever he wished.
The Dimensional Gate had likely become available again.
A crushing sense of helplessness settled over Demeter.
All her efforts now seemed like part of a ridiculous performance she had staged entirely for herself.
Dio was like a bird that had already found the open door of its cage.
He had simply remained perched inside, calmly watching someone outside exhaust herself trying to make him happy while he decided when to spread his wings and fly away.
“You still can’t leave, can you?”
Demeter suddenly spoke again, her tone now calm and analytical.
She gathered her thoughts, and the sharp perception of a goddess returned to her amber eyes.
“If you could truly leave whenever you wanted, there would have been no reason to tell me any of this.”
“You could simply wait until the Dimensional Gate opened, pass through it without warning, and disappear.
Why expose your secrets first?”
She stepped closer and fixed him with an intense stare.
“The fact that you chose to tell me means you still can’t leave—or at least that the gate hasn’t finished cooling down yet.”
“You’re preparing me in advance so I won’t be completely caught off guard when the time comes.
Am I wrong?”
The grin on Dio’s face stiffened.
It lasted for less than a second and would have been almost impossible to notice, but Demeter had been watching him too closely to miss it.
“I knew it.”
A pleased smile slowly appeared on her lips.
“You slippery little brat.
You nearly fooled me.”
Dio sighed and continued rubbing his aching stomach.
The false ease vanished from his face, replaced by helpless resignation.
“Fine.
There’s no hiding anything from you.”
He gave her a defeated look.
“The Dimensional Gate hasn’t completely finished cooling down yet.”