The absolute pressure radiating from Natsu Dragneel’s eyes subsided as quickly as it had appeared.
His terrifying vertical pupils slowly rounded out, returning to the ordinary dark eyes of a seemingly normal young man.
He averted his gaze from Aphrodite, breaking the eye contact that had frozen the goddess, and swept his gaze across the market square.
Only then did Natsu truly realize the scale of what had just happened.
Around him, hundreds of people—from vegetable vendors and blacksmiths to fully armed adventurers—were still kneeling on the cobblestone ground.
Their faces were turned upward with blank stares, adorned by a pinkish glow.
They muttered incoherently, praising Aphrodite’s name as if the goddess were their sole reason for breathing.
Natsu pinched his nose again, fanning the air in front of his face with a disgusted expression.
“So that’s how it is,” the young man muttered, nodding in understanding.
“That blonde goddess used her Divine Charm on everyone here, huh?
No wonder the smell is so overwhelmingly pungent, like a whole bottle of perfume was spilled.”
Before him, Aphrodite gasped.
The release of Natsu’s predatory pressure allowed the goddess to breathe again, though her heart was still beating at a wild rhythm.
Her petite hands trembled.
Realizing that her charm meant absolutely nothing to Natsu, compounded by the turmoil of unfamiliar emotions flooding her chest, Aphrodite subconsciously withdrew the power of her Charm.
The wave of golden-pink energy blanketing the market evaporated into the air.
The intoxicatingly sweet aroma instantly faded, replaced once again by the familiar scent of sweat and dust typical of Preblica.
As soon as the divine charm was withdrawn, the effects were immediate.
The hundreds of people who had been kneeling began blinking in confusion.
The pink glow in their eyes vanished.
A collective groan echoed as the adventurers and merchants regained their senses, clutching their aching heads, having absolutely no memory of why they were suddenly kneeling in the middle of the street.
Rethusa, the captain of the Artemis Familia, gasped sharply.
She immediately sprang to her feet, realizing her mind had just been manipulated so easily.
On the other hand, Harmonia also snapped back to reality.
The diva-like girl held onto the tiara on her head, steadying her swaying body.
However, the greatest shock did not come from those affected by the charm, but from the one who had resisted it from the very beginning.
Artemis stood not far away, her clear green eyes staring at Natsu without blinking.
As a virgin goddess, she possessed absolute immunity to Aphrodite’s charm.
Because of that, she could see everything with absolute clarity.
She saw how the incredibly dense and powerful Charm crashed into Natsu, and she saw how the young man brushed it off as if it were nothing but a passing breeze.
This is impossible, Artemis’s mind churned violently.
There is no ordinary human in all of Gekai who could withstand the pure charm of the Goddess of Beauty without high-level magical protection or the intervention of another god.
Just who exactly is this boy?
Seeing the anomaly standing casually before her, Artemis was forced to tear down all her initial assumptions.
Her mind began to piece together the facts.
If this young man possessed the mental fortitude or the sheer existence capable of rejecting divine authority, then his words could not be so easily dismissed.
The warning about the Elsos Ruins.
The fact that Antares had awakened.
The prediction of her entire Familia being massacred.
Artemis bit her lower lip.
Her stubborn nature as a hunter fiercely battled her sense of responsibility as a goddess to her children.
She looked at Rethusa, who was now standing beside her panting, and imagined her loyal warrior being torn to shreds by the ancient scorpion monster.
A sudden chill crept down the goddess’s spine.
The young man was right.
If Antares had truly broken free from its seal, taking her Familia to Elsos now would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths.
Artemis let out a long sigh, closing her eyes for a moment to calm her divine ego.
When she opened them again, her decision had been made.
“Rethusa,” Artemis called out in a much calmer tone, yet one that radiated absolute authority.
The captain immediately turned and bowed her head.
“Yes, Lady Artemis?”
“We are temporarily canceling our mission to the Elsos Ruins,” Artemis stated firmly.
Rethusa’s eyes widened, shocked by such a sudden change of plans from her goddess, who usually never backed down.
“B-but, Lady Artemis…
isn’t that our sacred duty?
The seal—”
“I know,” Artemis interrupted softly.
She cast a brief glance toward Natsu.
“But the situation has changed.
There are variables we do not know, and I will not blindly risk your lives.
We will return to the inn.
I want you to immediately draft an official letter and send it to the Guild Headquarters in Orario.
We will request the assistance of top-tier adventurers to investigate the Elsos Ruins first.”
Rethusa swallowed hard, then nodded firmly.
“As you wish, Lady Artemis.”
While Artemis made her decision, on the other side, Harmonia stared at Natsu with an unreadable expression.
As a member of the Aphrodite Familia, Harmonia knew perfectly well how terrifying and impenetrable her goddess’s charm was.
She had seen kings, and even Gods and Goddesses, fall to their knees and serve at Aphrodite’s feet.
Yet, this pink-haired youth with the scaly white scarf stood tall, exuding an aura that left the Goddess of Beauty herself frozen in silence.
Harmonia’s green eyes gleamed with both immense admiration and profound curiosity.
This young man…
just what kind of power is hiding behind that human exterior?
Amidst the market crowd that was slowly returning to normal, a silent consensus formed in the air.
Artemis, Aphrodite, Rethusa, and Harmonia—all four women stared at Natsu with the exact same thought.
Their common sense screamed that the pink-haired youth, who was currently yawning in boredom, was absolutely not an ordinary human.
There was an ancient power residing within him, something that would make even the gods tread carefully.
Natsu, feeling that his business there was done and having no desire to deal further with a crowd of dazed people, turned around.
He stuffed both hands into his pockets.
“Well, if you’re willing to listen to my warning, then my job here is done,” Natsu muttered to no one in particular, before starting to walk away.
With his relaxed posture, he slipped into the bustling crowd of the Preblica market, blending into the sea of people until his figure slowly disappeared from sight.
Aphrodite did not stop him.
The goddess remained rooted to the spot.
The blush on her cheeks had not yet faded, and her heartbeat was still racing beyond normal limits.
Her hands clutched the fabric of her dress over her chest even tighter.
For Aphrodite, Natsu’s rejection of her Charm was no longer an insult, but a challenge that set her soul ablaze.
For the first time, she had seen someone who did not worship her blindly.
For the first time, she felt the allure of someone who held absolute dominance over her.
The goddess’s green eyes continued to gaze toward the end of the street where Natsu had vanished.
The soft smile that had previously graced her lips now morphed into a smile full of determination—an obsession born from the pure, unadulterated desire of a woman.
“Do you really think you can reject me and just walk away?” Aphrodite whispered, her voice flowing like a dangerous melody amidst the market’s noise.
Her eyes flashed with intense yearning and an unshakable resolve.
“I will find you.
I must have you, mysterious boy…
no matter what it takes.”