Aurora held her breath once she heard the accusation being made against her.

This was really bad for her.

She had accounted for someone hearing the dragon’s cry but she had not thought about someone being able to smell the dragon.

And for that someone to be a goddess made things worse by a large margin.

“Mei, don’t joke around. I don’t find jokes about dragons funny.”

Karan’s voice sounded annoyed and Aurora took this distraction to try and get away. She had to get away now or her window of opportunity will no longer be available.

“Joke? Don’t forget boy. I was there when we killed the last dragon emperor. It was such a thrilling battle that it still sends shivers down my spine.”

“There is no way ‘I’ of everyone would make this mistake. The dragon I am smelling has the same scent as his sire.”

Triple shit.

This goddess was crazy.

“Mei, there is no dragon here. Maybe you drank something that is making you hallucinate.”

Aurora moved a few steps at a time. She had to smother the dragon in her arms so that it did not make any noise.

“Oi, is that so? Then, you won’t mind me taking a look around this garden.”

Aurora saw the attack coming her way.

Thankfully, her body had enough awareness to dodge out of the attack’s way in time. The bush where she had been hiding previously did not have the same luxury.

Aurora looked up at two pairs of stunned and one pair of smug eyes.

“See, it is a dragon baby. And it’s so small and cute. I wonder how strong it would be. And it comes with a present as well. How delightful.”

“I wonder what Minerva would say if she were to see this.”

Mei could only stare back at the female goddess in front of her. The dragon child in her arms growled at seeing so many new faces.

All four of them stood in a stalemate, not knowing what to do.

But that stance was finally broken by Mei’s attack.

Her aura materialized in the shape of a whip that lashed out toward Aurora. Thankfully, it was not as fast as Aurora had been expecting it to be.

Having fought with many high-ranked demons in the abyss, Aurora could tell that the goddess was holding herself back and not fighting at her full power.

Aurora had no idea why the goddess chose to play with her like that, but she was thankful nonetheless.

“Aurora, run.”

Astoria did not sit ideal as Aurora was being attacked.

Aurora had not expected the demi-goddess to break her stance and intercept Mei’s attack. But the elder goddess did that anyway.

“Ho, so you were involved with her. It would break Minerva’s heart to hear this.”

Aurora only heard that much before she was out of the area.

The dragon in her arms felt agitated. The sharp nails of the dragon left bleeding impressions on Aurora’s arms.

But she ignored them as she kept on running.

“Halt right there. You will not be going any further than this.”

And of course, just as Aurora thought she made it out, she had to run in the worst person possible – Lady Minerva.

Aurora only realized the lady’s read identity after she sampled that huge aura. It felt much more oppressive than Lady Mei’s.

“You are…..

…Astoria’s partner. Why do you have a dragon with you? Where did you find it?”

Aurora took in a deep breath before she opened her mouth to lie.

“I found him in the gardens. I don’t know how he got there?”

“Well then, you won’t mind returning him to me, right?”

“….”

“…..”

“Kyuuu?”

The dragon looked back at Aurora in a confused manner. He did not seem to understand what was going around him at the current moment”

-grrrrr

“But he did seem to feel the same hostility he had felt against Mei earlier. The dragon’s aura was getting more and more agitated as time passed on.

“What’s wrong? You’re not going to hand the dragon over?”

There was no way Aurora could hand the dragon over to Minerva. Not when she knew that the dragon would not survive past the next day.

But Aurora could not retreat from the area either without exposing her powers.

She had effectively cornered herself in a stalemate.

In front of her were Minerva and her massive power. Behind her were Mei and her destructive power.

“Aurora, get aside.”

Karan’s voice warned her and Aurora felt her body comply with the demand.

Before she knew it, a fast force passed her past location and collided with a stunned Minerva.

“Hurry. We need to leave this place now. Go, I will stall them for you.”

Karan stepped in front of Aurora and the other two goddesses. He hunched ahead in a protective positing and Aurora felt bad for dragging him into this conflict.

“Aurora, let’s leave right now. We are no match for those two. They have too much experience over us.”

Astoria also made her way over.

Aurora could do nothing but comply with her demand. She had to leave Karan behind.

“Go. I will be alright. I have some things I need to talk about with Minerva anyway.”

Karan gestured for the other two to leave with the baby dragon.

“Hey come back here. Minerva, I am going after them.”

Karan and Minerva, both tried to stop Mei from chasing the fleeing pair. But the hot-headed goddess was too much for them to handle.

She easily dismissed their attempts to hold her in her place and fled the scene.

That left only Karan and Lady Minerva at the site of the previous battle.

==========================

In all her years of existence, Lady Minerva had never had such conflicting emotions before.

She had also never been made a fool of like that.

“Lord Karan, you have one minute to explain what you are doing aiding those thieves.”

Minerva was not in a forgiving mood but she could not just take the other god on. She had to plan carefully and make sure she was on the right track before coming to any conclusions.

A fight between gods was not something she could afford to take part in.

“Well, it is exactly as how it looks. I am helping those two escape the tower with the dragon. You see, we dragons have a kinship of sorts. I feel like I have to help him survive.”

Karan spoke those words with a small grin. He sounded delighted to be able to hold Minerva back.

“Kinship between dragons? Surely you jest? Dragons are unfeeling beasts of the abyss. They have no such feelings of honor or family. And besides, you are not even a real dragon. You just have the core of one. Now step aside and let me correct your wrong behavior.”

Every god had a core that gave them power. The more powerful the core, the more powerful the god.

Only the top 7 gods had the mythical cores and were worthy of the title of ‘natural gods.’

Still, having a core did not make them the beast itself.

“How cold of you to say that. Just for that, I won’t step aside and let you pass. You’ll have to remove me by force if you want to pass me.”

Karan was being a stubborn idiot.

Initially, Lady Minerva had no intention of using hostile force to solve this situation. But there seemed to no longer be a choice available to her.

“Fine, have it your way.”

Lady Minerva was no longer going to hesitate. Her power was no longer going to hold itself back.

She was already at the pinnacle of her patience. And she was going to show this imprudent younger god why no one messed with her.

Her bow materialized out of thin air just as Karan realized that he no longer held the upper hand in this situation.

Aurora held her breath once she heard the accusation being made against her.

This was really bad for her.

She had accounted for someone hearing the dragon’s cry but she had not thought about someone being able to smell the dragon.

And for that someone to be a goddess made things worse by a large margin.

“Mei, don’t joke around. I don’t find jokes about dragons funny.”

Karan’s voice sounded annoyed and Aurora took this distraction to try and get away. She had to get away now or her window of opportunity will no longer be available.

“Joke? Don’t forget boy. I was there when we killed the last dragon emperor. It was such a thrilling battle that it still sends shivers down my spine.”

“There is no way ‘I’ of everyone would make this mistake. The dragon I am smelling has the same scent as his sire.”

Triple shit.

This goddess was crazy.

“Mei, there is no dragon here. Maybe you drank something that is making you hallucinate.”

Aurora moved a few steps at a time. She had to smother the dragon in her arms so that it did not make any noise.

“Oi, is that so? Then, you won’t mind me taking a look around this garden.”

Aurora saw the attack coming her way.

Thankfully, her body had enough awareness to dodge out of the attack’s way in time. The bush where she had been hiding previously did not have the same luxury.

Aurora looked up at two pairs of stunned and one pair of smug eyes.

“See, it is a dragon baby. And it’s so small and cute. I wonder how strong it would be. And it comes with a present as well. How delightful.”

“I wonder what Minerva would say if she were to see this.”

Mei could only stare back at the female goddess in front of her. The dragon child in her arms growled at seeing so many new faces.

All four of them stood in a stalemate, not knowing what to do.

But that stance was finally broken by Mei’s attack.

Her aura materialized in the shape of a whip that lashed out toward Aurora. Thankfully, it was not as fast as Aurora had been expecting it to be.

Having fought with many high-ranked demons in the abyss, Aurora could tell that the goddess was holding herself back and not fighting at her full power.

Aurora had no idea why the goddess chose to play with her like that, but she was thankful nonetheless.

“Aurora, run.”

Astoria did not sit ideal as Aurora was being attacked.

Aurora had not expected the demi-goddess to break her stance and intercept Mei’s attack. But the elder goddess did that anyway.

“Ho, so you were involved with her. It would break Minerva’s heart to hear this.”

Aurora only heard that much before she was out of the area.

The dragon in her arms felt agitated. The sharp nails of the dragon left bleeding impressions on Aurora’s arms.

But she ignored them as she kept on running.

“Halt right there. You will not be going any further than this.”

And of course, just as Aurora thought she made it out, she had to run in the worst person possible – Lady Minerva.

Aurora only realized the lady’s read identity after she sampled that huge aura. It felt much more oppressive than Lady Mei’s.

“You are…..

…Astoria’s partner. Why do you have a dragon with you? Where did you find it?”

Aurora took in a deep breath before she opened her mouth to lie.

“I found him in the gardens. I don’t know how he got there?”

“Well then, you won’t mind returning him to me, right?”

“….”

“…..”

“Kyuuu?”

The dragon looked back at Aurora in a confused manner. He did not seem to understand what was going around him at the current moment”

-grrrrr

“But he did seem to feel the same hostility he had felt against Mei earlier. The dragon’s aura was getting more and more agitated as time passed on.

“What’s wrong? You’re not going to hand the dragon over?”

There was no way Aurora could hand the dragon over to Minerva. Not when she knew that the dragon would not survive past the next day.

But Aurora could not retreat from the area either without exposing her powers.

She had effectively cornered herself in a stalemate.

In front of her were Minerva and her massive power. Behind her were Mei and her destructive power.

“Aurora, get aside.”

Karan’s voice warned her and Aurora felt her body comply with the demand.

Before she knew it, a fast force passed her past location and collided with a stunned Minerva.

“Hurry. We need to leave this place now. Go, I will stall them for you.”

Karan stepped in front of Aurora and the other two goddesses. He hunched ahead in a protective positing and Aurora felt bad for dragging him into this conflict.

“Aurora, let’s leave right now. We are no match for those two. They have too much experience over us.”

Astoria also made her way over.

Aurora could do nothing but comply with her demand. She had to leave Karan behind.

“Go. I will be alright. I have some things I need to talk about with Minerva anyway.”

Karan gestured for the other two to leave with the baby dragon.

“Hey come back here. Minerva, I am going after them.”

Karan and Minerva, both tried to stop Mei from chasing the fleeing pair. But the hot-headed goddess was too much for them to handle.

She easily dismissed their attempts to hold her in her place and fled the scene.

That left only Karan and Lady Minerva at the site of the previous battle.

==========================

In all her years of existence, Lady Minerva had never had such conflicting emotions before.

She had also never been made a fool of like that.

“Lord Karan, you have one minute to explain what you are doing aiding those thieves.”

Minerva was not in a forgiving mood but she could not just take the other god on. She had to plan carefully and make sure she was on the right track before coming to any conclusions.

A fight between gods was not something she could afford to take part in.

“Well, it is exactly as how it looks. I am helping those two escape the tower with the dragon. You see, we dragons have a kinship of sorts. I feel like I have to help him survive.”

Karan spoke those words with a small grin. He sounded delighted to be able to hold Minerva back.

“Kinship between dragons? Surely you jest? Dragons are unfeeling beasts of the abyss. They have no such feelings of honor or family. And besides, you are not even a real dragon. You just have the core of one. Now step aside and let me correct your wrong behavior.”

Every god had a core that gave them power. The more powerful the core, the more powerful the god.

Only the top 7 gods had the mythical cores and were worthy of the title of ‘natural gods.’

Still, having a core did not make them the beast itself.

“How cold of you to say that. Just for that, I won’t step aside and let you pass. You’ll have to remove me by force if you want to pass me.”

Karan was being a stubborn idiot.

Initially, Lady Minerva had no intention of using hostile force to solve this situation. But there seemed to no longer be a choice available to her.

“Fine, have it your way.”

Lady Minerva was no longer going to hesitate. Her power was no longer going to hold itself back.

She was already at the pinnacle of her patience. And she was going to show this imprudent younger god why no one messed with her.

Her bow materialized out of thin air just as Karan realized that he no longer held the upper hand in this situation.

Minerva pulled her bowstring back and released the stored energy toward the sky.

Arrows rained down toward Karan’s location with a velocity no one could see with naked eyes.

But Karan was not a normal human. He was a god as well and his reputation was well-earned as well.

“Bring it on old hag. I am sick and tired of your bullshit anyway. I want in on some action as well.”

Karan and a sword in his hands in second and parried away the arrows raining down on him.

The clashing auras of the two gods were enough to cause damage to the surrounding gardens. The soldiers passing by could not even take a single step.

It was all too much for them.

==========================

On the other side of the clearing, Aurora and Astoria found themselves at the edge of the tower. The only way out was to either fall or get past the angry goddess in front of them.

“Are you both done running away? Then, let’s get to business, shall we?”

Mei had caught up to the pair and now blacked their way out.

Minerva pulled her bowstring back and released the stored energy toward the sky.

Arrows rained down toward Karan’s location with a velocity no one could see with naked eyes.

But Karan was not a normal human. He was a god as well and his reputation was well-earned as well.

“Bring it on old hag. I am sick and tired of your bullshit anyway. I want in on some action as well.”

Karan and a sword in his hands in second and parried away the arrows raining down on him.

The clashing auras of the two gods were enough to cause damage to the surrounding gardens. The soldiers passing by could not even take a single step.

It was all too much for them.

==========================

On the other side of the clearing, Aurora and Astoria found themselves at the edge of the tower. The only way out was to either fall or get past the angry goddess in front of them.

“Are you both done running away? Then, let’s get to business, shall we?”

Mei had caught up to the pair and now blacked their way out.