DanMachi: Annihilation Maker in DanMachi World!

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"Oh, one more thing," Lucian added after a brief pause. "I've programmed a new rule into the World Bubbles. I've unlocked the Map Editing Right. There are a variety of other functions tied to the system, but you'll need to accept a world imprint to access them."

As he spoke, Lucian raised his hand, coalescing his energy into a glowing, intricate sigil.

By fully comprehending the nature of his mental power, he had successfully bypassed the need for complex magical formulas. Using [Rule Creation] and Magic Creation, he had conceptualized a method to directly manipulate his mental energy. This sigil served as both a VIP all-access pass to the Divine Court and the administrative key for map editing. Programming these basic system functions barely took any effort. After all, when your magic runs on pure imagination, the workload is practically non-existent.

"Do it," Hephaestus ordered without hesitation.

As she accepted the imprint, she immediately felt a profound new connection anchor itself deep within her divine soul. For Lucian, completely isolating his mental realm meant that even if his physical body and soul in the outside world were obliterated, it wouldn't matter. He would simply instantly respawn inside the Divine Court. This space had effectively become his Divine Realm; as long as the realm endured, he was immortal.

But for gods like Hephaestus, the soul was everything. Gods could technically revive. If they were killed in the Lower World, their souls would be forcibly returned to Heaven's Sea, where they would spend ten thousand years regenerating. The core mechanism relied on the world itself shielding their soul during the process—meaning the core essence of who they were never changed.

But if a god's soul was completely eradicated, that was the end. Though exceedingly rare, true divine death had occurred in Heaven before. Allowing a foreign entity to engrave an absolute imprint directly onto her soul carried unimaginable risks.

"Does this mean the tables have turned, and I've officially become your dependent?" Hephaestus joked drily.

"I'm your dependent in body, and you're mine in soul. That's exactly the kind of relationship we have," Lucian replied with a cheeky grin.

"Smooth talker," she scoffed, though a sweet warmth blossomed in her chest. Rolling her eye to hide her smile, she continued, "Got it. When I have some free time, I'll help you construct the portal and the altar. Anything else?"

"Actually, yes. We need to take a trip to Beltane soon," Lucian said, his tone shifting to business. "Like I mentioned before, the Spring of Life is a Divine Weapon left behind by Bheara. I need you to forge a counterfeit version with similar properties so I can steal the real one."

Even Hephaestus required the right environment and high-grade materials to forge a proper Divine Weapon. The Spring of Life was in the same tier as Artemis's Arrow of Orion or Astrea's Sword of Justice—it was a companion artifact embedded with the fundamental concept and logic of the deity who wielded it. Without the proper divine materials, any replica Hephaestus forged would undoubtedly be inferior to the genuine article.

"I'll go negotiate with Bheara. Even if she refuses, I still need a functional spring installed here to pump regenerative water throughout the Divine Court," Lucian explained.

He had no intention of using brute force to rob the village. While he was definitely strong enough to pull it off, exploiting the weak to steal their lifeline was pathetic. He wasn't a rabid dog. Bheara still owed him a massive favor, and she didn't actually need the spring herself. Leaving behind a high-quality replica would be more than enough to sustain the villagers' faith and keep them healthy, allowing Lucian to claim the original artifact to power his dimension.

While taking the genuine spring technically exceeded the bounds of a simple favor, claiming it as payment—or even borrowing it indefinitely—was a fair trade for saving her followers.

"I understand," Hephaestus nodded.

Going to Beltane would allow her to physically inspect the spring, ensuring the replica she crafted wouldn't deviate too far from the original's properties. By analyzing its structure firsthand, she could forge a visually perfect copy, even if the absolute potency was slightly diminished. Up on the surface, Bheara's spring was merely sustaining its baseline functions. But once transplanted into the Divine Court and fueled by limitless magical energy, it could expand into a vast ocean of regenerative water, fueling a perfect, self-sustaining ecosystem.

In the future, when he started bringing his allies into the Divine Court, they could use the spring's miraculous waters to instantly wash away brutal injuries and exhaustion. It was an absolute necessity. This had been his plan from the very beginning.

. . .

Returning to the real world, Hephaestus spaced out for a split second. Before she could react, Lucian casually grabbed her hand and led her straight out of his bedroom. By the time her brain caught up, she realized they were standing in the middle of the hallway. He hadn't teleported her back to her own room!

"Good morning, Lord Lucian. Good morning, Big Sister Hephaestus," Talvi chimed sweetly. She was already waiting obediently right outside the door.

"M-Morning..." Hephaestus stammered, slapping a hand over her burning face in absolute mortification.

It wasn't just Talvi. Several other Familia members were lingering in the hallway, openly staring at the spectacle. The first time they made their relationship public, Lucian had casually strolled out of her room. Now, she was doing the walk of shame straight out of his.

Socially dead. Again. He did that on purpose, the absolute bstard!*

"I'm going to handle Familia affairs! I'll use the Divine Court to meet you in Beltane later!" Hephaestus practically shrieked, glaring daggers at Lucian before sprinting away at top speed.

"Is something wrong with Big Sister Hephaestus?" Talvi asked, tilting her head with an impeccably innocent expression.

"You know, I'm starting to think you're naturally mischievous," Lucian mused, rubbing his chin as he studied Talvi's face.

"Naturally mischievous?" Talvi parroted in confusion.

"For instance... did watching Hephaestus run away in sheer panic just now make you feel a tiny bit happy?" Lucian teased, a knowing smirk on his face.

"O-Of course not," Talvi denied it instantly, though her eyes darted nervously to the side.

"I knew it," Lucian laughed softly. "A bit of a closet sadist."

"Ugh... It's all Lady Bheara's fault! She corrupted me!" Talvi whined, putting on a pitiful, pleading expression.

"We'll go with that," Lucian chuckled, deciding not to bully her any further.

Later that day, Lucian teleported back to Beltane. He found Bheara lounging lazily by the edge of the Spring of Life, casually soaking her bare feet in the sacred water.

"It's honestly a miracle no one has beaten you up yet," Lucian commented dryly as he approached, his expression thoroughly unamused.

Sure, she had delicate, flawless feet, but not everyone had a foot fetish. Even though the spring possessed absolute purification properties, the psychological barrier of drinking water a goddess was using as a footbath was... hard to swallow.

"Oh, you're back," Bheara drawled, barely sparing him a glance. "Thanks to you, all the brats in the village treat me with absolute reverence now. Even when I try to bully them, they just smile and take it. It's gotten completely boring."

For an immortal god, boredom was the absolute worst kind of torture. Combine that with her massive tsundere complex, and it was obvious why she was directing a healthy amount of resentment toward Lucian. But underneath the complaints, she was genuinely grateful. The resentment was just for show. She actually liked Lucian—not only had he done her a massive favor, but he was one of the very few mortals who could completely effortlessly counter her malicious teasing. Having lived for so long, the mindsets of these gods could sometimes become rather twisted and bizarre.

"Don't mention it," Lucian replied breezily.

"I wasn't thanking you!" Bheara snapped, glaring at him. "Why are you here anyway? What do you want?"

"Can I borrow the Spring of Life?" Lucian asked, quickly explaining his plan to swap it out with a replica.

"I refuse."

Bheara sat up straighter, her eyes gleaming with absolute delight. Finally, some premium entertainment had arrived! He completely countered her last time, but this time? She was absolutely going to make him suffer!

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