Chapter 284: 282
The Demeter Familia's living room was filled with the soothing fragrance of tea, mingling with the scent of flowers drifting in from the courtyard.
Genichi sat calmly on the couch, holding a cup of black tea.
Demeter and Astraea sat on either side of him, one gentle and warm, the other graceful and dignified. They resembled a pair of guardian deities silently keeping him company.
The door opened.
Loki entered with Ais following behind her.
Her hair was still slightly disheveled, and faint red marks lingered on her face from being submerged in water, but she had mostly recovered.
She wore clean clothes and carried a bottle of wine, not because she wanted to drink it, but because she needed some liquid courage.
Loki knew exactly what kind of person Genichi was.
That brat had gotten the better of her the first time they met, and their very first confrontation had left her bitterly regretting her choices.
She needed every ounce of concentration she could muster today.
"Brat, I'm here."
Loki dropped heavily onto the couch opposite Genichi, crossed her legs, opened the wine bottle, and took three long swigs.
Ais stood behind her, staring directly at Genichi with her golden eyes. Her gaze held hope, pleading, and a trace of barely concealed nervousness.
"Whatever you want, just say it. There's no need to beat around the bush."
Genichi looked at her and nodded.
"I want your Authority."
Loki had just raised the bottle to take another drink. The instant she heard those words, she spat the wine in her mouth straight at Genichi.
An invisible barrier appeared before him and blocked the spray.
Droplets burst across its surface like a transparent flower, then slid down the barrier and fell to the floor with a soft patter.
"Cough! Cough, cough!"
Loki choked and began coughing violently. Her face turned bright red, and tears gathered in her eyes.
She lowered the bottle, wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, and stared at Genichi with wide eyes filled with disbelief.
"Did I hear you right?!"
Her voice jumped several octaves.
"You want my Authority? Do you even know what an Authority is? It's the very essence of a god, the core of a divine law. It's..."
"I know."
Genichi interrupted her, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather.
"That's why I'm only asking for a portion of the Twelve Authorities."
Loki opened her mouth, then closed it again.
She stared at him in silence for a moment before releasing a long breath.
If he only wanted her to separate and give him a portion of her Authority, it wasn't a serious problem.
Even if part of a divine Authority was lost, it would gradually regenerate on its own. It was like plucking fruit from a tree. Given enough time, more would grow.
Giving some of it to Genichi probably wouldn't cause her any serious harm.
Still, Authority was a peculiar thing. Whether it was precious or insignificant depended entirely on the god who possessed it.
Some gods valued their Authorities more than their own lives and would turn hostile the instant anyone tried to touch them. Others didn't care nearly as much and saw no harm in giving away a small portion.
Loki belonged to the latter group.
She had lived for countless years, weathered more disasters than she could remember, and faced life and death more times than she could count.
To her, Authority was merely a tool. It wasn't her life.
She didn't care about losing a portion of it.
What she cared about was Ais.
"Fine."
Loki nodded, her voice turning serious.
"I'll give you a portion of my Authority, but you have to revive Ais's parents."
Genichi stared at her, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
"Deal."
Loki raised an eyebrow.
"Then how are you planning to obtain my Authority? It isn't a physical object I can simply hand over. You would need a ritual, a contract, or..."
"All I need is one drop of your blood."
Genichi interrupted her.
"After that, I can obtain your Authority myself."
Loki froze for a moment, then smiled.
There was an indescribable curiosity in her expression.
Blood?
He could obtain her Authority from a single drop of blood?
How was that supposed to work?
She had lived for ages and had never heard of anything like it.
But she also knew Genichi was no ordinary person. He possessed far too many abilities she couldn't understand and far too many methods she couldn't begin to imagine.
"Fine."
Loki casually held out her hand, bit the tip of her finger, and squeezed out a crimson drop of blood.
The bead gathered on her fingertip, sparkling beneath the sunlight.
She held it out to Genichi.
"Here."
Genichi lowered his head and licked the blood from Loki's fingertip.
It carried a faint metallic taste, along with a strange, indescribable essence unique to Loki.
He closed his eyes and felt the drop dissolve within his body. He felt its power merging with his soul and waited for the presence of her Authority to emerge within his senses.
Then nothing happened.
Genichi opened his eyes, his brows drawing together tightly.
No new Authority had appeared within his senses. He had gained control over no new divine law.
Nothing had changed.
The blood entered his body like any ordinary drop, then vanished without leaving a trace.
"What's wrong?"
An uneasy feeling rose within Loki as she studied his expression.
"I didn't obtain your Authority."
Genichi's voice remained calm, but a trace of darkness flickered through his eyes.
Loki's expression became rather peculiar.
She withdrew her hand, looked at the tiny wound on her fingertip, then glanced back at Genichi as the corners of her mouth curved upward.
"That has nothing to do with me. I gave you my blood and fulfilled your request. Now you can use whatever method you like to revive Ais's parents."
Genichi stared at her, the corner of his eye twitching.
This woman certainly knew how to shift the blame.
She had given him her blood, but since it hadn't worked, she considered her part of the bargain complete. Everything else was now Genichi's problem.
He had wanted her Authority and failed to obtain it. As far as she was concerned, that was his fault, not hers.
Meanwhile, he was still obligated to fulfill her condition and revive Ais's parents.
"Loki."
Genichi's voice lowered.
"You're cheating."
Loki spread her hands, wearing a completely innocent expression.
"How am I cheating? You asked for my blood, and I gave it to you. You wanted my Authority, but you failed to take it. How is that my fault?"
Genichi took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
He knew Loki had a point.
He had failed to obtain her Authority, not because she had refused to give it to him, but because there was a flaw in his method.
When he obtained Authorities from Demeter and Astraea, he had used blood-wine and Schrift.
They had drunk the blood-wine, been engraved with Schrifts, and established a spiritual connection with him.
Only after that could he obtain their Authorities by devouring their blood.
Loki, however, had merely given him a single drop of blood.
There had been no blood-wine, no Schrift, and no spiritual connection between them.
That was why he couldn't obtain her Authority.
(End of Chapter)
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