"That individual is an extraordinary existence, one that even we gods cannot provoke. I suggest you don't inquire further!"
Loki didn't directly answer Freya's question, but her words immediately captured the attention of all the gods present. For Loki, a god herself, to utter words implying the existence of someone who transcends gods was astonishing.
"Loki, are you joking? How could there be an existence above us gods? We are gods!"
Displeasure arose among the gods. To them, life in the mortal world was nothing more than a game. They didn't care about being insulted or scorned, as they regarded mortals as mere ants.
But hearing this statement from Loki? That was another matter entirely.
"I'm not joking, but I don't want to tell you who it is!"
Loki dismissed them as frogs at the bottom of a well. If the emergence of a new era indicated anything, it was that this world wasn't unique. There must be countless other worlds beyond it.
Loki herself understood this well. While her power was formidable in this world, in other worlds, she might not even register as significant. There were many beings far more powerful than her, a truth Asahi had shared with her.
Thus, she looked down on these gods who refused to believe. A simple consideration would reveal the truth: while the Dark Souls World was weaker than this one and it had no beings surpassing gods but what about the other worlds?
There must be other worlds not connected to their world, so she felt these gods lacked imagination.
Of course, Loki's words did cause some of the more insightful gods, like Hermes, Freya, and Ouranos, to fall into thought.
These gods, though still part of this 'game world', were the ones truly pulling the strings behind the scenes. They didn't rely solely on divine power, as their intelligence allowed them to achieve much more. Compared to other gods, they were leagues ahead.
"Loki, who are you talking about? If you don't tell us today, we're not leaving!"
Though the other gods were envious of the emergence of new gods, their greater concern was the existence capable of creating gods. If someone could create gods, what would stop them from creating more?
While gods and mortals currently coexisted peacefully, the gods didn't want humanity to touch the realm of divinity. Of course, the people of their own Familia are exceptions.
"I've already said it, I won't tell you. Don't ask me again. And if you provoke that individual, you'd better be prepared! Their divine seat might fall into my Familia!"
Loki's irritated tone silenced the gods momentarily. But her warning unsettled them.
'Could there truly be someone capable of crushing gods, even killing them outright? That seemed absurd.'
A wave of angry shouting erupted among the gods, turning Loki Familia's home into a chaotic marketplace. Even the adventurers outside could clearly hear the uproar, a testament to how loud the gods were.
"Seriously, do you all have to be so loud? Don't you care about disturbing others!"
"Anyway, let me introduce myself. I'm Asahi. Yes, their divinity was bestowed by me. And I agree with Loki, if I wanted to kill you, all it would take is a snap of my fingers! "
At that moment, Asahi appeared. The gods had become far too noisy, disrupting his peaceful observation of the situation. This wasn't the scene he'd hoped to enjoy.
"What? It's you? Are you claiming you can kill gods? Is this some kind of joke? Loki, this arrogant fool is the one you were talking about?"
The gods erupted in disbelief, except for Hestia, who seemed utterly shocked. After all, she still relied on this person to care for her.
"That's the truth. To me, gods and ants are no different. If you don't believe me, why not take a moment to sense the divine power within yourselves?"
Asahi smiled calmly as he spoke. Even though the gods' divine power had been sealed, they could still sense it within themselves and use it freely, though at the cost of immediate banishment if used recklessly.
However, the situation was different within dungeons.
Using divine power in a dungeon would provoke chaos, triggering a dungeon-wide berserk state where monsters would undergo extreme reinforcement. Dungeons inherently loathed gods, so no one dared take such a risk.
Normally, divine power would be effortless for the gods to summon. Yet, at this moment, they found themselves utterly incapable of sensing it.
Their bodies felt hollow, devoid of the strength they were accustomed to. The gods, now panicking, instinctively attempted to channel their divine power.
But no matter how hard they tried, there was no response. It was as if their power had vanished entirely.
"Have you noticed your divine power is gone? In fact, taking away your divine power is far too easy for me!"
He then raised his hand, and shimmering orbs of multicolored light materialized. The sight immediately captivated the gods' attention.
Each god instinctively felt a connection to the glowing spheres, realizing with growing horror that these were their divine powers, extracted completely from within them. All except Hestia, who remained untouched.
"How... how is this possible? Our divine power… who are you? How can you do something like this?"
The gods, now overwhelmed with fear, could no longer deny the truth. This being could effortlessly siphon away their divine essence. Such an act was inconceivable, possible only for a being tied to the very origin of their divine power.
"I already told you…" Loki said with exasperation, "This is someone you should never provoke, you bunch of idiots. You think your little corner of the world is all there is? Beyond this world lies countless others, many with entities far mightier than us."
"And even among those entities, the truly powerful can traverse worlds at will. The one standing beside me is one such existence, coming here from a world beyond. Do you honestly believe you could ever overcome the barriers between worlds and match such strength?"
Loki's words struck deeply. They were laced with both mockery and revelation.
"This is why I said you'd be better off keeping your heads down. There are beings out there you can't even fathom, let alone rival!"
The gods fell silent, their pride wounded, their fear palpable. To gods accustomed to viewing themselves as supreme, the very notion of a superior existence was unthinkable. But now, faced with undeniable proof, they could no longer dismiss it.
Loki couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
The gods' arrogance had blinded them for too long, leaving them oblivious to the broader reality beyond their insulated existence. But now, confronted by Asahi's power, perhaps they would finally begin to understand.