Chapter 20: Hikigaya Hachiman Was Totally Baffled When He Was Suddenly Sent on This Ride
When Hikigaya first learned that his divine title was actually "Ten Suns," he felt extremely awkward.
Damn it, am I becoming a Chūnibyō?!
Now, after his battle with Athena, the long-dormant authority of the "Ten Suns" had finally revealed a new form. That should've been a joyful event.
And it would've been, if only Hikigaya hadn't grossly underestimated just how embarrassing this new form would be.
Because as he used this power to fight Athena, it unexpectedly triggered an even newer form within the new form!
And then—Hikigaya discovered he had been forcibly "taken into the palace."
Don't misunderstand—he wasn't invaded, he invaded someone else's palace.
Yes, after transforming into a giant flaming bird and blasting Athena full-force, he somehow ended up inside Athena's stomach.
This turn of events left him utterly dumbfounded. All he could think was: Zaimozuka, WTF?!
Goddamn it! This storyline is cursed!
He was flustered for about three seconds before forcing himself to calm down—after all, this wasn't the first time Zaimozuka had screwed him over.
Cursing him for three days probably wouldn't change anything.
Really, the one he should be cursing is Di Jun.
That guy, whose totem was a giant penis, was even higher in rank than the Creator God. Absolute bastard of the highest order.
Ever since Hikigaya took up his authority, this whole fanfiction crossover of Zaimozuka had just gotten filthier and filthier!
Unaware that Athena herself was currently freaking out, Hikigaya tried to keep from panicking by turning to thought.
He had always been curious: Did gods with human forms actually have the same biological structures as humans?
But based on where he currently was, it seemed not quite.
The place felt similar to the underworld he'd visited before.
The difference, though, was that he could feel boundaries in this space.
Inside this void-like space with invisible walls, the moment Hikigaya entered, something began drilling knowledge into his brain—which is exactly how he knew he was inside Athena's body.
The knowledge flooding in was about the nature of divine existence and the world where gods dwell—things Hikigaya had once been curious about but never understood.
Gods are eternal. Even if they lose their lives and bodies, their existence continues.
If a human leaves behind a soul after death, then when a Heretic god dies, they leave behind a "divine persona"—a conceptual collection of myths about that deity, neither soul nor spirit.
And countless of these "divine personas" make up the "Immortal Domain", i.e., the mythic realm or, in simpler terms, the divine world. For gods who invest all their power into this domain, it is a glorious path—but also a point of no return.
So, even if their bodies are destroyed, their consciousness can return to myth via their divine persona.
And when another opportunity arises, that divine persona can be freed from the Immortal Domain, manifest in the physical world, form a body again, and become a Heretic god once more.
This is the true reason why gods are immortal.
"So this is Athena's divine persona?" Hikigaya processed the knowledge pouring in and voiced his thoughts in surprise. It was nothing like what he had expected. "The world of myth is made up of these divine personas?"
He had always thought that gods simply lived in a mythic world. But it turned out that myths and gods were linked on a far more abstract level.
To achieve eternity, these beings had sacrificed far more than Hikigaya had ever imagined.
"Maybe…" A bold idea suddenly formed in his mind.
But the idea was so wild that Hikigaya only dared to think it. Actually trying it? He wasn't that reckless.
Still, none of that solved his immediate problem:
How the hell was he supposed to get out?
Last time, he'd escaped the underworld with the help of Ame-no-Murakumo.
But at least the underworld had mountains, rivers, and buildings—Athena's divine persona had nothing. Just an empty void.
And then—without warning—a city appeared before him.
The dissonance was maddening. One moment, it was absolute nothingness. The next, a city stood before him.
To be precise, a fortress—built from large stacked stone bricks. All the bricks were similar in size, but showed no signs of being cut.
There was no mortar, either—just interlocking stone, stacked like a pyramid. Very similar to how the Egyptian pyramids were built.
And the moment Hikigaya thought of taking a better look, he suddenly felt solid ground under his feet. The city gate stood right in front of him.
The first thing that caught his eye was a pair of stone lions embedded in the gate.
The familiar design and structure made him think of a famous ancient city.
The Mycenaean Citadel.
Everyone knows Athena is the goddess of Athens, but interestingly, archaeology suggests her first appearance in Greece may have been at the Mycenaean citadel, not in Athens—despite the Athenian Acropolis being her most famous place of worship.
This heavily fortified citadel was a major cultural and political center during the Late Bronze Age in Greece.
When the Mycenaeans invaded, they brought with them many war gods.
The most influential among them was a "Shield Goddess," thought to be a major source of inspiration for the war-goddess persona of Athena, who is also the only Greek goddess known to carry a shield.
If this fortress really was the historic Mycenaean Citadel, then the gate in front of Hikigaya must be the famous "Lion Gate."
Compared to the ruined remnants that exist in the real world today, the fortress now before him was pristine and whole.
Hikigaya's heart stirred slightly. He rose into the air.
It seemed he could still use his powers here.
Looking down from above, he confirmed it—it was definitely the Mycenaean Citadel.
There were 45 walls connected in a loop—far too many "coincidences" for this to be anything else.
But now was not the time for archaeology.
Even if he knew this was the Mycenaean Citadel—so what? It's not like he could just wait for Athena to, uh… "give birth" to him or something.
God have mercy—with divine perception of time, what if it takes her a hundred years to "deliver" him? Then what?!
Zaimozuka, get your ass out here! I'm gonna slay you right now!
Chapter 21: The Goddess Crossing East and What's Happening at the Hikigaya Home
The Heretic goddess, Athena, was moving through the realm between white waters and black mountains.
If her old rivals were to see her current state, they would probably laugh: the undefeated queen, now so disheveled, so vulnerable.
This hadn't happened in a thousand years.
Yes—vulnerable.
Even though she was a god, she had emotions just like humans.
But as one of the most powerful beings in existence, feelings like fear or panic were rarely ever expressed upon the earth.
Because she was too powerful.
Even in ancient times, gods had already infused their power into human myths.
They could only be liberated from myth under special circumstances, and their strength would fluctuate depending on how "self-aware" they were—but their overwhelming power was beyond question.
Yet even so, this goddess—Athena, the one who was three-in-one—now felt panic.
She clearly understood what was happening to her, which made it all the more unbelievable. She had no idea how that godslayer had done it.
Though gods originally had no physical forms, and her body was temporarily granted under her defiant incarnation, since the moment she had descended onto the earth and taken on flesh, such distinctions had ceased to matter.
And now, what was happening to her was something that had never occurred before—not even in myth.
Moreover, even though gods typically forget everything that happens on earth once they return to myth, Athena was certain that she had never experienced this kind of thing before in any of her earthly incarnations.
Sure, even gods have their "first times," but this first time was far too intense—so intense that Athena nearly abandoned her dignity as a goddess and forcefully dismantled her physical form to return to myth.
The only reason she hadn't done so… was because she couldn't.
Right now, she was an existence running contrary to myth.
In the myths, she was a goddess who firmly upheld male dominance and abandoned all femininity.
But the Heretic Athena was full of maternal essence.
Now, this maternal goddess was heading for the furthest East.
Just as Hikigaya had come to know everything about her, she would also come to know everything about Hikigaya—just as she had once absorbed her mother's wisdom.
Even though, in myth, she was a goddess with no mother and only a father, her wisdom had undoubtedly come from her mother.
Now, she could see the place where land and sea met.
Hikigaya's memories had shown her that there was also a godslayer in the South.
Had this happened earlier, she would never have avoided him. But now, she had no choice.
She couldn't fight in peace right now.
"To think I would suffer such shame… Di Jun, I will never forgive this disgrace!" she said bitterly.
In the next moment, the goddess appeared on the sea surface near the coast.
She was no longer in her ancient-style white robes, but had returned to the form of the young girl she had first appeared as.
"I am the protector of anchoring and voyages. I now head toward the human land in the East. O path, reveal yourself to me."
With that declaration, her motionless body began to move forward with the push of the sea, heading straight toward Japan…
Japan, Chiba City.
Night had fallen, and the city remained as lively as always.
Hikigaya Komachi was making dinner, a bit later than usual today.
She couldn't remember exactly when, but she had gradually gotten used to her big brother being away frequently, just like their parents.
At first, she had worried and felt uneasy, but lately, even those feelings had started to fade.
Not because she didn't care—but because she had discovered something that gave her peace of mind in that regard.
Besides, her dumb big brother wasn't like their parents—he didn't vanish for a whole year or even years at a time.
But today was a little different.
Her dumb brother was out… and their parents had returned home.
Usually she cooked alone, but today, she had company.
"Komachi, where's your brother gone off to?" came her idiot dad's voice from the living room.
Komachi always thought she resembled their mom more, while her brother took after their dad—hence why both father and son were dumb.
Like this question, which her dumb dad had already asked several times.
"Geez, Dad, don't distract me while I'm cooking! I told you already, Onii-chan went to Kyoto!"
She replied without turning around, not noticing that both her dad and mom showed a subtle unnatural expression when they heard the name Kyoto.
"Oh…" the family patriarch let out a heavy sigh from the living room, then fell silent.
Well—not quite silent.
Komachi could still hear him muttering things like, "My little girl's grown up, doesn't love her dad anymore…"
A stress mark popped on her forehead.
Her mom, meanwhile, just chuckled and took the ladle from her hand, giving her a loving pat on the butt as she said:
"All right, all right, go keep your dad company. He missed you two so much while he was away, he almost drove me crazy. I nearly divorced him."
"I'm not a little kid anymore, stop smacking my butt…" Komachi pouted, but inwardly she felt warm and happy.
Of course, she would never let her super-dumb dad see that.
After a moment of tsundere resistance, she feigned reluctance (but was clearly happy) as she skipped off to the living room and flopped down on the sofa.
Now then, what pose should she use to tease her dumb dad today?
…Eh? Why did he seem a little off today?
Komachi narrowed her eyes at her father's barely concealed look of melancholy.
Of course, the very next moment, it was gone.
"Hey, sweetheart! Come look! Daddy dug up something really fun!" he said, putting on the same silly-happy face she knew so well, holding a small ceramic item of unknown purpose.
But it looked very familiar.
"This thing… I think I've seen it before…" Komachi said with a puzzled tone.
And then she remembered—her dumb brother used to mess around with something like this for a while… and then…
He disappeared for half a year!
Realizing this, Komachi instantly panicked!
"That's the thing Onii-chan always played with before he vanished! Throw it away, Dad, now!"
If her dumb dad disappeared too, she'd be in real trouble!
"Uh… Sweetie, you're overreacting a bit." Hikigaya's Dad was dumbfounded. Sure, he hadn't exactly gotten this thing from some cooperative locals—it had been quite the effort. But his daughter's reaction was just too cruel.
This was a special gift your super-handsome dad picked out just for you!
She had no idea that those dumb bumpkin locals had chased him across half the city just for this thing!
But hey, your dad's a veteran driver—those idiots had two legs while he had four wheels.
No way they were catching him.
Still, after hearing her say that, he felt all his hard work was wasted.
At least smile a little, girl.
Otherwise all that gas money… and the repainting costs from that chase… it's just painful.
At that moment, He was filled with sorrow.
And in his hand, the small ceramic jar—almost identical to the one Hikigaya Hachiman once possessed—swayed slightly as he spoke.
Under the light, the vividly detailed eagle head engraved on it looked almost… alive.