Livia Horn, who had been glaring at Triton, soon lowered her gaze to conceal her eyes.

Gods were such strange and extraordinary beings that she felt they could lay bare her soul simply by meeting his gaze.

Be careful. There was nothing to gain from revealing everything.

Livia took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. As she felt the rhythm of her heartbeat, the pulsating vitality coursed vividly through her entire body.

Having died and come back to life, she realized how recklessly she had rushed at a god.

No matter how great a weapon she held, a human could not confront such a being head-on.

This was not even a lesser god but the ruler of the sea, one of the great pillars of the world.

She suddenly felt the absurdity of the opponent she had to face. Trying to fly to the sky without wings…

‘What should I do? How can a human’s hand harm a god? How…!’

The most important thing was to stay by his side and wait for an opportunity. Until the day she could drive a golden dagger into his heart, until she could tear apart the heart of the sea god, somehow…

She needed to create her own opportunity…

Just then, as she was lost in thought, Triton’s voice descended upon her.

“How do you know Echidna?”

Livia lifted her eyes to meet Triton’s gaze. Her bright green eyes sparkled with light.

Triton, sitting with his legs crossed and rubbing his chin with his hand, twisted his lips into a slight smile. It was so subtle that it seemed even he was unaware of it.

At that moment, Livia caught a faint thread of an answer to her long-held question.

But before she could delve deeper into her thoughts, a long, snake-like stream of water silently wrapped around her slender limbs and lifted her into the air.

“…!”

Before Livia could even identify what was binding her hands and feet, she was swiftly pulled toward Triton.

“Ugh…!”

The soft chains of water bound her with powerful force. Just as she was about to writhe in humiliation, a cold hand touched her eyelid.

“Green is a beautiful color.”

She felt the hand tracing the shape of her eye through her tightly shut eyelid.

“I quite like that somber yet brilliant color.”

The hand pressed against her eye, rubbing as if to gouge it out, sent shivers down her spine. It felt as if he might take the eye beneath it at any moment.

“You seem to have rather pretty green eyes…”

His murmured words, filled with hidden intent, sent shivers across her entire body.

Mad god.

Livia bit her trembling lips hard and glared at him with eyes full of rage. Despite this, the man’s leisurely smile remained elegantly and infuriatingly composed.

“…Well, having died once, I didn’t think I’d be scared over just an eye.”

His voice, tinged with interest, spread calmly. After rubbing her eye socket a few more times with his cold fingertips, he suddenly lowered his hand to grab her wrist.

“Why is this on your body?”

His sharp fingers now touched the black scar on her. Just as he seemed about to mercilessly dig into the wound with his nails, he stopped.

“You.”

Triton pulled her slender forearm, which was thin enough to be held in one hand, and examined it.

Her flesh, so weak that it seemed to quiver, was somehow odd. Triton muttered incredulously as he inspected the woman’s skin.

“Did you soak yourself in Styx?”

At his remark, Livia also looked at her arm, which he was holding. Her seemingly soft flesh resisted Triton’s nails, which looked like they could pierce anything. His fingertips pressed into her skin, reflecting a faint light.

‘The blessing of the goddess Styx…!’

A smile of joy spread across Livia’s lips. The tales of becoming as tough as steel by bathing in the Styx River were true. For a moment, she hoped that perhaps she now had a body capable of challenging a god.

“…Ugh!”

Triton began to apply pressure with the fingers that held Livia. His fingertips, emitting a light brighter than her skin, brutally dug into her slender forearm.

“Aah!”

Her raw flesh split open, and red blood dripped down her arm.

Even if she had become as tough as steel, it was still only the kind of body that might appear in human legends. Against the true power of a god, even skin made slightly tougher by divine power was useless.

“The effort you put into soaking in Styx in such a short time is commendable, but it’s pointless.”

He muttered mockingly, smiling as he squeezed her blood-soaked arm. His gentle voice was soft, yet his gaze toward the woman was so emotionless it felt chilling.

“Tell me how you got the golden dagger.”

Livia Horn, groaning in pain, glared at Triton with tear-filled eyes. Gritting her teeth to endure the agony, she swallowed her cries and replied in a trembling voice.

“…I received it.”

Although she answered reluctantly, her sharp gaze was filled with irritation.

Triton, facing those fierce eyes up close, felt the corners of his own eyes twitch.

Even while trembling in fear, she remained defiant, displaying a spirit that was anything but ordinary.

‘Even though she had already died once by this hand.’

The sight of such a frail human baring her teeth in determination intrigued him. She had more guts than most great generals.

‘But in the end, she was still human. Her innate weakness was unavoidable.’

Seemingly denying his growing interest, Triton dug his nails deeper into her soft flesh.

“…!”

Tears welled up in her green eyes, twisting in pain.

Unable to hold them back, the tears trickled down her slender chin and dropped below, evoking a sense of pity.

Yet, no sympathy arose within him. It was simply strangely difficult to look away.

Fixing his gaze on the green, tear-distorted half-moons of her eyes, Triton asked again in a voice that was almost hypocritically gentle.

“How?”

The hot blood seeping from her wound trickled down the sea god’s cold fingers and dripped from her wrist.

“How did it happen, hmm…?”

The woman, who had been gritting her teeth to suppress her groans, finally let out a piercing scream and struck Triton’s wrist repeatedly.

“Let go of this, let go… ugh!”

Watching her struggle, he applied gentle pressure with an indifferent gaze.

“Answer first.”

Her stubbornly closed lips were as tight as a clam. Observing her parched lips, which had turned white from the strain, he murmured with interest.

“Oh, do you perhaps enjoy the pain?”

Her bloodshot eyes glared at him as if to say, ‘Don’t talk nonsense.’ Then, like she was making a decision, she shouted out in a fit.

“A witch…!”

The pressure from his hand ceased. Under his steady gaze, Livia spoke like she was spitting out the words.

“I made a deal with a witch.”

“A deal? What kind of deal?”

“…An exchange for revenge.”

As the intriguing word emerged, Triton’s lips curled into a smile. He softly repeated Livia’s words several times.

“I see. So… if it’s Echidna’s revenge.”

He then asked, fixing his gaze intently on her.

“…It would be me.”

His taunting gaze pressed her for answers. The meaning behind that gaze was all too clear.

…You? Against me?

Sensing the blatant mockery, the woman’s cheeks flushed red. Clenching her teeth, she turned her head sharply to avoid his gaze.

A labored breathing sound filled the air. The sound of her grinding teeth was also vividly audible.

It was amusing how she felt such indignation over something so obvious.

“Humans are consistently foolish. Did you really think you could kill me with just that golden dagger? Really?”