A witch had asked for revenge on a mortal, and this mortal had challenged a god at the witch’s request.

A genuine sneer spread across his face.

“In the end, you’re just someone who could be crushed to death with a mere gesture of my hand.”

Echidna remained foolish.

A naive mortal woman.

She set foot on a boat heading to Tartarus, fully aware that it was an impossible quest.

“You couldn’t even pierce the back of my hand, yet you think you can do this.”

Laughing as if he were truly amused, he suddenly stopped and pulled the arm he was holding closer, whispering into Livia’s ear.

“Revenge is futile. Nothing can be undone. You know that, don’t you?”

Livia shuddered as if in convulsion at the cold breath brushing her ear.

The man, with his unnatural beauty, mocked and taunted her, inflicting pain without a second thought.

After all, who among humans understood and sympathized with the plight of a bug crushed underfoot?

From his perspective, she was probably nothing more than an ant or a boar ruining crops. It must have been quite amusing to see such a thing trying to threaten his life.

However… Even so, he had no right to mock her life.

No matter how insignificant and unimpressive it might be, this life was entirely hers. It was an absolute and complete domain that no one could replace or invade.

“…It’s not about changing anything.”

So, that great and mighty immortal would never understand the desperate desire for revenge that she would give her one and only precious life to achieve.

“It’s something that must be done. It absolutely must…!”

Her defiant tone was audacious to the extreme. Her eyes, lifted in defiance, even seemed insolent at a glance.

Yet, contrary to her appearance, Livia’s hands were trembling violently.

She wasn’t unafraid of those strangely luminous blue eyes.

Hadn’t she already experienced firsthand that a mere gesture from him could cause her frail human body to burst and die on the spot?

But…

Livia swallowed hard, staring at the sea god who was suppressing her with silence.

His arrogant eyes gazed at her with an intensity that seemed to pierce through her.

Not once did he break eye contact, and every time she retorted, his lips twisted subtly.

What hung at the corner of those twisted lips was, however faint, curiosity. To put it more positively, a bizarre interest, perhaps.

He wouldn’t have been greatly disappointed if he had eliminated her right away, but her audacious actions made him impulsively want to watch a bit longer.

“Unfortunately, your revenge will never come to pass. You will never be able to kill me.”

Of course, he might have misunderstood what he felt.

“…Are you sure about that?”

But even so, there were no other options available now, so she had no choice but to cling to it.

Livia bit her tongue inside her mouth and lifted her head a bit more. Her determined eyes shone brightly in the darkness.

“Just 100 days.”

Raising her head boldly under his brilliantly gleaming blue eyes, as if she was measuring something, Livia whispered secretly.

Seemingly questioning what she meant, the man stared blankly, and Livia, like a fish leaping out of water, sprang up with her whole body.

Even a god could be caught off guard.

Seizing the fleeting moment, Livia bared her teeth. Her twisted lips parted, and her open mouth clamped onto his smooth jawline, sharpened like moonlight.

“……!”

Mocking his eyes, which widened in disbelief, Livia bit down on his jaw with all her might.

With a crunching sound, his face froze in shock. As her body slid down, unable to bear the weight, she spoke with a triumphant smile.

“Just give me 100 days. Within that time, I’ll definitely crush your heart.”

Though the chains of water quickly bound her body again, it didn’t matter.

She hadn’t drawn blood, but she had succeeded in leaving her teeth marks on his jaw. Pleased with the visible result, Livia grinned defiantly.

“…….”

Triton, who had let out a hollow laugh, raised his hand to rub his throbbing jaw. He couldn’t hide his astonishment at the unfamiliar pain in an unfamiliar place.

“Ha…?”

After rubbing his chin for a while, he paused and stared at Livia. As his gaze deepened, the force of the water binding her intensified.

The space grew darker, and the pressure holding her down increased.

It seemed he intended to crush her with silence, but it was a futile attempt.

Livia, setting aside her anxiety, keenly observed Triton’s expression. Like watching the footsteps of wolves hunting sheep, she was cautious and alert…

‘Is this not enough?’

In those blue eyes fixed on her, she sensed distrust and disapproval towards humans.

And deeper within, there was a madness that sought to destroy and annihilate.

That was exactly what Livia aimed for.

The sea god’s madness would only grow stronger the more she provoked him.

It must have been both absurd and intriguing for him to see a mere human making such an impossible challenge.

In that case… Livia intended to be the dry wood throwing herself into the fire, determined to fan the flames he possessed.

Even if it meant she would be completely consumed and obliterated in the end.

“…I am a god. I live an eternal, immortal life.”

Eventually, his eerie voice broke the silence.

“A mere human cannot destroy me.”

Livia quickly latched onto his words, which continued indifferently as if they were nothing.

“Yes, you are a god. One who lives an eternal life. Is a mere 100 days so precious to someone like you?”

She knew it was a clumsy provocation, and it was obvious he did too. But sometimes, a provocation whose intent is clear can be more irritating.

“Surely, the great and terrifying sea god isn’t afraid of a mere insignificant woman like me?”

She tried to speak calmly, but anxiety kept slipping through her stern expression.

…Hold on, you must wait. Just a little longer.

An eternity of silence pressed down on her.

Yet, even as Livia bit the inside of her roughened lips until they bled, the man showed no particular reaction.

Damn sea god!

There was definitely curiosity in the eyes that looked at her. She thought that was why he, who claimed to detest humans, had awakened her alone, but he wasn’t reacting as she expected.

“Hmm.”

He rolled his throat low and tilted his head slightly, looking at her with eyes that seemed to devour her thoroughly.

To hide her anxiousness, Livia held her neck straight and met his gaze with fierce eyes.

Livia was quick-witted. It was innate, and she had honed this sixth sense for survival as she grew.

Her instincts screamed that this was the right direction, but she couldn’t be sure.

After all, she was merely human, and no one could predict the whims of a capricious god.

“I assure you, it will be quite an entertaining and thrilling time for you…!”

“But you know.”

Triton abruptly cut off Livia’s anxious words. At the same time, the light that had been pressing on her began to return gradually.

Beyond the now brighter view, she saw him smiling with his eyes crinkled.

“You lack reverence for the gods.”

His hand, which had approached suddenly, clamped her chin and forced her lips apart.

“You’re too insolent, your words are too short.”

Her lips, which she tried to keep shut, were pried open by his overwhelming strength.

Livia resisted the force that seemed about to crush her jaw, glaring at him with a face full of tears.

“Such an ugly human.”

His voice, muttering in disdain, was filled with irritation.

His eyes, narrowed sharply, were fierce, but the hand that slowly and deliberately pushed fingers between her parted lips was languid and sticky.

“…Annoying.”

That was exactly what Livia wanted to say.

What exactly were gods, anyway?

Just as beasts lived with beasts and humans with humans, gods should live among their own kind, yet they insisted on tormenting humans by dragging them into their affairs.

Livia glared at him with all her frustration, but her tear-filled, pain-twisted eyes lacked the fierceness she intended.

Triton, who had been staring at her pitifully, stretched his lips into a wide grin.

Just when she found that smile chilling—

“……!”

A tingling sensation shot from the fingertips that had been scraping the inside of Livia’s tongue.