Understanding full well just how terrifying a woman's intuition could be, Charlie did not dare let that sensitive topic continue any further. He immediately cleared his throat, adjusting his expression to look far more serious to divert Hera's attention.
"With my current strength, Goddess Hera." His tone was quiet yet laden with absolute conviction, "I can go anywhere I desire in this world. And there isn't a single thing that can stand in my way. Including the holy barrier of Olympia."
That declaration sounded immensely arrogant. Even to Hera herself, whose personality was famously pompous and haughty among the gods, Charlie's words just now were far too outrageous and out of line.
Hera crossed both arms beneath her chest, inadvertently supporting her plush breasts as her gaze sharpened even further.
"You are truly quite bold to utter such a statement in my presence, Charlie."
"Even the strongest adventurer in the world fifteen years ago, the captain of my own Familia who reached Level 9—Empress—though she possessed an extraordinary arrogance much like mine, she would never boast that she could go anywhere without anything stopping her, just as you have spoken!"
Then Hera abruptly fell silent for a moment.
Silence crept between them once more.
As a goddess, she possessed an intrinsic ability to detect human lies, and strangely enough, she could feel that Charlie was not boasting or lying to her in the slightest. It was precisely that reality that plunged Hera's mind into ever deeper confusion.
"Tell me..." Hera leaned her body forward, staring intently into Charlie's pupils. "Charlie, what Level are you actually at right now?!"
This time, it was Charlie's turn to fall silent. He did not immediately answer the question.
"I think it would be best if I show you directly, rather than merely explaining it through words."
Under Hera's confused and probing gaze, Charlie slowly stood up. He removed his top, then turned his body around with his back facing the Goddess, fully exposing the entire area of his back.
In that instant, Hera's pupils contracted drastically. The arrogant, tyrannical expression that had been carved into her lovely face since the beginning shattered completely, replaced by a shock of immense proportions.
Hera rose from her sofa, pointing at Charlie with trembling fingers.
"W-What... what actually happened to you, Charlie?!"
"Why... why has the Falna I carved onto you vanished?!"
Charlie's newly exposed back appeared so clean and flawless. There was no longer any trace of the Hera Familia emblem—the sacred hieroglyph of the gods representing the grace Hera had once bestowed upon him.
There was no normal method that could permanently erase or remove a Falna without the knowledge of the Main God who granted it.
A Falna was not merely a ordinary tattoo upon the surface of the skin on one's back; it was a divine blessing carved directly into and merged with the essence of an adventurer's soul. Because of this, a Main God always held an exceptionally powerful spiritual bond with their follower.
A Main God could instantly feel if that Falna went out due to the adventurer's death, was sealed by an outside force, or had its status altered.
Meanwhile, Hera was utterly certain she had felt no anomaly in their bond all this time. There had been no sign whatsoever indicating that something was going wrong with Charlie. The young man's existence within her soul bond seemed to have simply evaporated without a ripple.
Seeing the rare shock displayed by Hera, Charlie slowly put his shirt back on and turned around.
"Calm down, Goddess Hera. Please control yourself." He spoke in a soft tone, attempting to soothe her. "I came here specifically to see you, and I promise I will explain everything from the beginning."
Taking a deep breath, Hera tried to suppress the storm of emotions in her chest, though her gaze still gleamed with intense intimidation. She pointed firmly toward the chair across from her.
"You must explain everything right now, Charlie! Don't you dare hide a single detail from me, or I will truly be so enraged that I'll destroy this entire room!" Her voice was once again filled with an undeniable, dictatorial edge.
Having voiced her demand, Hera threw her body back onto the sofa. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, leaning back haughtily while awaiting an explanation, her eyes never leaving her male follower's every move.
Charlie sat back down, looking directly into the eyes of his patron before finally speaking.
"My final Level right before this Falna vanished... was Level 7."
In an instant, another flash of astonishment swept across Hera's beautiful eyes.
That confession was like a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky to anyone who heard it.
Though her chest thundered with questions and disbelief, Hera restrained herself from interrupting Charlie.
At the same time, Hera's mind whirled wildly.
(Level 7?)
(This progress is utterly absurd! It hasn't even been half a year since I carved my blessing and gave him his Falna for the first time, yet he has already managed to climb up to Level 7?!)
(Charlie's growth speed has crossed the boundaries of divine logic, far surpassing even the fastest record that has ever existed in the Lower World.)
In her mind, Hera could already clearly imagine the massive uproar Charlie would cause in Orario when the other gods found out about this terrifying achievement.
Thinking of how the name of the Hera Familia would once again shake the Lower World and leave other gods trembling in fear, Hera's anger suddenly melted away.
Slowly but surely, the corners of her lips began to lift, forming a radiant smile of immense pride.
On the other hand, Charlie, witnessing the instantaneous shift in Hera's mood, could only remain silent.
(What the wise men of the past said was indeed true.)
He held back a sigh.
(Women truly are creatures capable of changing their facial expressions and emotions far faster than someone turning the page of a book.)
Setting those silly thoughts aside, Charlie promptly leaned forward in his seat.
He knew that now was the right time to speak plainly regarding the absolute truth.
He looked straight at Hera and dropped the single keyword that changed everything.
"Transcendent..."
Charlie then proceeded to lay everything bare without holding anything back. He explained how he had evolved beyond the limitations of the Falna, touching upon a new level of existence known as a Transcendent being—an independent power no longer bound by the divine blessing system of the gods.
However, the more Hera listened to the explanation, the more absurd and senseless it all felt. The furrow on her brow deepened once again.
The climax arrived when Charlie boldly voiced his greatest ambition: a desire to return the world to its original state, to a time before the gods existed and before they descended to the Lower World.
Charlie wanted to liberate mortal inhabitants from their dependence on the Falna and the control of the gods.
That idea was completely beyond reason!
To an ancient and grand goddess like Hera, the notion of erasing divine influence from the Lower World sounded like pure insanity.
Let alone a human, even the concept itself was entirely impossible to achieve.
Hera stared at her male follower with a gaze now filled with overwhelming hesitation.
She had even begun to suspect that the vast power Charlie obtained had somehow corrupted his mind, turning the young man before her completely insane.
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