Sekhmet bit her lips in frustration. She had come with dreams of ruling the world and reshaping it in her image. Only to be forced into submission by a mere mortal. Unable to bear the humiliation, Sekhmet's eyes glowed with rage.
If she couldn't force the brand off herself, she would blackmail the mortal into letting her go. If he didn't, she would kill his precious sister. But as she raised a blood spear, ready to strike herself, YuWon cut her off.
"I forbid you to harm yourself," YuWon mumbled with a smile.
As he did, the blood spear in Sekhmet's hand dropped to the ground. Sekhmet's eyes were wide in disbelief.
She knew the brand could make mortals do certain things, but she hadn't expected YuWon to have trained Yeji so well that her body would obey him on its own.
While she was lost in her thoughts, YuWon walked up to her. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, forcing her to look directly into his eyes.
He was aware of Yeji's submissive tendencies. Hence, he knew she wouldn't mind him getting a bit rough on her.
"Yeji is mine," he whispered. "She's not your toy to possess, but my puppet to use as I please. Leave her alone while I'm being kind, or I swear, even the heavens won't protect you from me. Get that inside your head, divine bitch."
Sekhmet glared at him with pure hatred. No one, no mortal nor god, has ever dared to speak to her like that. There was someone who tested her once, another foolish mortal.
It happened ages ago and the man's entire civilization had to pay the price for his mistake. If the gods hadn't tricked her into drinking wine laced with the sleeping curse, she would have killed every mortal back then.
Yet, another mortal was repeating—no, he had done something even worse. Not only had YuWon threatened her, but he had touched her through Yeji.
That thought made her blood boil. Sekhmet wanted to strike him down, to tear him apart, but she knew it was nothing but wishful thinking. If she made any attempts at the mortal's life, the slave brand would destroy her precious vessel.
She had groomed Yeji's body to fit herself. As things stood, Yeji's body was the only one capable of containing her divine essence. As such, if she tried to kill YuWon, the slave brand would kill Yeji, leaving Sekhmet without a mortal vessel.
With her hands forced, Sekhmet was forced to swallow her pride and anger. She lowered her gaze, reluctantly acknowledging YuWon's control.
"Fine. You can have her," she spat with disdain in her eyes.
YuWon smiled, but so did Sekhmet as she continued, "But know this: I can possess her anytime I please. There's nothing you can do about it. You might have won this battle, mortal. But you will lose the war."
Instead of being worried, YuWon looked amused by Sekhmet's declaration of war.
"We'll see about that," he replied.
Sekhmet's aura disappeared from Yeji's body, and she collapsed on the ground, unconscious. The blood swirling around her fell as well, forming dark red puddles around her.
YuWon checked her and thankfully, Yeji was alright, just asleep from exhaustion. YuWon had never been possessed by a god, but knew it would be an exhausting affair.
"What did you do to the goddess!?" Soo-Ah roared.
Despite being forced to the ground, she still had the strength to yell at him. But as he turned to look at her, YuWon saw something else as well. Soo-Ah was angry, but she was also afraid.
If YuWon could force a god, then who knew what he would do to them? After all, Soo-Ah had done everything, hoping Sekhmet would save them later.
But now that the goddess was gone, she wasn't as confident as before. Since her plans failed, she was afraid of what YuWon might do.
"Nothing she didn't deserve," YuWon smiled, looking at her. "But don't be jealous. I did nothing to her that I wouldn't do to you."
"I don't need your money," YuWon cut him off.
"Then..." the centaur mumbled, looking at the females.
"Oh, hell no!"
The thought disgusted YuWon. The female centaurs were pretty, but only from the waist above. What the hell will he do about that other half? Close his eyes when they do the tango?
From the way some females acted, it was like YuWon's rejection had offended them. But how could he not feel disgusted about imagining them being intimate?
"I see," the elder replied, nodding towards the males. "Are they up to your liking—?"
"If you have a death wish, just say the word," YuWon snarled, revealing the noir blade.
"...I'm afraid we have nothing to offer you, then."
YuWon sighed, knowing they won't go anywhere like this. He did not know about the centaurs and what treasures they could be hiding. Also, it didn't appear they will disclose information about anything they held close.
"Oi angel," YuWon called out, looking at the sky. "Don't even think about hiding anymore. I know you're watching us all the time."
YuWon waited for a moment. Sure enough, the angel appeared there with a flash of light.
"How did you know!?" the angel pouted. "I erased my presence entirely."
"I didn't," YuWon waved her off. "But thanks for confirming my suspicions."
"You—!"
"No need to get angry now. Besides, didn't I give you lots of entertainment?"
The angel sighed. It was true. The encounter between him and Sekhmet had pleased the sponsors and the watchers. As such, her popularity had increased. If he kept at it, they would soon promote her to an archangel.
But that didn't mean she could openly help him. Not only that would be against the law, it would also be unfair to other awakeners. That said, he deserved a reward for fending off Sekhmet.
"Fine, I can help you. But don't make a habit of it," the angel shook her head. "What do you want?"
"Settle their debt."
The angel didn't bother replying and turned to the elder centaur. The centaur who was acting till now, suddenly found himself praying for real.
Centaurs had lived inside the world tree for millennia. It was absurd to think they didn't have any treasures lying around. They just didn't want to part with their treasures.
"My beloved stingy horsies," the angel smiled. "Do I need to spell everything out for you?"
"...oh great one, please—!"
"Shut it!" the angel cut him off. "Take him to Chiron. That's an order!"
"...as you wish."