Inner Voice: All Heroines Hear My Inner Voice Chapter 1118: Deus Ex Machina carried out a kidnapping

"H-Hello, I'm Noah. A goddess who was previously sealed away on that planet. Have you guys defeated Leviathan?" Noah asked hesitantly, pointing to the planet bearing her own name.

"Right. It wasn't us, but our leader, Thanatos, who did it." Osiris replied kindly and introduced their leader to the childlike goddess.

She reached out her hand toward Thanatos.

"Ooh! So, you're my hero? Thank you, Thanatos-senpai!"

Noah addressed the blonde woman with an incredibly large bust standing before her as if she were her senior.

She herself was confident in her beauty. You could say she was the Goddess of Beauty in this universe.

But compared to Thanatos, she had to admit that she was just a junior.

"Earlier, you thought that if I were a man, you'd make me your follower or apostle. As a token of gratitude, how about you serve someone for me?" Thanatos bluntly demanded a reward for what she had done.

That shameless attitude was just like someone else's.

Eiji: ?

Noah froze.

She was certainly surprised because it seemed like Thanatos could read her mind!? A goddess like her can also read minds, but that's limited to humans.

Gods and goddesses shouldn't be able to read each other's minds. But Thanatos seemed to be the exception—she didn't hesitate to read her thoughts.

"Ehhhh!?"

Noah couldn't help but exclaim; there was also a look of panic on her face.

"What? Don't tell me you're lying and can't give me a proper reward?" Thanatos wore a blank expression with a touch of humor, but her eyes sparkled slightly.

"I-I… Of course! I don't mind making whoever you choose an apostle or even my personal servant!"

Noah hastily agreed to Thanatos's demand.

However, Thanatos frowned as if she were displeased.

Noah was confused.

What?

Did she say something wrong and offend this terrifying woman!?

As Thanatos stared at her with those glowing eyes, Noah shuddered and was convinced that she had truly killed Leviathan all by herself.

She didn't want to provoke her.

"No, you've got it wrong. I said to serve someone for me. I didn't tell you to make that person your apostle or your personal servant. Do you think you're worthy?"

"…!!?"

So, you're upset because I'm exaggerating my own importance?

Noah was a little offended. But she didn't dare let her true feelings show on her face.

Even so, she didn't agree right away either! She had just been freed from the temple that had kept her locked up for so long; she certainly didn't want to lose her freedom again!

"Serve someone? Excuse me, but may I ask what exactly you mean by serve someone?"

"As for that, we can discuss it at my place."

Thanatos didn't want to talk about her host in front of the other three Machine Gods just yet.

Even so, they seemed curious about the person she was referring to and would ask her about it later.

"Wait, does that mean I have to follow you, senpai?"

"Yes."

"...."

Noah was silent for a moment.

She wanted to refuse.

She was the Goddess of Freedom and Beauty.

She valued freedom above all else; she didn't even like giving orders to her followers. At least in the past—because now she didn't have a single follower.

That lecherous god, Jupiter, didn't just imprison her. He has ruined her reputation by spreading the rumor that she is the Goddess of Freedom and Destruction. In the eyes of the people living in the various worlds throughout the universe, she is now known as the Evil Goddess.

Thinking about this, Noah felt sad and lonely because even though she was now free, she didn't know where to go. After all, the other Titan gods were still imprisoned, and her own reputation had become terrible.

"You know full well that you don't know where to go. Instead of staying in this universe, why don't you come with us, Deus Ex Machina? In our universe, we are the gods who rule and govern that place. There, you won't have to worry about being called an Evil God."

Thanatos's expression softened slightly. She coaxed the goddess before her in much the same way she had coaxed Shadow Garden into swearing allegiance to her apostle.

Although at that time, she did not reveal her true form as a Machine God to Alpha and the other members of the Shadow Garden.

In the eyes of the other three Machine Gods, Thanatos's actions seemed perfectly natural, as if she had done something like this countless times before. Honestly, they were a little surprised.

Noah was just a goddess who was weak compared to them; they didn't understand why Thanatos went so far as to persuade her to join them.

Was it out of pity?

No way!

This is Thanatos, a Machine God who is more like a machine than any of them! In order to continue evolving, she conducted numerous experiments and led their group to invade other universes.

Countless beings from various universes have perished at her hands. She even expanded her own universe just for her experiments.

Moreover, she didn't bother to make her universe any larger even though she could have.

Additionally, she seems to have been busy with other matters at her residence over the past few years.

The other Machine Gods were unaware that Thanatos often traveled alone to other universes and engaged in other personal activities.

"Is that so!?" Nata Noah's eyes lit up.

She took the bait from Thanatos.

"I agree! Senpai, please let me come with you!"

"Good."

Thanatos was satisfied that she didn't have to force Noah by brainwashing her a little.

Still, before they left through her teleportation gate—someone with a divine aura like the sun approached their location.

Noah looked a little nervous because she recognized who it was.

It was the mightiest of the Great Goddesses, Althena of Olympus!

She must have come here because Leviathan was dead, and the seal on her power had been broken. The King of the Holy Gods, Jupiter, had probably ordered her eldest daughter to capture her!

"Noah, it's been a long time since I've seen you. You seem to be having fun and have made four new friends."

Althena's voice was firm.

As the sun's aura around her faded, her figure became clearly visible. As the Great Goddess, also known as the Sun Goddess, she is the leader of the Eight Great Goddesses. She is also the goddess with the most followers, and her influence extends throughout the entire universe.

She was, of course, incredibly beautiful.

She had long, golden hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. At this moment, she was covering her slender yet curvaceous figure with her battle dress.

She also holds a spear—a divine weapon—in her hand.

"Hey, Althena! It's been a while—you're as beautiful as ever." Noah's words sounded like flattery.

Althena rolled her eyes.

"Save your insincere compliments. By order of Jupiter, King of the Holy Gods. I'm here to confirm whether Leviathan is truly dead and whether the people who killed it are your followers?"

"That… That's not important, is it?" Noah didn't know what to say.

Besides, Thanatos wasn't her follower.

She was also a goddess like her, and she wasn't from the Divine Realm.

"I thought so, too. But my father doesn't; he's worried you're cheating." Althena spoke quite kindly to Noah.

That's because they've been quite close since childhood.

She was glad Noah had escaped from that temple, but she couldn't just ignore her father's orders either.

"That pervert…! He's clearly just reluctant to let me go and is looking for an excuse to arrest me again!"

Noah cursed the King of the Holy Gods right in front of his own daughter.

Althena wasn't angry; instead, she nodded without saying a word.

She also thought the man was lecherous and far too infatuated with Noah, even though he already had many wives.

"So, it seems these four aren't your followers?" Althena turned her gaze to Deus Ex Machina.

Before Noah could answer, Odin laughed, a look of exasperation on her face.

"Are you blind? How could Machine Gods like us possibly be followers of a weak goddess like her? And don't get the wrong idea—that massive creature called Leviathan didn't need all of us just to kill it. Our leader, Thanatos, was the one who killed it because it interfered in the battle between her and a goddess."

Althena narrowed her eyes at Thanatos, her expression serious. A goddess capable of killing Leviathan all by herself—she's incredibly powerful.

But which goddess had she fought before?

"A goddess… Was it the goddess with white hair and brown skin? Did Naia die at your hands?"

"What!? That woman, Naia, is dead!?"

Noah was shocked.

Come to think of it, she hadn't asked whether Thanatos had killed Leviathan to help her?

It seemed she'd killed that creature simply because it happened to be interfering with her battle against an emissary of the Outer Gods!

Naia was also one of the eight Great Goddesses, and she's dead!?

"So her name is Naia? Yes, she died because she provoked our leader. Do you have a problem with that? Want to fight? I'd be happy to oblige, little goddess."

Odin grinned, staring at Althena with a look of provocation in her eyes.

"...!?" Noah covered her mouth with both hands.

This was the first time she'd seen someone dare to mock Althena and challenge her to a fight.

She glanced at Odin and couldn't help but glance at her own small chest.

Damn! Aren't those women called the Machine Goddesses way too sexy?! Each of them had a bust larger than Althena's.

Noah felt envious.

Althena's expression gradually grew cold, and the void around her also seemed to be scorched by her divine power.

"In other words, the four of you are intruders? I've never heard of any gods called the Machine Gods. You're not from this universe, are you? In that case—it is my duty to judge you."

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear! But little goddess, you're way too confident."

A massive burst of magical energy erupted, and around Odin's massive, muscular body, the vast surrounding void grew bitterly cold.

The solar aura around her, unleashed by Althena, even immediately began to fade.

Noah shivered; she immediately hugged herself because she felt so cold!

A blue spear with black gradations appeared in Odin's hand. It was her Gungnir.

Hokuto wanted to compete with Odin again for the prey, but Osiris stopped her with her words.

Hokuto scowled.

Thanatos didn't bother to stop Odin; she simply told her to finish the fight quickly. Ah, she also told her not to take it too seriously since one of her friends (one of the Great Goddesses) lived in this universe.

Odin was a little dissatisfied, but she would do as her leader said and decided to increase her output slightly. The magical power she emitted froze the water on many planets, snow began to fall, and ice crystals also appeared in the vast expanse of space.

"You…"

Sensing the great danger that was coming, Althena didn't hesitate to use her full power as the Goddess of the Sun.

An aura like a massive sun erupted from her body.

She herself seemed to become a second sun in that universe.

"Sun Magic: Destructive Light."

"Territorial Sovereign."

They both spoke at the same time.

Noah: Wait, Althena! I'm standing right in front of you, too! Do you want to kill me with your most powerful magic, too!?

She was about to cast a defensive spell on herself, but the magic Odin used stunned her.

The heat radiating from Althena vanished instantly, replaced by an icy chill. Not only that, but the space around them suddenly transformed into a vast, icy world.

To be precise, they suddenly found themselves standing on an icy plain so vast that neither Noah nor even Althena could see its edges.

But even more surprising, a necklace—or choker—also appeared around her neck. Althena tried to remove the choker from her neck, but she couldn't.

This slightly tarnished her image as a goddess.

She looked like a slave or a woman with a lewd hobby.

Feelings of anger and humiliation filled her heart, making her expression look terrifying to Noah.

"What are you doing to me!?"

"Hehe. Why are you angry? That necklace suits you."

"You're an evil god! I'll kill you!"

Odin hurled a taunt.

She looked down on Althena with the sun hovering behind her.

This is her magical ability.

Territorial Sovereign.

When a being enters her realm or is forced into her presence, they are compelled to obey the rules she has established. All of them would be fitted with a collar or choker that forced them to submit to her policies.

Of course, she excluded Thanatos and the others. Even if she wanted to, the magic wouldn't work on the other three Machine Gods.

She only placed the choker on Althena, who must now submit to her will.

"You want to kill me with just the sun behind you? That doesn't even make me feel hot or break a sweat. Is your name Althena? Get on your knees."

"!!!"

Althena felt a force compelling her to obey the orders of the woman she was fighting.

She fought with all her might, but the force overpowered her and sent her tumbling from the sky.

*Thud!*

Her knees cracked the icy plain beneath her—she was truly on her knees!

Althena's face flushed with anger, shame, and a host of other negative emotions.

Noah was speechless. A goddess as powerful as Althena was forced to her knees!? The other gods in the Divine Realm would surely be just as shocked as she was.

Ever since she was a child, Althena had never even knelt before her father.

But now? She was kneeling before them and being humiliated.

Noah found it incredible.

She also couldn't help but glance at Odin, fear in her eyes.

"You are so weak, you can't even resist my rather excessive command. If it were another creature strong enough, they'd at least be able to put up a fight, and not all of my commands would be effective against them." Odin walked toward Althena, her Gungnir scraping the surface of the ice as she moved.

Althena gritted her teeth; she wanted to stand up again. But her body was frozen solid and wouldn't obey her.

How is that possible!?

Is the difference in their power levels really that great?

Was she defeated like this?

Odin stood right in front of her; her enormous breasts almost blocked Althena's view of her smirk.

"Do you want to beg me not to kill you? If you do it while kissing my feet, I'll consider it."

"!!!" Althena had never felt so humiliated as she did now.

She glared at Odin with overflowing hatred in her eyes.

Noah was shocked once again.

Crazy! That Machine God is truly crazy! I mean, she seems to have a terrible hobby.

As she imagined Althena kissing Odin's feet while begging, Noah swallowed hard. For some reason, she felt that scene would be incredibly fascinating.

Even so, Althena is her friend!

She couldn't bear to see her treated that way.

"I'd rather die than have to do something like that!!" Althena shouted, her voice firm.

"Huh? Are you sure?" The corners of Odin's lips curled up even higher, as if she were amused by the woman's refusal.

She raised Gungnir toward the sun Althena had created and fired a shot.

A beam of energy with immense destructive power shot forth.

*ZBOOOOOOMMMM!!*

The enormous sun was pierced by the shot she fired and exploded. The scene resembled the apocalypse, with a solar storm spreading in all directions, but the frigid air in Odin's world instantly rendered the impact of the solar explosion insignificant.

Althena's eyes widened.

"A-Althena, please just give up! I don't want you to die!" Noah shouted frantically from a distance.

Althena's face was grim.

Give up? In other words, you want me to kiss the feet of the woman in front of me, Noah!?

If she hadn't known Noah for so long, she'd suspect she just wanted to see her humiliate herself.

"No way!"

Refusal kept pouring out of Althena's mouth. Her pride couldn't bear such humiliation.

"You idiot! Stop being such a stubborn woman! Geez, Althena! Idiot! You're an idiot! Only I and these women will see—you don't have to be embarrassed!"

"Noah, you're the idiot! How dare you call me an idiot! Do you think it's okay for me to do something like this just because the only ones who'll see it are you guys—especially you? Idiot!"

"What!?"

Noah puffed out her cheeks.

She wanted to hit Althena on the head, but the distance was too great, and she didn't dare get close to Odin.

"Fufufu." Osiris giggled.

She was amused by the verbal sparring between Noah and Althena.

She glanced at Thanatos beside her, "Thanatos, why don't you bring that woman named Althena along with us too? She could be a maid at your place or something like that, and put on a comedy act with Noah when you're bored."

Comedy? Do you think the two of us are comedians!? We're goddesses!

Noah grumbled to herself, but she was also relieved. She felt that among the Machine Gods, Osiris was the only kind and somewhat reasonable one.

Odin and Althena certainly heard what Osiris said.

The latter's face turned pale.

Meanwhile, the former scowled. She glared at Osiris.

Thanatos pretended to cough, "Ahem! Osiris, your idea isn't bad. Odin, don't kill her—just force her to come back with us."

Before Osiris said that, she was actually thinking of a reason to bring Althena back with them. After all, she's pretty enough, and her apostle would surely like her too.

She and Noah would make great souvenirs to bring home.

What Osiris said helped her get what she wanted while maintaining her image as the leader of Deus Ex Machina.

Hearing Thanatos's order, Odin was a little dissatisfied, but she obeyed. After all, Althena was too weak, and she couldn't comfort her. Killing her wouldn't have done her any good either.