Chapter 389 - Strong Enough

"No. No matter what, in the end, you lot didn't have to do anything to save my family. No one would ever know anyway. But you still did," Maki Yuuka stated quietly.

And it was true…

Regardless of what happened, whether it was their negligence or not, in the end, the gods didn't have to care too much. They could have written off the Maki Family as casualty and just moved to eliminate all traces so that others wouldn't be further involved.

But this was only applicable under normal circumstances. Since Yuuka was involved, no deity would dare not lift a hand to aid her when she's in dire straits. Else, they'd have to face Perun's wrath.

"I'm already very thankful for that," Yuuka finished with a small smile.

The others didn't want to agree with her but none of them could say anything – except Perun.

"You should not be thankful," Perun countered seriously; his amethyst eyes bored into hers. "All existence is part of the cycle of life. All that is part of the cycle of life is ours to protect and govern. It's negligence and punishable by heaven's law for us to know but not do anything about your circumstance. Besides…"

Perun sighed as he inclined his head as if weighing his words before he continued. "You seem to be my daughter's friend. It's natural for us to be extra meticulous in dealing with your case."

Yuuka's eyes widened.  Gin had already mentioned Perun and Alinea's father and daughter relationship, but it seemed it's only now that she caught on.

"D-Daughter?"

"He is my father-in-law," Ryuu suddenly said.

"But Kazehaya Gin –"

"Is obviously not my cousin – at least our souls aren't, even if our flesh in this life is connected." Ryuu wanted to clarify everything as soon as possible. He didn't want Alinea to feel upset with her own mother's ignorance for long.

"Oh," Yuuka murmured. "It's what you were trying to tell me earlier," she continued before ŀȧpsing into silence. A worried frown marred her brows. "I think I need to apologize to Ara – Alinea. I didn't mean to make her upset."

"She would be fine," Perun told her matter-of-factly. "As long as you now know."

"I should be apologizing to you. You were suddenly pulled into our world. It's too much to ask you to know everything. But don't worry, things will be resolved soon."

Alinea stayed by her side since. Even when they had to take her friends back to their houses, she invited Yuuka along. The men stayed behind since they knew Yuuka would be safe with Ali and there were Fuuma following them in secret as well.

"Will that be really okay?"Ryuu asked Perun.

He was referring to Yuuka being ignorant about them. The Perun he knew would definitely secure his wife and child. Even if it's impossible for some, the King of Heaven had the ability to try and make the blank soul recover her memories.

"Fanya is still at large. It's better to settle the score with her. If not, even if Shitara returns to us now, she will just be caught up in the mad game Fanya will definitely cook up to spite me. I will not allow her to suffer and be used as a pawn again." Perun's normally serene expression darkened at the mention of his former wife.

As a blank soul, Shitara had no traces of her old self that Fanya could use to locate her. If she remembered then she would be found out. They were all strong deities – Perun was even the strongest, and yet, Fanya was able to scheme against them for the longest time. He couldn't afford not to play safe this time.

"Just focus on making Ali stronger. Shitara and matters concerning her will be personally dealt with by me," Perun added and the topic was dropped.

As they discussed, Alinea continued to train under Ivan for the rest of the days before graduation. During this time, she had managed to utilize her strengths more effectively. She might be still very far away from being a master, but she had to acknowledge that the power she had now was more than what she had before in Ritz when she was still a warrior.

"You have gotten better with your variation now," Ivan commented proudly after the last day of training.

"Big Brother, do you think I have a chance at winning?"Alinea asked as she caught her breath.

In the week they had been practicing, she had given it her all. But thinking that she would be facing a major deity soon she believed that she still didn't have enough – not good enough.

"Of course," Ivan answered readily. "You're a lot stronger than me now even if you're fighting technique still needs a lot of improvement."

"What?"Alinea couldn't believe it. "How can I be stronger than you?"

"Ali, in this lifetime, I may be your big brother, but you're technically my grandmother, okay?" Ivan reminded her comically. "What is a third-generation deity like me compared to a direct descendant like you? Your father is even Ritz. That alone is already a huge factor in our disparity in strength. If you didn't have the spawn on you, there's even a big chance you can easily kick your husband's buŧŧȯċks."

The image Ivan's words gave her made her giggle.

"Well, if you say so," Ali agreed finally. "I just want to get this over with." She raised her hand with her palm up towards the ceiling as she spoke. "I can see freedom but I fear I'm not strong enough to grab hold of it."

Ivan's face softened as he bent forward to grab her hand and pulled her up to her feet. "You are strong, and what you lack we will provide. We will win this war, Ali."

Alinea grinned. She still had lingering doubts, but her belief towards the people around her was much stronger. "I'll be in your care then."