Ian's True Authority

Night had fallen.

Candlelight flickered inside the barn.

The wizards were completely stunned. Every one of them stood frozen in place, even their breathing halted. Their eyes were fixed on the figure at the door—clad in silver armor, wearing an olive wreath, with eyes as deep as the starry sky and an oppressive aura that made it hard to breathe.

Athena.

Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, had descended in person!

"W-we're finished..." a young wizard muttered tremulously, his legs going weak as he nearly dropped to his knees.

"She must be here to settle accounts..." Another elderly wizard shut his eyes in despair, his fingers unconsciously clutching the hem of his robe.

The wizards' faces turned deathly pale. Some had even begun imagining their own deaths—burned to ash by divine punishment? Turned into statues? Or cast into Tartarus to suffer for eternity?

Yet just when everyone thought the end had come—Athena's gaze passed over them and settled directly on Ian.

Her voice was soft, yet every person heard it clearly.

"As long as you can keep me alive when Ragnarok arrives."

The moment she said that—

It was no different from a bomb going off.

They had thought that today, they would either die at the hands of the temple knights or be struck down by Athena's divine punishment. But who could have imagined... that a god would actually negotiate with a wizard?!

Dead silence.

Even the sound of breathing vanished from the barn.

The wizards stared wide-eyed, scarcely daring to believe what they had heard.

Athena... was seeking a deal with Ian. This was a scene they had never imagined in their lives—a true god of Mount Olympus appearing at their secret gathering!

And not only had she not delivered divine punishment or angrily demanded answers, she was... making a