In DanMachi, Freya Had Her Eye on Me from the Start!

"Help me? How are you going to help me?"

"That bitch Freya always acts so high and mighty. Who knows how many people have been sick of her for a long time? On this matter, we're on the same side."

Looking at Apollo, she said this.

Apollo might have been furious, but he had not lost his reason. His gaze toward her was filled with mockery.

"Hmph. You're the one who can't stand her, aren't you, Ishtar?"

Apollo looked at her with a mocking expression.

The conflict between Ishtar and Freya had never been a secret back in Heaven. After descending to the Lower World, it had only grown more intense.

Both were goddesses of beauty, yet one was adored by every male god while the other could only look up at her.

That left Ishtar deeply unwilling to accept it. Why were they both goddesses of beauty? Why could Freya stand so high above everyone while she had fallen so low?

After coming to the Lower World, Freya's Familia had grown stronger and stronger until it became one of Orario's Two Kings, the strongest Familia in the city.

As for Ishtar, although her Familia was first-rate, its strongest member was only a level 5.

Rage! Jealousy! Resentment!

Those emotions made her constantly want to drag Freya down from her pedestal, grind her into the mud, and let her experience what it felt like to fall from Heaven into Hell.

She had been working toward that goal all along, but without much success.

Then, some time ago, she had unexpectedly acquired some "good merchandise," allowing her to see "hope." As long as she made good use of that trump card, she could pull Freya down.

But the Ishtar Familia alone was not enough. She needed allies.

For that reason, she had not hesitated to collude with the Dark Factions, secretly funneling them massive amounts of Valis. Her goal was to plunge all of Orario into chaos in the future, allowing her to strike when the opportunity arose.

However, what had happened to Apollo today made her eyes light up.

As the saying went, the enemy of my enemy was my friend. Apollo had been humiliated by one of Freya's children. He must hate Freya to the bone now. Wasn't he the perfect cannon fodder?

"Apollo, what happened today will soon spread throughout Orario, perhaps even the entire world. The mighty God of the Sun and God of Light was humiliated by one of Freya's children. This will definitely be talked about for a thousand years."

"Shut up!"

Ishtar was dancing back and forth right on his bottom line, but that was precisely her goal.

She wanted to stir up hatred between Apollo and Freya, exaggerate the situation, and make it sound as dire as possible. Then he would become the perfect cannon fodder.

"What do you want?"

"Cooperation. You hate Freya, and so do I. With the same goal, we make the best allies."

"Allies? Hmph!"

Apollo looked at Ishtar, his face full of ridicule.

Ishtar did not care about his attitude. His own wishes were not that important, because she knew Freya's personality well. Today's grudge would not end so easily.

"Apollo, you should understand that just because everything has ended today doesn't mean there won't be trouble tomorrow."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I know Freya. She is not a magnanimous goddess. And you set your sights on something that belongs to her. Do you think she'll let you go?"

Apollo could not refute her words, because they were true.

With so many gods present, Freya would not do anything reckless. But that did not mean it was over. Her Familia was far stronger than his.

When the time came, she would not even need to send one of her executives. Any random member of the Freya Familia could leave the Apollo Familia unable to bear the consequences.

And Hyacinthus was already half-crippled. With one arm severed, his strength had been greatly reduced.

"How do you want to cooperate?"

In the end, Apollo calmed down and spoke to Ishtar.

The moment Ishtar heard that, she smiled. The cannon fodder was secured.

"It's simple. I have already prepared a trump card. It only needs a little time to take effect. When that happens, it will be time for Freya to pay the price."

"Just our two Familias?"

"Of course not. There are plenty of people in Orario who want to see Freya suffer."

Only then did Apollo nod. If it had really been only Ishtar, he would not have done anything so foolish. From Heaven to the Lower World, he had never once seen her defeat Freya.

"Who else is there?"

"That is not something you need to know."

"Aren't we 'allies'? You're unwilling to reveal even that?"

"Don't worry. We have quite a few 'allies.'"

Boom—

The black-robed figure beside her released a terrifying killing intent.

Apollo could not tell how strong the other party was, but he was definitely a high-level adventurer, at least stronger than Hyacinthus. And judging by his build, he was probably a man. The Ishtar Familia consisted entirely of fighting prostitutes; there were no men among them.

That meant she had not lied to him. There were others aboard this ship, and they were not weak.

"Apollo, when the time is right, I will come find you again. Then it will be time to make Freya pay the price."

"Fine, but I have one condition."

"A condition?"

Ishtar frowned slightly. You're just cannon fodder, and you dare make demands? Can't you tell who holds the better hand here?

Still, she needed to win Apollo over for now, and Ishtar did not want to fall out with him.

"I want Cao Ye. I want to 'pamper' him properly and make him my slave for all eternity."

"Fine~"

Ishtar did not refuse and agreed immediately. A twisted smile appeared on Apollo's face.

After quickly settling the matter of their alliance, Ishtar and the black-robed figure left the Apollo Familia.

"Are you really going to cooperate with Apollo?"

As soon as they stepped outside, the black-robed figure asked Ishtar.

"Cooperate? He's merely cannon fodder, meant to hold Freya's people back. He may be a little useless, but it's still better than wasting our own people."

"That's true, but what can a bunch of level 1s and level 2s accomplish?"

"If they can hold them back for even one second, that's enough. Besides, isn't there a level 3?"

"A half-crippled level 3 isn't much stronger than a level 2."

"That's why he's cannon fodder. And he even dared to negotiate terms with me. He should take a look at his own standing. That pretty boy of Freya's belongs to me."

"Hm? You're interested in that guy too?"

"That's right. Taking away a man who belongs to her... I bet her expression then will be absolutely wonderful."

Thinking of that, Ishtar felt a wave of pleasure. Just imagining the scene thrilled her.

If Cao Ye had been there, he definitely would have complained.

In the original story, Freya had taken Ishtar's man with a single glance. Though both were goddesses of beauty, the gap between them was simply enormous.

One only needed to stand there to captivate everything, gods and mortals alike.

The other had to flaunt her charms, and even then, no one might be interested.

Besides, fair skin covered a hundred flaws. Freya's skin was fairer and smoother than that of a newborn baby, while Ishtar was dark-skinned, which greatly diminished her appeal.

Sacrificing Goddess Freya's Thousand Years of Lifespan!

At the top of Babel Tower, Freya sat in her seat, staring intensely at Cao Ye.

She truly found it strange. No matter where Cao Ye went, he seemed like a walking jinx, with every kind of trouble finding him.

In the Dungeon, he encountered all sorts of "special incidents."

Previously, he had been stopped and robbed in Orario. This time, he had even clashed with Apollo. It was like he had been possessed by the God of Misfortune.

"Tell me, how did you get tangled up with Apollo again?"

"Lady Freya, what do you mean, tangled up? I was just eating there. His people came looking for me and wanted me to accompany their patron god. I refused, and he tried to make a move. I just struck first."

"Enough. You really were ruthless, cutting off the captain of the Apollo Familia's arm in one go."

"Hmph. If it hadn't been a public place, I would have killed him already."

Cao Ye believed that only a dead enemy was a good enemy.

Especially in this dog-eat-dog Orario, wasn't it normal for a few people to die? Besides, this place never lacked ambitious schemers and rats lurking in the shadows.

So, to keep the other side from causing trouble in the future, uprooting them now was the best choice.

"Hmph, big words. He was a level 3, after all. If you had really fought, you would have had almost no chance of winning."

Although Cao Ye's strength had improved quickly, the gap between level 1 and level 3 was still enormous.

However, Cao Ye did not agree with Freya's assessment.

He had cheats. He had the "system." After drawing cards again and again, his strength had only continued to grow.

The levels of a Falna did not apply to Cao Ye.

Leaving aside everything else, just All the World's Evil slumbering deep within Cao Ye's soul would surely erupt if his life were truly in danger.

When that happened, forget a level 3. Even a level 4 or level 5 might not be enough.

On top of that, he had gained so many rewards from card draws. In particular, the two techniques from the Jujutsu Kaisen card pool and a portion of "the cursed energy of a Grade 1 Sorcerer" had greatly enhanced him.

That cursed energy had especially increased Cao Ye's total magical power after merging with his magic.

"Since we have time, let's update your Falna. I'm rather curious how much you've grown."

"Okay~"

Cao Ye did not refuse. He was curious too.

He skillfully took off his shirt, exposing a back with golden proportions, a narrow waist, and V-lines. Although Freya had seen it many times, her gaze still lingered for several seconds.

Then, as a drop of divine blood fell, a burst of white light appeared across Cao Ye's back.

The Falna's values appeared. Under the catalysis of divine blood, the accumulated experience began transforming into ability scores representing Cao Ye's growth.

[Name]: Cao Ye

[Level]: lv1

[Ability Scores]:

"Strength: C·601---B·788" "Endurance: B·727---A·836" "Dexterity: D·559---B·722" "Agility: C·696---A·811" "Magic: S·980---S·999"

[Development Abilities]:

[Magic]: Imaginary Magic, ()()

[Skills]:

"Miracle of Absolute Evil"

"Imaginary Space"

"Sorcerer"

How long had it even been? Yet his growth was this great again.

Especially his Magic, which had reached S-rank 999. Did that mean he was about to break through the limit?

Even Ottar had only broken past the limit of 999 and reached 1000+ after countless hardships and trials. Cao Ye, on the other hand, was merely a level 1 newcomer, yet he had already touched that level.

More importantly, he had begun breaking through the limit from level 1. From the very beginning, he had already surpassed who knew how many others. By the time he reached level 5 or level 6, he would likely far exceed adventurers of the same level.

That was not even counting his three skills, each more powerful than the last.

Cao Ye looked at his Falna and was fairly satisfied with his rate of growth. Although he did not have a protagonist-like cheat skill that boosted his growth rate, he was not doing badly either.

Still, when he looked at the [Magic] section, Cao Ye felt a little expectant. The Imaginary Number Attribute had granted him the magic Imaginary Magic. Now that he had acquired a technique and cursed energy, would new magic be born as well?

Whether it was Black Flash, capable of landing "critical hits," or the absurdly overpowered Domain Expansion, Cao Ye was greatly looking forward to both.