’My precious space... She is destroying it all. How dare she...! I will not forgive her. I won’t forgive Astoria at all.’

It was not often that Loki got angry or as disappointed as he currently was. But he could not help himself either.

He had spent so much time and effort to make his playground. Everyone down below was his beloved children he had reared with his own hands and did his best to cherish. Every time he saw them overcome the odds, he felt like an accomplished parent.

He had even broken one of the fundamental rules for these kids and allowed them to reincarnate in the same world so that they had no regrets.

Loki considered himself the parent of the people of his world, and he felt the same emotions for them as they felt for their kids.

So seeing Astoria’s approach to this world and how she did not care what she had to destroy in order to get her hands on her weapon left a sour taste in Loki’s mouth.

"Sir, what can we help you with? You look tense and in a foul mood. Should we get you some juice?"

The servants asked as they approached him. He could tell that they were worried about him as well. But his worries were not ones they could resolve just because they wanted to.

"Leave me alone for now. I need to think about something on my own. Why don’t you go have some fun-"

There were loud sounds that reached Loki’s ears, and he immediately headed out to check what was happening. He flinched once he noticed the destruction of his garden as well as the presence he had been cursing not even a minute ago.

Astoria was sitting in the garden and sipping the tea with an annoyed look on her face.

The tea likely did not suit her taste, or she was in too foul a mood, because she grabbed the cup and threw it at Loki’s servant next.

It caused the servant to get injured, but the female still smiled and took the cup away from the angry lady and went back.

The more Loki saw this, the more he felt like he needed to strangle Astoria with his bare hands.

But he contained his anger and approached her with caution. He needed to make sure she did not hurt anyone else.

More importantly, he needed to make sure he did not kill her for coming here and pretending as if nothing happened after what she did to his baby.

"So, the esteemed goddess has finally decided to grace me with her presence. May I know what brought you here, Astoria?"

Loki asked as he took a seat opposite her. He also signalled for everyone else to leave so that he could talk with the goddess without anyone else getting hurt in the process.

Astoria took in a deep breath, but it did not take long before frustration coloured her face.

"Ugh, are you really asking me this because you don’t know? Or are you pretending to be clueless to trick me?"

The goddess asked, and Loki showed no sign of knowing what she was saying. Seeing this, the goddess finally sighed in frustration.

"I am here because I need your help. Disband your world and hand Shuu over to me. If you do, then I will forget all about how you tried to trick me and even go against me. If not, then I will take it as a declaration of war from your side."

Goddess Astoria firmly announced as she looked at Loki. Her words were clear, but something about her presence felt odd.

’Was Astoria the type to ask for something nicely? It feels odd...’

Not only did it feel odd, but it also made Loki feel like he was missing something. So he tried to test her reaction by raising his power.

There was just a slight hint, but he could tell that the goddess was injured when she went to meet Shuu last time.

She was here to try and trick Loki into giving her Shuu because she knew she would not be able to get to him herself in her current state.

’She is trying to trick me? Her luck is truly rotten for her to come to me out of all people. Unfortunately for her, I have no reason to help her.’

Loki had more reasons to hate and despise Astoria than to help her. If she had a shred of decency in her body, then Loki was the last person she would have come to. But because she did not seem to know what was right or wrong, she still decided to come to him.

And Loki had every intention of destroying her for what she had tried to do to him.

But first, he needed Astoria to trust him. Only then could he force her into a pit of despair so deep that she would never be able to come out of it.

"Ah-! I am honored that my dear sister has taken the time out of her busy schedule to come and have a talk with me. Please do continue. I would like to hear more about what you have to say to me." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Loki told her as he passed her a glass of freshly brewed tea he had materialized out of thin air.

Astoria took the glass and sipped it to show her courtesy. She had not even stopped to check what was in this tea.

’My dear sister Astoria. You are so innocent and cruel at the same time that it makes me feel annoyed at how easy it is to deal with you. Ugh, I should have taken care of you a long way back. But I kept putting it away because you had Shuu by your side. But now that you are all alone and a threat to me, I will make sure to erase you. For my own sake as well as for the sake of what I want to build.’