NOVEL WEB Chapter 13: Love and Hatred
Dante felt a little anxious with Aphrodite's stillness since she had sat on his back to activate his Falna. There was a silence that seemed to weigh in the air, as if each second stretched longer than usual. The soft sound of pencil scratching the paper was the only noise filling the room.
After a few seconds writing, Aphrodite rose from Dante's back with the same discretion as when she had sat, her movements so controlled and fluid that for a moment he wondered if she was deliberately avoiding any visible reaction.
She and Dante sat side by side on the edge of the bed. The goddess held the paper with the written status, her gaze fixed on it contemplatively. There was something in her expression—a mix of curiosity and reservation—that made it clear she was processing more than she intended to show.
"Here, read it yourself," she said, handing the paper to him.
Dante took the document, his fingers lightly touching hers, and read every word, absorbing every detail. Then he understood why her face had looked so strange.
---
Level: 1
STR: I 0.5
END: I 0
DEX: I 0
AGI: I 3
MAG: I 0
Skills:
[Blessed by ???]
[????????????????]
[??????????]
[??????????]
[Silent Steps] – Reduces the sound of body movements, making it harder to detect approach.
[Precise Jumps] – Increases accuracy and stability during jumps, allowing safe and targeted landings.
Magic:
None recorded at awakening.
---
After finishing reading, Dante remained silent for a few seconds, staring at the letters as if wanting to extract answers from them.
"Well, it was to be expected that something like this would happen…" he thought, remembering the entity Love, the one who had brought him to this world and given him a second life. Even now, he had no idea of the real reason she had done this.
'I wanted to ask her why she sent me here… but she didn't even give me a chance.'
He slowly raised his eyes, observing Aphrodite. For a moment, he wondered if he should say something.
'Since we will be a family, I don't want to lie to her… but, for now, I won't reveal anything. I need to be sure I can fully trust her.'
This decision wasn't just about Aphrodite. It was about the whole scenario he found himself in. He didn't know how far her influence reached, nor what her real objectives were. The only thing he suspected was that she must have come to him because of something related to Love — after all, her divinity encompassed the very concept of love.
Thinking about it, Dante suspected that Love had done more than just improve his appearance. He couldn't believe Aphrodite's interest was only physical.
'Or maybe it is… after all, in the myths, she fell in love with Adonis just for his beauty. And, if I remember correctly, she competed with Persephone for him…'
A trace of vanity crossed his mind.
'And honestly… I don't think I'd lose to him in looks. And besides, I have an advantage he never had: I can get stronger and not be a hostage to the crazy and possessive love of powerful goddesses.'
While savoring this almost narcissistic thought, another question came to mind.
'Come to think of it, does Adonis exist in this world? Since even canonically, Loki became a woman and Ishtar became kind of a jealous slut — something I always found absurd, since in Mesopotamian mythology she is described as their most beautiful goddess.'
Remembering again how Ishtar is portrayed in the Danmachi anime, Dante felt a bit dissatisfied. After all, a goddess like her should never stoop to such a level, to be just a jealous and bitter woman.
Ishtar might even own brothels, but lying down and having sex with several mortals just for manipulation and to maintain her power and influence… that didn't make sense to Dante.
How could a goddess of that caliber stoop so low?
Where had her pride and dignity as a goddess gone?
In Dante's eyes, the mortal world should be, for the gods, something like a pastime, a distraction from the tedious eternity of the Divine Realm — not an arena to lose one's very essence.
While he lost himself in these reflections, Aphrodite watched him attentively, her eyes analyzing every subtlety of his expression as if trying to decipher a riddle. It was clear to her that there was much more hidden behind that look.
"So… what do you think of your status?" she suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
The question brought him back. His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at her.
"I really don't know what to say… Just that it's weird my status is like this, right?" he replied, disguising it as if he were as confused as she was.
But Aphrodite was not easily fooled. She was a social butterfly, a master at reading people. By the way he looked away and his restrained way of speaking, she knew there was more than he was saying.
"I understand… It must be my fault. I, as your goddess, should be able to decipher these symbols for you. Sorry," she said, assuming a falsely guilty tone, as if trying to provoke an emotional crack in him.
Dante, unaware of how good an actress she was, felt a slight pang of guilt. Still, he firmly kept the decision not to reveal anything for now.
"You don't need to feel guilty about that. Unexpected things happen, right? No one's perfect… not even a goddess like you," he said, raising his hand to her head, gently caressing it with a calm smile.
Aphrodite was surprised by the touch. She felt it was genuine… and, for a moment, a real pang of guilt arose in her chest. But it was soon drowned by another sensation: a shiver ran down her spine, and she almost let out a sigh of pleasure at the caresses.
Getting up, Dante grabbed the shirt he had not yet put on and dressed, extending his hand to her.
"Let's go. Linda must be waiting for us."
Aphrodite looked at him for a moment, then gently took his hand. They got down from the bed and left the room together.
---
In a distant place… very far from the world where Dante was, an entity watched everything from a majestic throne. The structure seemed made of pure gold, adorned with precious stones whose shine resembled nothing found in the mortal world.
The figure on the throne displayed a smile of indescribable beauty. Her irises were ethereal-chromatic: the right one a deep red; the left one a soft pink. The pupils, shaped like hearts, added an almost hypnotic touch to her perfection.
Her hair, parted exactly in the middle, reflected the colors of her eyes — pink on the right, red on the left — falling in silky waves to her waist. She wore a white outfit with golden details, elegant and provocative, with a neckline that revealed a calculated glimpse of her perfection.
Sitting cross-legged, she kept her eyes fixed on a floating pinkish screen, watching everything Dante did and said as if it were a play staged just for her. Her lips curled, sometimes in delight, sometimes in something more possessive.
Suddenly, a voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once.
"Love… what are you doing now?"
Before she could answer, a new figure began materializing beside her. It was almost a distorted reflection of her — so similar in beauty, but with an opposite aura. Her hair was black as absolute void, absorbing the surrounding light. Her eyes, fiery red-orange, seemed to contain living flames. She wore black silk with golden details, shaping her body as if created to exalt every curve.
Hatred stared at the screen with mild interest. "Hmm… having fun watching that little existence, huh?" she said with a smile both curious and provocative.
Love didn't avert her gaze. "None of your business. Now go away and leave me alone."
"You're irritated…" Hatred commented with a low, malicious laugh. "That means I'm right."
Love frowned slightly but said nothing. Hatred stepped back, her body beginning to dissolve like smoke in the wind. But before disappearing completely, her thoughts became clear, as if whispered into the very void.
'Dante, huh…? She's been watching him for a while. I need to find out for myself what makes my sister pay so much attention to him.'
And with that, she vanished. Love remained alone, but her gaze on the screen intensified, as if her sister's words had planted an uneasy seed.