A storm of emotions clouded his reasoning and rational judgment, and Alex only looked stunned at Crista.

She placed a hand upon his chest and said, "We have so much to speak about, Alex, let's go inside...."

Alex felt his heart thump, and he blushed and nodded.

"Crista, how are you here?" Alex gently asked as he followed her inside.

Crista placed a hand upon her chin and contemplated.

She then looked at him directly in the eyes and exclaimed, "I don't know, Alex, I don't know...."

Alex felt a bit drowsy when he heard her voice but he assumed it was because he hadn't seen her for so long and missed her so dearly.

They navigated through the palace and Crista halted in a large bedroom.

"Let's...rest..." Crista said suggestively, and her voice had a certain allure.

Alex couldn't help but nod, and he sat upon the large bed.

There was a strange smell in the room, that Alex recognized as a mix of agarwood and lavender.

The smell permeated into his nose and relaxed his body.

When Crista saw him in that relaxed state, she licked her tongue and a sly smile flashed on her face.

Alex felt drowsy and his vision was blurry, so he didn't notice the strange expressions Crista had.

'Is...this...what...love...feels...like?' Alex felt thoroughly serene, and he forgot the reason he was even here in the first place.

Following that, Crista approached him and she said, "I've missed you so much..."

She got on the bed and caressed his face.

Her body was extremely close to Alex's, and he sensed her body heat upon him.

"I feel like we've reached a point in our relationship, Alex."

Crista leaned in and approached her lips to his. She had one hand hid behind her back.

However, the more she approached, the more Alex felt that this was strange.

Suddenly, he kicked her out of the bed and jumped out with whatever strength he could muster.

He felt like needles were puncturing his head, but even with a strong headache, Alex persisted and stood up.

"Crista and I agreed to take our relationship slowly, I know she wouldn't make advances on me!"

"And, what's with this environment? It's disgusting!"

"Crista can't even be here!"

Alex exclaimed sluggishly like a drunk man and instantly Incarnated into Athena.

Immediately, his headache cleared up and he could think properly.

'None of this made any sense!'

'Crista', who was thrown onto the opposite side of the room, fell onto her feet and stabilized her footing.

Then, she revealed what was hidden in her other hand.

A green, skinny and long snake slithered and exhibited sharp fangs.

'Crista' burst out into maniacal laughter and her appearance changed.

Her skin turned red and wrinkly, and horns grew out of her head.

Her facial features changed from those of a woman to androgynous features, and her pupils and sclera were completely black.

When the transformation was over, the lacy black dress was torn apart.

The demon stared at him and bowed lightly, "Aka Manah, servant god of Lady Aphrodite. Pleased to make your acquaintance~~"

Aka Manah was the Persian demon god of lust.

Alex frowned and exclaimed, "Aphrodite! Of course, she had a hand in this."

He couldn't forgive Aphrodite for having a servant of hers impersonate Crista, and make him almost succumb to horrible desires.

"Lady Aphrodite is a gracious lady who simply granted you what you wanted most." When Aka Manah said that, he morphed back into Crista.

Alex growled and wielded the Spear of Victory.

He then charged at the demon and as he was about to decapitate it, Aka Manah exclaimed in Crista's voice, "Alex, what are you doing?"

Alex halted all of his movement and stopped his attack.

'I...can't...'

Suddenly, he felt a strong bite on his wrist.

The snake attached itself to his veins, and Alex gasped as he felt a foreign substance enter his body.

He aggressively grabbed the snake and dismembered it, but it was too late.

Two bite marks were visible on his wrist, and Alex soon felt their effects.

Everything in his field of vision turned a pink hue and his movements slowed down.

Even with Athena's wits and resistance, Alex didn't feel at his optimal state.

"Lady Aphrodite informed me that you murdered Mar in Kabura." Aka Manah said.

He smirked and continued, "I know about all of your powers, but no matter how powerful you are, you can't resist lust."

"I can't understand why you always cross Lady Aphrodite's way when she can grant you the ultimate pleasure for eternity. Lord Angra Mainyu simply cannot compare."

"Join Lady Aphrodite's camp before-

Then, he covered his mouth with his hands.

"I spoke too much, let's get this over with~~"

Alex listened half-attentively as he tried to take control of his body and psyche.

Every time he tried to attack the demon, the latter turned to Crista and the weakened Alex simply could not land any attack.

He was starting to get a bit desperate, and his psychological defenses crumbled.

"Alex~~~~"

Suddenly, Alex had a premonition.

He took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and opened it.

When he saw the words written there, his mind instantly cleared up.

'It's been so long, you f**ker!

I miss you a lot, and by the way, I'm now back at Olympus, though the mansion feels lonely without you.

I'm looking forward to seeing you here.

Great luck on your journeys, Alex...'

His eyes instantly scanned the entire paper when he saw the new paragraph, and he strongly bit his lips, wounding himself in the process.

With the pain of the injury and Crista's words, he was able to distract himself from the effects of the overpowering drug.

His head spun with ideas, and a particular one seemed feasible to end the fight.

Alex activated Incarnation and turned into a deity whose powers he didn't usually use.

His hair turned platinum blond, and his eyes a lilac light blue.

When Aka Manah saw his appearance, he exclaimed, "Why do you look like Lady Aphrodite?"

'This is a bit revolting, but I hope it works...'

In the eyes of Aka Manah, Alex's appearance transformed once again.

His hair became longer and his body lost some of its muscle mass, which was instead replaced by feminine curves.

His eyes turned magenta, and his appearance was an exact copy of Aphrodite's appearance.

Alex wished to use the same technique Aka Manah had used on him earlier.

"Hah, you think that can work on m-

The demon's eyes turned listless and he slowly approached 'Aphrodite' in slow steps.

There was no way for a minor god like him to resist the powers of Incarnation.

When he was near 'Aphrodite' he bowed and said, "What do you wish for, Lady?"

Alex cringed but the fight was almost over anyways so he bore with it.

He took out a red ruby from his pockets.

When Aka Manah saw the ruby, he awakened from his trance and shouted, "THE RUBY OF ARGAS?! WHY DO YOU HAVE IT?!"

However, it was too late, and as the ruby met the head of the demon, it glowed a bright red hue, and the demon's body melted into a black goop that disappeared into the ruby.

Alex sighed in relief that it worked.

He got this idea when he recalled that the demon mentioned Angra Mainyu, a god whose avatar they met in Ctesiphon.

At that time, all it took to defeat the avatar was to use the powers of the ruby, so Alex theorized that it would also work for this demon god, who informed him he was previously under the jurisdiction of the former.

Fortunately, it was effective.

"A bit disgusting to use her powers though...." Alex didn't hesitate to remove Incarnation.