"Meow… Meow… Meow…"
The Panther Goddess let out several meows in a row, then suddenly realized it actually felt pretty satisfying.
It was almost addictive. Seeing everyone staring at her, the Panther Goddess explained, "It's been so long since I last did that, so I couldn't stop myself."
The moment those words left her mouth, even the old king, who had always revered the Panther Goddess, couldn't help the corners of his lips from curling upward.
"What are you laughing at? A panther's cry sounds very similar to a cat's in the first place! Clearly none of you have ever watched an animal documentary!"
The Panther Goddess puffed herself up proudly. Standing upright with her forepaws folded across her chest, she looked so adorable that it completely lacked the dignity one would expect from a goddess.
Carol immediately wanted to scoop her back into her arms. The moment she reached out, however, the Panther Goddess being already prepared for this nimbly dodged her hand.
"You mortals! Don't even think about laying your hands on this noble Panther Goddess's sacred body!"
Carol reached for her again, as she found teasing a goddess surprisingly entertaining and the Panther Goddess simply hopped down onto the floor.
"I've already meowed. Now will you help me with a small favor?"
Seeing her retreat, Carol finally withdrew her hand and nodded, signaling for her to continue.
As cute and fragile as she appeared, she had helped her before and made her stronger, and Carol hadn't forgotten that kindness. Back during Air Force training, if she hadn't possessed an enhanced physique, who knew how much hardship she would have endured?
Would everything afterward have gone so smoothly? Deep down, Carol understood that, even if she was often a little overconfident.
With her tail held high, the Panther Goddess walked over to the old king and looked at him with her multicolored eyes.
T'Chaka immediately understood, as he stood up and respectfully gave up his seat. The Panther Goddess nodded in satisfaction before jumping onto the chair. The king knew how to behave, unlike those two siblings.
They have absolutely no respect for a goddess, even this old man's son has been corrupted. While he was in my divine kingdom, all he talked about was his friend Daniel.
Hmph! If I didn't need their help, would I be putting up with them? If I can't beat them, I can always hide...
The Panther Goddess thought about it for a moment.
...Actually, that didn't seem very possible anymore.
She had no idea what was going on with those two siblings, as each of them was stronger than the last, and they were growing at a rate faster than a rocket, it simply wasn't reasonable.
Leaning comfortably against the back of the chair, the Panther Goddess spoke lazily.
"You already know that this land is home to more than just me. There are other gods as well: the disgusting Crocodile God, the Gorilla God, and the Lion God. They're lurking in the shadows, and I need your help dealing with them."
At that moment, T'Chaka spoke up.
"Some of the tribes worship them as well, Lord Panther..."
The Panther Goddess shot him a glance and T'Chaka wisely fell silent.
The Panther Goddess thought to herself, 'As if I don't know those evil gods have worshippers! If I could kill them, do you think I'd willingly let them steal my followers?'
'Who would want to share believers if they had a choice? I'm already short on divine power as it is!'
"To be honest, I'm curious." Daniel looked at the Panther Goddess. "How exactly did gods like you come into existence?"
The Panther Goddess was clearly different from the Asgardian gods. Daniel had the feeling she belonged to an entirely different kind of existence.
The Panther Goddess thought for a moment and said, "There's no harm in telling you."
Then she began her story.
"Several thousand years ago... exactly how many, I no longer remember. Back then, I was nothing more than an ordinary panther, living a carefree life, then one day, a massive fireball fell from the sky.
"You would call it a meteorite, but this meteorite was different, it didn't belong to this star system. It came from the depths of the universe."
A nostalgic look appeared in the Panther Goddess's eyes as memories of her distant past resurfaced.
"It was a Vibranium meteorite, and it carried a unique form of cosmic radiation. The moment that radiation passed through my body, I began to change."
"I gained intelligence, I began to think, and my body continued growing larger and larger until I eventually reached more than ten meters in length."
"The physical changes were only secondary; it was the transformation of my mind that made me what I am today."
"And by chance, I once saved a small tribe, they then revered me as a goddess and adopted me as their totem."
"Also, I soon discovered that I could absorb the spiritual energy released during their prayers, and as I grew stronger, my spiritual power eventually evolved into an entire world, that became my divine kingdom."
"Under my protection, that tribe prospered and grew stronger. It eventually became the predecessor of modern Wakanda."
"Gradually, Wakanda and I became inseparable, as the stronger Wakanda became, the stronger I became as well."
"With Wakanda's current strength, I should have been able to walk freely throughout the world, but then those detestable evil gods appeared and they trapped me here."
"They experienced the same cosmic radiation that I did and gained intelligence as well. The difference was that they weren't as intelligent as I was, and they never realized that protecting humanity was the key to becoming stronger."
As she said this, the Panther Goddess's voice became noticeably smug. She was clearly proud that her intelligence had completely surpassed those other Beast Gods.
"But eventually those filthy beasts discovered my secret. Then, they joined forces against me and stole my followers!"
Her voice filled with anger. She slashed the air with her claws as though she wished to tear those gods apart with her own paws.
"I need you two siblings to help me deal with them, although they aren't particularly that powerful and if they hadn't allied together, I would have eliminated them long ago.
You have the strength to defeat them. I'll provide you with a spiritual barrier. With their level of power, they won't be able to harm you mentally at all."
"So, kill them. Then I can use their corpses to strengthen your spirits, and it will make up for the final weakness you both still possess.
Your physical bodies are already incredibly powerful, in fact, you're even stronger than those gods from beyond this world who descended here a thousand years ago."
"Once your mental defenses are equally strong, I truly can't imagine what enemy could possibly stand against you.
"So, please, help me. My divine kingdom is far too desolate, and I've been alone there for far too long."
The Panther Goddess's tone was utterly sincere. Without even realizing it, there was even a hint of pleading in her voice.
"You want to come out?" Daniel asked.
The Panther Goddess nodded.
"I've watched this world from my divine kingdom for far too many years. I watched Wakanda slowly grow into what it is today, but I've remained trapped there, only able to appear in Wakanda from time to time, and eventually, I always fall back into slumber."
"I may have lived for thousands of years, but I've spent most of that time asleep. Now, I want to come out, I want to see the world with my own eyes.
If those beasts are eliminated, everything will change. My divine kingdom will expand, and I'll be able to walk freely throughout the world.
"No longer just limited to Wakanda."
The Panther Goddess switched from calling herself "I" in the divine sense to simply saying "I."
"So, will you help me? I want to see the scenery of this planet."
"Of course, I can," Carol said with a smile.
"You helped me before, and I'll repay that kindness, besides..." a grin spread across her face, "I love fighting."
She stood up, and the clothes she was wearing transformed into her combat suit.
"Lead the way. I'll help you get rid of those gods."
"Though, to be honest, I've never fought a god before."
She looked over at Daniel.
"You coming?"
"I've been looking forward to finding out just how powerful gods really are."
Daniel stood as well. He wanted to do one of those instant suit transformations too. Unfortunately, he didn't even have a combat suit yet.
I really need Tony to start working on nanotechnology, Daniel thought.