It wasn't until noon that Daniel and Susan finally came out of the bedroom.
Bast and Leo were lying on the living room floor. At that moment, Bast had one paw planted firmly on Leo while snatching the TV remote out from under his paw.
"Watch this," Bast said.
With Carol gone, Bast had been bullying Leo to her heart's content, and when she saw Daniel walk out, Bast let out a disdainful snort.
Daniel looked over at the sound. Bast immediately smacked Leo on the head with her oversized paw.
"Hmph! How dare you try to steal the remote from the great Panther Goddess!"
Pinned beneath her, Leo couldn't move at all, as Bast had become ridiculously heavy.
Daniel had a feeling that Bast's grunt carried another meaning, but since he was in such a good mood today, he didn't bother asking.
Susan's voice drifted out from the bedroom. "Daniel, why do I hear someone talking?"
"Come out and see for yourself."
After getting dressed, Susan walked out of the bedroom and saw the cat and dog sitting on the sofa.
"Oh my God! When did they get here?"
She hadn't seen either of them while taking a shower that morning. At the time, Bast had been outside in the yard teaching Leo a lesson.
Who told him to keep bragging that he was Carol's mount, claiming that once Carol came back, she'd make Bast pay?
Bast had decided that until Carol returned, she'd beat Leo up once every day.
"I brought them back yesterday," Daniel replied casually.
"Hello, Susan."
Bast raised one chubby paw in greeting.
"H-Hello."
After finally struggling free, Leo also greeted her. He had already decided to curry favor with everyone around Daniel, after all, he was a dog now.
So, he intended to become the very best lapdog he could, and once his status improved, he'd make Bast regret everything.
"How can they talk?" Susan asked, looking at Daniel.
"That fat cat is the Panther Goddess, Bast. The dog is the Lion God, Leo," Daniel explained.
Susan was still processing everything when she suddenly felt something brushing against her calf.
Tail wagging enthusiastically, Leo rubbed his head affectionately against her leg.
Susan bent down, intending to pick him up, only to discover she couldn't budge him. Then, she looked at Daniel.
"Leo's true form is over twenty meters long," Daniel explained.
Instead, Susan simply crouched down and gently stroked Leo's head.
"This is unbelievable."
Daniel just smiled.
Seeing Susan petting Leo, Bast let out another haughty grunt.
"Hmph!"
She felt a little unhappy, as she'd wanted Susan's affection too, but because she still hadn't completely finished absorbing her Divine Kingdom, she'd become too fat and slow, allowing Leo to beat her to it.
Susan quickly accepted Bast and Leo.
After spending so much time with Daniel, she'd already experienced enough incredible things that talking gods no longer seemed all that difficult to accept.
"His fur feels so nice," Susan said as she stroked Leo's head.
"Doesn't touching me feel nice too?"
Daniel grinned mischievously, and Susan just rolled her eyes at him.
...
That afternoon, Daniel called Tony.
"Where are you?"
"In the lab."
"I'll be there in a minute."
After hanging up, Daniel turned to Susan.
"Sweetheart, I'm going to see Tony."
Without even looking at him, Susan waved him away impatiently.
"Go, go."
She was busy playing with Bast and Leo and had no time for Daniel, seeing that he frowned slightly in frustration.
...
He didn't bother driving, as flying was much faster, and in no time, he arrived at Tony's lab. As soon as he entered, he found Tony eating pizza while staring intently at a monitor.
"You skipped lunch?"
"I had a new idea."
"Take care of yourself."
Daniel patted Tony on the shoulder so hard that Tony's entire body shook.
"You're getting pretty weak."
"What do you want?" Tony asked impatiently.
"I got something good, so come over to my place tonight," Daniel said with a smile.
"That's it?"
Tony put down what he was working on and looked at Daniel.
"You could've just called and told me!"
Tony was annoyed, as Daniel had interrupted his work over something this trivial.
"I was bored."
Susan had been ignoring him all day, choosing to play with Bast and Leo instead. He felt like he'd fallen out of favor, so he'd come out for some fresh air.
Tony didn't even bother responding and went back to his research.
"What are you working on?" Daniel leaned over for a look.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."
"Excuse me? I have doctorates in both engineering and physics!"
"Fine," Tony said, stopping his work.
"Then answer this. How do you overcome the limitations imposed by General Relativity to achieve spatial jumps?
We're living in three-dimensional space..."
"Uh..."
Daniel immediately turned around. "I just remembered I have something else to do, but don't forget to come over tonight."
...
That evening, Susan personally cooked dinner, and every dish on the table was made with Beast Gods meat. After sitting down, Tony looked at Daniel.
"So, you invited me over just for dinner?"
"You'll understand after you taste it."
Tony took a bite, and closing his eyes, he carefully felt the changes inside his body. Soon, warmth began spreading through him.
"You drugged me?"
He then pointed at Bast and Leo, who were sitting on the table continuously using their powers to pull pieces of meat into their mouths.
"And what's with the cat and the dog?"
After swallowing another bite, the warmth in his lower abdomen became even stronger. The sensation was strangely similar to certain pills he'd taken before.
Daniel looked at him with obvious irritation.
"This is Beast Gods meat, which is packed with nutrients."
He then explained where the meat had come from and introduced Bast and Leo.
"Something this interesting happened, and you didn't bring me along?"
Tony complained, now thoroughly intrigued.
"I asked you, but you said you were busy."
"Did I? You didn't explain it clearly enough."
Tony flatly refused to admit it and shamelessly shifted the blame onto Daniel. But there was no way Daniel was taking that.
"Assistant, play the recording."
Daniel had known Tony would try to pass the buck, so he'd prepared in advance.
"Yes, sir."
"Forget it." Tony quickly interrupted. "Let's just eat."
After dinner, Tony simply said he'd send someone over tomorrow to collect some of the meat before leaving. His entire body was burning with heat now, so he needed to go find a way to cool himself down.
...
Several more days passed.
That evening, Daniel sat on the couch with Susan in his arms while Bast and Leo lay on the floor. The two humans and two beasts watched television together.
"Breaking news. Lionesses at every major zoo in New York City have recently shown signs of unusual lethargy. Experts suspect a new viral infection... Lion exhibits across the city's zoos have now been closed..."
The news report happened to be playing on TV.
Upon hearing it, both Daniel and Bast slowly turned to look at Leo, they knew exactly what kind of lion he was.
"It wasn't me!" Leo immediately denied.
He stood up.
"I'm going to bed."
"It was definitely him," Bast declared.
"He's been acting suspicious for the past few days, leaving early every morning and coming back late every night. So that's what he was doing... just disgusting."
Bast looked thoroughly revolted.
Just then, Susan asked curiously, "What are you two talking about? What do you mean by Leo? I don't understand any of this."
Bast was quick to answer.
"Let me tell you about that stupid lion..."