Chapter 67: Dionysus (11)
No one here had ever heard of the Gorgon sisters taking part in the ancient war between Pontus and Poseidon centuries ago.
More importantly—how could this otter possibly know what happened during the gods’ war?
To know such details, he would have had to be present in the very middle of the battlefield.
The first to gather the courage to speak was Dionysus, who was the closest to Neptune.
And truthfully… he couldn’t help but wonder:
Could it be? Is he actually… a sea god? Is my suspicion right?
“Lord Neptune… may I ask… how you know all that?”
Melchires and Crafton, who had also been silent, pricked their ears at the question.
Especially Melchires—she’d considered Neptune nothing more than an insane otter.
“Haha! So that’s what you all were curious about. You should’ve just asked!”
Neptune rummaged in his pocket and took out a small object.
A cute, clam-shaped pouch.
“Heheh. This is the Myth Chronicle, passed down through my otter royal lineage for generations. It is said our ancestor received it as a gift after assisting Lady Pronoea.”
?!?!?!?
Their reaction far exceeded the idea of Neptune being a sea god.
None of them ever imagined the otter had something so outrageous.
Especially because Pronoea was the Sea Scribe—Poseidon’s closest aide.
Her records were said to be sacred artifacts that even gods were rarely permitted to read.
“No way!! That crazy otter has that?! The divine book containing the entire history of the sea?! The one even gods can’t freely read?!”
“……”
Melchires was the most shocked of all.
But everyone else felt the same—even if they remained silent.
This is way more shocking than him being a sea god!!!
Unbothered by their astonishment, Neptune calmly recited a few lines about the Gorgon sisters from the book, then slipped it back into his pouch.
“Haha, your reaction makes sense. Thanks to this book, my otter tribe excels in unique magic, spear arts, swordsmanship, and more.”
Melchires and Crafton couldn’t take their eyes off the pouch until Neptune fully put it away.
If Neptune weren’t so strong, both of them looked like they would have stolen it and run.
Their expressions practically said:
“Isn’t that more valuable than anything in this amusement park?!”
While everyone was overwhelmed with desire and confusion, a beautiful garden came into view.
“Oh? That must be the Garden of the Gorgons.”
“It’s unbelievably beautiful…”
Everyone nodded.
Even Melchires and Crafton—who had come this far several times—still found themselves amazed by its beauty.
But as experienced challengers, they knew the truth:
This garden’s beauty was like a deadly toxin.
“Be careful. Don’t let the air touch your skin. The entire place is filled with airborne poison.”
In truth, this garden was personally created by the Gorgon sisters as a gift for Charybdis, whom they adored.
Unlike Cetus earlier, these were not mere avatars or illusions.
That was why even strong humans like Melchires and Crafton had suffered here before.
“The objective here is to find the Gorgon statue hidden somewhere in the garden. We know it exists, but we don’t know exactly where.”
“Then we should split up. The poison will overwhelm us if we stay too long.”
“Right. If anyone finds the statue, all the poison instantly disappears.”
The group quickly scattered.
Though they were blocking the poison with their magic or abilities, they couldn’t last long.
Even Dionysus estimated that he would be poisoned within a few hours at best—
And the others likely had even less time.
“Seriously… how are we supposed to find a statue in a place this big…”
Dionysus had been assigned a jungle-like sector.
Towering trees, strange plants he’d never seen before…
A vast, suffocating jungle.
“What should I do…”
As he was lost in thought, overwhelmed by the task—
A massive shadow silently crept up behind him.
It was so stealthy that even Dionysus—whose senses exceeded human limits—didn’t notice.
The creature opened its enormous mouth, ready to silently swallow him whole—
BOOM!
“Be careful! It’s a Nepenthes!!”
Wha—?!
Hearing the shout, Dionysus finally sensed the threat behind him.
He quickly cast a spell to escape.
“Thank you, Lord Neptune. I almost died.”
“You let your guard down, young man. Carelessness always brings death.”
Unlike Dionysus, who sighed in relief, the Nepenthes—robbed of its prey—shrieking angrily.
Kieeeek!
A fresh meal after so long! And it slipped from its jaws!
“That thing is a nasty one, even among plant-type monsters. Unlike the usual motionless ones, this one hides in another dimension entirely. That’s probably why you couldn’t sense it—it hides its shadow in a separate dimension.”
“……”
Dionysus finally understood why even his heightened senses had failed to detect the Nepenthes.
The outside world is truly dangerous… this is nothing like Mount Nysa.
While Dionysus was organizing his thoughts—
The enraged Nepenthes opened its wide, needle-lined jaws to devour them both… but ultimately did not attack.
Predators like the Nepenthes were intelligent.
They did not hunt at the risk of injuring themselves.
They understood well what happened to a monster that fought while wounded.
Dionysus was certainly a delicious meal—
But not worth the danger.
There were plenty of other prey in the garden.
Kiiiik.
Letting out a sharp cry of frustration, the Nepenthes cast one last glance at them and slowly slipped into its shadow.
……
After watching their surroundings for a long while, Neptune and Dionysus finally relaxed.
“It seems it’s gone now.”
“Thank you again, Lord Neptune. I would’ve died here otherwise.”
Dionysus bowed deeply in gratitude.
“Heh. Think nothing of it. We’re comrades, aren’t we? Until we escape this place, we protect each other.”
Dionysus was moved.
Even though he still thought of Neptune as a slightly insane otter, he was undoubtedly braver and more reliable than anyone Dionysus had met so far.
“And besides—we are comrades who will overthrow this oppressive regime! We shall defeat the ruler of this place, Charybdis, and bring freedom to all! Hahaha!”
…Maybe he was still an insane otter.
After making sure the Nepenthes had truly left and checking for other dangers, the two concluded that the area was safe—
Aside from the poison, which remained the biggest threat.
“By the way, Lord Neptune, how did you know where I was? You originally went in the opposite direction.”
At Dionysus’s question, Neptune’s eyes sparkled.
He proudly opened the ancient book he had shown before.
Strange, ancient letters filled the page.
“Here. Look at this. Finding the statue felt too vague, right? So I decided to borrow the wisdom of our ancestors and Lady Pronoea. This section contains information about the Gorgon sisters.”
Dionysus carefully read the text Neptune pointed to.
He had been educated by the Hyades nymphs since childhood, so he could read ancient script.
According to the record in Lady Pronoea’s Chronicle:
The Garden of the Gorgons was shaped like a circular baumkuchen.
It was too wide, and the airborne poison made it impossible to view from above, causing newcomers to believe they were trapped in an incomprehensible maze.
The fastest way to reach the center was to capture the Cockatrice—the garden’s caretaker, a creature that preyed on insects—and force it to guide the way through the obstacles.
Hm… This part feels like it was added recently. A bit sloppy. But not important right now.
“So, Lord Neptune, you came this way to capture the Cockatrice?”
“That’s right. As you can see, its trail leads this way. This is especially clear—these are traces of Cockatrice secretions.”
Dionysus nodded earnestly.
He had never seen a Cockatrice before—he only knew of them from records.
So he simply accepted Neptune’s explanation with a serious nod.
If Melchires had heard this, she would have screamed:
—How in the world can you identify Cockatrice secretions?! And how are we even supposed to catch one at our level?!
“Then let’s follow it immediately.”
“Exactly.”
Led by Neptune, Dionysus followed the trail until they soon found a bizarre creature:
Like a chicken and snake fused together, pecking insects off the ground.
“Be cautious. Cockatrices are infamous for their petrification power. I’ll attack from behind. You blind its eyes.”
“Yes, understood.”
The demigod and the otter beastman quietly took their positions.
The Cockatrice was completely relaxed, reigning as the apex predator of this garden.
With no natural enemies, it had grown arrogant and careless.
— Three… two… one… now!
Shff!
With a swift sound slicing the air, Neptune lunged with his fork from behind.
Caught off guard due to its own carelessness, the Cockatrice was easily pinned.
However, despite being grabbed, it remained confident.
Creatures who came here for trials were nothing compared to its power—
Or so it believed.
It thrashed violently, the force so great that nearby trees burst apart like bombs, and the ground cratered with each impact.
But the Cockatrice paid dearly for its arrogance.
Despite his small body, Neptune restrained the massive creature effortlessly.
If any knight saw it, they would have bowed in respect.
At the same time, Dionysus swiftly pulled out a blindfold enchanted with the spell [Breath of Silence] and wrapped it over the Cockatrice’s eyes.
Technically, Dionysus lacked the power to cast such a spell—
But with Neptune’s artifact assisting him, he managed it.
“Lord Neptune! We did it!”
“Good. Well done. Now we just have to hold on.”