Chapter 122: Perseus (14)
In the end, unable to reach a firm conclusion from his conversation with Euryte, Perseus began by attacking the lower-quality trapezitai establishments as they were doing now.
Prioritizing only those owned by Diogenes, of course.
Looking at the walls scarred by explosions and the people who remained unusually docile, Perseus realized—as Njord had said—that Diogenes had finally clearly recognized their identities.
“See? There’s no such thing as a docile moneylender. Yet these guys are exceptionally tame.”
Even as Njord kicked the kneeling men in mockery, the trapezitai merely bowed their heads and trembled.
“Yes. As you said, Njord, Diogenes might have finally caught on and is pulling back. If I just leave quietly, he can clean up the aftermath neatly. Of course, it was pretty stupid not to investigate before sending assassins.”
“That’s right. Assassins are tight-lipped by nature. As long as it doesn’t go public, rumors probably won’t spread until after you leave.”
“That makes sense. And naturally, by then that pig would already have fled.”
Poseidon nodded at Perseus’s deduction.
Despite his young age, his grasp of the situation was remarkably quick—fortunate indeed. Burning too fiercely with justice could be its own problem.
“Then you understand. This is Diogenes’s own way of seeking reconciliation. He probably won’t touch the people you helped ever again. And if you demand it directly, he’ll even pay compensation for your life.”
As Poseidon said, if Perseus wanted to minimize harm, accepting Diogenes’s overture was the right choice.
No matter how strong Perseus was, he couldn’t protect everyone alone.
Above all, both Diogenes and Perseus knew they were playing a game of chicken—aware that they could become the spark for war.
And Perseus himself understood this well.
“That’s probably it. The ones in front of me now are just left here as targets for my anger.”
At Perseus’s words, the bound men began trembling violently.
Who would want to be a punching bag? The first few times they hadn’t grasped the situation, but by now it was obvious.
They were sacrificial lambs. But there was no way out—their everything was held by Diogenes under the name of “contracts.”
“Well? That doesn’t make them pitiable, does it? In the end, they’re all the same kind of scum.”
Perseus agreed with Poseidon’s words. Still, a corner of his heart felt uneasy.
‘Njord is right. But is it okay to punish them for crimes they might commit in the future? If no clear crime is before my eyes, can I arbitrarily punish them? In this city, they’re just people who can be controlled at any time… Sweeping away the small fry along with the big shadow won’t change anything…’
Perseus’s dilemma deepened, and as it did, a small seed within him began to throb—“thump thump.”
Poseidon quietly watched Perseus, along with the necklace around his neck.
—The seed of justice, order, and fairness for finite lives—not the order of gods—is about to awaken.
“Yes. Then the daughter of Themis will realize her true divinity too.”
***
The Age of Barbarism.
An era dominated not by national order or fair trials, but by the powerful.
Naturally, in a time when a single human could become a superhuman akin to a god, individual superhumans formed states and created laws—and modern concepts of justice, fairness, and equity that humans would later cry for simply did not exist.
Thus, the goddess Dike held only the divinity of one of the seasonal goddesses.
Originally, Goddess Dike—daughter of Themis and Zeus—was meant to safeguard the justice and order spoken of by earthly races, under another name: Justitia…
But that had been slightly twisted.
—You know whose fault that is without me saying.
“Could it really be because of me? How embarrassing.”
—You !@#$%^%^%#$@!!!
While Atropos and Poseidon were “conversing,” Perseus somewhat sorted out his dilemma.
Seeing this, Poseidon quickly covered the necklace’s “mouth” and asked,
“So. Have you decided what to do next?”
“No. Honestly, I have no idea. Hehe. So I’m just going to act first. I don’t like Diogenes anyway. I’ll smash everything, then think about the aftermath.”
At Perseus’s brazen answer, everyone present wore dumbfounded expressions.
Including the bound men and even Atropos watching through the necklace.
—What kind of…
At that moment.
Uhahahahaha!
Poseidon burst into laughter at Perseus, who had arrived at such an absurd conclusion yet remained clear-eyed and unclouded.
For some reason, he saw his past self in Perseus.
Perseus didn’t know why Njord was suddenly laughing so hard, but he could feel it wasn’t mockery.
Rather, it felt like a father watching his grown child—though he himself had never had a father.
After laughing for a long while, Poseidon looked at the ever-growing seed and asked,
“Hahaha… So that’s your answer?”
“Yes. No matter how much I think as a mere human, it’s impossible. So I’ll cause the mess first and then ask for help from those I know. You, Njord, Lady Euryte, the priests of Athena, Lady Athena herself—everyone. Something will work out.”
“But will they move without compensation? Humans and gods alike usually don’t.”
“Heh. What if I make the demand in Lord Poseidon’s name? I’ll take the punishment, but it’ll make things easier. Hahaha.”
With Perseus’s final words, the sprout of the seed inside him broke through.
As if that answer Perseus had found was, at the very least, the correct one for the seed.
And Atropos, witnessing it all, had no choice but to acknowledge one thing.
—More than words like justice, order, fairness, equity, fate, or destiny—that single action provided greater nourishment.
How many seeds had the Goddesses of Fate sown until now? Even before Perseus, countless seeds of heroes had been planted.
Of course, none had shown heroic qualities as clearly as Perseus. Yet even they could not control whether a seed would sprout.
And that sprouting had come from a Poseidon-like mindset and action: “act first and think later.”
—Oh Chaos…
***
Though Perseus had set his course, his actions remained the same.
He continued methodically destroying Diogenes’s businesses one by one.
His goal was simply to smash everything first—what great change could come from that?
Boom!
As a building collapsed, a massive cloud of dust swept through.
The destruction of Diogenes’s properties had now become famous even among Athens’s citizens.
Perseus hadn’t hidden it at all.
—The priest of Poseidon has a grudge against Diogenes. That’s why he’s smashing his businesses.
—But Diogenes is just hiding inside his shell like a frightened turtle.
The rumors spread in an instant—not only throughout Athens but far beyond, reaching Salamis, Eleusis, Kifisia, Pallini, Koropi, and other places under Athens’s influence in Attica.
Now all eyes were on Diogenes’s mansion.
From the outside, it still appeared gorgeous and regal, but inside it was no different from ruins.
Diogenes and his subordinates had already stripped everything of value.
“Is everything prepared?”
“Yes. All preparations are complete. We only need to leave this house as the brat’s final punching bag before we depart.”
Diogenes nodded with a satisfied smile at his attendant’s words.
He had thought attempting to kill a priest of Poseidon was a disaster, but it had turned into a tremendous advantage.
Who would have imagined that foolish brat of a priest would recklessly destroy everything? The idiot probably hadn’t realized it, but his actions had actually become an opportunity for Diogenes.
“Hehe, I survived thanks to that fool. He should have just accepted my olive branch. This is why pointless righteousness never helps.”
“Yes, exactly. The atmosphere in Athens was already precarious, and I was looking for the right moment to move assets. That priest provided the perfect pretext.”
“Precisely. The various temples and factions were starting to ignore my control. Ungrateful wretches—who do they think has kept this melting pot of Athens under control so everyone could live safely?”
“Yes. They are all shameless ingrates who forget your grace, Lord Diogenes.”
Hehehehehe.
Diogenes and his attendant’s sinister laughter echoed through the empty mansion.
***
Diogenes, gleefully laughing at having thoroughly deceived Perseus, was unaware.
Unaware that someone was watching him.
With Njord’s help, Perseus was viewing Diogenes in real time as if through a live feed—his expression hardening.
Twitch.
His fists clenched, itching to swing at something right away.
“Phew… Diogenes. I have to admit you’re capable. I never imagined someone could pull off fireworks this successfully inside a powder keg…”
Perseus ground his teeth but acknowledged what he had to.
Diogenes’s resourcefulness was above average. And if Njord hadn’t helped, he would have remained oblivious to the plan until the end, smashing only the mansion and calling it done.
“That’s right. Even if Diogenes flees, it’d be hard for us to catch him. We’re short on time anyway—we need to get to the Gorgon sisters quickly.”
Perseus nodded at Njord’s words.
He was right. Priest Dictys was protecting his mother, but worries about what the cunning King Polydectes might do on Seriphos certainly existed.
Thus, the right thing was for Perseus to return to his homeland as quickly as possible.
“Then what should we…”
Perseus knew his current abilities left him with few options: either ignite the powder keg or give up on Diogenes.
Originally, as he had first thought, he would have asked for help from the various people he had connected with in Athens—but with Diogenes ready to flee at any moment, he couldn’t afford to drag things out.
Above all, the instant he used Poseidon’s name to request aid, Diogenes would sense it and escape.
—Poseidon, aren’t you going to help? If you gave a direct divine token, the situation in Athens could be resolved in an instant.
Seeing Perseus like this, Atropos subtly urged Poseidon to assist.
Certainly, a token bearing Poseidon’s or Demeter’s divine power could extinguish the flames in this powder keg and suppress Diogenes in a flash.
A token infused with the power of a great god like Poseidon or Demeter would force every human here to their knees.
“That’s true. A token with divine power is equivalent to the god speaking directly. No matter how many gods covet this place, a token with Demeter’s or my power would suffice. But the problem is that then Perseus gains nothing from it.”
—What do you mean?
Atropos tilted her head at Poseidon’s words. In their view, Perseus’s role was only up to being the progenitor hero.
In that case, wasn’t it enough to maintain his current character and simply defeat the remnants of power known to current humans?
“Tsk tsk tsk. How can you be a goddess of fate with such short-sightedness?”
—…!!!
Poseidon told Atropos—who was surely making some expression beyond the necklace—to watch closely.
“Watch carefully. How a hero is born.”
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