Chapter 123: Perseus (15)
Perseus decided to focus on what needed to be done rather than problems without immediate solutions.
That was also Njord’s advice.
“Perseus, listen well. What you can do right now is limited anyway. So let’s just do what we can. A way forward always appears as you go.”
Perseus agreed and followed faithfully. Njord was a capable mage—and someone helping him under a god’s orders.
“I don’t know what Njord is planning, but…”
Since their first meeting, Perseus had felt a strangely familiar and comforting scent from Njord, giving him trust.
***
After the war with Typhon, Dionysus—who now acted as god of festivals, madness, and wine—was with his grandmother, Rhea, when he received a sudden call and jumped in surprise.
Beep beep beep.
“Huh?”
At the unexpected sound, Dionysus made a “What’s this noise?” face and searched for the source.
It was coming from the token Neptune had given him long ago, vibrating along with the sound.
Even after becoming a god, he still carried it out of gratitude for the favor—and now it was ringing.
“Huh? Did it have this function too?”
“What is it?”
“Ah, nothing much. The token I got from Neptune long ago is sending a signal. I’ve never heard of this feature.”
“Hmm… That child would absolutely add something like that without telling anyone.”
At her words, Rhea beckoned Dionysus to read the signal.
If it was Poseidon, it wouldn’t be strange for him to include such a function and not mention it.
“Yes. Let’s see… Call to Athens. Requests I come and lend my strength?”
“…That child, really.”
“……”
Rhea and Dionysus fell silent at the message.
Rhea was quiet at Poseidon’s unchanged behavior, while Dionysus was simply still not used to this sea-otter friend.
Does he not know I’ve become a god?
He thought it was fairly well-known by now…
Of course, Dionysus didn’t want to be treated as a god by his first friend from the outside world.
He was just surprised at Neptune’s unchanged attitude. Most acquaintances, the nymphs and satyrs, even his own friends and teacher, had fumbled at first on how to treat him.
“And Master and Ampelos are still awkward with me.”
Dionysus pondered briefly, then stood up.
“Are you going?”
“Yes. Truthfully, the token Neptune gave me has helped in many ways.”
Rhea nodded at Dionysus’s words.
Indeed—who could ignore a token from that child?
“I see. Then go quickly. Will you take your followers?”
“Hmm… I won’t stop them if they want to come, but I won’t allow causing trouble in the city of Athens.”
At that, Rhea nodded in relief.
Dionysus’s followers were extreme. Few things could restrain wine-drunk madmen.
Conflicts had erupted in various places as a result, problems rising and subsiding repeatedly.
“Yes. Athens is currently like a melting pot—or a powder keg. If trouble starts, it could turn into a battle among gods. Be careful.”
Dionysus nodded at Rhea’s warning, giving a reassuring expression.
He wasn’t unaware of Athens’s situation.
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
***
At the very moment Dionysus received the call, Poseidon was arbitrarily borrowing the name of Psamathe to have priests of other sea gods prepare something.
If Dionysus responded to the summons, protectors were needed to safeguard the weak according to Perseus’s wishes until he arrived—amid the city that would soon descend into chaos.
“Phew… With this much, Perseus should be able to capture only Diogenes and leave Athens quickly. And be treated like a hero too.”
—…This seems a bit excessive.
Watching Poseidon’s preparations, Atropos wondered if this was okay but said nothing more.
Even she couldn’t deny it was excessive yet efficient. Besides, all she could do was watch—there was little else…
“Don’t worry. Complicated matters need simple thinking. No matter how big an explosion, if a volcano erupts nearby, it’s nothing, right?”
—That’s not how it works!
***
The city of Athens was the calm before the storm.
Gradually, other factions within Athens were learning the details of the affair between Diogenes and Perseus.
The powder keg—where no one knew when or how it might blow—was now more like a timed bomb with the countdown started.
Yet knowing this, Perseus continued systematically destroying Diogenes’s businesses, while Diogenes kept feeding him bait.
Boom!
“Arrrgh!!”
Run! The mad priest of Poseidon is here!!!
Perseus dealing with lawbreakers nearly every day had become routine, and watching Diogenes—who was completing all preparations in real time—Poseidon felt the timing was right.
“Now’s the moment to set it off.”
Flap flap.
At Poseidon’s words, a single pigeon powerfully took flight—as if declaring it knew nothing of what would follow.
With that, Poseidon approached Perseus, who was busy tying up Diogenes’s men with ropes.
“Now, let’s go catch him, Perseus.”
“Really!”
“Yes. Diogenes. Someone who can suppress the massive fallout from capturing that guy is coming soon. And I’ve already located the assets and secrets he’s hidden.”
“Then! Finally!!”
“Yes. If I cleanly deal with just Diogenes, those assets will go to the people here in Athens who suffered from the civil strife.”
“Hehehe, we absolutely have to catch that pig.”
Seeing Perseus’s bright smile and eyes burning with determination, Poseidon briefly felt a moment of pity.
‘Diogenes, you probably won’t come out of this intact. Tsk tsk tsk.’
***
Boom! Crash!! Rumble!!!
A massive shock struck the largest and most majestic mansion in Athens—Diogenes’s estate.
The impact was so great that the entire city trembled.
“What’s happening?”
“An earthquake? Is Lord Poseidon showing his wrath?!”
“We need to evacuate. Everyone, flee to the temples!”
Naturally, the citizens of Athens felt the tremor and began rushing to the temples of whichever god they worshipped.
Rumble!!!
The growing explosions and vibrations were intense enough to make one wonder if it truly was divine anger.
At the center of that tremendous shaking, Poseidon and Perseus were attacking to breach the front gate of Diogenes’s mansion.
Perseus handled the basic attacks, while Poseidon merely amplified them—yet the resulting shock was enormous.
The reason was simple: Perseus was Poseidon’s priest candidate.
Even in the guise of Mage Njord, the essence was Poseidon—so this was no different from a priest and god communicating most closely.
Naturally, the effect was unimaginably powerful.
“Uh… Is it okay to be this strong? It feels like it shouldn’t be…”
Perseus felt dizzy looking at the aftermath of the authority he had used just to break through the entrance.
A massive hole gaped in the gate, and the surrounding area was beginning to freeze—rapidly spreading across the entire mansion.
The speed was so fast that everyone near the entrance—from the first person onward—was frozen solid in the exact pose of trying to flee the attack.
The scene was so vivid that even in their ice statues, most displayed clear expressions of despair, screams, or terror.
It was a sight that instilled a slight fear even in Perseus, who had cast the authority.
“My authority isn’t supposed to be this powerful… Isn’t this too much?”
The mansion Perseus and Njord walked into had already frozen over everything, resembling a world where humanity had perished in extreme cold.
The deeper they went, the more vivid it became.
Diogenes’s subordinates—who hadn’t managed to process everything while preparing his escape—were frozen alongside statues and sculptures.
Some soldiers were frozen mid-swing of their spears, others mid-flight after discarding weapons, some on their knees as if pleading to the gods in despair.
Knights or mages who seemed slightly stronger were frozen a bit farther away, caught while fleeing.
Crunch crunch. Crunch crunch.
Stepping on frost-covered grass as they passed through the mansion, Perseus wore a bewildered expression.
No matter how much he was Poseidon’s priest candidate, this level of spectacle was impossible.
Above all, a disaster caused by failing to control his own authority…
This made Perseus look at Njord with new eyes.
There were quite a few who could draw out another’s power.
It was usually possible when there was a vast difference in strength.
However…
‘Showing someone a realm beyond what they can reach is another matter entirely.’
Perseus felt contradictory emotions—fear of uncontrolled power mixed with exhilaration at glimpsing the path he could take.
But that fear and dread wasn’t about a catastrophe caused by his own lack of control.
After all, nearly everyone in this mansion deserved some form of punishment anyway.
It was clear none of the good people remained here—they had all been evacuated earlier with Euryte’s help.
“Njord truly is an incredible mage. To think… he’s giving me yet another lesson…”
“Hmm. Indeed.”
Contrary to Perseus’s thoughts, Poseidon was currently flustered.
‘I didn’t expect it to be this much…’
It was his first time amplifying his own priest’s power—who could have predicted this?
Atropos, watching the entire scene, could only sigh.
—This is driving me insane. Really. You are truly…
She lamented the sight through the necklace but didn’t open her mouth further to Poseidon.
If one traced the root cause of this incident, it would point to Perseus’s overwhelming talent.
Normally, even if a human’s patron god directly helped, they couldn’t cause sudden drastic change.
Acceptance and sensation were different.
But Perseus—the hero seed chosen by the Moirai, bearing Zeus’s blood, systematically educated and trained by Poseidon’s priest—had fully blossomed his latent talent simply by harmonizing with Poseidon’s energy.
Amid the mutual bewilderment, there was at least one fortunate thing.
Diogenes had endured this extreme cold.
It might have been hell for him, but for Perseus personally—and for Poseidon’s hero-making plan—it was a good thing.
“Evil ones always cling to life strangely stubbornly. Makes you wonder if the Goddesses of Fate are protecting them.”
—…….
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