Chapter 125: Perseus (17)
Njord’s bizarre feat—dragging Athens’s strongest fighters around floating in water spheres—spread like wildfire.
Naturally, it reached the ears of those ruling each administrative district of Athens.
“So, one mage is turning parts of Athens into a wasteland?”
“Yes. It’s hard to believe, but… we suspect he may be a great mage who has reached at least the polis (city-state) or ethnos (confederation/alliance) level.”
Among the powerful factions, Britomartis—the ruler of Brauron, dominated by followers of Artemis—found her subordinate’s attitude incomprehensible as he delivered this sudden report.
It was true that a polis-level mage was powerful, essentially building their own world. An ethnos-level mage—recognized as a great mage by various races—could manifest their unique world in reality, making them formidable.
However, among those currently called great mages, excluding a few special races, very few had even touched the threshold of the true pinnacle: the hella (single civilization) level.
A true great mage was one who created their own unique magic system, manifested their imagery in the world, and influenced or altered an entire civilization—only then did they earn the title.
Because of this, most races—including humans—had created a new tier, ethnos (influence beyond a single nation—confederation or alliance), between polis and hella to classify great mages.
As a result, those at the great mage level today varied wildly in strength.
There had been rumors long ago, during the Pygmalion automaton incident, that a true great mage in the original sense had appeared among humans…
But only those present at the incident had seen the truth, and with so much time passed, most considered the credibility low.
“Hmm… Is the sudden appearance of a great mage enough to ignore reporting protocols? Disappointing. We’ve dealt with great mages hostile to us before. Isn’t that mage connected to Poseidon’s priest candidate anyway? Why report this now… when seizing hegemony in Athens is already complicated enough?”
Britomartis scolded the subordinate for bypassing protocol regarding a mage they had already identified.
A force like Brauron had long known of such a powerhouse. Given the current agreement among factions to observe, knowing about the mage was sufficient.
Now was the time to ride the massive wave from the Diogenes bomb and struggle for victory.
As if aware of Britomartis’s thoughts, the chief attendant Nikos placed pre-prepared documents before her.
On behalf of the panting subordinate who had skipped protocol.
“Hm…? For you to step in personally, Nikos? It must be that important.”
After lightly rebuking Nikos, Britomartis carefully reviewed the documents and could not deny that both the wise attendant and the breathless subordinate had done the right thing for her.
The documents read:
[Perseus, priest candidate of Poseidon, who visited the Temple of Delphi.
Direct audience with Goddess Athena.
Currently wrapping up matters with Diogenes.
The mage who has been with Perseus since Delphi.]
Up to this point, it was known information. The problematic part was the speculative report that followed.
[Presumed to be one of the rumored mages from the island of Cyprus.
Matches descriptions from that time.
However, tracing further evidence is currently difficult.]
“…Nikos, are these speculations accurate?”
“Yes. We only learned this belatedly.”
“…Why? We’re not that incompetent, are we? We, followers of Artemis.”
“That’s true, but Diogenes scattered all information networks, so we only found out now. It’s also an old matter, so no one noticed earlier.”
“That madman!!!”
Hearing everything from Nikos, Britomartis could only curse Diogenes once more in rage over this absurd situation.
Who in the world would try to destroy an entire nation just to save themselves?
Of course, it didn’t occur to her that Diogenes might have known the truth about the mage.
He had probably just tried to hide the facts about Poseidon’s priest candidate.
The problem was that if things went wrong, they could all die.
No—for the people of Brauron, at least, there was only one choice.
Definitely help.
***
Brauron was the only city under Athens’s influence belonging entirely to one god.
There was only one temple inside the city, and most citizens followed a single deity.
That god was Artemis, goddess of the moon and hunt.
Brauron had been founded by pioneers and hunters. And the god all hunters believed in was Artemis.
Naturally, the descendants of those hunters—the citizens of Brauron—followed Artemis as their ancestors had, honing their hunting skills.
Thus, Brauron naturally fell under Artemis’s influence.
Given Artemis’s personality, one might think a city and followers devoted to her would live harsh, austere lives.
But surprisingly, the citizens’ happiness index was high.
After all, Artemis showed little interest in races other than elves, fairies, or nymphs.
At most, one thing she paid attention to was Poseidon’s priests?
“Of course, she only cares if they’re clearly persecuted…”
In any case, since Artemis paid some attention to Poseidon’s priests, her followers accordingly offered moderate convenience in daily life.
Naturally, the Brauron faction under Britomartis did the same.
The followers generally took a middle-ground approach…
But suddenly a rumored great mage who had touched the hella level appears?
This instantly became a clear either-or choice.
Help—or die.
“Nikos… If we don’t help Poseidon’s priest in the current situation, do you think Goddess Artemis will kill us?”
“Yes. Lady Artemis has never spared followers who defy her will. We have no option to hinder or oppose Poseidon’s priest.”
“Then, if we just pretend moderately?”
“Then we might face the great mage. Those in certain positions usually respond to probing with violence. Aren’t we the same?”
At Nikos’s answer, Britomartis nodded. She agreed with her wise attendant.
“Nikos, in the end, there’s only one thing we must do. Prepare.”
“Yes. Understood.”
***
Even powerful factions like these began firmly choosing sides, and the forces started splitting.
At that point, Perseus was engaged in a grueling fight.
“Fire. A human can’t use that level of authority twice. If we buy time, victory is ours!”
Though Diogenes had gone mad, his sharp instincts told him one thing.
Perseus wouldn’t be able to unleash the authority that had turned the mansion into a frozen wasteland a second time.
If he could do it twice or thrice, why would he be charging in like that?
He could just freeze everything again or show some other equivalent power.
“As I thought. You can’t use the power that froze this mansion a second time!”
In that case, Diogenes was certain—he could escape safely.
Though his mansion had turned into a ghostly ice castle, some powerful weapons and soldiers remained.
As proof, there was the massive bronze cannon currently aimed at Perseus.
Awkward for a fortress-like mansion, the bronze cannon roared under Diogenes’s command and fired its shell.
Boom!
The shell fired at Perseus was one Hephaestus had personally passed down to human smiths—a decisive weapon among great nations.
Its power could pierce straight through a mountain. Truly worthy of a weapon handed down by a god.
This decisive weapon—which even kings couldn’t wield lightly—was fired for the first time at Perseus by a cornered Diogenes.
This granted Perseus the achievement of [the first individual in humanity to face a siege weapon alone].
If it had been Poseidon, he would have cheered joyfully at this unprecedented feat.
But Perseus was still sane.
Rumble!!!
“Gah!”
Thanks to slightly off aim, Perseus barely dodged the blue-glowing shell with all his strength.
And right before his eyes appeared the power of this bronze cannon—never before used by anyone.
The path the shell took pulverized everything frozen, leaving not even a blade of grass—utter devastation.
“…Insane.”
Someone’s single exclamation echoed, and the mansion fell momentarily silent.
The cannon’s power was beyond imagination.
Neither the firer nor the target had expected this much.
Where the shell passed, only red ice crystals and sponge-like fragments rolled about…
It was a sight rare even in an era accustomed to much death.
Above all, the current ice chunks in the mansion had hardness surpassing steel.
“That lunatic. Firing that in the middle of the city!!!”
Perseus couldn’t help but rage.
From the cannon’s power, if the ice’s hardness had been even slightly lower, the shell would have pierced through the city, causing unimaginable damage—it was obvious.
Firing something like that in the heart of the city!
If Njord hadn’t sealed the entrance earlier, a quarter of Athens could have been destroyed—no surprise.
“Damn it! That’s my line!! Does this make sense? What the hell is this ice that even this can’t break!!!”
But Diogenes was just as furious and wronged as Perseus.
From his instincts and watching Perseus charge in, he had been sure Perseus couldn’t block the bronze cannon.
Then one shot would cause massive chaos in the city, allowing him to mock Perseus and escape.
‘All the trash you tried to protect are dead! Hahaha. What exactly were you trying to save!!!’
That had been his plan—fitting for Diogenes, whose survival instinct was stronger than anyone despite his madness.
“What the hell is that mage’s identity! Is he a god or something!!”
Who could have imagined everything going wrong because of one mage who had left earlier?
Perseus burned with anger at Diogenes’s brazen attitude.
Who should be angry here, yet acting so shameless.
“You bastard. I’ll definitely turn you into nutrients for the Oceanus Sea.”
Perseus no longer showed leisure as he charged.
He couldn’t afford carelessness—not knowing what else Diogenes might have—and above all, he wanted to erase that repulsive man from his sight right now.
With that, Perseus drew a massive harpoon.
It was something inherited from Dictys—a weapon the young Dictys had used, he said.
Swish swish.
As if no longer letting his guard down, Perseus began running like a leopard.
In response, Diogenes’s eyes gleamed as if completely swallowed by madness.
For him, only one method remained.
Kill the brat before him and fix his twisted plan.
That was the only way left for him.
“Fire! We live only if we kill him!! Don’t fear!!! Without the mage, he can’t use that power again!!!”
“WAAAAAAA!!!”
_____________________________________________
TL Note: Want to read ahead? Join My Patreon for early access:
- Plus Tier: 7 chapters per week (~50 chapters ahead)
- Premium tier: 9 chapters per week (~103+ chapters ahead) + access to all my other ongoing series
[For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Poseidon's Chronicle”]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
_____________________________________________