Chapter 126: Perseus (18)
Gleaming with manic eyes, Diogenes urged his subordinates as Perseus charged toward him with the harpoon raised.
As if he had no retreat left.
Boom!!!
The blue-glowing shell fired once more. This time it flew straight at Perseus’s front.
Traveling faster than sound, the shell arrived before the noise even reached him.
The original Perseus would have died or suffered fatal wounds from this single shot.
But unfortunately for Diogenes, Perseus had divine protection. The shell crumpled in front of him as if neutralizing its own power.
Along with it, brilliant golden patterns appeared around Perseus—the Aegis shield.
Athena’s shield, the heavenly fortress that made her the most impregnable among all gods, had unfolded itself before Perseus.
Perseus did not stop. Furious enough to use tools the gods had given him solely to hunt the Gorgon sisters, he had no intention of letting Diogenes escape here.
These were items he wouldn’t normally use against a human, but Perseus no longer considered Diogenes human.
100 paces
80 paces
50 paces
40 paces
10 paces
In the brief time after blocking one shell and before the cannon reloaded,
Perseus—running straight ahead—brought Diogenes within harpoon range.
To stop Perseus charging like a marlin, Diogenes’s subordinates unleashed all manner of magic and artifacts, but everything melted before the Aegis shield.
As all attacks dissolved, Perseus’s thrust struck true—embedding precisely in Diogenes’s forehead.
Shluck!
Reddish blood sprayed, droplets brushing past Perseus’s eyes.
Sizzle.
But as Perseus slid to control his momentum and turned back, his expression hardened.
It wasn’t the face of someone who had finished the job by piercing Diogenes’s forehead.
“…What are you.”
He had definitely felt like he blew away everything above Diogenes’s lower jaw… yet his senses rang alarm bells. As if Diogenes wasn’t dead yet.
With only the lower jaw remaining, the vanished head opened its mouth.
“Kikikik. The brat isn’t fooled. I was planning to ambush when you let your guard down.”
The mercenaries, mages, and knights present—excluding Perseus—couldn’t hide their shock.
They hadn’t known their master was a monster!
“Damn bastard. I didn’t want anyone to see this form, but because of you, many know now. Did you think someone like me would have no contingency? I didn’t want to reveal it yet.”
With that, the half of Diogenes’s head that had flown away with the forehead began slowly regenerating.
At the monstrous or fantastic-creature-like appearance threatening humanity, even Diogenes’s own subordinates were stunned.
“Kikikik, I wasn’t cowering in fear of you. I just didn’t need to reveal this power.”
Ridiculously, Diogenes mocked as if he had forgotten his own terror.
But Perseus had no leisure to care.
His instincts kept blaring “beep beep.”
“Yes, that scared-dog look suits brats like you.”
Perseus gripped his harpoon tighter as he watched Diogenes’s pig-like form gradually turn muscular.
His gut screamed that if he slipped, this place could become his grave.
Just as Njord had warned.
***
“Hm?”
While Perseus fought fiercely,
Poseidon—who was gathering civilians—felt something odd.
The humans, who had been nothing but chaotic earlier, were now systematically evacuating.
“Huh? Someone’s helping?”
—Not sure. Doesn’t seem like they’re helping you. Feels like a different motive.
“Atropos. Just roughly cast some divination magic. Then we’ll know.”
—…What do you mean by telling me—a goddess of fate—to “roughly cast” it?
“Good grief. I mean that prophecy magic mages use. Just do that.”
—You damned !@#$@%#$^%!!! Goddess of fate !@###%$%3….
Poseidon cut off Atropos’s sudden, inexplicable outburst.
To curse like this just for asking a bit of divination magic—how useless could she be!
This was outright interference, not help for Perseus and him.
“Really, what’s Clotho doing not keeping her sister in line? She always just explodes like this.”
Poseidon lamented having to investigate himself and started walking.
This only infuriated Atropos more—forced to watch one-sidedly with the connection cut—but what could she do?
Her sisters had tasked her with watching Poseidon and Perseus.
If Hecate—the goddess of magic who at least explained things to Poseidon—was here, she would have given a long lecture about how a fate goddess using divination magic caused massive worldly damage and taken Atropos’s side.
But Hecate wasn’t here.
She was traveling the world under the name “Katrin” that Poseidon had given her.
—Damn it…
Atropos lamented her divine plight where only vulgar curses came out.
***
Poseidon, having sunk Atropos’s mood, moved toward the spot where Britomartis’s subordinates were evacuating Athens’s citizens.
He couldn’t hide his puzzlement at the sight.
The aura he felt from them was unmistakably that of Artemis’s followers.
“Since when do Artemis’s followers care about civilians? This is strange…”
As far as Poseidon knew, Artemis wasn’t a goddess particularly interested in humans to begin with.
She usually led the elves created by Poseidon and Gaia and spent time with them, so she didn’t particularly like humans.
Yet why were Artemis’s followers…?
While Poseidon tilted his head at the puzzling scene, a figure who had spotted him from afar quickly ran up.
“Ah! Aren’t you Lord Njord?”
“Hm? You know me?”
“Yes, of course. You’re the advisor to Lord Perseus—priest candidate of Lord Poseidon—and the mage chosen by the gods to guide his path.”
Poseidon felt a bit flustered.
When had such rumors spread…? Even ordinary people knew now?
Above all, these guys… were unusually polite and looked at him with eyes full of respect.
As if they knew something.
‘Ugh… Being too famous is its own problem. Especially since Eurynome already caught me…’
So Poseidon hid his true feelings as much as possible, greeting the man before him with a smiling face.
He needed to distort the information as much as he could.
Ahem. “Part of that is true, but unfortunately, I’m just on friendly terms with the Goddesses of Fate. The idea that the gods chose me is nonsense. And in Perseus’s case, he’d be outstanding even without my advice.”
“…Ah. I see.”
At Poseidon’s excuse, the man who had approached the mage wore a slightly dazed expression.
He couldn’t tell if the mage’s words were boasting or humility.
Poseidon didn’t know, but living as a god had slightly skewed his focus.
He sometimes forgot that gods’ standards and humans’ standards differed.
‘Hmm… Lord Britomartis predicted at least a great mage, so it’s probably humility? If someone has touched the hella (single civilization) realm, it’s possible to know the Goddesses of Fate.’
Watching Poseidon’s serious expression, Britomartis’s subordinate convinced himself alone.
It was common knowledge that higher-realm mages were eccentric and spouted bizarre things mortals couldn’t understand.
This great mage was probably like that too.
Above all, he was remarkably gentlemanly and conversational for a mage.
Few mages would even respond to a low-ranking person like him.
“So what are you all doing here? You seem like followers of Artemis?”
Satisfied that his words had worked on the self-convinced man, Poseidon asked his burning question.
No matter how he thought about it, it was odd for Artemis’s followers, so he couldn’t hold back his curiosity.
At Poseidon’s question, the man smiled brightly and answered.
“Yes. This is under orders from Lord Britomartis, ruler of our city Brauron, to support Lord Perseus—the priest candidate of Lord Poseidon.”
“Hm? Brauron? That place is definitely…”
“Yes. Undeniably the strongest city in Athens and home to Lady Artemis’s temple.”
Poseidon nodded at the man’s proud reply.
By human standards, it was a city worth boasting about. But the lingering question was why Artemis’s followers were helping Perseus.
“Ah! It’s because Lady Artemis once ordered protection for Lord Poseidon’s priests. Well… Poseidon’s priests tend to die quickly. And since Lady Artemis and Lord Poseidon are on friendly terms…”
“……”
Poseidon struggled to manage his expression at the mention of his priests.
They died quickly because many were reckless troublemakers and there were few of them—not his fault…
But hearing that other gods protected his priests somehow… made it feel like he was the one at fault.
Ahem. “I see. If that’s the reason, helping makes sense. You’re doing well. It’s reassuring to have you here.”
Feeling a bit awkward himself, Poseidon gave a vague reply and quickly excused himself.
But the puzzling part was why they stared at him with such sparkling eyes?
As if witnessing a great figure.
Poseidon never imagined they thought he was the great mage from the Pygmalion incident and were acting accordingly.
He simply assumed they respected him as a mage chosen by gods.
And with Artemis’s orders too, even more so.
After all, Poseidon was largely ignorant of the mage tier system and realms humans and other races used.
Things like the difference between a “great mage” by their standards and a true great mage.
He was just a magic dabbler who had received crash courses from Hecate.
“Yes! Thank you!!”
Hearing the vigorous reply behind him, Poseidon waved vaguely and hurried away.
“Phew… Is this karma? Maybe I should pay more attention after this is over…”
Unaware that rumors about him would soon spread everywhere.
Not just the existing rumor among gods that he was Demeter’s lover, but among humans that he was a true great mage.
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