Chapter 193: Heracles (18)
Meanwhile, while the nobles were having their tear-soaked time of repentance.
Njord and his disciple Alcides, along with Aresia and Penthesilea, had fallen into a trap.
More precisely—they had allowed themselves to fall into it.
“I was really curious who was targeting us so persistently. And look at that—it’s a face we know.”
“Hehe, nice to meet you all for the first time. I know you as well as you know me. The grand mage, that wicked bitch, her sister, and the eldest son of Amphitryon.”
For the first time, Njord’s group and Teleos faced each other directly. After dozens of traps and battles without ever crossing paths, they finally met.
“Is that so? But why the obsession? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if we just went our separate ways?”
“I’d love that, truly. Unfortunately, as long as that bitch lives, my crotch aches—there’s nothing I can do about it.”
And Njord’s first impression upon seeing Teleos face-to-face was pure astonishment. The beauty before him was the kind that could topple nations—enough to make one wonder if this was what the legendary beauty that could ruin kingdoms truly looked like.
He wasn’t the average Greek man who would sleep with anything that had a hole regardless of gender, but even so, Teleos possessed a beauty that transcended sex entirely.
If calling someone as beautiful as Aphrodite was the highest praise for looks, then even that phrase seemed inadequate to describe Teleos’s appearance.
Though he was a eunuch.
Or perhaps precisely because he was a eunuch, that androgynous look and beauty shone even brighter.
(‘Hmm, with that face, just existing would make life easy… but he’s the one ruining his own life.’)
Still, the fact that endless obsession with Aresia had led him to destroy his own life was not the kind of person Njord particularly wanted to understand.
To begin with, hadn’t the bastard brought this on himself by trying to violate her?
“Sigh, fine. If that’s how you feel, what can I say? But are you sure about this? Preparing all these disposable pawns—if you fail, what then? You might die without ever getting to enjoy that pretty face.”
With Njord’s words, the atmosphere in the empty village—located midway between the Asopos Plain and the city of Chalkis on Euboea Island—turned ominously dark.
In truth, surrounding Njord’s group were over fifty Polites (citizen)-level fighters, twelve Archon (leader/ruler)-level warriors, and similarly over fifty Kome (village)-level mages along with twelve Polis (city-state)-level mages.
Beyond that, hundreds more—assassins, hunters, curse sorcerers, poison experts, shamans, and so on—stood ready to attack at any signal.
“Yes, it’s fine. From the beginning, I gathered them from all over the world specifically to deal with you and Aresia. Different races, different levels, different abilities. Of course, it would have been impossible if I weren’t that person’s lover.”
“Wow, impressive. But will this really be enough? Even to my eyes, it looks like you won’t escape death.”
Njord remained utterly composed even after seeing the encirclement.
After all, even if hundreds like these gathered, his side had two Heros (hero)-level fighters. Add himself, and honestly, just managing to scratch them would already be considered a success.
Naturally, Aresia, Penthesilea, and Alcides—who knew this fact—were completely relaxed.
In fact, Aresia was so excited at the prospect of a proper battle and bloodshed after so long that she even started singing.
“Haha, time for a fun fight~ What color is your blood~? Mine is red~”
“…Auntie, why are you so hyped? Shouldn’t we at least pretend to be tense at this level?”
“Don’t be too hard on her, Alcides. Big sister is just thrilled at the thought of fighting at full power for the first time in ages.”
Yet even in the face of his group’s reaction, Teleos never lost his smile—as if he had anticipated all of this.
Did he really not know the strength of those sisters and the kid? Of course he did. He had simply kept quiet to use the nobles. Through repeated failures in his plans, he had already grasped Aresia’s level to some extent.
Ever since his genitals were torn off while trying to violate Aresia, he had never taken his eyes off her for even a moment.
In short, no one in this world—not even Aresia herself—could claim to know her as well as Teleos did.
Of course, it was ugly obsession rather than beautiful love.
“So don’t worry. As the grand mage advised, I’m also staking my life on this.”
With those words, red light began pouring from the ground beneath their feet.
“This is…!”
“Heh, as expected of an grand mage. You noticed immediately.”
A radius of hundreds of stadia—tens of kilometers in modern terms—was suddenly engulfed in red light following Teleos’s words.
That light soon took the form of a ferocious wolf, engraved high in the sky as if gazing down upon the earth.
And at this sight, even the always-composed Njord couldn’t help but harden his expression in earnest. That emblem and aura belonged to a being who prevented even gods from freely walking the earth.
“…How could a mere human form a connection with her?”
Njord asked with a furrowed brow. The eunuch before him had pulled out something impossible for a human to obtain.
“Hmm, I’d love to tell you, but I’m afraid I can’t. The person who helped me asked that this remain a secret. Hehehe.”
“…….”
Njord fell silent as he watched Teleos speak in a mocking tone despite claiming to ask for understanding.
Normally he would have flown into a rage, but the current situation didn’t even allow for that.
This wasn’t something the bastard could speak of so casually. If it were just Teleos dying alone, that would be easy. The problem was that if things went wrong, not only Aresia, Penthesilea, and Alcides here—but potentially every human in the surrounding area—might have to die for this to end.
If that red wolf goddess descended to earth right now, raging at the fool who clearly had no idea what he was dealing with… there would be nothing left to gain from getting angry.
“Master, what’s wrong? What’s the problem?”
Perhaps sensing Njord’s mood, even the usually spirited Aresia hardened her expression and asked him.
The same went for Penthesilea and Alcides. Their master—or lord—was wearing a deadly serious face for the first time in their memory. Even the most oblivious person would have picked up on it.
“Ugh… Listen carefully. That emblem is far more dangerous than it looks. It’s tied to Nyx’s daughter. I don’t know what kind of lunatic gave that trash the right to use that emblem and its authority, but if we mess up, you might not even be able to keep your sense of self here anymore. We need to end this as quickly as possible. The best option would be to escape at full speed, but…”
“Hmm…”
“Such…!”
“…….”
Soon after, with the ominous roar of the red wolf, Teleos gave the order.
“Now, go and bring Aresia to me.”
Wooooong!
***
Njord—no, Poseidon—finally shed the mask of a mere mage this time.
“You brat, do you even realize what you’ve done? Do you have any idea what will happen if Ate becomes aware of this place?”
Now wearing the guise of a god rather than a human, he rebuked the fool before him.
But Teleos had already been mad ever since Aresia castrated him.
“Kekeke, who knows? Do I need to? All I care about is capturing Aresia. I want to turn her into the most beautiful fountain.”
Poseidon had known, but realizing just how deeply insane the man was made him understand that further conversation was pointless.
“…A lunatic after all. Killing him quickly and recovering the emblem would be better for the world.”
He was all too familiar with eyes like that. For such people, violence and death were far more effective forms of “persuasion” (?) than words.
Setting aside whether that could even be called persuasion.
So Poseidon stopped talking and simply raised his staff. To kill him swiftly and deal with the emblem first.
Along with it, the staff extended toward Teleos, and at its tip, ultra-high-pressure water began to gather—enough to slice a human apart.
Ku ku ku kung!
The terrifying sound and the divine power converging at the staff’s end were enough to make anyone’s legs tremble just from watching.
“Hm? Another new spell?”
“Such magic existed? As expected of Master!”
“Hehe, truly a person whose limits can’t be seen. My master.”
And that power was so immense that even the disciples—who were struggling under the emblem’s curse that had lowered their physical abilities by at least three stages—and Teleos’s subordinates couldn’t help but glance over.
Ku uuuuung!
It spun fiercely with divine power and water droplets, ready to fire at any moment.
“Hoo, an grand mage really is on another level. Someone like me probably couldn’t survive that spell.”
Yet despite the sight, Teleos remained utterly calm—enough to make everyone watching feel uneasy.
Unlike those around him who couldn’t tear their eyes away from the sheer momentum, Teleos—facing the magic head-on—was smiling far too serenely.
As if he had some trick up his sleeve.
“Tch, just die quietly. Don’t pull any tricks.”
Of course, Poseidon had roughly guessed from his demeanor. Only a fool wouldn’t notice someone staying that composed.
Still, he didn’t bother with countermeasures because he was certain that no scheme could overcome the madness consuming this child.
Even if someone lent him help.
(‘Well, unless some idiot handed him an artifact containing their divine name.’)
“Then farewell, child. If you act too arrogantly in front of Hades, you’ll suffer. Don’t do that.”
Iiiing! Boom!
***
A streak of blue light shot out, aiming straight for the center of Teleos’s brow.
Everyone present was absolutely certain he couldn’t survive.
That was how intent Poseidon—no, Njord—had been on killing this madman.
However.
The only one facing the approaching blue light—Teleos—continued to smile.
As if the concept of his own death hadn’t even crossed his mind.
Kwaaaang!
The blue light reached Teleos, exploding with a deafening roar and a blast of divine power. In that shockwave and storm, no ordinary human could possibly have survived.
But Poseidon felt it the instant the divine explosion occurred.
Someone had truly lent that bastard an artifact imbued with their divine name.
“Tch, why are all of Zeus’s children like this? It’s driving me insane. At this rate, it’ll be too late. That guy’s alive, and that fool will descend soon—Ate will crawl out even faster.”
Just as Poseidon sensed, in front of Teleos flickered a formless golden flame cracked in various places.
Calling it a “formless flame flickering” might sound strange, but nothing described what stood before Teleos better.
Though it had been damaged blocking Poseidon’s attack—cracks appearing in the space like fractures, some parts flickering weakly as if about to go out—
Even so, the heat radiating from the flame alone was enough to make everyone’s breath catch in their throats, their mouths cracking as if stranded in the middle of a desert.
_____________________________________________
TL Note:
This novel is fully completed.
You can either:
- Unlock this novel individually through its Collection "Poseidon's Chonicles" and access all remaining 74 Chapters for only $3
- Or join the Premium Tier ($7) for access to all 6 novels and ongoing updates
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
____________________________________________