The Strait of Messina.
The sea monster Scylla, which had once plagued the region, floated miserably on the seawater.
Each of its six heads had been pierced by an arrow, leaving thumb-sized bloody holes.
Gray-white brain matter and golden-red blood spread outward with the surging tides, releasing a thick stench that attracted schools of fish, shrimp, and sea beasts to gnaw at the remains.
Clearly, this half-divine bloodline was dead beyond any doubt.
Likewise, under such overwhelming, crushing strength, every other area of the battlefield showed the same one-sided outcome.
The main gods didn't even need to personally intervene.
High in the sky, the nine Muses formed groups of three, spreading out in a ring.
With their arms crossed over their chests, they lifted their voices in song.
The man-faced, bird-bodied Siren demons, usually loud-mouthed and foul-tongued, were struck dumb with fear and scattered in all directions.
Yet under the nine Muses' soaring chants, they let out anguished cries one after another as black feathers flew everywhere, bodies burst into clouds of blood mist, and one by one they fell into the sea.
Likewise, the three Siren sisters themselves, as the source of that bloodline, failed to escape and under the bombardment of the Muses' divine words, they thrashed helplessly in the sea as large patches of their multicolored scales fell away.
Because the nine Muses and the Sirens had old grudges between them, these usually petty Greek goddesses showed no mercy at all and struck with lethal intent.
Within the sea domain, the three Gorgon sisters drove their chariots across the waves.
Wherever their gazes fell, Lamiae, the cursed beings doomed to sleeplessness, were turned into stone statues, granted eternal rest, and sank into the deep.
Compared to the Muses' open and public settling of personal grudges, the younger Gorgon sisters were clearly much gentler, presenting death in a more merciful manner.
Along the coastline, Artemis, who had finished her battle the fastest, gave a slight wave of her hand, and the twenty hunting nymphs immediately split into two teams.
One team dragged away the remains of the giant monster Scylla and began cleaning up the battlefield; the other spread out in a crescent formation nearby, guarding the area to prevent any reckless sea beasts from charging toward their chief goddess.
As for the huntress goddess herself, using continued patrols and the search for a campsite as an excuse, she decisively abandoned these subordinate gods tasked with rear security.
Then pulled Lorne along and landed on Sicily Island near the Strait of Messina, strolling leisurely through the mountains and forests with her long-separated new lover.
Under Artemis's warm and tender gaze, Lorne could only force a smile and obediently follow behind her.
There was no other way; local power was more effective than distant ones. Already besieged on all sides, he could only try to appease one at a time.
Fortunately, women in love were emotional creatures.
Lorne merely explained that becoming Hestia's subordinate god was mainly due to having received the hearth goddess's favor in the past, as well as compatibility between their divine domains, and that's how, he managed to gloss over his ambiguous relationship with the goddess of the hearth.
Artemis's initially gloomy expression immediately cleared, like rain giving way to sunshine, and she even looked a little delighted.
"Auntie? Then that's fine. She's a really nice person!"
So as long as it wasn't her old rival Athena, everything was acceptable, huh?
Seeing the schadenfreude practically written on Artemis's face, Lorne couldn't help inwardly complain about the "deep friendship" between the two virgin goddesses and their habit of stabbing each other in the back.
However, although she learned that Athena hadn't succeeded, Artemis, being naturally competitive, upon learning that Lorne had been incorporated into the goddess of the hearth's system due to his divine role, immediately dragged the young man to find a campsite without further ado, and even humbled herself to learn how to start a fire and cook.
Clearly, even when it came to her respected aunt, Artemis had no intention of giving up.
She even planned to develop an additional divine domain, determined to "steal back" her little lover in advance.
However, being used to being served, even after humbling herself enough to successfully start the fire, the huntress goddess found herself at a loss for the next steps and in the end, could only look pitifully toward the professional standing nearby.
Lorne found it both funny and helpless.
He squatted down beside Artemis and patiently taught her how to marinate, cook, and grill.
Soon, having grasped some essentials, the huntress goddess excitedly sprinkled salt and spices evenly over the cleaned lean meat, patiently turning the skewers.
Watching Artemis's technique gradually become more proficient, Lorne couldn't help falling into deep thought by the campfire.
Come to think of it… did this count as a subordinate god teaching an outsider how to steal his own chief god?
"It's done, hurry and taste it!"
Just as Lorne was lost in thought, Artemis, beaming with a bright smile, presented her first finished product to her instructor.
Although he wanted to do something more in depth, firstly, it wasn't a full moon yet, and secondly, there were far too many prying eyes around.
For now, he could only endure it.
Looking at the reasonably good-looking skewers of meat before him, Lorne struggled to pull his trapped arm free from a pair of glaring headlights and prepared to take the skewer to give it a serious taste.
However, a fair and slender hand suddenly reached out from behind him, snatched the skewer away in one swift motion, and stuffed it into someone's mouth, chewing vigorously.
"Mmm. All lean meat, gets stuck in the teeth a bit; the marinating time wasn't long enough, so it didn't absorb the flavor; and it's even burnt. You didn't control the heat properly…"
The goddess of the hearth, who had rushed over to the scene, evaluated her niece's rough handiwork with professional standards.
Then her expression turned serious as she squeezed in beside this beginner, displaying the enthusiasm and warmth befitting a family elder.
"How can this be acceptable? Come, I'll teach you~!"
Artemis looked at the sudden third party who had barged in, her face filling with astonishment.
She didn't actually want to learn how to barbecue, she simply wanted to spend time alone with a certain someone.
Subconsciously, the huntress goddess turned her gaze toward Lorne, who had been squeezed off to the side, her eyes carrying a hint of plea for help.
But before she could speak, the hearth goddess beside her seemed to remember something and muttered to herself.
"Just meat and no soup, how could that do?"
Immediately after, Hestia quickly turned her head, shot a glare at her rather clueless subordinate god, and scolded him righteously.
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and go pick some mushrooms and wild vegetables!"
"I'll also—"
Artemis rose instinctively, wanting to follow and continue enjoying their time together.
But Hestia put on the air of a strict teacher and pressed her down with one hand, her innocent face piled high with smiles.
"Come, come, I'll teach you how to grill it properly."
Then, as if to prevent her niece from being distracted or worried, she quickly turned her head to the side again.
"Athena, you go help over there!"
"Alright, Aunt."
The aunt and niece exchanged a subtle look as Athena nodded gladly and waved with a smile.
And under Artemis's stunned gaze, she grabbed Lorne by the collar and dragged him toward the small grove thick with mushrooms.
Meanwhile, the three Gorgon sisters lingered around the perimeter, intentionally or unintentionally blocking the hunting nymphs who wanted to rush over to help or break things up, ensuring that no irrelevant parties could interfere with the hearth goddess's family lesson.
No…!
Watching the precious cabbage she had been thinking about get snatched away right in front of her by her greatest rival, Artemis couldn't help letting out a furious, grief-filled scream in her heart.
Beautifully done!
As for Hestia, seeing Athena perfectly receive her "long pass," she couldn't help clenching her small fists and giving an excited little wave in secret, praising her grand niece's wisdom.
Following the advice of the goddess of wisdom, not only had she managed to catch the little tail of a certain someone who was plotting against her precious cabbage on this island, but also, while getting the chance to properly educate the vegetable thief, she had successfully sent her own cabbage safely away.
Everything was perfect, Athena was indeed as reliable as ever!
(End of chapter)