Above the Sea of Oceanus, three chariots raced forward, cleaving through the waves as they charged ahead.
The demonic god Phorcys, who had originally come in full fury to seek revenge, was now riddled with over a hundred arrows embedded in his back.
One of his massive crab-like pincers had been severed halfway, and the thick lower half of his serpentine tail was covered in scorched black marks from divine flames, as well as ghastly wounds left by bombardment of divine words.
Facing the joint encirclement of three Olympian gods and thirty-three subordinate deities, even if Poseidon himself had appeared, he would have been beaten until his head swelled.
Let alone Phorcys, a fallen demon god.
Thus, the Father of Sea Monsters, who had nearly died on the spot, realized that he was the one who had been hooked all along.
And so, he immediately fled like a stray dog, frantically diving toward the depths of the ocean.
Apollo, Athena, and Artemis pursued from three directions, yet none of them rushed to finish him off.
Instead, they deliberately used their weapons to continue carving fresh wounds into Phorcys's body.
—Usually, an experienced hunter would first wear down the prey's stamina and will to resist, slowly and methodically, before striking at the right moment.
As for what counted as the right moment—
For Apollo, it was ending the battle with elegance.
For Artemis, it was getting close to Athena's chariot.
For Athena, it was preferably right at Poseidon's doorstep…
Each harboring their own intentions, the three gods chased one another across the sea, neither hurried nor slow, steadily forcing Phorcys into desperate flight while draining his divine essence bit by bit.
Finally, after fleeing for nearly half an hour, the battered Father of Sea Monsters realized that continuing like this was pointless and abruptly twisted his massive body around, spewing vast clouds of sickly green venom.
However, whether it was light that dissolved corruption, arrows that purified plague, or shields flashing with runes, none of the venom could break through.
It was dispersed on the spot, turning into foul-smelling toxic mist.
"Hiss—!"
On the sea's surface, Phorcys let out a furious hiss as he watched the three chariots close in like a fan.
Wielding his remaining massive claw, he rode the waves and lunged forward, attempting a final, desperate counterattack.
Tch. Abandoned already?
That was fast and clean…
Watching the Father of Sea Monsters give up on escape and charge straight back at them, Athena frowned slightly, regret flickering in her eyes.
At the same time, Apollo, who had pursued all this way, had finally exhausted his patience.
Looking at the pray, he raised his hand gracefully and drew his silver bow to its fullest.
Accompanied by the blessings of the Nine Muses, a silver arrow of light slowly formed upon the bowstring.
Upon closer inspection, the arrow was composed of countless arcane sigils, containing vast and surging divine power.
Vile creature....burn to nothing like worthless weeds beneath this strike!
Apollo gazed down arrogantly at the hideous monster on the sea, ready to deliver judgment from the light.
"Move!"
Yet just as he had perfectly aligned his stance and angle, about to finish off the prey—
His sister Artemis's sacred stag chariot came crashing in from behind, slamming into him and knocking him off balance, then cutting diagonally straight through his firing line as it charged toward Athena's chariot.
"Lorne, come help me drive~!"
As that cheerful shout reached his ears, Apollo's expression darkened to a frightening degree.
At this moment, Athena raised the Aegis without the slightest courtesy and bluntly blocked Artemis outside.
"He's busy! Don't you have twenty nymphs? Isn't that enough to drive your chariot?"
"You have three subordinate gods yourself. Why are you so obsessed with clinging to Aunt's subordinate god?"
Artemis wasn't stupid, so, she immediately launched a verbal counterattack, using Hestia as her excuse.
"Newcomers inevitably need training. I'm helping Aunt by taking care of him!" Athena snorted coldly in rebuttal.
"I can do that too! I'm the goddess of the hunt, who better than me to teach him how to hunt?" Artemis argued just as forcefully.
As she spoke, the goddess demonstrated extremely high-level chariot control, steering the pair of golden-antlered deer to run side by side with Athena's winged-horse chariot and looked eagerly toward the "first prize" occupying the front seat.
The more Athena tested the situation, the more something felt wrong.
With a stormy expression, she cast a gloomy glance at a certain indecent fellow.
The Victory Spear, adorned with golden tassels, angled forward slightly, its meaning unmistakable.
For a moment, under the gaze of the two goddesses, Lorne felt his scalp go numb.
Another deadly multiple-choice question.
Whether he chose A or B, he would inevitably be settled with later.
So—
Lorne abruptly shoved the reins into Medusa's hands, grabbed a bronze spear, decisively leaped off the chariot, unleashed his divine power, and righteously charged towards option C on the sea.
"Quick! It's trying to escape! Don't let this scourge get away!"
"?"
At this moment, Phorcys, the father of sea monsters, already at the end of his rope and preparing to fight to the death, wore a completely bewildered expression.
Meanwhile, the two goddesses who had been locked in sharp confrontation watched as the long-legged "first prize" ran off on his own.
Their unbuffered gazes collided, sparks faintly flaring in the air.
Without another word, they simultaneously yanked the reins and charged straight toward Phorcys on the sea.
If that's how it is, then the old rules apply.
"The winner takes all!"
"Whether it's this hunt, or the right to divide and enjoy the spoils afterward!"
In an instant, the father of sea monsters, now targeted by both the goddess of the hunt and the goddess of war, indirectly felt the pressure Lorne had once endured.
With their minds made up and their rivalry turning silent and fierce, Athena and Artemis struck at the same time.
The goddess of wisdom leaned back first.
Her exceptionally flexible waist and back bent like a taut bowstring, drawing an exaggerated arc as layers of glowing patterns rippled across the Victory Spear with its golden tassels.
"Victory, I call upon your name."
With Athena's silent murmur, the Victory Spear transformed into a piercing golden streak and shot forward violently.
At this moment, Artemis, having lost the initiative, was in no hurry at all.
As she raised her golden bow and golden arrow, she cast a sideways glance behind her, sending a meaningful look.
Apollo, outside the battlefield, instantly understood.
In perfect sync with his sister, he raised his own silver bow and silver arrow.
They had grown up together.
Their hearts were connected, their skills identical, their coordination unmatched.
"You are the silver of rapid fire!"
The silver arrow shot into the sky, passing straight through the magical formation hovering above Phorcys's head.
Then countless silver arrows poured down like a storm, striking the massive body of the sea monster father, and, by sheer coincidence, colliding with the charging Victory Spear, intercepting it.
"You are the gold that pierces the stars!"
Almost at the same moment, Artemis released her sure-hit shot.
The golden streak shot forward, and the silver rain of arrows parted as if alive.
Shameless!
She actually called in outside help!
Seeing this, Athena shot an indignant glare at the rule-breaking Artemis.
The goddess of the hunt, however, felt no shame at all.
Instead, she wore a perfectly justified smile.
She had delivered that boy herself, half his life belonged to her.
What was wrong with asking for a little help?
So this victory is mine, Athena!
Estimating the timing, Artemis's lips curled upward slightly as she prepared to close her eyes and listen for the prey's final cry.
Unwilling to admit defeat, Athena extended her hand forward and clenched it in the air, further activating the divinity of the Victory Spear, trying to break through the silver arrow barrage as quickly as possible.
At that moment, disaster struck.
Several silver arrows were deflected by the Victory Spear and, by an unfortunate coincidence, collided with Artemis's rapidly advancing golden arrow.
With a harsh clash of metal, the golden arrowhead was knocked slightly off course and fell diagonally toward the sea.
A miss by a hair, a failure by a mile—this was exactly that.
But Artemis no longer had time to worry about whether the shot would hit.
Because a charging figure happened to be right at the golden arrow's point of impact.
"Watch out!"
At the critical moment, the goddess of the hunt hurriedly raised her hand and forcibly dispersed the magic of the golden arrow.
"Buzz!"
A vast golden ether torrent erupted, kicking up a fierce storm.
Near the sea monster father, Lorne, with his body urgently twisting back, raised his spear and took a defensive stance.
Even so, he was barely able to keep his footing, cold sweat breaking out along the back of his neck.
"Thud!"
At the same time, the Victory Spear pierced through the silver arrow rain and struck Phorcys straight in the head.
The surging divine power instantly blasted away half of the sea monster father's skull, declaring the end of this hunt.
(End of Chapter)