The moon climbed high in the sky, and Athena had already departed. Stella, her bottom red and swollen, lay on a long bench like a little piggy, whimpering.
With a wave of his hand, Seiya commanded the wind to restore the messy courtyard to its original state. But looking at the color of the moon in the sky, he felt a little melancholy. He had no idea why Athena was so fixated on this.
"Do you really not know, or are you just pretending?" Stella whimpered from the side.
"You know?" Seiya frowned with some suspicion. "It's not impossible. You were rivals in the myths, so perhaps you understand each other better."
"No, actually, even a Son of a Fool like you who is slow on the uptake should have realized it by now." Stella laughed coldly. "That symbol of the triune holy mother—the side of her whose power is now soaring is that of Medusa, the noble earth mother goddess who was cast down from her divine altar."
The relationship between Medusa and Pegasus could no longer be described in just a few words.
Many of the gods of the original Greek mythology were pieced together from various parts of the ancient world. Tracing their origins, they came from Egypt, Libya, Babylonia, Syria... and many other places. It was the result of merging the deities of various regions and peoples into their own local mythology.
"By the way, if you trace the origins of Medusa, you'll find that she was the great earth goddess Neith from northern Africa. That's right, she was not a monster."
In order to suppress the status of foreign deities, they were often made to appear in myths as evil monsters. Of course, in the end, their fate was always to be defeated. Such contrived legends of vanquishing demons and exorcising monsters can be found everywhere in the myths of the East and West, both ancient and modern.
This was a mythological transformation that was bound to happen during the transition from a matriarchal society to a patriarchal one. And Pegasus, who symbolized the fallen aspect of Medusa, could also be seen as her child.
"Perhaps it is your love for her that is suppressing her dark side, which has in turn caused her motherly love to soar. And this emotion will reach its peak within a few days," Stella said, pursing her lips in a sinister smile.
But what Stella didn't say was that after this emotion reached its peak, what would follow would be the true ancient God-Queen, the Queen of Wisdom who knew the heavens and spread knowledge, Metis. And what she would do, Stella could guess with every fiber of her being.
Just let you enjoy this brief moment of happiness for a little while longer.
The thought of soon being able to see this family mythological tragedy unfold made Stella's bottom feel not so sore anymore. She shook her head and giggled.
The wind and rain were coming, and dark clouds pressed down.
The headquarters of the new Onmyo-ryō was bustling with people. The exorcism officers responsible for monitoring spiritual disasters, the specialists from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's meteorological department, and the Japan Meteorological Agency were all busy running off their feet. Because just a day before, the climate of the entire Honshu region had developed problems.
Sudden downpours in the Kanto region, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake in Kanagawa, and in the Fuji Five Lakes area, the cherry blossoms of early spring, the peach blossoms of March, and the even later hydrangeas all bloomed on the same day.
Perhaps for tourists, this was a spectacle. But for the meteorology expert, he had already prepared a plane ticket to Brazil for his family, and after writing his last will and testament, he was preparing to die for his country. And the onmyoji were even thinking of things like the "interaction between heaven and man" from the Western Continent, having some very disrespectful thoughts, but not daring to say them out loud.
But whether from a meteorological perspective or from a mystical one, this was a sign of a great disaster to come.
In the early morning, Erica, carrying a handbag, arrived in the Banchō area of Chiyoda. Although she was eager to see the Saint she followed, Erica was still extremely attentive to her appearance and grooming. She absolutely could not leave a bad impression on Seiya again.
Okay, makeup is perfect, hairstyle is perfect, smile is perfect. And the beautiful high school girl next to me is also perfect.
Hmm? Erica suddenly looked to the side and saw a JK (high school girl) in a student uniform, also carrying a school bag, standing at the door, giving her a provocative smile.
Her long, fine black hair was loose and beautiful like flowing water. Her face was as exquisite and elegant as her own, and her figure looked small and slender, evidently because her clothing made her seem so. The absolute territory between her white over-the-knee socks and the hem of her skirt was just right.
But the thing that most drew the eye was the sword bag she carried on her back. Erica, a Great Knight, felt a bone-chilling sharpness from it.
Ena Seishuin. The second knight to follow the Saint. Oh, in this country, she should be called a vassal Hime-Miko.
She was also one of the causes of the God War and the shift in power. Her appearance and strength were both extremely formidable, almost on par with her own. A warning bell instantly went off in Erica's mind. This was a strong rival.
And at the same time, Ena Seishuin was thinking something similar.
The first vassal to follow the Rakshasa Lord, and even a witness to Seiya becoming a Godslayer. Ena Seishuin took a deep breath. A very strong opponent. Ena Seishuin couldn't help but get excited.
But on the surface, neither of them said anything provocative. They even entered the courtyard together very politely. The Saint Seiya was still a little happy to see Erica. And seeing Ena Seishuin appear at the same time, his spiritual sense was faintly stirred.
Erica first offered her greetings, and also the gift the Bronze-Ink Cross had sent for him. Finally, she got to the main topic: the matter of the dragon and the god that had occurred in Naples. The King of Swords, Doni, had pursued the dragon formed from the ley lines, and then was ambushed by a Heretic God, ultimately falling into the sea.
"Doni the dummy really is unreliable in the most unreliable of places," Seiya said, echoing words similar to those of the King's Steward, Andrea.
Erica didn't respond, because as a friend and compatriot, Seiya could freely comment on the King of Swords, but she, who had once been a Great Knight under his command, could not.
"But Seiya, you don't have to worry for the time being. Because the distance from Naples in Italy to the island nation of the Far East still has to pass through the territory of another king. It's highly likely that the dragon-beast and the Heretic God will both encounter the Martial Empress Luo Hao."
"That's what I'm worried about. That big sister is not a Rakshasa Lord with a strong sense of responsibility. It's possible that by the time she deigns to come out, millions of people will already be dead. It would be better for them to come to me," Seiya said.
As for Ena Seishuin, her situation was similar, but she was more direct. She reported to the sublime Great Sun-Illuminating Avatar about the strange changes that had occurred in Japan during this time, and tactfully asked what they should do, even hinting that they could drag out the new emperor at any time and have him write an edict of self-criticism to the audience.
The two vassal-knights who had followed him one after another looked at each other at this moment. Neither of them had made a rash move, but were steadily and surely closing the distance with their king. It seemed that because of each other's presence, neither had acted recklessly.
Stella, a semi-illusory figure holding a phone, watched with great interest as the two young women knelt on the tatami mats. But in the next second, she suddenly looked up towards the northwest. And at almost the same time, the Saint Seiya also looked in that direction.
A few seconds later, a long, drawn-out cry, like that of a cow or a deer, rang out in the wind and clouds.
_____
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