"So, what should we do next…?"
Erica was a bit uncertain. Under normal circumstances, she should probably speak up now, advise Melusine to take the battle somewhere far from people.
But somewhere deep down, she also felt like that kind of suggestion was unnecessary, maybe even presumptuous.
Yeah, deep down, she felt it.
Her deity was one with a considerable measure of benevolence toward humanity.
"She's already sent us an invitation."
Melusine pushed open the door of the private room and walked out without hesitation, the box containing the Gorgoneion held in her hand, heading straight for the source of the magical energy signal.
Erica followed without a second thought.
As a great knight, as long as the Heretic God wasn't absolutely determined to kill her, she could generally hold her own well enough not to be a burden.
No need to worry about getting in the way or slowing things down; when the real fight started, she could just keep her distance.
Compared to worrying about that, it was better to stay by her deity's side, acting as an attendant to showcase the divinity's majesty.
That way, when they met, her deity would immediately have the upper hand, right?
Their pace wasn't slow, but it looked like it would still take about half an hour to reach their destination.
Neither Melusine, Erica, nor Athena, who had just arrived there, were in any particular hurry, though.
The first two were a loyal knight, using this chance to give Melusine a detailed introduction to the streets they passed and the interesting legends and anecdotes she'd crammed into her head recently, and a former shut-in, currently treating it all like entertaining gossip while also trying to keep herself occupied.
Unlike the first two, Athena's mood was undeniably much heavier.
Although she had little interaction with humans and didn't much care for their affairs, she was still aware that Sardinia had a Heretic God who had consecutively slain two deities and one fool.
What bothered her was that, for that Heretic God, those three victories combined apparently took less than five minutes.
What bothered her even more, based on what she'd heard from those humans, was that this Heretic God was named Lancelot.
From Athena's understanding, Lancelot was a male deity and, simultaneously, a Steel God.
Either one of these points alone was enough to make Athena feel disgust. Combined, they plunged her mood straight into the abyss.
Powerful, and utterly detestable—that was Athena's entire impression of the Heretic God of Sardinia.
As she followed her 'snake' in this direction, a vague sense of wrongness had begun to creep in.
But… this predicament was far more daunting than she had ever imagined.
Her 'snake' was absolutely in this Lancelot's hands. She was certain of that. But… how to get it back? By forcibly confronting it in this ridiculous and humiliating form?
Time, as always, continued its march.
After Erica cast a spell on them both to reduce their presence, the two leaped from the ground to a great height, landing on the rooftop of a shopping mall.
Athena, with her short silver hair, petite figure, and clad in her autumn school uniform, had been waiting there for some time.
The moment she felt her 'snake' draw incredibly close, she knew they had come for her.
She had prepared many words during this time. She was the goddess of war, but also the goddess of wisdom.
Using clever tactics, employing eloquence to reclaim the 'snake' without resorting to force—that was an excellent strategy for her as well.
But all her carefully prepared words scattered like mist the moment the two appeared before her.
She hadn't expected at all that the male deity she'd imagined wouldn't show up.
Instead, before her stood a dragon-serpent in human form. While this dragon did possess the concept of 'Steel', that wasn't its essence.
"Could you be… my 'child'?"
Athena's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
She truly hadn't seen this coming.
Although she had indeed sensed the approach of a dragon-serpent's aura, due to her preconceived notions, her mind being preoccupied with dialogue strategies, and the presence of the Gorgoneion, Athena had naturally conflated the signals.
"Child…?" Erica blinked, glancing at Melusine beside her.
That 'child' comment also gave Melusine a bit of a shock, but she understood why Athena had said it.
In this world, Athena was a triple-bodied goddess.
The specific background was too lengthy and not the main point.
The reason she could blurt out such a thing was mainly because Athena's most profound origin and essence was 'snake'—specifically, a 'winged serpent' (dragon).
Before being crowned as a goddess, she was a symbol of life and death worshipped by ancient peoples.
Due to the ancients' understanding of 'molting', she symbolized the cycle of death and rebirth, a Mother Earth Goddess embodying both the death of calamity and the blessings of life, and later, the king of the gods.
A dragon, born from and guarding the earth's veins; a snake, symbolizing the Mother Earth Goddess and protecting witches.
As the Mother Earth Goddess among Mother Earth Goddesses, it was understandable that Athena would see dragons and serpents as her kin and children.
Understandable as it was, even with these premises, Melusine had ample reason to suspect that Athena viewing dragons and serpents as 'children' was highly likely a manifestation of her being a 'Heretic God'.
A normal Athena might not necessarily think this way.
"I am not your child," Melusine stated. "You're here for this, aren't you?"
She lifted the box containing the Gorgoneion.
Athena's gaze finally fell upon the box. Without even needing a close look, she knew her 'snake' was inside.
"Did you fetch it especially for me? What a thoughtful child."
She paid no mind to Melusine's words, brushing them off as the wrong and complaint of one who hadn't been immediately recognized.
Already contemplating how she would compensate and reward her once she regained her full form, Athena walked unguarded toward the box Melusine held up.
"I didn't fetch it for you."
Melusine frowned slightly, setting the box down.
"Because of a promise. I agreed to guard the Gorgoneion, to keep it from falling into the hands of the Wolf King."
"?"
Athena's expressionless face tilted along with her head. "In that case, wouldn't returning it to me be the best outcome?"
"The essence of the promise is to prevent the prophecy from coming to pass." Melusine shook her head.
"Whether I return it to you, or let it fall into the Wolf King's hands, the result is the same for me. You two will inevitably fight, and the scene from the prophecy will unfold because of that battle."
"Although I don't believe that prophecy will become reality as long as I'm here, until I'm certain it won't, this divine artifact must remain in my hands."
Her words were easy for the goddess of wisdom to grasp.
Whether she got it, or that fool got it, the final outcome would be her regaining her complete form.
If she got it, the fool would come knocking, and they would fight.
If the fool got it, they would just fight directly.
Athena felt displeasure, but considering this was, after all, her 'child', she restrained her divine temper.
"Then, my child, how will you determine that the prophecy will not come to pass?"
She already had a guess, and Melusine's reply was just as she expected: "When I am certain that this battle cannot take place—meaning, when one of you is unable to answer the call to fight."
"Then I shall patiently await that moment." Upon hearing this, Athena's urgency faded.
When that Campione comes here seeking death, won't the snake still return to me?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.