In the Holy Garden, three Nymph Fairies, their robes shimmering with radiant light, walked barefoot across the island as usual, checking on the growth of the flowers, plants, and fruit trees, occasionally summoning clouds and rain to water the wilting vegetation.
However, their work didn't last long before the familiar sense of weariness washed over them.
Though they were nominally goddesses guarding the Holy Garden, in fact, they were stuck doing the work of gardeners.
This monotonous and repetitive life, day after day, would gradually wear down even the greatest initial enthusiasm over time.
Just as the three Hesperides sisters finished their rounds of the garden and were preparing to return, a faint, rich aroma drifted from beyond the island.
"What's that smell?"
The youngest of the sisters sniffed the air, her face full of curiosity.
"It's wine—the finest Immortal Nectar Mead!"
"Mmm, during the last Great Sacrifice, when I visited Olympus, Hebe gave me a flask. I tried it too—it's absolutely delicious!"
The two older sisters chattered excitedly, clearly remembering this exquisite drink vividly.
As they listened to their sisters' descriptions, the youngest sister felt the aroma wafting from beyond the island grow even stronger, her throat involuntarily working.
"Why don't we go out and take a look?"
"That... might not be a good idea..."
"Just a quick look, to observe the surroundings. It's part of our duty to guard the Holy Garden.
Besides, with Ladon around, what could possibly go wrong?"
"Hmm, you're right."
Finally, at the youngest sister's urging, the three sisters agreed and cautiously emerged from the Holy Garden, searching for the source of the lingering fragrance.
Soon, a wine amphora half-buried in the sand caught their attention.
Crimson liquid trickled from a crack in the amphora's body, seeping into the fine sand.
'What a waste!'
The three Nymph Fairies were heartbroken by the sight as they rushed forward and dug the amphora out of the sand.
When they gently shook it, the sloshing liquid inside instantly filled them with excitement.
There was still more than half a jar left.
It seemed this was likely something a passing deity had accidentally dropped into the sea, then washed ashore by the tide.
Just as the three Nymphs were contemplating whether to divide it among themselves and taste the Immortal Nectar Mead, a fierce gust of wind swept from behind, striking the back of their necks almost simultaneously.
A crimson light... and the stench of blood...
With this final impression, the three Nymphs' vision went black, and they collapsed to the ground in unison.
Having easily subdued the targets, Lorne skillfully cast a dozen suppression spells, ensuring they wouldn't wake for some time.
Satisfied, he stepped back and gazed at the three Nymphs lying sprawled on the ground with a sigh.
'Even a straight hook can catch a fish, They must be going stir-crazy from being stuck tending this garden.'
'Living as dependents is a dead end, after all.'
Shaking his head, Lorne used a spell to conceal the three Nymphs.
Then, the Mark of the Dead on the back of his hand glowed, his living aura dissipated, and his figure faded into invisibility.
Hades' Divine Seal seemed to have hidden properties beyond granting him passage through the Underworld.
Having completed his preparations, Lorne crept through the Holy Garden, carefully slipping inside.
After a shimmering white light rippled through the air, the scene before him opened up in a breathtaking panorama.
Lush vegetation flourished, with winding streams meandering through verdant nurseries, and arcs of rainbow rising from the mist.
The air was so thick with Aether that it almost coalesced into a radiant, colorful fog—a truly magnificent spectacle.
As the garden's centerpiece, the Golden Apple Tree was easy to spot, standing atop the central hill of the island.
Its massive trunk soared toward the heavens, its dense branches and leaves obscuring more than half the sky.
Beneath the foliage, glimmers of radiant gold could be seen—the legendary Golden Apples.
However, coiled at the base of the tree lay Ladon, a monstrous creature covered in silver scales, its body stretching a hundred meters long and crowned with over a hundred massive dragon heads.
Half of its heads drooped in slumber, while the other half were raised high, their deep-set vertical pupils surveying the entire Holy Garden.
'Is this Ladon? How beautiful.'
To describe a dragon as "beautiful" was a rare compliment.
Yet, it had to be said that Ladon differed somewhat from the grotesque monsters Lorne had seen before.
Her silver dragon scales shimmered with a magnificent glow, her slender form exuding an elegant grace.
Her head lay half-slumbering, half-raised, petals and leaves scattered across it, creating a serene and tranquil scene.
To Lorne's surprise, he sensed a "sacred" aura about her.
Despite being the most complete inheritor of Typhon's divine power, her personality was so contrary.
It truly proved the saying: "A dragon's nine sons each have their own ways."
Just as Lorne was musing to himself, several pairs of eyes suddenly focused on him.
The fifty heads that had been slumbering on the grass instantly awoke, their necks swiveling in unison to lock their gaze on the intruder's location.
Simultaneously, seething Aether coalesced before Ladon, weaving a dense matrix of magical arrays and frenzied aggregation of elemental constructs—wind blades, fireballs, rock spears, water arrows, and more—materialized in a chaotic display.
Unlike her physically robust father, the Demon Ancestor Typhon, Ladon, the hundred-headed Giant Dragon, seemed to specialize in magic and sorcery, excelling in ranged attacks.
'Discovered?'
Lorne's heart tightened, but immediately revealed himself and pulled out the Serpent Mother's scale, raising it high.
"Echidna sent me!"
Sensing the familiar aura emanating from the scale, Ladon's main head furrowed slightly.
"My mother is still alive?"
A cold yet melodious voice emanated from the head of the Giant Dragon, its golden eyes fixing on the mysterious intruder in the Holy Garden.
"She died, but I used a special method to revive her."
Lorne explained, briefly recounting his close relationship with the Gorgon Sisters and how he had met and helped the Serpent Mother in the Arima Catacombs.
After listening intently, Ladon dispelled the magical array before her, and the condensed magical energy surrounding them dissipated.
Her massive, towering form gradually shrank, transforming into a tall woman with bat-like wings on her back, silver hair, and golden eyes before she stepped forward.
Clearly, she had accepted this explanation and adopted a more convenient Titan form for communication.
The problem was, influenced by the habits of her divine and monstrous nature, she was completely naked.
Lorne glanced sideways briefly before resolutely turning his head away.
He tossed a loose garment toward her, gesturing for her to cover her overabundant bosom and slender lower body.
Having never communicated in a common Titan form with a stranger before, Ladon didn't overthink it.
She loosely draped the garment over herself and casually asked, "So, what do you want from me?"
Sensing her tone was a bit harsh, the Dragon Lady spoke again to soften it.
"You saved my mother's life. If there's anything I can do to help you, I will do my best."
Hearing the word "best," Lorne's eyes flickered slightly.
The fact that she didn't fully commit proved that this eldest daughter of Typhon's children was far more cunning than her siblings, most of whom could only maintain their beast forms and were easily fooled.
After a moment's thought, Lorne stated his purpose in a low, steady voice. "Saving someone earlier drained too much of my life force. I've come to take a few Golden Apples to replenish it."
"Golden Apples? A few?"
Ladon snorted disdainfully. "I'm just the guardian of the Holy Garden, not its master. Do you really think I can just give them away?"
"I'm not asking you to put yourself out. Just turn a blind eye."
"I can't even turn a blind eye a hundred times over! These things are strictly accounted for. If Hera decides to investigate, she'll find out in an instant!"
"As long as it doesn't trace back to us..." Lorne smiled, then paused, adding with pointed significance,
"I've heard that Eris, the Goddess of Discord, the Queen of Heaven's daughter—has been lurking in the waters near the Holy Garden lately, seemingly very interested in Golden Apples..."
"How did you know?" Ladon asked, slightly startled and looking at Lorne with surprise.
"She's been causing trouble here several times."
"...."
Lorne, who had only been hinting and slandering, couldn't help but let his smile freeze.
'A lucky guess? How could I hit the mark like this?'
But he quickly realized why.
In the future Golden Apple incident, Eris was able to produce a Golden Apple, write "To the fairest" on it, and throw it into the center of the venue the night before the wedding as a lure to incite conflict.
This proved she definitely had Golden Apples in her possession, and they were likely obtained through illicit means.
'Good grief, the first time I've encountered someone who's been framed without even needing to spread rumors!'
Her motives, the circumstances, and her past record all perfectly fit the profile of a criminal suspect.
To not use her as a scapegoat would be a waste of such a perfect opportunity!
Realizing he had found the ideal candidate, Lorne felt no further hesitation and laid out his entire plan to Ladon.
As she listened to his explanation, the Holy Garden guardian's eyes gradually lit up, clearly convinced.
Seeing this, Lorne immediately seized the moment and instructed her:
"After I leave, report that ten Golden Apples have been stolen.
Claim the thief was radiating red light and reeked of blood..."
"No, it's twenty!" Ladon shook her head, correcting him earnestly.
Lorne saw the glint in the Dragon Lady's eyes and couldn't help but grumble, "If you eat so many, aren't you afraid Hera will notice something's wrong and come after you?"
"Even if I can't eat them, can't I collect them? They're shiny, beautiful, and smell wonderful." Ladon rolled her eyes at her partner, hesitated for a moment, then said in a low, serious tone, "Keep them for me first. Put them with Mother."
"Fine..." Lorne agreed listlessly, grumbling inwardly.
'As expected, no matter how elegant or beautiful a dragon may be, you can't overestimate her morals.'
'The greed and hoarding habits of this species are notorious.'
'The only reason they split the spoils 50/50 was because he saved the Serpent Mother.'
'Otherwise, given this dragon's nature, she would have insisted on keeping at least seventy percent.'
As soon as they reached an agreement, Ladon eagerly transformed into her Giant Dragon form, plucked the twenty largest and best Golden Apples from the tree, and divided them into two piles for her partner.
"Keep them safe for me first. If any go missing, you'll replace them.
That's settled!"
Hearing the veiled threat in the Dragon Lady's voice, Lorne, while stowing the stolen goods, retorted with a sarcastic reminder. "Don't rush. Finish your homework first."
"What homework?"
"Don't you think the Holy Garden is too clean? It doesn't look like it was just ransacked at all."
Ladon immediately understood, and circles of magic circles lit up in front of her, unleashing a dense barrage of magical energy—wind blades, fireballs, rock spears, water arrows, and more—towards Lorne.
"Damn it, you didn't even say you were going to attack!"
While cursing furiously, Lorne decisively activated the Goat's extreme speed, evading Ladon's relentless assault as he sprinted out of the Holy Garden.
Along the way, he didn't forget to pilfer a few particularly rare Magic Potions.
'After all, if these things stayed here, that dragon would just blow them to smithereens anyway.
Better to take them back to Mount Ares and use them to benefit more lives.'
Thanks to the two accomplices' passionate performance, the Holy Garden was soon engulfed in dust and chaos, left in utter disarray.
Feeling the heat was just right, Lorne decisively burst through the luminous gate, waking the three Nymph Fairies who lay unconscious, then raced toward the Primordial Ocean.
Dozens of breaths later, following the trail of the crimson-black blood cloud, he found the Goddess of Discord, the one who had incited the sea beasts to slaughter each other and quietly raised his hand, tossing something, before fleeing the scene at top speed.
Thud!
A dull impact sound came from above.
Eris, who was using the blood qi to strengthen her Divine Nature of Discord, opened her eyes in surprise and looked down at the object that had fallen into her lap.
'How strange... why would an apple fall from the sky?'
'And it's a Golden Apple from the Holy Garden!'
'Oh well, what I see is mine! Let's taste it first!'
Eris licked her cherry-red lips excitedly, picked up the Golden Apple, and prepared to savor this heavenly gift.
However, a blinding ray of sunlight pierced the surrounding blood clouds as the three Nymph Fairies who guarded the Holy Garden glared furiously at the shameless thief who had snatched the Golden Apple and was about to take a bite.
(End of Chapter)