Standing amidst the island—now practically split in two—Dante gazed at his surroundings.
"They're gone," he stated firmly, realizing that the other three individuals on the island had vanished, taking their escape boat with them. "I should've put a few holes in that boat, though I hadn't expected them to actually make a run for it."
With that, he reverted to his normal form, revealing his body—and a wound that was healing at an unnatural speed.
Spitting out a bit of blood, he looked toward the horizon and realized dawn was breaking.
Without a second thought, he summoned his scythe and sliced through the ground, opening a portal he could step into, leaving the island completely desolate.
...
Amidst the rebellion, another meeting was underway to decide the next course of action.
Ideas were tossed back and forth without any consensus being reached; everyone had their own plan and insisted it be followed to the letter—especially since most of them were accustomed to having their orders obeyed without question, regardless of whether those orders were actually sound.
Meanwhile, at the highest point of the fortress, Libra sat in meditation, bracing for a sudden enemy attack or the start of Artemis's daily siege.
Beside her, Orion was peeling fruit for them to share; for security reasons, Libra hardly ever rested. This was the closest she came to a break, and the son of Poseidon wanted his beloved to relax, so he had taken it upon himself to prepare everything.
"This isn't working," a voice said, approaching slowly.
"Why do you say that, Uncle Bemus?" Libra asked without opening her eyes.
Bemus appeared fully clad in battle gear—as everyone here was, given that an enemy attack could strike at any moment and readiness was essential.
"We can't expect things to change unless we do something about it," he explained, looking at the woman he considered his niece.
"Mmm," the dark-haired woman hummed, opening her eyes. Her sky-blue eye gazed at the horizon as if she knew exactly what needed to be done. "May I ask you something?"
At this, Bemus straightened up.
"Of course," the swordsman replied.
"Why didn't you join the council?" Libra asked, catching Bemus off guard.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You spent years with my father before he sent you to Hades; you even saw how he trained Adara to rule Chrysa..." "To me, you aren't as wise as those men arguing in that shop."
Bemus stood there motionless, looking at Libra.
"Because you're right there," he declared. The dark-haired woman simply looked at him and smiled.
"Do you trust me?" she asked him again, and Bemus nodded. "Then take a few steps back."
With those words, she rose from her chair and stood at the edge of the building. Orion, who had been listening to the entire conversation in silence, stood up to retrieve the meal he had prepared and took a few steps back.
Bemus understood immediately and did as requested.
Libra quickly drew her bowstring and aimed at the sky. A magical arrow materialized, gathering a vast amount of magic and *haki*.
"Hecate, bless my arrows so I may stop the moon goddess who seeks to destroy me and my companions," Libra whispered, further empowering the arrows.
Something could be seen lighting up in the sky.
A massive surge of energy—like a speeding meteorite—was plummeting toward the fortress, intent on destroying it.
"*Katastrépste ta pánta, anti-anakosmía*," the raven-haired woman exclaimed as she loosed the arrow, causing the entire area to rumble.
A shockwave rippled out; the arrow vanished from sight, only to trigger a gigantic explosion in the sky.
Libra didn't stop there; she quickly summoned another arrow and fired it. Another explosion erupted in the sky.
And another, and others, and yet another.
Five massive explosions—five arrows that intercepted Artemis's attack, which had sought to destroy the rebellion.
Bemus opened one eye to gaze at the colorful sky; he never failed to be amazed by this spectacle.
"I expected nothing less from my woman, hahahaha," Orion said, referring to his wife.
Libra simply looked at him with a smile.
"Flattery will get you nowhere." After saying that, she looked at Bemus. "If you trust me, gather a small group of Servants and go bring Achilles here; take advantage of the fact that the goddess Artemis can no longer attack for the rest of the day. If he refuses to come, tell him that I will go fetch him myself, and he will wish he had stayed in Hades for the rest of his life because of the humiliation I am going to inflict upon him."
"Understood, my lady," the swordsman said, turning to find some people for his journey.
A few seconds later, Libra and Orion were left alone.
"Are you really going to go get him if Bemus doesn't succeed?" Orion asked curiously.
"If I could go get him, I would have done so already; but the moment I move, those four will attack here, and it will be a massacre. I have to stay and hold the fort," Libra admitted. "Those were just words to see whether Achilles ends up accepting or not."
The son of Poseidon nodded, understanding the situation, and walked over to where she was.
"And what if they manage to convince him?" Orion questioned.
"If they don't manage to convince him," Libra said, sitting in her chair and taking the fruit Orion handed her, "I already have an arrow with his name on it"—she made a finger-gun gesture—"aimed straight for his skull. I won't risk him joining the opposing side."
Orion grimaced at this, yet he understood why his wife felt that way. He might have been able to accept a goddess's neutrality—since it required no action on his part—but a Heroic Spirit was a different matter entirely, especially given the history of the Olympians manipulating such beings.
...
Aboard a vessel resembling a warship, Odysseus gazes out at the sea—specifically in one direction: toward the rebellion.
His mission was to destroy that fortress and let the alien god's apostles handle the Servants, while he and Chiron provided support from the rear.
From the cabin that technically belonged to Odysseus—though he never used it—came the sound of objects toppling over.
"I think a rat has snuck aboard," Orion remarked. Standing at the ship's rail with his bow at his side, he glanced at his comrade, trying to ease the tension hanging over the vessel.
Odysseus said nothing; he simply walked toward what should have been the captain's quarters, only to find Dante sprawled on his bed, drinking alcohol and looking entirely at ease.
"There isn't a drop of quality liquor on this ship; to top it off, there's only one bottle. What kind of pirate ship is this?" Dante complained, tossing the bottle aside and shattering it.
"This has never been a pirate ship," Odysseus retorted, eyeing Dante with a hint of distaste.
"What's with that look? You're staring at me as if I were beneath you. Ah, right—just because you defeated the Odysseus of Pan-Human History, you think you're superior—even more so than *he* did. That very pride is what made it take you ten years to return to Penelope."
The man frowned at the mention of the name Penelope—mostly because he didn't recognize it, leaving him puzzled as to why the being before him was bringing it up.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Odysseus stated.
"Right, your memories were stripped away; naturally, you wouldn't know who she is," Dante scoffed, rising to stand at the edge of the shadows, careful not to let the sunlight touch him. "Why would a man of your character be so determined to return to a place, knowing you could have stayed somewhere better—with Circe or Calypso, for instance? Why such urgency to get back to Ithaca? Was it a promise?" The white-haired man glared at Dante.
"Do you think you can confuse me with your nonsense?" he asked angrily.
"Heh, so my invention didn't work?" said the blond, grinning foolishly.
Odysseus simply turned to walk away from Dante.
"Don't go; I have an idea for getting into the rebellion's fortress," the human-looking demon declared, gesturing to him.
"Why don't you come out of the room?" asked Chiron, who had been listening to everything from a distance.
"I'm allergic to the sun," Dante explained, causing the centaur to roll his eyes.
Meanwhile, Odysseus simply sat in silence, staring at the ground; Dante's words had clearly affected him more than they should have.
"Why did I want to return to Ithaca? It's normal to go back to the kingdom one ruled, isn't it?" he wondered silently, but no one answered him.
...
A boat had been beached on an island shore, near a forest not far away.
The sun was at its zenith, and the Servant in the red uniform moved the boat so the tide wouldn't carry it away.
"Forgive me for not being able to help you, Miss Nightingale," Gaheris said, watching the scene while still missing an arm.
"You are a patient; how could I let you exert yourself? Besides, this is nothing," declared Nightingale.
The knight simply sighed and glanced at the little girl playing in the sand nearby.
Just as he was about to speak to her, his instincts kicked in instantly; sword already in hand, he slashed at the sand, creating a screen of dust while simultaneously deflecting an enemy attack.
A spear whizzed past his body.
"Alice," Gaheris said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
"I know," she complained, her voice almost devoid of emotion, as a powerful blast of wind erupted from her palms.
The enemy quickly hopped on one foot to dodge the attack, but the moment he landed, Nightingale was already behind him, fist cocked to strike.
However, the opponent swiftly summoned a shield and blocked the blow, though the force of the impact dragged him back a few meters.
The three of them stared at the green-haired figure, who stood holding a spear and shield, ready to attack.
"I didn't know the Olympians were recruiting new weaklings. Chiron had better show up, or else I can't guarantee what might happen to you lot," the enemy declared.
Silence fell over the area.
"Um, I think there's been a mistake; we aren't part of Olympus or anything like that," Gaheris said, somewhat bewildered by the situation.
"You aren't? How do I know you aren't lying?" the enemy retorted.
"Is that necessary?" Nightingale asked.
At this, the green-haired man took a good look at the three Servants present.
"Two women, one wounded person, a boat that's practically a wreck... I suppose not," he said, lowering his shield and spear.
Gaheris relaxed and let out a sigh.
"Thank goodness we didn't have to resort to violence," he told himself—mostly because he needed his other arm to fight at full strength.
"Honestly, I can see you've been through a rough time. I was confused, as I understood the Olympians were laying siege to the rebellion; it didn't make sense for Heroic Spirits to be attacking in such a remote location," the green-haired man explained.
"We thought we were safe too, but someone attacked us, and we lost half our group," the knight explained.
"I see. We'd better head somewhere safer; you can explain the situation to me properly there. Let me introduce myself—I'm Achilles. A pleasure to meet you," the green-haired man said with a smile.