"I did not think it would be like this; I did not think it would turn out like this..."
Witnessing Hecate take Jason away, Athena stands frozen in place.
Her mind is a complete blank!
Like a lost soul, she keeps repeating these words.
And looking at her like this, Hestia and Amphitrite exchange a glance, feeling utterly at a loss.
Especially seeing Athena stare at the bloodstains left on the ground, which appear so piercing under the moonlight.
Athena's eyes gradually turn red.
Just as she is about to lose control.
"What happened? What happened?!"
The panicked Zeus, who in his haste even forgets to change back to his human form, charges in here as a bull.
His arrival forces Athena to suppress that suffocating sensation, as if her heart is being tightly gripped.
She grits her teeth fiercely, biting her lip until it bleeds, and forcibly calms herself down.
Because her weakness cannot be shown to others.
Especially not to her father, the current God-King of the Olympian divine court: Zeus!
...
Indeed, the wisdom goddess Athena truly did not anticipate it.
She never imagined that the situation would spiral so far out of control, developing into the current state!
One can only say that everything was fated long ago.
Upon careful reflection, it seems that ever since three or four years ago, after Athena's first meeting with Jason, things have always been this way.
The infallible wisdom goddess keeps stumbling over matters involving Jason.
The trajectories she envisions always deviate in unexpected ways on Jason's path!
Athena has mentioned to Jason more than once the matter of the Scales of Judgment placed upon him by the justice and judgment goddess Themis, whose intent is obviously very clear.
And Jason does indeed understand what Athena means, and he has used the Scales of Judgment correctly.
But...
The agreement between Queen Hera and Jason, as well as the matter of that golden dagger, Athena naturally knows about as well.
After all, back then, under the power of the invisibility helmet of the Underworld King Hades, she and Rhea watched a good show from the sidelines.
It is also because of this that Rhea entrusted Athena to help.
Because Rhea could see that her daughter Hera truly likes Jason very much... After all, even when he appears before Hera in a different guise.
After several years have passed, Hera still falls for him at first sight, liking the masked white-clothed hero Heracles: Jason.
But Athena clearly did not anticipate,
And it is not just Athena; even Jason himself did not expect that this agreement would actually come to be fulfilled one day!
So why, then, does Jason now thrust that golden dagger toward himself?
Actually, the reason behind it is not complicated.
One can only say that this truly fits Jason's personality of being "cautious his entire life," "utterly ordinary," and "overdoing everything"!
...
The Underworld,
The temple of Goddess Hecate.
Under the embrace of fluttering dark butterflies, the beautiful goddess in a black dress, with her black hair cascading down her back.
Hecate returns home, holding her disciple in her arms.
As she enters the temple, she sees a little loli who looks seven or eight parts similar to her hurriedly hide the half-eaten honey cake in her hand upon seeing her.
"Goddess Hecate, I did not steal any food; I really did not steal any!"
That is naturally the hellhound Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld.
As Cerberus, making excuses with her head lowered in trepidation and preparing to accept Hecate's scolding, she discovers that Hecate pays her no mind at all and hurries past her side while holding Jason.
Cerberus is stunned for a moment.
At the same time, she twitches her nose.
"Huh, that is Jason's scent... He is back?"
The second head wonders in her mind.
"Not only that; I seem to smell... the scent of blood as well?"
The third head wonders.
Jason's scent, the scent of blood... Cerberus's three heads fall into contemplation and quickly sort through the information.
"Wait, could it be... ?!"
Cerberus widens her eyes, an expression of disbelief appearing in them.
Because that guy actually, actually... got injured!
Oh heavens, if the Underworld King and Underworld Queen, as well as the Abyss Gods in Tartarus and the Night Goddess Nyx learn of this.
The Underworld is likely to be thrown into complete uproar!
And moreover... who, who injured Jason!
With such thoughts, Cerberus immediately quickens her pace to catch up with Hecate.
Originally, Cerberus even had the idea of catching up to mock Jason.
But when she runs to Hecate's side and sees Jason's current condition.
Seeing the blood seeping from his chest, and the unconscious Jason, Cerberus, who is momentarily stunned, has her eyes turn red in an instant.
"Who did this!" (x3)
Cerberus suddenly blocks in front of Hecate, unable to contain her rage as she says: "Who was it, Goddess Hecate? Tell me; I want to bite them to death. I am going to bite that bastard to death!"
Hecate originally does not want to pay attention to Cerberus, but seeing her block the way and ignore even Hecate's scolding to leave, she says: "It was Hera and Athena. If you dare to bite, then go ahead and bite!"
With that said, she holds Jason and passes by her side, heading straight to the laboratory.
Cerberus stares blankly at Hecate's departing figure...
"I, I... !"
Cerberus "I"s for a long time, but ultimately unable to articulate anything coherent, she lowers her head and follows Hecate to the laboratory.
Seeing Hecate gently place Jason down,
Seeing Jason's white clothes stained red with blood.
Cerberus's eyes redden again, and she says to Hecate with utmost worry: "Goddess Hecate, Jason, he, he... he will be alright, will he not?"
"Yes... No, even if something happens to him, it might not matter, since this is the Underworld after all."
"Yes... something happens, nothing happens?"
Muttering to herself, Cerberus becomes utterly confused in her concern.
Hecate looks at the bewildered little dog, and her originally extremely irritable mood eases somewhat because of this. She cannot help but reach out and tap her little head, saying: "Do not worry; he is fine... This is also what he deserves, the result of his own actions!"
"His own actions?" Cerberus looks at Hecate in confusion.
Hecate picks up the bloodstained golden dagger, then looks at the lying Jason before her and says helplessly: "That is right; this is something he did himself... No one injured him; he stabbed himself."
"...He stabbed himself?"
Cerberus blinks her eyes, utterly baffled!
In response, Hecate, who sets down the golden dagger, does not continue explaining.
And in fact, this can indeed be considered the result of Jason's own actions.
The reason he uses this dagger to stab himself is actually because Jason has long since conducted experiments on it.
This is a dagger that fundamentally cannot kill anyone!
Thus, even if Jason stabs himself a hundred more times, he will not die... He would only die from the pain.
Therefore, thrusting the dagger into himself and then seeking forgiveness through the method of the Scales of Judgment was originally part of Jason's plan.
Hera once said that this dagger bears the power of her father, the second god-king, a divine tool imbued with the force of flowing time.
It causes the one pierced by it to age rapidly.
And this curse cannot even be broken by Hecate.
But Jason happens to have a way to counter it on his body... That is right, it is precisely the bloodline power from the agriculture goddess Demeter!
The flow of time is indeed a curse with no way to break it.
But Jason does not need to break this curse at all; he only needs, after being cursed, to absorb even greater life force to replenish the vitality he has lost!
Thus, after conducting several experiments and knowing that this dagger is useless against him, Jason naturally instantly thinks of the method of stabbing himself with the dagger to seize the initiative in his conversation with Hera.
At the same time, this also fulfills the agreement between him and Hera.
In fact, everything proceeds quite smoothly.
If not for the "good intentions leading to bad outcomes" from his godmother, the agriculture goddess Demeter, where in the instant of life force draining, her bloodline power automatically activates, instantly filling and restoring Jason to normal.
Jason would not have needed to continue stabbing himself...
However, given the situation at the time, under the oppression of Queen Hera's divine power, the automatic activation of Demeter's bloodline power is actually a normal occurrence.
Moreover, Jason acted so decisively and ruthlessly toward himself back then because he was prepared for such an accident... He has no idea how many times he simulated the meeting with Hera in his mind.
How intelligent is Hecate as a goddess, and how well does she understand Jason? Thus, the moment she picks up this dagger and senses its power.
Hecate instantly understands Jason's intentions.
Regarding this, Hecate truly feels very helpless.
Thus, this truly cannot be blamed on Athena.
An ordinary person, even if they realize this, would not do it.
Even if they did, after stabbing themselves once and seeing it does not work, they would not continue stabbing several more times.
Because that really hurts...
But this is Jason.
The Jason who puts his all into everything he does!
And the effect can only be said to be quite impressive.
Hera is utterly dumbfounded by it and flees in overwhelm...
"You idiot, are you stupid? I already said everything is under my control; you... I really... !"
Hecate quickly pieces together the sequence of events, then looks at the unconscious Jason before her, his white clothes dyed blood-red.
She is so angry she cannot stand it,
Angry enough to stomp her feet.
But at the same time, she feels an indescribable heartache.
She wants to pick up Jason, pinch his ears, and scold him harshly.
She also wants to hold him tightly in her arms and gently comfort him.
"...Once this matter is over, you are not to concern yourself with anything else. Stay with me in the Underworld forever."
In the end, Hecate sits down with a helpless yet relieved expression.
Watching as the pained expression on Jason's face gradually fades under the effect of her divine power, Hecate says with heartache: "Do not concern yourself with those messy matters anymore... Did you not say you would guard the gate for me? I am assigning it to you now."
Hearing this, Cerberus lifts her head and cautiously glances at Hecate.
Then she looks at Jason again and ultimately says nothing.
"Here with me, you can rest assured; no kind of fate will taint you... Even if something truly happens and Athena and the others refuse to let you go, at worst, I will take you into hiding.
Hide in a place where they can never find you."
Hecate speaks softly to Jason; her words are light, but firm, clearly indicating that she has made up her mind.
She gently strokes Jason's head, and just as everything seems to reach a conclusion...
"Hm?"
Cerberus suddenly notices that Jason's hand is gradually withering, bit by bit.
Seeing this, Cerberus is stunned for a moment.
Then she rubs her eyes and looks more closely...
Only to see Jason's hand becoming increasingly withered!
In fact, it is not just Jason's hand; his expression turns pained once more, and his body rapidly ages at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Goddess Hecate, Goddess Hecate, look, look! Jason, he, Jason he... !"
Hearing Cerberus's words, Hecate, who is lost in thought, puzzledly lowers her head to look at the lying Jason.
Then, Hecate is stunned for a while.
She abruptly stands up.
Visible panic appears on her face as she widens her red eyes, saying: "This, how is this possible? The power of the dagger should have been neutralized. How could... Unless, wait!"
As if realizing something, Hecate immediately lowers her head to look at Jason's heart.
"...I—!"
In the next instant, Hecate blurts out a curse, stunning Cerberus, who hears it nearby.
Goddess Hecate has completely lost her composure...
But it is no wonder that Goddess Hecate is so agitated; at this moment, she has discovered that Jason's heart was not stabbed just once.
It was stabbed seven or eight times!
In this instant, Hecate truly has the urge to wake Jason up, shake him, and question if he has truly gone mad!
"Potions, potions... This will not do; this one will not work either!"
Then Hecate immediately rushes to the side, rummaging through the potions she has made.
But after searching for a long time, with a small pile discarded on the ground, Hecate still cannot find anything usable on Jason right now.
Because of this, Hecate becomes increasingly panicked, completely devoid of her usual calm demeanor.
She no longer appears so indifferent and uninterested in all events and matters.
Seeing this, Cerberus panics as well, saying: "Goddess Hecate, what do we do, what do we do? Jason's expression is becoming more and more pained!
And why do I feel like his life force is continuously vanishing!"
"Be quiet; do not disturb me. I am thinking... Wait, life force?"
Hecate is stunned for a moment, then her eyes light up as she says to Cerberus: "Go, hurry to the palace of the Underworld King Hades. Bring Persephone over; go quickly!"
Back when Jason's soul was tempered by the eternal fire of the Underworld, it was thanks to the protection of Persephone's vast life force.
Right now, the words "life force" from Cerberus clearly remind Hecate.
Although Cerberus does not understand, she naturally follows Hecate's orders.
Thus, when she rides a pegasus at the fastest speed to the Underworld King's palace, finds the Underworld King Hades, and then Hades brings her before Persephone.
Cerberus immediately throws herself into Goddess Persephone's arms, sobbing as she says that Jason is about to die and begs Persephone to hurry and save him...
Before long, the entire Underworld
Explodes into chaos!