Yes, who knows when that brat who always hid behind the goddesses, shouting "Teacher Hecate, save me!" and "Teacher Hecate is awesome!" had already become capable of battling gods.
And who knows since when the name of the white-clothed Heracles quietly vanished from this land, replaced by the name of Jason, which was now known to all.
"I shall surely be victorious in this battle!"
"Witnessed by the great God King Zeus and the great God of War Ares!"
As the words fell, a thunderbolt flashed across the clear sky.
Amid the rumbling sound was the clash of blades and the roar of armies engaging.
God King Zeus and God of War Ares responded immediately. After all, the one calling upon them was none other than Jason!
At the same time, the response from the two principal gods naturally startled the terrifying giant Tityos, who was sitting beside a small mountain, gnawing on the mountain itself.
As he rose, his massive stature shook the earth. Amid the flying dust, Jason arrived before him.
Tityos also spotted this mortal who dared to face him at the first instant... Although Jason was minuscule before the giant, he was very conspicuous.
After all, in the daylight, light always favored him.
Under the night sky of twinkling stars, moonlight would follow him as well.
Clad in snow-white robes, no matter where he was or what place he found himself in, he shone so brightly, even more so than the gods.
In the next moment, the towering giant vanished.
A sturdy man appeared before Jason, frowning as he asked, "Human, who are you? Just now...
Why did it seem like I heard Father's voice?"
...Father?
Jason was stunned.
Hecate and Artemis not far away were also stunned.
Damn!
Then Jason's cheek twitched slightly, but he quickly calmed down.
The reason was simple. Since Zeus and Ares had responded to Jason, it meant they did not care... Even if they did, with the matter of Leto in play.
Whether it was Zeus's child or Ares's child, Jason could stand on the side of reason.
In his contemplation, Jason then said seriously to Tityos, "I am the child of the Goddess of Crossroads Hecate. I have come here following the divine oracle of Goddess Leto.
Tityos, you dared to offend Goddess Leto. Today, under the witness of the great God King Zeus and God of War Ares, I shall defeat you!"
As the words fell, just as Jason was about to draw the god-slaying sword from his waist.
There was a light sound, and a golden spear, thrown from who knows where, fell from the sky before Jason.
"This Athena..."
Hecate, who saw this from not far away, could not help but gain a few black lines on her forehead. She said displeased, "I am still here. Even if you want to act, it is not your turn!"
Seeing this golden spear, Jason immediately understood its origin and felt instantly reassured in his heart.
He knew Athena was telling him not to be afraid, to proceed as originally planned.
Tityos's so-called father would not care about this son at all!
The calmed Jason then stepped forward, picked up the golden spear from the ground, drew the divine shield from the light, and advanced toward Tityos.
"It seems like Athena."
Artemis, watching this scene, said subconsciously in a slight daze.
"She did it on purpose!" Hecate said irritably, "That self-smart one truly will not miss any opportunity to assert her sovereignty!"
Just as Hecate said, when she saw Jason in his white robes pick up the golden spear and raise the divine shield high, Athena's expression was one of considerable smugness.
Because at this moment, Jason bore a strong trace of her shadow, yet not a hint of Hecate's presence!
It had to be said that if not for the 'first move loses' principle, even if she could not change the fact that Jason was Hecate's child.
But in future myths, whenever Jason was mentioned, most would likely think of Athena first, and it was extremely possible they would classify Jason under Athena's side.
After all, Athena's shadow on him was truly too strong.
Athena could be said to be gradually encroaching on Jason bit by bit, but Hecate had no good countermeasures for this.
It was just a pity that first move loses.
Right when everything was proceeding steadily, and Jason was nearly inseparable from her.
Athena fell in love...
One careless move, and the whole game was lost!
Then, Jason's battle with Tityos actually did not last too long. With two divine weapons in hand, and moreover Athena's divine weapons, Jason naturally crushed Tityos.
In the end, the self-aware Tityos transformed back into a giant once more, preparing to trample this minuscule human Jason to death.
Yet Jason did not dodge or evade. He held the shield in his left hand and the spear in his right, assuming a throwing stance...
Under the tutelage of Chiron, Jason naturally learned a body of fine skills.
At the same time, do not forget, the one named Jason was a genius.
Although he was very mediocre in the field of magic, in terms of heroism, he was indeed a genius!
After all, he was a heroic figure who left a thick stroke in the brilliant history.
And since that was the case, among the martial arts he was taught, Jason naturally had one he was most proficient in.
What Jason was most skilled in was not the sword, nor the lyre. In truth, it was the spear!
Back when he first ventured out, Jason was not yet a match for the strongest heroes of Heracles and Theseus's generation.
Because he was not a demigod, he was ultimately one step short.
But now, he was already the brother of Persephone, the child of the Goddess of Agriculture Demeter!
In an instant, under the influence of Jason's power, the surrounding earth saw numerous plants and flowers begin to grow wildly.
Then, standing amid them, as the foot came down, Jason exerted all his strength and hurled the golden spear forth!
Seeing this, Hecate's expression changed slightly.
"This foolish disciple, does he want to kill him directly?!"
In her speechlessness, under Artemis's surprised gaze, a golden longbow appeared in her hand, along with a golden sharp arrow.
Then, as Hecate drew the bow, she shot an arrow that deviated the spear directly piercing Tityos and heading toward his head.
"That is not Apollo's bow..."
"Yes, Apollo's bow and arrows were replicated by me using magic... I originally prepared it to sabotage Athena sometime, since she has no shield now. What a pity."
Replying to Artemis, Hecate revealed a regretful expression.
This made the observing Athena, upon seeing the shot golden arrow, twitch her eyelids twice.
"That Hecate... It was just beating her once last time. She holds such a grudge. By the way, Jason actually willingly gave her the right to use Apollo's bow."
Athena, who saw through it at a glance, spoke with an inevitably sour tone.
Sigh, Hecate... Jason's number one in his heart.
No, even if I cannot take her down alone, I cannot let her win so easily!
It seems there is no way around it. Time to ally with Hephaestus!
In her contemplation, Athena secretly resolved herself.
At the same time, because of the aftershock brought by the hurled golden spear, Tityos, who let out a pained roar, was heavily slammed to the ground.
At this point, the scales of victory had completely tipped. Jason had already secured the win.
Thus, in the next second, Hecate appeared directly beside Jason.
She raised the staff of tin in her hand, chanted an incantation, and under her magic, the giant-transformed Tityos shrank back to human size once more.
At the same time, she plucked three long hairs from her black locks, tossed them toward Tityos, and they became three black ropes that bound him, rendering him immobile.
Casually, she picked up a clod of earth from the ground, stuffed it into the mouth of the howling Tityos, and solidified it, preventing him from speaking further.
Jason watched all this, stunned again and again.
"Teacher, teach me, teach me! I want to learn these!"
What was the point of being a warrior? Although he seemed to have already reached the pinnacle of warriors, Jason still harbored a heart eager to learn magic!
"Go find your senior sisters and junior sisters. I am utterly disappointed in you anyway. Do not bother me."
As she spoke, after binding Tityos, Hecate placed her hand by her mouth and blew another breath toward him.
Tityos shrank once more, becoming the size of a hand figure, fell into Hecate's hand, and she tossed him to Artemis, who had hurried over.
After doing all this, Hecate finally stopped and respectfully saluted toward Zeus's direction.
Then, when the group returned to Leto, Jason quietly asked Hecate who Tityos's father was.
Upon learning it was nine out of ten chances Zeus... Sigh, Greek mythology.
Just as Jason was sighing.
"After you become a god, if you have even a shred of resemblance to him..."
Hearing this, seeing Hecate squinting at him, Jason felt a chill run through his body and hurriedly guaranteed that he absolutely would not!
What he received in return was a cold snort from Hecate.
After all, once he became a god, Hecate would no longer be able to control him.
Because by then, neither she nor Athena would be Jason's match.
And even now, before becoming a god, the connections on Jason were already tangled and inseparable. Once he became a god and everything settled...
In short, not long after, when Leto saw Tityos in Artemis's hand, her face was full of disgust. She waved her hand, telling him to disappear quickly so she did not have to look at him and feel irritated.
With this, the matter on Leto's side officially concluded.
Jason bid farewell to the reluctant Artemis, as well as to Hecate, who could finally breathe a sigh of relief and return to the underworld to slack off once more.
Carrying Tityos in a small wooden box, accompanied by the Golden-Horned Deer, five days later at noon, he arrived before the prophet Prometheus, the foreseeing god.