"....What should we do now...."
Akumo and his party were walking along the path.
Behind him, Bell, Freya, and Artemis followed.
'No equipment, no Falna.... Our combat power is ridiculously low compared to the enemy's strength...'
"Still, first, we regroup."
"As you say, brother, it's best to regroup with Lili and the others first."
Despite the odds, Akumo decided they needed to scrape together whatever strength they could find.
Step, step—
"....."
Akumo and Bell continued their march.
Stop!
"What's wrong? Both of you."
".....Boys?"
They had no choice but to stop their pace. There was something they had to ask the goddesses following behind them.
"You knew, didn't you?"
"Artemis, Freya."
Bell and Akumo asked, their voices tight with suppressed emotion.
"....."
At their question, the two goddesses also came to a halt.
"I won't deny it."
"I'm sorry, boys."
"...!!"
The two goddesses calmly admitted the truth.
Clench!
'Think calmly... the gods must have known everything from the start...'
"Is that why you couldn't stop it?"
"....At least, that's what we thought."
Their appearance of omnipotence was only in comparison to the beings of the lower world.
Even those called gods were merely 'residents' in the heavens.
They were beings who could not always fulfill their own desires or overwhelm everyone else.
"However, we can act on our own."
"Just as you were drawn here."
Because of that, they looked at the boys before them with even more serious eyes.
'Because we believe... that you can do it.'
The greatest variable they could be certain of.
The current situation, where they lacked equipment and power, was expected in a way.
Rumble!
"....What is it? Suddenly, the fire...."
'No... is it coming from the fire...?'
The very fact that beings of the lower world could look for possibilities without breaking, even after being overwhelmed by a god.
"Sigh... I was prepared for this, but...."
'I didn't expect it to be this sudden and bewildering...'
It was the light that showed the hope of this story.
Grin!
"In exchange, you have to support us properly, okay?"
'I'm going to use you to my heart's content, even if it's shameless!'
Shring!
"For now, this is all the weaponry we have."
Iron swords used by soldiers, bows and arrows, and a single spear.
Not bad, but not good either—just ordinary armaments.
'I don't know if this will be enough...'
"Bell, did you pack enough fruit and water?"
"I filled the holsters with water and gathered edible berries."
Because they knew each other's strengths so well, Bell and Akumo were able to skillfully secure a cave to use as a base and gather resources.
"You're quite skilled at this, just like with the Masala fruit."
"I've just heard many stories."
Glance—
'That fellow Zeus used to talk Bell's ear off...'
Akumo reminisced about the past, recalling Zeus telling Bell heroic tales and strange information every single day.
—'Listen well, Akumo.'
—'What? Why are you suddenly acting so serious....'
A trivial conversation they had once shared.
As he recalled such things, he felt a gaze from somewhere.
"....."
Stare—
"....? Is something wrong?"
Artemis was staring intently at him.
"Just like in the old days, you seem to really love adventure."
"Yeah... well, I suppose so?"
"Whether it was the sea or the forest, day or night, you were always wandering around~"
".....Was... I?"
Back then, when he roamed the world using the moonlight as a curtain, holding a brilliantly shining dagger.
Artemis was overlapping the him of that time with the him of now.
Step—
"Could you stop with the private talk? We have no idea what you're talking about."
Seeing them like that, Freya, sensing that Artemis had seen something in his memories, interrupted the conversation to stop her.
'There's no need to wake him up so hastily, is there?'
'But... in this situation...'
'That, too, is for that child to decide.'
Smile—
'And the same goes for that boy as well.'
The two goddesses worried for the fates of the two boys who would lead this story, yet waited with faith.
And so, the next day.
Flicker!
"I guess a day passing isn't enough to solve this..."
Akumo looked down at Olympia from atop a cliff.
Olympia was still encased in a barrier of flickering purple flames, blocking all access.
Thump!
Rumble!
"Even worse, it's crawling with [Flame People] and [Flame Beasts]..."
'The ritual is paused for now, but Hestia will start acting soon.'
Time was of the essence; they couldn't afford to just analyze forever.
".....It truly is [Pandora's Box]."
The God of Adventure, watching Olympia from the base, shared the same thought.
"The hope named Hestia has closed the box herself to block the wave of destruction."
".....Almost exactly as her divine will intended."
He, too, was a god who knew all of this destiny.
"....! You mean Hestia intended this from the start!? On the premise of sacrificing herself...!!"
Clench!
"Hermes, even Hephaestus! You all knew!?"
Even though they knew, they didn't move because they knew. They couldn't move.
"...Yes."
The Goddess of the Forge calmly admitted the truth.
"This isn't [A Story of Kin], it's not a [Familia Myth]. It's just that."
For the sake of the children, to ensure the lower world was no longer ruined by their mistakes.
"Hermes...!!"
Even so, the children could not easily accept it.
"....."
'If it's already as distorted as it can be...'
—'Please believe in us.'
Because the gods also could not forget the moonlit night when they carved out their own story.
".....If you insist on opening the box and going inside."
Swish!
"Just like that day, you will need a spear to pierce fate."
What exactly was the God of Adventure looking at?
—Oooooooh!!!!!!!!!!!
"Pant...! Pant...!"
Meanwhile, Ilia was running until she was out of breath, pursued by Flame Beasts and Flame People.
"This is bad...! I'm the weakest of the priestesses...!"
Clench!
"I can't die in a place like this...! I haven't atoned for anything yet...!"
Pushed back by the flames raised by Vesta, she had been teleported alone to the outskirts.
Whoosh!
"Ugh....!!"
Just as the monsters' attack was about to reach the lone girl.
Slash!!!
Someone's attack cut through the Flame Beast, saving her.
At the same time, a beautiful voice echoed from ahead.
"I thought I saw a pathetic brat running away... You're a priestess, aren't you?"
Click, clack—!
"Since I, the Goddess among Goddesses, the infinitely merciful one, have saved you... choose what you're going to do from now on."
Aphrodite. She appeared before Ilia's eyes along with her followers.
"Will you sell out your comrades and come under me... or will you fall into being my slave? Which will it be?"
Under normal circumstances, this was a proposal she wouldn't even consider from a Goddess of Beauty who should be treated as an enemy.
"I don't care if I am charmed and become your puppet! So please...!! My request...!"
Ilia was prepared to give anything for the sake of atonement.
Even if it was the Olympia she had protected until now.
"How brazen, after causing this situation... But fine, I'll at least listen."
"Bell! Please save the master I must serve!!"
A young girl's wish reached the goddess, and at that same moment.
Boom!!!!!!!
Crunch!!!!!!!
"The Eternal Sacred Flame, you... you've really done it!"
Grit—
"To think she'd throw everyone out with a barrier and then block her own intervention...!"
Eton easily tore apart the Flame People and Flame Beasts.
He was furious that his plan had gone awry. Normally, he should have used the power of the Sacred Flame.
—Begone.
Vesta's cold response made it clear she had no intention of cooperating with Eton.
—Aaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!
".....Well, I suppose it doesn't matter."
Just then, a swarm of Flame People approached him.
Flare—!
"Die."
Crack—!!
The Flame People were not just turned to ash by the black flames rising from his hand, but were split apart and annihilated.
"H-High Priest....?"
"Ah, Rhea. How are things on your end?"
"We've suppressed most of the Flame People in the vicinity, but...."
'Those flames just now....?'
Rhea witnessed it.
Black flames, different from the primordial flames they had used until now.
The moment Rhea looked at Eton in confusion at the incredibly ominous flames rising from his hand.
"You're wrong, Rhea."
"!?"
"No matter how much these flames shake you. Don't we have work to do?"
Managing the flames was solely their role.
That had not changed even now. Moreover, uninvited guests like Akumo and Bell's party had survived.
"They will surely return soon to open the box again."
Grip!
"When they do, let us offer them completely as sacrifices."
"High Priest...!? No, Eton...! Is that truly..."
Eton's eyes, as he spoke calmly, were—
"Do you not trust me? Me, who has protected Olympia longer than anyone?"
—shining a fierce and ominous red, like someone's gaze from the past.
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