Interstellar Mountainous City, Altar Street.
Meleager, you bastard!
In the central plaza ringed by bands of light, Jason watched the multicolored pillar rising from the underworld abruptly wink out. For a heartbeat he just stared, stunned, then his face twisted into a dark, feral fury. Cursing under his breath, he drove a fist into the standing stone monument beside him.
Blood ran down the engraved grooves in dark red streams from his mangled knuckles.
The Argonauts stood in solemn silence around him, hands pressed to their chests, heads bowed, offering sincere respect to those who had gone on ahead.
But the mourning didn't last.
Atalanta, who had been on watch, sprinted down from above and landed hard, her voice urgent.
"Enemies are closing fast from the southern, western, and eastern Star Cities. Over ten thousand. They're converging on Altar Street!"
"What types?"
"Mostly Olympian Guards. Also small numbers of Primordial Serpent Maidens, humanoid annihilation units, gem-bound automatons, crystal automatons…"
"No aerial units?"
"Only the gliding platform at the far western edge of the Interstellar Mountainous City and the Echidna Armory on Hecate Island deploy a limited number of autonomous anti-air units. I haven't spotted anything like that yet."
Atalanta stood straight-backed, delivering the intelligence with crisp precision.
In her judgment, the Echidna Armory's massive stock of mechanical creations had already been fully deployed to the Great Battle of the Oceanus Sea. With the Eye of the Tidal Sea and the Spatial Pathway blocking the way, there was no longer anything to worry about from that direction.
The only thing worth watching was the small reserve at the western glide point.
But it was far enough away that even if they tried to reach it, they'd need a long response window to do so.
Even now, none of the Argonauts were idle. Some adjusted and repaired gear. Others rotated through distributing potions. The rest lined up to receive witchcraft enhancement blessings from Medea and Circe. Every one of them was doing everything possible to be ready before the next clash.
"How long until the pursuers reach Altar Street?"
Jason kept pressing, taking three javelins from the twin swordsmen at his side and fixing them on his back for self-defense.
Compared to the monstrous divine-blooded heroes, he was outclassed. But he had still trained under the sage Chiron. Spear throwing, archery, and the killing arts of Pankration were not things he'd neglected. He could handle himself.
"The closest group is from the southern Star City. About ten minutes. The western and eastern forces will take roughly twenty."
"Good. According to the map, we go to the core temple on the north side of Altar Street, take the Sky Ladder into the Aerial Courtyard, then push through the Machine God's Corridor. Keep climbing and we reach the Great Altar!"
Jason pumped his fist once, hard, then rallied the crew. Maintaining a guarded formation, they sprinted north along the main avenue.
After that long string of bad news, that bitch Fortune Goddess finally deigned to kiss us.
Better still, this was the same route that the traitor prince Triton had led them along the last time they went up to the top level. They knew it well, and they moved with practiced speed, weaving through with precision.
"The Sky Ladder's here. What was the cipher again? Let me check…"
Before long, they burst down the deserted, death-silent streets and reached the core temple, its surfaces carved with magecraft arrays. Jason hurriedly pulled out the fish-scale blueprint Poseidon had gifted them, recalled Triton's method, and entered the divine rune command.
Thud… thud…
A dull vibration carried through the ground. Atalanta's cat ears twitched. Her emerald eyes snapped to the temple steps, where pebbles and grit were hopping and scattering.
They're here.
"I'll hold them. You hurry. The moment the Sky Ladder activates, you leave. No hesitation!"
Her voice turned iron-hard. Atalanta snatched up Tauropolos and, without waiting for an answer, strode straight toward the choke point guarding the road leading to the core temple on Altar Street.
"Big Sis, you don't have to risk it! We can still think of something!"
Jason surged forward to stop her, anxiety plain on his face as he tried to talk her down.
"Fighting the Alien Guardians, breaking through the Abyssal Sea, holding off the Moon Goddess, killing the Goddess of Agriculture… haven't we been risking our lives this whole time? If they can do it, why can't I? What, you don't trust me?"
Atalanta slowed half a step, giving him a faint, almost amused snort that left the captain speechless.
As she brushed past Jason, something cold and slender dropped into his hand.
"Alright, enough with the nagging. If you make it back, give this to him for me. I made it myself…"
Jason froze. His lips pressed into a tight line as he stared at the arrow in his hand, its shaft carved with golden patterns.
They said the little love god Eros had two arrows: a golden-tipped divine arrow that drove love toward marriage, and a lead-tipped arrow that cut love short and forced separation.
Hunting was Atalanta's calling. A bow and arrows were her constant companions. A golden arrow was also one of radiant Apollo's symbols, and the prophecy of Delphi had once hinted at her future marriage.
So the meaning behind this golden arrow she'd placed in his hand needed no explanation. Maybe this was the huntress's own kind of romance.
And it was clear she already sensed certain things.
Atalanta glanced at the dust being kicked up on the southern wind, lightly tapped her bowstring, and let a pleased curve lift the corner of her mouth. Her steps were light, yet unwavering.
You have your choice. I have my answer.
But… I'm happy.
Truly, I'm happy…
Also…
The huntress shot a glance back at the tail curling behind her and muttered to herself.
What is there to even like about touching this thing? I seriously don't get how you ended up with such a weird habit.
And yet, without thinking, her hand drifted down. Her fingers landed on it and gave it a gentle stroke. The fluffy tickle and soft give made what had started as a cautious test turn into a few more absentminded rubs.
…Huh. Okay. It's kind of interesting.
Atalanta shook her head, drew a steady breath, scanned her surroundings, and picked a high vantage point. Then she stepped out through the temple's main doors, her eyes turning razor-sharp.
"Wait!"
Jason finally snapped out of it. He tightened his grip on the golden arrow and called out.
"You alone, with two quivers, how long can you hold? And Altar Street has too many entrances. There'll be gaps no matter what. Leave ten people behind and lock down the key points with you!"
Before Atalanta could refuse, the blond captain set his jaw and spoke in a low, forceful tone.
"Relax. I'm thinking about the whole situation. You know how strong a True Machine God is. You hold here and handle reception. If something goes wrong up there, we'll at least have room to push or fall back. Even if we, the first team, run into trouble, you can serve as the second wave and give us one more shot."
Atalanta fell silent for a moment. The hard edge of her resolve cooled, and she nodded.
In the end, the Spartan twin swordsmen and several other divine-blooded heroes stayed outside the core temple, tasked with sealing the gaps and buying time.
"One more thing. Remember this!"
Jason kept entering the cipher and loading Magic Crystals as he refined the plan and laid down his warnings.
"You're only buying time. At this pace, this thing will fully activate and send us up in ten minutes at most. So you just need to hold for fifteen. After that, withdraw immediately. Hide, circle and harass, whatever. Wait for our signal, then come back to the core temple and regroup. Don't just stand in the same spot and get beaten to a pulp!"
Atalanta listened carefully and accepted the order with a serious nod. She took the Argonauts who were staying behind and headed out to Altar Street, moving to intercept the tide of soldiers whose shape and scale were already becoming visible.
As the fighting outside escalated, Jason finally reactivated the Sky Ladder. With Circe, Medea, Sisyphus, Orpheus, and the dozen-plus surviving companions, he led them one after another into the pillar of light that surged straight into the sky.
...
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