"..."
Samael's face darkened like the bottom of a pot, and he shot the increasingly unrestrained bad woman a withering look.
At the same time, to keep Tamamo-no-Mae from pulling anything up front, the Ancient Serpent naturally lost all interest in sitting inside the carriage drinking tea. He rose, snatched back the reins, and casually tossed that trash fox into the carriage again.
Tch. Treating a lady so rudely. How terrible.
The canine, exiled once more to the little dark room, grumbled under her breath as she sulkily drooped her head. Huffing, she picked up the cup and stuck out her pink tongue to lap at the warm tea.
When Samael happened to glance back and saw the way that trash fox was drinking, he could not help recalling the suspicious substance mixed into the water, along with her earlier claim that she had already "marked" him by special means. His fingers on the reins froze in midair.
He vaguely remembered that canines and felines were more used to marking territory and prey with their own scent or urine.
Those that preferred using saliva for that sort of thing were more often rabbits...
At that point, he was certain. The fox at his side only wore the mask of a virtuous wife and loving mother. Her true nature leaned far more toward a beast of calamity. At the core, she was downright awful.
Good thing I didn't leave that trash fox outside. Without anyone keeping her in check, who knows what kind of trouble she'd cause later.
Whatever. It's not like I've never kept a beast of calamity before. Please, I'm a total pro at taming dangerous animals. Once I get the chance, I'll teach her a proper lesson and make sure she deeply understands how vicious society can be.
Samael turned his head back and continued driving calmly, a wicked grin curling at the corners of his lips.
At that moment, the curtain of the carriage in front quietly fell. As Gorgo and Helen exchanged glances, something odd flickered in their eyes.
Vaguely, they seemed to understand why the girl called Tamamo had been left behind on her own.
"Achoo!"
As if sensing something in the air, Samael's nose suddenly itched and he let out a heavy sneeze, muttering to himself. Who's talking about me behind my back now? Why does something feel more and more off the closer we get to Athens?
Clatter...
The carriage rolled through a few potholes, and the jolting interrupted the Ancient Serpent's thoughts.
After enduring a bit more of that torture, Samael looked up at the gates of the Acropolis of Athens, now clearly taking shape, and let out a small sigh of relief.
Back in the battle of the First Sanctuary, he had erupted with his space-time Authority at the very end, scattering it into every corner of the Sea of Chaos. Even now, very little of it had recovered. The only things he could really rely on were his Fate Authority, which had recovered by more than half and which he had become highly proficient in using, and his own poison.
Otherwise, he could have considered tearing open space and teleporting over a long distance to spare himself the trouble of the trip.
Still, this was not so bad either. As the saying went, those caught up in the middle of things could not see clearly, while the bystander saw best. Entering Athens in disguise might let him see more of the rot hidden beneath its polished surface.
They rushed onward the whole way, nerves taut. As the majestic white marble city rose on the horizon under the sunlight, the Ancient Serpent rubbed at his throbbing brow and let out a long breath.
Athens. At last.
After paying the sentries at the gate a fee of more than ten gold Zeus coins, Samael sensed a burning stare landing on his back. He frowned slightly, did not bother lingering, and led the group quietly into the city.
Athens was twice the size he remembered.
Palaces, assembly halls, theaters, clubs, galleries, inns, markets, workshops, docks, stadiums, every kind of public building was there.
The streets were packed, the crowds denser than before, but in the plaza where the bronze statues of the festival heroes had once stood in his memory, only a few Athenians had stopped to look, and most of them wore expressions of disdain.
At the city's core, on the highest platform, the towering temples dedicated to Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, Medusa, Goddess of Vengeance, and Themis, Goddess of Justice, had become even grander and more elaborate.
Descending in order with the natural slope of the land, statues of Saint Seiya representing the eighty-eight constellations were arranged neatly within shrines of different sizes, standing guard around the three goddesses with cold, untouchable majesty.
The disaster bell hanging in the temple of the God of Medicine had gone so long without use that even cobwebs had formed over it.
"This really is the heart of Greece. It's even more prosperous and orderly than I expected."
Tamamo-no-Mae, who adored luxury, spread her arms in delight and breathed in that familiar air of extravagance and decadence, thoroughly pleased.
"Of course. After all, the lower sorts who spoil the view probably can't even afford the fee to enter the city."
Samael gave a faintly mocking reply, and the sights he had seen on the way in from outside the city rose unbidden in his mind.
The crumbling main roads, the barren plots of land, the hollow-faced slaves driven to the outskirts along the roadsides, and the fishermen at the harbor sighing again and again...
Now that he looked around, the whole of Athens was gleaming and beautiful. It had gained many unfamiliar things, and lost many familiar ones.
Samael shook his head slightly, then gathered his thoughts and did not linger on the city's bustle. He led his two employers, Helen and Gorgo, safely through the leaf-shaped mountain gate and into the Acropolis itself.
The two Spartan women, unwilling to drag this assassin bodyguard any deeper into the matter, exchanged a glance, their eyes flickering as they prepared to part ways.
"Hold out your hands."
Samael did not seem particularly concerned. He glanced toward the mist-wreathed Areopagus and spoke with a faint smile.
The tone in his voice allowed no argument, so Gorgo and Helen instinctively obeyed.
By the time the two women came back to themselves, a strange tingling had spread across their palms, and several inscribed Rune symbols were slowly fading from sight.
"What is this?"
"A simple protection spell. Hopefully, you won't need it."
"Th-thank you..."
Helen stole a glance at him and cleared her throat as she answered, feeling inexplicably guilty.
"Thank me? No need. You still haven't paid the rest, so naturally I have to protect my property."
Samael replied casually, then impatiently waved a hand to cut off the High Priestess's hesitation.
"All right, enough. Business comes first. Go take care of what you need to. I'll be staying in Athens for the next couple of days. Once you've handled your urgent matters, I'll come knocking to collect my debt."
With that, the Ancient Serpent decisively left Gorgo and Helen behind, grabbed the trash fox who had been trying to sneak around and slip into the Acropolis by another route, and in a few strides merged into the crowd and vanished.
Hopefully, it won't be needed?
Gorgo and Helen glanced at the hidden protective spell in their palms, their brows drawing together slightly as a shadow crossed their faces. Then they took a deep breath, suppressed the tangle of thoughts in their hearts, and hurried along the roads branching like leaf veins toward the Areopagus to the northwest. After walking for more than ten minutes, they stepped into a rippling screen of light like the surface of water.
At the same time, after entering a secluded alley, Samael lifted his head as if sensing something.
The escort job is done. For the sake of old clients, I'll throw in a little free extra service.
Then the Ancient Serpent lowered his gaze and looked coolly toward several figures at the alley entrance. Their faces were full of greed, short blades in hand, and they were closing in with bad intentions. He turned to Tamamo-no-Mae beside him and gave a shrug.
"You, or me?"
"Oh my, are they trying to rob me for my beauty? I'm so scared. Ezio-sama will protect me properly, won't he?"
That certain "fragile" girl immediately shrank behind Samael, backing into the corner with her arms folded, wearing a pure spectator's expression and a malicious grin on her pretty face.
Samael did not waste words. He cracked his knuckles and stepped forward. In an instant, the sickening crack of breaking bones and the dull thuds of fists landing on flesh rose one after another, while screams and groans from the brutal beating echoed through the narrow alley.
A moment later, the thugs lay sprawled all over the ground, every bone in their bodies broken, muscles torn, only a last thread of life still hanging on, left paralyzed as they experienced the ultimate agony of feeling their lives slowly drain away.
Tsk tsk. How cruel...
Following behind Samael as she walked out of the alley, Tamamo-no-Mae muttered in false sympathy, then casually stepped on two hands reaching for her ankle in plea and, smiling sweetly, crushed the bones of the worthless pests.
Trash. Absolute trash.
The Ancient Serpent rolled his eyes at the trash fox behind him, surveyed the surrounding area, and after winding through several turns, arrived in front of a hidden residence. He raised a hand and brushed across the door, and at once a faint Rune symbol appeared on its surface.
Hah. Finally made it.
But even after waiting a moment, the door did not open.
Could something have happened?
Samael's pupils contracted sharply. He immediately vaulted over the high wall and dropped into the courtyard, with the curious Tamamo-no-Mae following right behind.
Slash!
But the instant the Ancient Serpent landed, a bronze dagger stabbed out diagonally, viciously aiming for his kidney.
Boom!
Samael's brow tightened slightly. He twisted aside and stamped down, avoiding the edge of the dagger, then drove his elbow forward. The figure trying to ambush him from the side flew like a cannonball, smashing through a stone table and the porch before being embedded straight into a pillar.
"You lackeys of the Areopagus. So you followed the scent all the way here. But don't think you'll get anything out of me!"
Though blood spilled from his mouth, the sturdy old man's roar still rang full of force through the drifting dust. With his beard and hair bristling, he looked every bit like a man ready to die righteously.
Samael thought for a moment, then slowly raised his head.
"And you are?"