"Impossible! His Majesty Theseus vanished years ago in the war against Velber. How dare you profane His Majesty's name, you impostor!"
With that righteous, furious roar, the head of the Pandion family fixed Samael with a dark, ruthless glare, stamped hard, and shot down from the circular high platform. Divine power surged wildly through his body as his fingers hooked forward to seize Samael by the throat.
As his shadow fell over the "impostor," the people of the Areopagus could not help revealing a flicker of delight in their upturned gazes.
Yes. This had to be a fake. His Majesty Theseus had long since vanished in the war against Velber. He would never come back, and he should never come back!
Hiss!
Yet just as those secretive, pleased looks gathered throughout the hall, a shrill cry exploded beside their ears, and the entire Areopagus shook violently as though mountains were collapsing and seas were overturning.
Crack...
In an instant, the rock split apart. A colossal serpent over a hundred meters long, its black scales faintly tinged with violet, burst from the fissure, coiled before Samael, then shot forward faster than the eye could follow. Before everyone's eyes, it opened its jaws and swallowed the demi-god, still wrapped in ether, in a single gulp.
The Holy Serpent...
For a moment, everyone on the Areopagus stood dumbstruck. A chill sharp enough to freeze blood and soul alike swept through them.
Hiss!
At the same time, the violet-black serpent, having just enjoyed a meal delivered right to its mouth, raised its neck and hissed. Patterns of light pulsed along its body, and from its jaws poured a golden-red torrent of ether straight down onto Samael.
Amid crisp metallic scraping, dozens of square golden modules engraved with dense runes and stellar patterns spun around Samael, assembling into joints and armor plates that covered the Ancient Serpent from head to toe.
The Sagittarius Gold Cloth, the Wings of Victory, Medusa's Shield, the Golden Bow...
The god-blood nobles, who had still harbored some petty schemes moments before, numbly recognized the names of each divine construct as they appeared, their eyes vacant.
"Lower your head."
"Hisss~"
The violet-black serpent flicked its tongue, meekly lowered its head, and rubbed it affectionately against Samael's palm.
The Holy Serpent had been tamed.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud...
At that moment, everyone's limbs turned cold and weak. Regardless of status or strength, they found themselves dropping to their knees without even realizing it, bodies trembling, heads pressed low.
In truth, Lord Theseus, who had led Greece in driving back Velber, was the last king of ancient Athens, and its greatest.
After the war against Velber, the rebuilt Athens no longer upheld or installed a king. Instead, rule shifted to the Areopagus, and the city-state moved into a period of democratic governance.
The royal authority of the Sacred King, however, had been reclaimed by the Three Goddesses and jointly entrusted to the Holy Serpent enshrined in the temple.
And now that the Holy Serpent had submitted to this man, offering up the Sagittarius Cloth, known as the Goddess's personal guard, along with the divine constructs, it symbolized the transfer of kingship once more.
The only man qualified to become King of Athens had returned.
Samael continued teasing the Holy Serpent in front of him for a moment, the corner of his lips lifting faintly, his eyes touched with nostalgia and emotion.
So it really was this little thing, the one he had once given Themis as a keepsake.
Time had changed much. The three goddesses had altered it and forced its growth together, turning it into the Holy Serpent worshipped by Athens.
And this serpent had not only guarded the divine constructs and Cloth that had once belonged to him, but had also guarded the crown of Athens he once wielded, waiting for the return of Athens's final and ultimate king.
So that was it. No wonder those women had felt free to leave Athens behind and slip into the Inner Sea of the Planet. They had already arranged a backup plan.
Through his touch, Samael sensed the lingering information left within the serpent's body. Thoughtfulness flickered in his eyes, and some of the doubts and concern in his heart eased at last. He let out a long breath, then looked up at the kneeling god-blood guards and assembly nobles around him and asked with a faintly amused tone,
"Now it's my turn to speak. So, who here still remembers that saying passed down on the Areopagus?"
"The gods'... authority is granted at birth. The gods'... duty endures from beginning to end..."
After a brief silence, one god-blood guard gave the answer in a trembling voice.
"That's right. The gods' authority is granted at birth. The gods' duty endures from beginning to end. That saying was meant as a warning, for the gods to restrain themselves and remind themselves. I left it behind for you in the hope that people would keep reverence and humility in their hearts.
"Because what is sacred was never the blood in your veins. It is the heroes who brought glory to that blood and won merit for Greece.
"A pity. You remembered only the first half...
"What? Did the halo over the Areopagus shine so brightly that some of you really started thinking yourselves gods to be worshipped? I'm not dead yet."
With a cold laugh, Samael exposed the mindset of those ossified god-blood nobles. Then he strode through the crowd toward the doorway, each heavy footstep sounding as though it landed directly on their hearts, leaving the scheming old fools along the way pale and too terrified to lift their heads.
As the Ancient Serpent stepped out of the hall, his figure cut apart by the contrast of light and shadow, he raised his right hand in command.
"Spears. Runes. In the name of Father Odin, gather here!"
The three accompanying Valkyries, Hildr, Thrúd, and Ortlinde, received the order, slowly stretched their bodies, chanted divine words, and beat their wings as they rose into the air.
In an instant, Valkyries clad in white war robes, bearing spears of light and runic round shields, with pure white wings on their backs, answered the summons one after another. They gathered across the sky in a layered, orderly formation, and the Rune symbols rising and converging together formed an enormous magecraft array that enveloped all of Athens.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
At the same time, under its master's pat, the Holy Serpent lifted its head and hissed. The luminous formation of the eighty-eight constellations opened, and dozens of streaks of light fell from the skies above the Areopagus and landed in the plaza outside the assembly hall.
As the various lights dispersed, one figure after another, overflowing with surging ether, dropped to one knee before Samael.
"Your Highness, the fleet has approached Icarus Harbor, and the troops have assembled throughout the city. Awaiting your orders."
In solemn tones, the warrior king Sigurd lifted his head and braced his sword as he asked for instructions. Behind him stood the Dragon Slayer Beowulf, Bloodaxe King, Raven King, and other Norse heroes, all arrayed in formation.
"No obstacles?"
"Everything went smoothly."
"Tch. Looks like the Areopagus has rotted through to the bone, inside and out."
Samael shook his head with visible disappointment, then turned and walked toward the cluster of old, muddle-headed god-blood nobles huddled in the shadows of the hall. Reaching down, he rummaged through the robes of the bearded councilor whose body had gone cold on the floor, then pulled out a bulging money pouch and tossed it in front of the crowd.
Clink, clatter.
Persian gold coins rolled in all directions.
"Take a look. One of you sold out Greece, leaking the route taken by me and the Spartan envoys to the Persians in an attempt to prevent an alliance between Sparta and Athens."
Samael frowned and snorted coldly, visibly furious.
"From this moment on, Athens, inner city and outer city alike, is under martial law. The Areopagus is sealed. No one in the assembly hall is to enter or leave. I'm going to thoroughly investigate every last god-blood noble and find out just how many of you have colluded with Persia."
Under the overwhelming divine authority sweeping through the hall, the god-blood nobles all nodded shakily, meek as rabbits, shrinking obediently into their seats, handing over their seals, and waiting to be questioned.
The fighters and god-blood guards gathered in the plaza were checked one by one for loyalty and innocence. As night fell, the Norse heroes took them into their command and began assuming responsibility for the city's defenses and security, conducting house-to-house searches among the god-blood families of the inner city.
For a time, the completely sealed and isolated inner city of Athens underwent a thorough and orderly purge.
As night descended, the old men in the assembly hall who had huddled there like quails gradually began to sense that something was off. Quite a few finally worked up the courage, tears and snot running down their faces, to pledge loyalty to their returned king.
When the Valkyries brought steaming food into the hall, those Athenian elders finally started to relax a little. Trembling, they accompanied His Majesty the King in what passed for a welcoming banquet.
Samael was all warmth and enthusiasm, smiling mildly as he swore with utter sincerity,
"Relax. This is only a routine inspection. Tomorrow morning, you'll all be able to go home. I may be king, but I still act according to the law. I do things based on evidence and conscience. I won't let a single bad man off, but I also won't wrong a single good one."
Leaning beside one of the courtyard pillars, Queen Gorgo bit into a pear and fell into thought as she remembered the purse pulled from the traitor's robes earlier, along with the Persian gold coins bouncing all over the floor.
***
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***