After saying goodbye to Artemis, Orion and Apollo went to a secluded spot. As soon as they were out of his sister's sight, Apollo's face turned sour. He asked Orion:
"Artemis wasn't hurt, was she?"
"No."
Orion clearly didn't have a good expression for his "brother-in-law" either. He also answered with a stern face:
"I took care of this scorpion before it could lunge."
"Judging by this scorpion's armor, it doesn't look like something you could take care of with one arrow." Apollo pressed on, "How did you do it? You're not bragging, are you? Was it actually Artemis who took care of this scorpion?"
"Of course not!"
Orion raised his voice, glaring at Apollo in displeasure. Then his voice lowered, filled with deep worry:
"When this scorpion burst out, Artemis reacted faster than I did. She had already tried to attack it, but both her arrows and divine power were deflected by the scorpion's carapace. It seems to have strong resistance to your divine power."
"So how did you defeat it?" Apollo asked.
Orion didn't speak, but just pulled out an empty metal can from his body, saying, "This is an insecticide Ares gave me a few years ago."
Apollo took the can and looked at it, his face immediately turning ashen.
He furiously smashed the can to the ground, paced back and forth a couple of steps, then cursed loudly:
"Calamity doesn't extend to family, Athena, you truly are a beast!"
With that, the God of Light pointed to the sky and uttered some very indecent remarks targeting Zeus and Athena. Orion, standing beside him, remained very calm, quietly waiting for the God of Light to vent his emotions.
Apollo cursed for a long time, until he started to pant before stopping. He glanced at Orion, who was standing quietly beside him, and asked:
"You don't seem surprised by the information I've revealed at all?"
"I'm not really a fool."
Orion mumbled:
"Artemis, after all, is one of the Olympus Twelve Main Gods. Without an equivalent status and power, who would dare to lay a hand on her? But what does Athena mean by this?"
"She wants to drag us into this whirlpool too."
Apollo closed his eyes helplessly:
"She doesn't want to let go of any god who can threaten her."
After speaking, Apollo and Orion briefly analyzed the current world situation together. After listening, the Son of the Sea God also remained silent for a long time.
Then he said to Apollo very seriously:
"You two should escape, escape to the edge of this world."
"I'd like to escape."
Apollo gave a bitter smile:
"But as long as Artemis and I still hold our divine positions, it's impossible for us to hide somewhere Athena can't find us."
"It's fine, she won't come looking for you anymore."
Orion turned back, gazing deeply in the direction of Artemis, then said to Apollo:
"Because I will take your place and jump into this whirlpool."
"You?" Apollo was stunned for a moment, saying with a mix of appreciation and exasperation, "You're a demigod, can you compare to the threat level of us two Main Gods? It's useless."
"That's not necessarily true." Orion shook his head. "My father is Poseidon. If I truly join the current chaos, I might be able to drag Poseidon into it... I can't compare to you two siblings, after all, I'm just a lecher. But with my father, it's different. Poseidon is one of the three Great God Kings. His threat to Athena is definitely higher than yours, and I even think that perhaps this is exactly what Athena wants."
"..."
Apollo felt that Orion's words made sense. He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked, "Why do you want to go to such lengths?"
"Perhaps because, I'm somewhat of a hero, I suppose."
Orion shook his head and smiled:
"Although I consider myself an idler with a good father, which makes me naturally a bit stronger than other beings and ensures I won't starve, she always told me I was a hero. So, just this once, I want to be a hero."
"I understand, I will take her away." Apollo said, "I'll leave this place to you. But are you just going to go and pledge allegiance to Athena? She certainly won't trust you."
"I know, so I won't go and pledge allegiance to her." Orion replied, "Moreover, if Athena really wins, there will be no place in this future world where she can live peacefully. So I'm going to pledge allegiance to those who oppose her. I heard... Ares's legion is in the Underworld?"
...
Orion spoke quickly and acted quickly. Before long, guided by Apollo, he found a deep cave leading from Crete to the Underworld.
Confident in his skill and bravery, Orion slung his bow and arrows over his back, picked up his wooden club, and walked alone into the monster-filled cave. He drove out the cannibalistic monsters lurking in the cave along the way and arrived at the desolate wilderness of the Underworld where Ares's army was stationed.
Ares was in his camp, discussing the next battle strategy with Heracles, when suddenly, a messenger under his command entered and reported to him:
"Ares, there's a demigod outside calling himself Orion, looking for you."
"Orion?"
Heracles asked in confusion:
"Is there any demigod named Orion in the world today?"
"He is the Son of the Sea God, but more importantly, his other identity is the lover of Artemis, the Moon Goddess."
Ares explained.
"Artemis?" Heracles exclaimed in shock, "Isn't Artemis a virgin goddess?"
"She is, but Artemis only swore an oath to Zeus's thunder. And Zeus, well, you know, just treat that kind of oath as an excuse."
Ares shrugged:
"And more importantly, my sister seems to be a post-marriage sexual behaviorist, so until now, they haven't had a substantive romantic relationship. It's been so many years."
Heracles thought for a moment, then muttered with a slight tremor, "Being intimate with a goddess for so many years and still not having consummated... that's truly terrifying."
As he said this, he felt it was somewhat inappropriate, so he quickly glanced at Ares and added:
"Ah, Teacher, I wasn't talking about you."
"It's fine, I don't mind, and Orion and I actually don't have that kind of self-control either."
Ares thought for a moment and replied:
"I'm bound by an oath, and Orion is because he can't beat Artemis's brother, Apollo. What man would leave meat right in front of him untouched, unless he's impotent."
With that, he said to the messenger, "His arrival is good for us. Go and bring him in."