Halirrhothius had been in a very good mood recently.
As a Son of the Sea God, and a child born to Sea King Poseidon and other deities, he was also a god, though Zeus had not bestowed upon him a corresponding divine office. This led to Halirrhothius being among the weakest "blank slate gods" in the pantheon. However, a god was a god after all; Halirrhothius was still much stronger than the demigod offspring Poseidon had left outside, and the mortals who now populated the earth.
As a Son of the Sea God, Halirrhothius also did not have to consider matters of succession. The great Poseidon was immortal, and his position as Sea King would surely be his forever. It was a position that even their elder brother Triton, or their most powerful brother Antaeus, could not covet, so Halirrhothius naturally did not need to consider it.
Therefore, Halirrhothius only needed to bask in his father's prestige and do as he pleased throughout his life.
His favorite things were fine wine and beautiful women. By now, Halirrhothius was different from when he only valued beauty. A Son of the Sea God had plenty of romantic encounters; he preferred to dominate women who were untouchable, to satisfy the strong desire for conquest he inherited from Poseidon. Not long ago, Halirrhothius had just dominated a priestess of Artemis. He caught the panicked woman in the forest, forcibly took her, and then killed her, all to satisfy his vanity and tyrannical desires.
Of course, Halirrhothius also understood that there were some things he could not do too excessively, otherwise his father would not always protect him. Therefore, he specifically chose a powerless mortal priestess. Such a character, even if she died, he, as a god, would not truly be punished by Zeus.
"What kind of prey should I look for today…"
Halirrhothius used the divine power he inherited from his father to walk on the azure sea as if on solid ground. He was still lingering near the large island that worshipped the Moon Goddess. This island had dense forests, abundant wildlife, and beautiful worshippers of the Moon Goddess and the Goddess of the Hunt. Halirrhothius felt a little restless; although he knew he couldn't repeatedly challenge the authority of a major god, he still couldn't help himself. The pleasure of stirring up trouble on the sacred territory of Artemis made him unable to stop.
Unfortunately, Poseidon had previously warned him that Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, had already expressed her anger at the banquet of the gods over the previous incident. If Halirrhothius did such a thing again, Poseidon would not guarantee that the Moon Goddess's arrows would not aim for his brow.
Poseidon had no shortage of children, and Halirrhothius did not want to be among those abandoned by the Sea King. Therefore, he could only circle the island in the ocean outside, then grudgingly watch those pure priestesses in white robes carrying water pots back into the forest.
However, just as Halirrhothius was about to leave, a bright figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight.
This beautiful figure, like a ray of sunlight piercing through the shadows of the forest, appeared before Halirrhothius. She wore a moon-white robe belonging to a worshipper of the Moon Goddess, with symbols of Artemis embroidered in gold thread on it. But she had not worn her hood, and a cascade of wavy golden hair fell over her shoulders, reminding Halirrhothius of the bountiful wheat fields he had seen on earth, blessed by the goddess Demeter.
Her eyes were as bright as pearls in the ocean, her skin like pure white milk in a jar. A veil covered her lips, but through the translucent veil, one could glimpse a hint of her true beauty, which filled her with a mysterious charm. Halirrhothius could guarantee that even the most beautiful goddess he had seen at banquets could not compare to this woman.
A woman of this caliber, he estimated, even his father would howl and pounce if he saw her.
If he could get intimate with her this time, even if it meant living a few hundred years less, it would be entirely worth it.
Although Halirrhothius was a god who knew his limits, it was clear that his reason could not suppress his desires. In the face of such a high-level temptation of beauty, Halirrhothius's rationality quickly crumbled like a mountain, unable to control his bestial nature.
He swallowed, then parted the waves and headed for the beach.
He approached the woman, preparing to greet her, but as he landed, the beautiful woman seemed to notice him too. Halirrhothius's notorious reputation must have preceded him on their island, so upon seeing this unrestrained god, a flicker of panic crossed the beautiful woman's eyes. Then, disregarding the clothes she had brought to wash, she turned and, holding up her skirt, ran back into the forest without looking back, where Artemis's temple and altar were located.
If she truly escaped into Artemis's temple, Halirrhothius could not touch her. Poseidon had the audacity to take his worshippers in the temples of other major goddesses, but he dared not.
Therefore, Halirrhothius disregarded any divine mystique or dignity. He directly used his divine power, transforming into a gust of wind, and chased after the woman.
Under his deliberate guidance, the beautiful woman quickly veered off the correct path in her panic, led by him to a small stream on the island. Sea King Poseidon's authority extended throughout the water systems of the Greek World, and as his child, Halirrhothius could maximize his strength whenever he was near water.
With this stream, he was confident he could set up a barrier that would temporarily sever the connection between this worshipper and Artemis, preventing the woman from seeking help from her chief deity.
After successfully cornering the beautiful woman by the stream, Halirrhothius immediately revealed his true form and began to set up a barrier using the stream's water. As he constructed the divine barrier, he pressed closer to the woman.
The beautiful woman also seemed to realize her current predicament. She stopped in despair before the stream, her back to Halirrhothius, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Halirrhothius," she pleaded desperately, "let me go. Are you not afraid of Artemis's punishment?"
"Punishment? Ha. She will only punish you, a mortal." Halirrhothius laughed triumphantly. "Besides, this place has been cut off by my power. Artemis can no longer hear your prayers. If she isn't careful, she won't even sense you here. I advise you to obediently submit to me, lest you suffer more physical pain."
"I don't believe it… This is the Moon Goddess's island. Here, no one can really find me…" The beautiful woman stood with her back to him, her delicate body trembling ceaselessly, appearing very frightened.
"Give up, no one will know about this place!"
Halirrhothius's heart burned with desire. He quickly took two steps forward, then spread his arms, intending to embrace the beauty. But at that moment, the beautiful woman suddenly turned around and raised her hand, seizing one of his wrists.
"Hmm?" Halirrhothius was slightly startled, then chuckled, "Are you finally willing to accommodate me?"
Before he could finish laughing, his smile froze on his face, because the hand gripping his wrist held him as firmly as an iron clamp, making him unable to move.
Halirrhothius struggled twice with effort, then cold sweat broke out on his back:
"You, who exactly are you?"
"Who?"
The "beauty" let out a cold laugh, but it was a rough, bold male voice. He grabbed his robe, tore it open, and then laughed loudly, "You brat, take another look at who your father is!"
The white robe billowed, and the stunningly beautiful woman instantly vanished, replaced by a tall, majestic, handsome red-haired man. Seeing him, Halirrhothius immediately turned ashen with fright:
"G-God of War?!"