"...It really is you."
It was a reunion after a long separation, but it did not stir any heart-wrenching emotions.
Gazing at the snow-white, spotless figure of Jason in his pristine white robes before her, Atalanta, covered head to toe in grime and dust, felt a twinge of discomfort on her face.
She silently took two steps back, trying to blend into the surrounding darkness as much as possible. Only then did she calm down and continue speaking to Jason. "How did you end up here... Oh, it must be that you received an oracle from some great deity again, so you came here."
As Atalanta spoke, a look of habitual resignation crossed her face. She said, "Should I call you Heracles now?"
It was not surprising that Atalanta would make such a guess. After all, she had seen Jason occupied with the oracles of the gods more than once.
Moreover, she had personally participated in those events, joining Jason on several adventures.
And that great hero in white robes, transformed from Jason himself, Heracles, had now become a legendary hero known throughout Greece.
Hearing Atalanta's words, Jason looked puzzled at the somewhat odd Atalanta. After thinking for a moment and realizing the reason, he could not help but chuckle.
"Um, no, it's not." As Jason spoke, he reached into the silver pouch at his waist and pulled out a caduceus. Then he pointed it at Atalanta and recited an incantation.
Although Atalanta had no idea what Jason was doing and was startled by the sudden appearance of the magic circle on the ground, she did not resist.
This showed that in her heart, her trust in Jason was actually quite high... After all, the tangled bond between them ran deep.
The light from the magic circle enveloped her, and when the milky-white glow faded, Atalanta, who had been filthy from spending nearly a week in this dark labyrinth, was now clean again.
It was a simple cleansing spell. Jason was only a half-baked magic apprentice, but he could at least manage basic magic like this.
The reason he rarely used it was simple. The white robes he wore were woven by hand by the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, especially for him.
If they got stained with dust, Athena would probably be so ashamed that she would consider ending her own life.
"...Thank you." Although she was now clean all over, Atalanta's expression became even more subtle and awkward.
After all, her little scheme had been seen through...
Atalanta herself did not know why, upon realizing that the person who had come was Jason, she had suddenly become self-conscious about her appearance.
But fortunately, Atalanta was not the type to dwell on such trivial matters. She stepped forward again and glanced at the little loli nearby, who was still happily dismantling things for fun. Then she said to Jason, "Who is she?... And what did you mean by 'no'?"
"Her? She's... It's a bit complicated to explain. I'll tell you when there's time. I'm not here because of an oracle."
"Not because of an oracle?" Atalanta was momentarily stunned.
Jason nodded and said, "Yeah, actually, I heard from my senior brother that you were trapped here, so I came."
"Because of me?" Atalanta's eyes widened slightly, clearly surprised, but she quickly accepted it. She said, "Wait, I get it. It's like that time with the Sphinx monster. Lady Artemis, the Moon Goddess, sensed I was in trouble and called you to help, right?"
"It's not that either... But if you want to think of it that way, go ahead."
"...What do you mean?" Atalanta furrowed her brows. "Are you saying you'd come to help me just because I'm in danger?"
"Hey, what kind of image do I have in your mind?!" Jason shot Atalanta a dissatisfied glare.
Watching Jason's reaction, Atalanta's expression grew even more peculiar. After a long pause, she finally said, "...Seriously, because of me?"
Being stared at so directly by Atalanta, Jason, who had not felt anything at first, suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. He cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, well... I mean, we're friends at least, right? Do you have to make such a big deal out of it?"
"...Friends?" Atalanta was surprised again. She said, "Since when were we friends?"
"Don't you think we're friends?"
Jason was surprised too.
Looking back now, Jason and Atalanta had truly gone through so much together.
Starting from his days as a little boy, he had forged a deep, fateful bond with Atalanta.
From the Calydonian Boar hunt, offering tribute to the Moon Goddess Artemis, "borrowing" her beloved bow, the Bow of the Vault of Heaven, to the later encounters with the Sphinx, the Hundred-Eyed Giant Argus, and more.
Clearly, aside from the lofty gods, Atalanta was undoubtedly the one who interacted with Jason most frequently.
And their relationship had undergone several twists and turns.
Thus, Jason could no longer ignore Atalanta as he once had. He disliked trouble, but he was not an emotionless machine.
This was also why, upon hearing from Theseus that Atalanta was in trouble, Jason had rushed over to help her.
At this moment, Atalanta stared intently at Jason for a long while, gradually accepting that he had truly come here because of her, not for any oracle or the Moon Goddess Artemis.
Upon realizing this, Atalanta was probably unaware that the corners of her mouth had unconsciously curved upward slightly. She said faintly, "Didn't you say it yourself? I'm a woman who's nothing but trouble, so you don't want to get involved with me at all."
"I say, that was ages ago. Why are you bringing it up now... And in the end, didn't I apologize to you?"
Jason was somewhat speechless.
"Apologize?... Did you? Well, okay, I forgot." Atalanta twirled a strand of pale yellow hair around her ear, her lips curving slightly upward.
As her words fell, their gazes naturally met. Soon after, Jason smiled too.
In that instant, in that scene.
If the Moon Goddess Artemis saw it, she would probably feel gratified... Well, this refers to the Artemis from back then.
Because there was indeed a time when Artemis truly thought Atalanta and Jason were a good match, so she had secretly played matchmaker for quite a while.
Half the credit for the fateful bond between Jason and Atalanta belonged to her.
Their relationship had finally progressed, which should have been a joyous occasion. But now, Artemis's mood would undoubtedly be complicated.
To be precise, she would not be happy at all. She might even pout in dissatisfaction.
From her last visit to Jason, when she said she wanted to hide him away, it was clear she had set her sights on "hunting" him and viewed Jason as a precious "prey" to cherish.
And now, someone was competing with her for that prey. It was her most favored follower, no less. Worst of all, it was a result she had orchestrated herself!
If Artemis knew now, she might roll around on the grass in frustration and regret... She probably would.
But fortunately, the current Artemis did not know. After all, few gods knew that Jason had come to the labyrinth. The deities did not monitor Jason twenty-four hours a day, every day.
However, this situation probably could not be hidden for long...
Moreover, to say that Jason had suddenly come to see Atalanta without any such intentions would not be entirely true. Do not forget Jason's personality.
Cautious, striking first to gain the advantage, never sitting idly by when trouble arises.
Last time, Artemis had nearly locked him in a little black room. Jason could not afford to be careless.
And Atalanta, evidently, had a certain miraculous effect against Artemis!
Though he did have such thoughts, his worry for Atalanta and viewing her as a friend were also genuine.
...
"I say, you two... Are you done talking?"
As Atalanta and Jason exchanged glances and then both smiled, the silent home-wrecker... No, labyrinth-wrecker, Cerberus, finally spoke up.
After Jason and Atalanta both turned their gazes to her, Cerberus pointed toward the half-man, half-bull monster that had appeared nearby at some point. She said, "What about that one... Should I eat him?"
"Why do you think of eating everyone you see?" Jason said helplessly. All those things I just told you, did they go straight to your stomach without passing through your brain?
Then he looked toward the monster that had emerged in the shadows of the lamplight not far away.
The creature eternally imprisoned in this labyrinth, the innate monster, the Minotaur destined to be slain by a hero, Asterios!
Staring directly at the monster before him, not a trace of fear appeared on Jason's face.
After all, compared to it, whether in terms of appearance or strength, Jason had already encountered many monsters far more terrifying.
Be it the Hundred-Headed Dragon Ladon, the Hundred-Eyed Giant Argus, or even Cerberus here, who had taken the form of a little loli but was originally the three-headed hellhound guarding the gates of the Underworld, all were clearly much more terrifying than the Asterios before him.
Jason was not surprised by his appearance. After all, Cerberus had caused such a commotion. It would be strange if he did not show up.
Thus, Jason calmly met his gaze and said, "Greetings, great Lord of the Labyrinth. We mean you no harm. As for all this before you...
I am very sorry. If you can forgive us, I promise to compensate you!"
Hearing Jason's words, the bull-headed monster lowered his head to glance at the rubble left from Cerberus's destruction on the ground, then looked back at Jason and the others.
Rage ignited in his eyes. Asterios swung the weapon he had picked up from some unfortunate hero and roared furiously, "You... All of you deserve to die!"
"As expected, that won't work." Jason sighed.
"Does that mean we fight?!" Cerberus perked up excitedly.
"If you hadn't wrecked the place so thoroughly, he wouldn't be this angry... But in the end, it seems unavoidable anyway."
As Jason spoke, he turned his head to glance at Atalanta.
Atalanta had come here for the Asterios before them. Based on Jason's understanding of her, she clearly could not just leave like this.
Then, under Asterios's furious rage, the bull-headed monster clashed with Cerberus in battle.
And this fight was undoubtedly a one-sided crushing by Cerberus!
After all, she was the three-headed hellhound of the Underworld, not to mention reinforced by Typhon.
Moreover, Cerberus had been holding a grudge. This labyrinth reminded her of unpleasant experiences in the abyss. Now seeing its master, it would be odd if she did not beat him up.
"...Who exactly is she?"
Atalanta, who had been ready to join the fray, froze upon seeing the little loli kick away Asterios's weapon with one foot and then slap him flying with a single palm. She turned to Jason in astonishment.
Jason temporarily ignored Atalanta's surprise, as he was thinking about something else at the moment.
He stared at Asterios, his brows slightly furrowed, because he keenly sensed that Asterios's state was somewhat abnormal...
In fact, it truly was.
Although the Minotaur was technically a demigod, as the son of that mad white bull, he had naturally inherited the white bull's ferocity.
Thus, he was constantly teetering on the edge of madness!
In the myth, Theseus could kill him only by exploiting a loophole.
As mentioned earlier, both Minotaur and Asterios were his names, and the name Asterios actually held significance.
Calling him Asterios would awaken his sanity, as it was his original name and evoked the only warmth from his infancy.
At the same time, the way to kill him was simple: sever one of his bull horns with a sharp sword and stab it into his body, and he would die immediately.
Theseus had succeeded by using these two points revealed to him by the gods.
Although Jason did not know these details, even without knowing, Asterios posed no great threat to him.
However, Jason did not want to kill him unnecessarily and cause complications, but he could not ignore him either. Thus, after pondering for a while...
Jason looked up and raised the caduceus in his hand.
Seeing Jason's action, Atalanta immediately closed her eyes.
The next second...
"Flashbang!"
An unannounced flashbang went off without warning, blinding the unprepared Cerberus's dog eyes and Asterios's eyes indiscriminately.
The flashbang's power was immense. After all, Asterios lived in perpetual darkness year-round. This sudden burst caused him to clutch his eyes in agony and howl loudly.
It had a strong effect on Cerberus too, but fortunately, she had spent the past few days in the human world gazing at the sun and had adapted somewhat.
So, as Cerberus recovered behind him and turned to Jason with a huff, ready to demand an explanation, she saw Jason tap his caduceus on the ground. A massive magic circle rapidly enveloped the area.
In the blinding light, it wrapped all of them inside.
Crimson spider lilies bloomed in this world, and this was one of the spells engraved in the caduceus: the Underworld Domain!
This was a ultimate move that could only be used once a month.
After unleashing it, before the agonized Asterios could recover from the flashbang, Jason's righteous cry echoed in his ears.
"Teacher Hecate, save me!"