“I refuse! Even if Lady Athena hates me and I end up being responsible for cleaning up dung, I will still remain by Lady Athena’s side!”
Nike’s pupils, which had lost their luster, began to glow golden once again.
The radiant golden eyes made Ares furrow his brows uneasily.
“Even when the people around you don’t understand your feelings?”
“It doesn’t matter even if they don’t understand. From now on, I will take the initiative to approach others and empathize with their hearts. What is precious is already by my side!”
Nike, whose eyes had been blinded by greed.
The truth dawned on her: affection is like sand in your hand—clutch it too tightly, and it slips through your fingers all the more.
From now on, Nike would not tightly grasp the small grains of sand.
She would create a grand beach within her heart and sprinkle the sand there.
“Nike!!”
“Sister!”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Athena ran to Nike and tightly embraced her.
“Nike, I’m sorry. I apologize.”
“Sniff… No, I’m the one who’s sorry. Because of me, you must have been so worried.”
“No, not at all…”
The two goddesses, their eyes brimming with tears, felt each other’s warmth, reaffirming their steadfast bond, and shared in their joy.
Seeking to erase every awkward gap of the past, they moistened each other’s cheeks with tears of regret and self-reproach.
Fortunately.
It’s truly fortunate.
“Hmm. Well, as expected… All right, shall we move onto the next plan?”
As if having anticipated Nike’s response, Ares casually stretched, then yawned.
Was his action the signal?
The direction of the wind suddenly reversed,
and an eerie, grating noise—like scores of wooden gears grinding against one another—approached from afar.
It was the sound of many broken, out-of-tune instruments being scraped together.
A bigger issue? There wasn’t just one source of this noise—hundreds echoed from all around.
“Athena, scout!”
“Yes!”
Responding to Athena’s call, Nike spread her wings and shot upward, soaring toward the ceiling.
Circling the roof of the banquet hall, she began scanning the surroundings with an earnest expression.
In warfare, information marks both the beginning and the end of the battle.
Judging it critical to quickly ascertain the origin of the noise and respond instantly, Athena’s decision was impeccably correct.
“Sister!”
Having identified the source of the noise, Nike landed beside Athena with a notably somber expression.
“Well? What is the source of this sound?”
“It’s serious. The hundreds of ballistae mounted on the outer city wall have all turned 180 degrees.”
It became clear that the bizarre noise originated from the turning of the ballistae’s massive frames.
Ballistae designed to protect against external invaders had turned 180 degrees?
That means the target is the inner fortress.
Our location—the congratulatory banquet hall.
Upon reaching the same conclusion, Athena emanated fearsome battle qi, one no one dared challenge.
Then raising her head, she glared at Ares, still seated nonchalantly on the ceiling, and spoke.
“Ares! What is the meaning of this?”
“Just… The celebration is almost over, and I didn’t like this banquet hall anyway, so I decided to have it demolished. It’s my city, after all; it’s my decision.”
“The recklessness continues. Well, let’s all evacuate. It’s dangerous to stay here.”
Athena, thoroughly baffled by the situation, retorted sharply at Ares and immediately ordered us to evacuate hastily.
If we remain, there’s high chance we’ll be crushed by boulders fired from the ballistae.
Moreover, the ceiling here is open, making it perfectly suited for boulders to fall through like basketballs going through hoops, with no barriers to stop them.
“Athena-sama! We can summon the chariot, right?”
“Today is the gods’ banquet. Divine creatures were not invited. Even though I’ve summoned them now, it will take some time.”
“There’s nothing else we can do.”
We immediately ran toward the side door at the back of the stage.
At that very moment, as if awaiting this chance, Ares chuckled and snapped his fingers, prompting the levers of the outer perimeter ballistae to operate simultaneously.
BOOM! CRACCK! KA-BOOM!
Massive boulders, with enough force to shatter even the strongest fortresses, started hitting the outer walls of the banquet hall.
The impact of the ballistae’s missiles destroyed several columns supporting the ceiling. The side roof collapsed, like a noodle stretching down and falling onto the floor.
Unfortunately, the side door we intended to escape through was also destroyed, its entrance now completely blocked by incoming boulders.
With the shattered columns, we feared the ceiling might collapse at any time. Thus, we reluctantly returned to the central stage, where the ceiling was already completely open.
“Hmm~ Sister, I’m so sorry… it seems all the exits are blocked! Isn’t this just like rats trapped in a jar? Ahahahaha… HA HA HA HA HA!!!”
Laughter, filled with mockery and scorn, came faster from him, escalating with excitement into sheer derision.
Swinging his arms like a maestro conducting an orchestra, the harsh sound of ballistae reloading reverberated through the banquet hall.
“…”
Not only the side door, all the entrances had been obstructed.
Soon, hundreds of boulders would be raining down on the exposed ceiling above our heads.
Is Ares’s goal to eliminate Nike?
Yet something doesn’t quite align.
Let’s assume he wants to kill Nike by rejecting his proposal.
But how does throwing boulders at Nike, someone capable of flying freely through the skies, achieve that?
Isn’t it akin to wishing for flies to drown in a light drizzle?
“Arcturus!”
“Arcturus!”
Artemis and Athena, realizing Ares’s true intention before I did, both called out to me without hesitation.
Both goddesses, whose beauty rivals that of idols, looked at me simultaneously, causing a creeping sense of embarrassment to rise within me.
I always feel self-conscious when someone makes eye contact with me.
“Uh… Yeah? What?”
“Idiot! What’s wrong with you zoning out like that?!”
“That’s right! You’re in danger, Arcturus. Ares is targeting you!”
Ares is targeting me?
I couldn’t immediately understand why.
But calculating quickly based on the current situation,
I realized they were correct.
Artemis, Athena, and Nike—they’re all gods.
A mere boulder won’t kill them.
The weakest person here is…
Me.
Ares had metaphorically referred to the rat trapped in the jar as me.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
As if affirming the answer, Ares clapped his hands again.
Following another snap of his fingers, black objects launched from the ballistae blotted out the pristine sky above us.
The objects spinning and falling toward our heads were not boulders,
but oak barrels.
“Artemis!”
“Leave it to me.”
On Athena’s command, Artemis drew her bow from her back.
With speed nearly impossible to follow, she shot all the hundreds of descending oak barrels.
Every single one was perfectly hit—a demonstration of her unparalleled archery skill.
Artemis, unfazed, shrugged her shoulders.
I paid her achievement no heed and instead crouched low.
“Empty barrels?”
Upon checking the wreckage of the shattered barrels, the contents revealed them to be empty oak barrels.
Initially, it seemed the barrels were falling more slowly than expected, but in reality, it was because they were empty.
Even empty oak barrels are still heavy objects.
However, what are ballistae?
Designed to hurl heavy objects and unleash their kinetic energy through impact, destroying everything in their path.
So why use empty oak barrels?
“Be careful! Ares may be reckless, but he’s also far more cunning than you can imagine.”
Athena came closer, grabbing my arm as she warned me not to stray too far.
Having assessed that there were no other options, Athena stepped forward and began infusing her spear with divine energy.
I watched as the spear, glowing with an intense blue light, became saturated with an overwhelming force, almost making it hard to breathe.
“I shall break through the wall. Nike, protect Arcturus.”
“Yes, Sister!”
Nike lowered my head forcefully with her arm.
“Artemis, keep an eye on Ares. He might descend from the ceiling at any moment.”
“Of course!”
Artemis had already prepared to aim her arrows at Ares.
“Wow~ breaking through the wall? Still so brute force, Sister. …But do you really think I’ll let you? Entering the second attack phase!! Hahaha… HA HA HA HA HA!!!”
Ares erupted in manic laughter, snapping his fingers again.
The second barrage of ballista attacks began,
and the entire sky above the banquet hall was filled with hundreds of oak barrels.
In the same manner as the first attack.
However, one strange point stood out:
the speed of the current barrels falling was far faster compared to the earlier ones!
“I’ll shoot it down!”
“Hold on!”
Before I could intervene, Artemis’s arrow was already released from her bowstring.
The arrow spun through the air, accurately piercing one of the barrels at its center.
At that moment,
“Hahaha!!! You fools!! Die already!!!”
BOOOOM!
With Ares’s laughter, the barrels exploded, the deafening sound striking our eardrums.
The explosions triggered a chain reaction, causing all the hundreds of barrels to detonate almost instantaneously.
The intense heat and blinding light forced my eyes shut, while the thick black smoke, carrying a scent of death, drifted into the banquet hall.
“Wh-What is this? Ares didn’t do anything… how? Why?”
Artemis, confused by the mysterious explosion, continued to ask.
“Those barrels were filled with oil and sprinkled with white phosphorus! Once your arrows hit, the flammable white phosphorus ignited from the impact and triggered the chain of explosions!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Chemistry explanation later! We have to run!”
“Where to?”
Artemis, her eyes wide like in an earthquake, stared at the blood-red sky.
Burning oil rained down like a dense net.
It was despair, pure and simple.
This despair was mercilessly closing in on us from above.
All the exits were blocked by boulders, and the sky was raining fire.
Right…
So where do we run?
The burning oil will reach below the ceiling in ten seconds and ignite the entire floor of this banquet hall.
“Arc!”
Athena called my name and ran over, enveloping me just like in the Mountain of Gods, and held her Aegis shield high into the sky.
“Artemis! Nike! Stick close together!”
However, the area protected by the relatively small shield couldn’t adequately cover even me alone.
Even if the splashing oil fire could be blocked, the surrounding sea of flames and the smoke resulting from it would be fatal to me, a human.
This marks Ares’ checkmate.
“…”
There is no method.
It’s now time to make a decision.
We can’t all die like this.
I can’t allow these three goddesses to die for me.
With a firm resolve, I gently pushed Athena back.
“Arc… why?”
“I can’t lose everyone just for me. Nike! Take Artemis and Athena and fly up! Hurry up!”
If Nike uses her hands to carry the two goddesses and penetrates the rain of oil and fire, they can escape.
Burns are meaningless compared to survival.
“No, I won’t!!”
Suddenly, Artemis ran over and clung to me.
“Artemis? Just listen to me!!”
“Why should I listen to you? You idiot!”
“No, why are you not making a proper judgment? Hey!!”
We don’t have time for this argument.
Suddenly angered by Artemis’ unpredictable behavior,
“Is the one making improper judgments not you, Arc?”
Unexpectedly, I heard someone rebuke me, the one making the most rational judgment,
“A, Athena?”
Not just her voice but also her presence was close.
Her chest touched my back as she embraced Artemis and me with her arms.
“Whether we live or die together is our will. Nike, you must escape.”
As if seeing a vision of hope in her mother Metis, Athena softly wrapped her arms around my back and instructed Nike, who had been watching us from three feet away, to survive.
At the moment of crisis, Victory Goddess Nike, who’d stood foolishly dumbfounded until now, acknowledged her first-ever defeat with a faint smile.
This smile went against her lifelong obedience to commands from superiors.
“I lost my bet with Arc. So respecting and upholding the will of Athena and Arc is my victory!”
“Nike?!”
“At this moment of life and death, I now promise victory!”
Nike ran toward us, throwing her arms around us all,
then unfolded her radiant wings to completely cover our heads and bodies.
“What are you doing, Nike!”
“Then you can’t just cover everything with fire yourself! No way!!”
Even though I shouted, Nike only reassured me that she was fine, smiling warmly like the elder sister we’d met long ago.
That warmth was fleeting.
Distorted by the burning oil dropping onto her wings, Nike’s expression began to twist painfully.
The burning remnants of the oak barrels lodged into her back, staining her pristine white dress with blood.
She tried to endure the pain, but groans of agony started slipping through her teeth while her sweat evaporated instantly.
“Nike!!”
“Kh… GGAH!! …Now… it’s over…”
Nike bore the full brunt of the falling burning oil, ensuring our safety.
Upon confirming that we were unharmed, her tension relaxed, and she collapsed to her knees, overwhelmed by the scorching pain.
Her back was covered in horrific burns too ghastly to describe,
and her once radiant white wings were scorched and charred.
“Wh-WHAT IS THIS!!!”
Ares, who hadn’t anticipated that Nike would shield us all, stood in bewilderment.
His hesitation gave us the perfect opportunity.
“This is the moment! Now’s our chance!”
With the threat of falling burning oil behind us, it was now or never for our escape.
“Athena! Break through the wall again!”
“I’m already preparing!”
Athena quickly infused her spear with divine energy once more.
With a single strike, she unleashed the spear glowing with intense blue power, punching a large hole in the wall.
The path of the sharp blue energy, cutting through the sea of fire like Moses’ parted sea, created a clear way out,
and the rising heat and smoke of the banquet hall were vented out through the hole.
“Everyone, escape!”
Athena and I supported Nike, who’d collapsed, and took the lead.
However, Artemis remained standing still, looking up at the ceiling.
She slowly drew her already stringed bow while kneeling.
“Artemis…?”
Amidst the inferno around her, Artemis showed no sign of panic.
Her crescent-shaped eyes remained unwavering.
Surrounded by a silver glow, it condensed into an arrow that took its place at the drawn bowstring.
Cruelly released with a sharp twang, her silver arrow flew straight, accurately embedding into Ares’ shoulder.
“KRAAAH! YOU BITCH!!”
“This is a bonus. See you later, reckless fool.”
Artemis shot him the middle finger amid the pain he endured, bidding him farewell.
“Is this Nike’s revenge?”
“What are you talking about, Big Sister? Why would I bother with pretentious psycho revenge? I’m Artemis. I repay tit for tat.”
“Hmmph… That’s right. That’s my little sister.”
Athena, smiling tenderly, tousled her younger sister’s hair with her right hand.
Artemis grumbled about it, but she didn’t make any effort to resist her sister’s touch.
Thus, we escaped via the wall we had shattered, looking up at the roof in preparation for the second battle against Ares—but he was already gone.
Was the silver arrow Artemis shot fatal to him?
“Haa… We almost died for real. Oh right! Nike!”
There was no time to catch our breath.
That was because Nike, who had been coated in scorching burning oil, was still unconscious.
Fortunately, her breathing was steady.
With the arrival of the delayed chariot, we carried Nike aboard and returned to the temple.
