"I hear drums..."
Medea’s voice turned cold.
Just as she said, an ominous, rhythmic drumming began to echo across the water, cutting through the gentle wash of the waves.
[Heh, that king's obsession is truly something. Having lost both his daughter and the treasure of his kingdom, he must be completely out of his mind.]
From within the shadows, Lady Hecate murmured lazily.
As the goddess noted, the pursuit was far swifter than I had anticipated.
The ships of Colchis were lighter than the Argo and manned by more rowers; they were closing in fast, poised to enter striking range before the first light of dawn.
One by one, the heroes who had been sleeping soundly on deck stirred, rising to seize their weapons.
Jason approached me, his face pale as he stared intently at the horizon.
"Astellon. There are too many of them. At this rate, we'll be surrounded in open water. What is the plan?"
I remained silent for a moment in response to Jason's question.
I simply watched the lights growing larger and more distinct beyond the horizon.
The Colchian fleet was cutting through the black sea, closing the distance with relentless speed.
Flight alone would never be enough to escape this pursuit.
"..."
I slowly turned my gaze toward the heroes gathered on the deck.
Then, I gripped the silver mirror pendant resting against my chest—the token I had received while studying magecraft under Lady Hecate.
[My disciple, I look forward to seeing the end of your enemies reflected in that mirror.]
Watching me, Lady Hecate let out a languid laugh from within the shadows.
I flung the pendant high into the air.
The mirror split into three, expanding massively as they traced the trajectory of an equilateral triangle. Every glimmer of light from the night sea seemed to be sucked into the mirrors, condensing into a single point.
Against the backdrop of erupting magical energy, I spoke the True Name in a low voice, shattering the silence of the night.
"O ruler of the abyssal night, look down upon the souls wandering at the end of the threefold road."
A crescent moon, a full moon, and a new moon rose simultaneously in the sky, blanketing the ocean in a shimmering, silver-white tide of mana.
Dozens of fire arrows rained down from the Colchian fleet like a storm, but Medea quickly unleashed her own magecraft to intercept and nullify them.
"Order dwells in stillness, and chaos shall perish within the labyrinth of the crossroads."
Despite the chaos, I continued my incantation.
"Here, where the three faces of the goddess shine, the path of the living is severed. Hecate's Trivium!"
Kuuuuung—!!
As the True Name echoed, a storm of infinitely regenerating magical energy crashed down upon the enemy.
"Aaaagh! The moon... there are three moons!"
"There are three Argos! Which one are we supposed to attack?!"
The pursuing fleet was instantly transformed into a hellscape of utter confusion.
The Argo before them had suddenly tripled; the Colchians, mistaking their own allies for enemies, began thrusting spears into one another. Ships that lost steering were sucked violently into swirling vortexes.
The Colchian crews were left completely disoriented, unable to comprehend the nightmare unfolding around them.
When the three moons finally faded and the natural night returned, nothing remained on the horizon but shattered wreckage and the echoes of screams.
I took the mirror pendant, now merged back into one, and placed it back around my neck.
The heroes on deck stared at me in stunned silence, too overwhelmed by the majesty of the magecraft they had just witnessed to even cheer.
Medea stood beside me, her eyes filled with profound awe as she recalled the sight of the night being dominated by my will.
"You truly are... a king favored by the goddess."
I looked at her, then turned my back on the receding shores of Colchis and proclaimed,
"The pursuit is over. Our destination is Greece. Turn the helm—we are going home!"
And so, we safely escaped the perils of Colchis.
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