“...I see. You kept refusing me, and in the end...!”
On Olympus, a woman of exquisite beauty looked down upon the world below, her expression twisted with spite.
Her name was Aphrodite.
She had once been captivated by Astellon’s face and sought to seduce him, but every attempt had failed. No matter what she did, she could not win his heart.
“To think you would push me away so relentlessly...! Very well, I shall break that arrogance of yours!”
Consumed by rage, Aphrodite cast a brief, cold glance at Astellon and his kingdom, Eirene, before vanishing from sight.
****
It was a peaceful afternoon, much like any other. I had been tending to Hecate, whose belly had grown heavy as she neared the end of her pregnancy, and had stepped out for a short walk along the shore with Thetis.
Suddenly, Thetis’s expression stiffened. She spoke to me, her voice laced with alarm.
“Astellon, I can hear an ominous resonance echoing from the depths of the sea.”
As she pointed toward the water, I saw it too—a colossal mass of black clouds gathering beyond the horizon.
“That is...”
And within those clouds, I spotted something.
Like a gargantuan serpent, it rode the towering waves, rushing swiftly toward Eirene.
“What in the world is that?”
As I stared in shock, Hecate, who had been watching the horizon, spoke up.
“...Leviathan. A child of Poseidon.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Well...”
According to Hecate, the creature approaching was Leviathan, a dragon-like behemoth hundreds of meters long, covered in deep blue scales.
“Why would it come here, now...?”
“It seems to be the will of a god. I can sense a divine magical power flowing between those scales. Judging by the aura... it seems Aphrodite is behind this.”
“Ah...”
“So she’s finally made her move.”
“That is...”
At Hecate’s words, I recounted the things Aphrodite had done to me. As I spoke, the expressions of both Hecate and Thetis grew grim.
“Then... this is undoubtedly Aphrodite’s doing.”
“But why would Lord Poseidon allow this...?”
“Who knows. That creature was a child even Poseidon cast out. It was weak back then, but it has grown monstrous over time. Aphrodite likely found it and used some form of illusion to lure it here.”
“...”
“From the look of it, ordinary attacks won’t work. It seems nothing remains of it but blind, mindless violence.”
“...Evacuate the people.”
Following Hecate’s advice, I immediately ordered the nearby soldiers to evacuate the citizens. In an instant, the city descended into utter chaos as countless people fled for their lives.
I walked toward the shore and drew the kingdom’s sacred sword.
As if responding to my challenge, Leviathan drew closer.
The waves generated by its movement surged forward, threatening to swallow everything in their path.
“...It’s here,” I muttered under my breath.
At that moment—
Crash!
The Leviathan, a mountain of deep blue scales and raw power, loomed directly before me.
I faltered for a heartbeat, overwhelmed by its sheer scale, but I tightened my grip on the sacred sword.
“...I’ll finish this quickly.”
I raised the blade high.
The sacred sword of the kingdom—my authority, my very existence.
“...Here I go.”
I lunged forward.
Leviathan lowered its massive head, preparing to strike. Then—
KWA-BOOM!
Leviathan opened its maw, unleashing a devastating torrent of high-pressure water.
“..!”
I immediately swung my sword upward.
“True Name Release. Sacred light is borne upon the bloodline, and resplendent authority gathers upon this blade. My will is the shape of the world, the evidence of my dominion! Eidos!!”
A wave of brilliant light erupted from my blade, surging forward.
It collided head-on with the Leviathan’s crushing torrent.
KWA-AAAAAAA!
The collision triggered a cataclysmic explosion.
Nearby buildings were obliterated, swept away by the shockwave.
The blast was so intense that I was momentarily blinded, unable to see through the debris.
As the dust finally began to settle—
“...Is it over?”
I looked toward where the monster had been.
Then, a massive shadow stirred within the smoke.
“...No.”
Leviathan was still standing.
Some of its scales had been shattered, and blood seeped from various wounds across its body, but—
“...It’s still alive.”
If anything, its eyes were burning with an even fiercer, crimson light.
“...Is it berserk?”
KRAAAAAAAH—!!!
Driven by madness, Leviathan began to rampage with mindless fury.
With every movement, tidal waves crashed over the city, buildings crumbled, and the very earth split open.
“Damn it...!”
I gritted my teeth.
“Was the output... not enough...?”
No.
That wasn't it.
That attack had contained every drop of my magical energy.
The monster had simply endured it.
The blow had driven it into a frenzy, but in this state, it had become even more dangerous.
CRASH!!
While I was lost in thought, a colossal tail whipped toward me.
I blocked it with my sword, but—
BOOM!
“Ghk...!”
I couldn't fully withstand the impact. My body was sent flying, tumbling across the ground several times.
“...Hah.”
The wind had been knocked out of me.
“This is...”
This was not an opponent I could defeat in a head-on clash in my current state.
The frenzied dragon destroyed everything in its path, indifferent to the wounds it sustained in its own madness.
...Not yet. Not yet...!
I forced myself back up and gripped my sword once more.
“I’ll fight until the end...”
KWA-AAAAA—!
The moment I stood, Leviathan opened its maw again.
The breath attack was fired from a much closer distance this time. I instinctively knew that I wouldn't be able to dodge it.
“...Damn it...”
And then, at that very moment—
[...Cease.]
“...Huh?”
Time stopped.
The waves froze.
The sound vanished.
Even Leviathan was frozen in place.
I looked around in confusion and saw a dark shadow spreading across the sky, turning day into night.
From within that darkness, I felt multiple gazes fixed upon me.
[I shall ask you, young human king.]
A voice echoed through the void.
The instant I heard it, my entire body trembled. Every instinct I possessed screamed that the entity behind this voice was something I could never hope to defeat.
[What is it that you seek to protect?]
“...What?”
[Answer me, young king.]
I was momentarily flustered, but the mysterious voice pressed me, as if time were of the essence.
“...As a king, I protect the people who follow and believe in me.”
[Wrong.]
“...What?”
[That is a duty. I ask again, young king: what is it that you truly cannot bear to lose?]
“....”
The moment those words hit me, my mind fell silent.
Countless memories flashed before my eyes.
Those who had been with me since childhood, those who trusted me unconditionally... and my precious wives.
“....The people.”
Thinking of them, I answered the voice once more.
[...Be specific.]
“...Hecate, Thetis, Atalanta, Medea, Hippolyta... everyone by my side.”
[And the reason?]
“...Because they are precious to me.”
[....]
The voice fell silent for a long moment. Then—
[You pass.]
When the voice spoke again, its tone had softened considerably.
The moment the words were uttered, the darkness covering the sky descended and enveloped me.
“...W-What is this?!”
As I panicked, the voice spoke again.
[...I am watching, and so is she. You are a peculiar vessel.]
“Vessel?”
[One capable of receiving our power. However, the time is not yet right. Therefore, I shall lend it to you just once.]
With those words, the darkness surrounding me began to flow into my body.
[Only a fraction.]
As the darkness seeped in, my heart hammered violently against my ribs.
“Ghaaaah...!!”
I felt a pain more excruciating than anything I had ever experienced.
But as the agony gradually receded, an overwhelming power began to surge through my veins.
“This is...”
[Watch closely, young king.]
With those final words, my vision was swallowed by blackness. When the darkness vanished, the frozen world snapped back into motion.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register