Odysseus left.
I drew my bowstring once more.
MooOOO—!
Avoiding its gaze, I fired an arrow toward where I had last seen its head.
No matter how much I trusted the prophecy, I was not stupid enough to look directly into its eyes.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
It missed again.
Its tough hide simply deflected my arrow.
I could feel its gaze on me.
Keeping my head lowered, I guarded against the murderous aura radiating from it.
Rather than sight, I focused on my other senses and concentrated on its movements.
MooOOO!!
I heard it let out a low bellow and fix its head in my direction.
Dangerous.
It was a signal that it was about to charge.
"Urgh!"
Booom!!
It came hurtling in like an arrow and slammed its massive head straight into a boulder.
I had barely managed to throw myself aside. Looking at the boulder that had been smashed to pieces, I shuddered.
"This fucking thing..."
There was no way to defeat it head-on.
Not that I had a weapon suitable for a direct fight in the first place.
‘A dagger and a bow... What could possibly kill this thing?’
Could a monstrous bull that deflected arrows really be killed by stabbing it with a bronze dagger?
Honestly, I did not think so.
Even if the dagger worked, it seemed as though I would have to stab it dozens, perhaps hundreds of times to finally kill it.
It was that powerful.
‘...’
I quickly hid myself and escaped its line of sight, then steadied my breathing as I assessed the situation.
Odysseus was faster on his feet than I was.
And now, with a god’s blessing, he was surely even faster.
It would not be long before he returned with people.
So... if I was going to trust the prophecy and gamble, then I had to make it a sure bet.
With my eyes closed, I stood before it.
Then I took off the clothes I was wearing, held them in my left hand, and waved them about.
Like a bullfighter.
The cloth had been stained red by the wounds I received rolling across the ground, which made me look even more like one.
As I waved it, the creature was provoked and began to twitch.
"Come on, you monster."
I hurled my bow far away, gripped my bronze dagger in my right hand, and shouted.
MooOOO!
It charged at me with its huge body. I threw my clothes in front of it, blocking its vision for an instant.
Unable to control its momentum, it kept charging, while I twisted my body aside and evaded it.
Then I grabbed its thick mane and climbed onto its back.
Realizing I had mounted it, the creature began bucking violently back and forth.
First a bullfighter, and now a cowboy!
I was practically reenacting every activity involving cattle.
Using my left hand and both feet to endure the shocks as best I could, I moved toward its head.
But there was one thing I had momentarily forgotten: it exuded poison from its entire body.
Focused on its eyes, I had forgotten about it for a moment.
"Ghk..."
Still, I forced myself to endure the poison that had begun to invade my body, and at last reached its head.
Then I raised my right hand, which had started trembling from the poison.
"This is... wisdom...!"
Like Perseus approaching Medusa while looking through his shield to avoid her gaze.
Rather than stabbing its eye, I held the flat of my bronze dagger up to it and reflected its eye back at it.
The bronze artifacts we see in modern times are often heavily rusted, but properly maintained bronze could reflect things well enough.
The dagger I polished every day was no exception. It could reflect objects clearly enough for me to make out those close by.
I brought the dagger close to its eye and showed it its own reflection.
Its movements stopped instantly.
The monster known as the Catoblepas differed from Medusa in one respect.
It would die even if it saw its own gaze or the eyes of one of its kind.
That was why, according to the tales, they only mated at night, and mothers never looked upon their offspring’s faces for their entire lives.
Its movements ceased.
Then, as though it were a hard stone statue, the muscles throughout its body stiffened rigidly, and it began to topple to one side.
I barely escaped before being crushed beneath its body.
Then, looking at the creature that had died instantly, I let out a victorious breath.
"Hah... I won..."
But the poison it had left behind still remained in my body, and I collapsed beside it.
As I lost consciousness amid the pain, I muttered,
"I... won’t die..."
Odysseus would bring people here, then leave Ctimene at the palace.
So if people arrived before that, I only had to tell them never to let Odysseus stay by my side.
If I did that, I definitely would not die...
"Polites! Polites! Wake up!!"
...?
"Polites! Are you all right?! What the hell happened?!"
Why was he already here...?
But before I could resolve that question, words had already burst from my mouth.
"What?! I can’t hear you!"
For my dear friend Odysseus, who asked again, I kindly raised my voice.
"Get the fuck away from me..."
"?"
Or I’m really going to die...!!
But before I could say that, I realized my vision was gradually being swallowed by darkness.
Polites.
After killing the monstrous bull Catoblepas, he died a glorious death.
The end.
.
.
.
Crackle. Crackle.
I could feel warmth.
Could Hades’ Underworld truly be this warm?
Considering the Underworld was beneath the earth, perhaps it made sense for it to be warm.
The deeper underground one went, the hotter it became because of magma.
Or perhaps, because I had killed the Catoblepas, the gods I had spent so much time flattering had granted me entry into Elysion.
If so, did that mean I could now enjoy eternal happiness without worrying about death?
But then a gentle touch shattered that happy fantasy.
Crackle. Crackle.
That soft, warm touch came from beside my head.
As I lay with something beneath my head, the hand gently stroked me.
Black hair, similar to that of my previous life, rustled beneath the touch.
Peaceful.
Warm.
It felt as though all the Catoblepas’ poison, which had agonized my entire body only moments ago, was being washed away.
I did not know who was caring for me so tenderly, but for a moment, I wished that instant would last forever.
‘...’
Then, at last, I opened my closed eyes.
A familiar sight came into view.
It was our home.
Slowly sitting up and looking behind me, I saw the hearth in our home burning quietly.
It seemed the hearth was the source of the warmth I had felt.
Then... who had been stroking my head?
‘Mother?’
It was late evening, and there was no sign of anyone in the house.
Then it seemed Mother had left the house midway through tending to me.
"But... how am I alive?"
I had definitely heard Odysseus’s voice at the end, and because I did not want to die, I had cursed him out.
But fortunately, that did not seem to have been the moment foretold by the prophecy.
Which only made me more curious.
How had I survived the Catoblepas’ poison?
"How can they leave an injured person alone with no one here...?"
I examined my condition from head to toe on my own.
Then I noticed that some strange liquid had been smeared over various parts of my body.
"This is..."
Something that felt slightly numbing was on me.
As I puzzled over it, someone entered the house.
"Hm? You’re awake!"
He was a man I had never seen before.
He wore clothes unlike those normally worn by the people of Ithaca.
As I wondered who he could be, I noticed the image of a snake embroidered on his clothes.
"...Are you a priest of Asclepius?"
The man smiled and replied,
"You are sharp indeed. That is right. I am a priest who serves Lord Asclepius—and the one who treated you."
Asclepius.
The god of medicine.
A priest who served him could be considered a physician of this age.
Of course, given the era, their medicine would seem sorely lacking compared to modern medicine... but the important thing was that this was an age of magic and gods.
Priests could receive the gods’ blessings, allowing them to make use of things unavailable to ordinary people.
"And this little one helped treat you."
With that, the man took something out of a basket and showed it to me.
It was... a snake.
"Could what was applied to my body possibly be... snake venom?"
"Yes. The monster’s poison that had accumulated in your body was powerful, so we neutralized it with this child’s venom. Do not worry. This snake is descended from a sacred beast personally blessed by Lord Asclepius."
What could I say when the priest told me so?
In any case, I could tell that my body had improved considerably.
"Thank you for treating me."
Then I offered a prayer to Asclepius, the god of medicine, as well.
The priest of Asclepius appeared satisfied by the sight.
"The prince of Ithaca came quickly to seek help, which is why we were able to treat you. You should thank him as well."
The prince of Ithaca... Odysseus?
I had things to say to him anyway.
I spoke with the priest a little longer about my condition and other matters.
Giving me a small vial of snake venom, the priest said,
"The poison has not yet completely left your body. Until it has, apply this venom wherever you feel pain."
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
"What is it?"
"It is simply that you are remarkably calm for a child, even after hearing the word ‘poison.’ No matter that it is poison meant to heal your body, people are usually afraid of it."
I answered as though I did not understand what he meant.
"You are a priest of Lord Asclepius. Of course I should trust you."
"Ha ha, is that so? What a foolish question I asked. But remember this: this venom is not a cure-all."
"Pardon?"
"I used poison only to neutralize the toxic energy accumulated in your body. It is not particularly effective at restoring the body itself. In truth, I thought you might never wake up. Yet you rose perfectly well, as though by a miracle."
‘...’
"So do not rely on medicine alone. Believe in yourself as well, and offer thanks to the god who helped you recover."
The god who had helped me recover.
Then... could that touch I felt have been a god’s touch?
Perhaps Asclepius himself had come.
After the priest left, I was able to see my parents.
Having learned that I had nearly died, my parents wept bitterly while praising me lavishly.
"To risk your life and slay a monstrous bull at such a young age!"
What should I say? Was this just ancient Greece being ancient Greece?
Both my parents praised my heroic deed while voicing concern that I had risked my life so recklessly.
At least my parents worried because they were my parents. The other villagers who came after hearing the news just kept repeating the word hero.
After a while, I finally managed to escape them, but there was still something left to do.
"Polites!!"
The one calling out to me when I went to the palace was none other than Odysseus.
And beside him lay the entire enormous corpse of the Catoblepas I had killed.
Odysseus and the Catoblepas’ corpse.
Now I had to deal with the two most important matters.
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