The Villain of Ancient Greece

Thud, thud, thud—

Lorne staggered backward several steps before stabilizing himself.

The muscles on his face twitched slightly, yet his eyes burned even more fiercely with determination.

It hurt. It hurt a lot.

But, he could still move. He hadn’t lost yet!

”Again!!”

With a low, guttural roar, his blood-drenched figure charged forward, slashing once more at the towering goddess.

”Thwip!”

It was futile again, another deep wound carved itself across that blasphemous body.

”AGAIN!!!”

Lorne climbed from the ground, laughing heartily even through the pain.

He had guessed right, he wouldn’t die.

And if death wasn’t a threat, why should he fear failure? Why should he fear pain?

This was a rare chance, he had to use every moment of this battle to climb the stairway to godhood, to reach out and touch the radiance of divinity!

The gap—it could be bridged!

Fate—it could be defied!

Zeus… just you wait!

Across from him, Athena watched the figure that kept getting knocked down, only to rise again—blood-soaked, indomitable. Her expression shifted: from amusement, to surprise, then to solemn respect.

Looking at the figure bathed in blood, in front of her, being knocked down again and again, only to climb up again and again, the expression on Athena’s face changed from the initial teasing to surprise, and finally to solemn respect as she she opened her cherry lips and murmured in a low voice.

”Watch closely. Learn well…”

The indifferent voice fell, and the goddess of wisdom and war, who had always passively counterattacked, finally took her first offensive step.

”Come!”

Bathed in blood, Lorne let out a wild laugh and lunged again.

Fueled by battlelust and divine blood, he became a crimson blur, striking with a sword empowered by speed, force, skill, and sheer will, far beyond anything he’d shown before.

Athena’s tree branch clashed with his blade again and again, parrying, redirecting, and then, over and over again, she stabbed, cut, and pierced into his already battered body.

Pain for the living. Punishment for the sinner.

Over and over. Again and again…

Jagged wounds mangled every inch of his flesh, many cut deep enough to expose bone.

Chunks of bloody flesh flew through the air, spattering the soil and vanishing into the dirt.

But even so, that blood-soaked figure remained terrifyingly resilient.

He was fully conscious—and utterly mad.

Fight! Fight!

Through countless battlefields and unending martial trials, his heart, skill, and body would, by the fire of this divine crucible, be reforged into an unbreakable blade!

Night faded. Dawn arrived.

As the first sliver of light crept over the ocean horizon, casting its glow on the ravaged garden, Athena delivered her final strike as the bloodied warrior, whose skin was scarcely intact, crashed to the ground and did not rise again.

”Lorne!”

Seeing that the blood-drenched figure was lying motionless on the ground, Little Medusa could no longer hold herself back as she cried out and rushed quickly toward the courtyard.

”Don’t touch him!”

However, before the little girl could get close, Athena pressed a hand on her shoulder, glanced at the person lying like a corpse on the ground, and spoke with a light snort.

”Relax, he’s not dead yet.”

”But…”

Little Medusa looked at Lorne, who was barely recognizable in front of her, and bit her lip, filled with distress.

”Letting him lie there is for his own good.”

Athena spoke helplessly, trying to comfort the anxious little girl in front of her.

”What I needed to teach, I’ve already taught. How much he can comprehend depends on himself. During this time, it’s best no one touches him.”

”Just leave him lying like that?”

Hearing this, Little Medusa pursed her lips, her eyes full of worry.

”What if he catches a cold? What if it rains?”

Seeing that pitiful look on Medusa’s face, Athena sighed and waved her hand helplessly.

”If you’re really that worried, then you can just stay here and watch over him.”

”Okay!”

With permission granted, Little Medusa nodded firmly, rushed forward, and squatted on the ground to stay by Lorne’s side.

Watching the little girl who wouldn’t leave his side for a moment, it was now Athena who began to feel uneasy and she couldn’t help but remind her once more.

”Remember, if you don’t want to disturb his rest, it’s best not to touch him. Otherwise, all his suffering will have been for nothing.”

After saying that, Athena walked onto the veranda and waved at the subordinate goddess Nike.

”It’s time for us to go.”

”Weren’t we going to stay here for the Harvest Festival?”

Nike tilted her head, looking a little confused at her master, her little face showing a trace of reluctance.

”Are you sure you want to stay here?”

Athena rolled her eyes at her subordinate goddess, who was clearly a little too happy to stay, then pointed toward a certain spot on the second floor, a bedroom shrouded in a faint golden glow, and spoke softly.

”If we don’t leave now, she’ll wake up.”

Nike froze for a moment, her gaze following her master’s faintly glowing line of sight, landing on the backyard’s devastated vegetable garden and flowerbeds that looked like they’d been trampled by a stampede of beasts and immediately shivered.

Crack…

The golden barrier around the bedroom upstairs shattered.

Master and servant exchanged a glance, then bolted out of the house, their figures vanishing into the bustling crowd.

Moments later, a furious, anguished wail echoed from within that very household, ringing throughout the entire city of Knossos.

”My vegetable garden! My flowerbeds! Who did this?!”

The flood of resentment carried even outside the city.

On a shaded path, the aforementioned pair paused slightly, then quickened their pace to flee the scene of the crime.

At the same time, upon the Oceanus Sea—

A battered, rickety little boat bobbed up and down with the waves.

Two girls with long purple hair, dressed in lavish gowns and bearing a strong resemblance to each other, sat gracefully on opposite sides of the boat.

Neither showed the slightest inclination to row.

”How much longer until we reach land?”

The younger and more impatient purple-haired girl stroked her slightly damp hair, unable to hold back her complaint.

On the other side, the slightly older girl admired her breathtaking reflection in the sea, her voice calm and indifferent.

”How should I know? You’re the one who set the direction.”

”Hah! Only because you drove the boat straight into the primordial ocean and nearly crashed into the Atlanteans’ hometown! Then we got chased all over the world!”

The younger twin rolled her eyes and grumbled in annoyance.

”So now it’s your turn. Hurry up—I’m still waiting to get ashore and fix my nails.”

The older sister handed her a paddle like she was issuing a command to a servant.

The younger one clenched her fists in protest, her voice sharp with authority.

”I’m the captain! You’re supposed to listen to me!”

”I’m a passenger, not your crew. According to the rules, you should be serving me. My clothes got dirty, and I’ve been delayed for so long.

The fact that I haven’t complained about your terrible navigation already makes me very reasonable.”

The elder sister was unmoved, sitting with noble elegance like a princess untouched by the mundane.

”And one more thing—I’m the older sister, so you should listen to me.”

”Don’t try to pull rank with me! You only hatched a few minutes earlier—big deal! Whoever wants to be captain can have it. I’m done with this grunt work!”

”Fine, don’t do it then…”

The two sisters sat firmly divided on either side of the boat, glaring at each other, letting the vessel drift with the waves, neither showing the slightest intention to row.

After an unknown length of silence, the younger sister bit her lip and quietly spoke.

”Do you think… Little Medusa, could she have…”

”Can’t you sense whether she’s dead or not yourself?”

The older sister huffed irritably, a trace of impatience flashing across her elegant face, clearly disliking this line of conversation.

The younger one gazed at the endless Oceanus sea, hesitation flickering across her face, as if she wanted to say something but held back.

”But…”

”You’re so annoying! If you want to reach land, then row!”

The older sister raised her hand and threw a paddle at the opposite side, naturally taking up her commanding tone.

The younger sister rolled her eyes but didn’t argue and simply sat quietly on her side.

Because in her sister’s hand… was the other paddle.

The waves surged, and the small boat began to move forward swiftly.

”You little idiot… don’t you dare die…”

The younger sister paused slightly, looking to the side, her gaze meeting an indifferent face.

”What are you looking at? Row!”

The older sister coldly huffed again, her face as indifferent as ever, as if, just like always, she didn’t care about anything.

(End of this chapter)