The Villain of Ancient Greece

Seeing his teammate sent away in a single round to continue his eternal divine punishment, Ixion frantically pulled his bowstring, retreating in terror.

”Don’t, don’t come any closer! You monster!”

Hearing that voice crack out of tune and seeing Ixion react like a little girl being bullied by a brute, Lorne shook his head in silence.

Truly, in the world of Greece, as long as you are fierce and wicked enough, even the ghosts will shrink away in fear.

The Golden Bough swirled with a thick, blood-red light as it swept forward, effortlessly knocking down several arrows condensed from the deathly miasma of the Underworld.

As the ancestor of the Centaurs, Ixion naturally possessed a talent for archery.

However, his meager skill couldn’t even be compared to Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, or Apollo, the God of Light; even the centaur sage Chiron was far beyond him.

Thus, Lorne faced no pressure as he lunged forward with ease, closing the distance to Ixion and cleaving the unlucky wretch in half with a single strike, cleanly sending him off to join his cellmate, Tantalus.

At the same time, Melinoe, who had repeatedly thrown out pawns to buy time, finally stumbled to the edge of the garden and looked excitedly at the glowing wall of light hidden within the Underworld’s grey mist.

”The foundation of the barrier—found it!”

Without hesitation, the Goddess of Conspiracy raised the ritual dagger in her right hand, thrusting the twisted, purple blade into the ”Labyrinth Wall” that had manifested out of thin air.

In an instant, the hum of etheric dissociation vibrated through the air.

The previously indestructible wall was suddenly covered in a spiderweb of purple-red cracks before collapsing into nothingness.

An indescribable divine shockwave rippled outward. Lorne’s body shuddered, and he couldn’t help but feel the metallic tang of blood welling up in his throat.

At that moment, his gaze sharpened as he finally realized exactly what the ritual dagger in Melinoe’s hand was.

”Rule Breaker? You’re a disciple of Hecate?!”

According to what Circe had taught during her lessons, Hecate, as the goddess in control of sorcery, witchcraft, and magic, was a master of every technique and authority regarding the casting and breaking of spells.

Her three-faced incarnations held various symbols: the Lunar Scepter for casting, a short sword for dispelling, and a torch for lighting the way.

That short sword was imbued with a portion of Hecate’s authority.

Not only could it destroy any abnormality constructed by barriers or magical power, but it was also powerful enough to directly dismantle lifeforms born of magic, resetting them to their state before the magic was applied—reducing them to basic etheric factors.

Thus, the weapon earned the alias [Rule Breaker].

However, since the lineage on the island of Aiaea primarily studied witchcraft and spellcasting, they generally used the lunar scepter.

They weren’t familiar with the short sword used for dispelling, and Circe had only vaguely mentioned it to Lorne in passing.

Hearing the man behind her call out the true name of her divine artifact, Melinoe turned back in shock, her expression growing more wary.

”You know that old witch? Are you here specifically to drag me back?”

The bluntness of her words, combined with the fact that Hecate’s genuine artifact was in her hands, made Lorne realize that this Goddess of Conspiracy was likely another of Hecate’s direct disciples.

Which would make her... his aunt?

”Tsk, the family tree here is a mess,” Lorne complained inwardly, his eyes flickering with thought.

The godmother of Queen Persephone—likely the one who orchestrated the birth of the queen’s son, Zagreus;

Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), and Charon (the Ferryman), born from the lingering divinity of the Night Goddess Nyx, all obey her;

The Furies and the three Judges of the Underworld are all employees she recruited;

The sorceress Circe, who leads souls at sea, is her disciple; Medea, who in some future version becomes the Queen of Elysium, is her grand-disciple;

And now, even Melinoe, the daughter of the King and Queen of the Underworld, is her student...

Good grief, is there any difference between the Underworld and her own backyard?

However, as Lorne recalled a certain passage about Hecate from the Temple of Memory, he fell silent.

”...She is the famous and irresistible Goddess of the Dead, the invincible and peerless Empress, the founder and administrator of the Underworld, as well as the Goddess of Sorcery, Witches, Spells, and Magic...”

The founder and administrator. It really is her backyard...

No wonder Hades stays cooped up at home all day, obsessed with gardening and doting on Persephone, while having almost no presence in major affairs.

With the Underworld leaking like a sieve, even if the King wanted to reclaim his authority, he’d still have to command a host of Underworld gods who all bear the ”Hecate” brand.

Moreover, knowing that Goddess of the Triple Moon, Lorne knew she never did anything without a purpose.

Taking Melinoe as a disciple wasn’t just to flatter a king with no real power.

The most likely reason was to use the princess as a mediator and a hostage to keep the royal couple in line so they wouldn’t interfere with her grand designs.

Lorne narrowed his eyes, looking toward Melinoe in the distance.

”So, you took advantage of Hecate’s inattention to run away? And you stole the Golden Bough so you could use Charon’s boat to slip into the mortal world?”

”...?”

”The ’Conspiracy’ divinity was likely given to you by Hecate, wasn’t it? Is she training you to be her subordinate?

Conspiracy is born of darkness and fears the light; it should have been part of her authority. No wonder that woman is such a schemer.”

”...!”

Hearing his pinpoint accuracy, Melinoe felt like a shorn lamb being scrutinized by a deep, calculating wolf.

Driven by instinctive fear and the blaring alarms in her mind, the princess turned and bolted toward the exit of the garden.

Lorne activated [The Goat] without a second thought, giving chase with incredible speed.

She was a vital ”tool” for maintaining the delicate balance between Persephone, Hades, and Hecate.

Having stumbled upon her, he felt it would be a waste not to capture her and squeeze out every bit of utility.

However, just as Lorne used his speed to pull within three steps of her, the Goddess of Conspiracy suddenly spun around with a triumphant sneer.

”You fell for it!”

A familiar magic circle ignited beneath her feet.

Brilliant bands of light erupted behind her like the tail feathers of a peacock. Over a hundred eye-shaped spots of light flashed violently.

The sudden aurora turned the dim underworld as bright as day, creating a powerful blinding effect.

Seeing her opponent—the one who had been pummeling her—close his eyes in pain and freeze, Melinoe’s face filled with intense satisfaction.

In reality, the number of Underworld spirits she had summoned using [Rule Breaker] wasn’t three—it was four!

The first three were just cannon fodder to buy time and lower his guard; this last one was her trump card.

—[Eyes of Argus], an authority drawn from Argus Panoptes.

Legend says this ancient giant had a hundred eyes and never closed them all even while sleeping.

He was Hera’s loyal servant who hunted the mother of monsters, Echidna, and was later sent to watch over Zeus’s lover, Io.

Even Hermes had to use every trick in the book to kill him.

After his death, Hera placed his eyes on the peacock’s tail, and his soul sank to the depths of the Underworld.

By using the barrier-breaking properties of [Rule Breaker], Melinoe had managed to summon the remnant soul of Argus to possess her, unleashing this ”hard crowd-control” move at the critical moment.

You thought I’d just take that humiliation? Idiot!

Melinoe sneered, swinging [Rule Breaker] toward Lorne’s abdomen.

She wasn’t in a hurry to kill him; she wanted to seal his magic first, capture him, and take her time ”handling” him.

”Clap!”

Suddenly, the agonizing sound of a bone snapping echoed.

The arm holding [Rule Breaker] was seized, and the blade meant for Lorne’s stomach was now in his hand.

Melinoe’s face went pale with disbelief.

”How did you...”

”I calculated your speed. Chasing you shouldn’t have been that easy; your intent was too obvious, little sister.”

Lorne toyed with [Rule Breaker] in his hand, smiling at her as if she were a particularly slow-witted animal. ”You should have just kept running. Instead, you thought about a counter-kill? And you used a trick I’ve been bored with for years. You’re almost cutely stupid...”

One of the four great illusions of life: I can turn this around.

When people are low on health, they stop thinking about survival and start thinking about the ”outplay.”

They check their cooldowns, look at the enemy’s health, and convince themselves a miracle will happen.

Unfortunately, reality is cruel.

Seeing her last hope crushed, cold sweat poured down Melinoe’s forehead.

Suddenly, she saw something behind Lorne, and her expression changed drastically.

”Perseph—”

”Bang!”

Before she could finish, a heavy chop to the back of her neck sent a shockwave of divine power through her, knocking the princess unconscious.

”Still trying to trick me with that childish IQ of yours? That’s my oldest trick.”

Lorne rolled his eyes at the unconscious Melinoe and picked her up like a sack of potatoes, intending to use her as his trump card for this Underworld trip.

But as he turned around, he froze, staring at the graceful figure standing in the shadows of the dense forest and swallowing hard.

”Y-Your Majesty... why are you back?”

(End of Chapter)