Seeing his savior wearing such a pained expression of profound regret, Lorne quickly offered comforting words.
"Don't worry, I was thorough. With Ares's brain, there's absolutely no way he'll trace it back to me!"
"So, he's come storming into the waters of Oceanus to make trouble for us instead?"
Thetis gazed at him gloomily, her pearly teeth grinding together, her azure eyes brimming with grief and indignation.
"Well, this... an unexpected twist..."
Lorne chuckled dryly, trying to weasel out of it, but under the sea goddess's murderous glare, he ultimately averted his gaze, guilt-ridden.
Alright, he had done it on purpose.
The deliberate choice of a seaside location for the final battle, the blessing and healing conferred by his Oceanic authority, the [Leviathan] incarnation of his sea divinity, and the trail of the [Nation-Crafting Spear] vanishing over the sea...
With so many factors combined, even Athena, famed for wisdom, would be misled, first suspecting the sea gods. Let alone a single-minded god like Ares.
Moreover, the Olympian pantheon, with Zeus at its head, had only just made a move against the waters of Oceanus.
Both the motive and the justification were terrifyingly substantial.
Incidentally, the [Die of Fortuity] on his person, coupled with the artistic and memory divine protections granted by the nine Muses, had maximized the "good deed without leaving a name" buff.
Even if Ares projected his consciousness onto that King of Thrace, the dense aura of [Fortuity] and [Memory Divinity] at the scene would influence his perception and memory, leading him to make erroneous judgments.
And indeed, everything had unfolded just as he had rehearsed.
The only thing he hadn't accounted for was being rescued and brought back by the sea goddess Thetis.
And of all people, this woman was a Nereid renowned for her wisdom.
His shameless frame-up, shifting the blame onto the sea gods, had been caught red-handed.
Troublesome...
Lorne looked up, rubbing his chin, his gaze drifting thoughtfully towards Thetis before him.
Sensing those two stares upon her, the sea goddess's heart jolted. Instinctively, she retreated a few steps, ready to use her innate power of transformation to dive into the sea and flee.
But before she could take more than a step, a hand clamped onto her shoulder, pulling her weakened body back towards the fire.
"Don't be nervous. You're my savior. How could I possibly repay kindness with enmity? Besides, if I really meant to harm you, would I have waited for you to wake up?"
Well, that was true...
Thetis considered this briefly, her wariness subsiding somewhat as she asked coldly, "Then what do you want?"
"It's not about what I want, it's about what you want."
Lorne smiled, holding up two fingers, adopting an attitude of open sincerity.
"Right now, you have two choices: First, run out, inform on me, and hand me over. Of course, I won't admit to anything, and I'll destroy all evidence unfavorable to me."
Without needing to think, Thetis dismissed this option outright.
Selling out the guy beside her was easy enough, but it would be tantamount to directly offending the well-liked Hestia, as well as those goddesses with whom he had close ties.
For instance, Athena and Artemis...
Given the current state of the Oceanus waters, they couldn't even withstand one troublemaker like Ares.
Let alone three other major gods?
"Second, pretend you know nothing, and take the secret to your grave.
As compensation, I'll leave tomorrow morning, and I'll draw Ares's attention once. But after that, matters concerning Oceanus have nothing to do with me."
Hearing his words, Thetis pressed her lips together, turning to glance at the distant sea surface ravaged by crimson and immediately understood Lorne's meaning.
When it came to his own safety, getting this little rascal to generously admit his deed and willingly take back the blame was absolutely impossible.
His biggest concession would only be to lead Ares away once, adding a few more suspects.
But that was treating the symptom, not the cause.
Once the pursued object vanished, the blame would still fall squarely on the sea gods' heads.
When that time came, who knew what kind of revenge that fool, having been toyed with yet again, would exact?
With Poseidon no longer guarding the waters of Oceanus, and with the King of the Gods actively suppressing them, they couldn't withstand any more upheaval.
Especially since her sisters and father were currently the ones bearing the brunt.
So, this wasn't a very good way out either.
After a moment's silence, Thetis spoke slowly.
"What's the third way?
There should be another option you haven't mentioned."
See? Communicating with an intelligent person was truly comfortable.
At this, a pleased smile spread across Lorne's face as he raised his hand and applauded the sea goddess's perceptiveness.
"The third way is for everyone to cooperate fully and join forces to resolve the trouble in the waters of Oceanus."
The trouble in the waters of Oceanus?
Which you fabricated and pinned on them!
Looking at the perpetrator's brazen expression before her,
Thetis felt a surge of anger.
But ultimately, her characteristic rationality quickly cooled her down, though she questioned the feasibility of this plan.
"I'm no match for Ares, and as for you... it doesn't seem like you are either?"
"No need to fight to the death.
Just a small sacrifice will suffice."
Lorne shook his head with a smile, his gaze then settling on the sea goddess.
Thetis's heart tightened and instinctively, she rose from her seat, clutching tightly at her chest.
"See? Getting nervous again."
Lorne's look held a hint of reproach as he reached out and pulled the wary sea goddess back to the negotiating table, his smile reassuring.
"Relax, it's not you, and it's not a sea deity either. It's someone else."
"Really?" Thetis was skeptical.
"You're my savior! Would I harm you? If you don't believe me, I'll just leave."
Lorne's face stiffened, and he made as if to depart the island.
Seeing the blame-shifter about to flee, Thetis immediately grabbed the culprit who claimed to have a remedy, pulling him back, her pretty face darkening slightly.
"Speak!"
But Lorne didn't rush to answer. Instead, he asked a pointed question.
"Do you know the quickest way to cover up a lie that's spiraling out of control?
Thetis pondered for a moment, then slowly answered, "An even bigger lie?"
Lorne smiled without replying, instead looking towards the crimson sea, his words heavy with implication.
"I've heard that the goddess of love Aphrodite has a beloved lover in Cyprus, named Adonis.
But he has always been at odds with that War God..."
"!"
Instantly, Thetis's expression froze.
Realizing the true intention of the man before her, and exclaimed in shock.
"Have you lost your mind?"
"I haven't done anything."
Lorne spread his hands, his expression innocent.
"I'm just seeing that our Lord Ares has descended several times wanting to have a go at Adonis, but has never been able to find that prince's shadow. I'm kindly giving him a hand."
"..."
Looking at this "warm-hearted" benefactor before her, Thetis was speechless.
She didn't need to think to know what kind of malicious scheme was brewing in this guy's gut.
He clearly intended to use the Adonis affair to stir up conflict between the two major gods, Ares and Aphrodite.
That way, the War God naturally wouldn't have time to loiter around the waters of Oceanus, or continue seeking trouble with the sea gods.
In a few years, when Poseidon finished his sentence and returned, even if Ares recalled the old grievance, he might not have the same opportunity to come knocking like this.
But this required a prerequisite.
Whether using a lie to cover a lie, or using conflict to quell conflict.
The events on the island of Cyprus had to cause a bigger stir than those at sea!
Which meant...
Thetis looked at the young, smiling god before the firelight and a chill ran through her heart as she bit her rosy lip tightly.
"Let me think it over..."
"It's fine. Ares doesn't dare go too far yet. You can take your time thinking."
Lorne smiled nonchalantly, gesturing with an inviting hand.
"Or, look on the bright side.
Maybe he's a god who can be reasoned with."
As Thetis, her expression complex, returned to her bedchamber and closed the door, Lorne picked up a few dry twigs from different trees nearby and tossed them into the fire, then watched with interest as they burned in the flames, turning into indistinguishable ashes.
In ancient China, when woodland heroes recruited new partners, to add an extra layer of insurance, they would often make the newcomer, whose background was clean, present a "pledge of allegiance."
——That is, to commit a wrongdoing together.
That way, each held leverage over the other, and both could feel at ease.
Similarly, this was essentially what Lorne himself was doing.
Since Thetis had already seen through some of his little secrets, for safety's sake, the logical move was to use this opportunity to pull her onto his pirate ship.
And that lovely Prince Adonis would be their pledge of allegiance.
Of course, even if she refused, Lorne wouldn't go so far as to repay kindness with enmity and kill the sea goddess who had just helped him.
If necessary, at worst, he could use [Memory Divinity] to scramble or alter some of her memories.
But comparatively, he still preferred that this sufficiently intelligent sea goddess would stand on his side.
Before the crackling fire, the scheming man, plotting to drag a respectable goddess into the fray, carefully replayed their exchange and then rubbed his chin, a thoughtful, amused glint in his eyes.
No outright refusal?
So, she probably knew where Aphrodite had secretly hidden Adonis?
Now that was an unexpected bonus.
"Die! Die! All of you, DIE!"
The blood-enshrouded figure on the sea continued to vent its fury upon innocent creatures.
Vast swathes of crimson rapidly spread across the ocean surface, and the mutilated carcasses of sea beasts floated up.
Meanwhile on the island, the true culprit and the implicated accomplice, now drawn into the affair, each sank into their own thoughts throughout the long night.
~~
The next morning, a haggard Thetis emerged from her bedchamber.
The faint red threads in her eyes and her listless state clearly proved the sea goddess had been tormented by worries the entire night.
Lorne, sitting before the dying embers, didn't press her immediately.
Instead, he pointed to the warmed-up porridge and asked considerately.
"Want some breakfast?"
Thetis opened her mouth to speak, but then seemed to hear some high-frequency sound.
Her expression shifted, and she immediately turned and rushed towards the coast.
Something happened?
Lorne was taken aback.
Setting down his bowl casually, he promptly rose and followed.
As the two passed through the dense woods and reached the shallows near the sea, several snow-white dolphins, covered in wounds, gathered in the blood-red bay.
All around them, the corpses of their kind, along with those of seahorses, whales, octopuses, and other sea creatures, were being washed ashore in great numbers.
Seeing Thetis arrive, the surviving sea creatures, as if beholding the mother who would protect them, let out pained cries, denouncing the brutality of the perpetrator.
But as their life force ebbed, their reactions also grew faint.
Seeing this, Thetis quickly summoned clear seawater to soothe and heal their wounds, then brought these innocent victims back into the sea to settle them.
However, compared to the vast expanse of ocean nearly carpeted in crimson, the sea goddess's efforts were a drop in the bucket.
Worse still, the blood-colored storm that had raged all night on the sea showed no sign of letting up.
Instead, following the escape route of marine life, it was sweeping directly towards Thetis's island.
'A god who could be reasoned with?'
'Probably even if I handed this guy over, I wouldn't fare well, would I?'
Thetis watched the menacing crimson light bearing down on the sea surface, and the vast numbers of marine creatures suffering and dying as collateral damage, then recalled someone's comforting words from the night before, and found it all bitterly ironic.
'I have yielded ground again and again, yet you still press forward step by step.'
'If that's the case, then I have no choice but to seek justice in my own way.'
Seeing that the crimson pillar connecting heaven and earth was now less than a hundred li away, the sea goddess made up her mind instantly and turned to look at Lorne behind her.
"At Polis Bay, near the Rock of Aphrodite!"
Hearing her answer, Lorne's face broke into a delighted smile.
He formally and amicably extended his hand towards Thetis.
"Pleasure doing business with you..."
(End of Chapter)