As a piece of parchment depicting the general direction and area fell into his hands, Lorne nodded with satisfaction.
After a quick glance, he committed its contents to memory using his extraordinary recall, then stuffed this "pledge of allegiance" into his magic array diagram.
"Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, and it's not suitable for you to appear before that War God. Stay here for now. I'll go lure him away."
Hearing his arrangement, Thetis breathed a soft sigh of relief.
She was truly afraid this guy would make things difficult, forcing her to join him in stabbing Adonis, securing a solid hold over her before considering her part of the crew.
Just as Thetis was pondering this privately, a slightly cool metal token was pressed into her palm.
The sea goddess opened her hand to look.
It was a bronze emblem bearing the emblem of the Gorgon, exquisite in design and craftsmanship, with special runes inscribed on both its inner and outer sides.
"Courtesy calls for reciprocity."
Lorne said with a slight smile. "Consider it my thanks for saving my life. If you need it, you can use this to contact me. I'll do my best to help you once."
'Are you sure this is thanks, not setting me up for disaster?'
Thetis silently grumbled to herself, feeling that this notoriously incriminating item in her palm was a bit too hot to handle.
Although circumstances forced her to join forces with the man before her to collectively thwart Ares, who was blockading their door.
That didn't mean she was willing to board that rickety ship, to sink or swim with certain restless individuals and share their risks from then on.
But after hesitating for a long while, she still put the emblem away.
It was fine to have it; she just wouldn't use it, that was all.
Seeing Thetis accept the token, Lorne smiled and offered more goodwill.
"Sorry about tearing your dress last time. I'll get you a better one to make up for it."
Last time?
Thetis murmured to herself, as if recalling something.
All told, they seemed to have met exactly twice.
Besides this time, the other encounter was during that negotiation in Sicily.
And unfortunately, on that journey, not only had she been thoroughly groped, but a corner of her skirt had also been torn off.
Instantly, a certain sea goddess's face darkened, her eyes blazing with murderous intent.
"Time is tight, I'm off!"
At this point, Lorne clearly realized he had inadvertently let something slip and he hurriedly dove into the choppy, dark red sea surface, vanishing into the surging waves in an instant.
That little rascal!
Thetis looked up to find that slippery fish had already fled at the first sign of trouble and couldn't help grinding her pearly teeth, her clenched fist unconsciously tightening.
~~
Paphos District, southwestern Cyprus.
In the shallow sea southeast of here, a group of unexpected towering rocks stood.
Some resembled stone pillars thrusting from the sea, others stood like giant mushrooms in the water, the largest about 30 meters high.
Legend held that the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, was born nearby from the foam created by waves striking the coastal cliffs.
Hence, they were also called the "Rock of Aphrodite."
The northern Polis Bay was said to be the "Love Goddess's" most favored and frequented swimming spot, thus also named "Aphrodite's Bath."
Looking out, within this small bay between the two headlands, the water was clear and the sand white.
On the shore, broad-leaved carob trees and silver-gray olive trees intertwined into groves. In the distance, the pale blue Troodos mountain range stood tall like a giant jade screen.
The scenery was beautiful, the mountains clear and the water lovely—everything peaceful and harmonious.
Until the arrival of a certain uninvited guest.
With a splash, Lorne leaped from the sea.
Looking back at the blood-colored storm on the distant sea about to ravage a certain island, he quickly took the sealed [Nation-Crafting Spear] from his magic array diagram and infused it with a strand of war divinity.
Instantly, an aura mixed with death and bloodlust shot up to the heavens.
"Found you! You thieving bastard!"
Immediately, Ares, on the sea, like a shark catching the scent of blood, roared with excited fury, whirled around and, without a second thought, hurtled straight towards his beloved spear's location.
So fast!
At this moment, Lorne, standing in Polis Bay luring the enemy, saw that lightning-fast crimson light plowing two hundred-meter deep furrows in the sea, almost upon him in an instant and his heart tightened as he promptly dove deep.
As the war divinity spread, the once clear seawater gradually turned dark red and turbid.
Various shallow-water fish and sea turtles trying to reach the island to lay eggs scattered in all directions.
Sensing the violent aura drawing ever closer, Lorne weaved through these panicked, directionless sea creatures and rushed into the coral forest indicated on the map.
Looking around, big and smalle bivalves of different colors were scattered on the fine sand among the coral forest, filter-feeding on plankton as usual, slowly moving and growing.
Not these!
Lorne's gaze swept past quickly; he unhesitatingly passed through the large coral forest and swam deeper.
Finally, on a seabed of jagged rocks, he stopped and gazed thoughtfully at a peculiar shell, over one person tall, its surface shimmering with iridescent colors.
Legend said that after the Titan king Cronus cast his father Uranus's genitals into the Cypriot sea, much foam emerged from the spot where the body part was thrown.
Then, a beautiful, enormous shell appeared, surrounded by many smaller shells or pearls.
The giant shell was pushed to the shore by sea winds and waves.
After trembling slightly, its two valves naturally opened, and a stunningly beautiful, long-haired goddess stepped out from within.
This was the specific birth process of that Love Goddess.
It seemed this was the one.
Hiding her little lover in a place like this, only trying to wake him when it was time for a tryst, no wonder Ares, that brute, had scoured Cyprus and still couldn't find him.
Lorne muttered to himself as he approached the giant iridescent clam, then reached out, pressing against both shells, trying to pry it open.
However, this thing, being the divine vessel that gave birth to Aphrodite, was incredibly hard.
A Simple brute force couldn't budge it in the slightest.
"Boom!"
Just then, a thunderous crash came from the sea surface above, and vast swathes of crimson rapidly spread.
Steeling himself, Lorne looked regretfully at the tightly shut iridescent shell before him.
Well then, sorry about this.
"I am He Whom Tusks Cannot Approach. Grant you Ruin!"
With a silent chant, the radiant halo behind Lorne spun.
The [Boar], possessing the divine authority of [Destruction], materialized and gradually merged with his form.
"Crack!"
The next instant, with a sharp, explosive sound, the [Boar]'s tusks wedged into the gap between the two shells.
Using the divine authority of [Destruction], it forcibly pried them apart.
The pink clam flesh, seemingly sensing danger, trembled violently and expelled the figure encased within.
Half-awake, Adonis struggled to open his eyes.
Through a haze, he saw a wild boar with mottled fur, grinning at him with bared fangs, displaying a disturbingly human-like smile.
The terrifying, uncanny scene delivered a powerful visual and psychological shock.
Adonis jolted awake completely and scrambled up from the sandy seabed, his face pale as he looked around wildly.
But looking about, there was nothing there.
What the... another nightmare?
"Found you, you little brat!"
Just as Adonis was beginning to relax, a nightmare voice came from the coral forest.
The violent figure wielding the golden sword appeared before him.
Instantly, the blood of this handsome man ran cold, despair clouding his eyes.
It's over. Ares!
Meanwhile, seeing Adonis, Ares was stunned for a moment.
Then, sensing a wisp of residual aura from the [Nation-Crafting Spear] on him, he erupted into a furious, sinister sneer.
"Well done, you again? DIE!"
The golden sword swung forward, unstoppable, as violent, blood-colored light surged and raged, tearing everything apart.
"No~!"
At this very moment, sensing something wrong, Aphrodite, who was racing desperately from Olympus towards Polis Bay, saw that blood-colored blade cleaving the sea surface, her face turned ashen, and she burst into a heart-wrenching, mournful cry.
But distant water cannot quench a nearby fire; the helping hand was ultimately too far away.
A certain presence, intimately connected to the Goddess of Love's heart, unquestionably dissolved within that blood-colored light.
"Ares!"
A voice filled with grief and icy fury echoed through the sky.
The disheveled goddess of love and beauty, like an enraged lioness, slammed into the raging blood-color upon the sea.
At that moment, deep in the Cypriot forest.
A certain culprit, having slipped away amidst the chaos, heard that mournful, bloody cry.
Facing the vast, indistinct sea, he made the sign of the cross over his chest.
Brother, may you rest easy...
May there be no wild boars, and no Ares, in the Underworld.
(End of Chapter)