— — — — — —
Ryo lightly tapped the tabletop with his index finger, producing a steady tap... tap... tap...
"So Zeus is forcing every Greek faction to come after me." He chuckled. "Looks like he wants to use me as a whetstone to sharpen Greece's blade."
The Greek pantheon was a tangled web of competing factions.
Normally, maintaining that balance helped prevent the other pantheons of Little Garden from viewing Greece as too much of a threat.
But now that they had a common enemy in Ryo... that arrangement no longer worked.
Take Athena's faction, for example. Or the factions friendly to Athena. They were closely connected to Ryo and would never go all out against him.
The Godslayer War, however, changed everything.
Killing another participant meant stealing one of their Authorities. Doing that inevitably created grudges.
Better yet, if Ryo was killed by someone from another Greek faction, the hatred between them would only deepen.
Even if everyone knew it was Zeus's scheme... they would still fight. After all, Authorities were right there for the taking. No one could ignore a reward like that.
Clearly, Zeus was betting on two things.
First, that Ryo wouldn't be ruthless enough to kill everyone. Second, that even someone as strong as Ryo couldn't survive endless waves of challengers under the treaty's restrictions.
If Greece eventually managed to kill him once, Zeus would have his revenge.
Of course, there were probably even deeper layers to the scheme. But Ryo didn't think they mattered.
Because no matter how elaborate Zeus's plans were... they'd never outpace how quickly Ryo could kill people.
'So what if I offend them? It's not like I'd ever admit responsibility.'
The smile on his face only widened.
Looking at Aishelia, he asked casually, "How many did they send? And who's leading them? I'm talking about the nearest Greek base."
Aishelia sighed. "There are several hundred Four-Digit participants, with varying levels of strength. Lady Artemis is leading them. And they're stationed in the eastern district of this city."
She paused. "I was sent here specifically to tell you that you're already surrounded. Lady Artemis also asked me to pass along a message."
"In three hours... the hunt begins."
"Artemis..." Understanding flashed across Ryo's face. "No wonder."
A few days ago, Algol had marched onto Mount Olympus and thoroughly humiliated Artemis.
She was obviously looking for someone to vent her frustration on.
'Couldn't beat Algol... so now you're picking on me instead. How petty.'
"But giving me three hours?" He shook his head with an almost sympathetic expression. "She's certainly confident."
Among the Greek gods, Artemis actually had one of the better reputations.
She had few scandals, remained the proud virgin goddess she'd always been, and hadn't made many enemies.
Algol humiliating her and her wanting revenge was understandable. Even dragging him into it wasn't something Ryo found particularly unreasonable.
The problem was... If Artemis believed the Godslayer War's restrictions weakened him that much, she was in for a very unpleasant surprise.
Ryo calmly handed the blue Gift Card he'd received earlier to Kurousagi. "Take this back. Once you're home, start preparing tomorrow night's feast. We'll be having guests tomorrow afternoon."
"Ryo..." Kurousagi looked at him for a moment before sighing.
She accepted the Gift Card, then reached over and took his hand. Gently rubbing it before giving the back of it two reassuring pats, she said softly, "Be careful."
With that, she stood and left.
Ryo wasn't worried about her safety.
After what had happened two hundred years ago, Indra had publicly declared that anyone targeting Moon Rabbits would be his mortal enemy.
With that warning hanging over everyone's heads, no one would dare touch Kurousagi.
Besides, she only acted meek around Ryo.
This was the same bunny who, in the original story, had fought alongside others against Azi Dahaka. Anyone who underestimated her was asking for trouble.
...
Once she was gone, Ryo turned back toward Aishelia. "You should leave too. I'd rather not fight you."
The Aishelia before him was a Heretic God.
Given both her status and the circumstances, she'd obviously been ordered to oppose him.
As far as Ryo was concerned... Zeus's moral standards were probably even lower than he'd imagined.
"There isn't any need." Aishelia shook her head. "I know my own limits. It's far too early for me to compete in the Godslayer War. Being eliminated here is probably for the best."
She smiled. "If I were you, I'd try to take my Sun Authority. It's the most valuable one I have."
"You can choose which Authority you steal?" Ryo looked genuinely surprised.
'What exactly had the two-digits of Little Garden turned the Heretic Gods into? You could even influence which Authority you received?'
'No wonder Alpha said the path had finally opened. So the Godslayer War is basically a way for Divine Kings to fill in missing Authorities.'
Aishelia laughed. "Not exactly. The result of the usurpation ritual depends on what the victor desires most at that moment. So it's possible to influence the outcome. The odds just aren't very high."
She reached into a storage Gift Card and produced a rolled sheepskin map, placing it on the table. "This is a map of Greece's bases in the South Area. Just... Please don't tell anyone I gave it to you. I'll get into serious trouble."
"Thanks." Ryo put the map away before smiling at her. "Come to think of it... we're still technically engaged. So does killing you count as sacrificing my fiancée to further my own path?"
Aishelia rolled her eyes so dramatically it almost became impressive. "Call it whatever you like. Just hurry up. I still haven't finished sorting through everything I brought back from my trip."
Ryo chuckled.
He raised a finger. Then gently flicked her forehead.
Flick.
Her body instantly dissolved into countless particles of light before fading away.
Watching the last traces disappear, Ryo closed his eyes.
When he opened them again... it was as though two golden suns had ignited inside his pupils.
"The odds weren't bad after all." He let out a quiet sigh.
After finishing the food left on the table, paying the bill, and leaving the milk tea shop...
Ten minutes later, Ryo stood before a luxurious villa estate.
Narrowing his eyes, he looked past the surface and saw layer upon layer of overlapping magical barriers covering the entire property.
"Do the Greeks really have that many barrier specialists?" He rubbed his chin. "Maybe tomorrow I'll put up a Cosmo suppression barrier around Arcadia too. See how cocky they stay after that."
He had complete confidence in Cosmo's ability to suppress other powers. Even other Cosmo users.
Just look at Saint Seiya. Inside Hades's barrier, the Twelve Gold Saints were practically crippled.
One of the Three Judges could bully several Gold Saints at once.
Yet inside Sanctuary, those same Gold Saints treated Specters like target practice.
"...Maybe I should seriously study barrier techniques. They're surprisingly good for setting people up."
"If I remember right... The Virgo Saints were especially fond of tricks like this."
Still muttering to himself, Ryo circled the Greek compound, searching for a weakness.
Since he was infiltrating alone, the "Assassin's Creed" approach was obviously the right choice.
Slip in quietly. Kill a few dozen people without anyone noticing. Then enjoy a game of hide-and-seek with Lady Artemis.
Unfortunately, as he rounded the back entrance, two burly Greeks happened to walk out.
The instant they looked up... their eyes landed directly on Ryo. Even though he was concealed.
Ryo froze for a moment. Then he sighed as he tightened the bandages around his fists.
He stepped forward. And two heads flew into the air.
At almost the same instant, his fist slammed into the barrier.
Crash!
The magical defenses shattered with a deafening chain of cracks.
Ryo shook his head with another sigh and calmly walked into the Greek compound.
Moments later, a panicked shout exploded across the sky.
"Enemy attack!!"
.
.
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