Artemis couldn't fire her arrow consecutively. It wasn't a simple projectile in the first place, but the goddess's Noble Phantasm.
With that kind of staggering mana consumption, there had to be an interval between shots.
And that brief window was exactly Chaldea's chance to break away from Hestia Island.
Watching Hestia Island slowly sink beneath the horizon, and thinking back to the villagers' barely restrained fury as they departed…
Standing on the deck, Shiomi couldn't help letting out a sigh.
"Is it because gods aren't some distant, untouchable idea, but something that truly exists… that these people can even treat a god's slaughter as a blessing?" Morgan asked, leaning against him.
"I don't know." Shiomi shook his head. "Both the humans in this Lostbelt and the gods here… none of it makes any sense."
"Gods?" Morgan sounded a little surprised.
Up to now, the only god Chaldea had directly dealt with was Artemis in satellite orbit.
"Yes. And she was certainly a strange god." Skadi walked over, adding to Shiomi's explanation. "When we were investigating the temple, besides that detective Servant who supposedly helped Chaldea several times, we also ran into Olympus soldiers…"
"But the one who brought those soldiers wasn't a Servant. It was a goddess," Shiomi said quietly. "Her name was Demeter, elder sister to the great god Zeus."
He'd considered the possibility the name was false, but that authority, unmistakably belonging to a goddess of abundance, made impersonation pointless.
It would be far too easy to narrow things down and uncover the true name.
So Demeter's identity was very likely genuine.
"What kind of goddess was she?" Morgan asked. "And what was her purpose in coming here personally, leading soldiers?"
"No idea." Skadi shook her head. "She seemed… mentally unstable. She even called Tenkei…"
"Called him what?" Scáthach cut in without warning.
Shiomi looked awkward, but he still recounted the encounter with Demeter in full, leaving nothing out.
"Because he's the child of Tiamat, that means he's her child too?" Scáthach had been about to seize the chance to tease Shiomi, but now she could only look both amused and at a loss. "Are earth mother goddesses always like this?"
"But that goddess said the name Persephone," Touko added as she came up to the deck for a smoke. "That's the name of Demeter's daughter."
"But I'm a guy…" Shiomi grew even more speechless.
Artoria smiled and teased, "Gods can possess qualities that transcend gender. If Tenkei is fated to become a god, isn't it only natural for a goddess of abundance to mistake him for her own daughter?"
"No, no, no. That's still a problem, isn't it? It's weird, right? That Demeter was obviously abnormal in every way, and it's the kind of abnormal that looks normal!"
Shiomi's complaints spilled out at a rapid-fire pace.
"But still," Morgan said with a small smile, "an Olympian god coming to Atlantis… depending on what happens next, that might be something we can use."
"It'll depend." Shiomi exhaled. "Anyway… for now, let's follow Bartholomew's ship to that Heracles Island and meet the Servant there first."
…
West of the "Void Cavity," aboard an Olympus vessel.
The arrow of Artemis, redirected by Morgan's Water Mirror Magecraft, struck the trunk of the Lostbelt's Fantasy Tree with pinpoint accuracy.
However, the Fantasy Tree itself was flourishing and protected by corresponding countermeasures. The blow merely caused it to sway, nothing more.
Seeing this, Peperoncino let out a heartfelt sigh of amazement.
"You've got to be kidding me. Chaldea can actually redirect the Moon Goddess's arrow now?"
When faced with that kind of arrow, the correct response was to flee the predicted impact zone as far as possible. If escape was impossible, then one either found a way to defend oneself or could only wait for death with prayers.
Yet Chaldea had produced a solution no one had ever imagined.
"Hahaha~ They're pretty capable, aren't they? That Chaldea human actually rejected Artemis's arrow!"
A string of bright laughter rang out. In stark contrast, the speaker's tone carried unmistakable coldness and arrogance, like a superior gazing down from on high.
"Don't put it like that, Aphrodite," Demeter said as she stroked the sickle in her hand, her gaze fixed on the distant sea. "Those children worked hard. When praise is deserved, it should be given."
"You can talk about love all day if you like, but don't forget our purpose," Aphrodite reminded her with a trace of exasperation. "Zeus had no choice but to send us away from Olympus to this place precisely because these humans are far too capable."
"That single golden stalk of rice, the only one in the world… whether it will bear full, heavy grain, or be harvested by someone before that happens, I find myself looking forward to it," Demeter mused, half to herself.
"…Is that so?" Aphrodite saw no need to continue and shifted her gaze toward Peperoncino.
"Crypter Peperoncino, there's something I'd like to ask you."
"Me?" Peperoncino looked genuinely surprised. "If it's about love, I can say a few words. But discussing beauty with ancient gods is a bit cruel, isn't it? Shouldn't you update your sense of beauty instead?"
"That's debatable. Do you really think it needs updating? After all, 'beauty' is myself," Aphrodite replied matter-of-factly. "Beauty is what I govern. I alone decide the value of beauty in this world. Humans need only follow my aesthetics. Do that, and they will know peace."
"I see…"
"But that's not what I wanted to ask," Aphrodite continued. "You abandoned the Lostbelt you were meant to be responsible for and accepted the request of the Crypter Kirschtaria to come support this Lostbelt. Do you feel any resentment about that?"
"Resentment?" Peperoncino smiled lightly, unconcerned. "Not at all. If anything, seeing that Chaldea has grown strong enough to destroy our Lostbelts while capturing our fellow Crypters makes me look forward to meeting them."
If anything, Kirschtaria's decision to call the remaining Crypters here in response to the threat posed by Chaldea was good news for Peperoncino.
…Except for Daybit, who hadn't come and instead remained in South America to maintain his Lostbelt.
After all, Peperoncino couldn't be sure whether Chaldea might place him last simply because the Indian Lostbelt wasn't considered threatening enough.
"Then tell me about this Chaldea," Aphrodite said.
She lit a cigarette and held it between her fingers as she made her request to Peperoncino.
"I'm interested now."