As her emotions gradually settled, Helen noticed that Samael showed no sign of sleepiness. Already slipping into his official role ahead of time, she frowned slightly and spoke after a moment's thought.
"Your Highness, if we execute those divine-blood nobles involved in the rebellion tomorrow, I'm afraid at the very least we'll be putting more than a hundred people to death..."
"What, can't bear it? They're all unstable elements. At first, I was worried you and Gorgo might not be able to keep them in check, and that trouble would break out easily. Now they've handed me the knife themselves. Before I pass over the scepter, I'm going to pull every thorn off it, so you'll be able to hold it steady..."
Samael's eyes flickered as he spoke in a low voice.
"No, that's not it. Athens rarely executes so many people at once. From what I saw during the Trojan War, if divine blood seeps into the soil carrying malice and resentment, it may bring harmful effects. So I suggest gathering the bodies in one place, having the priests purify them, and cremating them together to prevent a plague from breaking out."
Helen waved her hands repeatedly and hurried to explain.
Somewhat stuck in his own assumptions, the Ancient Serpent finally remembered that the greatest beauty in Greece before him was also the High Priestess of the Temple of the Moon, responsible for purifying and blessing Spartan warriors, and that she had accompanied armies on campaign. She was absolutely not some frail woman who went weak at the sight of blood.
A curse in divine blood and contamination from corpses?
Thinking of the "mindless sinners" bred from the blood and malice of Angra Mainyu in that [Land of Nothingness] along the Persian-Roman border, this really did sound like a problem.
He had not paid much attention to it before, because battlefields devastated by divine bombardment tended to remain barren for years, and afterward dedicated military spellcasters were sent in to clean them up.
Helen had probably only brought it up in passing, simply to make sure nothing was overlooked.
Athens had already gone through two days of purges in a row, and more than a few unlucky fools had died after charging straight into the spearpoint. With executions also due tomorrow, being careful about it was only natural.
Once corpses spoiled and rotted, all manner of filth and bacteria would breed. That was common sense. After battles, both sides usually left a pause to deal with the dead together precisely to avoid triggering disease.
Wait!
Lost in thought, Samael seemed to suddenly realize something. His pupils contracted sharply, and he shot out a hand to grip Helen's shoulder, his gaze urgent.
"What was the last thing you said just now?!"
"P-plague?"
Staring at the face now close at hand, Helen froze for a moment. Then the pressure on her shoulder brought her back to herself. After thinking for a bit, she repeated the word uncertainly.
Hiss!
Right. A plague. The Great Plague of Athens!
Samael sucked in a sharp breath, his expression turning uncertain at once as long-buried memories from his previous life gradually resurfaced.
In truth, after decisively defeating Persia in three full-scale Greco-Persian Wars, Athens had not pressed its advantage and expanded its gains.
One reason was that Athens and Sparta had fallen into internal conflict, which led to the Peloponnesian War and drained both sides of their strength, leaving them with no energy to deal with Persia.
The other was that, according to the original historical record, Athens suffered an unprecedented plague during this period. Not only was the city itself devastated, with even Archon Pericles dying of disease, but many city-states were affected as well, and nearly half the Greeks perished.
In the end, Persia was able to recover. It was only after Macedon rose and the military genius Alexander defeated Darius III that the great empire was finally conquered.
Now, with time and eras all chaotically overlapping, there was no guarantee that this great plague would not break out again during the Greco-Persian War.
And considering the world as it stood now, the more he thought about it, the less normal Athens's sudden plague seemed.
There was a Western maxim. To catch a criminal, first find out who benefits. That principle formed the classic logic of motive in detective fiction. Whoever benefited most was the most suspicious.
After the Great Plague of Athens, both Athens and Sparta were badly wounded. The greatest beneficiary was, without question, Persia.
Three Greco-Persian Wars had failed to crush Greece. But this single outbreak of disease, without costing Persia a single soldier, had nearly finished Greece off, buying the Persian Empire ample time to recover and prolonging its life by force. They had practically won everything.
Add to that the angel acting on divine will who had just strolled through the Areopagus and spread a round of Athenian doomsday prophecy, and the whole thing looked suspicious no matter how one viewed it.
And from past experience, when it came to securing a smooth victory, the Lord of Hosts had never once been the sort to play fair.
The Seven-Day Flood in Mesopotamia. The foreign-star vanguard used as outside reinforcements in Greece...
Just look at it. None of the things he did had anything to do with behaving like a decent human being.
Since the one on the other side was that old scheming bastard, he certainly would not give Samael the chance to calmly gather his people and focus his strength on Thermopylae.
Stirring up unrest among the divine-blood nobles and bribing officials from the city-states, those were all minor tricks. At most, they could only cause him some trouble.
This plague waiting to erupt was likely the true "gift" left for Athens, and for Greece as a whole.
At that thought, the cross-shaped patterns split open within Samael's black slit pupils. As blue, crimson, and shadowy divine light circulated within them, his gaze dropped beneath his feet, and his immense divine will narrowed into a line, sifting inch by inch across the Areopagus and the whole of Athens like a net.
Finally, on the third sweep, Samael's eyes settled on the outer harbor of Piraeus, eight kilometers southwest of Athens on the shores of the Saronic Gulf.
As his divine will seeped thousands of meters down through the soil and waters below, the Ancient Serpent discovered clumps of mycelium-like parasites formed from black mist.
These things had spread in threadlike strands, seeping through the earth veins and already extending into the outer districts around Athens.
And they were as fine as hair, lying dormant like hibernating snakes. Unless someone searched for them deliberately, there was no way to notice their existence.
But once triggered, they would bring down a catastrophe like a landslide or tsunami, one so large it would be almost impossible to control.
It was entirely possible that the moment he left, disease would erupt in Athens and everything would immediately descend into chaos.
And if this great plague broke out at the key point of a stalemate between the two sides, the consequences would be even worse.
Sure enough, the method was as vicious and insidious as ever.
Making bold deductions, carefully verifying them, and relying on the advantage of foreknowledge, Samael worked through the night and finally pieced together the rough outline of what was happening. Then he gathered his thoughts and told Helen everything he had found.
Faced with that shocking conclusion, Helen found it hard to believe. It took her a long time to settle herself and finally accept it, and deep worry filled her eyes.
"Don't worry. I've always believed one thing. Crisis is opportunity!
Now that I've dug out Persia's method, it's no longer a threat. On the contrary, we can use it for ourselves."
Samael rose, lightly patted Helen on the shoulder, and smiled as he reassured her. His gaze was deep and calm, the kind that naturally inspired trust and drew others in.
"Then what do you intend to do?"
"You're a follower of Artemis. You've received her favor and been granted the divine blessing of purification and baptism?"
"I've only mastered the basics. If you want to uproot the source of the plague buried under the earth on a large scale, I'm afraid I don't have the power for that."
"It's fine. Tomorrow, just help me put on a show!"
Helen nodded without hesitation, then, showing a surprisingly natural instinct for details, added,
"Lady Artemis's power of purification is usually released in the form of arrows, [Arrows of Purification]. If necessary, I'll need to prepare a temporary bow engraved with Chants to serve as the prayer bow for the Great Offering."
"No problem. We might as well use Artemis's divine weapon as the model. I've seen it before. Copying it will be easy enough."
Samael nodded as he spoke, then glanced at the first beauty of Greece, who was seriously thinking through how to save Athens, and an odd emotion rose in his heart.
The warning that would prevent the Great Plague of Athens from descending had actually come from a Spartan. And from one of the very people who would later cross blades with the Areopagus at that. That really was unexpected.
Under the fluorite lamp, the Ancient Serpent and Helen continued discussing the matter, refining the details and making several adjustments.
When everything was finally ready, Samael looked up at the Gemini side hall, which remained utterly quiet, and the tension in his heart eased slightly.
Apparently they had spent about the right amount of time. It seemed that compared to catching people in the act, the serious business of purging those divine-blood nobles mattered more.
If nothing unexpected happened, no one should be coming to check the room tonight.
So next... should they maybe get a little more sleep?
The Ancient Serpent's gaze drifted from Helen's exquisite face and delicate collarbone downward, then lingered quietly on her two long, smooth, jade-white thighs. Stroking his chin, he gave the matter serious thought.