The bow of the god of light Apollo, the arrow of the moon goddess Artemis.
When the powers of these two gods unite, what kind of power will it unleash? ... Regarding this, Jason was actually very curious as well.
This was also why Jason had maneuvered around the hundred-eyed giant Argus, waiting for dawn to arrive.
Jason needed to verify just how strong this power truly was!
At the same time, Jason had considered hiding this power, but along the way, everything he had done had been watched by the gods.
This power was something out in the open.
And now, accompanying the silver arrow drawn from the moon and shot from the golden bow drawn from the light, the mysterious veil of the night was gradually lifted.
When the dazzling light fell to the ground, the sky... also brightened!
This arrow of Jason's was not only watched by numerous gods in secret, but even many people, such as Io, Io's father, and the early-rising subjects of the kingdom, also witnessed this scene.
They saw an incomparably dazzling pillar of light, from the stars under the moon, falling down along with the sky itself.
And it brought light to the world!
Because wherever the arrow passed, it was as if the light was chasing after it.
The night completely receded, and when the arrow reached the ground, the light thoroughly illuminated the world!
This was the arrow at the moment of dawn.
Thus, when the arrow arrived, there was only...
Boom—!
A massive roar!
As the light illuminated the world, accompanied by a crisp and enormous sound like the morning bell of the world tolling, the earth trembled!
And in the eyes of those fortunate enough to witness this scene, it was as if the sky had fallen down, colliding with the earth.
Who knew how many people, because of such a scene, immediately knelt on both knees, trembling on the ground as they offered utmost reverence and blessings to the gods.
And begged for forgiveness from the unknown wrathful god.
Thus, all obstacles blocking Jason's path naturally ceased to exist because of this arrow that seemed to tear the sky apart and shake the earth.
This... was truly a power that a human could possess?
And as the one who witnessed this arrow being shot at the closest distance, Atalanta, the proud huntress in emerald green attire.
At this moment, she was naturally completely stunned.
She foolishly looked at Jason before her, then at the devastated earth below.
The current Atalanta already had no idea what expression she should show!
Quiet... utterly quiet.
After the aftermath of this arrow gradually faded, this piece of heaven and earth at this moment was so quiet.
Until Jason slowly lowered the golden bow in his hand.
"What a pity."
Coming back to his senses, Jason looked at the place below where the hundred-eyed giant Argus had left not even a speck of residue, and at the devastated earth.
After shaking his head, under Atalanta's dazed gaze, he sighed softly and murmured, "Although it is indeed a very strong power, the restrictions are clearly a bit too great.
Dawn and dusk moments are still manageable, but the divine power required...
If it were just me alone, even if I could draw the bow and shoot it, it would probably consume my body to the point where it could not reach even a normal tenth."
Just now, when Jason shot the silver arrow, the moon goddess Artemis and the god of light Apollo appeared beside Jason at the same time.
They naturally did not come out just for fun... although that was indeed part of the reason, because not only them, but many gods were also very curious about the power of this arrow... just how terrifying it truly was!
But the main reason was still to grant divine power to the weapon.
And now, the gods had evidently learned.
This was an arrow that could shake heaven and earth!
Faced with this arrow, even she who held the world's hardest shield, the goddess of wisdom Athena, currently on Mount Olympus in the gods' temple.
Her expression became serious!
Because even she, at this moment, had no confidence that she could block this arrow with the shield in her hand!
And if Athena was like this, the other gods needed not be mentioned.
"...Such power, is it not a bit inappropriate to entrust it to a human?"
Even Zeus, who was similarly on Mount Olympus, watching this strike from the throne in the gods' temple, could not help but furrow his brows.
"Such power... it is enough to threaten us, is it not."
Hermes could not help but say.
After speaking, he was subtly glared at by the goddess of wisdom Athena!
"Actually, there is no need to worry at all, great father."
Athena stepped forward and said to Zeus, who looked over, "As you can see, although such power is indeed decent, achieving the current effect is mainly because Apollo and Artemis acted together.
If it were just that child alone, he clearly could not possibly accomplish it!"
Hearing this, Zeus looked at the mortal world again, thought for a moment, and upon finding it indeed so, his expression improved slightly.
Seeing this, Athena hurriedly continued, "Moreover, father, the child who possesses this power is no other than the hero who will provide us with the greatest assistance in the future battle against the ancestor of myriad demons, Typhon—Jason!
At the same time, such a gift was a voluntary return gift from Apollo, Artemis, Ares, and the others because of Jason's tribute, so it would not be appropriate for us to take it back... right, Ares."
Hearing Athena call him, Ares could not help but let out an "ah" and withdrew his gaze from the mortal world.
Then he scratched his head, looking completely bewildered.
Seeing this, Athena could not help but cover her face... She knew she had found a pig teammate!
But fortunately, there were many people here this time.
The agricultural goddess Demeter stood up and said, "Taking back a gift is naturally out of the question. After all, how could we possibly go back on our word to the child!"
"But this power..." Zeus still wanted to say something.
"What about this power? The one controlling this power is no other than Jason, my child!" The agricultural goddess Demeter glared at Zeus.
...How did it become your child again?
Hermes and Zeus exchanged a glance and said nothing.
"And in the end, that child bringing out this power to deal with his enemies... is it not all because of you!"
Demeter continued glaring at Zeus.
And hearing Demeter say this, everyone could not help but subconsciously look toward Io, who had been turned into a small white cat by Jason's potion.
Seeing this, a trace of embarrassment appeared on Zeus's face.
"Father, entrusting such power to a human is indeed not quite appropriate, because this gift is truly a bit too large for a human."
Seeing that the situation had eased, Athena hurriedly stepped forward and said to Zeus, "However, this child's gift was voluntarily given by the various gods, and that child also offered corresponding tributes in return. It would truly not be appropriate to demand it back.
Therefore, I have a proposal..."
"Oh, Athena, tell me quickly what it is?" With a way out, Zeus hurriedly changed the topic and gave Athena an approving glance.
"We can add a restriction to this arrow.
For example, make it so that when the child shoots this arrow, he must pray to us twelve main gods and obtain our permission!
Only if we permit it can the child shoot it; if not permitted, then it cannot... What do you think, great father?"
Athena said to Zeus with a smile.
"Hmm, a good method!"
And after hearing Athena's words, Zeus stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and immediately revealed a smile, feeling it was a good idea!
The agricultural goddess Demeter's brows furrowed. Although she felt it was wrong to impose an unprovoked restriction on Jason, things had come to this, and she could not say much.
She merely sat down while secretly glaring at Athena and humming twice.
And in her heart, she secretly resolved to tell Jason about this!
However, unlike Demeter, after hearing Athena's words, Hermes gave Athena a deep look.
As the messenger of the gods, he was also the god of deception.
It was no exaggeration to say that among the main gods of Olympus, besides Athena, his wisdom was the highest.
Thus, he detected that Athena was 'deceiving' Zeus.
Although Athena appeared to impose a restriction on this power of Jason's, she had simultaneously directly solved the problem for Jason.
Athena had seen at a glance the issue with this strike, thereby understanding that with Jason's personal power alone, it was fundamentally impossible to shoot this arrow.
The help of the moon goddess Artemis and the god of light Apollo was needed.
But now, requesting permission from the twelve main gods of Olympus, did that not also represent seeking help from the twelve main gods of Olympus?
That's right, Athena was indeed restricting Jason this way, but at the same time, she had directly resolved the greatest problem with shooting this arrow.
Moreover, Athena had just not said that permission from several gods was required to shoot the arrow...
And if it were possible to gather the permission and power of all twelve main gods, then the power of this arrow would probably multiply several times...
Hermes looked at Athena.
And as if sensing Hermes's gaze, Athena turned her head toward Hermes as well.
And the corners of her mouth curved up, revealing a smile to Hermes.
But there was not a trace of laughter in those golden eyes; instead, there was an added warning...
Hermes silently pulled down his hat, blocking Athena's gaze, and this also signified that he would not reveal any of this.
What exactly did Athena... want to do? ...Did she truly like this child that much?
At the same time, this doubt was buried in Hermes's heart.
And just then...
"What are you all gathered together doing?"
The dignified and graceful woman, Queen Hera, walked in.
Looking at the gods present, her brows furrowed, her expression appearing very puzzled.
And upon seeing Hera arrive, the gods inwardly cried out that it was bad. The war god Ares even straightforwardly showed his tension, saying, "N-Nothing!"
Hera's expression became even more puzzled.
"Ares, what are you blocking... Move aside, let me see!"
The gods looked at each other, and in the end, it was still Athena who stepped forward, coming before Hera and saying, "Great Queen Hera, we really are not doing anything... Right, why have you come?"
"I just sensed a very powerful divine power fluctuation, even sweeping through my temple... What is going on?"
Queen Hera scanned the crowd present, her brows furrowing as she said, "Why do I feel... as if you all have something to hide from me?"
"N-No, how could that be." Zeus laughed dryly.
"...Athena, I did not expect you would get involved in such matters as well." Hera looked darkly at Athena and said, "For you to join them in hiding from me, letting him go behind my back to find a mistress!"
Hearing this, Athena was slightly stunned.
Then she looked toward Zeus and thought for a moment.
She sighed and said to Hera, "It is not that I want to. This is mainly because father he..."
"Athena, you...!" Zeus's eyes widened, about to say something.
Demeter, coming to his side, stepped on his foot, silencing him, then said to Hera, "Yes, Hera. Actually, I just arrived as well... I originally wanted to have a good talk with him about this matter too!"
Seeing this, although Zeus's eyes were wide open and he had many words he wanted to say,
In the end, he said nothing... Under the combined efforts of all the gods except Hera, he bore this black pot!
And just as things on Mount Olympus quieted down a bit,
On Jason's side...
"I say, why do you keep staring at me? If you have something to say, can we just speak it plainly!" Jason, sitting on the heavenly horse flying toward Io's side, finally could not help but say to Atalanta, who kept staring at him.
"...Nothing."
Atalanta replied faintly, then continued staring at Jason.
Stare...
Seeing this, several black lines appeared on Jason's forehead.
But he was too lazy to bother with Atalanta. If she wanted to look, let her look. No matter how much she looked, no flowers would grow on his face.
...Well, Jason actually was not without self-awareness. He himself had been quite frightened by the power of that arrow just now.
But just like his reaction afterward, expressing regret.
Jason instantly realized that this was a flashy but insubstantial power.
Because he could not fully control it... Becoming an immortal deity, changing his human identity, and obtaining divine power would offer some possibility.
But now, it was almost impossible, not to mention the many restrictions; it could only be used at dawn and dusk.
Hmm... He wondered if Teacher Hecate had a way.
And then, pondering this, Jason instantly thought of the goddess Hecate, rather than seeking the goddess of wisdom Athena...
He wondered what Athena would think if she knew.
Soon after, Jason and the others arrived at Inachus's kingdom.
Now, the tribute offered to Hermes still had one final step left.
That was to lift the curse on Io...
And to break this curse would inevitably be discovered by Queen Hera!