Jealousy Under the Moonlight (8)
Atalante awakened to Artemis's power, and silent deaths began to pile up throughout the palace. Hiding behind pillars, she slaughtered every last soldier standing guard around the palace under Sisyphe's orders. Since Hecate was watching everything from the moon, no one discovered her, and she made no mistakes.
By the time the number of men this small child had killed exceeded ten, she was finally able to enter the palace proper. Even without Artemis's instructions, she already knew the palace interior, so she moved swiftly, racing toward the place where the king and his guests were being entertained. Artemis did not hold back her praise for Sisyphe's foolish antics.
"Thank goodness. Thanks to Sisyphe delaying things by calling for soldiers, everyone's still safe for now."
The place where they were enjoying their banquet was the palace's rear courtyard. The rear courtyard of the temple where Atalante stayed was built in a similar fashion, and the placement of the plants was nearly identical, making it easy to hide. In fact, because she knew the place so well, she could tell at a glance where anyone else might be hiding.
"Over there, in that perfectly concealed spot… there's someone in black clothes…"
"That's Agamemnon! He was about to strike alone, but it looks like he's waiting a bit because Sisyphe said he'd bring soldiers."
"We survived thanks to Sisyphe, then."
"They haven't noticed you over there! Draw your bowstring now!"
"Yes."
Creak.
As she drew her bowstring while hidden in the bushes, Agamemnon finally moved. He hadn't noticed Atalante was hiding there — he simply decided the time had come and acted on his own.
"Ah."
"Sisyphe's late, so he's going to do it himself!"
"I won't let that happen!"
Agamemnon drew his sword and charged into the banquet. Even though a man in black clothes had suddenly appeared, everyone was thoroughly drunk, so their expressions remained half-asleep — but that didn't last long.
"You there, who are you?! Where did you come from!"
"King Acrisius! Prepare yourself!"
"Hah!"
Only then did they realize someone had come to attack, and the atmosphere of the banquet erupted into chaos. King Acrisius was a warrior himself, so he hurriedly tried to draw his sword, but the alcohol hadn't worn off yet — his hand slipped, and he couldn't even grasp the hilt.
"To think a wretch like you calls himself a warrior like me — how laughable! Regret it in the underworld!"
"Waaaaah!!!"
A sword swung with full force, aimed to sever a neck. Even if someone had a bow trained on the scene, saving him in this situation would have been difficult — but fortunately, the one aiming right now was a child blessed by Artemis.
Twang! Twang! Twang!
"Ghk?!"
Before the sword could complete its swing, in the gap when his arm was raised, she demonstrated her precise archery and loosed three arrows that all found their mark. The scream that burst from Agamemnon's mouth shattered every guest's drunken haze and created an opening for King Acrisius to draw his sword.
"You madman! Do you have any idea where you are!"
"Ugh!"
The decorative sword swung in a flash, knocking Agamemnon's weapon from his wrist. One of the three arrows had pierced through his wrist, leaving him without strength, so it was very easy to knock free.
"You, you decrepit old, goat-like bastard—!"
Agamemnon clutched his wrist in pain. He turned his back to flee, but his waist naturally bent. With the blood draining from his head, he had the presence of mind to look around, and he understood why his body was like that.
"Arrows in my side and thigh too…?!"
He widened both eyes, wondering where on earth they'd come from — but what he witnessed with those two eyes was an impossible reality. From the nearby bushes, a white-haired little girl had emerged, radiating an intense presence as if she were a goddess herself, bow still drawn.
"A-Atalante! Child! Why are you there…?!"
"Uncle! Are you all right?!"
"I'm fine! B-but! Did you save me?!"
"Yes!"
King Acrisius was equally confronted with an unbelievable reality. Not only had his niece Atalante undergone a transformation, but with those tiny hands she had brought down a giant who was easily twice her size — he simply couldn't comprehend it. As a result, it took considerable time for him to collect himself, and eventually, in an attempt to gather his wits, he bellowed loudly.
"Ahem… Guards! Guards! Why is no one here! With all this commotion, where have all my soldiers gone! Will someone come out and explain what on earth is going on!"
The unanswered echo made him realize something was wrong. He began to deeply suspect he might be in a situation so dangerous he couldn't escape — but fortunately, before long, several men came running from afar and appeared. However, none of them were soldiers Acrisius knew; they were relatively recent arrivals.
"Why Spartoi instead of the soldiers who were on watch…?"
Thud.
"Ugh?!"
Not only did they barge straight into the banquet, they also tossed down corpses. Those were the soldiers who originally worked here, and the startled King Acrisius thought the Spartoi had betrayed him — but they shook their heads.
"Do not be alarmed. We have not the slightest intention of betraying you or Young Master Perseus."
"Then why have you lot appeared?! I don't understand why you're throwing my soldiers' heads either! Why did these men die?! Why!"
"We merely saw the corpses on our way back and brought them. The one who summoned us was none other than Young Master Perseus, so take it up with him."
"Pe-Perseus?"
"Huh?"
At those words, Atalante's eyes went round as well. The corpses the Spartoi had brought were all ones Atalante had shot and killed, but that wasn't the issue. More important was the fact that Perseus had shown up after all — even though Artemis had deliberately descended to the mortal realm specifically so he wouldn't get involved.
"Brother?"
"Well done, my little sister. I came running late, worried I might be too late, only to find the palace littered with corpses — gave me quite a shock. You did all of this?"
"Ah~! I'm sorry. But it was urgent…"
"I'm not scolding you. Looking at the state of things, it's clear a god was involved."
Perseus scratched his black hair vigorously and ordered the Spartoi to clear away the corpses. King Acrisius had no idea what was going on and was ready to go mad, rushing over to demand an explanation.
"My sister caused a disturbance, so I'll apologize in her place. Your Majesty, I am truly sorry. That rat snuck into the palace intending to take the king's head, and Atalante, having discovered it in advance, fought desperately to protect you — please look upon that and forgive her."
"W-well, of course I'm grateful! Thanks to her, no one died! But I still don't understand why the soldiers had to die! Can you explain everything about what on earth happened?!"
"Explanation or not — in this situation, the fact that they died by that child's hand makes the reason plain without even asking, doesn't it?"
"Surely… they betrayed me? These men betrayed me, is that it?! No! I can't believe it!"
"King Acrisius. It's a pity things have come to this. You suspected me of being a monster, but it turns out you were the one who sired a monster."
"What are you saying… that I sired a monster…?"
A single horse came galloping from within the palace. That large black steed was Epiphos, the highly intelligent black horse who had already been introduced to Acrisius. Why the child had suddenly appeared was beyond comprehension — but the moment he saw what was clenched in its mouth, King Acrisius's face went deathly pale.
"So that black horse brought Perseus, I see."
Artemis's murmured words reached no one. Only Atalante could hear her voice — and yet Perseus answered as if responding to it.
"King Acrisius had said he was curious about my child's intelligence, so I left Epiphos at the palace, yes?"
"Yes… that was just today…"
"This damned brat, while causing trouble at the palace, suddenly saw soldiers dying and judged something was wrong, so he fled in a hurry. Then, thinking my son was an ordinary horse, he arbitrarily mounted him and tried to ride far away — but of course that wasn't going to work out as he pleased."
Prrrrh~!
Epiphos snorted and sneered at Sisyphe, whom he held in his mouth.
"Epiphos hurriedly returned to the temple, explained the current situation, and we came to catch him together like this. Ah, please forgive me for arbitrarily mobilizing the Spartoi I introduced to Your Majesty. I didn't fully understand the situation myself and needed their help."
"Th-then…?!"
King Acrisius swallowed hard. Epiphos spat out what he'd been holding and set the brat down on the ground. Sisyphe then scrunched up his freckled face and hurriedly fled into his father's arms — as if to prove that the claim he'd tried to kill his father was a lie.
"N-no! That's not true! I didn't do anything! Perseus is lying about everything! I told you! That guy is a monster! Father! He's trying to drive a wedge between us and make you suspicious of me!"
"Sisyphe… w-why! Why would you—!"
"It wasn't me! Please believe me! I'm your son! If you won't believe my words, whose words will you believe?!"
"That son of yours tried to harm you. Pull yourself together."
"Enough! Don't lie! You're the one who turned the palace into a bloodbath! I saw everything! You lying bastard! How many people have you toyed with using that wicked tongue of yours! You're clearly a demon!"
"Aaaah—!"
King Acrisius lamented. The shock of Agamemnon bursting in to kill him was bad enough — but the person suspected of helping him was his own son Sisyphe, and it felt as though his heart would tear apart. Moreover, so much blood had been spilled in this incident that it could no longer simply be swept under the rug.
"See~! I knew he'd try to pin it all on Perseus, so I deliberately didn't call him! Aaargh~! What a nuisance this has become!"
"It's fine. Brother will handle it."
"Hmm~? Aah~! I suppose that's true?! I heard he's familiar with trials! And with the waters of the Styx available, there's nothing I need to help with!"
"Yes."
Atalante smiled happily, thinking things would work out well. Artemis, who had seeped into the child's inner self, cackled vulgarly and sneered at Sisyphe, saying he got what he deserved. But unlike the two who thought things would go smoothly, Acrisius's face was dark — and so was Perseus's.
"This…"
Perseus thought.
With things having come to this, there was no way it would end pleasantly.
As always, this was Greek mythology.
That, above all, must never be forgotten.