The Hymn of Hestia (ὕμνος)
Perseus leaped high, aiming straight for Medusa's head, and swung his great hammer as if yanking up a tree by the roots. The weapon was heavy and brutal, the kind that had already spilled blood more times than anyone could count, heavy enough to crush a man's skull in a single strike.
BOOM!
“Hahahahaha! Who the hell are you looking at?!”
Yet Medusa dodged it like a snake. Not a metaphor — she really had turned into one. Her body had become fluid, slippery, twisting around the hammer as if it were just a toy, mocking Perseus nonstop while her snake-like golden eyes gleamed. Anyone could see exactly how she had twisted Achilles into that pathetic state.
“Uh, mmm, aaaah-!”
“Hahahahaha! You dare to laugh at me like that?!”
Perseus’s body stiffened inch by inch as Medusa laughed and laughed without mercy, her movements coarse and crude. The hand closest to her had turned to stone, wrist twisted toward the shoulder, like she was about to petrify him at any moment.
“Even if your body grew big, your brain’s still as empty as ever! Hahahahahahaha!!!! Are you angry? Angry because your precious wife is in this sorry state? But what can you do? You’re going to turn to stone soon — and your revenge on your wife? Forget it. You’ll just be riding Charon’s boat in the underworld with the same monsters!”
“Mmm, oh, aaaah, ugh?! AAAAAAAA!!!!”
Unable to endure the mockery, Perseus’s eyes rolled back white. He had never felt this furious in this world. He realized it himself and wanted nothing more than to twist the girl’s neck right there and choke the life out of her. But because the petrification still refused to lift, Medusa boldly stepped forward, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and didn’t care one bit about his distress.
Why on earth would the gods create a monster to gather all the snakes of that island? Thinking it was only born to catch fools like this… my head hurts just imagining it. They say she’s incredibly smart, yet she acts exactly like the usual dumbasses out here?! I feel so sorry for myself too!
Stupid Perseus-!
Foolish Perseus-!
The Perseus everyone gossips about-!
Medusa truly despised him, sneered at him, and at the very moment of his death she stretched out her finger to stroke his chin. That was when Perseus’s rolled-back eyes snapped back to normal and his breathing shifted from ragged to steady.
“───?!”
Anyone would have felt the danger in that sudden shift.
“You’re the one who’s ridiculous! Pathetic!”
“What?!”
“My real name is Perseus! The hero who wiped my name clean off the map! The villain’s name and you still don’t recognize it? You really are just a stupid monster!”
CRACK!
Why isn’t the petrification working?!
Once he realized it had all been a trick from the very beginning, it was already too late. Perseus suddenly freed from the stone, raised his hammer high, and stood ready to chop Medusa’s head off at any second. She, however, had gotten too close, one finger extended in that foolish pose, so he couldn’t react to what was happening right in front of him.
This idiot! You thought if there was distance I couldn’t hit you, so you lured me out?!
There was only one attack, but Medusa’s dodging had been too unnatural. She had set a trap. Even the creator of Medusa knew Perseus had received a blessing, yet she never imagined a blessing of that kind existed. Hephaestus’s Fire that burned away curses wrapped around Perseus’s body, roaring like it embodied his rage until the hammer itself blazed with flames as it came crashing down toward Medusa’s head.
Just the head-!
In this chaos, even Medusa’s best judgment couldn’t save her.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAA!!!!”
CRASHDDDDDD!
“UUUUUHHHHAAAAA!!!! KUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAA!!!!”
Like the first strike that had been dodged, Medusa relaxed her body and tried to slither away like a snake, but she was too slow. The hammer pierced straight through her right shoulder beside the head, tearing half her body clean off like paper.
“Uwa, aaa, uckhaaaaaaak!!!! Kuuuk! Kuuuk! Kuuuhaaaaaaak!!!!!!”
PUSHUUUUUUU!!!!!
Even with half her body gone, Medusa screamed and didn’t die. She kept crawling backward like a snake, leaving a pool of blood behind, and thick poison sprayed from there, polluting the entire temple.
“YOUOOO FUCKING MONSTER!! YOU IDIOT!! YOU IDIOT!! YOU IDIOT!! YOU IDIOT!! YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING IDIOT!!!! YOU PATHETIC PERSEUS UUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!”
In a frenzy of rage, her appearance finally changed. Even the parts that had still looked human turned into snakes, her lips puffed out, and she stuck her tongue out like a serpent while spewing venomous words.
“How dare you dirty the sacred flesh I was given by the gods! I will never forgive you!!!! I will kill you and send you straight to the afterlife!!!!”
“I don’t know what kind of creature turned you into this, but you committed the worst mistake possible. You hurt my family, mocked me, and dropped the mask I treasured so much that it exposed my children to the world. So I will never forgive you either.”
“You damn bastard! Even though you were raging this whole time, you settled down in the blink of an eye! Humans are all the same in the end! Hypocrites and trash!”
“Well, yeah~! I know that better than anyone! Just like King Acrisius, I’ve lived my whole life without ever feeling true anger. I’ve never even tried to live with revenge on my mind, and I don’t understand people who can’t feel that.”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Her words were soft, but the veins on her forehead and the sharp eyes blazing with Hephaestus’s Fire showed that her fury burned hotter than any flame.
“But I’m still angry… I’m really, really angry… I want to reach into my throat, rip out your fingers, and tear your crotch apart until you’re dead… I can’t hold it in…”
BULGE BULGE BULGE!
With how long the rage had been building, Perseus’s entire body swelled until he looked like a grotesque monster, muscles expanding beyond belief. On top of stealing Pasiphae’s strength through his transformation ability, he also used his own son’s thick muscle, making him look comically bloated.
“You’re terrifying, aren’t you? Look at yourself! How ugly! A so-called hero with a monster in his chest — who would ever truly love you?! Hahahahahahaha!!!!”
“You can’t keep that mouth shut even at the end! That’s the root of your destruction!”
“Hah?!”
BOOM!
Once again the hammer swung, this time straight for Medusa’s legs. She had suffered a massive wound yet dodged it with perfect grace. The ground shattered and shards dug into the half that had been torn away, filling her with agony.
“Kuuu, aaa, aaaak, uaaaaaaaak!!! Kuuuk, kuu, aaaaaak!!!!”
“I want to tear you to pieces, but before I kill you I have one question.”
“──Kuu, hihi, hihihihihiiing!!! You think I’ll tell you?! I’ll never speak a single word!”
BANG!
“Mmmk?!”
Perseus’s heavy fist smashed into the snake’s head. Even though half her face was crushed from the blow, she was still alive, and Perseus bit his lip so hard he drew blood to suppress his rage.
“Petrify me.”
“N-no~!”
BANG!
“Break it.”
“K-khehe, hihihihiiihik!!!!”
Even after getting hit again, the snake didn’t stop laughing. The creepy, disgusting sound of her laughter hardened Perseus’s face, but every time it happened Medusa only grew happier. She had thought he was an idiot, but it turned out he was a hero strong enough to kill her — so it had all been worth being born.
Mother, you’re going to get a long story to hear when I get back! This is why I feel like fighting!
His body stiffened again, inch by inch. Because of Hephaestus’s blessing the flames couldn’t turn him to stone, but for Medusa even that tiny window was more than enough.
“What kind of trick is this? You really thought your little power would work on me? You only bought time — and more pain to come.”
“How much of my myth do you know?”
“………What?”
Looking at Perseus’s foolish face, Medusa was certain she could escape. Poison dripped from the blood she had smeared, but at the same time new life was being created.
“What?”
The blood boiled and smoke rose, and from it came the distinct sound of hooves. She had thought it might be Epiphos, but that wasn’t the case. A sudden white horse burst from the boiling blood, leaving Perseus bewildered.
“Pegasus?!”
“Of course! You think you’re so smart, but you don’t know anything about me! You stupid, dull-witted Perseus!”
“You little-!”
“Ughk!”
He purified the petrified body with fire and quickly grabbed Medusa. He had thought that since she was trying to run away like a snake, even if Pegasus showed up he wouldn’t escape — but his prediction had been far too shallow and foolish.
“You won’t escape!”
“It’s already too late~! Hahahahaha!!! Hihahahaha!!!!”
He had to realize it.
The opponent was a monster.
A non-human.
A creature beyond common sense.
Perseus had clearly grabbed Medusa, yet her body was slowly thinning until only skin remained. The majority of her mass — the blood — flowed across the floor and clung to the shadow that was now his brand-new Pegasus. But it took him far too long to notice what had happened.
“How…?”
“You don’t know anything about my myth! The only thing you know is that the owner of your name is the hero who caught me! Uahahahaha!!! You talk big and then cry like a little bitch! Hahahahaa! Aahahahahahaha!!!!”
Medusa, now riding her own child in the form of a white horse, laughed in a woman’s voice all the way to the end. Then, while Perseus was still stunned, she spread her wings and flew away. Perseus wasn’t foolish enough to leave it alone, but reality refused to help a hero.
“────!!!”
CRASH!
Just like every other time, he turned into an owl and tried to take flight — only for the floor to suddenly vanish beneath him. In the confusion of not knowing what was happening, his body still fell and Medusa’s tongue never stopped moving.
“You foolish Perseus! The gods you loved so much never helped you, but the god I believe in is helping Andromeda! Aahahahahahaha!!!! Remember this! Never forget! My name is Andromeda! You’ll dream of me every night — so dream of the worst nightmares! Aahahahahahahahahah!!!!”
That was the last of her mocking laughter. Perseus’s body, now turned into an owl, was sucked into the underground love chamber beneath the temple — which had long since become the noble’s resting room — and, sure enough, the sky sealed shut like a lid. Anyone could see the unmistakable hand of a specific god at work, and he had no words left… but his rage finally exploded.
“MEDUSA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!”
He shouted until his voice echoed across the entire city-state of Argos, crossing the temple, but nothing changed. By the time he smashed the floor with his hammer and fists, the monster that had killed his wife and turned Hestia to stone was nowhere to be found.
It was then, in the dark night when night itself had sunk low.
All citizens of Argos had not slept a wink after hearing that furious shout of his.