A Maiden for the Dragon
"GRRAAAH!"
I gritted my teeth and summoned every ounce of my monstrous strength to snap the arrow in two. The divine essence within me should easily overpower the power of the goddess embedded in Artemis's Arrow. But Hippolyte soon curled her lip in a sneer.
"What an utterly absurd stunt. If your goal was to throw me off balance, you've succeeded brilliantly..."
Before Hippolyte could finish her sentence—
Crackle! Zap!
The arrow bent with a shower of white sparks. Hippolyte's eyes went wide as she watched.
"What in the world?! Impossible!"
Her reaction was only natural. Who would ever imagine someone could break an arrow bestowed by a goddess?
But the world has all sorts of strange happenings.
"GRRAAAAH!"
I roared, drawing out every last bit of my power.
"You mad bastard! Stop this instant!"
Hippolyte finally drew her sword and charged. But it was too late. Just as she rushed in, the arrow snapped with a deafening crack.
Snap-crunch!
Divine power erupted in an explosion.
BOOM!
It was a massive blast. The enormous trireme shattered, more than half of it reduced to splinters, and the pirates and Amazons on deck were all hurled into the air.
Splash!
Water rushed in from below the deck, the sound of flooding growing louder by the second. Now, the only ones left standing unscathed were me, Atalante, and Hippolyte.
"Peleus, you okay?"
Atalante had taken cover behind me, dodging the blast.
"Don't worry about it. Grab us a boat instead. I'll round up what we need and join you."
"Got it."
She didn't even ask what I'd do about Hippolyte, who was still there. Right now, Hippolyte was in a daze, her eyes glazed over from the shock.
"The arrow... This can't be. How could Artemis's Arrow..."
She couldn't wrap her head around it. Seizing the moment, I lunged at her.
Hippolyte snapped out of it late and tried to counter, but I was already on her, grabbing her with both hands.
"You scum!"
Hippolyte unleashed her expert wrestling skills, trying to flip me over. But I'd been through this before. Back when I'd tried to overpower Atalante with brute force alone, I'd gotten wrecked.
But things were different now.
"You think I'll go down that easy?!"
Hippolyte had the edge in technique, but she couldn't withstand my raw power. We grappled and rolled, but in the end, I pinned her to the deck.
Straddling her back, I locked in a rear naked choke in one swift motion.
"Guhk! Kkh!"
Good thing I'd learned this from the Cursed Hero. In this world, it was called the "Python Subduing the Deer," but plain old rear naked choke suited me fine.
I jammed my elbow deep into the center of her chin, cupped the back of her head with my other hand, and squeezed her carotids with all my might.
Hippolyte's struggles weakened bit by bit.
Knowledge really is power.
Says the guy choking out a delicate woman.
Delicate? Who? This chick slices throats clean off with a sword.
"Kh! Guuuh!"
Even as her mind clouded, Hippolyte fought viciously, clawing like a wildcat. But it was futile. Once the rear naked choke was sunk in, it was over.
Thud.
Her hand, scraping the deck to the end, finally went limp.
I hoisted her over my shoulder and headed to Atalante. She'd snagged a boat just in time—the one the Amazons had brought for hauling loot.
"Here. She's our hostage."
I tossed the unconscious Hippolyte like a sack of gear. Atalante dumped her unceremoniously in a corner of the boat. Once I climbed aboard, she started rowing.
"Let's head straight for the island."
"What about the pirates? They're floating everywhere."
After a moment's thought at Atalante's question, I shook my head.
"The gods will look after them. Tough sea dogs like that will figure it out."
No pirates have tougher lifelines at sea, so I figured we'd see them again. Flames were already devouring the half-sunken ship.
As we rowed toward the island, shouts erupted from the Amazons' ships. Not everyone had boarded our vessel, so they still had plenty of forces left.
"Peleus, they won't let us take this woman."
"Yeah, she's royalty. Look, they're already turning their ships toward us."
The massive Amazon triremes were pivoting, rowing on one side only.
"Even with her as a shield, if they ram us, we're in trouble. This is bad."
I shook my head at Atalante's words.
"No trouble at all."
"What? That's a trireme. You forget what we're riding?"
"Even if this were a leaf instead of a boat, I wouldn't worry."
I reached out toward the Secret Book. As if on cue, it spat out Zeus's Sword.
Atalante's eyes widened at the blade materializing from thin air.
"You really have some weird tricks, Peleus."
"Most people call that talent."
Atalante let out a small sigh instead of replying and rowed harder. Curses and threats flew from the Amazon trireme, but I ignored them, slowly raising Zeus's Sword.
Crackle! Zap!
White sparks danced along the blade. Reacting to the divinity inside me, the power swelled.
Sudden thunderous booms made the Amazons on deck panic, screaming and scrambling. But I was faster.
BOOM!
A bolt from the blue struck like lightning. With a deafening roar, most of the prow exploded. Blackened timber from the strike burst into roaring flames.
"One shot."
Borrowing a god's power made that massive trireme feel like a toy. The fearsome warship reduced to kindling.
I'd even held back, wary of drawing Zeus's attention while channeling divinity. And still, it obliterated the trireme... The sheer might of this power hit home.
"Impressive. So this is what you hit me with back then?"
Atalante watched in awe, but her expression soured with old grudges. Her gaze turned chilly. Come to think of it, I'd blasted her mercilessly once.
"Ahem!"
Feeling a pang of guilt, I snatched the oars from her.
"I'll row us to the island."
* * *
We beached the boat and hauled the unconscious Hippolyte into the mountainous interior of Naxos Island. With the Amazon queen visiting, heading to the village would've been suicide.
"What now?"
At Atalante's question, I pointed to the passed-out Hippolyte.
"She holds the key."
"Interrogate her? She won't talk easily..."
"Let's search her first. If we have to, strip her bare and check every inch."
Enemy or not, she's a woman of marriageable age—handling it myself felt off. Good thing Atalante was here.
"As a royal and commander, she might have something useful."
"On it."
"Oh, and grab her belt too."
Atalante started stripping off armor and clothes without mercy, so I quickly made myself scarce. Must be the bad blood; no gentleness in her hands. A quick glance showed Hippolyte already half-naked, rolling on the ground.
I should treat Atalante better.Have I ever slighted her?
The Secret Book scoffed at my worried query.
You call that a question? Buttering her up won't win favors anymore. Aim not to piss her off worse instead. Way more practical.
Rare wise advice—I had to nod.
Sitting alone on a rock, waiting, Atalante finally returned with an armful of loot: Hippolyte's possessions and weapons.
"What about her?"
"Tied to a tree for now. Why the belt?"
"Got a use for it."
Hippolyte's belt would become famous later. It was the ninth of Heracles's Twelve Labors: fetching the Amazon queen's belt. And at that time, the queen's sister—Hippolyte—held it. Meaning, the belt Heracles would claim was right here in my hands.
Snagging it early could let me gift it to Heracles for a favor.
"Huh."
Atalante shrugged like it was no big deal and handed over a map. It was of Naxos Island.
"Look, markings all over. Weird script. I can read most writing, but not this."
Thanks to the High Priest's blessing from my temple scribe days, I could decipher almost anything. But this script? No clue.
As I tilted my head, Atalante explained.
"No surprise. It's Amazon script, a gift from Artemis herself. It holds mystical power—men can never read it."
"Oh, this stuff?"
First time seeing it for real. The book's author—a man—could only copy it blindly.
"What's it say?"
"Locations where Endymion might be. Five spots total."
Caves, ponds, cliffs, valleys, and a mountainside on Naxos—places the Amazons had narrowed down after scouting.
"Jackpot. If we hustle, we might snag Endymion first."
No reason to dawdle with intel in hand. I woke Hippolyte and bound her tight. Couldn't kill her, so she'd be our prisoner. Stashing her in the Secret Book like Thematos would've been ideal, but humans don't last long inside.
"You insolent dogs! How dare you treat me—the Amazon queen's sister—like this?!"
Hippolyte woke raging and thrashing. But Atalante beat the fight out of her, teaching the virtue of silence.
Thwack!
Atalante kept pounding the same spots.
Brutal woman.
The Secret Book replied matter-of-factly as I inwardly whistled.
Remember sneaking into Mycenae palace? She one-shot every maid with knifehand strikes.
Oh yeah. Thought they were dead at first—scared me shitless.
After several blows while bound, Hippolyte shut up.
"Better. March."
At Atalante's cold command, Hippolyte ground her teeth but had no choice.
"The queen won't stand for this."
"Need more?"
"......"
We dragged the roped Hippolyte to the first mark: a cave.
Something from a book popped into mind.
"Hmm... Read once that an old cave on Naxos houses a monster. Not here, right?"
Hours later, I learned "not here" kills.
We pushed through the terrain to the cave—no Amazons yet. Jackpot. We entered to search—and a massive dragon's eyes lit up, greeting us.
Its head alone rivaled a wagon.
"GRRRROOOOAR!"
Huge head, body bristling with spine-like scales. It puffed up, neck rigid—pissed at intruders.
Dragons have strong territorial instincts, hostile to trespassers. Thought it was a dumb beast, but it spoke human tongue.
"How dare you invade Cataphractus's domain? Long ago, we dragons marked borders with the island's humans—no crossing. And yet!"
Ah, that's why no major damage despite this beast. Smart pact, whoever made it.
I apologized first.
"Terribly sorry. New to the island—our rudeness was unintentional."
"Ignorance excuses no sin. You broke the pact; pay the price."
"What price do you demand?"
Flattering it, I asked. Cataphractus slammed a foreclaw down.
BOOM!
"Since ancient times, to appease wrathful dragons, humans offered pure, beautiful maidens. I demand the same by tradition."
Old-fashioned talker. A sacrifice, huh.
Atalante and I locked eyes, reading each other's minds. Without a word, we stepped back in sync.
Hippolyte, standing still, was thrust forward.
She whipped around, eyes bulging.
"Wh-what?! You bastards! Offering me as tribute?!"
I gave a sheepish hand-wave apology.
"Gotta survive somehow. Short time together, but it was fun."