Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Sweet as Hell, Painful as Heaven
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Sweet like hell, painful like heaven.
In one corner of the ruined Colosseum.
Atalanta, who couldn't tear herself away out of desperate worry, felt a chill run down her spine from the aftermath of the massive explosion Heracles had unleashed at the end.
No other thoughts came to mind; in that moment of lamenting that this was how she would die...
For some reason, flashing before her eyes was the black-haired boy, Dianes, who had protected her until that very morning.
She had asked him why he was going to such lengths for her.
He had smirked and countered with a question of his own.
"Why did you try to kill me?"
At his question, which felt almost like a rebuke, Atalanta had nothing to say.
But as if he hadn't really expected an answer, he shrugged and said,
"Just as you didn't need a reason to try to kill me or deal me a fatal blow... I don't need much reason to save you either."
He was simply following his heart.
She didn't need to worry about it much either, he added, turning back to the medical tome he'd received from Asclepius.
For some reason, her head throbbed with a headache, so Atalanta couldn't press the matter further and lay back down.
Even amid her hazy memories, one thing she could be certain of was this:
The hot emotion that had taken the place of the nightmares tormenting her for long ages pointed to that beautiful black-haired young hero.
An emotion she'd never felt before in her life.
A desire she'd never wished for before in her life.
Chasing after his back from a distance made her heart pound like she was facing a vast secret realm... and meeting those obsidian eyes sent thrills coursing through her entire body.
What on earth was this feeling?
Overwhelmed by the utterly unfamiliar sensation, she had rushed to her foster mother Karyklo and asked.
Karyklo had smiled tenderly, embraced her, and whispered softly,
"Eros's golden arrow that he brought has pierced deep into your heart."
It was the emotion sweet like hell and painful like heaven, ugly beyond measure yet more beautiful than anything in the world—love itself.
At first, she couldn't believe it.
She was the daughter of Artemis, destined to leave the forest upon growing up and join eternal hunts under the crescent moon as a virgin forever.
For her to fall for a man—no, for the opponent she'd been snarling at and fighting just yesterday.
"Oh, Tali. That's what love is. More sudden than any incident, more fatal than any accident. But that's precisely why love is beautiful and wondrous."
Kissing her confused forehead, Karyklo hugged her tightly, as if proud beyond words.
"Dianes told us. The things he did to protect you, the things he did for you—they only bound you to your past. But you, who broke free from that yoke on your own... we're proud of you."
Atalanta, who had bristled with eternal hatred and rejection toward everything around her.
Karyklo was overjoyed to see warmth and affection sparkling in her eyes instead of cold cynicism, not knowing what to do with herself.
Like a butterfly breaking free from its frigid shell, spreading its beautiful wings.
Atalanta, shaking off her past and reclaiming her true colors, was a treasure more beautiful than anything in the world.
The vibrant emotions she was experiencing with her bare soul for the first time might still feel unfamiliar.
But soon, she too would come to know.
The joy of being with the one she loved.
The sweetness of affection warming her heart.
Encouraging her like that, Karyklo spent the whole night talking with her bewildered daughter for the first time in ages.
About her beautiful exploits before that tragedy struck.
About the young heroes who had fallen feverishly for her smile, and the courtship from the village youths nearby.
About how adorable she had been when she first arrived in the forest.
Truly embarrassing and cringe-worthy stories.
But had such time ever felt this comfortable and warm?
For the first time in ages, Atalanta fell asleep with her head pillowed on her mother's arm, wrapped in cozy comfort.
And the next day.
When she encountered him laughing nonchalantly amid Theseus, Jason, and Heracles—the trio called the Golden Three.
When her heart thundered as if it would burst and he was the only thing in her sight.
When she felt moved by the warmth of Dianes's hand as she reached out and grasped it.
She had no choice but to admit it.
That she had fallen in love.
After that, she saw nothing else.
Even as everyone screamed and fled from Heracles's mad rampage, she couldn't tear herself away from his precarious stand against him.
What if that fist made him cough up blood and collapse?
What if that kick broke something?
One worry led to another, spawning ominous imaginings, and those visions bound her feet like heavy shackles.
And when lightning gathered on the fist of the berserk Heracles.
Her sense of crisis surged to its peak.
Dianes, immobilized by Heracles's aura.
Heracles's fist plummeting toward his head.
No matter how she thought about it, only horrific outcomes filled her mind. Even facing the tidal wave of explosion crashing in, she couldn't even think to dodge.
The moment she closed her eyes, thinking only of Dianes vanishing into the dust cloud.
Suddenly, her body floated up, and a dignified voice called to her.
"Goodness! Child, you must be careful!"
"Eh... eh?"
No pain wracking her body, no deafening blasts ringing in her ears—only the gentle sound of wind and a clear blue sky greeted her.
Was this a hallucination before death, caught in the explosion's aftermath?
As she entertained such groundless thoughts, a melodic voice tickled her ear again.
"Hee hee hee, fortunately, all your fears missed the mark. Come now, get up."
Gently stroking her hair, the voice's owner helped her to her feet.
How long had she been lying there?
Feeling an odd sense of déjà vu from a recent similar incident, she lifted her head.
A beautiful noblewoman was examining her body with a graceful smile.
"Oh dear, Karyklo really... As a nymph herself, her hair shines without care, but to leave a young girl's hair so stiff like this...
Oh my? What's this wound on your forehead! Not even iced compresses for the swelling! Your whole body screaming from the dirt and dust...
Please don't tell me Chiron gave you this sackcloth as clothing. Zeus preserve us!"
Even as she poured out laments and complaints nonstop like Chiron master's machine-gun scoldings, her elegance and nobility remained untouched.
And this soft, pristine sensation against her limbs was surely...
"Clouds?"
Snapping back to reality, Atalanta whipped her head around in shock.
For some reason, all around were pure white clouds and a distant horizon—no trace of the menacing explosion from moments ago. She was in the midst of the high heavens.
Floating on clouds with this noble lady.
"Th-that..."
"First, we must clean you up. Relax your body."
*Snap!*
Before Atalanta could ask anything, the lady snapped her fingers crisply. A pure white light enveloped her, and in the blink of an eye, her entire body was pristine.
From the dirt under her fingernails to the dust, small wounds—even the faint scars on her body—all healed completely.
"Wha? Wh-what?"
"Your slightly tanned skin will return with time, and it actually looks healthy and vibrant—quite lovely."
Atalanta couldn't keep up with the situation at all, but the lady's actions continued.
"Jewelry... Of course not. You're the self-proclaimed tomboy daughter of Artemis, after all."
"What? H-how did you know that!?"
"That's not important right now. Hmm... Yes, better without necklaces or bracelets. Maybe a simple belt? For clothes... like this?"
As the lady's hands busily hovered over her face, shoulders, arms, and hands, Atalanta's ragged wraps—barely qualifying as clothes—transformed in an instant.
The first was a purple garment adorned with gold thread.
Smooth and soft fabric like caressing a flower petal in full bloom, embroidered lavishly with gold and silver apple trees. Wearing it, she looked like a noble princess.
"The purple silk the king of Thebes offered recently. But it's too flashy; it overshadows your charm."
Not this one.
Another snap of the goddess's fingers, and her outfit changed again.
This time, a fresh green garment evoking a spring meadow, intricately embroidered with lapis lazuli peacocks. It suited her light brown skin, making her look like a forest nymph.
"Hmm, not this either. Fine for a banquet, maybe. But too ornate for tending to your fallen lover."
*Snap!*
*Snap! Snap! Snap!*
After that, the lady's fingers snapped countless times—about ten repetitions.
"Yes! That's it exactly!"
She cheered with a radiant smile befitting her noble beauty.