Chapter 75
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Love Quarrel(?) 2
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Beware of children, women, and the elderly.
This was the golden rule I personally inscribed while creating the new canon of our cult, the Heavenly Demon Scripture, which also served as the martial world's encyclopedia.
Yet, foolishly, I—the very one who wrote it—forgot my own words and nearly reincarnated once again today.
A woman who was also a child.
And in this mythic world at the pinnacle of chaos, she dared to think she could fend off a heavyweight hero who starred in solo episodes and major adventure tales just by throwing her body into the mix.
Thinking of it as my karma, my karma, I endured for a moment, believing this too would pass.
With the instructor's announcement of a break, Atalanta snapped out of it and looked at me in horror, my soul half departed from my body.
She then dragged me to a forest a short distance from the training grounds, apologizing to me in reverse, saying she had no idea what had come over her. Like a tamed wild beast, she burrowed into my arms and refused to let go.
Even when she heard how I'd gotten entangled with Apollo and Artemis, and was solving Hermes' riddle to break free, Atalanta looked ready to burrow into the earth itself.
"I'm sorry..."
"Ah, ahahaha..."
She clearly knew she'd lost her reason, and overcome with shame and regret, Atalanta sniffled.
Before long, she buried her face in my chest again and hid.
I had no history with women, let alone any real dating experience worth mentioning.
For a guy like me to have my first quasi-romantic spat, and against Atalanta no less—a solo episode protagonist in this hotbed of Greek mythic madness who never missed out on major quests—getting through our first fight this smoothly felt like a happy ending in itself. I was quite satisfied.
Plus, I had a hunch why Atalanta had gone so berserk, so rather than anger, I found her reaction admirable.
"You swallowed that mad demon's martial art, and you held back that well? Impressive."
"Mad... demon?"
First things first, I needed to explain the full situation to Atalanta.
"Atalanta, listen carefully. You've been feeling something strange lately during your martial arts training, right?"
"Huh? Y-you knew?"
Sure enough, Atalanta had noticed the Fighting Demon Art starting to emerge in her own martial arts.
She nodded, listening intently to what I had to say.
So I explained her current condition, the Fighting Demon Art blooming within her, and its origins.
"So... you're saying the essence of one of your masters' martial arts is inside me?"
"That's right. Probably during that headbutt incident last time, some force intervened..."
Headbutt incident.
Remembering the disaster that happened right after our disastrous first meeting, she bowed her head in shame again.
At the sight, I chuckled and stroked her hair as I continued.
"Where I come from, martial arts aren't just fighting techniques. When they reach their peak, they gain a will of their own.
His art must have meshed well with you."
The mindscape is a truly profound and mysterious realm.
It's my subconscious, another layer of my consciousness. The me there is me, yet not entirely.
A world of potential consciousness separate from my mind yet one with it—that's the mindscape.
If third-rate to transcendent realms transcend the human body, then realms beyond transcendent, like the Harmonized Realm, delve into the domain of mind and soul.
The moment you fully control the mindscape, merging conscious and unconscious...
Your spirit reaches beyond consciousness to the laws of heaven and earth's mysteries. That's the Manifestation Realm, or the Heavenly Demon Realm.
Even in this young body, I could wield my mindscape skillfully because my soul still belonged somewhere up there.
Yet Atalanta unwittingly stole the Fighting Demon Art from my mindscape, meaning the art—furious within it—willingly responded to her.
But since she's still young and it's only just blooming inside her, her intense feelings toward its true owner—me—caused her to lose control without realizing it.
"Whew, anyway, it must have clicked perfectly. I was shocked myself for a second."
"S-sooorryyy..."
Normally, martial arts take forms through stances and establish essence through oral formulas to complete a whole.
But uniquely, Atalanta had formed the essence before the form, causing the stances of her original martial arts to warp in its wake.
For a typical inner energy cultivator, this disharmony could lead to qi deviation at any moment.
Fortunately, Atalanta was a Greek without inner energy cultivation, and the Fighting Demon Art was an external art performed without it, so she transitioned smoothly without harm.
But it wasn't entirely without side effects—her hands and feet teetering on the edge, binding me, and that strange glint in her ruby eyes were proof.
"New techniques and insights are flooding in, so your mind and body are sensitive while adapting."
This was my mistake. I failed to look after her as the Fighting Demon Art bloomed, and the clash with those Artemis fangirls likely accelerated it.
"Could it be dangerous?"
"No, you've controlled it well enough that it shouldn't get truly dangerous or cause any major issues."
Thankfully, Atalanta wasn't consumed by the Fighting Demon Art. She was training it her way, gradually making it her own.
Had it internally ravaged her unchecked, those Artemis fangirls would've been carted off as corpses long ago.
"If something surges up suddenly like before, or you feel the urge to fight out of nowhere, come find me anytime."
"R-really?"
Of course, really.
None of the Twelve Divine Demons' arts were easy, but in sheer belligerence, the Infinite Fighting Demon's Fighting Demon Art was unmatched.
If she'd learned it stance by stance from the start, fine—but she'd straight-up downloaded its essence and unpacked it raw.
So far, Atalanta had controlled it well, blending it into her fighting style, but to fully master and elevate it, I needed to guide her properly.
Finally, the day has come for my Fighting Demon external art training methods to shine.
I planned to grip the reins tight to keep the Fighting Demon Art rooted in her from twisting down the wrong path.
"Heh... hehe... anytime...?"
Atalanta, meanwhile, blushed beet red, lost in her own thoughts, mumbling to herself.
Well... not whatever you're imagining. Martial arts aren't a joke.
"Huhu."
"Hehe..."
Unaware of my thoughts, Atalanta shyly smiled along with me.
Poor thing had no idea the trials ahead.
* * *
The martial arts class was a full-day affair.
As the sun dipped low after it ended, I apologized to Atalanta and Heracles clinging to me and hurried back to my quarters to wash up.
"Let's see... honey cakes, new clothes, flower bouquet, necklace..."
Last time, buying that adorable obsidian flute for our little cutie emptied my pockets.
But selling the miscellaneous loot from Hestia's quest at the market turned a tidy profit.
"Pockets empty again from gifts..."
What could I do?
To soothe the one I was off to see, this felt insufficient. Praying in Hera's name that sincerity and effort would cover the rest, I left my room.
"Hope she's not too upset."
Atalanta had flared up enough for minor qi deviation.
And the princess I was heading to now—I'd ignored her completely while only glancing her way from afar, which even I felt guilty about.
Either way, I'd see her face first, then bow my head or comfort her in my arms...
I arrived at the nymphs' forest right next to the living quarters.
As I steeled myself at the entrance and took my first step...
"Halt! This is the nymphs' forest. No unauthorized men allowed!"
"State your identity and purpose."
Nymphs suddenly leaped from the trees on both sides, blocking me.
Unlike the usual lightly dressed, cheerful nymphs, these two were sternly armed in wooden armor and spears.
"Um, I heard a Nereid nymph recently took shelter here."
"A Nereid nymph?"
"Ah! You mean Lady Nesneria!"
"Then you're that famous..."
"No wonder the esteemed Nereid princess, their beloved youngest, came ashore..."
At the mention of Nereid nymph, the guards immediately named Neri.
Judging by the fondness on their faces, as expected of the baby of many sisters, she was adored here too.
Whatever fantasies they were spinning, their stern demeanor vanished as they squealed like any girls her age. I could only smile wryly.
"Could you please inform Lady Nesneria that Dianes requests a visit?"
"Got it!"
"Wait just a moment!"
Thrilled by someone else's romance, the two guards—stern no more—vanished into the forest in a flash.
"Hmm, what should I say?"
Sorry I haven't come by?
You've gotten even prettier since I last saw you?
Neri had that childlike side I'd seen before, yet sometimes showed unfathomable depths.
A sea spirit, young and delicate as she was.
So, more nervous than during Hermes' riddle, I racked my brain for words to soothe her.
I waited a bit.
The guards who'd gone to relay the message returned from inside.
But their faces... why so fierce?
"Enemy of nymphs!!"
"Playboy!"
"All heroes are the same!"
"Wh-what?"
Sure enough.
The nymphs, faces twisted in fury, charged at me with their wooden spears(?).