Welcome back to the latest chapter! Glad you guys liked the previous chapter, and thanks for the constructive criticisms from those of you who didn't. Now, some of you asked me whether Super Orion will be included in this story, and as you can see in the mailbag below, I won't confirm nor deny anything yet! Also, after receiving more detailed history charts from my latest research, there's some things I'll change about HV-S03 and the rewrite of HV-S01: RKR. Wait till you see those fruits!

Also, there's some misinterpretation on who the Servant with this story's Hera's appearance was in one of the previous chapters' AN. With the release of the latest Lostbelt characters in FGO, she turns out to be Europa. I will still roll with her appearance for Hera in-story, until I have the chance to either change her appearance en masse after TYPE-MOON's confirmation and release of her actual character... or just assume they're accidentally identical, alright!

Mailbag time!
Mo Eazy: [the reply's excerpt] Thanks for the review. TBH, in my mind, Hecate has a better chance at being the secret route than Athena - though that's not saying much, since I've been adamant to myself I'll keep it to Atalanta, Medusa, and Medea. While I don't agree with how both Campione! and Shakugan no Shana's canon went, and should go in the first place, I have to give the latter the better evaluation as a series as a whole. Plus, there are better non-crossover fanfics in the latter fandom than the former, so perhaps I was influenced there.
98kazer & KRKing: Sorry for the late reply. Regarding Super Orion... I won't comment on whether I'll use him or not. I prefer to let you suffer in curiosity instead. Hahaha!
taovkool: Note that the gods in Lostbelt 5 have millennia to upgrade and strengthen themselves, becoming far more powerful than their original counterparts. There were also indications Poseidon's & Artemis's mecha forms are recent upgrades instead of being their true form. Regarding their true nature as inorganic life forms created by alien Titans, then I'll try my best to incorporate it into the story, because I purposefully left this attribute out just in case something like this happened. Thanks for the review for the combat chapter. As I mentioned in the AN, I know it's going to be unpopular with how anticlimactic several parts went, but I went with realism over drama in it. The former almost always guarantee a quick finish for both winner and loser sides, instead of having a prolonged duel like the latter.

Note: Some of the Noble Phantasms appearing in this chapter will have different origins, usage, and effects than canon. Do try to enjoy my explanation regarding these differences. As always, discussions are welcome.

Over the past few weeks, Medea could now say she'd experienced what Elysium had to offer.

People said it's the ultimate paradise, where nothing was found wanting and the spirits rested peacefully for eternity, living harmoniously with each other despite the differences they had in life.

Well, if they went to Elysium together, it's more likely they weren't bitter life-long enemies in the first place. One of them would go to Hades instead. Perhaps that kind of luxury was only reserved to respectful rivals, where both weren't judged to have done anything wrong or legally criminal in their lives. In that case, then a bond of genuine friendship could be argued to have existed between them, because no combatants could be together for such a long time without knowing the other party well.

For example, Herakles and Shirō. The public hyped up their rivalry some time ago, when the latter beat the former's record in receiving the S-Rank designation by defeating the older man in direct combat. Despite the Guild's best effort in playing down the conflict, people's mouth and tongue couldn't be stopped from wagging randomly. With every storyteller, the event was blown up out of proportion more and more.

Fortunately, after a while, the gossip died down because there's no apparent desire to fan it from anyone else, who were predictably easily distracted by another juicy gossip, averting public attention to someplace else. From what Shirō had told her of what actually happened, it's a conscious decision from the Guild after discussing with the two S-Rankers, since an enforced attempt to clamp it down would only draw suspicion and even more interest as to why the esteemed hero Herakles wouldn't want the result of a duel out in the open.

To be frank, as both a magus and a woman, she didn't really see the point of such simple rivalries. It all appeared so… barbaric and rough, wasn't it? Quite stupid and brash, merely the result of two egos – usually males – clashing and neither willing to back down.

Not even after spending time with the man she loved did she manage to understand such thoughts. She wanted to, make no mistake – he simply allowed her to take her time and not force her to immediately accept everything of him.

Of Shirō.

Even now, she still squealed internally whenever she addressed him in her mind so… intimately. Without formality, careful approach, or forms of addresses.

Because they're married now.

- …!

She pursed her lips together to silence the upcoming squeal, not for the first time today.

Or this week. Or this month. Or… Well, those around her would understand.

She merely allowed the intense shiver to take over her shoulders, letting the wooden ladle in her hands tremble in accord.

Her long violet hair – one her husband liked! – bounced in happiness, as her face couldn't help but spread into a smile, dissipating the giddy energy erupting from her womb to her entire body.

A mixed aroma of mixed spices alongside the fat of various chunks of game meat in the stew filled the room, accompanied with the sound of bubbling liquid and repeated 'thunk's of Medusa chopping wood outside. Today was Medea's turn to cook – a rarity, because usually Shirō took up this duty, as well as teaching her his recipes. She wouldn't dare say she's already reached the level of her husband, but she's getting there!

What she still felt she hadn't done was to have an official blessed ceremony like what Atalanta had, but as long as she's still living this dreamy life, she wouldn't complain. Shirō had called her his 'wife', and that's all the recognition she needed. There's no need of it from her father, her family, her people in Colchis, or her adventurer colleagues.

Circe sent her a congratulation, so she's all good. Perhaps Medea missed Hecate's presence, and she wished to hear what the goddess would have to say to her current situation, but that couldn't be helped. Shirō said she's recovering well, and the Authority of [Magic] had been running as smoothly as possible due to the established system already existing. In fact, it seemed her Magecraft had grown more powerful lately, showing there's no issue due to Hecate's absence.

Though she attributed that more to her frequent consumption of an excellent-quality semen.

That thought brought another giggle to her lips, causing her to lower her guard and allowing Atalanta to sneak up behind her with a hug.

"Smells delicious," the older woman suddenly whispered in her ears, pressing their bodies close together, eliciting an "Eep!" from the distracted Medea. "I've processed the game I hunted today. They're already in the storeroom."

"T-Thank you f-for your hard work!" The magus managed to squeak out, before composing herself and allowing her body to melt into the hug. "U-Um… this'll be ready in a moment. I-Is Shirō home yet?"

She felt Atalanta's rough strands brush against her own in a shake. "I haven't felt his presence returning from Mount Olympus, so perhaps we'll have another dinner with the three of us."

"I see…" She mumbled, slightly disappointed he wouldn't be here to taste her cooking.

"I'm back!" A loud proclamation echoed from the back door, its childish traits identifying itself as Medusa. "Do you need extra firewood, Medea?"

A small hill of neatly-stacked firewood showed itself near the door, with only Medusa's slim legs showing themselves from underneath it. Her offer came from the need for even a magus of Medea's caliber to use firewood in cooking. Yes, she could've conjured a flame long and stable enough for it, but the flavor just wasn't there. The combustion process from the fuel used gave the meal its distinctive scent and taste, and replicating it completely with Magecraft was just a waste of time and resources. Therefore, Medea chose to pursue the traditional route, just as how her husband taught her.

"No need. This is just entering its final phase, so clean up and set the table, please!"

"Alright!" The firewood hill replied cheerfully, before disappearing towards the storeroom.

Sensing Medea's sadness, Atalanta rubbed her head and kissed it, feeling responsible to substitute for their husband's caring touch. "You know he is gone for an important thing, correct? Do not be too harsh on yourself."

Her words were replied by a melancholic smile, before that long violet ponytail swished around and refocused on the food.

That was, until the entire house was blown to smithereens in an instant.

- BAM!

"Sir, there's movement from the royal palace of Arcadia!" A raccoon-eared receptionist barged into the Guild Master's office in a hurry, shouting at the top of her lungs. "What do we do?!"

Instead of finding Chiron processing some documents, however, he appeared in front of her already fully-dressed in battle armor, with his bow slung across his back along with a quiver full of arrows. His human form was already shed off, revealing the rear half of a muscular horse.

"Gather all high-ranked adventurers available and make them form a defensive line around Mycenae. I'll select my team later on from them, before we set forth to reinforce our beloved S-Ranker."

Raphtalia nodded firmly before running back the way she came, no doubt shouting orders as she did so to fulfil Chiron's orders as fast as possible. While he still had the composure to slip in a joke for his final sentence, he, too, felt the pressure emanating from the surrounding city-states, especially after what the Argo had accomplished.

Not everything heroic would be universally-accepted by everyone.

Despite the publicized nature of the incident, where Poseidon's erratic nature, controlled mind, and another entity lurking behind the scenes, people would think independently separate from the narrative. They're not stupid, after all – scholars immediately delved into the possible backlash from Atlantis's destruction, from the death of countless citizens there, to the economic loss from partner city-states. No matter how much the Guild insisted the former were all evacuated safely prior to the battle, there's still those who wanted to take advantage of the situation and take down Shirō publicly.

Iolchos. Arcadia. Colchis. Three considerably powerful city-states, all of whom had a stake against Shirō. While public opinion of the S-Ranker and Royal Prince of Iolchos was good, it wouldn't hold up in front of constant official critiques and lambasting by each region's ruler.

Of course, the man himself had already prepared some countermeasures. Most of the information networks he used to turn public opinion to his side came from converting workers in similar occupations from precisely these three city-states. Colchis fared the best because their spying methods were less traditional than Iolchos or Arcadia, whose members gradually supported Shirō and Atalanta more, compared to their previous employer.

It appeared they'd gotten desperate, thus the sudden assault on the redhead's residence.

Before, Chiron was busied by securing Shirō's family and close associates, such as his birth parents, Acastus, and so on, so they wouldn't be targeted by untoward means. That's the main reason he didn't join in with the Argo – a favor Shirō swore he'd repay in the future.

At this day and age, this kind of verbal contract was far more valuable than gold.

Being an independent organization, it didn't mean the Guild wasn't interested in keeping the peace among the various militaristic city-states. On the contrary, it's its main objective – thus, any potential swings in national power and intent was of significant worry to it.

Iolchos. Arcadia. Colchis.

These three name popped up not only because of their connection to Shirō, but the honestly stupid decisions they'd been making lately, no doubt coming from their rulers.

Normally, these were perfectly reasonable, professional governors of their lands. Their rule wouldn't stay this long if not for this quality, because the uprising of the masses grew more common after the idea of democracy was established not too long ago.

Therefore, the sudden investments in what they described as 'ritual materials' roused suspicion from Chiron, who had been warned previously of their possible connection with those who wished to destroy the world from Shirō.

To be frank, just this warning alone was enough material for him to safeguard the redhead's family, but hey, he offered the deal, so Chiron took it.

This sudden warning from his informants wasn't much of a surprise. It's only a matter of 'when', not 'if' – unfortunately, a constant occurrence in their line of work. It's just because this matter wasn't spread around the lower members of the Guild or the public, keeping it among those truly involved in this under-the-table conflict.

But now… all of it was going to change.

He only hoped he wasn't too late.

Pray? Who to pray to when the gods themselves weren't around, corrupted, or flawed? One could only rely on themselves for this, so Chiron only gritted his teeth and galloped towards the borders of the city.

"Is everyone alright?"

Atalanta's soft, confident voice was certainly far too weak to be heard across the forests of Arcadia she called her home – and the house of their new family – but Medea and Medusa both had methods to listen to it nonetheless. The latter's inhuman senses were honed even further in her time spent training together with everyone, while the former always Reinforced her body as a habit whenever she detected any potential dangers.

"Of course," Medusa calmly replied from some way away, standing proudly among several torn-up trees and destroyed boulders, her long violet hair snaking down to the ground. "I'm worried more about you, Medea…"

"Hey! What's that for!" The young magus protested, batting away layers of dust and gravel from the apron she's just wearing. With a thought, a two-layered robe manifested itself on her body, swirling its light lilac and dark violet tones around her curves, alongside her favored staff. "I'm strong too, you know!"

"Focus, you two," Atalanta chided gently, still not raising her voice. Her ears and tail were already out, with her slitted eyes narrowing sharper than Shirō's blades. "This pig shan't kill itself without our assistance."

The Calydonian Boar towered over them, having just ran straight through the heartwarming home they'd built after going through several hardships in life. clearly, it's no ordinary beasts even when one disregarded its enormous size – more of a hill than a living being. Golden lines spread across its body, giving it an inorganic, metallic look, while its eyes and tusk gleamed with crazed murderous intent.

It wasn't particularly aiming for them, even. The three of them could sense this animal was rampaging around because it's insane, not because it's controlled or hijacked by someone else.

No… that's not necessarily true. Knowing the gods' behavior from Shirō's occasional explanation, there's every chance a deity, or a being close to it, were behind this. The insanity emanating from the beast was clear, but it didn't mean it naturally accrued this state. The Calydonian Boar – while they all knew its proper designation – had very little traits which they'd encountered otherwise. Not its size, not its strength, not its clearly divine origin.

After all, Shirō hadn't told them of Atalanta's fate, and left them to interpret what they're seeing through the Dream Cycles by their own. Even with that, it mostly consisted of Shirō's childhood and background, and it's blurred. Information about their other selves – the ones experiencing turmoil one after the other, tough enough to break every single one of them – were scarce.

But none of them cared about that right now.

This thing had destroyed their house. Their home.

The material cost was insignificant. After all, just Medea's income alone as a C-Ranker was enough to fully rebuild and refurnish that homely wooden shack. There's free materials all around, as Atalanta specifically chose self-growing trees among the Arcadian forests to limit as much damage to the environment as possible when she first renovated it, back when she first met Shirō.

But a 'home' was different.

A place where people who loved each other gathered. A place where memories were made, and happiness was shared.

Now, it all laid flat against the boar's erratic hoof, with nothing remained as its aura burned them off.

"██████████████▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄_..."

It roared… or tried to.

Instead, its rumble faded into a squeak at the end under the combined murderous intent from the three females in front of him, drowned out like a small creek facing up against a tsunami.

By that time, it clearly knew… it's done.

"Come, Tauropolos. Let's hunt."

Tauropolos
~ Bow of Heaven ~

Numerous magic circles had already surrounded the Calydonian Boar's hulking body, shooting out chains larger than most ships' main mast and binding it in place. It shook its gigantic body to try to loosen the restrain, but the chains merely groaned and did not break.

Medea tapped the butt of her staff to the ground, securing the inverse Bounded Field in place. Instead of spreading her Od and Mana across a large, thin film like a traditional one, it's more effective to shape each restraining magic formula in the form of chain links. The only difficulty in doing this technique was… its difficulty. Not many magi could handle the calculation and operative procedures in their brain under the span of a Five-Line chant – especially for binding Divine Beasts like this boar – much less at the speed of Single-Action spells.

But Medea wasn't Hecate's student for nothing. Only a few beads of sweat poured down her forehead – more from the previous cooking than the strain of chanting a highly-complex magical spell – and she silently eyed Medusa to take action.

Or, to be more precise, the place where the young girl was standing. Even after all these while, she still couldn't keep up with both Atalanta's and Medusa's top speed whenever they decided to go full throttle. Not even a spread-out detection-type Bounded Field could necessarily react in time against their full sprints, in order to relay the information towards another offensively-oriented Bounded Field.

Before she realized it, the Calydonian Boar's head had already buried itself onto the ground, courtesy of a lightning-quick downwards axe kick from Medusa. She twirled her entire body mid-air, before drilling down upon its torso to buckle its knees down with a cannon-like punch.

"Good job, Medusa."

Those three words were enough warning for her to scramble away, lest she got caught up in the incoming attack.

Both Medusa and Medea closed their eyes and turned their backs around, since the light emanating from the tip of Atalanta's arrow shone with the intensity of Apollo and Artemis's divine lights.

The boar shivered greatly, and due to its size, the earth beneath it trembled in accordance.

The incoming blow was more suitably called a divine smite, rather than an arrow strike.

Therefore, the darkness within it, the source of its craze, chose to do what it was automatically programmed to do when under threat to its life.

Cheat.

Any executioner, no matter how experienced or cold-hearted, would change their expression when it's their own family and loved ones under their sword's swing. Tales of someone so emotionless that they couldn't feel anything was false – even deities had their own consciousness, and this was the part which would hesitate no matter what.

Whether it influenced their actions or not depended on their training and sense of responsibility, but deep in their hearts, whether they liked it or not, this was the truth.

Therefore…

"Atalanta! Halt your shot! It's me!"

On top of the boar's palace-sized head, a humanoid figure began to sprout, taking shape from fleshy black-and-gold tentacles, before a human's face and finer details began to sink into its features.

It wasn't an imitation. Yes, there's Magecraft available which could perfectly mimic a person's appearance or behavior, but it's mostly one or the other, leaving behind a soulless doll which clearly wouldn't fit in a regular human society. High-level artificial humans were all the rage a few decades back, but their inhuman expression and robotic behavior quickly unnerved their creators and owners, who usually used them to replace hard labor, and soon got out of favor.

It took skills like Hecate's or Athena's Magic to properly create an approximation of another human being, much less a new, original creation like Medusa.

However, there's a technique which cut all those complicated process away.

If coming up with something from scratch didn't work, then just use an already-existing template, preferably something close to the intended final result. For example, Necromancy was a popular alternative. Spiritual Evocation casted inside an empty vessel was also a good option, and both were easier to learn and master compared to Magecraft and True Magic in the realm of the gods.

Of course, Hades and Thanatos were the rulers of these realms. It's relatively easy for them to resurrect any deceased physically perfectly and spiritually flawless – they just chose 'no' to keep the balance of the world proper. However, Hades's most frightening skill wasn't this, but to create an amalgamation of beings from the deceased's talents and skills, with no regard to physical appearance – because that's just wasted resource – and forge them into city-destroying monsters.

Thanatos's mastery over [Death] was more mysterious than Hades's [Netherworld], and not many gods were clear about it. He was someone closer to the Sisters of Fate, thus a neutral adjudicator of others, than the Olympians, who're more akin to rulers of their respective Authorities and polis in the world.

Ars Theurgia took another route, however.

It had just recently released itself from its mother's confinement chamber through a method unknown to even itself. While it realized its power had yet to mature, and its fellow siblings weren't by his side any longer, it took refuge in the most ideal candidate: a well-bred, well-fed individual with significant political power. Like most parasites, it only chose its host in order of possibility of survival – as a being who was born to affect and manipulate humans, it immediately chose that particular species to do so.

That individual happened to be the King of Arcadia, Iasus.

Perhaps there's an instinctive attraction to people antagonistic to its true enemy, who was also her mother's? Certainly, from what it gathered intermittently from Pandora's thoughts, Heroic Vessel SHIRŌ was the highest priority target to engage and destroy. There's a being called 'Alaya' whom its mother strangely described with a mixture of anger, respect, and… fear?

Naturally, it lacked the means to verbally express that thought, so it couldn't tell whether her mother would confirm that emotion or not.

However, what it had was a great stroke of luck. Here it was, inside the body of a person who held enmity – to a varying degree – against its mother's opponent? A person who happened to rule over the area where SHIRŌ's home was located, along with his loved ones?

Previously, political and social pressure safeguarded their home against Iasus's, or anyone else's, attempts at aggression. The people had long known of his deeds – abandoning his infant daughter to the mercy of the wilderness, like a poor pauper or harlot who had no realistic means to take care of one more mouth to feed.

But he's a king, and not the aforementioned two examples. When it happened, the public outroar was tremendous, especially because the Adventurers' Guild declined to comment on the situation. Their neutrality and public view meant this silence was treated as confirmation of the rumor – to Iasus, undoubtedly spread by his current son-in-law – and public perception of him declined sharply. While Greece had indeed embraced democracy, it's fortunate it hadn't reached the level of actually voting in for its monarchs – otherwise, Iasus's head would've flown a long time ago, most likely swung by a sword wielded by his own daughter.

To be honest, he didn't even have such a bad view of his own daughter. As a human being, no matter how cold-hearted he must be to rule as king, he did feel a semblance of guilt at his act which essentially separated him from his core family – both Atalanta and her birth mother were out of his reach now. However, his rational part dismissed this concern… thus, life went along as normal.

It's only after these stories popped up that he became burdened by those same nightmares again, just as Atalanta began her career as a professional adventurer.

These negative emotions were what drew Ars Theurgia to inhabit and parasitize him… which, again, happened only because of a stroke of chance.

It was also chance a specially-cultured boar, prepared for an offering towards Artemis – as per Iasus's annual prayers of forgiveness to the Goddess of the [Hunt] – was nearby. Thus, an abomination was born – one impossible to be birthed because it's against the laws of nature.

In another reality, this boar was the one used by Artemis herself when the ruler of Calydonia slighted her. It rampaged all the way from Arcadia to that place, destroying crops, forests, homes, lives, and so on, just to make a point never to cross the normally-easy-going goddess. In another reality, it was the event when Atalanta would receive her accolades as an adventurer, after spending years being discriminated against because of her gender and callous manner of talking.

In another reality, this boar would be the source of her madness, epitomizing her helplessness to save the unfortunate children in front of her. Right or wrong didn't matter. What's most important was their smiles – so they wouldn't cry like her ever again.

And what a chance this was.

Therefore, it couldn't fail here. It's clear Atalanta's prepared attack would've been enough to fell this beast… and itself alongside the boar.

"Atalanta! You remember me, do you not?"

However, the words coming out of this controlled voice box failed to register their desired effects.

Oh, they reached her, alright.

But in a different way.

- Kill.

The entire forest stilled, as it's blanketed by a tremendous pressure of killing intent emanating from the cat-eared princess.

Both Medea and Medusa weren't looking at her, but the hairs on the back of their necks were standing sharply in nervousness.

"That was a poor choice from you, o' beast."

- Thwp.

Her arrow shone even brighter, ever sharper and deadlier.

When did it fly? When was it released? Ars Theurgia couldn't differentiate the moment between Atalanta's fingers releasing her hold to the sensation of impact obliterating its inhabited body.

- …!

It failed to register another thought, as the arrow, having the concentrated Divine Blessings of the divine siblings, transformed into a wave of energy so large it momentarily clouded the sky itself.

No… To be more precise, it had become a replacement of the [Sun] and the [Moon] in the Mortal Plane. There was no need for other humans to rely on the sky at this moment, because Atalanta's arrow had superseded their Authority in their eyes.

"Phoebus Catastrophe."

Phoebus Catastrophe
~ Complain Message on the Arrow ~

"It's not dead yet!"

"Thank you, Medusa. I can observe that."

Even with that dry reply from Atalanta, Medusa didn't shift her concentration from the enemy in front of them. Medea had already started summoning several magic circles in front of them, which the younger girl used as jumping platform to the quickly-recovering monster.

The three of them were used to self-regeneration techniques. After all, each and every one of them had a personal one they preferred, though clearly not at the level of this beast or their previous, more powerful opponents. Therefore, at the very least, they're experienced in determining how a particular being achieved such a feat – natural, artificial, or a combination of both.

This time, it's the second which was happening.

"Hah!"

With a shout, Medusa launched herself far above the already-towering beast, Cybele activated for all its worth. As she expected, she didn't feel its petrification effect taking place bar the suddenly-redirected growl from the rapidly-regenerating beast.

However, that's not what they're aiming for.

Whatever demon was hijacking both of these two individuals' body – Iasus and the divine boar – was supplanting the destroyed parts with its own grotesque flesh. The boar's previously muscular, tough, rugged golden-black body was now an amalgamation of that… as well as alien maroon undulating semi-solid mucus. It expanded and contracted this way and that, as randomly and disgustingly as possible, whose effect was only magnified by the damage Atalanta had just done to it.

Basically, the only original body parts still visible were its hoofs. Everything above it was vaporized instantly, along with nearly half of the forests of Arcadia standing behind it.

- Thud.

That was the sound of Atalanta's knees hitting the thick branch she was standing on, panting profusely. "Haa… Haa… Haa…"

She was desperately trying to control her breath, her fist trembling as it rested against the main trunk. She still levied a hateful gaze against the beast, the killing intent from before still bursting forth chaotically from her slender frame…

What frustrated her right now was all of this stemmed from her own doings. Rookie mistakes all over the place. She didn't need to stray far away from her bestial instincts to realize that.

It was a rushed shot. She berated herself time and time again in the span of microseconds, scolding her techniques all the way. The gathering of divine energy and activation of Authority was sloppy – instead of steadily siphoning energy from the nature around her and her connection to her patron gods, particularly Artemis, she inhaled everything needed in one large gulp. She also suddenly switched stances right before she unleashed that mighty strike, going to holding the bow with the nook of her feet and fully stretching Tauropolos out with her entire body, straightening her entire arm.

It made for an overly-powerful shot… if she intended of using that one beforehand. Deciding to up the power significantly not only cost her finer controls, but also the problem of doing it while the intense power of Phoebus Catastrophe coursing through her… was a major problem. Luckily, she at least had the experience of using this desperate technique against her husband, and he gave her a few safety pointers how to avoid the body-wrecking pain usually associated with this kind of reckless behavior.

What should've been seven concurrent divine strikes was forcefully compressed together in one single shot.

Rough. Misshapen. Tainted.

Back then, he simply rubbed her head and scolded her lightly while smiling. Right now, there's no doubt a palm chop would land instead, seeing her current emotional state.

But she just couldn't keep it down. Her head kept yelling to cool herself down, but her heart was burning with the evil flames of Nemesis… of [Vengeance] and [Hatred]. A missed breath here, a small twitch of complaining muscles there… They all culminated in the fact she's no longer useful to Medusa and Medea, who're now barraging the still-regenerating beast – though immobile – as fast as possible.

No. She's just dead weight now.

An archer who couldn't even draw the slightest string was completely useless.

"Atalanta! Retreat for now! Compose yourself!" Medea shouted when she saw the condition of her fellow wife without looking, holding her staff up high. "We still need you!"

"I know!"

Those were the words she wanted to shout out, but she could feel the small specks of blood forming from the inflammation in her respiratory system – a backlash from her poor shooting form earlier – leading to a dry cough instead.

Blood Fort Andromeda
~ Outer Seal, Blood Temple ~

A thin film of crimson barrier washed past her weakened body, settling in a comfortably large area and fully enclosing the space around them. She sent a thankful gaze towards the still-flying Medusa, because not only it sapped energy from their opponent, it also limited the damage they'd do further to the surrounding forests the longer they fought.

That was the third mistake. Her shot just now cut off the main source of Atalanta's strength: the forest.

She had harmed the nature which she called her home, the place she assigned as her true birthplace. No wonder it smote her back when she hypocritically misused her strength!

Despite her calm demeanor from earlier, there's no changing the fact she failed to protect their house when Shirō was away. She prided herself as the leader among the three girls – the 'first wife' – but even in this simple duty, she failed.

…nothing had changed, hadn't it? She was still the same weak girl who needed Shirō to be beside her, to save her from her mistakes.

Medusa kept an eye on Atalanta's prone form worryingly, but forced herself to tear her gaze away from the older woman. Besides, with Blood Fort Andromeda active – a new skill she'd recently mastered under the teachings of her new family – she rarely had to do so anyway. She could feel every existence inside its border perfectly, even down to which blade of grass was dying under the weight of their battle.

Her hair fluttered behind her, thick as a giant anaconda, flexibly flying in the wind despite the large braid constraining each strand together. At this distance, controlling or transforming them into something else – another trick she'd just recently learned – was useless. It's better and more effective to focus her energy into concentrated blows instead of variety.

Which was why her chain-spikes being used more for movement instead of offensive capability. She left that to her fists and legs.

She still remembered the form she took in Elysium. The 'ideal' Gorgon… how a serpent goddess should look, and one which represented the ideals of humanity's prayers. Certainly, that form as a golden one-eyed dragon would be convenient, and the golden scales spreading across her limbs to the center of her back and stomach were whispering the possibility and the power she could have.

Oh, accessing it was easy. Controlling it, on the other hand… frightened her.

She knew it's just a part of her. It simply wished to protect her from all harm, to preserve her life as a form of her sisters' protection.

If only those whispers were Stheno's and Euryale's…

Without Shirō around, there's virtually no chance of going back if she lost control right here. The vision of Atalanta's and Medea's broken and battered bodies under her own bloodied limbs shook her mentally a few moments ago, before the memories of the warmth of their embrace around her whenever they slept together at night snapped her out of it.

They were here with them. Despite Atalanta's weakened state, they're here to support her. There's no need in relying fully into her 'other side', where there's everything to lose and nothing to gain.

Besides, this opponent… was weak!

It had nowhere near the experience and guile of Shirō or Poseidon – the two of them, when fully-powered, could handle her movements and speed relatively easily. The thought of the latter brought a bitter taste to her tongue, since though the sight of his body evaporating under Hecate's assault lifted a large burden off her vengeful shoulders, the fact she wasn't the one whose hands ripped out that god's Divine Graph left a small sliver of regret in her.

- Tap. Tap. Tap.

A large maroon trunk shot towards her, its diameter easily double or triple the size of her entire body, but she nimbly twisted her waist and avoided it while also using the aerial platform Medea had created around her.

There's no need for verbal confirmation for this maneuver. They'd practiced this a few times – besides, Medea had devised a small instinctive bridges among the three of them after they'd ingested plenty of semen from the same man in their wombs, allowing them to move in a well-choreographed group since earlier, despite them spending relatively little time training together.

Her chain-spikes jingled as they, too, used these magic circles as platforms to stab and hang from, enabling her pseudo-flight in a true three-dimensional sense. Her thin frame contorted around, above, under, and in between the numerous lashes shooting out from the still-recovering large mutated boar, eliciting a frustrated roar from the ever-growing flesh trying to affix itself to its true remains.

It's good there's no longer the silhouette of that human male who aggravated Atalanta so, because the look in her face was one Medusa hated very, very much.

'Ah, I just stole Shirō's words…' she remarked in her head while smiling, still freely and agilely avoiding most attacks, while obliterating those which came too close to her.

She felt the strength of the boar's regeneration slowing down, as its energy was extracted by Blood Fort Andromeda and fed into her body, feeding her frenzied pace. Despite the seemingly random movements, her mind was eerily calm – even the occasional whispers from her 'other side' had died down considerably.

Medea had floated into the air some distance away, hovering above Atalanta's position. Her robe flared outwards to mimic Circe's wings, but the artificial material meant it looked more like bat wings rather than her senior apprentice sister's elegant black raven wings. Still, the thin piece of clothing flapped in a way the latter couldn't, as well as providing better surface material for engraving runes and magical circles.

Which she dumped all of them into the mutated Calydonian Boar.

Medusa wasn't the only one angry at how Atalanta was made to react by this monster.

While she had less attachment to this place when compared to the other two girls, she certainly wasn't a brainless and tactless woman who wouldn't recognize sudden emotional swings in another female. To her, Atalanta was always the ultra-reliable older sister – far, far more so than Circe – who had cute ears and tails, as well as a stiff upper lip and strange, but adorable demeanor.

Who couldn't recognize the hatred emanating from her slender frame? For the thing which elicited such a reaction from such a pure, sincere person… As Atalanta had assisted both Medusa and Medea to repay those people who did a similar thing to them, so, too, would they eradicate everything in her way.

No matter if it's Atalanta's own father.

Just like how her… no, their husband would do it.

Well, to be frank, even if it's Medea's father… she'd still do it, on the account anyone who did these kinds of things was certainly not her father. Æëtes was many things, but not someone who'd throw an innocent child away just because they're a girl.

She had none of her teacher's grand magics. Perhaps, if she was the slightest bit conscious at the time, she would be able to glimpse into Hecate's final techniques and replicate them somewhat. Not even the spell used on her own body left any observable traces, leaving her and Circe at a loss on how to continue Hecate's teachings.

Therefore, there's no way the two of them could even theorize the spell used to annihilate a major deity along with his poleis in one go. Shirō did explain the basics Hecate used, but it's mostly just outer descriptions, instead of the proper calculation lines and runic formations.

What she did was the basics. Just like how everyone had taught her. It's the most important thing, after all.

Reinforcement. Alteration. Projection.

Shirō claimed these were the only three Magecrafts he'd mastered. At first, both Circe and Medea – at different times – didn't believe it when he told them so, but everything he did certainly could be explained as a combination of either one of those three.

He showed them how crippling specialization at one thing didn't mean one's talents and creativity couldn't be used to expand that segment. Naturally, the road had far more danger compared to when a talented person like Medea took it, but it's certainly possible, no matter how improbable it seemed at first.

One sprout, to grow a whole forest.

It's clear this beast – and, to an extent, that male corpse previously dangling from its forehead – was possessed by some sort of supernatural force to behave this way, as well as gain these absurd abilities. However, the intensity of it was far outstripped by the pressure she felt in Atlantis, disregarding her mental state at that time.

She assumed she also felt torturous amount of pain, burning herself up in anger when she saw what happened to Circe. However, those flashes were distant, as if they belonged to someone else, and she's merely viewing drawings made by another.

However, there was one particular phrase she clearly remembered as being heard on her own.

It was her teacher, master, and pseudo-mother figure.

"You should've called that [Rule Breaker]. It's more fitting."

Medea closed her eyes. Normally, this wouldn't make any difference in the quality of the spell she's executing, simply because she'd far outgrown that phase in her training. New trainees might be encouraged to do so to enable them better feel of their surroundings, as well as the energy current flowing through their body. There's also the part of having it as one's self-hypnosis to enact specific Mysteries. Others were more particular – Medusa, for instance, entered different 'phases' when her vision's quality changed.

Perhaps this was just a placebo, but Medea just felt like doing it, despite it not being necessary.

An orb of rainbow, made of thin arcs rotating at hyper-speed in relation to each other, manifested itself between her hands. Every band of color inside each of those arcs was a line of highly-complicated equations, all of which needed a time equivalent Ten-Line spell, despite her using High-Speed Incantations when she first designed it. With each arc containing seven of such equations forged and interlinked together, every arc differed in combination to its counterpart, creating a wholesome sphere of multicolored kaleidoscopic light.

Before, her [Pain Breaker] wasn't enough against Poseidon, lacking from several angles. Her physical and mental strength clearly weren't enough, as both failed spectacularly even as she took a life-threatening risk to enact it. However, its methodology was also lacking, she presumed. She thought of the spell as a virus infiltrating a larger system, seeking a weakness it could then latch on to and parasitize the host.

This one, though, took a completely different approach.

It took on the form of a highly-mutable epidemic, containing everything she knew of, any single one of which could shift itself to match the required function and affect the host. Instead of a microscopic virus, this was more of a global pandemic, coating everything it touched and saw and felt, before destroying everything – starting from the weakest link, then taking the experience and change necessary to do so to move onto the next stage.

And the next one. And the next one. And the next one…

Instead of sneaking in one script at a time, why not blanket everything with… well, everything?

Therefore, her master's final teaching to her was finalized, with the help of Shirō.

"Rule Breaker."

Across Greece, not a single soul misheard the dying groan of the Calydonian Boar, who had its constrains finally removed and curse lifted, having its soul peacefully sacrificed to Artemis, as per intended.