Several days later, War God Mountain.
A streak of purple light took advantage of the thick night, silently flying out of the mountain shrouded in starlight, descending into a dense forest on the outskirts of City of Athens.
"Luo En!"
With a shout full of joy, the tall, purple-haired beauty had scarcely touched the ground when she rushed excitedly towards the figure by the fire that she had longed for day and night.
Luo En smiled and opened his arms, giving dusa a big hug as he whispered softly into her ear, "Yeah, I'm back...."
A mont later, dusa, having savored enough ti in that warm embrace, reluctantly got up and, taking Luo En's arm, took the initiative to speak.
"Co on, I'll take you back now, everyone misses you."
"Not so fast, tell first about what has happened during this ti."
Luo En then sat by the fire with the arriving dusa and inquired about the recent situation in Athens.
Facing the inquiry of a close acquaintance, dusa, who had still retained her simplistic nature, spared no details in her response.
And with this lesser deity of Athena as an informant, Luo En quickly got a hold of so of the changes within the City of Athens.
Firstly, with his relentless efforts, the Goddess of mory was finally persuaded to leave Mount Helicon with the Nine Muses and co to Athens, where under the arrangent of Goddess Athena, they joined in the organization of the Athenian library, providing a wealth of useful books that greatly promoted the educational work of the Academy of Athens;
In the anti, the Goddess of Justice, who was responsible for compiling the Codex, would often pop in to discuss with Goddess Mnemosyne how to articulate the laws strictly, to plug all loopholes that might breach fairness; thus, the legal construction proceeded in an ordered fashion;
Following that, with the arrival of Echidna, the Mother of Serpents, Stheno and Euryale who were under restraint also beca good children, not daring to create trouble lightly;
And Tethys, the Ocean Goddess who accompanied them, was ceremoniously entertained by Athena, and they would frequently be seen laughing and touring War God Mountain and the City of Athens together, close as sisters;
Lastly, there was Circe. Because Hecate had chosen to have her forgotten, this Great Witch from Aiaia Island simply settled down in Athens and was recently enthusiastically learning to cook under the ntorship of Hestia, the Goddess of Stove. Due to shared interests, they would often gather to experint with recipes, ntioning they had a surprise waiting for a certain soone upon his return. Although there were occasional explosions in the kitchen due to so inappropriate additions to the pot, the overall situation remained stable, enriching the culinary culture of the City of Athens, directly or indirectly;
What kind of ingredients can make a kitchen explode? You guys aren't cooking, you're practicing alchemy, right?
As Luo En listened, he inwardly rolled his eyes and felt a sense of relief that he hadn't plunged headfirst into War God Mountain.
All these goddesses gathered together, could act one better than the next, so while on the surface they appeared harmonious, they were like a pile of gas cans, guaranteed to ignite at the slightest spark.
Unfortunately, Luo En reckoned that he was very likely to be that spark.
No sooner had he finished ssing around with the Gorgon Sisters than he'd brought back a whole bunch of ambiguously related won.
One false move, and he might well be torn to pieces by those tigresses.
Therefore, to avoid being troubled by those won, Luo En had wisely decided not to enter the city directly, but rather to lure out dusa, who was easiest to handle, get a clear picture of the situation, and then consider his next move.
"Speaking of which, how's dea doing?"
"It seems she has joined the Academy of Athens and is systematically studying culture and magic. The Centaur Sage Chiron has given her high praise, and it looks like he plans to offer her a teaching position imdiately after graduation."
dusa replied truthfully, proudly raising her head as if to take credit.
"And besides, we get along well."
Luo En smiled slightly and habitually reached out to pat dusa's head.
This familiar touch brought them closer, suffused with a warm sense of comfort.
Basking in the warmth and affection from above, dusa's face, lit by the firelight, bore a contented smile.
If only ti could stop at this mont, and everyone could continue to live quietly and happily, perhaps only the word "happiness" could encompass it all.
However...
"About Asclepius..." dusa hesitated for a long ti before bringing up the topic she was reluctant to face.
"I know," Luo En nodded, cutting off dusa's reminiscence, and said sternly, "Tell where that place is, I'll handle the rest."
dusa obediently nodded and handed over a rune stone with serpentine patterns to Luo En: "As you said, we've sealed off that place and set up restrictions. This rune stone is the key to get in and out."
Luo En pocketed the rune stone, glanced at the waning moon sinking into the western night, and stood up to take his leave: "Alright, I'll go have a look."
Imdiately, he clapped his hands to summon the Three Graces, who were waiting at the edge of the forest, and introduced them to dusa.
"These three are my friends, also lesser deities I've summoned for Lady Hestia. You take them to War God Mountain first, and after I'm done with that other business, we'll et up again."
The simple-minded dusa, without any doubt, nodded in agreent.
As Luo En watched his forr close confidant, now leading three potential troublemakers away to clear the mines for him, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt in his cold heart.
But soon, his strong will to live completely extinguished that flicker of hesitation.
"Isn't it better to have dusa bring The Three Graces over, rather than leading them myself to War God Mountain?"
He hadn't had his fill of life yet, nor did he wish to be hacked to pieces by those won on the mountain under so pretext.
Watching the four silhouettes disappear into the night and enter the City of Athens, Luo En collected his thoughts, extinguished the fire, and with the mien of a mourner, hurried to the burial site of the dicine God.
Guided by the resonance of the rune stone, it took Luo En roughly two hours to arrive at the scene of the incident.
Looking around, the area was scorched black, with withered vegetation and stones and soil bearing the grim marks of having been burned.
In the center, a trench that stretched dozens of ters deep caught his eye.
With a leap, Luo En jumped into the pit, glanced around, and then bent down to pick up a charred piece of wood from the soil, bringing it to his nose to sll.
A rich dicinal fragrance filled his nostrils, awakening familiar mories from days past.
Alas, the boy didn't make it.
Luo En sighed, glanced around at the grim traces left by the thunderbolt, and in his heart, he cursed Asclepius, that stubborn mule who wouldn't listen to advice, a sound thrashing.
But at this point, whether there was a chance or not, he could only try.
Imdiately, Luo En made up his mind, ensured that there was no one around, and with a flick of his fingers, he took out the golden Holy Grail, and poured his own divinity and divine power into it, turning it into purple-red wine, which he sprinkled over the scorched earth while chanting the Holy Words.
"Be full, be full, be full, be full.
Cyclically return, the next being five.
Heaven send winds to wall it off.
The doors open in all directions yet are all closed off.
From the Crown,
wander in the cycle back and forth on the forked road to the Kingdom."
The purple-red liquid seeped into the earth, flowing on its own, sketching the base of a circular array, with Holy Words intertwined and branded within.
"I declare—
Hear my command, my fate is with thee.
Answer the call of the Holy Grail, if willing to follow this will, this rationale, then respond.
I swear herein:
I shall achieve all benevolent deeds in the world,
I shall vanquish all malevolent deeds in the world,
Thou art but the lamb imprisoned in raging shackles,
I am the one who wields the chains.
Entrust in , learn from , heed ,
— serve the light as a spirit!"
With a dignified and solemn chant, the last drop of divine liquid fell onto the magic array on the ground, activating the entire foundation.
In an instant, a streak of blazing white light shot into the sky, with the fierce Aether Tide around it whipping up the surrounding dust.
In the midst of the light column, a blurry figure, after absorbing the divine liquid spilled from the Holy Grail, gradually beca clear, materializing from the immaterial.
"What's happened to ...?"
In a murmured whisper, a young man dressed in a black physician's outfit, with silver long hair and a somber deanor, stood within the fading magic array, looking around bewilderedly, finally fixing his gaze on the man in front of him holding an ornate golden cup.
"You..."
"What 'you'? Bloody hell, I've saved your life again!"
Before he could finish speaking, the figure in front of him interrupted the young man's mumble with curses, looking utterly drained as he gestured forward.
"Asclepius, co and give a hand already!"
In an instant, that na seed to awaken the dormant mories in his mind, and the silver-haired young man imdiately shook off his confused state, stepping out of the magic array to help his savior sit down at his side.
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