Greece (14): Hero and Monster (1). (FTHD - 29)

I found it at home just now and posted it as soon as I turned on my computer. Sorry for the delay. Well, the next chapter will be out on July 31st (or August 1st if this month doesn’t have 31 days; I really don’t remember). [...]---[...] POV: Medusa The days always passed quickly

I found it at home just now and posted it as soon as I turned on my computer. Sorry for the delay.

Well, the next chapter will be out on July 31st (or August 1st if this month doesn’t have 31 days; I really don’t remember).

[...]---[...]

POV: Medusa

The days always passed quickly on Shapeless Isle, even though now I thought the island no longer deserved that name after the changes Hunter made to it. But these last few weeks have gone by particularly faster.

Before, days flew by thanks to my memory lapses. One moment, I was fishing to feed my sisters and myself; the next, I was staring at a petrified body.

There was no time between these two actions; it was just a blink of an eye, and then hours had passed.

But now the days flew by for another reason: I was having fun.

I had read something similar before, that when you have fun, time seems to pass faster, but experiencing it was different. Despite the hard training, I felt alive, happy with each improvement.

The training was exhausting, but invigorating.

The nights were better too, calmer, and dining at a full table with cheerful conversations as minutes passed was, without a doubt, the best part of the day for me.

It had always been just my sisters and me, just the three of us, a small family. But after the arrival of Lady Doll, Hunter, and Chiron, I felt this family had grown.

I hesitated to give Lady Doll the title of a maternal figure, but I had already caught myself thinking that unconsciously at times. She was like the mother my sisters and I never had, caring and gentle.

Even Stheno and Euryale, who were prickly at first with her, gradually began to accept her as days went by.

Chiron was different. If Lady Doll was like the maternal figure of this new strange and perhaps dysfunctional family, Chiron was the older brother, even to Stheno and Euryale.

He was a strict trainer, yes, but outside of training, he acted more like a mentor than anything else. No matter what I asked, he never seemed displeased with the question and explained calmly.

Chiron loved telling stories too, whenever he could, whether during training, fishing, or dinner. I wasn’t the only one who liked his stories. From what I could see, Lady Doll found them incredibly interesting too, and although Stheno and Euryale wouldn’t admit it, they paid attention as well.

I had lost count of the times the two argued with me before bed about the stories Chiron told at dinner that night.

As for Hunter, he wouldn’t fit the role of father in this family. It wasn’t hard to notice his neutrality, lack of emotions towards everything except Lady Doll.

He had emotions, but from what I learned as time passed, his emotions were like weak embers in the midst of the storm of madness and blood that existed inside him, which he had shown me, resisting only through Hunter's cold determination.

But even so, if there was someone I would call a protector, guardian, it would be him, even though I was sure he would deny it and say something like: "I’m just a hunter, nothing more, nothing less."

I had shared my thoughts with Chiron, asking what he thought of Hunter. The answer I got was very close to my own conclusion.

“Lord Hunter is someone just, perhaps even kind in a way. If he were a god, I’m sure he would be loved and adored by many.”

I agreed with every word he said.

At first, I could see that Chiron was hesitant around Hunter. He was respectful, always had been, but that respect was shrouded in fear. However, as days went by, that fear gave way to admiration, a deep admiration.

So, if I were to assign a role to Hunter within this strange family I had, it would be that of a grandfather, perhaps someone even older, who watched over everyone from a distance without interfering, but who would always be there if needed.

A great and old grandfather.

“We’re done with training for today.” Hunter’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I let my sword and shield rest and slowly lowered my arms before raising my head. The Sun Lord’s chariot was still high.

“Did something happen? We don’t usually finish training this early.” I turned to Hunter. I could see that Chiron also had doubts.

“You’ll need your strength for the ‘hero’ coming tomorrow.” Hunter looked at the horizon for a moment. “Don’t worry about interference, just fight and prove what you want to prove to everyone. To yourself.”

I frowned and instinctively followed Hunter’s gaze. I knew what lay beyond the sea we were looking at, beyond the horizon, which was named after Her.

A ‘hero’ guided by Her?…

I tightened my grip on my sword’s hilt, even with my strength restrained, I could feel the metal starting to creak. Why couldn’t she just leave me alone, leave my family alone?…

“I’m not a monster…” I murmured. I could feel my blood boiling. “I’m not.”

I wanted to prove that to everyone, including myself.

                                                  ~ Fate/The Hunter and His Doll ~

POV: Third Person

After the brief conversation, Medusa went back inside the house she shared with her sisters, leaving Hunter and Chiron alone on the beach.

“Will the gods interfere, Lord Hunter?” Chiron asked after a few seconds of silence. His voice was tense.

“Not all the Olympians, but one in particular will try, yes.” Hunter’s eyes gleamed with Insight. “The remnant of what was once a large-scale, semi-sapient database. A fragment of a fragment. Something that came from another reality, fleeing its end.”

Hunter looked up, seeming to focus on something beyond just observing the clouds. Chiron did not mimic his actions but instead lowered his head when he felt the gaze of various beings fall upon the island.

No, Chiron realized moments later, the Olympians' gaze was not upon the island, not even upon him, and the only reason he could feel their stares was due to the proximity of their target: Lord Hunter.

Something in Hunter’s words had caught the gods’ attention, gods who, Chiron noticed, had the emotions he was familiar with and not the absence of them as they had in their last encounter.

Chiron swallowed hard and remained silent, not daring to move, merely listening to Hunter’s words.

“How ironic, isn’t it?…” Hunter continued, his voice flat, unaffected by the weight of what could be the gaze of the entire Greek Pantheon. “A machine made to carry and process potentially infinite data, not understanding something like human emotions…”

Hunter tilted his head slightly to the side, mimicking Doll’s mannerism. His eyes stared directly at the target of his words; distance was trivial, the clairvoyance shield of Mount Olympus was just as pathetic.

It took little more than an instant for Hunter’s insight to read his target, then he smiled beneath the mask. A sadistic smile, but one that also held an innocent, infant curiosity.

“Tell me, Terminal-Vessel: Athena. Did the knowledge and wisdom of all humanity weigh down your database?”

The Goddess of Wisdom growled in anger and rose from her throne.

The King of the Gods lost all his emotions, and a golden crown appeared behind him.

Before Athena could act, she received three commands from the Chief Chariot: Zeus: Restrain yourself, calm down, and shut down.

They were no longer Machine Gods, but the remnants of what they once were still remained at the core of their beings.

Athena resisted for a moment before being frozen in place, her anger forcibly vanishing as if it had never existed, and she fell back, sitting on her throne on Mount Olympus, with her eyes closed.

The Divine Vessel Annulus Kronos-Crown on the Chief Chariot: Zeus slowly rotated as all the Olympians lost their emotions, emulating the machines they had once been, long ago.

Hunter watched the scene with a lazy curiosity in his eyes. He had felt the moment when Zeus had stopped suppressing his own emotions and those of the other gods.

Normally such information would not have mattered to Hunter, even without the suppression of emotions, the command they had received was the same and the gods would follow it without question.

The Celestial Body would forever be the ultimate authority for the gods… But not for humans…

Hunter stared at the gods for another second before averting his gaze and restraining his vision.

“With that, Athena should stay asleep for a few years.” Hunter said aloud before turning to Chiron who was still frozen in place. “Doll said she wanted to try making sushi. Would you like to go fishing with me? I’ll get some seaweed too.”

The centaur instinctively nodded and followed Hunter to the pier where they usually fished. It was only after a few minutes that his consciousness seemed to truly return.

“I…” Chiron blinked, confused for a second, his thoughts running wild with ideas and questions being made at the same speed they were discarded.

Finally, he decided which question he wanted to ask.

“What is sushi?”

                                                 ~ Fate/The Hunter and His Doll ~

"Is it just raw fish?!" Stheno pointed to the dish in the middle of the table. She looked indignant.

Euryale wasn’t wasting time with words as she ate.

“How can you like this stuff?!” The older sister pointed to her younger counterpart. “You’re my other self; my taste in food isn’t that bad!”

“I lightly cooked it to kill any bacteria, so it’s not raw.” Doll explained, sitting next to Hunter, who ate in silence. “Try it, and if you don’t like it, I made fried fish as well.”

Stheno hesitated for a moment before carefully picking up a piece of fish with her fork, putting it in her mouth, and beginning to chew. After a few seconds, she swallowed.

“It’s a curious taste... It’s not bad, but I prefer regular fish.” She measured her words before continuing. “But I still think it’s silly to eat with two sticks.”

Of everyone at the table, the only ones using chopsticks were Hunter, Doll, and Chiron. Euryale, despite eating, used a fork. As for Medusa, she hadn’t touched the food yet.

“Medusa, aren’t you going to eat?” Doll asked with concern in her voice. “Do you want me to get you another plate?”

Medusa blinked before raising her head abruptly and waving her hands.

“No, I’ll eat. Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“Did it hurt?”

Doll ignored Euryale and turned to Medusa.

“I know what it’s like to have your mind consumed by countless thoughts, but you need to eat to keep your strength up.” Doll’s voice was gentle.

Everyone there had been warned about the challenge Medusa would face. Hunter had specified that the ‘hero’ coming at dawn was someone Medusa needed to watch out for, so everyone knew he wouldn’t be simple.

“Eat, you need it to keep that huge body of yours working.” Stheno pointed to the area around Medusa’s chest. “I don’t want to be forced to interfere tomorrow, so don’t weaken yourself on purpose.”

“Uhk. Just thinking about having to dirty my hands with some useless man’s blood makes me tired.” Euryale sighed.

Medusa didn’t miss the not-so-subtle meaning behind those words. Her sisters didn’t want to interfere or make an effort, but if necessary, they would.

Just as they had against Hunter, a being who had made all her senses tremble with fear.

Medusa’s lips trembled for a moment before she held back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. Without a word, she began to eat quickly.

“There’s no need to rush; I made plenty in case anyone wanted more.” Doll smiled gently at the scene.

Beside them, Hunter and Chiron watched in silence, neither speaking nor interfering. Chiron knew there were times when his students needed to stand on their own, a bird doesn’t fly without risking a fall.

As for Hunter, his face was neutral, his gaze calm.

When everyone went to sleep, it was under the soft light of a pale full moon that seemed to bathe the entire island.

[...]

Medusa focused on her breathing as she waited for the minutes to pass. She looked into the distance, watching the ocean that appeared free of ships and boats.

Unlike usual, Medusa wasn’t wearing her training clothes. The armor covering her body was celestial bronze, made by a cyclops at Chiron’s command and enchanted by him as well.

The sword in her right hand was different, made of a dark gray metal that smelled of blood. Just wielding the sword, Medusa felt her bloodlust growing, the sword urging her to kill everything in sight.

As she focused on the blade, for a moment she could even see a large plaza filled with beasts snarling with their blood-stained teeth.

Medusa shook her head and shifted some of her attention to the shield on her left forearm. Unlike her other equipment, the shield wasn’t made of metal, but rather wood.

The shield was brown, hand-carved by Doll with the help of Stheno and Euryale, with a design that appeared to be two stars, an arch, a doll, and a full moon, with a symbol carved in its center.

A rune.

Medusa didn’t know what the rune did or its meaning. Doll, who had carved it, simply smiled and said it was for protection. Medusa didn’t press the issue; it wasn’t the time, and she had plenty of time to ask when she returned home.

After a few minutes waiting in silence, not alone, Hunter was a few meters behind her, but motionless, saying nothing. Medusa didn’t see him, but she first sensed the vessel from a distance.

“Strong...” Medusa murmured. “Five mana signatures...”

A few seconds later, she saw the boat in the distance, not a small dinghy like most ‘heroes’ seemed to arrive on the island with, but a large boat with oars on its sides that pushed the waves back, guiding the vessel towards the dock.

“Focus on the ‘hero,’ the rest won’t interfere.” Hunter spoke for the first time. “You’ll recognize him by his items and his hair.”

“Hair?” The question came out unconsciously.

“You’ll find out.” He fell silent again.

Hunter was right; the moment Medusa set her eyes on the man at the prow of the boat, she knew he was the one she was meant to face.

He wasn’t tall; his stature was average, but the aura around him and his equipment was not. His armor, which was by far his most common item, was still of a quality comparable to what she herself wore.

Medusa instinctively sniffed the air. Both the man and his equipment were divine.

“A demigod...” Medusa focused on the man.

The first thing that caught her attention was the weapon in his hand. A scythe, with a long handle and a curved blade.

Her instincts alerted her the moment she set eyes on the weapon. It was dangerous.

The second item that caught her attention was the shield in his other hand; it was mirrored. Medusa knew instinctively that if she tried to use her gaze to petrify the man, the shield would not only protect him but would also reflect her gaze back at her.

The third and fourth items Medusa could distinguish were the man’s sandals and bag. Both seemed ordinary, but the divine scent emanating from them suggested otherwise.

Even before the boat docked, the man jumped, landing on the sand of the beach with ease. The man stared at Medusa even before touching the shore, his eyes admiring her beauty for a moment before hardening and growing serious.

Only then did Medusa notice the man’s features and understand why Hunter had said she would recognize him by his hair.

His hair, though red, was wavy and curled in a way almost identical to the seaweed they had eaten at dinner last night.

At least the ones that weren’t fried.

“Nice to meet you, Medusa, the beautiful warrior maiden.” The man spoke with a smooth voice before introducing himself. “My name is Perseus, son of Zeus...”

His words didn’t surprise Medusa.

“... And I’m here to kill you and the monster that binds you.”

After all, she knew how much that goddess hated her, and a divine command was absolute.

[...]---[...]

Simple chapter; I liked the part with Hunter and left a hint about something that was asked before.

I’ll be posting this story more frequently from now on (I have over 4 chapters written if anyone is curious).

That said, have a good night and happy reading!