Greece (12): Training, Monster, 'Helpless Maiden,' and 'Hero.' (FTHD - 27)

POV: Medusa Training with Chiron was simpler than with Hunter. Not easier, but I preferred focusing on technique and my body rather than hav

POV: Medusa

Training with Chiron was simpler than with Hunter. Not easier, but I preferred focusing on technique and my body rather than having my mind bombarded with pure madness.

"Plant your feet and lean your waist slightly forward!"

"Is your wrist made of stone by any chance? Keep it loose and rotate with the strike!"

"Bend your knees slightly. Do you want to fall with every strike by standing straight?!"

"Is your wrist made of pasta by any chance? Firm it up and use your back to add strength to the blow!"

"Don't just pay attention to my strike, but to my entire posture!"

But I still preferred Hunter over Chiron. At least the former didn't yell at every mistake I made. By the end of training, I didn't even know what was more tired and damaged: my muscles, my mind, or my ears.

"I... liked it better when you were unconscious..." I panted between my body’s miserable attempts to breathe.

Chiron ignored me and continued giving instructions without commenting on his fainting from the information Hunter had revealed. He even seemed embarrassed for having reacted that way.

At the end of the day, when Lady Artemis's moon rose into the sky, I was more sand and dirt than flesh, with how many times I had fallen to the ground. I also discovered, to my unfortunate displeasure, that both tasted bad.

"We're done for today," Chiron said. I slowly turned my neck to look in his direction. Everything hurt. "We will start-"

Chiron continued speaking before stopping and turning to Hunter.

"Sorry, Hunter, I forgot I wasn’t training her alone. What time does Mr. Hunter plan to resume training tomorrow?" He bowed his head slightly. Hunter remained expressionless as always and began to speak.

"Don't worry, Chiron. As for the time..." Hunter looked at the sea in silence. "Let Medusa rest a bit. Her sisters also have words to say to her later. We will resume two hours after sunrise."

I sighed in relief. A rest would be good. I didn't mind training; everything was to protect my sisters and myself. But after today, I wouldn't mind resting and collapsing in bed for a few hours.

"Ugh... what?" I grunted as I stood up, surprised when I felt Hunter’s hand giving me support.

"Don't be surprised. Training is training, it's the place where your will and efforts should be the only thing keeping you standing. But outside of it, nothing stops me from helping you." Hunter's voice was flat.

Chiron nodded in agreement silently.

"...Thank you," I said when I managed to stand on my own. I didn’t expect this, to be honest... "Is that how your master taught you?" I asked curiously. He did say I could ask anything, didn’t he?

To my surprise, Hunter reacted differently. He snorted, it seemed involuntary actually, so much that he even looked surprised by the act.

It was the first time I saw Hunter physically show an emotion unrelated to Miss Doll. I was curious...

"No. Whether it was Eileen or Gehrman, neither were kind in their training." Hunter looked in the direction of the house where he had said Miss Doll and my sisters were. "Not that it mattered; death was never really a big problem for me, actually."

Something about that last sentence was strange for some reason. It didn't seem like he was just not afraid of dying...

"I can't say for sure, but seeing Mr. Hunter, I believe his masters did a good job, even being severe." Chiron spoke after a few seconds of silence.

"They did. They prepared me for when I was in the hands of my third and last master." Hunter replied, nodding for us to start walking before taking the first step.

I followed, limping slightly. I needed a bath; sand was unpleasant...

"A third master?" I asked, trying to distract myself from my aching body. Hunter had vaguely mentioned Gehrman while he and Chiron talked, and a bit about this woman, Eileen, but nothing about a third master.

Chiron was also curious and paid attention to the conversation, not that he didn’t before; everything Hunter said seemed sacred to the centaur.

"The Hunt."

Hunter's words sent a chill down my spine. Those words seemed different coming from his lips, they seemed to have physical weight.

"Nothing taught me more than the Hunt."

I could almost smell blood, the air growing heavy, and Lady Artemis's moon above drawing my attention, larger and paler than ever. Was Lady Artemis paying attention to us?

No... A small voice whispered in the back of my mind, murmuring knowledge I didn't have, an Insight...

Lady Artemis wasn’t watching us, because the Moon no longer belonged to her...

                                                      ~ Fate/The Hunter and His Doll ~

“Fua…” I let out a breath as I sank into the large bathtub. Was this Elysium? “Are all the houses from where Miss Doll and Hunter came from like this? It must have been a nice place.”

I felt the warm bathwater splash onto my face, making me take a deep breath and open my eyes.

“Euryale?” I looked at my sister, who had splashed water on me.

“Don't think about that place, and certainly don't wish to visit it.” Stheno answered, slowly submerging her body until only her head was visible. “That city is horrible. The little pleasure their technology provides isn't worth it, not even the knowledge of its horrendous existence.”

“But it is nice to have hot water without needing to use spells.” Euryale sank into the bathtub next to Stheno. “I hated when those things failed and left everything cold…”

Her voice faded as she submerged her mouth, leaving only her nose and sleepy eyes above the water.

“You saw the city where Miss Doll and Hunter came from?” I ignored how Stheno and Euryale looked like two aquatic plants and asked.

“Yes, we were almost forced to, I think…” Stheno murmured. “But it was something worthwhile in a way… It will be worth it…”

I didn't know whether to be worried or happy about that. Something seemed different about my sisters, something had changed. I just wasn’t sure if it was for the better or not.

“What happened? Hunter said you wanted to tell me something, but since dinner, you’ve been silent.” They didn’t even complain about the sweat and dirt on my body while we ate the food Miss Doll had prepared for us.

It was hard to decide whether to bathe first or eat. My stomach decided for me when it growled. I didn’t think such a monstrous sound could come from a part of me that wasn’t a roar of anger.

“We learned some things, some useful, others as useless as these lumps of fat.” Stheno poked my breasts with her foot underwater.

I pushed her foot away. My breasts were sore thanks to the push-ups I did, or rather, the falls I had whenever I was bombarded by the insanity emanating from Hunter.

Stheno was wrong; my breasts made good cushions to soften my falls!

Before I could ask what those ‘useful things and useless things’ were, Euryale sat up and tilted her head back, exposing her mouth above the water. Was she too lazy to move?

I was the one who had done the heavy training today. Why did they seem tired?

“I want you to know something, Meduseless. Keep my words in that empty head of yours, okay?” She spoke without looking at me. Stheno remained silent. “We are your sisters, know that. Nothing will separate us, understood?”

“If you have anything to tell us, say it, don’t keep everything to yourself.” Stheno continued the moment Euryale stopped talking. “We’re the older ones, leave the thinking to us and tell us if something bothers you. Just handle the physical work like the brute that- Hey, wait, Meduseless!”

I ignored Stheno's shout and jumped on her and Euryale for a tight hug, holding back the tears that threatened to escape my eyes.

“I love you both!”

“Let go of us, I’m being suffocated by your useless meat balloons!”

I had the best sisters in the world…

“Buururururu.”

“Euryale!”

                                                      ~ Fate/The Hunter and His Doll ~

I ignored it as much as possible when Hunter's aura, power, madness hit me, and continued my exercises as efficiently as I could. I had to ask him what that was. Constantly changing how I referred to this wave of madness in my mind was exhausting.

"Five, get up and do ten more pull-ups."

Or maybe it was just my body groaning and my mind begging for mercy. At least I could feel my mental resilience improving little by little...

The exercises lasted most of the morning until mid-afternoon. When Hunter said I should rest, I didn't refuse the opportunity and leaned against the nearest tree while the two of them looked out at the sea.

"Why do they always come alone?" Chiron shook his head and answered himself. "I know why, glory, but none of that matters if you're dead. Having someone to watch your back helps with the whole not-dying part."

"Humans seem to like fighting against the odds, whether for glory or something else," Hunter said calmly. "Never stagnating, always striving for the future."

Who were they talking about?... Oh! Hunter said one of those 'heroes' would come this afternoon, didn't he? From what they were saying, it was just one, as it usually was. Few came in groups.

"How much time do I have?" I asked as I got up. I was sure neither Hunter nor Chiron would interfere, leaving the fight to me as some sort of training.

"A good while still, the 'hero' is inexperienced at navigating." Hunter replied.

"I give it an hour, if his little boat doesn't capsize." Chiron sighed. "Where has this world gone... Is this the level of 'heroes' these days?"

"Medusa, which weapon do you prefer?" Hunter turned to me and asked. "Daggers like the ones you were using, or something else? Swords, spears? Nails?"

"Nails? Why would I use nails as weapons?" I looked at him confused before thinking a bit and answering seriously. "I don't know."

He didn't seem surprised by my answer, nor did Chiron.

"The daggers I was using were one of the many offerings my sisters and I received." They were one of the few things I managed to grab before being forced to flee with Stheno and Euryale. They were good weapons, and the chains on them were also useful.

"I never thought much about it, to be honest... A sword and a shield, I guess?" That's what most soldiers used, right? When they weren't using spears, but I thought a sword would be simpler to learn to use.

Hunter nodded before turning to look at the ground beside him. The air there was rapidly shimmering for some reason... I frowned and squinted. What was there?

"Bring her a good quality sword and shield. Also, light armor." Hunter spoke to the 'air' before opening his hand and letting several gold coins fall, which disappeared when they touched the shimmering area.

Moments later, whatever was there vanished.

"What was that?" I asked as soon as the air stopped shimmering.

"Messengers, or the Little Ones, call them what you like." Hunter replied. "They're small creatures friendly with Doll that assist me from time to time."

"They were... strange?" Chiron said, confused. "I think I could see them, but at the same time, I couldn't."

He was one step ahead of me then. I couldn't see anything beyond the rapidly shimmering air. Was it because of the seal on my powers or something special that Chiron had?

"The lack of Insight is compensated with time in my presence. Don't worry about them; in time, if you wish, you will be able to see them." Hunter replied and didn't reply at the same time.

I needed to study more; their explanations were confusing. I'll ask Miss Doll for a book or two later to read in my free time.

"Why not just create the weapons?" I asked, focusing my mind on something else. "You created the houses and everything on the island, didn't you?" It was still strange to think about it. How much energy was needed to create something out of nothing?

"I can, but just because I can doesn't mean I need to or should." Hunter went back to looking at the sea. "I can and know how to cook, but Doll takes care of the meals. I have the knowledge to train you, but Chiron handles the technical part."

"I could have created the sword and shield, just as I did with the things on the island, but they aren't important tools for that. Buying them from a blacksmith is sufficient in this situation." Hunter explained. It was a pragmatic way of thinking.

"Doing everything alone only leads to one path, Medusa, and the end of that path is lonely." Hunter finished almost melancholically.

Chiron said nothing, just watched the conversation in silence, but I could see him nodding in agreement with Hunter out of the corner of my eye.

"Did you follow that path?" I asked. The being seemed capable of doing everything, at least as far as I had seen. The way Hunter spoke seemed to come from personal experience.

"In a way, yes." Hunter replied and looked towards the house where my sisters and Doll were. "But I was lucky enough to have company in the end. Many aren't so fortunate, and I am grateful for that."

Hunter said nothing more, bringing the place to silence, the environment filled only with the sound of the waves.

Minutes later, after going to a private room, I was wearing leather armor that protected my weak points and armed with a sword in my right hand and a shield on my left forearm.

I wasn't ashamed to ask Miss Doll for help when I realized it was harder than I thought to put on the armor, but in the end, everything turned out well, and I was alone with Hunter on the beach, waiting for the 'hero' to arrive.

"Why did Chiron disappear?" I looked around. The centaur was nowhere to be seen, nor were Miss Doll or my sisters.

"Chiron, like Doll, Stheno, and Euryale, are watching from a distance." Hunter replied, looking out at the sea where a small boat was approaching the shore.

"Why aren't you there with them?" Was he going to participate in some way?

"A 'hero' needs a monster to kill, right?" Hunter spoke with a certain amusement in his voice. "How cruel can this monster be to make a 'helpless' maiden fight for him instead of fighting himself?"

Wait, where did that come from?!

I didn't have time to ask before Hunter pushed me with his hand towards the boat that docked on the sand and took a few steps back. I had no difficulty regaining my balance, but I felt my patience dwindle when the man who got out of the boat opened his mouth.

"A woman? So the rumors were true, the Nameless Monster has beautiful women and treasures as captives?" The idiot spoke, looking at the island. "A beautiful island too, I'll make my home here after killing him. Tell me, beautiful maiden, where is the monster that binds you to this place? I'll kill him to save you, and you can reward me later."

In the distance, thanks to my keen hearing, I could hear Chiron's voice.

"Will she kill him? The last one, I understand sparing; she doesn't want to be a monster and wanted to show herself that way, but this case is different." I could imagine the grimace he was making, probably identical to the one I had at the moment.

"Such stupidity is too much to let reproduce; she'd be doing everyone a favor by sending the idiot to visit Lord Hades forever."

Further in the distance, I could hear an almost ghostly laugh that seemed to echo from far away, like the echo of a dream.

Unlike me, Hunter seemed to find the whole situation amusing.

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

First of all, apologies for the delay. This story has discouraged me a bit for some reasons, but I've had some inspirations to write, and here we are! I'll go back to posting regularly like Devas' story... I hope.

Well, sorry for the delay, as stated in the lines above, I'll be posting the Hunter's story again, I had some inspirations and ideas for future arcs that got me excited.

About this chapter, well, Medusa is training, some interactions between the sisters, and finally, the beginning of the 'Horny Idiots, aka, average men in ancient Greece.'

As always, good evening and happy reading!