Chapter 194: Heracles (19)
Poseidon’s statement—that the one protecting Teleos had given him his own divine armament—was correct.
“Wow, I’m the one who feels like clicking my tongue. I never imagined grand mages could be this strong. To think someone almost shattered that person’s flames with mere magic.”
He had thought it was just some grand mage. Most of those called grand mages among humans were more or less on the same level.
Moreover, he had heard from his lover—who was also a god—that extinguishing those flames would require someone on the level of the great witch Circe…
“To think there really is a human who can be compared to the witch-goddess Circe. Seriously, if I hadn’t received this, I would have died before I could even take Aresia away.”
Of course, despite his words of surprise, Teleos’s attitude was as relaxed as could be. But he was clearly unable to hide his astonishment.
After all, the one who had handed him this flame was none other than the son of Zeus, the king of the gods.
Of course, from Teleos’s perspective—unaware of what kind of being the mage before him truly was—he was simply shocked that a human had half-destroyed a god’s armament.
Unlike Teleos’s composure and surprise, Poseidon found the situation utterly frustrating.
He had to give credit to the armament for fulfilling its original purpose. But right now, that very success felt like an enormous mistake—and why didn’t that fool realize it?
Because of this, the timing had been lost.
“Idiot. What a complete idiot. Is that obsession worth summoning things that no word—ruin, delusion, deceit, trickery—can fully express or avoid? Is it worth calling forth Ate herself?”
Poseidon lamented while thinking of the fool who had helped that idiot.
That immature kid had probably handed it over without much thought, just in case his lover might die.
Even Zeus, back in the day, had nearly killed a lover by showing off his lightning armament just because she wanted to see it.
In that sense, the son was better than the father—at least he only handed over a weapon.
The problem was that he had handed over one more thing. And unlike what that young one thought, the goddess Ate and her mark weren’t something that could be easily erased or removed.
‘If only he had given some other magic or divine power. Why did it have to be that one, of all things?’
Poseidon gazed at the flames still burning protectively around Teleos, sighed, and decided to do what little he could for now.
But first, it would be best if the madman in front of him removed that mark in the sky—though it would be a hassle.
“Even now, withdraw that pattern in the sky. An unbearable calamity will crawl up from hell.”
So Poseidon urged him once more.
The cleanest way was for the caster to dispel it himself. Moreover, the moment that goddess truly crawled up from the underworld in full…
Most of the humans here would be better off dead.
His foolish nephew might end up suffering the same fate as them.
Of course, Zeus wouldn’t just stand by and watch—but in the past, plenty of people had gone mad just from glimpsing a fraction of it.
“Sigh… Fine. I know no words will get through to your madness, but still—I’ll say this one last time with all sincerity. If you want, I can stop this battle right now and withdraw. I’ll put your obsession with Aresia on hold for a while. And I swear I won’t interfere in your affairs.”
“…….”
Had Poseidon’s sincerity gotten through?
After a brief silence, Teleos let out a deep sigh and asked back.
As if he would actually listen if Poseidon kept those conditions.
“Sigh… Then what should I do…?”
But Poseidon looked at the serious-faced Teleos and spat out a curse.
“Damn it… This is driving me insane. You arrogant bastard—even in this situation, you’re still playing games to the end. To you, is all of this just a joke? You really don’t know what’s truly urgent here.”
Poseidon glared at Teleos with disgust. To anyone watching, it looked like he was following Poseidon’s suggestion—but in truth, he saw right through the act.
And it was a vicious, malicious performance meant to mock how desperate Poseidon appeared.
While he could freely change his facial expressions for the act, he couldn’t hide the subtle beating of his heart or the tiny twitches in his muscles.
“Huh…? Even an grand mage like you doesn’t fall for it? No one’s ever seen through it before.”
And sure enough, Teleos muttered with a regretful expression at being figured out so quickly by Poseidon.
He had planned to mess with the great mage in front of him a little. Unlike others, this one had pierced through his performance in an instant.
“Hmm, I’ll have to be careful if I meet an grand mage again later.”
“…….”
Poseidon decided to stop paying attention to Teleos. There wasn’t even time to scold the infuriating guy.
Even if Teleos’s act had been a performance, the pattern in the sky was now truly flickering rapidly.
That meant she was almost here.
***
“Master, hurry up and finish off that idiot. This battlefield is seriously no fun at all.”
Aresia, perhaps sensing the ominousness instinctively for the first time during the fight, urged Poseidon—who was drawing something in the air—even while in combat.
She even used the phrase “no fun battlefield,” words that shouldn’t exist in her life.
But even though he could quickly finish Teleos in line with Aresia’s urging, Poseidon didn’t.
Instead, while drawing a magic circle in the air so Teleos wouldn’t notice, he quickly spoke to Aresia.
“Aresia, listen carefully. The moment your life is in mortal danger, there’s only one thing you need to do. Pour your mana into the belt at your waist and call its name. Got it?”
“Huh? What does that mean? Can’t we just finish that kid off quickly?”
With no time to explain further, Poseidon gave Aresia one last reminder.
Then he walked about fifty paces toward the smiling Teleos.
“Hey, brat. Let me tell you first—if you want to fool an grand mage, that level won’t cut it.”
“Hehe, really? In this regard, maybe grand mages are better than gods.”
“And… that’s enough. It’s already too late. Just pray, you fool. Pray that everything works out somehow.”
“???”
Teleos felt puzzled by Poseidon’s words.
At this point, shouldn’t that mage have already given up on his claims?
Even while being mocked by him to the very end, the mage kept issuing warnings.
It really seemed like he was genuinely assuming that something was rising from somewhere—and moreover, that even Apollo, the son of Zeus himself, wouldn’t be able to stop it. He appeared to believe that with complete sincerity.
Come to think of it, even now, if you looked closely, the mage was constantly muttering something while drawing in the air. As if warding off some existence beyond.
“What’s that supposed to mean…? With Lord Apollo here, what could possibly be the problem? I think it’d be best if you stopped with the lies meant to keep Apollo in check. Otherwise, just how terrible an ordeal are you planning to go through?”
Poseidon, muttering something as if communicating with another being, shot Teleos a look of utter pity at his continued words. Then, as if giving one final piece of advice, he said,
“Talking more is just a waste of time. The moment your lover descends, warn him immediately. She’s already crossed the passage and is almost here.”
“What the hell is ‘she’…?”
For the first time in his life, Teleos felt like he was facing something utterly incomprehensible. Everything had been going so smoothly.
He had lured Aresia here, pinned down the grand mage, and now all that remained was for Apollo to descend and deal with that grand mage.
And yet.
‘Why is this mage spouting some other story? And what’s with this growing sense of unease?’
There were no variables in Teleos’s own plan. Besides, with the god Apollo present, what could there possibly be to worry about?
‘Sigh… Right, this mage is just spouting weird warnings to scare me. Even if something really is coming up from somewhere, with Lord Apollo right here—what could be the issue? And in the first place, it’s nonsense. This is the very item Lord Apollo personally guaranteed was problem-free.’
Thinking that way made Teleos feel irritated.
It felt like he had momentarily doubted Apollo and been shaken by the mere words of a human grand mage.
Moreover, what could a mere human mage possibly know that made him speak so arrogantly in front of the god Apollo?
To anyone watching, it would look like he was the more authoritative god than Apollo himself.
‘Really… That arrogant mage is infuriating beyond words. I was planning to just turn Aresia into something fitting her station, but this time I’ll have to deal with the mage too. This must be what those elves call “gathering small to achieve great” in nature.’
With that resolve, Teleos poured even deeper mana into the pattern Apollo had given him at his request.
His lover Apollo had said the pattern had been modified so there would be no issue, but just in case, not to infuse mana beyond a certain level.
Unfortunately, it seemed he would have to break that instruction.
Because he wanted to see that mage flustered first. Even he was helpless against him, yet this mere human grand mage was holding his head so high—it stirred emotions far beyond mere irritation.
“Hmph, going against Lord Apollo’s words bothers me a little, but if I act cute later, he’ll forgive me.”
Teleos infused even more mana into the pattern. Now the wolf emblem in the sky had become so vivid it looked like a living beast in motion.
It was as if a dominant species was unleashing its full majesty across the entire space under his influence.
At the same time, everyone except those Teleos had gathered—Aresia, Penthesilea, and Alcaides—felt their insides twisting.
More precisely, their muscles, blood vessels, and even mana circuits began to melt.
“Ugh, I hate this.”
“The mana it takes to block this curse is no joke.”
“No matter how efficiently I try to use mana, there’s a limit, so it’s tough.”
Moreover, unlike a curse suppressed by mana, the agony of muscles and veins actually melting was felt in real time.
Of course, for people like them—far from ordinary—this level of pain was something they could just endure.
The problem was that the pain subtly affected their bodies.
The number of times Aresia’s, Penthesilea’s, and Alcaides’s attacks missed by a hair’s breadth began to increase.
The pain, which would have already knocked out an ordinary person, made fine bodily control just slightly more difficult.
Watching them, Teleos sneered at Poseidon.
“Hahaha, how about it, Grand mage? Even after using the power you warned about so dramatically, nothing’s happening. Instead, it’s only Aresia and her group suffering.”
“…….”
Yet despite Teleos’s mocking laughter, Poseidon showed no particular reaction. He simply stared somewhere with calm eyes, as if calculating something.
“Tsk, why isn’t things unfolding the way you predicted? Are you lost in worry? Well, I get it. When things don’t go according to plan, I get angry and lose my reason too sometimes. I completely understand how you feel right now, Grand mage. How hard must it be for someone like you—a great grand mage—to admit you were wrong? Unlike a mere human like me. Hehehe.”
Judging that Poseidon was suppressing his rage, Teleos mocked him even more relentlessly.
Mages, by nature, hated having their plans or predictions go wrong more than death itself—and the pinnacle of mages, an grand mage, would be even worse.
So how furious must he be right now? He couldn’t attack because of the one behind Teleos, yet he didn’t want to admit his mistake either.
Having been in similar situations himself, Teleos understood that feeling perfectly.
“Grand mage, as your senior, let me give you some advice: just bow your head now. If you keep holding that stiff neck high and acting superior, I can’t even guarantee your pathetic little life.”
Teleos kept taunting Poseidon nonstop, as if refusing to admit—even for a moment—that he had felt uneasy at the mage’s words.
But Poseidon still showed no reaction whatsoever, simply watching somewhere with careful attention.
“Tsk, have you already given up? Turns out grand mages aren’t all that.”
By now, Teleos concluded that the mage had already collapsed mentally beyond recovery.
“To think such a being is called an grand mage. In that case, mages worse than this one probably aren’t even worth dealing with. Maybe magic itself isn’t all that great.”
If the originator of magic had been watching this scene, Teleos—who had casually uttered words deserving to have his limbs torn and soul tormented—soon straightened his clothes and adjusted his appearance.
He would be arriving here soon. Just now, a signal had come from the tattoo on his chest saying arrival was imminent.