"Thud!"
Under the astonished gaze of the Mecha-God Aphrodite,
Lorne reversed his grip on the golden short sword and drove it into his own shoulder.
At the same time, familiar azure water-light and crimson radiance descended from the heavens, streaking straight toward the courtyard.
—The merman prince Triton and the Mecha-God Ares!
Just as Aphrodite stood there in stunned silence, a teasing voice sounded beside her ear.
"Your turn to perform."
The divine seal implanted within her body activated.
In an instant, an irresistible will seized control of Aphrodite's entire Divine Core.
Her eyes immediately became vacant.
Divine radiance flowed across her body like liquid mercury, and her original appearance, with crimson hair and golden eyes, rapidly transformed.
Her hair turned a deep blackish-purple, while her eyes became amber.
That woman...
Looking at the reflection of her current appearance upon the surface of the water, Aphrodite couldn't help staring blankly.
"Still not running? You don't have much time left, you know."
That devilish voice whispered into her ear once more.
Aphrodite shuddered, finally understanding what Lorne truly intended.
Her expression changed immediately and she hurriedly spread her wings, transforming into a streak of pink light, disappearing into the depths of the night.
By then, the azure water-light and crimson radiance had already reached the courtyard.
With sharp whistles as they tore through the air, the two figures descended outside the residence.
They were none other than the merman prince Triton and the Mecha-God Ares.
The moment the two entered the courtyard, they were greeted by a scene of utter devastation.
The courtyard was a mess, while Lorne sat slumped beside the stone table, a golden short sword buried in his shoulder.
Medea had apparently just come out of the kitchen with a tray of pastries in her hands.
The moment she saw him, she dropped the tray and rushed forward in panic.
"Senior Brother! What happened to you?! Don't scare me!"
With tears streaming down her face, the little witch hurriedly pulled the golden short sword from his shoulder and attempted to heal the wound with witchcraft.
Yet the wound continued bleeding.
There was no sign of it closing.
Seeing the scene before them, as well as the golden short sword lying on the ground and faintly radiating an ominous aura, Triton and Ares' expressions changed drastically.
That sword...
It possesses the power to slay gods!
At that moment, Lorne finally noticed Triton and Ares had entered the courtyard.
The "victim" immediately reacted.
He pulled Medea behind him, struggled to straighten his body, and glared coldly at the two uninvited guests.
"What? One wasn't enough, so you've brought two more?"
"You want to kill me and silence me? I'm afraid it won't be that easy!"
As he spoke, Lorne allowed the divine blood flowing from his shoulder to drip onto the ground.
He took one step forward.
The authority of the [Labyrinth] instantly activated, sealing the entire courtyard.
Sensing the overwhelming killing intent rushing toward them,
Triton, who had borne the brunt of it, immediately turned pale.
He hurriedly waved both hands.
"Misunderstanding! It's a misunderstanding!"
"Stop pretending!"
Lorne's expression was one of righteous indignation.
"You deliberately prevented Thessaly from rebuilding its defenses and weakening its ability to resist.
And now you've actually conspired with an Old God and attempted to assassinate me!"
He looked utterly heartbroken.
"How despicable! And to think King Admetus actually believed that the Sea God's Temple was standing on Thessaly's side!"
As he spoke, the empty hand he had been holding out suddenly summoned a long, withered-branch-like spear.
Triton was dumbfounded by the barrage of accusations.
Sweat immediately poured down his forehead.
"When did we ever conspire with an Old God?!"
"Still trying to deny it?"
"How do you explain your subordinate Venus attacking me with this god-slaying sword?"
Lorne sneered, as he pointed toward the golden short sword lying on the ground.
A crimson emblem had appeared upon its hilt.
"And there's even an Old God emblem engraved upon it!"
"That is the mark representing the authority of the Titan Gods that we encountered in the underground temple. It belongs to the Gigantes!"
"Why does the Sea God's Temple possess a god-slaying weapon engraved with the symbol of the Gigantes? And why was it specifically used against me?"
"This thing isn't a product of the Sea God's Temple! It absolutely has nothing to do with us!"
Triton hurriedly shook his head, desperately attempting to clear up the misunderstanding.
"I knew you wouldn't admit it so easily."
Lorne gave a cold laugh, then activated the memory crystal in his hand.
Two recorded scenes appeared before Triton and Ares.
Both showed the Mecha-God Aphrodite wielding the golden short sword and attempting to assassinate Lorne.
"The weapon belongs to her. You know the person involved. And you can see with your own eyes that she tried to kill me."
Lorne folded his arms.
"So what else is there to say?"
Faced with evidence as overwhelming as a mountain, Triton was rendered speechless.
His thoughts had become a complete mess.
How did Aphrodite end up with an Old God's god-slaying weapon?
And why did she use it to assassinate the man who had just rescued Thessaly from the Gigantes?
Father said Aphrodite had encountered some kind of serious trouble and that her presence had disappeared, so he sent me here to help her.
How did things turn into this?
What exactly happened?
"Hmph. If I hadn't been lucky, my corpse would probably be cold by now!"
Lorne continued his furious accusation while stirring the divine power within his body.
The tip of the withered-branch-like spear, radiating an aura of annihilation, pointed toward Triton and Ares.
His eyes were cold and sinister as he tightened his grip.
"Tonight, you either give me an explanation..."
"...or I'll give you one."
As the crimson flames flickering along the spearhead drew closer, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Triton's forehead.
During the Battle of Thessaly, he had personally witnessed the terrifying power of that weapon.
One strike had annihilated hundreds of Gigantes.
"Calm down! Please, calm down!"
The merman prince slowly backed toward the corner, holding his hands up in a placating gesture.
"Listen to me. The Sea God's Temple absolutely has no intention of making an enemy of you. There must be some misunderstanding!"
Meanwhile, Ares, who had remained silent, stared at the memory crystal on the stone table.
He seemed to remember something and his expression turned solemn.
"The final scene... something seems wrong."
He pointed toward the image.
"The figure fleeing the courtyard doesn't look like her usual appearance."
Triton immediately understood.
"That's right! Her hair was blackish-purple, and her eyes were amber. It's as though she had become a completely different person!"
"Become a different person?"
Ares frowned, murmuring to himself.
"Ever since she returned from the back mountain, I've felt that something about that woman was strange. It was as if her entire personality had changed..."
"Exactly!"
Triton suddenly slapped his palm.
"That's when she started acting strangely! I felt it too!"
After hearing their words,
Lorne also seemed to notice the inconsistency as he frowned.
"Now that you mention it, I think I've encountered that woman with the blackish-purple hair and amber eyes before."
"Where?"
"The Titan Temple built underground by the Gigantes!"
As Lorne spoke, he raised a finger and outlined the mysterious girl's appearance in the air.
"There. That's her."
However, Triton and Ares stared at the image, completely bewildered.
Lorne quietly withdrew his gaze as a frown formed between his brows.
Even the Sea God's Temple doesn't know who this woman is?
Seeing that the situation had finally taken a turn, Triton hurriedly looked toward Lorne with an earnest expression.
"You can see it yourself now. We've been falsely accused!"
"Then how do you explain her attempt to assassinate me?"
"That was entirely her own doing! It has nothing to do with the Sea God's Temple!"
"Nothing to do with you?"
Lorne gave a mocking smile, then suddenly grabbed Triton's wrist and began walking toward the entrance.
"Fine. Come with me to the palace. We'll explain the entire matter to King Admetus, in front of everyone."
"Don't!"
Triton hurriedly stopped him, his expression becoming mournful.
No one yet knew what exactly happened to the Mecha-God Aphrodite.
There was no way to verify the truth.
But if they took the current evidence and confronted one another publicly, the Sea God's Temple would be saddled with the accusations of conspiring with the Old Gods, assassinating an ally, and undermining the alliance.
That stain would be impossible to wash away even if they jumped into the Sea of Oceanus.
Moreover, the idea of having Aphrodite use seduction at the banquet was originally approved by him as the leader of the delegation.
Once all these matters were connected, he feared that the furious people of Thessaly would drag him out and offer him as a sacrifice to the heavens tonight.
Lorne raised an eyebrow at Triton's aggrieved expression.
"You want me to keep this secret for you?"
Triton immediately nodded like a chick pecking at grain.
"Thessaly can't afford any more turmoil right now. Since we're all in the same boat, I'll do the Sea God's Temple this favor."
Lorne paused, then his tone suddenly changed.
"But shouldn't you offer something of equal value in return?"
He pointed at his still-bleeding shoulder.
"After all, you can't expect me to take a sword for nothing, can you?"
"For the reconstruction of Thessaly's defenses, the Sea God's Temple will provide all the allocated materials as promised. In addition, we'll prepare another portion specifically for you. Whatever you need, just say the word!"
Triton had already understood the implication.
Lorne nodded and casually asked,
"I've heard that the Sea God's Temple's scale armor has excellent defensive properties. And you've already completed mass production, haven't you?"
"Three hundred!"
Triton gritted his teeth.
"I'll allocate three hundred sets of scale armor and equip them to Thessaly's Divine-Blood Imperial Guards. They'll help resist the Gigantes' rebellion."
Lorne nodded.
"Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish..."
Triton's expression stiffened.
"Don't worry. I'll find a way to provide you with the designs as well."
Lorne's eyes immediately brightened.
Triton had agreed to an extremely demanding condition.
Satisfied, Lorne's expression softened.
"See? Clearly, this whole thing was just a misunderstanding."
Hearing that the aggrieved party seemed willing to reconcile,
Triton finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But before he could even finish that breath, Lorne pointed toward the wound that was still bleeding from his shoulder, looking troubled.
"However, with someone outside plotting to take my life, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep peacefully tonight."
Triton's heart tightened and he immediately offered his assurance.
"Don't worry! The moment I return, I'll report everything to my Father. I'll ask him to expel that woman from the Sea God's Temple, and we'll cooperate fully with your search for that traitor!"
His expression became resolute.
"Once she's captured, we'll make her reveal the identity of the true mastermind behind all this!"
"And what if she falls into my hands?"
"If you capture her, do whatever you want with her! Her actions have nothing to do with the Sea God's Temple!"
"Then I can rest easy."
Lorne patted Triton on the shoulder.
The tension on his face vanished, replaced by a friendly smile.
"So, from now on, let's work together and capture the real culprit as quickly as possible. We must clear the Sea God's Temple's name!"
He raised a hand and pointed toward the image floating in the air; the mysterious girl with blackish-purple hair and amber eyes.
Triton's heart finally settled completely.
A knowing smile appeared on his face.
That's right.
There was no Mecha-God Aphrodite.
There was no seduction scheme.
Clearly, a remnant of the Old Gods had infiltrated the royal city of Thessaly and attempted to harm the hero who had defeated the Gigantes!
Without needing to say it aloud, the two sides reached a tacit understanding.
Satisfied with the outcome, they parted ways and went their separate directions, each quietly digesting their respective gains and losses.
As Triton and Ares disappeared into the depths of the night, a certain red-haired female Mecha-God crouched inside a cave.
Through a resonance spell, she had watched the entire performance from beginning to end.
And she was absolutely furious.
"They actually sold me out just like that?!"
"Not only did they sell me out, they dumped the entire blame on me?!"
"Those pieces of trash from the Sea God's Temple!"
After venting her anger for a while, the Mecha-God Aphrodite reached up and touched the cross-shaped mark on her forehead.
It still carried a faint warmth.
She gritted her teeth, then, as though she had finally made up her mind, she clenched her fist.
"So you want me to betray you?"
"Fine."
"Then today, I'm really going to betray you!"
(End of the Chapter)