It was the sealed gate. Behind it, Antares waited.
An emblem was etched into the stone, an arrow crest, Artemis' ancient symbol.
Artemis stepped forward. Without a word, she placed her hand gently over the mark. As if sensing her presence, the symbol began to glow. A radiant light wrapped around Artemis and the seal in tandem. With a slow, grinding creak, the massive door began to open.
Dust and sacred light poured out like breath released from a slumbering beast. And as the door gave way, the scene within was finally revealed to all.
Everyone was left speechless by the scene that unfolded before them.
Inside the ruined chamber, what once may have been a sacred temple had become a grotesque nightmare. The entire space was overrun, filled to the brim with eggs.
Scarlet, pulsating things, some cracked open and leaking fluids, while others throbbed ominously, their surfaces twitching with life that had yet to hatch. A dim red glow bathed the entire ruin, casting eerie shadows on the fleshy walls.
It was clear now. The lesser Antares they'd fought outside had all hatched from these very eggs.
A nest. No, a hive.
Despite the horror of the sight, everyone took a cautious step inside. But before they could get far, the door behind them slammed shut, sealed by a wave of red flesh that surged over it like a heartbeat.
The sound of it, wet and organic, sent shivers down spines. Their only escape route was gone.
"Wha—?!" Asfi tensed, and the others instinctively turned, weapons half-drawn.
"The exit—!" someone cried.
Leon remained calm. "Don't panic. I knew this would happen."
He glanced behind him, unshaken, before raising his voice. "Focus. Stay alert and get ready."
As if responding to his warning, the eggs lining the walls began to crack, one after another. The slick sound of bursting fluid echoed around them as dozens—no, hundreds of Lesser Antares spilled out, wriggling and screeching as they dropped to the floor and began to swarm. A flood of grotesque monsters closed in from every angle.
"Here they come!" Asfi shouted, already hurling her first dagger.
The group sprang into action. Unlike the smaller skirmishes outside, the sheer number here was overwhelming. The Hermes Familia was strong but this was beyond a normal fight.
Fortunately, they weren't alone. Ellie's clones had already taken position within their gear. They flew out now, intercepting attacks, blasting Antares spawns with powerful magic, shielding the adventurers from harm.
Asfi and the others coordinated swiftly. They couldn't have handled this swarm alone but with Ellie's support, they held the line.
As for Leon, he didn't intervene. Not yet. He could've wiped out the enemies in moments with his Tenseigan and the power of his Truth-Seeking Balls. But he let the battle play out.
This was a training ground, too. A test of resolve for the Hermes Familia. And they passed.
Thirty minutes later, the last of the Lesser Antares fell, its black shell split open on the stone floor.
"…Let's go." Standing before a wide staircase leading deeper, Artemis turned and gave the group a small smile.
She moved forward but her steps faltered.
"Artemis!" Hestia rushed forward, catching her just as her knees buckled slightly.
"You're not well. Are you really okay to continue?" Hestia asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
For the past two days, Artemis had been weakening rapidly. After today's exertion, her body was clearly struggling.
"I'm fine." Artemis said with a faint smile. "Just a little tired."
Hestia didn't press. She silently placed Artemis' arm over her shoulder and helped her down the stairs.
Leon nodded at Hermes and the others. "Let's keep moving."
— — —
After descending a long spiral stairway that wound through the heart of the ruins, the group arrived at the core chamber. A vast pit opened before them, and at its center stood the true nightmare—Antares.
The monstrous scorpion-like beast loomed atop a stone platform, its massive body covered in a chitinous black carapace, its surface veined with glowing crimson lines. From its body stretched countless black tentacles, each buried deep into the surrounding red flesh that coated the walls.
Dark, ominous energy pulsed through those tendrils, flowing upward.
Leon raised his head. There, in the hollowed-out ceiling of the cavern, a massive magic circle hovered. It glowed with divine power, shaped like a crescent moon—the bowstring of destruction.
This was Artemis' arrow, being formed to unleash apocalyptic might. The entire world could see it, even Orario.
From the top of Babel Tower, Loki stared into the sky, face twisted in shock and fury.
"What the hell is THAT?!" She snarled.
Behind her, Freya sipped red wine with unsettling calm. "Arcanum. Isn't it obvious?"
"That's why I'm asking who the hell did it."
"That's Artemis' arrow." Freya said at last, her voice soft but firm.
Back in the ruins, Antares turned its hideous gaze toward the intruders. It let out a furious roar, and the energy flowing into the sky grew chaotic. It knew. They had come to stop it.
The ground trembled.
Hestia stepped forward, and Leon gave her a quick nod.
"Hestia, Hermes, the bodies of Rethusa and the others are in that pit below. Retrieve them."
Rethusa, Artemis' most loyal follower, had died protecting her goddess. Her body, like the others, had not been consumed.
"Understood." Hestia nodded and turned to the others. "Let's go."
Hermes signaled his familia.
"Move!" He said.
Ellie's clones darted ahead to shield them as they descended the winding path down into the pit. Asfi and the others didn't hesitate.
While they moved, Antares shifted again. Its chest shell split open, revealing a glimmering crystal within. And inside that crystal, was Artemis.
Her real body. Her true divine vessel, trapped in slumber, suspended in the core of the beast.
Leon's expression hardened.
"Artemis." He called softly.
She looked up, hands clenched. "…Please end it."
He nodded. Without a word, Leon raised the arrow from behind him.
Artemis placed her hands over her chest, closing her eyes in silence.
"Thank you, Leon."
"Hm." He exhaled.
Leon shifted into his stance, and divine light burst from the weapon in his hands.
Antares shrieked in rage. It abandoned its ritual immediately, the power it had gathered into the sky swirling down in waves of darkness. A wall of black energy surged toward Leon and Artemis, enough to flatten cities.
But Leon didn't flinch. With perfect control, he raised the crescent bow that formed from his divine projection, took aim and then the arrow took off.
A blinding azure light pierced the world. It cut through the darkness like a blade of judgment, crashing into the crystal chamber of Antares' chest with earth-shaking force.
BOOM!!!
The ruins trembled. Light filled the chamber, blinding all who watched.
Above, the divine magic circle, the arrow forming in the sky, shattered and vanished like a phantom.
And as the light cleared, Leon stood amidst the settling dust, holding the real body of Artemis in his arms. Her crystal prison had shattered.
Sephiroth Graal activated instantly, flooding her broken form with divine light. Leon's divine power surged outward, stored energy pouring into her soul.
Not far away, Artemis' projection, the lingering remnant tied to the arrow, stared, her eyes wide.
***
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