—U-uh? Black screen? Huh? E-eh...?
Unable to process the goddess's completely unhinged thought process, Ea was afflicted with a confusion debuff. Still, realizing Artemis lacked hostile intent, she shifted gears, deciding it wasn't the time for force.
"The one to finish this is you, Rikka! Come! All the preparations are complete!"
Giving a firm thumbs-up, every single dango gathered in the area suddenly began to glow.
"The dango... it's shining...! And oh, wow, something crazy is happening...!"
The radiance soared into the night sky, altered its trajectory, and—
"W-Wait, Rikka?!"
[WHAT THE—?!]
"Now! Receiving the blessing and wishes of the moon, you shall unleash its true potential! And I shall—"
All of that radiant energy rained down directly upon Rikka, the Beast of Humanity—!!
[WOAAAAAAAHHHH~~?!]
The pale light of the moon continuously flowed into Rikka's body, causing glowing blue and white lines to trace across her dark armor. The rest of the group stared with wide eyes at the increasingly hazardous scene.
"What on earth are you doing—?!"
"Eh? Isn't it obvious? I'm extracting all the wishes and feelings stored inside the dango, pouring them into Rikka to give her moon power a super big boost!"
"I'm asking why you're doing something so absurd in the first place!! Ugh, I can't take this anymore! Gods are so completely out of touch with reality that you can't even reason with them!!"
Jeanne was on the verge of tears. Mash stood frozen, her mouth agape in silence.
—T-This was the Moon Goddess's true goal...?! T-To power up Rikka-chan, and nothing else...?!
"I see. So it was a grand Interlude quest all along... Though what use is sharpening one's military force any further...?"
"Rikka-chan, I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!! But I swear there's no malice or bad intent behind this! Please, just believe me on that, seriously—!!"
[O-Ooh! Oooooooh—!!!]
As lunar energy overflowed within her, an uncontrollable surge of power burst forth.
"I will become your Goddess of Victory right here and now! The goddess who treasures you more than anyone else in the world! Go—! My Rikka!! I'm giving you another one of my ultimate special moves—!"
Guided by the words of her (unsolicited) Goddess of Victory, Rikka channeled the immense divine authority of Artemis accumulated within her body—
[OOOOOOHHHHH!!! Explode! My Feelings! Diana Selena NovaAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!!]
From her outstretched fist and her entire body, she unleashed the energy all at once—! The blast surged forward like a plague of death, like a stampeding herd of beasts, striking with absolute, unrelenting force! Notably, Rikka herself seemed to have almost no control over it.
Diana Selena Nova. A desperate, high-output beam that converted the divine authority and majesty of Artemis into raw magical energy. Unlike Artemision Ultimate Ray, Artemis designed this as an emergency finisher that could be pulled off on the spot—so long as one possessed a believing heart and faith in the moon.
It was a directional mega-explosion powered by fusing the majority of Rikka's magical energy with the lunar aura. Depending on stored mana, faith in Artemis, and Artemis's mood, its power would skyrocket into a localized Moon Cannon. Though technically categorized as Anti-Personnel/Anti-Army... it regularly blew far past those constraints in the worst way possible.
"Kyaa—!! Shouting the finisher's name makes Rikka look so cool—!!!"
Artemis cheered in absolute excitement, while Orion watched with dead eyes. Knowing the fate about to befall him, he looked almost peaceful.
—She orchestrated this entire incident just to teach Rikka-chan a new move?! What a grand, yet utterly absurd level of collateral nuisance...!
"...We should consider ourselves fortunate that she didn't test this spontaneously back at Chaldea. Indeed, Heracles did warn us to watch out for the Greek gods, for they are nothing but a lawless, chaotic bunch of lunatics."
Shattering the earth, a massive wave of energy—dense enough to feel heavy—swirled into a blinding radiance, preparing to swallow Altera whole. And yet—
"—I have no regrets. At long as I finally got to display the true form of my Noble Phantasm..."
Faced with that merciless, unyielding stream of beauty, Altera smiled. Right before taking the hit, she tossed her dango out of the blast zone—and accepted her fate.
"Haah, haah... —collapse."
Having lost almost all her magical energy in a single instant, Rikka collapsed to the ground.
"Senpai?!"
"Rikka!! —Hey, enough is enough! What were you thinking, putting Rikka through this...!"
Jeanne glared at Artemis as if she were ready to snap. Orion cowered slightly under her gaze, but Artemis remained unfazed.
"Ehh~? Isn't it obvious?" Artemis replied airily.
"I planned a mission to become Rikka's 'Goddess of Victory'! We can talk details later~! First, we have to set the stage!"
At last, Artemis's grand scheme was coming to light—!
"First of all, great work, Rikka~! From here on out, I'm going to take you to a super wonderful place!"
"A-A wonderful place...?"
"Mm... Don't tell me you distributed those offerings and made us gather them all just for this?"
"Ding ding ding! You got it! This is a moon-viewing event centered entirely around me, Darling, and Rikka! A grand festival scripted where Rikka overcomes hardships, gets into a pinch, and turns the tables with my power! Thank you, everyone! As a token of appreciation for your hard work, you're all invited!"
Stepping cheerfully in front of the dango, she made her announcement.
"In the name of Artemis, one of the Twelve Olympians—I hereby invite these brave heroes to my humble abode!"
Responding to her words, the dango began to glow. The surrounding space shifted as if reality itself were being rewritten.
『A Greek Texture is manifesting! The surrounding area is forcibly being overwritten with a Greek landscape! This is—!』
Before long, the transformation was complete, revealing...
"Welcome to my home! Nestled at the foot of the moon, my domain—the Moon-Viewing Venue!"
A majestic temple—a sacred space crafted with robust architecture and fluid, elegant designs to honor the divine.
And floating in the sky above... a massive Moon.
"A divine sanctuary accessible only to those who have overcome great trials! Welcome, everyone, to the Temple of Artemis! Now, let the fantastic moon-viewing begin!"
Artemis brightly declared the opening of the event...!
"—Naturally, you intend to fulfill your duty to explain yourself, correct?"
"Ah, yes, of course..."
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"