A head of blue hair, as tranquil as the deepest lake at midnight, cascaded smoothly down to her waist. The bright moonlight painted a holy silver edge along it, making every strand seem to flow and breathe. Her visage was the heavens' most flawless masterpiece.
It was a beauty that transcended the boundaries of gender and race—pure to the absolute extreme. Unlike Freya's seductive allure or Aphrodite's bewitching charm, her beauty was cold, noble, and absolute. Like the bright moon hanging high in the night sky, it inspired awe, forbidding any thoughts of desecration.
Her skin was as pale as snow, her features perfectly sculpted without a single flaw. Above all were her eyes—a color clearer than the purest emerald. When her gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on Aiden, he felt as though he could hear the sound of absolute silence.
She wore a simple, pristine white dress without any superfluous decorations, yet it accentuated her unblemished, divine aura better than any extravagant gown ever could. She was the moon; she was chastity; she was the eternal hunt.
She—was Artemis.
....
Palais Mermonia, reception room
Under the luxurious crystal chandelier, the atmosphere was nowhere near as bright as the palace itself. Aiden leaned the pitch-black spear—the Arrow of Orion—against the sofa beside him. The dark shaft clashed entirely with the opulent decor around it.
"You can tell me now, right? What exactly is going on."
Aiden's gaze swept over Artemis, who was sitting formally upright, and Hermes, who sat beside her with his legs crossed, looking completely relaxed.
The Goddess of the Moon looked back at him quietly with those clear, emerald eyes, a mix of helplessness and scrutiny within them.
"Although the Arrow of Orion didn't choose you, since you've already pulled it out, I will... reluctantly acknowledge that you are my Orion."
Artemis shook her head softly. As the master of the divine artifact, she could clearly sense that Aiden hadn't actually gained the spear's approval. Instead, he had used some sort of tyrannical power to forcibly take control of it.
But facts were facts. Aiden had pulled out the Arrow of Orion. No matter what method he used, as long as he could wield this divine spear, that was enough.
"Here is the situation," Artemis's voice was cold and heavy, breaking the silence. "We received a commission from the Guild to head to the Great Forest and investigate the cause behind a massive surge of monster appearances. But once there, we encountered a highly troublesome monster. Right now, the members of my Familia and the Hermes Familia are guarding the perimeter, preventing the monsters from flooding out of the Great Forest and harming the nearby villagers. However, our strength isn't enough. That monster... is not something we can defeat."
"So, you returned to Orario to call for reinforcements? And you used... a round-the-world trip as a cover?" Robin frowned slightly as she elegantly held her cup of black tea. "It feels very strange."
"It can't be that simple, can it." Aiden's gaze fell on the black spear by his hand. "If it were just about calling for backup, you could have just posted an adventurer commission. Why go through all the trouble of hosting a spear-pulling event at the Lunar Festival?"
"I knew we couldn't hide it from you." Hermes crossed his arms, smiling playfully as he took over the conversation. "The truth is, only this spear can kill that monster. Anyone else will fail. Even the 'Warlord' or the 'Sword Princess'—even if they possess enough strength, if they cannot wield this spear, they will never be able to kill that monster."
He leaned in, throwing an arm around Aiden's shoulders, and spoke in a tone bordering on a poetic aria. "Therefore, you are the chosen one, Aiden."
Aiden remained silent. The chosen one? His heart turned ice-cold.
He knew better than anyone what was truly going on. Since the Arrow of Orion was required to secure the kill, there could only be one answer. The Artemis sitting before him had likely already been... "devoured" by that ancient monster that had broken its seal. She still hadn't managed to avoid this fate, and the timeline seemed to have been drastically pushed forward.
"The truth is, the Arrow of Orion will only select a pure, untainted soul," Artemis's clear, cold voice echoed once more.
A pure soul? Me?
As soon as the words fell, the four pairs of beautiful eyes belonging to Furina, Robin, Tifa, and Hyacine sitting opposite him simultaneously locked onto Aiden. Their expressions varied, but ultimately, as if they had rehearsed it countless times, they shook their heads in flawless unison.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Concepts like "purity" had absolutely nothing to do with this man.
Aiden fought a wince, his eye twitching slightly. He naturally knew perfectly well that he didn't possess a shred of purity. He wasn't chosen at all; he had simply relied on his skill to take the divine artifact by force.
Artemis stood up, Aiden's reflection mirroring in her clear green eyes. She walked slowly over to him, that cool, holy aura resembling moonlight washing over his face. She reached out with a slightly cool hand, gently caressing his cheek. The touch was as light as a feather.
"Regardless," her voice was low and solemn, every word seeming to strike at the hearts of everyone present. "I hope you will come with me and stop that monster. If we let it..." She paused, a trace of indescribable sorrow flashing through her eyes. "The entire lower world will plunge into the abyss of destruction."
A suffocating chill settled over the reception room.
"I understand." Aiden looked at her and finally gave a slow nod. "Our Focalors Familia accepts this commission."
Things had already reached this point; regret was useless. They would cross that bridge when they came to it. He could only figure out how to achieve an ending without regrets now.
Furthermore, he acutely noticed one detail—a detail entirely different from the original timeline. Artemis's Familia members hadn't been wiped out. Instead, they had stayed behind with the Hermes Familia to guard the perimeter of the Great Forest, clearing out the escaping monsters. This caused the tightly wound strings of his heart to relax slightly.
At the very least, it wasn't the absolute worst-case scenario. Those innocent, romantic young girls were still alive. If they truly met such a tragic end, it would be far too sorrowful.
"Furina, Robin, what do you think?" Aiden looked toward his patron deity and Vice-Captain. Although he was the Captain, he needed to seek their opinions for such a major event concerning the entire Familia's operations; it was a matter of respect.
"No problem at all!" Furina was the first to jump up. She planted her hands on her hips, a resolute light flashing in her heterochromatic eyes. "Artemis is my friend too. When a friend is in trouble, how could I possibly stand by and watch!?"
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