Paradise Island Mysteries

"So, what kind of mess have you dumped on me this time?"

Inside the carriage, Samael leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes and massaging his temples, resonating with the distant Mount of Ares. He silently frowned and asked a question in his mind.

At this moment, the serpent incarnation on Panji's shoulder slid down to the center of the chessboard, its vertical pupils flashing with light patterns, reflecting the figures of Athena and Themis.

"You have such a considerate daughter, how could you be so mean to me? It hurts my feelings."

Athena feigned a heartbroken expression, her fingers covering her eyes occasionally parting to peek at her with smiling purple eyes.

"Still pretending? The more obedient you are, the more scared I get, because that means there's more trouble ahead."

The ancient snake, who knew his adopted daughter's character inside and out, suddenly felt a toothache.

"Speaking of which, this little thing feels really nice to touch. If you could give me one too, maybe I could forgive you."

Exposed, Athena smiled and reached out her venomous hand to the snake incarnation on the chessboard. She first rubbed it with her fingertips, then excitedly pressed her cheek against the little creature's body and rubbed it gently, experiencing the cool and ticklish sensation of the scales sliding, just like a little girl longing for a new toy.

"Don't interrupt! Why did you let me personally lead this expedition?"

Even Artemis has been tricked! For something as trivial as the Golden Fleece, it wouldn't warrant such a massive fuss. I feel like I'm going to suffer a huge loss this time."

Samael rolled his eyes and decided to cut to the chase.

"It's nothing. I just saw you were pretty free, so I asked you to do me a small favor and go out to sea to find a place."

The more relaxed and carefree Athena was, the more terrified the ancient serpent became.

"Let me calm down and prepare myself mentally. Whew, okay, tell me, where?"

Paradise Island!

"Ahem, and then what?"

"It's gone."

"What about the address, nautical chart, and other details?!"

"If I want to know, why should I ask you to?"

Samael rubbed his temples, asking listlessly.

"You should at least tell me the reason, right?"

"It's on Artemis's condition that she helps you. If you want to abduct someone's chastity hunter, you need information about Paradise Island in exchange."

"What exactly does she want to do with this place?"

Athena casually scratched the chin of the black snake in her palm, her eyes swirling with thoughts. After a moment, her face became more serious, and she opened her lips to ponder.

"Saving someone is a way to atone for one's mistakes..."

Orion?

"As expected of Dad, you're so smart. If you knew this, it would be even simpler."

"If I'm not mistaken, the teddy bear in Artemis's arms contains a part of the Ocean Divinity. It seems that the Son of the Sea God was never truly dead from the beginning."

Getting to the point, Samael stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

Once upon a time, Artemis, Goddess of Hunting who vowed to remain chaste, fell in love with Orion, the Son of the Sea God was a hunter, and began to pursue him. The two gradually became passionate and the news of their desire to get married even spread to Olympus, causing a great uproar.

To stop his sister's romantic escapades, Apollo devised a plan. Orion swimming from afar, concealing Artemis's true feelings, and then tricked her.

"That's a villain named Kandaon. Let's see who can take him down first."

Provoked by the sea god, Artemis, as was her habit, displayed her sisterly arrogance and beautifully pierced the head of the Son of the Sea God with an arrow.

The next day, the moon goddess, realizing his death, lamented and wanted to resurrect him, but was not allowed. She had no choice but to let him rise into the sky and become a star, which is the so-called "Orion".

"In fact, after Artemis sought help from the Olympus that night, she went to Mount of Ares, hoping we would save her lover."

"Did you lose?"

"Tch, can't you praise them more? Wouldn't it be better to say they're halfway to success?"

Athena rolled her eyes coquettishly, and couldn't help but show a hint of reproach.

At that moment, Medusa, carrying a plate of pastries, walked out of the kitchen.

The Goddess of Wisdom casually picked up a piece, blew on it to warm it, and chewed it in small bites as if savoring an exquisite delicacy.

"Hey, isn't this the butter cake that someone entrusted to that little bird all the way from afar to deliver to our Goddess of Vengeance? You actually took it out to share. It's been sitting for so long, aren't you afraid it'll go bad?"

"Isn't it because you didn't take anything? Something spoiled is better than nothing..."

Medusa glanced at him indifferently, a hint of pity brewing in her eyes as she looked down at him from above.

Faced with this as always ruthless stab, Athena's face froze, her breath caught in her throat, and suddenly the pie in her hand no longer tasted sweet.

It's spoiled! Absolutely spoiled! And it's incredibly sour!

The Goddess of Wisdom gritted her teeth in anger, her expression instantly changing. She twisted the black snake she had been so fond of into a tangled mess, tying it into knots and rubbing it against her.

"That's outrageous! Why do they all get gifts and I don't? They've been gone for so long, and they won't even bring me a jar of Honey Olives!"

Themis, sitting opposite the old goddess, raised her hand to touch the manuscripts in front of her knees, maintaining her calm and composed demeanor with her superb self-control.

The snake incarnation, manipulated into various poses, spoke slowly and leisurely, appearing calm and composed.

"Go buy whatever kind of olives you want. There are olive trees everywhere in Athens. If you can't wait, just lie down and eat them. The Goddess of Wisdom is not really lacking in this kind of treat."

"Can't she make her own butter cake?"

"Everyone's skills are slightly different, and only I can make nostalgic flavors."

"Are you deliberately trying to provoke me?"

"How could I dare? You are my adopted son. It's always the adopted son who gives gifts to his adopted son. I'm still young and don't have the age to fawn over you."

Samael's lazy tone and mocking manner made Athena furious. She wished she could drag him out of the snakeskin, grab his arm, and bite him a hundred times over!

So what if I took advantage of you a little? You're so stingy!

Before the Goddess of Wisdom could react, the ancient serpent, having regained its composure and dignity and secretly rejoiced, immediately changed the subject.

"Getting back to the main point, what do you mean by 'half the success'?"

"When Orion was sent here, his body had already collapsed, Medusa's Earth Authority were powerless to stop it. I tried everything I could, but I could only lock up a part of his intellect and soul and seal it in the vessel chosen by Artemis."

When Athena spoke of her achievements, her voice rose several octaves, revealing a hint of pride and self-aggrandizement.

In reality, Prometheus was merely humanity's mentor, while the two true core creators of the Greek people were Athena Medusa.

Medusa, the goddess of the earth, gave humankind flesh and blood and physical form, while Goddess of Wisdom Athena, bestowed upon humankind intellect and soul.

Therefore, Artemis's desperate attempt to find a cure actually turned out to be the right one.

"Let's talk about half of what led to my defeat..."

Samael paused for a moment, then his tone became more serious.

Athena frowned, her eyes flashing.

"The sealing is not perfect. His intellect has been dissipating all along, and his soul has been stripped away by some unknown Rules, which has become increasingly serious recently."

Samael narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone resolute.

"Let me guess... is it related to Paradise Island?"