Starting in Type-Moon, but as an A Certain Magical Index Mage

Apollo's Guidance

Still, Mephistopheles ultimately did not say those words. He felt that if he did, he would seem completely in the wrong.

Watching Apollo chat and laugh with Artemis, Mephistopheles did not go over to listen. After all, this was a conversation between siblings. It would not be appropriate for an outsider like him to intrude.

So, after looking around, Mephistopheles walked over to Medea, who was sampling the delicacies of the divine realm.

"Mephistopheles!" Seeing him approach, Medea happily waved and handed him a glass of wine. "Come taste this! This is wine that only gods can drink!"

Mephistopheles took the glass and lightly sipped it. At first, the wine was slightly bitter, but after entering his mouth, it quickly transformed into a rich fragrance, forming an extremely sharp contrast with its initial bitterness.

Still, it was merely delicious. There was no such thing as "drinking it to gain greater power." The delicacies the gods ate were, at their core, simply tasty food.

Medea also took a small drink. Combined with however much she had drunk earlier, her cheeks were now flushed, making her look exceptionally adorable.

Mephistopheles really wanted to reach out and pinch her cheeks. He felt they would definitely be soft and comfortable to pinch.

But thinking of how many people were around, he worked hard to suppress that desire.

Noticing something strange about him, Medea leaned closer. Smiling mischievously, she brought her face right before his, her girlish scent and the smell of wine washing over him together.

Blinking, she asked, "What were you thinking about just now?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking that this wine tastes really good."

"Nothing? That sounds so strange. If you weren't thinking about anything, why would you think the wine tasted good? You first said nothing, then mentioned the wine. Are you hiding what you were really thinking about?!" As Medea spoke, she leaned even closer.

Listening to Medea's words and watching her draw closer—so close that he could directly feel her breath from her mouth and nose, so close that he could even see the things hidden beneath her collar—Mephistopheles took a deep breath and said, "No, you're overthinking it!"

He absolutely would not admit that his heartbeat had accelerated on its own, or that his gaze was slipping somewhat beyond his control.

Medea seemed to notice this. She leaned even closer, the smile on her face becoming more obvious.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Mephistopheles's breathing became a little rushed. He tried hard not to step back, lest he look as though he were afraid. He directly picked up a glass of wine. "I'm drinking. Drinking!"

The corner of Medea's lips curled up slightly. "Go ahead. It's not like I'm stopping you."

Not far away, the gods who witnessed this scene all laughed. Zeus stroked his chin and shook his head. "What a hassle. They obviously both have feelings for each other, so why won't they take that final step?"

Hera rolled her eyes at Zeus. "You think everyone is like you?"

"Cough, cough, cough!" Zeus coughed and said nothing more.

Watching this scene, Artemis could not help puffing out her cheeks slightly. Apollo said beside her, "Sister, are you unhappy?"

"No. I think I'm quite happy." Artemis shook her head, though her lips remained pursed. "It's just that besides being happy, I also feel a little uncomfortable. Strange, right?"

Apollo hesitated for a moment, considering whether he should explain why.

"Sister, do you know what love is?"

Artemis nodded. "Of course. I often watch other people fall in love!"

"Then do you understand your own situation now?"

Artemis shook her head. "No."

Apollo fell silent. He felt like he did not know how to explain it.

So, he decided to probe indirectly. "Sister, you said that at most, you could give yourself to him. Did you really mean that?"

"Of course. The greatest thing I can give is myself."

"Then would you be willing to give yourself to him?"

Artemis thought about it. "I'm pretty happy when we're together, so if I wanted to, I suppose it wouldn't be a problem."

By this point, Apollo was helpless to the extreme. He could only say, "Then is it possible that Medea has similar feelings toward Mephistopheles?"

Artemis froze. Blinking, she glanced at Medea and Mephistopheles, then looked back at her younger brother.

"No... that can't be, right?"

"I think you should think about it carefully yourself, Sister." Apollo did not continue the conversation. Instead, he walked away, muttering as he went, "No matter what, it's still far better than that Orion guy!"

Night arrived quietly.

Before Mephistopheles lay pages made of a special material. The book did not look very thick, with only several dozen pages or so.

Mephistopheles had asked Hephaestus to forge this book for him. Conceptually speaking, it possessed the nature of something divinely made.

However, its contents were completely blank. That had been Mephistopheles's request, because he wanted to use this book to test something.

Using the sanctified ink he had carefully preserved, Mephistopheles wrote words upon the pages. A closer look would reveal that the words he wrote were all in Latin.

There might have been nothing special about the words themselves, but once they were linked together, they contained magical power.

That magical power flowed through the words on its own, flowed through the book itself. Under Mephistopheles's writing, the entire book seemed to come alive, radiating a rhythm like that of life.

What Mephistopheles wrote was the magical knowledge he possessed. It gathered his own wisdom and experience, and what he was doing now was creating an Original Grimoire that belonged to him alone.

Normally, it was extremely difficult to create an Original Grimoire that was completely stable and capable of preserving itself without perishing. Forget Mephistopheles in the Type-Moon world—even Mephistopheles in the A Certain Magical Index world could not pull it off.

After all, he was just a weak little nobody.

But now, with conceptual tools like divinely forged armaments available, he could bypass certain limitations.

It should be possible.

When Mephistopheles had asked Hephaestus to forge this and then intended to test it himself, he had already been treating it as an experiment.

Now, it seemed that it really was working, and the results were not bad.

If this Original Grimoire was completed, his safety in this world could rise another level.

As for whether using divinely forged armaments as a foundation to create an Original Grimoire would affect the grimoire itself, that was something that could only be determined through future testing.

Just as Mephistopheles wrote the final word, the entire book began to tremble slightly. It twisted in a bizarre manner and produced a heartbeat-like thumping sound. Then it returned to calm, becoming like an ordinary book, while faint footsteps sounded in the quiet courtyard.

"Mephistopheles..."

It was Medea!

Medea's face was slightly red as she slowly walked over. She looked a little afraid, yet her steps were extremely firm!

Perfect Completion

Looking at the girl, even if Mephistopheles had been foolish, he would have understood her intentions by now.

Still, he naturally put away the book as though he had not seen through her intentions. "It's so late. Is something wrong?"

"Mephistopheles..." A fragrant, soft body fell into his arms. Feeling her wildly pounding heart and breathing in her delicate scent, Mephistopheles gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Did something happen?"

"Mm..."

Medea answered softly.

"Do you want me to tell you a story or something to cheer you up? Or did someone bully you, and you want me to beat them up for you?"

Seeing Mephistopheles play dumb, Medea suddenly laughed, though she was also a little angry. She immediately opened her mouth and bit his shoulder hard.

"Ow! Are you a dog?!" Mephistopheles cried out in an exaggerated manner, only for Medea to curl her lips. "I didn't even bite that hard!"

Then she added, "Isn't the clothes you're wearing supposed to have incredible defense? I heard their defense is comparable to that of the gods."

The meaning behind her words was obvious. It could be summed up in one simple sentence.

Stop playing dumb!

Feeling the girl's dissatisfaction, Mephistopheles could only sigh and ask, "Have you really not considered what you'll do if I leave?"

"I don't care!" Medea was stubborn and unyielding. She sniffed, and her voice sounded exceptionally adorable. "I felt it today. Instead of thinking about those things, it's better to be simple and direct!"

As Medea spoke, a trace of fear appeared on her face. "Rather than worrying whether I'll regret doing something, I'm more afraid that I'll regret not doing it in the future!"

Medea truly had been frightened during the day. When she thought of what would have happened if Mephistopheles had truly died beneath the giant's strike, she knew she would have suffered for a long, long time—perhaps for the rest of her life.

So, the moment she saw that Mephistopheles was still alive, Medea had already made her decision. She would no longer worry about anything else and would act according to her own feelings!

Thus, at this moment, the girl had already taken that final step, looking incomparably determined.

"You like me too, don't you?"

Facing Medea's question and looking into her blue eyes, which were somewhat close to violet, Mephistopheles could not help turning his face slightly away.

He did not dare look at her face. He felt that pair of eyes was filled with magic, capable of drawing in anyone's gaze.

"I-I, of course..."

"No lying!"

"That's right, I do like you." Mephistopheles continued struggling to find excuses. "That's perfectly natural, isn't it? You're so beautiful, after all. Look, I'm also a normal—"

He could not finish, because something blocked his mouth.

The girl's movements were somewhat unskilled, yet also so proactive, so passionate.

Feeling those soft lips, Mephistopheles froze for a moment before he could not help becoming lost in them as well.

Forget it. Always thinking about the future, future... If I keep thinking like that, won't I just end up hurting the person in front of me by accident? Besides, it really does go against my own heart...

With that thought, Mephistopheles's movements shifted from passive to proactive, directly pressing her beneath him.

Artemis could not help holding her breath, but then she bit her lip. After seeing Medea walk toward where Mephistopheles was staying, she had somehow followed her in secret.

Besides, this place was illuminated by moonlight, which was already within the range of her authority. Even if she had not followed them, if something really happened, she could still observe it.

Now, watching what was happening inside, her expression grew somewhat dim.

"It's all Apollo's fault. Why did he say all that to me during the day?!" She secretly blamed her younger brother for her current state. "If he hadn't said those things, I definitely wouldn't be overthinking like this!"

Thinking that, she felt as though her heart were blocked. She wanted to leave, yet her feet seemed rooted in place, unable to move.

Watching Medea, who wore a shy expression yet looked incomparably happy, Artemis suddenly thought, What if that were me? What would it be like? Would I show a similar expression too? She looks so happy...

The moment that thought emerged, Artemis froze. Then a trace of pain appeared on her face. "So Apollo was right, wasn't he?"

She could sense the changes in her heart. Those changes could not lie. Combined with Apollo's explanation and the scene before her, the emotion called jealousy rising within her made her fully understand what she was thinking.

"I was the one who initially told him not to avoid Medea, not to turn away from her feelings, but to face them. Yet now he's willing to face them, while I..."

Pain. It hurt terribly. Jealousy arose from that pain, yet that jealousy also brought her a trace of shame.

Artemis took a deep breath, then gently leaned against the wall. Listening to the sounds coming from inside, she suddenly felt her own body growing a little hot as well...

The morning sunlight heralded the arrival of day, but this was originally the domain of the moon goddess. The sun would not come, and there would only ever be night.

Waking from his sleep and feeling the softness in his arms, Mephistopheles was first stunned before a gentle expression appeared on his face.

The girl was hugging his arm, sleeping soundly.

He reached out and gently stroked her violet hair. Thinking of everything that had happened last night, Mephistopheles lowered his head lovingly and kissed her forehead.

It was like an uncontrollable instinct. He wanted to do it, so he did.

"Hehe." Medea laughed. Seeing this, Mephistopheles pinched her cheek. "Stop pretending to sleep. Get up!"

"No, I was too tired last night. I have to sleep a little longer!" Medea protested again, "It was my first time, you know! Was it really your first time too?!"

"I'm in good physical condition. Can't help it." Spreading his hands, Mephistopheles smiled. "Besides, you were the one who started the fire. It's only right that you put it out."

At those words, Medea sat up and viciously bit Mephistopheles's shoulder.

This time, there were no clothes in the way, and Mephistopheles truly let out a scream.

Myth and Magic

The next day, Heracles, Mephistopheles, and Medea naturally had to leave. Not far away, Apollo asked Artemis, "Sister, are you planning to keep traveling with them?"

"Yes. The journey has been quite fun, after all. At least I won't be bored." Artemis nodded.

Apollo believed that was true, but he also knew she had not revealed all her reasons.

Still, he did not try to persuade her further. He simply smiled and said, "Then have fun. If anything happens, come find me!"