As the words faded, a demon with eagle's wings, a lion's body, and a human face appeared out of thin air before the big screen in the Presidential Palace.
Its stone-like wings stirred gently. Its deep-set eyes swept over everyone present, their Vortex-like depths drawing gazes like stars.
It was the Queen of Heaven's messenger, divine punishment incarnate: the Strangler, Sphinx—
Everyone who recognized the creature felt a chill rise from deep within. Cold seemed to seep from every pore.
The Presidential Palace, bustling with voices moments ago, fell silent.
Though Sphinx had originated in Egyptian mythology as a symbol of "mercy," "nobility," and "protection," in Greek Mythology she was a monster born when Echidna, the half-human, half-Serpent mother of monsters, mated with her son Orthrus.
Sphinx had been taken away by the Queen of Heaven, Hera, as soon as she was born and had become the queen of the gods' cherished pet. Her standing was only one rank below Pandora, the perfect woman created by the gods. She was a terrifying demon who could stand alongside them.
According to myth, Hera had sent Sphinx to sit beside a cliff road near Thebes to punish its king for a past wrong. She posed riddles to travelers and strangled anyone who could not answer. In the end, Oedipus solved the Strangler's riddle, and the proud Sphinx leaped off the cliff in shame.
But judging by the situation now, the myth was clearly wrong.
They've hit us in our own backyard?
Inside the Presidential Palace, several experts who had played League of Legends had the same thought. Their faces filled with terror, and they instinctively backed away, hiding behind others.
The only reason they had not feared these mythical demons before was that they had not been on the front lines. They