The silence enveloping the luxurious inn room was slowly broken by Artemis’s long sigh.
The Goddess of the Hunt stared straight at the map of the continent spread across the table, envisioning the route to Elsos that had nearly become a graveyard for all her children.
“And if I had forced our march to Elsos back then…” Artemis murmured softly, her voice carrying a faint tremble she rarely displayed.
“I truly cannot fathom what would have happened to my Familia.
We might have all been wiped out by now.”
Hearing such a candid confession from the usually rigid, cold, and disciplined goddess, Hermes rested his elbows on the table and propped his chin on his hands.
The messenger god’s sharp, analytical mind raced, parsing every variable of the newly acquired information.
“This is quite fascinating,” Hermes said, cutting through the tension with his signature, yet undeniably serious, tone.
“This young man named Natsu knew the true state of the seal before anyone else even realized it.
He even beat you to it, Artemis, and you’re the one specifically tasked with overseeing it.
Where on earth did he get his hands on such top-tier intel?”
Artemis didn’t answer.
She was still entirely in the dark about who the pink-haired youth truly was.
However, pondering Natsu’s identity now wouldn’t neutralize the threat of the ancient monster ready to break free from its shackles.
Artemis straightened her back, slipping right back into her strict, authoritative demeanor.
She fixed Hermes with a demanding glare.
“We can set aside the boy’s identity for the time being,” Artemis cut in, steering the focus back to the primary issue.
“Hermes, with your knowledge of the current balance of power in Gekai, who is the right adventurer for this mission?
If we have to deploy a force to fight Antares, who is actually capable of standing against it?”
Hermes fell silent for a moment.
He tapped his fingers rhythmically against the mahogany table, mentally sifting through the thousands of top-tier adventurers’ names filed away in his head.
“Realistically speaking, I think Ottar from the Freya Familia stands a chance to at least hold off or fight Antares,” Hermes answered objectively, referring to the Boar who currently stood at the absolute pinnacle of Orario’s strength.
However, before Artemis could even feel a sliver of relief, Hermes shook his head with a disappointed expression.
“But it’s a shame,” Hermes continued.
“There are strong rumors circulating within my informant network that Freya and her top-tier executives are currently outside of Orario.
I even personally saw Allen frantically searching for Freya in the city streets not too long ago.
So, it’s highly likely that the Freya Familia’s main combat force is out of our reach at the moment.”
Artemis frowned, feeling as though Orario’s only ace in the hole had just slipped right through their fingers.
“Alternatively, Leon Vardenburg from the School District could also be considered,” Hermes added, naming the Knight from the world’s strongest military education organization.
Hermes let out a long sigh, slouching back into his chair.
A bitter smile crept onto the blond god’s face.
“But the three of us know the harsh truth, Artemis.
Even if Ottar or Leon step in, they are still mortals.
They still won’t be able to completely defeat Antares.”
That fact hung heavily in the air.
Fighting ordinary monsters in the dungeon was entirely different from fighting an entity explicitly created to devour divinity.
Pure physical strength wouldn’t be enough to kill such an ancient creature.
Artemis refused to give up.
She searched for the next most rational option.
“What about the other major familias?
Is the Loki Familia still in the Labyrinth City, or have they already descended into the dungeon?”
“The Loki Familia hasn’t descended into the dungeon yet,” Hermes confirmed.
“But rumors are spreading rapidly through the Guild that they are currently swamped preparing for a massive expedition into the deep floors.
Asking them to scrap months of preparation for a suicide mission to Elsos would definitely require some incredibly tough negotiations.”
Hearing the detailed breakdown of their disadvantageous military situation, Artemis closed her eyes.
She pondered every possible way out.
If relying on the raw power of top-tier adventurers wasn’t an option, then she would have to resort to the most extreme divine measure.
Artemis’s green eyes snapped open, radiating an absolute, unshakeable resolve.
“Let us return to Orario first,” Artemis declared, making her final decision.
The Goddess of the Hunt rose from her chair.
She looked at Hermes and Aphrodite in turn, her gaze incredibly sharp and dead serious.
“If there truly are no adventurers capable of defeating Antares with their own strength…
I will use the Arrow of Orion,” Artemis stated in a deadly cold tone.
She continued her explanation before the deities in front of her could protest.
“I will crystallize the Arrow of Orion so that it can be wielded by a mortal in the lower world.
I will forge it into a sacred spear with a specific condition.
Only an adventurer with a pure soul will be able to draw it.
But the real problem is…
is there anyone out there who meets that condition and can actually lift it?”
Upon hearing Artemis say the name “Arrow of Orion” out loud, Hermes and Aphrodite instantly shuddered violently.
The hairs on the back of Hermes’s neck stood on end, and Aphrodite subconsciously hugged herself on the sofa.
Both knew perfectly well just how absurd and terrifying the aforementioned weapon truly was.
The Arrow of Orion was no ordinary sacred relic.
In Tenkai, it was widely considered one of the most powerful weapons to ever exist in the heavens.
That sacred arrow wasn’t forged simply to slaughter monsters; it possessed an absolute special ability known as “They Who Pierce.”
It was a taboo weapon, designed with such overwhelming power that it could pierce right through Arcanum protections and permanently kill a God or Goddess if used in the lower world.
Handing a god-slaying weapon over to a mortal was an incredibly insane, high-stakes gamble.
If that weapon were to fall into the wrong hands, the apocalypse for the gods residing in Gekai would be all but guaranteed.
However, Hermes’s fears were quelled by the reality of the condition Artemis had laid out.
That weapon couldn’t just be touched by anyone.
A heart clouded by greed, murderous intent, or an inflated ego would be instantly rejected by the Arrow of Orion.
But Artemis was right.
In a world so saturated with ambition, bloodshed, and intrigue, was there truly an adventurer out there with a pure heart?