Yawn!!
The earth trembled as a massive being, 20 meters tall, slowly rose and sat up where it had been lying.
"Mm... how long have I been asleep?"
Scratching his hair as he yawned, Crisaor looked around at the lush, extremely robust, and large life surrounding him.
It was as if everything had changed while he slept, and the very breath of the place felt different. But what was that difference?
It took him a while to fully wake up and realize the Mana Pulse constantly emanating from beneath the earth.
A pulse born from him, intimately connected to his existence, his legend, and his essence. For a moment, he was puzzled, but he quickly understood what was happening.
Giants didn't really have a legacy like the dragon's legacy. But neither were they without anything. They possessed the basic information of their species, and he knew what this effect was.
"A Pulse has been born based on my Giant's Heart and the depths of the earth..."
This was truly impressive. Touching his chest, he could feel his heart beating in a highly synchronized rhythm with the Giant's Pulse.
In some way, he could sense the connection with that phenomenon and with the increasing density of mana in the surroundings.
"Crisaor!! You've awakened!! A perfect synchronization... The storm has ended, and a ship is visible on the horizon."
Hearing a small, distant voice, Crisaor lowered his head and looked at the even smaller Euryale standing atop a 10-meter white snake.
"Oh... the snake has grown again?"
He didn't expect that. It had grown significantly, and the mana aura he could see around it was extremely dense, indicating that not only its size had changed.
"She has indeed grown... In any case, go to the coast, Crisaor. The fleet of heroes has arrived."
Euryale really didn't want her nephew to go to war to protect her and her sister's hand, but she also didn't want to be forced into marriage with just any hero. So, even though she felt bad, she had to send Crisaor to war.
As for Stheno, she was watching the ship on the shore.
Nodding, Crisaor stood up and gazed toward the beach now in his view. Although the forest had grown in size and thickness, he had grown even more than the forest. He could easily see the ship beyond the horizon and Stheno standing on the coast, staring at the sea with a tense expression.
"Allowing them to reach the coast could be dangerous."
It was true that he had more power on land, but like him, the people on that ship must have advantages on land.
For example, they could move more freely, use the dense forest as cover, and even kidnap and use one of the two sisters as leverage. So, it was better to stop them far from the coast, ideally preventing them from disembarking.
"I'll be off. If things go awry, summon Pegasus and escape the island."
He knew that Stheno and Euryale had the means to summon Pegasus. After saying that, he spread his wings, which seemed capable of covering the sky.
The mystery of the sky itself revolved around the wings, which fluttered with a brilliance of absolute purity, creating gusts of wind.
His body shot upwards. A golden sword appeared in one hand, and a shield with a mirror capable of reflecting any spell appeared on the other arm.
With his large body and wings, it didn't take him long to be above the grand ship where his destined foe was.
"A barrier?"
The barrier was visible to his giant eyes. It was pure magic, through and through. It would be really embarrassing if he couldn't perceive magic at a glance.
But setting that aside, dispelling the barrier, he could see that there were four individuals on the ship – two men and two women.
One was aiming a bow at him, a handsome boy holding a spear, and another wielding a sword.
However, the most interesting was the woman with violet hair, who seemed to have a serious issue with her body. It appeared that even breathing was a tremendous struggle.
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[Atalanta]
Taking a sip from her canteen, Atalanta coiled her cat tail around her waist. Her green eyes gazed up at the cloudy sky over the ship, and her ears twitched from the caress of the wind.
She never really sought out this kind of work. She never needed to, nor did she have a desire to prove herself to anyone, especially not to the male gods or Sky Gods.
[In Greek mythology, the gods are divided into two branches: the Sky Gods, deities tied to more metaphysical authorities and associated with the "sky," and the Earthly Gods, deities whose dominion is connected to the earth. Hades is an Earthly God. The majority of Titans are Earthly Gods. And Giants are super duper Earthly.]
When she was a child, none of them tried to save her. Not only did Artemis help her, the others watched as the centaurs nearly violated her. She was saved only by Artemis' protection.
Her father, who abandoned her simply for not being a son, tried to force her into marriage. The only reason he failed was because she invoked the name of her goddess, known for being the "Virgin" goddess and possessing enough strength to best anyone.
So, yes, she truly despised men. The only exceptions among men were the children, those who hadn't lost the purity of their childhood and hadn't turned into bloodthirsty monsters like all the "male" adults she had encountered.
Sip
Sigh... "Why am I suddenly thinking about these things?"
She didn't know. Maybe it was because she was truly fed up with putting up with Jason and his bullshit.
Maybe she felt pity for Medea. Or perhaps it was a combination of both. She didn't know and didn't think anyone could truly understand why she was so frustrated.
Sip, taking another sip from the liquor in her canteen, Atalanta shifted her gaze from the stormy clouds and, after rising, looked toward where the island was now in sight.
"It's a much larger island than what has been reported."
Furrowing her brows, Atalanta stopped observing the island and focused her gaze on the violet-haired girl whose magical aura was constantly emanating. Veins could be seen beneath her skin, and her paleness was almost akin to that of a corpse, revealing her dire condition.
"Stealing a god's authority, huh? This girl won't end up well."
No one steals something from the gods and ends up well afterward. She had to say it. She couldn't help but feel more and more pity for this woman who seemed increasingly doomed.
She was aware that once they finished what they needed to do, Jason would escape, leaving the girl abandoned and with nothing.
No brother because he killed and dismembered him. No kingdom to support her because her entire realm now despised her. No father because he also despised her. No teacher, and now probably hated by Poseidon as well.
Her ending would likely be tragic.
Shaking her head, Atalanta looked back at the island, but this time, she noticed something. Her eyes were simply excellent as an archer, so after some effort, she could make out the figure with wings...
Her face went pale.
"A giant... Why is there a giant on the Gorgons' island?"
May Artemis have mercy on her soul. Because she truly didn't know if she would come out in one piece after what was about to unfold.
Summoning her bow, much to the perplexed gazes of everyone, Atalanta aimed at the sky without saying a word. Taking a deep breath, she decided to release her best shot right from the start, hoping to keep that thing from getting closer to the ship beyond that distance.
"With my bow and arrows, I seek the divine protection of the sun's *** Apollo and the moon's goddess Artemis."
"I offer you this calamity: the destruction of Phoebus!"
Her chant resonated with the ambient mana as her arrow, released, pierced through the gray clouds of the sky like a pillar of green light.
For a moment, there was silence, before rays of sunlight forcefully broke through the gray clouds, bringing the light of the brother of the moon, the one who has the sun chained to his chariot, Apollo.
His endless light illuminated the sea and land. Hidden beneath his light, a barrage of green arrows, divinely protected by two gods, rained down on the giant drawing ever closer.
[It's worth noting that the Age of the Gods has not ended, and Atalanta was genuinely favored by Artemis and Apollo. Although she's not yet a servant and lacks the extra strength from her legend, the favor of the gods is enough to balance and not just balance, but increase her lacking power.]