It was evident that Poseidon was in a state of frenzy, his consciousness far from clear, his use of Divine Power practically nonexistent. To say he was in battle was inaccurate; it would be more correct to say he was venting, and this was undoubtedly the work of the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator.
But then again, if the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator managed to reduce Poseidon to this state, it proved his strength far surpassed that of the gods of Mount Olympus.
Aisha went on to say, "Given the situation, he didn't need to use the eldest son to divert Zeus's attention, to allow Poseidon and Ares to descend to Earth. On the contrary, there are simpler and more convenient methods."
The others thought about it and agreed. If he could fool the highly-ranked War and Sea Gods into disability, bringing down two individuals through the Teleportation Portal to Earth would be easy, and it's even possible that the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator could bring the gods down to Earth himself.
"Oh, I get it now," Dick slapped his palm as he said, "The eldest son's escape was probably not what the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator wanted, but a countermeasure from our side!"
"Think about it. Once the eldest son escapes, Zeus and Hera would quickly leave with the gods. Except for those at the level of the War and Sea Gods, everyone would have to follow Zeus, and they would all be under Zeus's supervision. That would leave little opportunity to cause mischief."
"And once the eldest son is free, he could likely be directed to kill targets like Ares, who had conditions that allowed them to descend and pose a major threat to Earth. With that, the strategy of luring the tiger away from the mountain would be broken."
"Who was it that released the eldest son?" Jason looked towards Faust, who immediately replied, "It was Circe, Witch Circe."
"That doesn't seem right." Now, Jason realized the flaw, as he had been following child abuse cases and had heard from Gordon what that witch was like. He said, "You mean Witch Circe controlled a man?"
"What I said is true," Faust seemed anxious for them to believe him, hopping about in Funa's hands as he spoke, "A man in a black suit, wearing glasses, with what looked like Scales on his neck, carrying a black umbrella..."
The expressions on Dick and the others' faces instantly became very animated.
Just as Dick was about to say something, Jason preempted him, "There's a flaw. I heard that Witch Circe detests men. If she had to choose someone to possess, why would she choose a man?"
Faust was stumped by the question and could only hop in place twice as he said, "Maybe she changed her ways?"
He wasn't completely sure; when that man capable of using witchcraft broke in, Faust's mind was full of Witch Circe, and he failed to observe carefully. Now that he thought about it, there indeed seemed to be a problem.
Witch Circe had a certain reputation in their circles. She was known as a maker of widowers, hating men intensely. And regardless of species, if it was male, it wouldn't have an easy time in her hands.
The saying goes, a leopard can't change its spots. Not all female creatures in the world had gone extinct. Even if something huge had happened, Circe would have preferred a female to possess; why would a man have appeared?
Jason and Dick, of course, already knew what was going on. It wasn't Witch Circe who had taken a man hostage, but that man who had taken Witch Circe hostage.
"It seems that this is probably the Justice League's method of combating the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator," Dick concluded after some thought. "The Behind-the-scenes Manipulator wanted to use the chaos created by the gods of Olympus on Earth to distract the Justice League, thereby destroying Mercury and its stored talent.
"And the Justice League had sent someone directly to Olympus, releasing the eldest son and guiding him to precisely kill Ares, who intended to cause chaos, thereby foiling the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator's plan."
"What will they do next?" Jason raised a question, and at that moment, Funa spoke up, "Right now, we're all speculating without evidence. I think we should first find the gods of Olympus. If Zeus and the others are still alive, they can tell us if something unusual happened on Mount Olympus before."
Aisha also agreed with this idea, saying, "Zeus might have been unprepared before, which let the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator succeed. But if he's still lucid now, he should be able to recall many discrepancies. The Behind-the-scenes Manipulator is cautious, but what if he left some trace?"
Team leader Dick looked towards the toad Faust and asked, "Do you know where Zeus and the others might be hiding?"
"Mount Olympus is a dimensional space, but not the only one. If you really want me to say, I think they might have gone to Apollo's Bright Domain."
"What place is that?"
Faust sighed gently and said, "The area we're currently in is actually the Pantheon, which you can think of as the White House of America. Normally, the gods would gather here for ceremonies and activities, but this isn't their home. It's more like their office building."
"The Twelve Pillar Gods all have their own domains, each representing different elements. Apollo represents light..."
"Wait, isn't Apollo the Sun God?"
"That's a rumor," Faust asserted confidently. "Helios is the Sun God. The sun chariot is his property, while Apollo is his superior, with broader responsibilities in his domain."
"Why do you think Zeus would go to him?"
"Because he's easy to talk to," Faust said. "Among the Twelve Pillar Gods, Apollo is the most approachable. When Zeus and Leto had him, Hera was initially strongly against it. But once Apollo joined Mount Olympus, even Hera got along with him, and persuaded by him, she allowed Hermes to reside on Mount Olympus."
The others couldn't help but conjure up an image of an enormously charming male deity in their minds. Faust continued, "I heard from Charon that he is Zeus's favorite son, even more so than Ares. So Apollo's realm would likely be Zeus's first choice of refuge."
"How would we enter his domain?"
Faust thought for a moment and replied, "We would actually have to start with Helios, the Sun God. His sun chariot enters the Bright Domain through a special door, where the horses rest."
"If the sun continues to rise in the east and set in the west, it means Helios is unharmed. So, we just need to wait at this entrance for him, and perhaps by following the sun chariot, we can enter the Bright Domain."
"Hold on." Dick felt his world view was being challenged, saying, "Doesn't the sun rise in the east and set in the west because of the Earth's rotation and revolution? Pulling the sun across the sky with a chariot, is that scientifically sound?"
Faust scoffed, "You're standing on the land of Mount Olympus right now, with Ares' body beside you. And you're talking to me about science?"