"Finally... we made it!"
As soon as Cyd's feet touched the shore, he collapsed to his knees, still holding Atalanta.
"No, we're just on land," Atalanta replied, glancing at the compass glued to her hand. "It looks like we won't be able to take it off until we reach Calydon."
"We haven't arrived yet?" Cyd groaned.
Even with the blessing of the Sun God, his mental fatigue was undeniable. They had been running non-stop, and though his body felt as if it had just completed a warm-up exercise, he was exhausted. After all, he had essentially sprinted across the sea.
"Let's rest for the night," Atalanta suggested, looking at the sky. "The sun is setting, and your blessing will soon wear off."
"True, I don't feel invincible anymore," Cyd said, clenching his fist.
"Although I hate to ask, I can't hunt in my current state," Atalanta said, waving her compass-bound hand.
"Don't worry, we did receive some gifts before leaving the ship," Cyd gently leaned Atalanta against a rock.
"Gifts?" Atalanta tilted her head.
Cyd smiled mysteriously. Suddenly, a massive wave rose behind him, and various fish landed at his feet. "Like this," Cyd said, taking an octopus off his head. "Lord Poseidon is quite generous."
"You certainly are favored," Atalanta rolled her eyes.
"Not really," Cyd laughed, starting a fire and skillfully roasting the fish.
As they waited, Cyd and Atalanta chatted.
"Atalanta, what will you do after dealing with the boar?"
"Who knows? I definitely won't get back on that ship," Atalanta replied, gazing at the moon hanging in the night sky. "Maybe I'll return to Arcadia."
"It's nice to have a home to go back to," Cyd mused, staring into the flames.
"Home doesn't mean much to me," Atalanta closed her eyes. "If it weren't for Lady Artemis, I'd be dead."
"The fish is ready. Want me to feed you?" Cyd offered.
"I'll bite you!"
To prove she wasn't a helpless doll despite her current state, Atalanta bit into the roasted fish with determination.
"Looks painful," Cyd noted, seeing her mouth turning red from the heat. Even as tears welled up, she stubbornly acted as if nothing was wrong, much like a defiant kitten.
After covering the fire pit with dirt, Cyd and Atalanta faced an awkward problem.
It was time to sleep, but...
"I can sleep alone!"
Cyd sighed as he watched Atalanta struggle to crawl.
They had camped together before, but Atalanta hadn't been incapacitated then. They usually slept in trees, but now, Atalanta could barely stand. Leaving her alone in a tree...
"Sorry, but I'd feel terrible if you got carried off by a beast or fell," Cyd said, approaching the resistant Atalanta.
"Stay away! I'll bite you!" Atalanta waved her hand like a resisting kitten being taken back to its den.
After a struggle, Cyd finally managed to carry Atalanta up a tree. Though her struggles were as feeble as a baby's, the slaps she aimed at him felt like gentle touches.
"I'm just concerned about you, so... could you let go now?" Cyd asked, sitting on a branch with a bemused expression.
True to her word, Atalanta clamped her teeth onto his throat like a lioness with her prey, grinding her teeth as if trying to cut through his neck.
"It tickles..."
Atalanta's eyes briefly lost their focus.
"When I recover, I'll definitely bite you to death."
Cyd glanced at his left wrist, where a dark green crystal glowed faintly.
Confirmed, Atalanta wasn't lying; she genuinely wanted to bite him to death.
"Good luck," Cyd, with his immortal body, gave her a thumbs up. "I hope you achieve your dream someday."
Furious, Atalanta bit down harder on his throat, though to Cyd, it felt more like a kiss.
In the end, Atalanta, determined to sever his throat, fell asleep with her teeth still on his neck.
While Cyd drifted off, enjoying Atalanta's close "contact," Jason and his crew faced a dire crisis.
"Who are you?!" Hercules demanded, holding a stone axe, eyes fixed on the small, cloaked figure that had jumped onto their ship from the sea.
Though she sounded like a girl, the heroes who underestimated her had already turned to statues at her feet, including Jason.
"Me?" The cloaked figure tilted her head. "Just a dead monster."
"What do you want?" Hercules inquired.
"I'm looking for someone. There's a trace of him on your ship," the cloaked figure sniffed the air. "He's been here for days, but the scent is fading. Where is he?"
"You're looking for... Cyd?" Hercules asked cautiously.
"Yes!"
Hercules couldn't shake the feeling that the girl's voice held a note of joy at the mention of Cyd's name.
"He left the ship," Hercules said, relieved.
"Left the ship? In the middle of the sea?"
A chill ran down Hercules' spine. The tiny girl, standing only waist-high, exuded an oppressive aura that made his skin crawl. Her purple hair spilled out from the cloak, and a scythe, chained at the end, slammed onto the deck.
"You... harmed him?"
"Then... all of you... turn to stone and sink... into this sea!"
As her cloak billowed in the wind, Hercules ducked behind the mast. The others stared in horror at her delicate face and eerie purple eyes. Then everything went black.
Dozens of lifelike statues lined the Argo's deck.
"Didn't find him? Never mind. I'll reap all your lives with my scythe. For him, I can become a monster again, the monster named Medusa!"
Medusa dragged her scythe to Jason's statue.
"Come out, or I'll smash this statue."
"You misunderstand! Cyd's not dead!" Hercules called out, still hiding. "He has Poseidon's blessing, allowing him to walk on water. He left on his own."
"Do you think I'll believe that?" Medusa raised her scythe to strike Jason's statue.
"He's telling the truth~" A hand caught the scythe just before it hit.
"Athena..." Medusa narrowed her eyes.
"He's on his way to Calydon to kill a boar. Aren't you going to help him?" Athena released the scythe.
Medusa bit her lip and jumped off the ship.
"You lot are always causing me trouble," Athena sighed, looking at the petrified heroes. With a snap of her fingers, the stone statues shattered, and the heroes collapsed on the deck.
"Leave it to you, Hercules," Athena said to the slowly approaching Hercules.
"I will," Hercules replied, glancing at the pile of "bodies" on the deck. He sighed. "Maybe I should leave at the next island too..."