The vivid darkness of the night gradually passed through the forest of Central Park in New York City.
The soft, low rustling of the leaves could be heard in the eloquent silence that partially surrounded the forest.
Deeper in the forest, there was a clearing where a strange-looking puppy, resembling a Chihuahua, stood alongside some enormous dogs that appeared to be accompanying him.
Some licked their paws, cleaning their freshly stained blood claws, sharp as knives. Unknown to the keen senses of the dogs, a figure was hidden in a tree, watching the strays intently.
Clouds obscured the beautiful moon until a gentle breeze swept them away. The moon in the sky shone brightly, illuminating the place below her, specifically the trees. It revealed a twelve-year-old girl with black hair tied in a ponytail that reached her back. She was wearing a silver hunting tunic that complemented her silver eyes well. Armed with her symbol of power: a silver bow, she critically studied her prey.
Artemis, the maiden goddess of the hunt and the moon, ventured out for a solitary hunt. Not just any hunt, but one seeking vengeance.
Vengeance for her fallen maidens...
A few hours earlier, she had been in the throne room of Mount Olympus for an emergency meeting when Echidna, Mother of Monsters disguised as a young maiden, appeared at her hunting camp.
The younger huntresses greeted Echidna enthusiastically. Unfortunately, only her older huntresses could see through her disguise.
Zoë and Phoebe, two of her oldest huntresses, quickly recognized the dreadful Echidna, but by then it was too late! The Mother of Monsters had successfully infiltrated and unleashed several of her children.
Right in the heart of the camp...
Some of the most faithful huntresses immediately sent a prayer to her while helping their sisters fight bravely against Echidna's children, but the hunt was caught off guard, causing a huge disadvantage. Soon, some ended up dead while others were wounded.
A large portion of the maidens was beaten to death.
When she arrived to help, Echidna and her children had already escaped, leaving maidens mourning the deaths of their sisters.
Boiling with rage and a desire for revenge, Artemis silently made the decision to seek vengeance alone so that her huntress sisters wouldn't end up dead. Without her hunt's knowledge, she set out and tracked the monsters on her own.
And that brings us to this moment.
As the monsters removed themselves from where they were and continued their journey, Artemis couldn't help but think silently.
"Revenge is mine…"
She quickly followed them, traced their paths, and this led her to an unusual part of the forest. There was a strange feeling coming from her divine senses that told her something was amiss, but she continued deeper into the woods.
She pushed the thought aside when she found the monsters in a clearing and quietly climbed a tree for a better view. Her golden blood boiled.
The Goddess of the Moon was gripping her bow tightly, and her silver eyes shone with fury at the nearby dogs; she quickly noted the deadly blood all over their fur and concluded that these were the monsters that ambushed her huntresses.
She was boiling and placed all the blame on herself for the deaths of eight.
After several minutes of examining the area, she could not feel Echidna's presence. The mother of all monsters was nowhere to be seen, but the Chimera, one of her strongest children, was with a pack of hellish dogs.
Aiming an arrow with confidence, the goddess of the hunt unleashed her repressed volcanic rage along with the tension in her bowstring. A rain of death followed as the arrows were fired at a speed faster than lightning, frightening the unknown monsters. The arrows quickly embedded themselves in the heads and necks of the hellhounds, turning them into yellow dust, except for the Chihuahua that transformed into its true form.
In an instant, the cute little dog became a gigantic creature with the head of a lion surrounded by a bloody mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent-like tail. This was the Chimera, one of the most terrible monsters of Greek mythology.
The Chimera opened its mouth and blasted a column of flames straight at Artemis, incinerating the arrows in the process. She dove to the left to evade the flames and fired more arrows at the grotesque monster.
But they were useless; with a quick flick of its tail, the arrows were deflected. The Goddess of the Moon was about to continue attacking with a new strategy upon realizing that this one wasn't working, but she stopped when a fat old woman appeared beside the Chimera.
The old woman's eyes turned into reptilian slits, and her skin became scaly and green. She smiled, her forked tongue flicking between her sharp teeth as she said, "So, it seems we have your attention, daughter of Leto."
"Echidna..." The silver-eyed goddess spat the name of the old woman; she looked coldly and vengefully at the serpentine elder as she promised, "I will make you suffer greatly before I send you back to Tartarus."
Echidna patted the Chimera's head and sneered. "You are just making things easier for me, goddess. Rage is truly a good investment. I'm sure my master will be grateful when my child here drags you away, chained."
Artemis was infuriated as Echidna insinuated what was happening. It reminded her of the reason she was here.
The snake mother hissed, and more monsters—a mix of hellhounds and dracaenae—flooded the clearing, surrounding the lone huntress. They looked at the goddess as if she were the most delicious and tasty food of all time.
The Goddess of the Moon reacted as quickly as she could. She readied herself and shone brightly, prepared to take on her true form to obliterate all the monsters that gazed at her, but to her shock, she couldn't shift into her [Divine Form]. Confusion settled in her heart, and knowing this was bad for herself, she even tried to escape by teleporting, but it was unsuccessful.
Her eyes widened in shock when the realization hit her. The place was enchanted; she should have trusted her divine senses that warned her something was off when she stepped into this area.
Echidna's sinister laughter echoed through the forest as she explained her brilliant plan: "You know, you have to blame this emergency meeting of yours! Thanks to it, I was able to put my plan into action. I prepared this place just for you, Artemis!"
"Your divine powers will be useless while you're inside this area. That's why we separated you from your prey. Tsk. Tsk. You should have brought someone to help you, but you Gods are too proud to ask your Demigods for help, and that will be your downfall..."
"And don't worry about anyone finding you here. Even the other gods, Olympian or lesser, can't find you here. Kampē personally came to my aid to set this up. We don't want the only deity less subject to the Ancient Laws lurking about, killing my children. Want to escape? You have to get through the original Chimera first."
Yes, this plan was only viable due to the emergency meeting of Olympus that had to do with the battle between a God and the most powerful Demigod born to date; the rumors that had spread throughout the supernatural world in just a few hours said so, but they were quite exaggerated in her opinion.
Anyway, she should thank the boy. If it weren't for him, she would be under Zeus's orders to kill Poseidon's son. But thanks to him, she initiated this plan...
She contacted her allies, and they planned this carefully and in great detail, and it worked!
Hearing the monster's words before her, for a fraction of a second, Artemis's expression turned to fear. Kampē, the jailer, only served one master; Cronos, the Titan of Time. She steeled herself and aimed her bow, speaking coldly and decisively: "It doesn't matter. Powerless or not, I will avenge the deaths of my sisters, even if I have to do it alone."
"As expected, you remain the brave maiden of my memories." Echidna bared her fangs and smiled maliciously, speaking with a certain sadistic pleasure: "Very well. Have fun."
After saying this, Echidna backed away, leaping onto a tree branch, leaving Artemis's fate to her children. One by one, the monsters charged at her while the Chimera wielded its poisonous tail.
The Goddess of the Moon quickly charged into battle.
Artemis killed all the monsters in rapid succession that tried to approach her, but the onslaught of the vile beasts wore her down at the same pace. A hail of arrows bombarded the monsters until she reached the border being guarded by the Chimera.
After a few minutes that felt like days, she began to grow tired of killing the seemingly endless monsters. She decided to shift her target to the Chimera to try to escape this place, but it was clearly impossible to kill a monster of this caliber with just arrows. So, Artemis drew her two long hunting knives, one in each hand, and crouched under the Chimera that leaped directly at her.
She slashed its underside, causing the monster to grunt in pain. This only showed that it would take many strikes to bring down this giant.
Artemis gracefully dodged the Chimera's fiery mouth, but due to exhaustion and her attention divided in keeping an eye on other monsters, she failed to remember the terrifying monster's serpent tail she faced. It whipped against her back, and the serpent-headed tail sank its fangs, dripping venom into her left shoulder.
Golden ichor, the blood of the immortals, stained her hunting clothes.
Artemis screamed in agony as the Chimera wrapped its tail around her body in an attempt to squeeze the life out of her. She was immortal, but she knew that once she lost consciousness, it would be her end. Who knew where they would take her or what they would do to her?
She dropped one of her knives and held the last knife with both hands. With all the remaining strength she could muster, Artemis raised the knife and plunged it fiercely into its tail. The Chimera howled in rage. Fortunately or unfortunately, it released her, throwing her into a massive tree. She cried out in pain from the impact, and remorse filled her heart. She did not act as a goddess should. She let her anger blind her and do something unplanned and foolish.
She not only allowed herself to be tormented but also vainly cast away the lives of her hunters.
Artemis fell to one knee, her right hand pressed against her wounded left shoulder, and her left hand clutched her hunting knife down. Poison coursed through her veins, leaving her head spinning and her vision blurred. She weakly shook her head, trying to regain her balance. For a moment, her vision cleared only to see the fire-belching monster advancing, its mouth curling with smoke.
She assumed her fighting stance while kneeling, her left hand ready to strike. Her face began to grow paler, and sweat streamed down her face. Her eyes shone with burning determination. The pain she felt paled in comparison to the sadness she felt from losing her sisters. She could not fail her hunters.
Artemis came to a conclusion: Fight.
The Chimera lashed at Artemis violently with its tail. She tried to block it, but failed. The goddess's hand with her knife trembled terribly. The venom that invaded her body was taking effect, gradually paralyzing her. The apparent desire of the monster to inflict serious harm continued as the Chimera struck her repeatedly, hitting her thrice. The goddess collapsed to the ground like a rag doll.
If she were mortal, she could swear she would already be dead. The poison and the horrific attacks were unbearable.
Using the remaining strength she possessed, Artemis slowly sat up and leaned against the tree to keep her body from collapsing due to weakness as she breathed heavily.
Despair was present in her eyes, but the thirst for revenge overshadowed it. The mouth of the Chimera's lion heated up, glowing red with every passing second, and it unleashed a gust of flames in her direction. With no strength to evade, she watched her bitter end approaching, as thoughts of regret, guilt, and hatred left her mind in chaos.
But this end was not destined to happen. All these thoughts vanished as she encountered a scene that would become unforgettable in her mind forever.
A young teenager appeared before the flames, reforming through the glow of star light, making her think she was dreaming... And this became her final conclusion due to the boy's appearance; it couldn't possibly be real, could it? How could someone so beautiful exist in this world? It had to be a dream...?
He looked so familiar...
The boy seemed to be no older than thirteen or fourteen. He was tall and possessed facial features unparalleled to the point that she imagined they had been shaped by the ideal desire of every living being in this existence. Without a doubt, a straight guy would question his sexuality upon seeing him, and any woman would be enchanted by his appearance.
The ideal point was his eyes, which were similar to two agates surrounded by electricity, something that made her think he was one of her Father's children.
He wore modern mortal clothes and had a white cap on his head that covered his long black hair, which she swore had a certain supernatural shine reminiscent of small crystal pieces or the gentle light of the stars.
Whether by his appearance or by his presence, both left the Goddess completely shocked to the point that she thought she was dreaming, a dream she would never admit but wished to last forever. The inherent desire to look at that perfect boy in front of her for the rest of her life was born in her heart.
While the Goddess was having an internal crisis, Ikki looked at the flames coming towards him, somewhat surprised. But it took no more than a few milliseconds to understand his situation.
That girl behind him had been attacked by the Chimera and a dozen monsters, right?
He felt compelled to save her, so he did something very simple; infused magic into his breath and extinguished the flames as if he were blowing out a birthday candle, to the shock of all the onlookers.
Artemis particularly believed it was even more of a dream...
"Don't you monsters have any shame?" Ikki said after extinguishing the Chimera's flames with a sigh. "Tormenting a simple little girl?"
These words brought her a mix of emotions, a blend of warmth and amusement with a mix of anger and wounded pride. She felt protected and amused by being compared to a mortal little girl, while her divine ego was hurt, leaving her with anger.
Her chaotic feelings were overtaken by shock at what happened next.
"Who are you?" Echidna spat out in rage at having her fun and years of vengeance interrupted.
"It doesn't matter, old disgusting serpent." Ikki shook his head negatively and said coldly, "Since you're all going to die anyway."
After saying this, he infused his magic into his heart, amplifying its beats and forming an extremely powerful sound attack. A loud sound spread throughout the area, affecting only the monsters, as if they were throbbing with force and about to explode at any moment.
The hellhounds were particularly affected; they wailed pitifully as blood erupted from their orifices, and then they exploded into golden dust.
Echidna screamed in agony and fell from the tree branch while her strongest child whimpered and cowered.
Ikki did not seem surprised by this outcome; he raised his hand and pointed a finger at the last two monsters, mother and child, and a flash of golden light shot from his finger, piercing both of their foreheads.
Their bodies also exploded into golden dust.
This attack was simply his [Qi of the Sword] and the [Silver Arm] combined; he could literally launch unparalleled swords of any size at near-instantaneous speeds, resembling laser beams because of that.
Finally, finishing off the monsters, he turned his attention to the girl and got lost in her beautiful appearance...
She was gorgeous!
His heart raced slightly at the sight of her divine beauty, which, despite all the wounds and blood covering her clothes, remained stunningly lovely. Ikki quickly calmed his heart and approached the girl, who was too beautiful to be mortal.
Meanwhile, the Goddess felt a pang in her chest, a signal that the poison had already settled inside her.
Fortunately, her divine resistance allowed her to not faint. Her legs began to tremble greatly from the poison and the punishments that the monster had inflicted. Artemis's lower limbs finally lost control, and she fell, leaning her back against the tree.
As the boy slowly approached her, Artemis could not help but look at him warily. Even if this was a dream in her opinion, it was still an unconscious reaction for someone who had always hated the opposite sex.
The moon darkened, reflecting the state of the goddess, providing insufficient luminescence to illuminate her face.
She gasped cutely when the boy picked her up, carrying her in a bridal style.
"Calm down, first let's get out of here and go to a safer place so I can heal your wounds."
The calm, soothing voice, similar to immortal wine whose taste could make anyone addicted, entered her ears.
To be honest, she was startled but refrained from complaining. The only thing she could think about was how much she wanted to push the boy away from her...? Part of her wanted to pull him closer, leaving her in chaos! She gritted her teeth, but that was all.
The thoughts of the maiden goddess varied, conflicted over how she would deal with the boy. She was starting to think this wasn't a dream! The heat of his body and the intoxicating scent hit her hard, making her realize this was real, no matter how crazy and unbelievable this encounter had been.
She had to admit, he was lucky to get close to her without turning into a damn jackalope. He was definitely the luckiest boy ever for nothing bad happening to him despite touching her.
The goddess in her twelve-year-old form began to tense when she realized this wasn't a dream. She wasn't sure if this boy had come just to save her, and worse, she was weak and powerless; he could do anything to her without worrying about any resistance.
Artemis made a grimace at the thought.
After all, what would a boy do in an isolated area? What if he took advantage of her weakened state?
The moon goddess tried to squirm in his arms, but the pain from her injuries flared up again, making her whimper. He held her tighter, and a wave of warmth that she could not identify surged through her.
This alleviated her pain, and she felt her body relaxing with the strange sensation. She was surprised to find that her wounds began to heal.
When she relaxed, the boy shifted her slightly, making her rest her head on his chest. Blood rushed to her cheeks in embarrassment, and she screamed inside her mind.
This isn't happening.
"Everything's okay, miss. You're safe now," Ikki said softly before asking, "Can you tell me your name?"
"Ar…ty," Artemis spoke weakly amid her embarrassment, her thoughts filled with conflict and her heart racing.
"Arty?" Ikki was surprised by the name, he smiled slightly and introduced himself too, "Nice to meet you, Arty. I'm Ikki Phoenix..."
Artemis, who had heard this name many times recently, was very surprised; that's why he looked so familiar... In the meeting, she learned about her father's newest son and glimpsed his appearance through divine means, but none of them did justice to how beautiful he was in person...
She felt her eyelids growing heavier. As she slowly closed her eyes, she heard him say softly.
"Don't worry, I promise I will protect you. Now rest..." He promised.
And she fell asleep wondering if something bad would happen to her while she was unconscious or if she would just trust the boy who had apparently saved her immortal life.