Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods-Chapter 61: Artemis, goddess of the moon (3)
Unlike the Hydra, which was known to be nearby, there was no information about the golden-horned deer of Cereneia.
“A golden-horned deer? Doesn’t it live on Mount Cereneia?”
“I heard that it sometimes escapes the mountain, but I’m not sure.”
─A golden-horned deer? Hehe! I saw it once when I was young! It ran away so fast!
No one knew where the golden-horned deer was, or whether it was alive or dead.
That must mean that Taygete was very careful about hiding.
She had to be especially careful not to let Zeus find out her identity.
“I guess we’ll have to search all of Mount Cereneia.”
The reason Heracles said this was because of Taygete’s meticulousness.
He seemed to be planning to search Mount Cereneia thoroughly until he found Taygete.
In the original myth, Hercules spent a year using this method to catch Taygete.
And Hercules was trying to use the same method now... ... .
“You don’t have to do that.”
“?”
“I have a way to find the golden-horned deer.”
“You’re saying that you can find it even though there are no clues?”
“Yes.”
Hercules made a puzzled expression.
He wasn’t searching the mountains because he didn’t know.
It was because he couldn’t find any clues about Taygete anywhere.
But he didn’t need any clues.
That’s understandable.
“My ability is to track down divine beings.”
Wooooowoong─
At that moment, a faint moonlight flowed out from Hercules.
He looked down in surprise, and there was a faint moonlight on his chest.
[Holy Hunt is activated]
[Moonlight Mark]
─Moonlight does not disappear even in the dark.
When Holy Hunt is activated, the sacred being I have marked will be imbued with ‘moonlight’.
Once moonlight is created, it becomes difficult for anyone to escape from me.
Moonlight was a mark that designated them as ‘prey’ by Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.
The mark engraved by the god could not be erased by anything.
[Rising Moon]
─As the moon wanes, the mark of pursuit becomes stronger, and when it reaches full moon, it becomes impossible to escape pursuit.
※ The moon only rises within the area of the Holy Hunt.
※ The mark of prey that escaped before full moon becomes fainter over time, and will rise again when they enter the area.
※For prey, all abilities are applied by an additional 20%, and increase further as the moonlight wanes. When it becomes full moon, all abilities are applied by an additional 100%.
==
Even if there is a faint moonlight, it becomes a crescent moon or a half moon, and it gradually increases over time.
As the moonlight wanes, the tracking ability becomes stronger, and when it eventually reaches the ‘full moon’, it becomes absolutely impossible to escape from me.
That is, as long as the moon in the sky does not disappear.
Of course, it is impossible for the moon to disappear, so if you become a target of tracking, you have no choice but to leave the ‘sacred hunting’ area before the full moon.
‘But the mark seems to last a long time.’
Even if you leave the sacred hunting area, you cannot avoid tracking as long as the moonlight is engraved.
Above all, since I will be chasing the target, it is difficult to see it as leaving the sacred hunting area.
In short, it was a fraudulent ability that allowed almost absolute tracking only for sacred attributes.
“This is the protection of Artemis.”
“I prayed at the altar the day before, and Artemis granted me her protection.”
I looked at Mount Cereneia.
It was a huge mountain with twelve peaks jutting out along the coast, including the main peak in the center.
It could be considered a small mountain range.
With such a wide range, it would be difficult to find Taygete right away.
“Let’s go around those peaks. If we go around the twelve peaks, we’ll find it.”
I walked toward the first peak I could see.
But.
“You don’t have to walk.”
“Huh?”
Hercules grabbed me, who was wondering, and put me on his back like a load.
It was as solid as a rock.
It felt like I was riding on the back of a giant.
“Iolaus, you should look around to see if the deer strays from the mountain.”
“Yes, Hercules.”
Hercules, who had given the order to Iolaus, suddenly slowly bent his knees.
Wooooow.
Hercules’s terrifying golden magic power gathered at his toes.
‘No, this is not it... ... .’
As soon as I had a horrible thought, Hercules’s folded knees straightened.
And then.
Kwaaaaang──!
I flew into the sky as if I were a rocket.
The ground gradually receded, and the giant Iolaus’ figure became smaller like a dot.
And yet, the ascent continued.
‘How high is this going?’
Just as I began to feel anxious, Hercules stopped in midair.
And then, the fall began.
Plurururururuk─
The wind blew in my ears.
That free fall, driven by gravity, had no safety net.
It was like skydiving without a parachute.
As the vast landscape of Mount Kereia gradually approached, I quickly came to my senses and activated ‘Holy Hunt’.
[Holy Hunt is activated]
The hunting area unfolding in the sky.
A mountain range the size of a single peak was placed in the sacred hunting area.
However, there was no moonlight anywhere.
Then,
Kwaaaaang─!
Hercules landed on the ground.
A small crater appeared where he landed, as if a comet had fallen.
Fortunately, there was no shock because Hercules’ golden magic surrounded his body.
The mental shock was great, though.
Hercules jumped up nearly half of the mountain peak with just one step.
It was the most spectacular experience of my life.
“Did you find it?”
“It’s not here. I think we should go to the next peak.”
“Hold on tight.”
“.......”
Hercules’ knees folded.
*
Hercules jumped over eight more peaks after that.
Like a comet, he left his mark clearly on each peak.
As the eighth peak approached,
Moonlight rose over the sacred hunting area unfolding in the sky.
I came down to the ground and said to Hercules.
“I found it. Hercules.”
A faint crescent moon shape appeared on the back of my right hand.
It was the emblem of the moon goddess Artemis.
The faint moonlight that extended from there continued somewhere in the mountain range.
We walked as the moonlight guided us. Then a wide lakeside appeared.
“I found it.”
A deer with huge golden horns was hanging on the lake, its head bowed and its neck wet.
The moonlight that extended from me seeped into the deer’s neck.
The deer was none other than Taygete, a goddess who was one of the seven Pleiades sisters and had escaped from Zeus.
*
Finding Taygete was easy(?), but catching her wasn’t easy.
She was a local deity of Mount Taygete, and she had the speed of a god.
She was so fast that even Hercules, who was running around the mountain peak, couldn’t catch her easily.
She even ran across the lake and breathed fire from her mouth at Hercules, who was chasing her.
It was difficult to catch her, but the problem was that she had to ‘capture her’ without hurting her.
I tried to approach her secretly with Vanessa’s help, but Taygete, who was quick-witted, ran away in an instant.
In the end, Hercules had no choice but to chase after Taygete and follow her until she got tired.
He ran for three days without rest.
It is said that Taygete, exhausted from running like that, was caught by Hercules in the field.
I could not see it myself, so I only heard about it.
When Hercules caught Taygete and returned, I was playing poker with Iolaus, Vanessa, and Jeanne at the general store.
“Hercules, are you here?”
“I caught you.”
Hercules was holding Taygete’s golden horn in one hand, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
I was amazed at Hercules’ tireless stamina.
“Chasing without sleeping, you are indeed Hercules.”
“I killed my father"
“It looks like a resemblance.”
“... ... .”
I scratched my cheek at Vanessa’s soft assessment.
It was a story that Hercules, the son, inherited his father Zeus’s tenacity.
‘That’s not wrong, is it?’
If a strange man chased me for three days and nights without sleeping or eating, I would be scared.
And it was a monster like Hercules.
In reality, Hercules was the greatest debaucher in Greek mythology, even more so than Zeus, so Vanessa’s assessment that he was a descendant of Zeus was indeed accurate.
“Jeanne.”
“Yes.”
Jeanne treated Taygete, who had collapsed from exhaustion.
Taygete, who had received Jeanne's holy power, soon recovered and opened her eyes.
However, Taygete could no longer escape because ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) she was held captive by Hercules.
And then... ... .
─────.
Suddenly, the crescent moon on the back of my hand shone and a soft moonlight spread out.
“?”
While I was wondering why the moonlight flowed out even though I hadn't activated the divine hunt,
the moonlight gathered in one place and formed a single shape.
A head filled with greenery and blue eyes like the sky.
The moon in the night sky hung at the end of her braided hair.
A beautiful woman who seemed to embody Mother Nature.
“You brought Taygete back unscathed.”
She was the goddess of the moon, Artemis, with a soft smile that was bathed in moonlight.
