A Hero

After the initial introductions and Medusa set the table with drinks and snacks, everyone sat down and Kisuke took out a matching pair of necklaces. As he started working on them, Stheno curiously asked, "Do you mind me asking what you're doing with those fancy trinkets?"

'A trinket yet it's fancy?' thought Kisuke but he immediately set those and answered, "It's for you two. I can't just have you roam around while emitting those dangerously charming aurae. However, this is only a temporary measure as I'll be tying this to the existing barrier within the tower, so you'll only be able to move around here."

It didn't take too long for him to finish one and grabbed the second pendant, "In the future, I'll make something that you can take out."

Stheno and Euryale were silent for a few moments before deciding on something, "I'm thankful for your concern, however, the aura I am currently letting out is out of control just temporarily due to my newly recovered core still being unstable.", explained Stheno.

After thanking Medusa for the tea, Euryale added, "And although it's currently running wild, the only people who could be affected by it are the 'Heroes'. To normal people, I'm just a very attractive girl. Such is my Divinity because it's my origin and fate."

Through the ardent wishes of the masses, most especially, the heroes of their time to have someone that they could protect and offer their loyalty to, the Gorgon Sisters came to be. Stheno and Euryale became the perfect Goddesses that embodied their yearning while Medusa was the imperfect one that deviated from them, gaining strength to protect herself.

But because of this 'perfection', that's all that they are and all that they'll be, eternally unchanging even if they willed it. Although they didn't hate their own existence, they despised a certain facet of their Divinity which brought forth their fate of being nothing but trophies for these 'Heroes' achievements.

After proving themselves and 'saving' these goddesses, the so-called Heroes that protected them could claim them for themselves, essentially being violated by them for all eternity. If not for Medusa's imperfection, that may have been what the end result was. As such, they hated the people that created and worshipped them, which mostly are men and their desires.

"Heroes?", curiously asked Kisuke. While the term 'hero' is easy to understand, its exact definition may differ from person to person and maybe harder to pinpoint what exactly it is, 'Since they claim that only 'Heroes' are most potently affected, maybe I can devise a countermeasure that uses that restriction and maybe make use of it.'

As usual, Kisuke immediately started thinking about how he would be able to benefit and make use of this knowledge.

Without thinking deeply about his question, Euryale answered with an exasperated voice, "Simply put, those who are admired and recognized by the masses through their actions are heroes. But through the years of dealing with these people, I could safely say that 'Heroes' are those with fervent ambition or a zealous wish that they wanted to attain while following their own justice."

From this point, Stheno continued, "But most importantly, a hero is someone who gathers power, be it their own or others, to go against their destiny."

Yoruichi then humored her by saying, "In other words, there are no destined heroes but heroes in the making."

Euryale smiled at her and said, "At least that's what I believe."

"So a hero could only exist if he goes against his or her destiny?", Kisuke suddenly asked.

Stheno and Euryale looked at him for a few moments, thinking about his question. However, instead of answering with a yes or no, Stheno replied, "That question could only come up if one doesn't believe in destiny or fate."

Kisuke was able to catch the slight discomfort they flashed through their face in an instant. But instead of backing down, he started chuckling as if mocking them.

Stheno and Euryale immediately frowned as they recognized that tone and invoked a memory of the past about a certain detestable and disgusting Goddess and put them through hell, "That's quite a rude tone, isn't it? Is there something wrong with my words?"

In response, Kisuke just grinned at them, "Actually, no. Because that question could indeed only come up if one doesn't believe in destiny or fate."

"Then please do tell me, what's so funny about that."

Kisuke didn't hold back and said, "It's funny because of how affected you are. It's also funny because of how stupid it is."

"Wha!?"

While Stheno and Euryale were surprised, Yoruichi and Medusa could only sigh, 'I wish he would hold back even a little bit on my dear elder sisters... But I guess this is also a good chance to break the status quo and their preconceived notions?', thought Medusa.

Although the older sisters could only see what Medusa was doing, it was only a part of it and there's no way for them to guess everything that's on her mind. Stheno and Euryale failed to consider how much Medusa had already grown with just the freedom to do what she wanted. As such, they didn't know that Medusa was already against how they view things, which was unthinkable if this was the time they are still in Shapeless Isle.

"Destiny and fate? Going by the rough definition, it means a fixed future. In my opinion, just by that, it already sounds stupid. And do you know what's even more stupid than that?", added Kisuke while ignoring their reactions.

"Citing or blaming destiny and fate for their own helplessness! In other words, it's just idiots who are struggling in their present blaming their hardships on the future! How stupid is that?"

With their grace gone, Stheno and Euryale lost their cool as Kisuke's words touched upon their sore spot and both of them simultaneously shouted, "Stop speaking like you know everything! You couldn't possibly have known what we went through nor do you have the knowledge of our situation!"

Camly nodding, Kisuke answered back, "That's true. I don't know everything. In fact, I'm quite ignorant of a lot of things. Obviously, I also don't know anything about your experiences and how you went through them."

"Then-"

"You want me to take it back and apologize? My opinion just now only cited people who believed in destiny and fate as idiots, but if you truly wanted me to apologize for that, then you two are really a pair of morons."

At this point, Yoruichi sent a telepathic message to Medusa who's just silently watching the scene unfold, 'Are you sure you want to let this happen?'

'It's fine. If their beliefs are clear and pure, no amount of words could change their mind. I'm actually happy that they are reacting this way, because only if they are agitated by something like this can a clash of ideals happen. Regardless of whether this clash would change their mind or reinforce their beliefs, it'll be a good thing since they could start contemplating life once again.'

'Heh~ You learned this from your books?'

'It's something I've realized after going through a number of them.'

'Well, let's set that aside for now. Are you sure that your sisters won't retaliate? It's Kisuke here we're talking about. Even though they're your sisters, they're still technically strangers from his point of view. He won't hold back when he's attacked.'

'As they have said earlier, although they can manipulate people, they can't fight and the most they would do is hurt their own hands.'