Medusa, the very definition of beauty

Well...now it really feels Like It.

At first, it didn't seem obvious.

But now?

Now, if anyone told Medusa that Promise wasn't a devoted follower of Athena, she wouldn't believe it even if they beat her to death.

And maybe—

It was because she still had a part of Athena's Saint Graph fused within her.

But Medusa found herself speechlessly realizing that she actually found Promise's idea kind of interesting.

She even felt a strange urge to see it happen with her own eyes…

Tch.

This is all Athena's fault!

Perhaps sensing Odin's increasingly dangerous gaze, Promise quickly tried to salvage the situation.

"W-Wait, no need to get angry just yet!"

"I just said it's a possibility."

"Most likely… probably… maybe… I won't actually do it, okay?"

"After all, fate is always changing."

"Just like with Morgan's incident."

"The reason I chose to destroy everything back then—"

"Was largely because of Vivian."

She was Morgan's past self.

The girl who once dreamed of fairy-tale endings.

"I met her first."

"I became her friend first."

"So I helped her make a decision."

"I rang the Pilgrimage Bell—"

"And ended everything."

"Hmm..." Hearing this, Medusa couldn't help but interject,

"So, according to your logic, if you had met Morgan first, would you have chosen to protect that flawed world for her instead?"

Hearing this, Promise smiled slightly.

"As long as she still managed to get her name into my grudge notebook under those circumstances—"

"Then, yeah."

"I wouldn't deny the possibility."

"After all, if I protected the world for a few centuries and died, I'd still end up in the Throne of Heroes."

The Counter Force sighed.

The Counter Force was in pain.

This.

This was exactly the reason why they weren't at ease.

Why they had thrown in a Goddess of Fate and even Merlin just to keep an eye on him.

Hearing his words, Odin, meanwhile, fell into silence again.

Then, raising his voice slightly, he spoke.

"From today onward—"

"Stay the hell away from that guy Loki."

"Eh?"

Hearing this, Promise blinked, a bit surprised as he looked at Odin, "Respected God-King, even after I've said all this, you still plan to invite me?"

Odin paused for a second.

Then, with a deadpan expression, he responded—

"…So you do have some self-awareness after all?"

Medusa's violet eyes glinted with amusement as she stared at the young matter.

"You're actually aware of what a disaster you are?"

The latter turned to give Medusa a blank stare.

Weird.

Wasn't this girl supposed to be the cold and reserved type?

'Why the hell are you talking so much today?

And why are your words so sharp?'

Medusa didn't know what Promise was thinking.

But she could tell just by his expression.

And to be honest, she felt helpless about it, too.

After being merged with Athena's Saint Graph (Spiritual foundation) and then fully possessed by her, she found out that her mind was now way too clear, so much so that she could actually follow the conversation perfectly.

And now, she realized—

She understood everything that was being said.

Besides, Medusa was just a quiet person, not really cold.

If she didn't understand, that would be one thing, she could pretend not to hear, but it was precisely because she understood how shocking and bizarre their conversation was that even she couldn't help but say a few more words.

"It's not that I want to invite you over."

Odin shook his head, answering Promise's question.

"It's just that.. your goddess."

"She has already—"

"Dropped an anchor for you."

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In the end—

Odin left with a face as dark as thunder.

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to resist throwing the spear Gungnir at Promise!

At the same time, Odin actually agreed with Promise's words in his heart.

Fate is always changing, especially for someone like him who has always been manipulating fate just by existing, it's even more so.

With this realization,

Odin finally understood why Athena had left so decisively and why she wasn't the least bit afraid of what he might do to Promise.

As a deity with absolute wisdom, Odin naturally noticed that the thread of fate from the Goddess of Justice was still tightly wound around Promise.

In Promise's heart,

There was always a wavering scale of judgment.

Everything seen and experienced on the journey would continuously add weight to the scale, causing it to tilt to one side.

And when the time came—

Promise would make judgments based on the direction of the tilt.

With Odin gone, only Medusa remained behind.

Promise looked at Medusa and the latter also looked at Promise.

The two stared at each other in silence for a brief moment.

Then—

"Take good care of Pegasus."

Medusa said so.

"Of course."

Promise nodded firmly.

"He's Brother Horse, after all, but to be honest..he loves eating grass too much, so I must find an opportunity to give him a good beating!"

He swung his fist aggressively as he spoke.

Seeing this, Medusa couldn't help but laugh a little.

Before, she turned serious again.

"I actually dislike you quite a bit."

"After all, you are her only believer…"

"But now, even Pegasus doesn't recognize me anymore."

"He only acknowledges you."

"So I guess it's my bad luck."

"If we ever meet again—draw a painting for me."

"And when you finally slap Athena in the face in the future, call me out so I can enjoy the moment."

"…But if you don't want to, then forget it."

After all, I, Medusa, am just an ugly monster, and indeed not qualified to be your subject of drawing, only my elder sisters have that privilege."

Medusa spoke in a very casual tone, her expression not showing much fluctuation.

Because she truly thought so in her heart.

"Ah, If it were between painting your two sisters or painting you—"

Promise smiled and said.

"I'd rather paint you."

"So next time, let me draw a picture for you."

Hearing this, Medusa's eyes narrowed slightly as her serpentine pupils sharpened, turning into thin slits and even her aura became dangerous.

"Oh? Are you insulting me?

Or do you look down on my sisters?"

If Promise didn't give her a satisfactory answer,

Then even if she had to destroy everything here,

She would leave a mark on him.

Promise, however, met her gaze head-on.

"Of course not."

"It's just, you're better."

Medusa's expression stiffened slightly, before she let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"Me?"

"The ugly one?"

"The monster cursed by the gods?"

"I know you have a good relationship with Pegasus, but there's no need to lie about me and say such insincere things."

"I haven't told a lie in a very long time." Promise looked into her eyes and said with a smile, "Besides, I don't think you're ugly at all,

On the contrary, Ithink you're beautiful."

"I am Medusa," Medusa frowned as she looked at Promise.

"Exactly because you are Medusa,"

Promise nodded, his tone utterly natural, as if stating the most obvious fact. "Medusa—who doesn't know that name?"

"A name that represents beauty so great—

Even goddesses were jealous of it."

Hearing this, Medusa was stunned as her mystic violet eyes stared at Promise blankly for a long moment.

In the myths of Medusa and Athena,

There was a particular version of the story—

A version where Medusa was originally a goddess,

But was cursed by Athena, turning into a monster and the reason Athena cursed her was because... of her beauty..

"...You really aren't afraid that Athena will come out and beat you to death."

"Hehe, she can't bear to!"

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