Dylan King and His New Roommate Called Goddess Athena [1st Book]

CHAPTER 29

POINT OF VIEW: ATHENA

Friday, October 28, 2028.

Carlasco = Around 05.30 A.M

Greece = Around 2.30 P.M

"Seeing the stage empty feels so weird," Athena said as she stared at the stage where The Muses often entertained the gods and invited mortal kings with their singing, dancing and other musical talents.

"I've felt the same feeling long ago," Nike responded. "You know ... Sometimes I imagined what The Muses would perform in this concert hall, if they're still here until now."

"What do you mean?"

"The arts of singing, dancing, drama, poetry, and basically anything related to The Muses have also expanded greatly," Nike said. "Will they choose to perform Jazz or Classical? Will they sing like Queen or Beatles or solo singer Beyonce? Or will they perform popular K-Pop songs and dances?"

"I haven't studied much about the music stuff. So I don't really understand what you're just saying."

"Hei!" someone suddenly called. Turns out it was Heracles who was already standing at the entrance of the concert hall.

"How long have you been waiting here?" Heracles asked after he stood before Athena and Nike.

"Twenty seven minutes," Nike said as she looked at her phone. "We've just spent three hours soaking in my Onsen."

"How's Onsen experience, Athena?" Heracles asked as he sat next to her.

"It's soothing and wonderful. No wonder why Dylan yearns to visit Japan and try an Onsen someday."

"Ah, speaking about Dylan, it seems that shutting the portal exhausted him. Even though he has consumed Nike's Ambrosia cookies and Nectar juice, he is now sleeping tight."

"Never thought shutting a portal like that would exhaust his strength," Athena said. "It's surely unbelievable that Dylan could have such a power."

"It's surely unbelievable," Heracles agreed. "Hopefully Hephaestus could get something from studying his DNA."

Mere moments later, Hephaestus, Hera and Nemesis arrived at the concert hall. After everyone had taken a seat, Hephaestus began to elaborate the situation with William Phillips. Approximately twenty minutes later, he finished and opened a Q&A session. The first one intending to raise a question was Heracles.

"So, William Philips, the founder of a big company Tiny Tech, mysteriously possessed the severed wing of Talaria. It's all been confirmed after Voulos, your mini automaton, saw the shoes in one of William's rooms, even though Hermes was nowhere to be seen. Also, William was the one who sent a monstrous dog to attack all of you," he paused momentarily. "Am I correctly concluding it?"

"You are."

"How do you think William was able to send this dog?" Heracles asked. "As far as I know, he's just a mortal human. The only blessings he had were only his social skill and his visions. How could he possibly have the power to not just send, but also control this monster?"

"I'm pretty convinced the dog was from Kolaseos. About how he controlled it, probably it has something to do with what he's been doing lately."

"What is he doing lately?" Nike asked.

"I've told you that he repeatedly shopped at my boss' store, haven't I?"

"You have," Nike said. "He's been buying lots of computer spare parts and other electronic components. That's what you told us."

"I once asked what he would like to do with all this stuff. He said he had a small secret project. Remembering he was the founder and ex-CEO of a big company, I didn't think it was strange. But now, after a monstrous dog attacked us, I wondered whether he was building a machine that would allow him to control monsters."

"It's a suspicion without any evidence, Hephaestus," Nemesis said. "I know he's been shady. But you should not make a quick judgment on what he's been planning now."

"When Voulos was investigating William's house, he overheard the sentence 'More has appeared' from William's bodyguards. I suspected it could be 'More of these dogs have appeared'."

"'More has appeared'?" Heracles responded. "You have suspicion because of that sentence?"

"Who knows if the bodyguards actually mean 'More guests have come'?" Nike followed.

"Guys, I know it's hard to believe," Hephaestus said. "But the main reason why we decided to get back here is to anticipate this problem. I've been planning to make more effective weapons, and probably I can also arm my automatons to assist us. What I'm trying to say is, we should not overlook the possibility that William has some sort of evil scheme."

"Evil scheme?" Nike responded. "Sounds like a movie."

"I agree with Hephaestus for this one," Athena said. "If there's something unusual, then we have to be prepared for facing what comes next."

"Hmm...," Nike mumbled. "Well ... preparing for what possibly comes is not actually wrong. But I would like to stress that we should not be hasty in our movements. In this present world, the consequences will be far more terrible than in ancient times."

"That I also agree," Athena said. "We have to prepare, but then we just have to keep our eyes peeled. If there are more attacks, and it's been proved that William is the one who orchestrated it, then we should compose a strategy to counter him."

"Okay, that should be safe then," Nike said.

"If William does build a machine to control mythical and legendary monsters ... ," Heracles said. "Then most likely his evil scheme is to simply rule the world."

"That's the nature of all powerful people, isn't it?" Nike responded.

"That's the nature of almost everyone on Earth," Nemesis said. "In fact, that's the nature that would give birth to countless desires for revenge."

"The very thing that makes you survive Kolaseos," Hera responded.

"Correct."

"Hephaestus, what kind of effective weapons are you going to make here?" Heracles asked.

"I have already had the concept in my mind. Originally I only planned to make six weapons, with three of them being for backups. But since you, Nike, and Nemesis turn out to be here, I will add six more."

"Are you going to build the weapons first, or studying Dylan's DNA first?" Heracles asked.

"I will first lay down the weapon concept to my automaton, then I will jump to studying Dylan's DNA. Hopefully it can lead us to understand everything about Kolaseos, so that we might be able to pull out our families."

Heracles nodded a few times. "Hopefully this goal can be achieved."

"Is there anyone who wants to ask or convey anything about this matter?" Hephaestus asked as his eyes trailed over to everyone. Athena, Hera, and Nemesis just remained silent, while Heracles and Nike only gave the hand gesture of 'please move forward'. With no opinions or inquiries again, the Smith god concluded the meeting, and then they all left the concert hall.