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

CHAPTER 39

POINT OF VIEW: DYLAN

Friday, November 4, 2028.

Carlasco = Around 12.00 P.M

Greece = Around 09.00 P.M

"Sister," Apollo called. "We shouldn't overcomplicate this matter. Please return to your seat now."

Artemis remained still; her stern expression was directed to Hera. Realizing the tip of the daggers were aimed at the huntress goddess, Dylan felt that at any time there would be a skirmish between the two goddesses.

"Zeus is not here. But I'm still the queen of the gods."

"The queen of the gods who once brought suffering to our mother," Artemis cynically responded.

"Sister! Do not prolong this matter!"

Artemis turned to her brother. She only stared at him, before finally going back to her seat.

"Dylan," Hera called, unexpectedly a sweet smile had replaced her anger expression. "Please forgive us for this intrusion."

Dylan only nodded, but said nothing. After Hera sat back and took a sip from her grail, he returned his focus to his plate again.

Everyone continued eating. Nevertheless, there were no more laughs or conversations again. Dylan did not know whether it was just his feeling or not, but the circumstance seemed to be more sorrowful than any funeral wake he ever visited. Even when he looked at Heracles, the demigod hero's eyes remained fixated on the meat he was chewing. This then reminded Dylan of what Athena once admitted to him: Each member of the Twelve Olympian had had at least fifty conflicts with each other.

Conflict in a family was something inevitable. That included a step mother scolding her step daughter, simply because the step daughter refused to join the dinner party until it was over. But if the step mother threatened the step daughter with knives to stop her from leaving the dinner, in Dylan's personal opinion, that would be equal to a psychopath family. Remembering the old stories about jealousy or envies, which usually led to Ancient Greek tragedies, he wondered whether the entire Twelve Olympian, and probably all gods residing in Realm Olympus, had to consult with professional therapists once they all got out of Kolaseos.

Mere moments later, everyone on his table had finished eating. Dylan turned around, and he realized that everyone in the Twelve Olympian Table had also finished eating. Athena later on stood up. "Hera," she called. "May I convey a few battle strategies now?"

"You may, Athena," Hera said.

"Thank you," Athena nodded, then she sat again. "Everyone," she called as she looked at every single one of them. "Indeed we're waiting for Voulos' return to craft a proper strategy. However, when we're still eating, two things came to my mind. The first thing is how we could quickly kill the monstrous dog, because they were far more exasperating than The Draugrs."

"The monstrous dog with the glutinous object," Apollo said. "Sister ... ," he said as looked towards Artemis. "Have you ever encountered this type during your hunting activity?"

"The only dog beasts are Orthus and Cerberus, and the closest one was Lycaon," Artemis said. "The rest were just normal wild dogs that surely didn't shoot any glutinous objects."

"Probably it's like the Draugr mummy," Heracles said. "Probably this dog derived from other foreign lands."

"It could be," Artemis agreed. "Though unless I touched it, I would never be so sure about it."

"What do you want to say about this mysterious dog?" Apollo asked Athena.

"I'm thinking of burning the dog's flesh to ashes," Athena said. "When Hera's daggers lurched into its body, it died a few seconds after that. Sure we have hurt it terribly before Hera summoned the daggers. However, most living beings will instantly die if their inner part is burnt to ashes," she paused. "As you're now here, Apollo, I'm thinking of using your bow and power. With the sun's energy, there will be nothing left after your arrow pierces the monster's body."

"That's something worth trying," Apollo said. He then placed his hand on the table and a bow materialized above his palm.

"Your bow needs to be charged first," Artemis said. "And so do mine," she said as a bow also materialized on her palm.

"You can also use your bow to freeze the flesh," Athena said to Artemis. "This way, it will give us more chances to weaken our enemies."

"That's what's in my mind."

"How about your new weapon?" Athena asked Hephaestus.

"The new upgrade is for handling the Draugr mummies," Hephaestus said. "If my invention works, you wouldn't be troubled in locating the weak spot."

"That's good," Athena said. "Now ... ," she paused. "Because we have no idea whether William has other monsters or not, let's skip to the part after we win the battle," she said as she opened her palm. The sphere of Lethe then materialized above it. "William has many human bodyguards around him. He must also have some smart people who helped him create the controlling machine. We're going to use this sphere of Lethe to make them forget everything."

"I agree with that," Nike said. "We must not leave any traces behind."

"Yes," Athena said. "One thin layer is already enough to make them forget the entire event for the last one year. While it's pitiful if they have to forget the memories unrelated to William, we have no other choice but to do it."

"We have to destroy the CCTV too," Dylan suddenly said, making everyone turn to him. "All of them."

"William's house or lair must have a lot of them," Hephaestus said. "We have to sweep them away, or using the sphere of Lethe won't do any good."

"We must also wreck their phones, in case some of them happened to record the battle," Dylan said. "In addition, William's place might have some hidden cameras. We have to search and wreck them too."

"Dylan," Heracles called. "We understand if you want to ensure that no one records the event. But why would you go that far to search for some hidden cameras, that probably William never installed them in the first place?"

"We just have to be careful," Dylan replied. "There's nothing wrong with being too careful, right?"

"You had the same reaction when we encountered the drunkards in the park," Athena said. "Why do I feel like you're hiding something?"

"Ah ... no ... no ...," Dylan immediately responded as he shook his hands. "It's just ... if the world knows all of you is real ... then –"

"Dylan," Heracles called. "Even if there are some hidden cameras at William's place, everyone will simply forget them after we planted pieces of Lethe's sphere. That's why we should not be worried about that."

"Mmm ... ," Dylan mumbled. He wanted to mention the possibility of the hidden cameras already installed for more than a year, that William and his people might eventually uncover the cameras. However, feeling reluctant to be interviewed or even interrogated, Dylan decided to say, "Well ... I think you're right."

"Cool then," Heracles said. "Athena, let's move forward."

"I only had two things in my mind," Athena said. "Did you forget I said that?"

"I don't think I hear that."

Athena sighed. Her eyes then trailed over to everyone. "Now we just have to wait until Voulos returns with his recording."

"If no more things to be conveyed, then I'll recharge my and Apollo's bow now," Artemis said as she got up. "Queen Hera, may I have your kind permission to leave now?"

Hera showed the same stern expression as before. But still, she said, "You are free to leave now."

"Thank you, my queen," Artemis cynically said, before she grabbed Apollo's bow and rushed out the dining hall.