The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon

Chapter 28 – Sweet As Hell, Painful As Heaven?

In a corner of the ruined Colosseum.
Atalanta, who couldn’t bring herself to leave due to her anxious heart, was chilled to the bone by the aftermath of Hercules’s final massive explosion.
No other thoughts came to mind, and in the moment of lamenting that she would die like this.
For some reason, what flashed before her eyes was the boy with jet-black hair, Dianes, who had protected her until this morning.

She had asked him. Why do you care so much about me?
Then he smirked and asked her this.

Why did you try to kill me?

At that seemingly reproachful question, Atalanta couldn’t say anything.
He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t really expect an answer and said so.

‘Just as you didn’t need a reason to either kill me or inflict a fatal wound on me. I don’t really need a reason to save you either.’

Just follow my heart.
She turned her gaze back to the medical book she received from Asclepius, saying he didn’t need to worry too much either.
But for some reason, her head throbbed with a headache, so Atalanta couldn’t argue any further and lay back down.
Even in the midst of hazy memories, there was one thing she could be sure of.
The long years of tormenting nightmares had been replaced by this burning emotion, pointing to that beautiful, dark-haired young hero.

A feeling she had never experienced before.
A desire she had never wished for before.

When she chased after that back from afar, her heart pounded as if she were facing a vast, magnificent landscape, and when she met those obsidian-like eyes, a thrilling shiver ran through her entire body.
What on earth is this feeling?
Feeling so unfamiliar, she ran to her foster mother, Chariclo, and asked. Chariclo smiled tenderly, held her in her arms, and whispered softly.

He brought Eros’s golden arrow and pierced it deep into your heart.
That feeling, sweet as hell and painful as heaven, ugly beyond ugliness yet more beautiful than anything in the world, is love.

At first, she couldn’t believe it.
She was the daughter of Artemis, and once she grew up and left this forest, she would participate in endless hunts on crescent moon nights as an eternal maiden.
And yet she fell for a man, and not just any man, but the one she fought with yesterday, screaming and clashing.

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“Oh, Tali. Love is like that. It’s more sudden than any event and more fatal than any accident. But that’s why love is beautiful and peculiar.”

Chariclo kissed her confused forehead and hugged her tightly, as if she were proud of her.

“Dianes, that child told me. The things he did to protect you and the things he did for you actually ended up binding you to the past. But we are proud of you for breaking free from that yoke and standing up on your own like this.”

Atalanta, who had once pointed her blade in all directions with eternal hatred and rejection.
Chariclo was overjoyed to see warmth and affection sparkle in her eyes instead of cold cynicism.
Like a butterfly breaking out of its cold shell and spreading its beautiful wings.
Atalanta, who emerged from her past and regained her true colors, was a treasure more beautiful than anything in the world.
The myriad emotions she faced bare for the first time in a long while might still feel unfamiliar.
But soon, she too would come to know.
The joy of being with a loved one.
The sweetness of affection that warms the heart.

Encouraging her, Chariclo talked all night with her confused daughter after a long time.
About her beautiful achievements before the tragedy struck.
And about the small heroes and young men from nearby villages who fell ill with fever from her smile and courted her.
How cute she was when she first came to the forest.

Truly, it was an embarrassing and shameful story.
But was such a time ever so comforting and warm?
Atalanta fell asleep resting on her mother’s arm, feeling cozy for the first time in a long while.

And the next day.
When she faced him, mingling with the trio called the Golden Trio, comprised of Theseus, Jason, and Hercules, with an indifferent smile.
When her heart pounded as if it would burst and she could see nothing else.
When she saw herself moved by the warmth of Dianes’s touch.
She, too, had to admit it.

That she had fallen in love.

After that, nothing else was visible.

Even when everyone screamed and ran away from Hercules’s rampage, she couldn’t move as she watched him stand alone, precariously facing Hercules.
Worried that he might collapse, coughing up blood from those fists.
Worried that something might break from those kicks.
Worries piled upon worries, painting grim imaginations, tying her feet like heavy chains.

And when lightning struck from the fist of the frenzied Hercules.
Her sense of crisis surged to its peak.
Dianes was unable to move, as if bound by Hercules’s aura.
Hercules’s fist targeted his head.
No matter how much she thought about it, only terrible outcomes were drawn. Faced with a tidal wave of explosions, she couldn’t even think of avoiding it.
Thinking vaguely only of Dianes disappearing beyond the dust, the moment she closed her eyes.
Suddenly, her whole body floated up, and a dignified voice called her.

“Oh my! Child, be careful!”

“Huh… huh?”

The pain that struck her entire body and the explosive noise pounding her ears were nowhere to be found; only the sound of the gentle wind and the blue sky welcomed her.
Could it be that she was seeing an illusion before dying, caught in the aftermath of the explosion?
As she entertained such futile thoughts, a soft voice tickled her ears once again.

“Hehehe, fortunately, all your predictions were wrong. Now, get up.”

Gently stroking her head, the owner of the soft voice helped her to her feet.
Since when had she been lying down?
Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, as if something similar had happened recently, she lifted her head.
A beautiful noblewoman was examining her body with a noble smile.

“Goodness, Chariclo, really… While it’s true that you’re a nymph and your hair remains silky without special care, how could you let a young girl’s hair become so stiff…? Oh my! What is this wound on your forehead?! The swelling hasn’t gone down, and instead of applying a cold compress, your whole body is covered in dirt and dust, screaming in agony… Please don’t tell me that this rag you’re wearing is what Chiron handed out as clothes. Great Zeus!”

Despite the continuous laments and complaints pouring out like rapid fire to Master Chiron, the elegance and nobility were not tarnished in the slightest.
Moreover, this soft, white thing touching her arms and legs was definitely…

“A cloud?”

It was only then that Atalanta came to her senses and looked around in surprise.
Somehow, she was surrounded by nothing but white clouds and a distant horizon, with no sign of the explosions that had been raging moments ago, in the middle of the high sky.
She was floating on a cloud with a noble lady.

“Uh, uh, um…”

“First, let’s clean you up. Relax your body.”

-Snap!

Before Atalanta could ask anything, the lady elegantly snapped her fingers, and a bright white light enveloped her. In the blink of an eye, Atalanta’s entire body was clean.
From the hangnails on her small fingers to the dirt, minor wounds, and even the tiny scars that had been lingering, everything was healed.

“What? Wh-what?”

“The slight tan on your skin will return to normal over time, but it looks good on you, showing health and vitality.”

Atalanta, unable to comprehend the situation, was bewildered, but the lady’s actions continued.

“Ornaments… you wouldn’t know, since you called yourself the daughter of that tomboy Artemis.”

“What? How did you know that?!”

“It’s not important right now. Hmmm… Yes, it might be better not to have a necklace or bracelet. Maybe just a light belt? Clothes… like this?”

As the noblewoman gestured busily around her face, shoulders, arms, and hands, her outfit, which was closer to just being draped cloth, changed swiftly.

The first was a purple dress adorned with gold threads.
It was a garment embroidered with apple trees in gold and silver, with a smooth and soft texture like caressing the petals of a flower in full bloom. Wearing it, she looked like a noble princess.

“This is the purple silk the king of Thebes offered last time. But it’s too splendid; it overshadows your charm.”

Not this one.

Once again, with a flick of the goddess’s fingers, her clothes changed completely.
This time, it was a green outfit finely embroidered with lapis lazuli, reminiscent of the fresh green meadows of early spring. It matched her light brown skin, making her look like a forest nymph.

“Hmm, not this either. Unless it’s a banquet. It’s too glamorous to go tend to a fallen lover.”

-Snap!

-Snap! Snap! Snap!

Countless times after that, the noblewoman’s fingers snapped, and after about ten repetitions…

“That’s it! This is the one!”

She cheered with a radiant smile that matched her noble beauty.