After putting on a show with his alternate account right under the gods' noses, Ares did not let Perseus leave Invisible Island immediately.
He had Perseus remain on the completely petrified island, quietly waiting for Athena, who had gone to duel Poseidon, to return.
Not long after Ares left, the sea suddenly churned with terrifying speed. Giant waves, like city walls, converged one after another towards a distant central point. And on the horizon, through Perseus's perspective, Ares could vaguely see some of Athena's divine radiance.
Such were the battles between the chief gods; even if their battlefield was incredibly far from here, their struggles could still be witnessed by everyone in the Greek World. In this era, in this small world, they were the protagonists.
However, perhaps sensing the situation on Invisible Island, the struggle between Athena and Poseidon came and went quickly. Soon, the terrifying waves on the sea subsided, and the sky was once again illuminated by Helios's light.
A golden light flew from afar towards Invisible Island, landing on it and transforming into Athena. The goddess was somewhat disheveled at this time; her golden hair was messy, a trace of golden divine blood stained the corner of her mouth, and several parts of her armor were damaged.
It seemed that Athena did not gain much advantage in her duel with Poseidon.
Conversely, the Sea God's situation also seemed rather poor. The waves on the sea had completely calmed down. If Poseidon had truly achieved a great victory in the duel, given his personality, he would not have failed to come out and mock Athena and Perseus.
It appeared the outcome of the battle between the two chief gods was another classic stalemate, a mutual defeat.
"Goddess, are you alright?"
Seeing Athena's appearance, Perseus quickly showed an eager expression, went up to her, and supported Athena's arm.
"I'm fine."
When Perseus supported her arm, Athena instinctively wanted to pull her arm away, but she forced herself to suppress this uncomfortable impulse. After all, in interactions with subordinates, such unintentional gestures could easily hurt their feelings, and she had to control herself.
After slightly calming the pain in her body, Athena's eyes regained their composure. She asked,
"Where is Medusa?"
"This..."
Perseus showed a look of shame, then knelt on one knee, lowering his head and saying,
"I am deeply sorry, Goddess. I failed to kill Medusa before she completed her gestation. She regenerated through her demonized self and was then rescued by Ares. This is my incompetence; please punish me."
"It was to be expected. You don't need to blame yourself, Perseus. This was due to the interference of Poseidon and Ares; the responsibility is not yours."
Athena said calmly after listening,
"This time, you not only slew the demonized Medusa but also killed the sea monster sent by Poseidon. That sea monster had previously been sent by him to harass Ethiopia, and by killing it, you have saved Ethiopia. This is a great deed, so I will not punish you; on the contrary, I will reward you."
She closed her eyes and thought for a moment, seemingly communicating with some entities. Then, she opened her eyes and smiled,
"Perseus."
"Present."
"Do you wish to marry?" Athena asked.
"No!" Perseus said decisively, "I only wish to follow you for the rest of my life and serve you."
Just as I thought...
Athena pondered for a moment, then smiled at Perseus and said,
"Then, what if I command you to take a wife?"
"This..." Perseus's face showed a look of struggle, then he lowered his head and answered softly, "Since it is the Goddess's command, then according to the Goddess's will, I will take a wife."
"Good." Athena's face showed a triumphant smile. She leaned down and whispered softly into Perseus's ear, "Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly. The other party is the princess of the Kingdom of Ethiopia, named Andromeda. She possesses a beauty more exquisite than any sea nymph. You will definitely fall in love with her."
...
On the other side, Ares, who heard Athena's words through Perseus, also felt a chill in his heart and quickly hastened his steps.
He held the hand of Medusa, who had turned into a little girl, and hurried through Hell Gate of the Underworld. Cerberus, the demon dog guarding Hell Gate, trembled all over when he saw him and quickly waddled away to the side.
Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx, was also a shrewd individual. He knew that Hades was not in the Underworld at the moment, and Ares was already considered a privileged person there. Therefore, when he saw Ares bringing people into the Underworld every other day, he simply kept his eyes down and never interfered.
Anyway, Ares always paid him for each crossing, so it didn't break the rules he had set.
Crossing the River Styx and passing through Fields of Truth, Ares made a grand display, as if afraid that others wouldn't know he was staying in the Underworld and had brought Medusa there. He even deliberately stopped in front of the three judges and the twin gods, pulling Medusa along to chat with them and introduce themselves.
As the main working deities in the Underworld, the composition of these three judges and the twin gods was particularly complex. The twin gods were fine; they basically listened to whoever was the ruler of the Underworld. Of course, if Hades returned, they would immediately pledge allegiance to Hades. However, among the three judges, the situation was more intricate.
According to Ares's observation, there were Zeus's informants, Athena's informants, and Amphitryon, Ares's subordinate disguised as Athena's informant. Parading Medusa in front of them would surely spread the news throughout the entire Greek World by the next day.
After taking Medusa to pay respects to the various big shots in the Underworld, Ares finally brought her into Hades's black palace. There, Hecate, the regent of the Underworld, had already been waiting for a long time. And as Ares and Medusa pushed open the door, they also saw Medusa's two sisters, Stheno and Euryale, bound to the black pillars of the great hall by some blood-like vines.
When Ares and Medusa arrived, Hecate was manipulating these vines, conducting a detailed examination of the two goddesses, from their toes to their heads, not even sparing the inside of their mouths.
These two goddesses, who were originally arrogant, had long since shed their previous haughty demeanor. In front of the regent of the Underworld, they could only be manipulated like puppets.
Seeing this scene, Ares and Medusa were both startled.
"Sisters!"
Medusa quickly ran to her two sisters, trying to pull away the vines Entanglement around them, but her current strength was far less than when she was demonized, so she naturally couldn't tear off the vines that had grown through Hecate's magic.
Ares, on the other hand, looked strangely at Hecate, who was seated on Hades's throne, propping her face with one hand. He asked,
"Teacher, I didn't realize you had such interests?"