Chapter 78: 78 Moon Goddess.

Jin coughed the dust that entered his lungs; he summoned his katana in his left hand and tightly gripped its sheath.

The dust that covered his surrounding area, he used it for a blind spot from the attacker.

However, his neck twitched, feeling the tingling cold that caressed his nape. Jin jumped from the dust out toward the yard with the dazzling blue sky above.

Another silver light shot toward the smoke blasted the area around it, and he darted toward the source.

’Who?’. Away from his place in between the left side of the palace, where a small forest resided, Jin caught the silhouette of a woman holding a bow and blended into nature.

His brows knitted, and he lifted his gaze, seeing dozens of silver lights raining down towards him.

’What’s her Identity?’. Jin kicked the ground and approached the source of the attack.

Time slowed down as he witnessed an arrow nearing his middle brows—not just one, but several of them trailing down in a straight line.

His body jerked, and he drew his katana to deflect the barrage of arrows that aimed straight for the kill.

Wood splinters flew around, and the winds howled. Each time he struck the arrows, his hands gradually numbed. The arrows were increasing in power.

’Kuh, it’s getting heavier’. He clicked his tongue and tapped the wild mana that swam in the air, making it swirl around the silver blade.

In a flash barely captured by his eyes, an arrow so fast that it surpassed his abilities to detect passed his face. Red blood oozed from his right cheek and stained his jaw and outfit.

Another arrow approached with the same speed, and Jin barely dodged it by jumping to the side, hoping like a bunny to avoid the lightning-swift attack.

A continuous chill whistled through the empty air, and Jin scowled at the unreasonable attack that rained down on him.

“Damn you, stranger!”.

Jin’s expression hardened as he devoured the mana in the surrounding area.

His expression twisted in pain, feeling the surge of overload power that enhanced his physique.

[Elemental Enhancement]

A bright emerald glow coated his skin. The light dimmed as he suppressed the unnecessary expenditure, letting the primal mana stay inside.

Because of that, his ears twitched upon hearing his flesh torn and bones cracked.

Jin tightened his grip; he stomped the ground so hard it cracked like a spider’s web, and his body soared beyond wind speed.

At the same time, the sky was covered by a silver magic circle with complex runes that gleamed ferociously.

“Artemis Arrows”.

Her cold and deadly voice brought its judgment. Millions of arrows fall like glittering stars.

Jin gritted his teeth, holding the dread that seeped into his bones, ’Destroy it, Tempest!’.

The sky dimmed as black clouds gathered around on top of the silver circle. It spat a howling vortex that clashed with the formation, sending shockwaves that cleared the clouds.

’Crap, it’s no use’. His emerald eyes shone in response, and he sheathed his blade, following the trace of golden aura that flowed through the atmosphere.

“I got you!”. Jin tightened his grip, injected the mana he could muster into his katana, and drew it.

[Black Heaven Style Swordsmanship – Crescent Moon]

A straight line and silver death chased after both its targets. The compressed slash flew faster as it cut the trees around it, and the woman who hid behind it leaped from the spot.

’As I thought, she was not easy to deal with,’. Strength left his body, and the veins in his legs burst apart, spurting blood to the ground.

Jin dropped on the spot, his face twisted with a mixture of resentment and regret, yet his battle-hardened instinct responded by pouring the remaining mana into the blade.

He lifted his gaze upward and let gravity pull his back to the ground, facing the sky with a trembling blade in his hands.

“Scatter”.

[Black Heaven Style Swordsmanship – Wind Roar]

A wind roared from his blade tips. It turned into a raged dragon that swallowed a part of the raining arrows, pushing through the sky, unstoppable, until the light of the day bathed Jin’s figure.

He blinked, staring at the blue canvas with a touch of white cloud floated gently. Jin exhaled and loosened the tension in his body. “Is it over?”.

“Hmm, you are pretty good for a mortal. No wonder my sister took a liking to you”.

Different from earlier, a clear and cheerful tone broke the stillness in the area.

The surrounding arrows glowed before dissipating into myriad particles and returning to the air.

A looming shadow blocked his vision, and Jin saw a figure of a beautiful woman gazing down. Her short platinum blonde hair cascaded down, and she wore a white sleeveless top and short skirt.

“Need help to sit?”.

The woman’s sharp golden eyes resembled Athena’s. She reached her hand out, but Jin shook his head and tensed his core to sit.

“Huff, may I know your name?”. Jin glanced back, and his brows twitched when he saw her lips parted away.

“Good question. I will make an exception because I’m in a good mood.” She leaned forward and placed her delicate finger on his chin, lifting his gaze to meet hers.

“My name is Artemis, The Goddess of Hunters and Moons, twin little sister of Athena, The Goddess of War and Wisdom. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mortal.”

*****

After a brief introduction, the two moved from the field to the palace terrace.

Both were currently staying at the terrace which had already been repaired from the damaged Artemis caused.

The chair and round table, where Jin and Athena spent silly time, returned to brand new in unblemished condition as they sat facing each other with two apples on the tables.

Jin alternated his gaze toward the apple and Artemis several times. He watched the girl snatch the apple and take a big bite with a crunch, spilling juice.

“Humm, that was delish. What? Do you not want it? “.

Her eyes sharpened into the apple before him; Jin hesitated before taking the apple and dug his teeth deeper into its flesh.

’Wow, what is this?’. The crisp texture and sweet juice that flooded his mouth jolted his eyes wide.

Artemis loosened her expression, seeing the boy enjoying the fruit she picked from her detestable brother. They ate quietly under the sunlight and breeze that greeted them softly.

“Hey, Mortal, let me get this straight first.”

“What is it?”.

Jin’s brows raised and met the woman’s narrowed eyes.

“You are the one my sister had been talking about, right?”.

“Meaning?”.

His fingers curled under the tables, clutching the fabric on his pants.

“Don’t pretend to be oblivious to what I ask. Listen, I’m not soft like my sister, and if I judge you are a nuisance. I would gladly wipe you from existence, understand?”.

“…Okay,” Jin exhaled. He stared at the woman’s eyes and continued, “Yeah, you are right. We spent roughly centuries inside this place, but I couldn’t clearly remember the exact time. My memories were a bit hazy.”

“Hazy? Why is that?”. Artemis leered in; she placed both elbows on the tables to support her chin.

“Athena used her power to manipulate my memories”. Jin bit his lips as the memory of that time resurfaced.

“I see”.

Artemis’s eyes reeled into the boy’s conflicted emotion and murmured, ’Knowing Big Sis’s abilities in governing Wisdom, altering someone else’s memories was easy, but why did she become like that? She should still have a reserve of Anima in her. So why?’.

“Tell me about what you remember?”.

“Okay”.

Jin started to recap his stay here and dig out all the memories stored in the corner of his void: his arrival, the training he had been through, and the time they spent together.

There was still a part that left a big hole in the stories, but Artemis kept her ears open. She calmly immersed herself in her own thoughts.

’So that was one of the reasons she was so absentmindedly dazed around and acted meek after returning from this place’. Artemis’ pupil shrank after knowing the cause of her sister’s abrupt change. ’She fell in love with this Mortal’.

Artemis closed her eyes momentarily; she couldn’t contain the swelling anger that boiled her blood inside.

However, she knew this was nothing but a small manifestation of her fiery and hostile attitude toward everyone else besides her own family.

She was angry toward her sister, who swore to become a Maiden Goddess for eternity, yet here she was, falling in love with a Mortal.

’Huff, well, they spent that much time together. It would be strange if something didn’t happen between them’. Artemis shook her head and opened her eyes to see the boy’s emerald gaze breached her defense.

“Lady Artemis, I have a question”. His calm voice rang in her ears, filled with innate curiosity. “How is Athena’s condition, right now?”.

The woman’s eyes flashed, and a dawn of realization knocked her brain into using this chance to probe the boy’s intentions and emotions.

Because, ever since he started talking about her big sis, his eyes were like the surface of a winter pond with no ripple that obstructed his composed attitude.

Artemis exhaled loudly. She stared at the boy’s stiff expression and laughed internally, ’Let’s see how you will react to this.’

She shook her head, and her expression twisted in palpable grief, “…Big sister now was being taken away by that hateful Ares. I don’t know about her situation right now, but I can say that she was in no good situation, knowing that bastard personalities…”.

Silence descended into the space, and Artemis lifted her eyes to peek at the boy’s expression, which was straight-up frozen.

’Well, I think that’s enough with the joke…!?’. When those words left her mouth, Artemis was jolted by the oppressive pressure that choked her throat, distorting the space around them for the awakening of a walking destruction.

“Ares!”.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep