If Athena were to say who she feared most in the world, it would be neither Zeus, the King of Gods who lorded over her, nor Ares, who was currently locked in a deadly rivalry with her, tearing each other apart. Not even The Fates, or Gaia, the planetary will standing behind them, could make Athena feel dread.
But there was one person—beautiful, delicate, utterly powerless (by divine standards), and not even free to leave the Underworld—who could make the Goddess of Wisdom, who held heaven and earth in her grasp, turn pale with fright.
She was Queen of the Underworld, Hades' nominal wife, the current titular second-in-command of the Underworld, Demeter's daughter, and Athena's number one fan, Persephone.
Facing her, Athena could neither strike nor scold, because Persephone not only had strong backing but also harbored no ill will towards her. If Athena were to respond with harsh words to Persephone's kind approach, then the other main gods of Olympus, including her uncle who had retired with his lover and her Aunt who lived alone in the mortal realm, would all side with Persephone. At that point, she would truly be "at war with the world."
Therefore, looking at the Queen of the Underworld, who was flushed and nuzzling her like a dog in heat, Athena could only maintain a stiff smile and embrace Persephone like a robot.
"Wow, this is the first time I've seen Athena make that expression."
As Athena endured Persephone nuzzling her neck, she heard Hydra say this beside her.
"Isn't that good? Look how happily she's smiling," she then heard Ares' damned teacher say.
Damn Ares!
Athena thought indignantly, but for the sake of Hydra's poisonous blood, she could only endure Persephone's wandering hands at this moment, and strenuously resist, to prevent Persephone from doing anything terrible to her.
…
"Heh, the Underworld is my territory now, do you dare go there?"
After witnessing Athena's predicament through another clone, Ares let out a cold laugh.
While his actions might not prevent Athena from obtaining hydra's blood, they could buy time, preventing her from using the poisonous blood on Heracles.
Heracles had already returned with Artemis' Ceryneian Hind to complete his task and had received a new mission: to capture the Erymanthian Boar alive. It was during this mission that he accidentally wounded Chiron with an arrow tipped with Hydra's poison, ultimately taking his mentor's life.
Ares switched his perspective back to Heracles. At this time, because Hermes also wanted his son to gain some experience, Ares replaced Iolaus, who was accompanying Heracles, with a small bird, and naturally gave the position of attendant to Hermes' son, Apteros, as a gesture of respect to his brother.
Through the bird's perspective, Ares saw that Heracles and Apteros had arrived at the home of Pholus, the son of Silenus, and were being entertained by Pholus. The centaur had already served Heracles a plate of roasted meat, while he himself ate raw meat, and even mentioned that he had a barrel of fine wine stored in his cellar, which could be used to entertain Heracles.
In the original myth, this barrel of fine wine was a gift from Dionysus, the God of Wine, to the centaurs. It was the opening of this barrel that attracted the wild centaurs with its aroma, leading Heracles to accidentally shoot Chiron, the centaur sage, who was mixed in with a group of wild beasts.
However, now, due to Ares, Dionysus, the God of Wine, was no longer present, so this barrel of wine had been gifted by Athena instead. Moreover, Athena was currently receiving "hospitality" from Persephone in the Queen of the Underworld's palace. Even if she had hydra's blood now, she couldn't cause any more trouble.
But to be safe, Ares watched the entire live broadcast until he saw Heracles hit Chiron in the chest with an arrow amidst the chaos, and Chiron's face showed a look of astonishment, as if thinking, "You hit a friendly!" Only then did he turn off the broadcast.
Next was the time for the mentor to lecture Heracles. In any case, Chiron was a god and possessed strong immortality; mere mortal arrows could not kill him at all.
And just after Ares turned off the "live broadcast," the person he was waiting for appeared on the road ahead.
Orion, his face full of regret, was slapping himself and cursing himself for being an idiot, as he walked towards Ares.
Upon seeing him, Ares' form shifted, returning to that of the old priest in the city-state temple. He then sat on a rock by the roadside, quietly waiting for Orion to approach.
The giant Orion quickly came to Ares' side, but being distracted, he clearly didn't notice the old man sitting by the roadside. As he walked past Ares, Ares spoke:
"Young man, we meet again."
"Huh?" Hearing his call, Orion came back to his senses, then saw Ares sitting by the roadside, and quickly went over: "Old man, why are you here?"
"Because I'm waiting for you," Ares said with a smile, raising his hand. "I didn't expect you to voluntarily choose a future where you would die for Artemis. Not bad, it seems you two have true love."
"I regret it, old man," Orion said with a tearful face, wiping his eyes. "From the moment I said those words rejecting Princess Apollyse, I already regretted it."
"Then why didn't you go back?" Ares retorted.
"I already said such cool words," Orion replied, with his eyebrows drooped. "It would be too embarrassing to go back on them... So, old man, is there any way in this world to turn back time to two hours ago?"
"No, past time can never be reversed," Ares said mercilessly.
"Ah?" Orion knelt on the ground before him, muttering, "Am I really going to be a virgin for the rest of my life?"
"The path you've chosen, walk it steadfastly. Artemis is also very appealing, isn't she?" Ares waved his hand at him with a smile. "Alright, young man, since you've chosen the path of escorting the goddess I serve, then as the Moon Goddess's priest, I will certainly provide you with help. I came today to help you avoid a Death option."
"Death option?" Orion looked up, a little scared and a little expectant, and asked, "What's that?"
"Are you good at dealing with scorpions?" Ares asked after a moment of contemplation.
Orion thought for a moment, and Ares saw him suddenly shiver violently, then desperately shake his head.
"Then take this first, and carry it with you from now on," Ares said, handing him a small wooden carving. "I'll teach you how to use it. This thing can help you deal with a poisonous scorpion once. If you encounter a scorpion in the future, use this item to deal with it."