Upon hearing Athena's voice, Perseus was startled at first. Then, he quickly feigned guilt, averting his gaze. Ares even manipulated the blood flow in his face, intentionally giving him a 'blush'.
He coughed twice and replied awkwardly,
"Yes, I'm awake. Thank you for your help, Goddess."
"You're welcome. I couldn't just watch you die at the hands of Poseidon and Ares. After all, you have a mission and you are my follower."
Athena revealed her profile, elegantly drawing her golden hair out of the pool. Her golden hair fanned out, like shimmering gold, cascading down her back, dazzling Perseus's eyes.
Remarkably, with that flick of Athena's hair, all the water clinging to it transformed into droplets and fell away. As these droplets landed on the ground, new plants quickly sprouted and grew, visibly budding and lengthening, eventually blossoming into bright, fragrant flowers that clustered around the Goddess.
Ares controlled Perseus to turn his head, yet secretly observed the scene with the corner of his eye. When he saw Athena's audacious move, he couldn't help but mutter inwardly,
"This woman seems quite outwardly reserved but inwardly passionate. It seems if I hadn't risked my life to use 'Reaper Death Seal' on her back then, this woman would probably be a fierce battle king like Aphrodite. I wonder how many innocent young men in Greece will suffer at the hands of this enchantress."
Of course, Ares was unconsciously slandering Athena. As the Goddess of Wisdom and War, even if she were no longer a virgin Goddess, her desire for love would certainly be much lower than Aphrodite's.
While Ares was observing Athena with the corner of his eye, Athena was also secretly watching Perseus's reaction. When she saw Perseus's shy, virginal demeanor, she couldn't help but feel a little happy, proud of her charm.
Of course, Athena was not planning to use her charm to bind Perseus and make him serve her; that would be too demeaning for Athena. Displaying charm was merely an insignificant part of her methods to control Perseus. As a born manipulator, what she wanted to achieve was far more sophisticated than what the merely yelping Aphrodite could manage.
She stood up, walked from the grass to stand before Perseus, and extended her hand. Perseus, understanding her intent, knelt on one knee. This demigod hero, who could stand tall before the Sea King, seemed to have his spine removed when he came before Athena; all his bones went soft.
Seeing Perseus's reaction, Athena felt greatly satisfied. She parted her red lips and said,
"Perseus, you must remember, I am your Goddess, and also your Master. You must devote your entire life to serving me wholeheartedly. I am your King, your parents, and the princess you must protect with all your might. Whether it is the love I give you or the punishment I bestow upon you, you must accept it all with reverence and gratitude."
"Damn, what the hell is this woman saying?"
Ares, listening to Athena's words through his avatar, suddenly felt something strange.
He remembered seeing something similar in the news before he transmigrated. That thing seemed to be called... "PUA," like using words and actions to induce, to achieve mental deception and brainwashing of the opposite sex.
Ares told Hecate and Hydra about this. After listening, the Moon Goddess was greatly astonished and praised with clicks of her tongue,
"As expected of Metis's daughter, she knows so many tricks and plays them so elaborately. It's truly terrifying."
And when the Hydra heard about the various horrors of "PUA" that Ares described, and then recalled the words Athena had spoken to her in the past, she trembled even more with fear, becoming even more repulsed and resistant towards the Goddess of Wisdom.
Of course, while Ares could freely mock Athena's management skills with Hecate here, on Perseus's side, he still had to let Perseus naturally exhibit the behavior of being "PUA'd" by Athena.
To prevent himself from getting too deeply into character, Ares even asked Hecate to cast a mental suggestion spell on him to stabilize his mind and avoid being influenced by Athena.
Although Ares considered his mental state robust and impossible to control, he still had to take precautions. If he, the mastermind behind Perseus, were truly mind-controlled by Athena through his avatar, that would truly be the biggest joke in the world.
Ares subtly brewed his emotions, then began to manipulate various parts of the Perseus avatar, which was kneeling on one knee.
He first made Perseus's body exhibit a slight tremor, as if Perseus's remaining heroic dignity and pride were still resisting Athena's words, but were already on the verge of collapse.
Seeing this, Athena exerted more pressure and said softly,
"Perseus, think carefully. Your glory was given by me, your identity was proclaimed by me, your weapons were bestowed by me, and your efforts are for me. At this moment, in the entire world, the only place you can go is into my embrace, isn't that right? Don't worry, you are my most important follower, and I will treat you well. So you must also... serve me as your everything, do you understand?"
Perseus's body struggled, but eventually calmed down. The look of struggle on his lowered head completely vanished, replaced only by yearning and adoration for Goddess Athena.
He replied,
"Yes, great Goddess, I will serve you as my everything, and always be loyal to you."
"From this moment on, you are my entire world."
Seeing Perseus's humble posture, Athena felt greatly satisfied. However, after her moment of pleasure, she didn't forget the main business and said,
"Rise. I will tell you about your mission."
"Yes."
Perseus immediately rose from the ground without any hesitation, looking like a Humagear who had recorded "Athena's commands are above all else" into his data.
Athena felt another surge of satisfaction upon seeing this. She then continued,
"The route you obtained from the Graeae Sisters has been altered by Ares, and Zeus has explicitly forbidden you from boarding the Argo again. Coupled with Poseidon's hostility towards us, it is now impossible to reach the Invisible Island by sea. We must go by air."
"...I understand." Perseus replied without hesitation.
"Oh? I haven't even said how to get there by air, and you already understand? Don't you have any doubts?" Athena asked with a smile, "Or do you already know my method?"
"No, it's just that I will obey all of the Goddess's commands," Perseus replied.
"Then, what if I told you to die now?" Athena asked faintly.
"Then I would die." Perseus replied without thinking.