After inflicting his "Divine Punishment" on Iasos, Ares transformed into a fiery whirlwind and vanished from the stadium with Atalanta.
The Heroes of Arcadia all believed that the God of War had taken a liking to their agile, heroic, and beautiful princess, and had thus acted like his father—forcibly taking the princess.
However, Ares did not go far; he took Atalanta back to the city-state of Arcadia, where the two found a corner. Ares transformed back into an ordinary man, while Atalanta took the robe Ares handed her and draped it over herself, concealing her face.
After completing their initial disguise, Ares began to explain the next arrangements to Atalanta:
"Alright, Atalanta, you have two choices before you. The first is for you to remain in Arcadia. I can intimidate your father so he won't dare to force you into marriage again, and you can live here peacefully."
"Hmm," Atalanta nodded, then added, "But if I stay in Arcadia, won't there inevitably be other men with ulterior motives, who have borrowed the power of other gods, coveting me and making a move on me?"
"Your guess is indeed very likely," Ares chuckled. "There are few gods who aren't afraid of me; those gods are quite annoying, and they always want to disgust me. Moreover, as a woman, you are inherently very attractive to men, because not only are you beautiful, but you are also the heir to the throne of the Arcadia Kingdom. If someone marries you, they will most likely gain control of the Arcadia Kingdom. Beauty and power—these are the most attractive things to men; they can make many men risk their lives and take chances to try."
"This is how the world is," Atalanta sighed deeply, then humbly asked, "So what's the second choice?"
"The second choice is to follow me back to Sparta," Ares said. "Once there, I will have the Spartans protect your safety. That is my territory, and other gods will have to restrain themselves if they want to cause trouble. You can live there anonymously and peacefully. I have built an orphanage there that houses the orphans of Spartan warriors who died in battle. If you go, I can arrange for you to manage that place."
After listening, Atalanta thought carefully, then asked, "But if I go to your territory, will I not be able to worship my goddess, Artemis?"
Ah, what a loyal devotee.
Watching Atalanta frown slightly, genuinely worried, Ares couldn't help but lament the unfairness of the world. Why was it that he diligently did so much for these humans, yet he didn't have a loyal devotee as beautiful and capable as Atalanta, while Artemis, that naive goddess who proclaimed herself a virgin goddess and was now secretly dating Orion, could have Atalanta devotedly believing in her?
Hmph, nothing more than that.
Putting away his sour thoughts, Ares nodded and said, "The Spartan population flow is not small. You can worship all gods except Athena there, and the Spartans will not bother you."
"Thank you, Lord Ares!" Atalanta said, moved, to Ares.
"Tsk, but if you go, you must be prepared for your reputation to be damaged," Ares warned. "I outran you in the race and then snatched you away. People probably think I'm taking you to be my divine consort."
"That's nothing; after all, I'm just a mortal. To be honest, you would be the one at a disadvantage; you are sheltering me with your wings."
Atalanta was quite sensible:
"Moreover, with such conditions in exchange, honestly, I don't think I'd be at a disadvantage if I really became your divine consort."
What does this girl mean?
Ares looked at Atalanta, but only saw genuine gratitude for him on the young girl's slightly flushed face.
Considering her "deep devotion" to Artemis, Ares also felt that he was probably overthinking it.
Besides, saying something like "Are you perhaps fond of me?" is fine to say to close female friends like Hecate; at worst, it's just a joke. But there was still some distance between him and Atalanta, and saying such a thing would truly feel a bit silly.
So he didn't press further, merely telling Atalanta, "Then let's find a place to rest for the night, and tomorrow morning, I'll take you back to Sparta."
…
Meanwhile, Hippomenes, whose plan had completely failed due to Ares's interference, also quietly escaped the stadium amidst the chaos.
After seeing the Page's true identity, Hippomenes completely gave up on Atalanta. It wasn't as if humans hadn't tried to contend with gods for lovers before, but they either died or were in a state worse than death. Hippomenes wasn't that foolish; he didn't want to be made into human shish kebabs by the tyrannical God of War, or thrown into Sparta's "brother" camp.
As he fled distraught from the Arcadia stadium and into the forest outside the city-state, he suddenly felt himself stumble into a warm embrace.
Smelling the rich scent of roses in his nostrils, Hippomenes looked up in surprise and saw Aphrodite's peerlessly beautiful, captivating face.
"Hippomenes, you failed, my poor child." The Goddess of Beauty gently stroked Hippomenes's head, then reached out and hooked his chin: "But this was all because that terrible and tyrannical fool was there causing trouble. It's not your fault, it's not your fault."
"Great Aphrodite."
Hippomenes stammered, trembling as he lowered his head, then said:
"I was useless; even under your protection, I still failed to win my love."
"Good child, forget about this."
Aphrodite said softly:
"Go back to your hometown, have a good dream with your family, rest for a while, and then think about the grand sacrifice you are preparing to present to me."
"Hmm."
Hippomenes was immersed in Aphrodite's gentle embrace, but at that moment, perhaps influenced by Ares's aura, the handsome youth suddenly had a lapse in judgment and asked Aphrodite:
"But, great Aphrodite, under your protection, I did not get what I wanted, the love of Princess Atalanta. Even so, must I still make a sacrifice to you?"
"Hmm?" Aphrodite's expression changed, and the smile on her lips vanished. She pushed Hippomenes away, then asked indifferently, "So, my dear Hippomenes, you intend to renege on your sacrifice to me?"