Chương 153: Virgin Goddess of the Hunt
Drako sat across from Artemis.
Although Drako looked like a western boy, and Artemis was a Greek goddess, both were following Japanese customs and sitting on the tatami.
Artemis was an extremely beautiful woman. Although, considering that she was one of the major goddesses of Olympus, it would be reasonable for her to be so beautiful.
Normally, Drako would look at Artemis with lust. However... knowing her history, particularly her "hatred" for men, Drako had refrained from looking at the goddess with lustful eyes, and had even refrained from doing so with Suzaku in case it would make a bad impression on the goddess.
"Your main weapon is a bow."
Artemis broke the silence.
"That's right."
Drako didn't deny it. It was useless to deny it anyway.
"You're a dragon, why do you use a bow as your main weapon?"
Drako could not find any ill-intention in Artemis' words. She was just asking out of curiosity, nothing more.
"Well, I've always thought archery was fascinating, and when I was given the opportunity to use a bow, I didn't miss it. Over time, I've grown more and more fond of my bow."
"I see."
Artemis only nodded. Though Drako could sense that she was no longer so cold to him. As the goddess of the Hunt, Drako must have pleased Artemis simply by being so emotionally connected to his bow.
Artemis extended her hand to Drako.
"Your bow... may I see it?"
Although it was a question, Drako felt it was practically an order. He couldn't refuse Artemis' request. Well, maybe so, but he didn't want to risk the goddess getting angry with him.
With that in mind, Gandiva appeared in Drako's hands. Without hesitation, he handed it over to Artemis.
If she didn't want to return the bow to Drako, he just had to put it back in the system.
Artemis began to mumble as she examined the bow.
"It's similar to Gandiva... but different at the same time. How strange... this bow is... extraordinary. It doesn't have a "true" physical body... it seems to be created by multiple magical circuits on a divine level. This is... fascinating. Used to its fullest extent, it may even be more powerful than the bow those Hindu gods have."
Artemis finished inspecting the bow and looked at Drako. She asked.
"Would you be willing to part with this bow?"
"No."
There was no way Drako would let Gandiva go. This was his trump card, it would be stupid to give it to someone else.
"It's a waste that this bow is in your hands. No matter how much of a dragon you are, you can't bring this weapon to its full potential, others would put it to better use."
Artemis was right, and at the same time not.
It was true that Drako was still a child, compared to other dragons that had lived for millennia, and that he could not exert his weapon to its full potential at this time. That was only temporary, however, and sooner or later he would have the power to use it to its fullest.
"I'm the only one who can use that bow."
Artemis raised an eyebrow. The phrase Drako had uttered was arrogant... but it was heartfelt. But she did not believe the dragon was the only one capable of using this bow.
She aimed the bow and created an arrow with a divine aura, only for a blazing fire to shatter the arrow.
Artemis frowned, and attempted to create another arrow. When the fire appeared, she tried to fight it with her own divine aura.
"I have told you. This bow is of the highest standard, as you have already noticed, but it also has great pride. Actually, I'm surprised, the last time someone took that bow it ended up burning to death. And that person wasn't a nobody, but a High-Class Devil."
"So it is."
Artemis wasted no time in returning Drako's bow. It was a pity she could not obtain this weapon for her faction, but since Drako had refused, she already planned to return the bow to him. The bow was not Artemis' goal for her visit, far from it.
Drako still thought what the reason was for an Olympic goddess to appear in Japan, but the only option that was truly solid was that they must have felt something for using a Noble Phantasm.
"You must be here for something, Lady Artemis? I doubt that someone like you can set foot in other gods' lands without having a valid reason."
Amaterasu, Izanami... who was the ruling Japanese goddess in this world? Well, that wasn't important at the time. In this year, the factions were still "enemies" of each other. There was no way the Japanese gods would let other gods from other factions wander around their country.
"I'll get straight to the point. A few months ago, Apollon and I felt a connection with someone who was in Japan. We don't have many details since the connection was short, but we more or less knew the place where the connection took place. Zeus sent me to investigate, and thanks to the local powers, I discovered that there was only one event related to the supernatural at that time. Of everyone present at that incident, only you use a bow, so I am 95% sure you are the person my brother and I connected with. No, I'm 99% sure, because I can feel the connection very weakly right now."
Drako tensed up internally. How was he going to explain this situation?
It was clear that the connection was caused by Phoebus Catastrophe, that was the only possibility. But why had that connection originated in the first place?
[The concept of the Noble Phantasm: Phoebus Catastrophe is directly linked to the gods Apollon and Artemis, that's why they felt the connection.]
Sage explained the reason briefly.
If that was the reason, wouldn't it draw the attention of the god Agni if Drako used the Noble Phantasm: Agni Gandiva?
Attracting the attention of the Hindu gods did not benefit Drako at this time. They were, after all, the most powerful mythology, only being weaker than Great Red, Ophis and Tri-hexa.
But what worried Drako at this point was the goddess in front of him.
"You... What is your relationship to Atalante?"
"Huh?"
No wonder Drako was surprised. Could Artemis have known that Phoebus Catastrophe came from Atalante?
[That's impossible. There must be another reason.]
"That... connection I felt the other day, I'd felt something similar before. Apollon may not have realized it, but there was no way I could have ignored that feeling. You... are somehow related to the heroine Atalante?"
That made more sense. Using Phoebus Catastrophe, a Noble Phantasm that belonged to Atalante in the first place must have caused a connection similar to the one Artemis felt when Atalante prayed to her or something.
In the myths, Atalanta was said to have sworn an oath of maidenhood to the goddess Artemis, suggesting that she might have been one of the Hunters. However, this was something that Drako was not quite sure if it was true or not.
"I'm sorry, but I have no relationship with her, to my knowledge. I'm a pureblood dragon, that's all I know."
"Is that so...?"
Artemis let out a disappointed sigh. It seemed that she had been waiting for something important for her, and all her hopes had been dashed.
Now that Drako thought better of it, he knew of the existence of heroes' descendants in the world of DxD. Perhaps Artemis was expecting to meet the descendant of Atalante?
Artemis' face took on a neutral tone again in less than a second. She was a goddess, so a disappointment as this was how a simple stone in her path.
"I would like to know a little more about you, dragon. You're not a first-generation dragon, dragons created from huge masses of energy, who are your parents?"
First-generation dragons are the most powerful dragons in this universe. Ddraig, Albion, Ophis, Great Red and Tiamat are some of these dragons.
"I don't know. I was alone when I woke up. My only mother figure could be considered Tiamat, but she didn't raise me, she just took me in."
Artemis reacted involuntarily when she heard the name Tiamat. She was the strongest of all the Great Dragon Kings, so it was normal for a goddess like Artemis to react to the name.
Tiamat used to live in seclusion, but from time to time, she caused chaos on earth. Once in a while it was once every hundred years or so.
"Now, I have formed Akatsuki. Akatsuki is an organization of mercenaries, so we do any work that is not commissioned as long as it is not against our moral principles, and we are paid fairly."
There was no way that Drako would not use this opportunity to make the Akatsuki name more known internationally.
"Akatsuki? I've never heard of it, but I'll keep it in mind."
Drako thought it normal that she had never heard the name Akatsuki, as it had barely been created. Other than Grigori and Grauzauberer, no one else should know that name. Suzaku knew it, but she must have been informed by Grigori that she had contacted them to arrange this meeting.
"I have an offer for you, dragon."
"Go ahead."
Drako was curious, what did Artemis want from him?
"Receive my blessing and join my team of hunters."
Drako was stunned.
Join Artemis' hunting team?
"I'm sorry, but I have to decline your offer."
Drako was clear about that. Receiving Artemis' blessing was tempting, but there were a number of requirements to be met in order to join Artemis' hunting team.
Artemis hunters are maidens who have sworn allegiance to the maiden goddess Artemis/Diana to join her on the Hunt and refuse love for as long as they live.
First point: Drako is not a maiden. In the legends, Artemis has shown the ability to transform a male to female, but Drako doesn't have plans for that.
Second point: Drako was not going to swear loyalty to a goddess he knew for no more than ten minutes.
Third point: Drako was not going to give up everything to go hunting.
Fourth point: Drako wasn't going to turn down love.
In short, Drako was not going to fulfil any of the requirements necessary to receive the blessing of the goddess Artemis.
Artemis frowned when she heard such a quick response from Drako. He had not even hesitated to refuse it.
"Is it because of the requirements? In that case, you do not have to worry about that. The requirements are only for women, not men. You could say you're a hunter, but only in name. You'll get all the benefits of becoming a hunter, and you'll only have to help us hunt once in a while."
Now, that was very tempting.
Receiving the blessing of the goddess of the Hunt and being able to hunt mythological monsters, as well as making her name more famous were all good things for Drako.
In fact, was there something wrong with all this?
He didn't have to swear loyalty to Artemis, or give up everything to go hunting. All the previous requirements were completely void for him.
"I accept."
A small smile formed on Artemis' face.
"Very well, you are now a member, one of my hunters, but I cannot yet give you my blessing. I've seen your archer's skills before, but it's not enough to get my blessing. You need to pass a test first."
"What do I have to do?"
"Nothing special. Your present mission, complete it satisfactorily and without casualties, using only your bow, and you will have my blessing. Since I don't want to involve Olympus with the problems of the fallen angels and those of Oz, I can't keep an eye on you personally. That's why one of my hunters will be supervising you closely, although I'll be waiting not far from you in case any problems occur. Any questions?"
"No"
"Well, I have nothing more to discuss with you. You're free to go."
Drako nodded and left the room, not without saying goodbye to the goddess.
Now, he had to get Artemis' blessing. To do so, he had to finish his mission using only his bow. Drako had no problem with that, for what he could not solve with his bow alone Mordred could.
Why had Drako accepted Artemis' proposal so easily?
Even with the potential benefits Artemis had given him, Drako should have given it some more thought. In fact, he would have done so under normal circumstances. However, he had received a message from the system.
[Artemis' blessing will bring many benefits to the host, I recommend accepting proposal]
This was the first time that [Sage] said anything on his own, so this blessing should be something interesting.
To tell you the truth, Drako was going to leave the DxD world in a year at the most to leave when he was born, so Artemis couldn't summon him if he wasn't there.
When Drako left the building, Suzaku and Seiryuu had already left while the rest were waiting for him.
"Come on, we have work to do."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
After Drako left, Artemis was still sitting on the tatami.
"You may pass," Artemis said.
She seemed to be talking to the air, but that wasn't the case. A few seconds later, a woman entered the room.
She was a tall, graceful, beautiful woman: she had dark brown eyes, a slightly upturned nose, copper-coloured skin, and the silver circle braided into the top of her long, dark hair gave her the impression of a Persian princess. Her look seemed cold, though that was her natural expression.
"Go ahead, you're free to speak your mind," Artemis said calmly.
"Why did you accept a man?" The woman asked.
Artemis did not answer the woman's question, and remained silent about the answer.
Was it because he was related to Tiamat?
No, it wasn't because of that.
Was it because of his great skill with the bow?
Probably, but that was not the real reason either.
"Zoë, you have been with me for thousands of years as my faithful lieutenant. You've always been with me, you know everything I've lived through. From the first generation of hunters, the capture of the Golden Deer, the Giant War, Orion... All those events we lived through together. The life of an immortal is not always happy, you of all people should know that, and I have many regrets."
"Are you saying that...?"
"Yes, even though that boy says he has no connection to Atalante, my guilty conscience forces me to want to help him. Atalante... she was one of my most faithful followers, and I couldn't stop my father from turning her into a lion..."
Artemis sighed. So many thousands of years had passed since Atalante's passing, and she still had not forgotten the tragic "death" of the huntress.
Perhaps if life gave her another chance to find Atalante, only if perhaps...
No, there was no point in thinking about those things. Atalante should be at the Elysium right now, or she could have chosen reincarnation. In either case, Artemis could not see the one who used to be her most devoted follower.
"Sigh... Zoé, I know he's a boy, but he's not the only boy who's joined us in the hunts. Both Hippolytus and... Orion hunted alongside us in the past."
"I don't have a problem with a guy joining us, but..."
"I know, that's why I'm giving this assignment to you. You have to get him accepted by the other hunters. There aren't as many of us as there used to be, and one more addition can be a great help on our hunts."
Zoë nodded. If her goddess commanded it, she would go to fight the Great Red himself with pleasure. It was because she knew her goddess would never give her an impossible mission that she would gladly work for her.
The first generation of Artemis slayers numbered a total of 80, but they had been declining over time. Some fell in love, and others were defeated in combat, losing their immortality.
"Should I get going, my goddess?"
"What are you going to get started for?"
"To supervise the boy, my goddess."
Artemis covered her mouth as she let out a chuckle.
"No, no. You're not going to be the one in charge of that. I have someone else in mind."
------------------------------------------------
Did I just introduced a crossover?
Yes!
Why?
Cause I wanted to!
On the other hand, Artemis is willing to take Drako on her female group of hunters.
Why?
Drako used this quote to explain the reason of Satanael's betrayal.
"People change. Even the most ancient beings can change over time."
As always, support me in P@treon if you want and can. You can read up to chapter 190, and now there is an option where you can pay in your own coin (Euros, dollars, etc...)
https://www.patreon.com/GreatSage_Master1
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