Age of Bronze, Year 322

  ***

  Explosions rocked the marketplace as Seika and Miori unleashed to keep the horde of shadow creatures at bay; the duo knew that they were hopelessly outnumbered, but they would rather die fighting than simply lay down and let the children of the night do as they pleased.

  A hydra snapped at Miori with its innumerable maws, so she stepped back and swung her halberd towards the creature, but before she could connect with her swing, she had to dodge aside as Fraus came in to attempt to stab her with her scorpion stinger. Seika didn’t fare much better: she had to dodge the tail swipe of a Shadow in the form of a Lamia, not dissimilar to the one she had to be freed from seventeen years ago, while Discordia kept firing magic projectiles her way. She dodged those, having learned her lesson that her barriers wouldn’t stop them, though in doing so she was brought right into the path of an attacking chimera; its lion’s jaws snapped down on Seika’s arm, and she let out a pained groan before she blasted it with a fireball from the bitten arm’s hand, right down its throat, disintegrating it from the inside.

  “Struggle! Writhe in agony! It will all be for naught in the end!” Fraus shouted over the sounds of combat, as the two Magical Girls dodged, sliced, blasted and stabbed to the best of their abilities. But despite their best efforts, no matter how many Shadow Queens they destroyed, the marketplace was a veritable ocean of darkness, writhing and sloshing with the singular goal of devouring them.

  “I didn’t think it would end like this,” Seika admitted, swinging her lightning-imbued sword at Discordia to force her into a retreat, before she shot lightning that chained through three of the Shadow Queens and made them dissipate.

  “But I’m glad we’re at least together for it,” she continued, before she had to deflect another strike from Discordia, who flew in on her black wings and aimed to decapitate Seika.

  “I don’t want this to be the end!” Miori shouted Seika’s way, catching Fraus’ next stab from her spear with her halberd and trapping it in place. She wanted to follow up with a punch to Fraus’ face, but instead she grabbed the scorpion stinger that was aimed straight at her throat.

  “We have to get back to Ayame after all!”

  Seika agreed, but right now she didn’t have high hopes. Discordia kept closing in, and Seika attempted to avoid her by withdrawing backwards, doing her best to deflect incoming blows while knowing full well that she couldn’t sustain a drawn-out battle of attack and riposte against the ancient goddess coming for her. Right now, she relied on tricks, summoning her owl companion from her magic cloak to fly and attack Discordia with its sharp talons. The goddess screamed in an offended manner and grabbed the bird out of the air, flinging it towards the next wall where it shattered into its magic components, while Seika used the opportunity to shoot lightning at Discordia, who got hit by some of it before she caught most of it with her sword again.

  For some odd reason, Seika didn’t feel dispirited. Getting to fight together with Miori was oddly comforting, even with how dire the situation appeared to be. Seika kept shooting lightning, walking towards Discordia while her magic cloak glowed again. A snake appeared from its enchanted surface and shot towards the dark goddess, wrapping around her arm and restraining her blade.

  Seika grinned and ran towards Discordia, and in this one moment of advantage, she realized something.

  I’m getting stronger for some reason…!

  Discordia screamed and summoned another sword into her free hand to block Seika’s strike aimed for her head, while her trapped hand let go of her sword in favor of a dagger, stabbing the snake holding her. She immediately followed up with one of those strange, green energy orbs which she shot Seika’s way, and this time, Seika’s barrier held out and let the sphere of malignant energy burst into an explosion that didn’t reach her.

  This was when the Shadows got involved again. Seika had to disengage to dodge the giant maw of a shade resembling Cerberus, flinging a fireball its way, which hit it in the head and pulverized half of it.

  “I’ve had enough of people and gods and whatever else getting in our way! When this is all over, let’s get married!” Seika shouted her frustrations into the marketplace, and she could see Miori freezing for a fraction of a second. And right after, she was like a whirlwind. She summoned multiple swords to her side, spinning them around her body as she assaulted Fraus relentlessly, beheading any Shadow Queen that dared to get in her way.

  “Now that lit a fire in her heart!”

  Seika dodged more projectiles and summoned spikes out of the ground which impaled a few more Queens which attempted to converge on her. She erected an ice wall in front of herself to catch Discordia’s next blow, and only then her mind caught on that the voice she just heard wasn’t that of Pallas.

  Minerva?!

  “The one and only! I’m finally healed up and awake. And it looks like I missed quite a lot!”

  Seika almost felt like crying as she heard her beloved other half speak again after a month of deafening silence. She channeled those feelings of relief into a much stronger fireball which she flung right into Discordia as she attacked again, forcing her to block it with a barrier and disengage. Miori joined Seika by her side as the shadowy creatures and goddesses closed in on them, and she grabbed Seika’s hand.

  “Bellona is speaking to me…” she whispered. Seika nodded and smiled, facing Discordia and Fraus. She put a hand on her chest as she let the familiar feeling of a transformation wash over her. Familiar, and yet, something was different…

  “Behold! Your king, the eternal philanderer! He who spits in the face of marriage and what it should mean! Tell me, good people of Capitolium: when your wives give birth, have you ever looked at the child in your arms and wondered if it is truly yours?”

  Invidia, still in the guise of Juno, stood next to Jove, bound and bleeding as he was. From time to time, he had to cough, which only resulted in him wincing as he felt his broken ribs, with the golden band that bound him still suppressing his ability to control his projected body or to turn back into a gemstone form to slip out of his bonds. He squinted at the scene in front of him from underneath his blood-caked hair.

  A hundred men were gathered in the plaza in front of the palace, looking at him with disgust, with uncertainty and with mockery. He fully understood their feelings, of course. He was supposed the king of their gods, yet here he was: battered, bound, utterly at the mercy of his ‘wife’ for everyone to see, and who knew what else Scotus had planned.

  And speaking of Scotus, he stood right behind Jove, melting into the shadows to remain undetected. He could feel the living shadow’s hands on his shoulders, and if it weren’t for the ropes and the various broken bones in his body, he would have struck him for the audacity.

  “Now you will see what your people really think about you, dear nephew.” Scotus whispered, and Jove could imagine the repugnant grin the man must have been wearing on his face by the tone of his voice alone.

  “What do you hope to achieve with this…?” Jove asked, grimacing as the act of speaking rubbed his flesh against the spiky edges of a broken rib yet again.

  “The ever-present possibility of you getting involved has seriously hindered my progress, so I’m taking drastic measures, my dear nephew. Today, your people will judge you by your worst qualities. You will lose power as their belief wanes, and if you’re particularly unlucky, then… well, in our vast multiverse it wouldn’t be the first instance of mortals killing and replacing their own gods.”

  Jove snorted and winced yet again, before he spoke, pushing every word through the pain.

  “You found a loophole for the Furies.”

  “Quite right, nephew. What do I care if they flay a few mortals and their extended families alive for killing you? The deed will be done, and you will be out of my way. Even if you somehow slip through my net today, you shall never be the same again. You know how hard Fama’s rumors die, after all people tell tales about you laying with and satisfying the wants of women whose tastes are… bestial.”

  Jove grimaced as he recalled those tales. Supposedly he was a bull, a dove, an eagle, a snake, and ludicrously enough, an ant one time. First rumors how he fathered Perseus have also begun to reach his ear, claiming he turned into a ‘golden shower’ to enter his mother Dana?’s private chambers and got her pregnant with a magical trickle that ran down her body. People made up all sorts of fantastical tales how he supposedly snuck up on and subdued many women, when in truth he was simply very charming. At least he thought of himself as such, and Dana? was all too willing, not least of all to stick it to her prude of a father.

  “Can you live with a tyrant who makes cuckolds out of every last one of you and turns your wives into savage degenerates who consort with animals? Can you live with raising demigods who will turn everyone into slaves of their whims instead of your own flesh and blood children?” Invidia continued her tale, and Jove saw the expressions of his citizens turn into anger and hatred.

  He was certain he wronged none of these men directly, but the power of well-told half-truths overruled their reason. There was a chance he might seduce their wives, in their mind, so they got angry at him as a potential threat. Their insecurities were fed by Juno herself, as far as they could see, and what was only an ember turned into a raging flame within their hearts.

  “You really outdid yourself with this…” he commented dryly, and he could hear Scotus chuckle behind him.

  “This never needed to be personal. When you decided to free that girl seventeen years ago, however, you made it so,” Scotus continued, and Jove clenched his fists; he had to suppress his rage at those words, as getting worked up would only cause more pain to radiate through his battered body.

  In the end, he couldn’t muster a response and simply saved his strength.

  Where are you, old friend?

  Something hit him in the head, and he let out a groan before he feverishly scanned for the source of that projectile. What he found was half a dozen of the worked-up men picking up rocks from the ground to throw at him.

  “My, would you look at that? It appears that by the end of the day they’ll tear you to pieces after all, nephew!”

  Scotus let out a sickening laugh as Jove was pelted with more rocks, but they stopped as abruptly as they had started. The men looked around and faced two large beams of light, which suddenly appeared in the direction of the town center and reached all the way up to the stone ceiling of Capitolium. One of them was red, the other blue and purple, illuminating the entire city until they suddenly died down.

  “What in mother’s name is that?!” Scotus exclaimed, and Jove let out a weak chuckle.

  “I don’t know exactly what’s happening, but I have a feeling that your plan is currently falling apart.”

  Scotus stepped forward, and Jove could now clearly see the unease in his expression. The men on the plaza exchanged looks of terror, then one of them ran.

  “I told you! We were inviting the wrath of the gods!”

  Some more ran away, but most stood resolute. For another few seconds at least, until they froze and the crowd parted with terror written on their faces. Dozens of human arms sprouted from the ground and pushed them apart to make room for a lone, hooded figure to walk through and approach the temple.

  The fake Juno, upon seeing this, immediately took some steps back in terror and turned towards Scotus.

  “It’s him! Uncle, we have to get out of here!”

  Scotus didn’t take it well at all. He turned around towards Jove, with his black, beady eyes shivering in rage.

  “How?! When did you call him?! You were bound to the throne the entire time! You couldn’t have…!”

  He froze as he saw another dozen arms sprouting all around Jove’s throne, untying the knots of the golden rope one by one before Jove rose to his feet. The pain was still debilitating, but now that he was freed from these strange strings, his wounds started to mend as lightning arced around his body. Still, he took the time to reach into his robes to produce the broken medallion.

  “I didn’t call him, Uncle. You did, on my behalf. And Briareus of the hundred-handed ones will always honor a summons from the king.”

  “What is this? What is happening?!”

  Fraus’ shrill voice echoed through the marketplace as red and purple light illuminated everything; its radiance was so overwhelming that the two goddesses and even the remaining Shadow Queens kept their distance from the transforming pair.

  Seika could feel the gentle embrace of Minerva enveloping her again; it was familiar, and a little more intimate than it used to be, like a lover wrapped her arms around her from behind. The energies coursing through her body at this moment were, however, far more potent than she remembered. A blinding light erupted from Seika’s chest, and soon Minerva emerged, in her pristine, crystalline form. As she hovered in front of Seika, her dress simply disintegrated, and her magic cloak, her gift from Arachne, changed its shape entirely. A helmet formed on her forehead, taking the shape of an owl’s beak, while the magical cloth attached itself to said helmet as a long ribbon which flowed freely behind her. A crimson cloak draped itself over her shoulders and Minerva fastened herself around Seika’s neck on a golden choker.

  More gold and crimson metal fastened themselves around Seika’s body as she transformed; she realized halfway through that she would be wearing something skimpier than usual, but despite herself, she didn’t feel ashamed of it. This was her, and this was Minerva, and whatever their new form would be, they would wear it with pride. Seika raised her arm to the sky and from far away, a shield sped towards her: Medusa’s shield, the Gorgon’s gift to her mistress. Seika caught it, strapping it to her arm. And finally, Pallas hovered in front of Seika as well.

  “I won’t be able to take a human form on my own for some time longer… but I can still do this!”

  A light erupted from Pallas’ crystal, and took a long shape, until she hovered in the air as a brilliant spear. As Seika grabbed it, her mind merged with Minerva, just like the time she kept her alive with a destroyed heart. She was neither Seika Hitoishi, nor Minerva Crimson right now, but a perfect fusion of them both.

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  “A strategist, patron of the arts, and wisest among my peers! I am Pallas Athena!”

  Athena grinned wide at her two adversaries, and swiftly grabbed the hand of her beloved partner Bellona, who just underwent her own transformation…

  Miori didn’t have any experience of merging with her partner the way Seika had yet, and still, she knew what was happening to her. She felt Bellona’s presence like a calming embrace, enveloping her entire body as her beloved partner’s crystal emerged out of her chest. Her dress disappeared, and step by step her new garb covered her body.

  First a body sock wrapped tightly around her skin, then her skirt appeared around her waist. One by one pieces of white and blue-colored metal attached themselves to her torso, her shoulders, her arms and her legs until she was clad head to toe in futuristic armor. Bellona’s crystal embedded itself in her left gauntlet, and with that, it activated the armor’s systems.

  Lights all over the metal covering her body came to life and a magical barrier encased her body. She summoned her halberd to her side, and with it, four cyber-gladii floated in the air around her. Her instinct told her that these were ranged weapons, able to shoot at targets with concentrated beams of light.

  Her eyesight was augmented. Targeting reticles for her new ranged weapons appeared as well as the condition of her armor, the temperature and humidity of her surroundings, and her mana reserves.

  She wasn’t limiting herself to the past anymore, or only Earth, for that matter. She was….

  “I am Ma Bellona. Goddess of past and future warfare, and protector of those who need it the most!”

  The dark divinities in front of them took a step back, looking at the new forms of Minerva and Bellona with apprehension and some disgust as well. It was Discordia who spoke up first.

  “Treachery! You weren’t supposed to reach your mature forms! We did everything we could to keep you weak! How? How?!”

  Bellona felt bile rise up at the back of her throat; everything Discordia and Fraus did, be it the injury of Pallas, the nasty rumors surrounding Medusa and Arachne, or the slaughter of innocents by the crocotta, only served to weaken her and Minerva. How many more lives would these gods throw away just to get them?

  She wouldn’t let them get away with any more of this.

  Bellona rushed forwards, readying her halberd for a chop aimed at Fraus’ neck. The snake-bodied woman let out a shriek and parried with a saber summoned into her hand before she attempted to stab Bellona’s side with her stinger but was blocked by one of her floating gladii.

  “I’ll make sure that you’re not hurting any more innocents, Fraus!” Bellona shouted as their weapons were locked in a clinch, before she kicked the snake woman away. Fraus hit the ground with a grunt and barely managed to push herself upright again as she had to block another attack from Bellona which would have taken her head. Despite her situation, her expression was still the cruel visage of superiority.

  “Will you? You can’t even begin to imagine the number of people I’ve sacrificed for the grand plan! Don’t make me laugh!”

  Bellona sent one of her gladii towards Fraus and she deflected it to the side, then she had to dodge multiple energy beams coming from the rest of the gladii that hovered around her. She screamed in frustration and swung her spear towards the devices to smash them, one after the other, but Bellona was in her face afterwards. She could see the confusion and fear on Fraus’ face, and for just a small moment, Bellona allowed herself to savor it, before she brought her fist to Fraus’ face, bruising it and sending her stumbling backwards.

  “How dare you, you mongrel?!” Fraus screamed, covering one of her eyes as a trickle of her blood blinded her. She came at Bellona with a spear soon after, who danced around her, shooting beams of concentrated light from newly summoned gladii. She wasn’t going to show Fraus any mercy, and the dark goddess must have known from the way she fought like lion at that moment.

  “What are you waiting for, you useless beasts? Get her!” she screamed at the Shadow Queens, who appeared stunned by something. Their movements resumed soon after, though they appeared unusually sluggish. Bellona looked over the shadows approaching her, and a target appeared on every single, writhing lump of shadow crawling her way. Her gladii accepted a mental command and flew away, slicing through the approaching beasts with multiple laser beam powered strafing runs. Loud roars and screams filled the marketplace, accompanied by concentrated beams of light that cut through lamias, sphynxes, centaurs and other creatures like they were made of butter. Panic was written across Fraus’ face. She herself summoned many weapons to her side: floating blades clashed with Bellonas’ gladii, and she pressed the attack with her spear, though Bellona avoided her thrusts with agile steps, and finally simply grabbed the shaft with a hand. She then summoned a sword into her hand, slashing at the stinger which Fraus tried to ram into her throat while she was distracted by the melee.

  Fraus screamed. The stinger separated from her tail and blood gushed out of the wound, but she wouldn’t find any mercy in Bellona. The goddess of war followed up by striking Fraus’ right arm, separating it from her shoulder. She kept wailing and slithered backwards, away from Bellona, who mercilessly pursued her, raising her weapon, ready to finish Fraus off once and for all…

  The temple was plunged into utter chaos. Jove was still not at full strength again, but he would have to make do with his limited strength and the help of his most trusted ally. His lightning crashed into the shadowy mass in front of him, which took on the shape of an unknown monster’s head, with its maw wide open as if to devour him. His strategy worked; at the very least he slowed that creature down with continuous lightning, allowing Briareus to grow more of his arms out of the ground. They grabbed the shadowy mass, rendered it pliable and tore away at it. Bit by bit Scotus’ shadowy form was reduced, while Invidia could do nothing but watch, as she was already restrained by four arms which grabbed her by the wrists and ankles.

  Still, Scotus won ground and got closer to the wounded king, causing him to worry just a bit.

  His eyes darted around and fixed on the golden rope which Scotus used against him before. He gritted his teeth before he mustered the strength to shout towards his ally.

  “Briareus! Toss me the rope!”

  The hooded figure had by now ascended the stairs to the throne room and Jove could see his head turn towards said rope before he nodded. An arm sprouted from the ground, picking the golden rope up and tossing it Jove’s way; he caught it with one hand, which meant that he was now only shooting lightning with the other one, allowing Scotus to further advance towards him.

  I sure hope this works the way I imagine.

  Scotus was mere meters away from Jove as he threw the golden rope like a lasso, pulling to tighten it around the shadowy mass. And then, just as he predicted, the large mass was restrained, despite its usually permeable nature, and came to a standstill.

  “Feel like giving up yet, uncle?” Jove asked with a strained voice, but he was only met with two red glowing eyes full of malice that emerged on the shadowy body.

  I guess that’s a no.

  “Pick him apart, Briareus!” Jove commanded, and his old friend obeyed. Dozens of arms sprouted from the ground around the restrained mass of shadow and ripped pieces straight out of its body, crushing them into nothing. He let out a terrible roar that shook the palace walls and wriggled in the golden rope.

  “Curse you, nephew! You will not hold me here! I will not end here!”

  “Are you sure about that? We’ll reduce you to crystalline form and lock you away, so that your machinations come to an end!” Jove challenged him, channeling more lightning into his hands.

  This will end here…!

  Just as he extended his hand to strike Scotus again, he saw the glint of a blade from the corner of his eye. Briareus grimaced under his hood and Jove turned to see what was happening: Invidia held a sword and had managed to use Scotus’ struggle as a distraction to cut the arms holding her.

  Her movements were sluggish and pained, owed to the spider bites on her arms, but a determined light shone in her eyes as she ran towards Scotus.

  “Briareus, don’t let her reach him!” Jove shouted, and his friend withdrew some arms from the lord of shadows to wrestle Invidia to the ground, but she threw her blade already. It soared through the air and cleaved Scotus’ body in two, separating his crystal from the part of his body that was bound by the golden rope. Jove cursed and shot lightning towards the smaller, freed part of Scotus’ body while the rest dissipated, but as he hit the ground he slithered away as a living shadow with incredible speed, then he turned into a large, winged lion and flew into the city, towards where the red and purple lights emerged before.

  “Shall we pursue him?” Briareus asked, pulling down his hood. He was a Deogemma, like Jove himself, with purple glowing hair and eyes. A child of the Earth and Sky, just like Jove’s father, but shunned and imprisoned by the Sky himself, and then by Saturn, until Jove’s grand rebellion freed him, resulting in his unwavering loyalty. Age was showing its signs on his face, with deep wrinkles underlining his facial features, but power still radiated from him.

  “No. He had to allow himself to be severely wounded by Invidia to even escape our grasp,” Jove said with a sigh. “If he is foolish enough to fight where he’s headed, he will perish. I’d bet he went to flee with the daughters he can still reach.”

  He walked up to the restrained Invidia and tied the golden rope around her while she looked at him with defiant eyes, yet offered no further resistance, even as Briareus withdrew his hands from her.

  “Where are Juno and the rest sleeping?” Jove asked her, and she looked at the ground. After some deliberation she appeared to come around and told him.

  “At the east fringe of the city. The old gold mine,” she almost whispered. Jove nodded towards Briareus, who responded in kind and turned around, leaving the palace to fetch the abducted.

  Jove let out a long sigh and sat down next to Invidia, running a hand through his hair. His body ached all over, so he was glad for this little moment of respite.

  “It’s a shame that we are pitted against each other right now, Invidia. I am quite fond of you, you know?” he spoke to break the silence.

  “You’re fond of many women,” Invidia responded and looked away from him.

  “True enough,” Jove sighed. “However, this is different. I received a vision from Hecate, which concerned us. It wouldn’t have come true, ordinarily, but now that you and yours have sowed the seeds of doubt in our population…”

  “Don’t beat around the bush. Spit it out already: you’ll sleep with me, but to what end?” Invidia’s tone didn’t give any indication whether she liked the idea or not.

  “Your actions today will set things in motion among the humans, Invidia. The age of heroes is almost here, and you know what that means.”

  She hesitated for a moment and looked at him.

  “I know what that means, yes. Some humans will grow too powerful for their own good and get reckless. Many ‘heroes’ will walk the land and cause untold death and destruction if not kept in check.”

  Jove nodded and clenched his hands into fists. He never wanted to let it come to this, but with Scotus spreading unease and distrust among the humans, it was only a matter of time before this peaceful reign came to an end and would have to make way for an age in which might makes right.

  “We will have a daughter. Despite our heritage, she will be human, but so impossibly beautiful that she will cause a final conflict between humanity’s heroes, ending their age and creating the age of iron.”

  Invidia looked ahead and let out a little snort.

  “Fine, then. You know that I can’t stand their hubris. What shall we call her, when the time comes?”

  “Helen.”

  Jove observed Invidia, whose lips curled into a little smile and felt a twinge of satisfaction.

  One of your pieces has been removed from the board, uncle.

  He looked out, at that beautiful city he built, and some melancholy took hold of his heart.

  Seika… you wouldn’t like what I’m doing, centuries in my future. In your distant past. I’ll entrust it to you to turn my daughter into my moral compass. Someone I can rely on to prevent the worst of it.

  While Bellona fought against Fraus, Athena brought her all against Discordia as well. The goddess of strife summoned a sword in either of her hands and charged towards her crimson opponent. Pallas, in her spear form, clashed with her blades, and the two opponents were briefly locked in a clinch. Athena’s enchanted ribbon flowed freely behind her, and her trusty owl companion soon emerged from its magical canvas, heading straight for Discordia’s face. It scratched her, making her flinch backwards and allowing Athena to follow up, pulling her spear to the side and hitting Discordia across the head with the shaft.

  The dark divinity withdrew, and Athena followed up by channeling magic through Pallas. Pure mana surrounded her, turning her into a weapon that could pierce even the hardest materials, or a Deogemma’s core.

  “I’m giving you one chance to give up: turn back into a crystal and I will spare your life!” she announced as she channeled a new spell in her left hand. A rocky orb appeared over her open palm, with light shining through emerging cracks.

  Discordia stared her down. For the next few minutes, the only sounds were those of Bellona’s fight against Fraus. The latter’s screams and curses filled the marketplace as floating gladii annihilated whatever remained of the Shadow Queens, and Athena could observe Discordia’s increasing panic. Still, her answer was a defiant charge at the crimson hybrid. She let out a war cry and erected a hasty barrier as Athena tossed her explosive creation her way. The charged orb erupted; the fiery explosion hurled shards of rock everywhere which audibly cracked Discordia’s magic barrier, and the fragments which flew past her exploded again. The woman let out a scream as the rocky shrapnel tore her black wings to shreds, and impacts on her skin caused cracks to appear, which glowed with an internal, green light.

  Still, she came at Athena with suicidal dedication, swinging her swords at her with wild abandon.

  As Athena kept dodging her opponent’s swings and forced her on the defensive with strategic thrusts of her spear, she got a strange feeling. It was a nauseating, strangely familiar energy, and her eyes darted around to try and find the source of it. A vile presence, like the one that haunted her for a decade was nearby. To her shock she was able to locate the source: it was none other than Lethe. For a few long moments she thought that her hated enemy somehow came back to life, but then she noticed the difference. The malicious intent was missing, for instance. And second, this presence was much… smaller.

  Athena’s eyes finally met the source of Lethe’s energies and found it to be the green gemstone Discordia wore on a necklace.

  She fastened her grip around Pallas and put her all into a thrust, aimed at the gemstone; it was a subconscious attack on her part, and yet, it was fully effective. As Discordia saw what Athena was aiming at, her eyes widened, and she shifted her stance.

  Pallas penetrated Discordia where a human would have had a heart. The dark divinity screamed in pain as more glowing, green cracks appeared on her body, then she went limp and fell to the ground. Her landing interrupted Bellona, who had just raised her halberd to deliver a coup de grace against the downed Fraus.

  Even someone like her cares about her children…

  Bellona looked up and her eyes met Athena’s, and she gave her partner a little smile.

  It is finally done.

  Or so Athena thought. Just as Bellona turned around to deliver her blow against the downed Deogemma, she was tackled to the ground by a new Shadow Queen – or something resembling one – appearing from nowhere. It was a lion with wings, and it only gave the two transformed Magical Girls a short glare before it changed shape into an amorphous cloud, scooping up the wounded Discordia and Fraus, then it ran off having turned back into a large lion creature with the two Deogemma lying on its back.

  “No!! Get back here!” Bellona shouted, scrambling to her feet and sending the gladii after the lion. Their beams cut grievous wounds into the creature’s flanks and almost shredded its wings, but it kept going until it was completely out of sight.

  “Damn it all!” Bellona screamed, punching the ground. Athena walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

  “It’s fine,” she said. “They now know that they aren’t a match for us.”

  “They will just pull more underhanded tricks!” Bellona replied, but she begrudgingly grabbed Athena’s hand and gave it a little squeeze, regardless.

  “And we’ll weather whatever challenges they have for us. Together.”

  “I’m so sorry, mistress! I got caught and was put to sleep… I should have never let you out of my sight!”

  Nerio apologized profusely to Miori, who smiled and lifted her hands in a calming gesture. Jove joined them shortly after their fight against Discordia and Fraus and congratulated them on ‘maturing’. Right after he explained the situation to them: Invidia was apprehended, and Scotus was wounded, but the damage they did to Jove’s reputation and that of his whole family would be hard to undo.

  She contemplated her new form. It wasn’t a power-up of what she did before, it was a complete fusion of hers and Minerva’s wills, which had greater potential. There was no awkward communication between two souls, only one soul that was formerly two, temporarily fused for a purpose.

  She realized that Minerva did this before, albeit imperfectly, to save her life after she got stabbed by Maria.

  Seika’s thoughts were interrupted as she was approached by Neptune, who looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes, before his facial features relaxed.

  “May I talk to Pallas?” he asked, and Seika nodded, handing him the little satchel containing the nymph’s crystal. He pulled Pallas’ crystal out of it and held it in his open palm for an extended period, simply looking at it. Seika assumed he communicated with Pallas via his mind, as she usually did with Minerva.

  It took him around five minutes until he handed her back and nodded.

  “She wishes to accompany you. Back to your world, or wherever else you are going. Until whatever it is you have to do is done.”

  Seika gave him an affirming nod while taking Pallas back, and he let out a sigh.

  “Bloody children of the night. Getting my darling granddaughter mixed up in their schemes. Whatever may come: I will stand by your side when it is time and I am called.”

  With that, he turned around and left.

  “He means to say he wishes you good luck, and that he understands that it’s not your fault,” Pallas commented dryly and Seika let out a little chuckle.

  Miori approached her; her golden glowing eyes were incredibly intense as she sought direct eye contact with Seika.

  “Uhm… hey. What… are you looking at me like that for?” Seika asked, nervously letting her eyes dart around.

  “…you remember what you shouted, yes?” Miori asked, and her stare intensified somehow.

  “Ah? I m-might have said something…” Seika stammered.

  Miori narrowed her eyes, then she turned towards Jove.

  “I want a favor,” she declared boldly.

  “Hm? What kind?”

  “I’d like to get married here. As soon as possible.”

  Jove let out a laugh and nodded.

  “Alright then. I will throw a grand feast in your name, and Juno will officiate. You and Seika, I assume?”

  “And Ayame,” Miori declared, much to Jove’s visible delight. She turned towards Seika, grabbing her by the shoulders and giving her a long kiss.

  “…let’s go and pick her up.”