Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – Pre-emptive Defeat Atalanta

“Damn it! That bastard is at it again!”

“Damn! Everyone, form the rotational battalion formation! We’ll break through that boar this time!”

“Aaah! Please, can we just have breakfast peacefully?”

“Hestia, my goodness, I don’t even remember the last time we had breakfast!”

The children, having done this more than once, quickly formed a battalion under the command of Theseus and Jason and began to surround Hercules in a formation similar to a circle.

“Kuhahaha! Guys, do you think you can break through me with just a surrounding formation?”

“Hmph! Don’t you realize there’s someone different this time?!”

“Yes! By the grace of Zeus, we have the best warrior to face you!”

-Dianes! Dianes! Dianes!

The warriors, who had formed a wall-like formation, banged their shields and stomped their feet, calling out their great warrior.

A master of the spear who rivaled even Chiron.

Another great hero, recognized even by the monstrous Hercules as his equal!

However, I could not respond to the enthusiastic call of the warriors.

Because...

“You arrogant brat! A mere freshman!”

Atalanta, who was fuming beside me, suddenly thrust her sword at me.

“Whoa.”

Of course, my experience was too extensive to fall for such a clumsy attack.

I lightly twisted my body to let Atalanta’s thrust pass under my arm and grabbed her wrist pressure point with my other hand, causing her to fall into my embrace with her hands bound.

“Ah, this is why being handsome is tiring. Even a devotee of Artemis falls into my arms like this.”

“You, you, you...! You vile man....!”

As I smirked and mocked her, Atalanta’s sharp beauty under her helmet turned bright red.

She struggled desperately to free her hands blocked by my arms, but her left hand couldn’t escape my grip as I sealed the inner and outer sides of her wrist, and her right hand, trying to pull out from under my armpit, was caught by my hand and just restrained at the moment.

In other words, she had no means to attack left.

“Th-this... how dare you insult me?!!”

“The scream of the powerless is utterly hollow. Where did that earlier arrogance go?”

“Ugh!”

Atalanta wriggled in my arms.

Like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, there was nothing she could do.

“...Hiya!”

But perhaps because she was a budding hero.

Taking advantage of my momentary distraction, she tried to stomp on my foot with her heel.

“Oh.”

-Bam!

This crazy bitch just ground her teeth like she doesn’t think of it as her fault and is displeased with being overpowered by me.

As expected, this psychopathic beauty ignored it entirely.

...Phew.

Let’s calm down, calm down now.

She’s still a kid.

Right, I heard about it during home economics class at school before.

That children start to understand the differences between men and women around the age of 15.

Before that, they’re usually not very aware of those differences, so incidents like this can happen often.

“Hmm, you are a guy too, so you value that thing so highly! How dare you take the hand of a woman who made a vow to Lady Artemis and make fun of her! The moon will curse you!”

...Clearly, this budding psychopath is an exception.

“This... You knew exactly what you were doing, yet you still aimed your knee right at it??”

“Huh! This humiliation, this rudeness! If you don’t want to suffer greatly in the future, kill me now. My body may have been mocked, but my soul will forever be dedicated to Artemis!”

...She knew exactly what she was doing. She aimed at a man’s most vital spot with full knowledge.

This crossed the line.

“You’ve crossed it quite properly.”

No matter how noble and grand I was as the Heavenly Demon, ruling the martial world of the Central Plains in my third life.

This is beyond the line. No, it’s way over the line.

“Engrave this in your bones... There are lines in this world that must never be crossed. Engrave that into your skin and bones.”

“Wh-what?”

-Creak...!

As my foot, pressing down on her knee like a slowly tightening vise, started to exert more force, only then did the face of this young one begin to turn pale with fear.

Her arms were still restrained by me, and I had her knee pinned down.

If I applied my full weight, her knee would be shattered.

“You, you, are you serious?”

“I heard the healer here is pretty good, let’s see if he can fix a knee shattered into pieces.”

Of course, I didn’t actually intend to break her knee.

Even though she was an annoying brat, if I had been thrown into the woods for not being a son, I’d probably hate men too.

However, no matter what, I couldn’t tolerate crossing an unthinkable line so suddenly.

‘Not only did she target my vital point...’

No matter how cornered she felt at such a young age, in a duel that she recklessly provoked, to use such cruel and extreme measures...

This was evidence of her unstable and violent nature.

‘If she’s like this from the beginning, later she might refuse to marry and put her suitors’ heads as prizes in a Running Man deathmatch.’

With Chiron entrusting this wild child to me, and given that she would likely become a significant hero in Greek mythology, I decided to correct her nature now for the sake of many future lives.

‘Should I go for a dislocated knee?’

Yesterday, Asclepius told me that a dislocation could be completely healed within a week with just a bit of suffering.

Even in the original myth, she was known for her running skills, so if she experienced losing a leg, she might learn something.

It was at that moment that I was carefully applying pressure to Atalanta’s knee...

“Hulch!”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, the sound of a sniffle made me lose strength in the foot I was pressing with.

With a sense of disbelief, I scrutinized Atalanta’s face.

Her helmet had flown off in the commotion, leaving her face, smeared with sweat and dust, in a mess.

Her reddish-brown bob, once tied back, had long since come undone, now hanging limply like seaweed, soaked with sweat.

And her red jade eyes, usually brimming with ferocity.

From those eyes, droplets of water were falling.

“Uuuh... Uwaaaaaa!”

“...Eh?”