Grace from thy Finger

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The catch-me-if-you-can snake race begins.

I know the last chap was kind of an info dump so...I rewrote it yet again to make it more compact and the bunny titan a little more inhuman.

Anyways: [ Sefar ate machine titan→Iphicles sees a tiny shard of machine titan's past data that was absorbed into Sefar→saved from the nightmare by a mental configuration of his 'past' friend→acute amnesia ] Capiche? Great!

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Do you know what it feels like when a Jörmungandr ripoff is after you?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

Yes, like that.

Damn, even I didn't know I could hit the highest range of a soprano. I could've shattered a glass window.

And what do you do in the face of said Jörmungandr ripoff?

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKKKK!!!!!!!!"

You run like the little bitch you are.

And run I did.

I ran with the power of Zeus's overcharged master bolt. Which was to say, like a malfunctioning vibrator on ultrahigh voltage. I was shaking so damn hard, that even a frail leaf in a thunderstorm would have felt sorry for me.

I mean, god damn. She's thick. Thick as a hundred-year-old tree!

And those scales look like small bronze shields with their polished glint! I can see a million little reflections of a pathetic wimp screaming for his life in those scales!

...Wait. That's me. Yeah. HA HA. HA.

It would've been funny if that snake wasn't so damn FAST!

Anyone would probably freak out too if some humungous snake with this 'I eat salt-water crocodiles for breakfast' kind of killer look comes after them.

I mean, just look at this reptile. This giant anaconda monster was the purest definition of 'suffocating things to death by constriction'. A herpetophobia's worst nightmare. A noose incarnate.

This was a snake so badass, that it can make a hardened warrior wet. Literally.

Trust me, your urinary bladder can't take on this level of badassery either. Your muscles will turn into jelly and your legs into mush.

From the way its fangs leaked corrosive acid-like poison with every hiss, that expression was quite accurate in terms of venom. No, I'm not getting bitten by those nasty things.

I raised my pace and ran as fast as my weak-ass legs could carry my sorry ass.

..

....

...

After our initial contact, my first plan for the day was to jump into the river in front of me.

However, I saw a fin cut through the surface, generating massive currents with a casual flick of what seemed like a fishtail. The great waves splashed onto the shore, dazing me and the serpent for a few seconds, which was long enough for me to reconsider my life-threatening options.

Underwater date with river JAWS? Nah.

Intelligent apes like me knew better. Homo Sapiens can't breathe water. And they absolutely can't survive getting chased to death by a freakin' MEGALODON inside its territory.

So you see, there was only one way out; one option that included using my super ultimate secret anti-monster noble phantasm.

I breathed in, I breathed out. I closed my eyes. I opened them. I felt the power of courage circulate through my veins, burning them with scorching passion.

I nodded once. I was ready.

It was now or never. Time for my secret training to pay off.

I took a deep breath-

"Fuck this shit I'm out. (NIGERUNDAYO~)"

As my instincts always say, survival comes to the guy who can outrun monster snakes to see another day.

So, several near-death experiences later, I found myself sprinting through the deep forest, in hope of the trees acting as some sort of obstacle course. As of right now.

The good news was that Mycenae now had a new pile of firewood. The bad news was that the forest didn't act as an obstacle course. Not at all.

With every slither, the scaly mountain of muscle bulldozed through trees, knocking the thick vegetation down to the ground, pulverizing the wood, and grinding it into the mud with its weight.

Rocks and dirt flew into the air every time its tail dug into the ground to provide stability in redirecting its snout, with its head itself providing more than enough power to act like a pseudo-wrecking ball, smashing down the thin match sticks (aka pine trees) that stood in its way.

A military tank would have been more subtle.

"Gah!"

A giant mass of muscle struck my ribs, lifting me off my feet and into the air. If it wasn't for the dagger I hastily slid in between ourselves milliseconds before impact, my lungs may have well raptured from the strike alone.

I flew through the air, spinning as I felt light-headed from the sudden flow of blood.

...Why not use my sword and spear? Well, I only had a bronze dagger on me at the time of our...err...delightful encounter, so I wasn't exactly loaded. Heh, my royal father is going to kill me if he found out I died because I wasn't 'vigilant' enough.

I mean, sure, why not carry my spear and sword 24/7? Not like I was nearly squeezed into meat paste in my crib.

What could I possibly expect? That some giant-ass snake might murder me when my guard was down? Sheesh.

...Okay. Maaaaaybe I was a little too careless. Just a little.

Believe me, I'm now regretting the optimistic choices I made in my short life, more than ever before. Going out for a little walk all on my own? That's an open invitation for suicide. Really, what was I thinking?

...Probably nothing. Damn, I should've picked up my brain and common sense from my dear mother's womb instead of greek hero bravado.

Aaaaaaaaaaand, here comes the landing. Landing strategy? Roll with the momentum, as they say.

"Guh, gah!"

I spat out a mouthful of blood. My body pinballed off several branches and trees until I finally came to a halt before a slab of jagged rock. The ragged edges cut through my backside like long talons. Thankfully, the injuries itself was superficial.

Blood gushed from my back and down my ankles, creating a pool of fresh blood at my feet. The scars were shallow enough to not show bone, at the very least. Small mercies.

Actually, to look at the bright side, the serpent kind of made me a favor. You see, its mystic eyes of petrification had several 'limits' so to speak, ranging from the effective distance to the period of maintained sight.

For example, the range for maximum petrification was approximately ten meters, and it needed to maintain visual contact with me to establish the 'medusa effect'. Do not look? Easier said than done.

I roamed my eyes over the terrain, trying to sense where the serpent would attack next. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something tremble.

"H-help!"

"!"

A girl. A girl for god's sake! In this god-damn forest! God damn!

...I really should stop cursing when I'm stressed. Ancient Greece is a bad place for atheists. Where is the all-mighty Christ/Allah/Vishnu/Buddha/One True God etc. when you need him?!?

What the hell is a girl doing here in the midst of the forest where beasts dwell in the first place?!

No, right now, I've got to get here outa here. How-

"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

"Stop bitch-slapping me you overgrown reptile!"

I rolled to the side on instinct. The ground where I was standing erupted as the tip of a black tail stabbed through the air like a spear.

However, the assault didn't stop there. The tip of its tail twitched.

Then, it blurred.

A tail rammed into my gut from beside with the force of a runaway train. This time, the tail bent like a hook, anchoring its tip into my insides and tearing them apart. A large blob of blood rose up from my throat and out of my nostrils. My ears rang.

...Shit. The pain is making it hard to concentrate.

Its head emerged from the ground nearby, yellow eyes gleaming with malice and arcane energy. I felt my skin crackle. Bad sign. No time to waste.

A distraction!

I grabbed a random stick on the ground and pointed at its eyes, twirling it in circles to confuse its senses. Hey, I've seen it work on small snakes, it should work on giant ones!

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS?????"

Wat.

It....it actually worked????

...Now!

"AVADA KADAVRA!!!!"

The snake flinched and reared its head in caution.

Magecraft works in bizarre ways, and even random words sometimes hold power when they become famous enough.

It's called the mortal Dao of bullshiting.

'Cause you were never a mage, ■■■■■■'

A girl's voice suddenly rang in my ears, but I had no time to spare my thoughts for a mere auditory hallucination.

Scooping up the very much paralyzed girl in my arms, I then hoisted her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Hey, practicality comes first. A boy needs to adjust his grip, you know?

"Buckle up, lady! Here comes Express Iphicles, and you're guaranteed a very thrilling ride!"

Despite the burst of additional adrenaline this whole 'damsel in distress' situation gave me, it didn't take me that far.

With every step, every dodge, I felt myself slowing down, and it was not only the blood loss and the intestine injuries that were causing it.

You see...she was weighing me down. No, don't get me wrong, I didn't mean it as an insult. She wasn't fat at all.

The thing is, the girl didn't weigh much...at first.

However, as the seconds ran by, I felt her pressure increase on my shoulder, as if someone was slowly amping up the gravity levels around me.

CRACK.

I felt something snap in my right ankle. Shit, is that a bone protruding from my skin?

From the corner of my eye, I saw the (rightfully) enraged serpent closing in. Double shit.

With a grunt, I managed to shield the girl with my body, while hoping that the serpent would take the bait- me.

It did.

With its jaws opened wide, it bared its venomous fangs, spittle flying, ready to pump its lethal dose into my shoulder.

And that was the opening I was looking for. I spun around with my fist raised.

Punch him? Of course not. I have something better. I opened my palm.

...By the way, did you know that sodium chloride had purifying qualities and evil-warding properties in old Asian myths? They used to sprinkle it on shrines and holy grounds to well...do this.

A sizzling sound was heard as smoke rose from the cracks between my fingers.

Well, I always wondered what my salt would look like if it was lit up by the embers of Hestia.

"BEGONE THOT!!! GET ZE SALT!!!!!"

With a roar, I slammed a fistful of burning salt right into its mystic eyes of petrification. It definitely wasn't so mystic right now.

The snake screeched in anguish as its head slammed against the ground once more.

To be fair, the old shamans, priests, and maidens would have cringed at the amount of unruliness I displayed in what should have been a divine ceremony. In my defense, I was desperate, and I needed to improvise.

Anyways, the important thing was that my gamble worked.

I lept up with my uninjured foot like a disfigured superhero, both hands wrapped around the hilt of my bronze dagger as I brandished it up to the heavens, and right into the roof of the serpent's open jaw.

I immediately then planted my injured foot inside its lower jaw like a crutch, prying its entire mouth open, and gritted my teeth against the excruciating agony it brought.

The pain was extreme indeed. The broken bones in my foot mashed into the torn flesh of my ankle, drilling into them, and ripping the tendons apart.

However, I didn't yield. With my uninjured foot burrowed into the ground and the other keeping the jaws from snapping me in half, I twisted the dagger with all my strength, stabbing it deeper within its thick skull from beneath.

A little more. Just a little more.

I strained with all my might. I was fighting not only for my life but also for the girl behind me. Failure was not an option.

"...Huh?"

I felt something pop out of one of my sockets. My arm. My grip slackened.

My body has betrayed me when I most needed it. Or was it I who betrayed my body? No surprise from the torture I gave it.

"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

With renewed vigor, the monster clenched its jaw, nearly breaking my neck with immense pressure. Electrifying pain shot through my back.

With only one remaining arm supporting the dagger, and my other dislocated shoulder pushed against the roof of its jaw, it seemed like my spinal cord couldn't hold out for much longer.

My hand slipped from the hilt. The upper jaw slammed down...along with the protruding hilt.

The hilt of the dagger dug into the crevice of my newly cracked spine with the full force of its bite.

I couldn't help it. I screamed.

Through my blurry vision, I saw the girl, motionless, frozen in time. What would become of her if I die here?

No. Never.

My right kneecap broke apart, causing me to fall on one knee. I saw a flash of metal.

There it was, the hilt of the dagger, still stuck in its upper jaw, ready to slam down like a battering ram.

In the minuscule space of time I had left, I did the unthinkable. I punched upwards.

Bending backward and ignoring the cracking sensation of my splintered spine, I caught the end of the descending dagger with my palm.

"NNNGGGGHHH!"

Blood gushed out of my teeth from the sheer force I exerted.

Inch by inch, I pushed my hand upwards and forced my body into position. My ears popped. One of them stopped working. I didn't care.

Roaring like a rabid animal, I slammed my shoulder into the roof of its jaw, forcing the bronze blade into the soft flesh of the snake's mouth.

The snake screeched in agony and opened its jaw once more. There was no way I didn't capitalize on that single chance I had left.

I smashed my fist into the hilt of the dagger. My bones fractured, and some of them shattered and pierced through my skin. I didn't care.

Again and again and again and again, I repeatedly smashed my broken fist against the hilt of the blood-stained dagger. By that point, my fist was already reduced to a bloody pulp of flesh and bones.

Blood splattered down onto my face and rained down on my body with every punch I threw. There was so much blood in my windpipe, that I couldn't even breathe. I didn't care.

Strange enough, there was not a speck of hatred, nor ill will in my mind.

Nothing, but pure killing instinct.

Smash. Smash. Smash. Smash. Smash.

Again and again and again and again.

It could have been seconds or maybe hours. I couldn't remember much about what happened after.

What I did know, was that I kept drilling into its flesh by punching the dagger like a madman obsessed with a piston machine, while my other useless arm hung limply beside my body and waved itself around like a drowning conductor.

Again and again and again and again.

Finally, I felt the dagger puncture the hard bones of its skull and sink through something soft.

Its brain.

A great shudder traveled through its body, and I felt the snake let out one last breath.

Its body crashed onto the forest floor, flattening the trees that were still lucky enough to have kept standing amidst the chaos.

I was ejected out of its mouth, and I kept rolling across the ground until I came to my final stop.

The girl.

Only, it wasn't a girl. Not anymore.

In her place, there stood a queen unlike no other. With raven black hair, emerald green eyes, porcelain skin, and earrings made of peacock feathers, she looked like...well...

"Lady...Hera"

I felt my lips quirk upwards. But of course. I should've seen it coming.

A convenient damsel in distress in the midst of the beast-infested forest, one which somehow managed to significantly increase weight over a short span of time.

In my defense, I was panicking. Not that it matters now.

"Why?", she asked in a hushed voice.

Even though it was one vague word, I understood Hera perfectly.

Why didn't I leave the girl behind? Why risk my life for someone I don't even know? Why go to such extents to save a nobody? Why?

"Why wouldn't I?"

You do not need a reason to do things that need to be done. A creed to be upheld.

From the way Hera furrowed her brows, she got my message.

"You sought to seek salvation for others despite being so weak yourself?"

I chuckled, then wheezed from the blood that was submerging my lungs.

With great power comes great responsibility. And I do not have great power.

For someone who can't save his own skin, saving others should be laughable. I see the logic there. I really do. Self-preservation is not selfishness but wisdom, as long as you do not harm others in the way. Yes, I get it.

So what?

So fucking what?

'What, you have a monopoly over saving people?', my voice in my mind said to someone.

A shattered memory of me, mocking my stubborn and idiotic friend ■■■■■.

I snickered to myself. Blood spurted out from my nostrils.

"Why wouldn't I?"

That was my answer. Is empathy a crime? Is caring for others a crime? Hypocrisy it may be, but that's what makes a human humane.

Hera gritted her teeth. She seemed to be battling within. Seconds turned into minutes. The silence was suffocating. I was also suffocating.

...Oh, wait. That was just my punctured lungs malfunctioning. Silly me.

I giggled, delirious from the lack of oxygen and common sense in my brain. I wouldn't be surprised if half of my brain cells were dead by now.

Hera's eyes twitched.

A long, insufferable sigh escaped her lungs.

"...What shalt thou seeketh most?"

Hera seemed...exhausted. Defeated, even.

I giggled again. Everything was funny.

"Hehe...Lady Hera, I think you already know."

Hera closed her eyes.

"Indeed."

When she opened her eyes once more, there was a fierce flame dancing within.

"Are thou ready to pay the price? The price for your insolence that you wish for me, a god, to change."

I smiled brightly.

"Always."

I answered with a bloody grin.

To ask a god, an immortal being to change her nature? Of course, it comes with a price. A price I'm willing to pay.

...In retrospect, I wasn't thinking straight. This was ancient Greece we were talking about. Duh.

Well, too late now.

"Very well. Let us proceed, and let the Fates be our witnesses."

Hera gave me a predatory smile, one bloodthirsty enough to ensnare my soul. I bravely looked the other way.

...Maybe I've made a pact with the devil.

....

....

....

Contrary to Iphicles' expectations, the ceremony turned out to be brutally simple, in more ways than one.

As a matter of fact, it started with self-mutilation and ended with semi-cannibalism.

To elaborate, the queen of Olympus bit off her left ring finger and fed it to her champion, forcing the golden ichor-dripping flesh down his throat with a psychokinetic push, as a mother bird does to her newborn hatchling.

In more ways than one, what she did was just exactly that.

A burning sensation like something was incinerating his nerves ran through Iphicles's neck, branding his skin with a divine flash of white light.

When the light died down, a simple name was etched onto the previously unblemished skin around his throat.

[Ἥραἀστήρ]: 'The Star of Hera'

"From then on, Herasterus shall be thy name."

Unknown to him, this was Hera's own subtle attempt at favoritism.

Glory may blaze brighter, but Starlight shall be eternal.

Thus, a Fate Eternal.