122 The Nature Of A Monster

David took his sweet time outside the dungeon, not wanting to take any chances when it came to Atalanta's wrath. He, more than anyone, knew how scary women could be. Being a man with eight wives could teach you some things, after all.

What he didn't expect, though, was seeing them looking at each other with high intensity the moment he returned. The King even swore that he saw some sparks fly between them. Probably his imagination.

"I... I see you are in good health. Hehehe..." David greeted them while laughing awkwardly. It was an odd choice of words considering the state one of the two people were in, but whatever worked to disperse the current mood.

"This smell...the slacker? No...it is slightly different..." The man said, making the green-haired man look at him strangely. What was the problem with this creep?

"I see that venomous tongue works just fine," Atalanta commented from the sidelines with an unimpressed look. She still felt irritated about his comment earlier.

"What's the matter...with you...? Freaking psychopath..." The man struggled to say those words. It was evident that his injuries were still a matter of concern. What he didn't understand was why this woman attacked him as soon as he woke up. With no way to defend himself, he had to endure her using her bow like a blunt weapon, hitting his head until she grew tired. At least she had some mercy and didn't strike the rest of his battered body.

"Thou said that I stank! And who are you calling psychopath?!" The Huntress materialized her bow again, ready to start round two.

"I was referring...to this place!" He tried to raise his voice as much as possible, but it proved to be a challenging task taking into account the pain just the effort in doing so caused.

"It isn't even that bad!"

"I have...a sensitive...nose!"

"Then why did thou look at me when you said it?!"

"You spoke...to me...so I turned...to you!"

These back and forth arguments continued for quite a while, making David sweatdrop, not knowing what to do. He wanted to calm things down, but he feared doing so would make him involved in their fight, and that was the last thing he desired.

"Okay, okay. Save your little fight for later." In the end, knowing that they would get nowhere if this continued, he decided to intervene. Being honest, they reminded him of children.

David then turned to Atalanta, who was glaring at him, seemingly pissed. "You were the one who wanted to bring him here. Shouldn't you be, I don't know, a little more friendly, maybe?" The Huntress didn't say anything and only averted her gaze. David took it as a signal of acknowledgment.

Finally, he opted to speak to the wounded man. "And you, you should try to understand her a little and be grateful, even if just a bit, for her saving you. If it weren't for her, you would still be lying on that beach."

"She is also...responsible of...me having...additional injuries..." The man added, much to her displeasure. However, she felt somewhat guilty about that, so she didn't say anything.

A forced smile made its way to David's face at his statement. He couldn't deny that there were times were Atalanta got a little too violent for comfort. "Anyway, do you want to rest a bit more? I would use my harp to heal you, but I think you know why that isn't possible. We could bandage you with lives, but that's a little primitive, even for me."

"It is...okay. More importantly, you two...come here." The man motioned them with his hand to approach him. The duo didn't understand what his purpose was, but they complied either way. They didn't feel the need to be that wary of someone who could barely speak, much less move.

When they were at arm's length, he started moving his hand, seemingly signaling them to touch it. Honestly, he was too tired even to talk more than he had already done.

David and Atalanta looked at each other before nodding, both extending their hands until touching his. The moment they did so, they felt some eerie energy entering their bodies, prompting them to step back immediately.

"You...! What did—" Atalanta materialized her bow, ready to strike at a moment's notice, only to be interrupted by a voice in her head.

'Shut up, will you? It is just a way to communicate better. I don't want to force myself to talk with my condition.' Those words surprised both of them, but they still didn't let their guards down.

"So, I assume you will be able to talk freely and without pauses now. In that case, what happened to you? And why were you on the beach in that state?" David decided to go with it momentarily. If worse came to worst, he would use his harp to cleanse him and Atalanta.

'That's right. As for what happened to me, I would like to be sarcastic in response to your first question, but I don't have the desire to do it. Not when I am on the border of dying at least. Concerning the second, how should I know? I fainted in the middle of the ocean. The waves carried me here, probably.' Although he didn't show any expression, opting for closing his eyes to rest, the King and Huntress noticed the lack of worry in his words.

"You sound like your life means nothing. Shouldn't you be at least concerned that you are about to die?" It was Atalanta's turn to ask. Her voice had a tone of disbelief in it.

'One gets used to it.' He said with some amusement. 'That aside, I didn't expect to see you here. I guess if that deranged woman appeared, it's natural for you to do so too.'

"Deranged woman? Who are you talking about?" David was the one who spoke this time. The man silently wondered if there would be an end to their questions someday.

'The Goddess she took an oath to, Artemis. I briefly met her before I separated to fight someone else.' Those words shocked Atalanta to her core, and as much as she wanted to comment on the way he called Lady Artemis, there was something else she wanted to know.

"La... is Lady Artemis here?!" She practically ran back to where he was and started shaking him repeatedly. 'Stop, stop, stop!' The man was close to begging at this point. David had to intervene and separate them, or he would die for real.

'Why does everyone with animal traits have to be a psychopath...' He wanted to continue, but he then remembered that he also had animal traits and that his thoughts were not just thoughts anymore.

With an obvious fake, mental cough, he continued. 'Anyway, that crazy-for-love woman was helping my team before we got separated. If everything is all right, she should still be alive and kicking. Also, before you ask, he hijacked Orion's summoning to manifest. Probably to make sure he didn't flirt with other women.'

Atalanta looked at him like he was speaking about an alien species —Which wasn't entirely wrong— instead of the Goddess she admired. "Lady Artemis wouldn't do such a thing! She is a respectable, chaste, and kind woman!"

David didn't know what to say to this situation. The talk about Pagan Gods was something outside of his zone of comfort, after all. Still, he could see the man on the altar twitching as he struggled to keep a straight face. Did Atalanta say something funny? He wondered.

'Please avoid making those comments again. Even I would find pathetic dying of laughter, in the literal sense.' His conveyed thoughts didn't seem to please the Huntress, who at this point was clenching her teeth, trying not to attack him.

"Okay, I think I speak for everyone here when I say that this is getting nowhere. Let's talk about why we brought you here in the first place. There is a group of heroes, among them some of the Argonauts, wanting to cause strife in this place. Their objective is not that clear, but for some reason, they are looking for a Divine Spirit. The truth is, they came here some days ago, trying to recruit Atalanta but she refused. Had you been here at that time, you would have been captured, so we have the Lord to thank for that, I guess." It seemed the man wanted to say something but stopped himself.

Taking some time to recollect his thoughts, the man finally spoke. 'I am aware of the Argonauts, including them wanting a Divine Spirit for whatever reason. For now, I know there are four of us in this Singularity; the unhinged woman, two of the Gorgon Sisters, and myself. They are all in the same group, so they are going to be targeted, most likely. Unfortunately, my body is going to take a few days to recover, so the help I can provide is limited. Although...' They felt some hesitation in his voice before he continued. '...I am worried about one man in the enemy team.'

"Herakles, huh?" Atalanta knew who he was referring to even without him saying it. Being honest, she had the same worries. He was not called the greatest Hero of Greece for nothing. That said, she was surprised those two monsters were here too. Still, he was right. As much as she thought the Captain of the Argonauts was an idiot, the guy knew how to take opportunities. She didn't doubt that if he discovered they were alone, he would send all his arsenal to capture them for whatever he was planning.

David couldn't help but shudder at the mention of that name. The Hero was a giant that he DIDN'T want to face. Turning to him, he decided to ask some more questions. "Are you sure you can recover in a few days? Although you are talking to us like nothing happened, your wounds are...ghastly. Even now, blood keeps pouring out of them. However, there is something more important I want to know. We two are aware of what you are, but not who you are. Do you mind enlightening us? I only know of one blind, Pagan God, after all."

The man felt it was ironic for someone of his religion to use the word enlighten, but he nevertheless answered his questions. "Don't worry about it. If there is something I am proud of, it's my regeneration capabilities. As for who I am, rest assured that I am not the one who you are thinking of in the slightest. My blindness is a consequence of my actions and is partial, not total. I don't want to scare you, little kids, with my identity. That's why it's better if I don't say anything regarding that.' He said the last part with some amusement in his voice.

"Why not? Are you actually Satan?" David didn't seem scared by his words. Instead, he asked him a question that was in the back of his mind for quite a while.

'It's true that in the original texts of your religion, the character of Satan took some inspiration in me, but we are not the same person. It's the same with Typhon and me from that cat's land.' He didn't need to give more clues as the two realized at the same time who he was. However, that didn't bring them calmness at all.

"...Thou realize that we could kill you right now, knowing the wretched existence that you are." Atalanta spoke after some moments passed. Beads of sweat were falling from her forehead little by little, something shared by David.

'We both know you two won't do that. David received a divine message from the old man telling him not to do anything, and you aren't confident in beating Herakles because you are scared, hence you know my help is necessary.' What he said made them take a step back as they started trembling.

"How?!" The Huntress and King shouted at the same time. This...this was not normal. This man...he was a monster.

A smile made its way into the man's face. However, this smile had 'wicked' written all over it. 'Fear...such a wonderful thing.'

Unaware to them, their negative emotions did nothing but feed him, helping him regain his strength at a much faster rate. After all, that was what demons did, what monsters did.