Antaeus

What does it mean to be the most beautiful woman in the world?

"I originally thought it would be a kind of beauty that takes your breath away, especially since, according to myth, her looks even surpass those of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

But now... to be honest, all I want to do is find Theseus, gather Heracles Meleager, and the others to beat that idiot to the ground so hard that he can't get up for months!"

It was an afternoon on a peninsula.

Near a temple made of skulls stacked by the dead, a man as brawny as Heracles stood.

His name was Antaeus.

In Greek mythology, this man was the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Gaia, the goddess of the earth.

Because of his mother's love, as long as he remained in contact with the ground, he was invincible and could endlessly heal his injuries.

This was a very dangerous being, for he would kill every traveler who passed through the peninsula, and take their heads as glorious trophies, to be used in building a magnificent temple dedicated to his great father, Poseidon.

According to the Greek mythology, he was destined to die at the hands of Heracles.

During their battle, Heracles discovered Antaeus's secret and lifted him off the ground before strangling him to death.

This event occurred during Heracles' quest for the golden apples, but due to Athena and Hermes' interference, Heracles's original quest got sped up as completed his task early and missed this encounter.

Now, three days after parting with Hermes, Promise had arrived here and met Antaeus.

However, his words were naturally not addressed to Antaeus, and he was not coming to find Antaeus, but to find Helen, the most beautiful girl in the world.

Seated on Antaeus's shoulder was a young woman.

She was covered in dust from traveling, but even that couldn't conceal her beauty.

Her golden hair flowed gracefully, and her water-blue dress contrasted with her striking purple eyes, which carried an innate allure that could captivate any man's heart and soul with just a glance

These were, in fact, a pair of enchanted eyes, specially designed to make men submit to her, yet despite this natural bewitchment, her overall aura radiated purity and innocence.

The eyes that could enchant any man also held a clear and genuine sincerity.

This was Helen, the woman whose existence alone sparked the decades-long Trojan War in Greek mythology.

So, looking at her, even Promise, who had encountered countless goddesses and was somewhat used to beauty, had to admit that this girl in front of him was incredibly beautiful.

Yet despite that, at this moment, there wasn't a ripple of emotion in his heart.

Well...except for an overwhelming urge to beat Theseus to death.

Because Helen was, in fact, just a young girl now, appearing to be no more than eleven or twelve years old...

Damn it!

Theseus, you really deserve to die.

You can even get horny for such a little girl like this and kidnap her!

Promise clenched his fists.

The moment he laid his eyes on Helen, his impression of Theseus instantly plummeted to rock bottom.

"Who are you?"

While Promise was contemplating how to beat his once best friend to death, Antaeus looked at the young man in front of him, who seemed fragile enough to be blown away with a breath, and frowned his brow,

However, he did not attack him immediately because he sensed the presence of many gods around Promise.

At the same time, the other reason was that Promise looked so delicate and weak that he had no interest in fighting him.

In his mind, someone like Promise was not even worthy of existing in the Temple of the Skull that he had built!

"My name is Promise, a student of the centaur sage and a follower of Queen Hera."

Promise paused slightly before looking up at Helen and said,

"By the divine command of Goddess Hestia, I am now, here to bring Helen back to her rightful home."

"You're saying you want to take her away?"

The moment Promise finished speaking, Antaeus, who had been calm for a while, immediately erupted in rage as his terrifying aura filled with the stench of blood pressed down on the young man.

However, at this moment,

"Please don't, Antaeus!"

A soft, anxious voice rang out.

Helen, who was sitting on Antaeus's shoulder, gently calmed him down, saying, "I know him. He's a friend of mine."

To Promise's surprise, Helen's words genuinely pacified Antaeus, who had been on the verge of going berserk, making him calm down almost instantly.

Promise tilted his head, watching the scene unfold in front of him and couldn't help but tilt his head.

...A beast and a loli?

It seems this guy isn't as bad as the legends say.

Promise couldn't help but think.

He knew that the person in front of him was Antaeus because, on his way here, an unknown nymph had appeared and warned him not to approach this place.

However, just as he was considering this...

"Go way. I won't kill you because someone as weak as you isn't even worthy of being a sacrifice to my great father God."

Antaeus looked at Promise in front of him with disdain and added, "As for Helen, she is my bride. When I offer the great sacrifice to my Father God, it will be the time for me to marry her under the blessing of the gods!"

As soon as the boy heard this, he subconsciously turned his head and looked towards the temple in the distance, which was piled with human heads.

The putrid smell, mixed with the salty tang of the sea, formed a stench so foul it made Promise feel suffocated...

Ah, so he's still just a disgusting loli-obsessed psycho!

"Leave this place quickly."

At that moment, Helen spoke again, her alluring purple eyes fixed on the young man in front of her, and said. "I appreciate you coming to find me, but... I can't leave."

Hearing those words, Promise understood a bit more and looked back at Helen.

The moment their eyes met, the latter quickly lowered her head.

Helen knew that her eyes could easily make others fall in love with her, yet she could not control this power.

Troubled by this curse, she sought help from a goddess.

However, she was right to seek help from a deity, well..unfortunately she sought it from the wrong deity—Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, whom Helen worshipped.

While, the Goddess of Beauty and lust, Aphrodite, did respond to her prayers, instead of teaching Helen how to control her power, she intentionally made it even more potent.

"It seems the Dioscuri have spoken to you about me, haven't they?" Promise asked with a thoughtful smile.

Hearing his words, Helen hesitated for a moment before she nodded and replied softly,

"Yes, my brother and sister often talk to me about you."

"What do they say about me?"

"They say you're a very good person, that you're always trustworthy no matter what situation arises..."

They also said you're so weak that even I could bully you... Helen didn't say the last part.

Just as Helen was answering, she suddenly found that Antaeus' face beside her had become gloomy again, and it was obvious that he was very unhappy with her conversation with Promise.

Seeing this, the girl, now flustered, was about to urge the youth to leave quickly.

"They said that about me, did they? Well then, since that's the case, I have no choice but to take you home,"

Promise said, seemingly oblivious to Antaeus's anger and directly promised Helen in front of him.

He had already noticed that Helen wasn't here by choice.

As for why she was here instead of being with Theseus, there were only a few possibilities: either something happened to Theseus, or she escaped and was then captured by Antaeus, who, greedy for her beauty, brought her back here.

Promise's assumption was mostly correct.

Theseus was not in trouble, well, not for now...

He had simply gone to the underworld with a friend to find Persephone, the queen of the underworld.

Helen, on the other hand, did escape, aided by a sympathetic maid who couldn't bear to see her in tears.

Upon hearing Promise's words, Antaeus finally spoke as he glared menacingly at Promise.

"I've changed my mind. I'm going to kill you. You might not be worthy of being an offering to my father, but now, no one can save you!"

"No!"

Hearing this, Helen's expression immediately changed.

She desperately pleaded with Antaeus, crying,

"Please don't do this, Antaeus! Don't kill him—he's a friend of my brother and sister! Let's just go back, and I promise I'll behave from now on!"

However, hearing her pleas, instead of reconsidering, Antaeus became even more determined to kill Promise, especially after seeing how protective Helen was of him.

In his eyes, killing this guy would be as easy as crushing an ant.

"Helen, watch closely. I want to show you how powerful I am!

Witness with your own eyes.

Great Father, gentle Mother Earth, please witness this battle!"

Antaeus ignored Helen's pleas and gently set her down on a nearby rock, then began to approach Promise, ready to crush him with his bare hands.

But before he could make his move, a sharp whinny echoed through the air.

In the next instant, the majestic Pegasus charged in, striking Antaeus, who was unable to dodge with such speed that he was sent flying.