The Celestial Horse Neighs, Achilles: Are You Ready for the Consequences of Mocking Me?

In the small city of Thebes,

Resided the true greatest heroes of both factions, along with a false hero,

Yet they had not encountered each other.

But when Achilles rode the chariot pulled by a fantastical celestial horse into the sky,

For a moment,

The celestial horse's neigh echoed through the night sky,

Attracting countless gazes.

"…It's Achilles!" Hector, leading his soldiers toward the city's center, was shocked when he saw the figure on the warhorse, his pupils contracting.

Had the enemy already discovered them?

However—

In the next moment, to Hector's amazement, Achilles didn't even glance in their direction but instead sped off in another direction.

This tightened Hector's heart,

Had the battle ahead already ended?!

Achilles was leaving.

He hastened his marching speed.

Meanwhile— Upon hearing the celestial horse's neigh in the sky,

Night, who had his back to the night sky, let the corners of his mouth curl into a genuine smile.

His mind calmed down once more…

Hooked, huh?

Then continue with the plan!!

Whether Achilles was coming for Eetion and Chryses,

Or for "Hector"!

During the journey from Troy to Thebes, in countless days and nights of sparring and discussing Achilles with Hector,

Hector's eyes seemed to burn with a strong battle spirit.

That sense of fate, the mutual admiration between heroes,

Night believed that not only Hector would have such feelings, but the demigod likely felt the same way.

The more he interacted with this era, the more he understood the Greeks' emphasis on honor and the pride of heroes.

This conviction only grew stronger.

Even the most ordinary soldiers would reveal a belligerent, fanatical side when discussing heroes and honor.

Let alone the radiant, spirited demigod hero Achilles,

More excellent than anyone, adored and admired by countless people, the hero among heroes, the burden of his longing for honor and battle, was it not multiplied many times over?

If he didn't yearn for this,

When his parents disguised him as a maiden among the servants to avoid an early death on the battlefield as foretold by prophecy,

He could have relied on his own will to refuse Odysseus' invitation to join the campaign against Troy.

It was that restless heart, unable to suppress the desire to fight on the grandest stage in Greece,

That gave rise to the most brilliant yet fleeting hero of Greece—Achilles.

So, you came...

It's closer, a terrifying sense of danger and pressure closing in from behind.

Night dared not look back, dared not stop.

It's not enough—!

A bit more, run a bit further away!! Fighting here, it would easily attract attention to the other side of the battlefield.

The real Hector must not be discovered…

The more critical the moment, the clearer the tenacious spirit and willpower become,

His mind plunged into an unprecedented calm.

Night began to regulate his breathing, mobilizing all his vitality,

Squeezing, squeezing, and squeezing even more...

Then,

Whoosh~!

An arrow suddenly descended from the sky.

It was an arrow shot by Achilles.

It was also a challenge!

I've seen you…!

The warrior with the golden spear, Hector!

Yes, that divine spear, the same weapon that killed many of his comrades during the initial landing at Troy.

'I've arrived, don't think you can just flee!'

Bang~!!!

Though it was merely Achilles issuing a challenge,

It was also a challenge from the strongest hero,

When the arrow fell from the sky,

It created a terrifying gust, as if to tear the atmosphere and crash into the ground with a shocking force.

And its target was Night's back.

!!!!!!!

——Can't dodge!

Instantly, his consciousness told him,...

And Night gripped the golden spear in his hand, a flash of determination and fierceness in his eyes,

With his heart pounding excessively, he forcibly drained a third of his vitality in an instant, channeling it into Hector's original power of the divine spear,

In the next moment,

The divine spear burst into dazzling light,

Boom~!!!!

With a deft flourish of the spear, Night, without looking back, shattered the incoming arrow by sheer feel!

"——Well done!" Achilles praised generously.

If he couldn't perform such a beautiful counterattack,

He wouldn't be worthy of being Achilles' recognized rival if he couldn't do that.

Meanwhile, Night continued leading the trembling, cold-sweated riders forward.

And Achilles frowned suddenly, realizing something was off—where were the priests of Apollo, who were supposed to be protected?

The captives who had been taken seemed absent from these people, and they were too fast!

They were not escorting but simply fleeing for their lives.

However—That divine spear was real, and whether it was Apollo's priests or the supposed highest official of Thebes...

But, it didn't matter,

No one was more valuable than Hector.

With this thought, regardless of whether it was a trap or not, Achilles continued his pursuit,

The distance between them rapidly closing.

This time, Achilles didn't shoot arrows.

When Night felt they were far enough, Achilles suddenly sped up his celestial horse, unleashing the speed only a fantasy species could use!

Instantly, like a shooting star,

The brilliant white celestial horse transformed into a white meteor, thundering towards Night's position on the ground!

Boom~!!!

A tremendous roar echoed,

Kicking up billowing dust.

The warhorses neighed in terror, reacting violently,

Throwing the riders off.

Night, just before being thrown off, flipped in the air and dismounted.

He thrust the divine spear into the ground to steady himself.

Then he stared intently at the dust cloud ahead…

The great hero—Achilles!!!

Finally,

He's here!

He had fantasized countless times about what it would be like to meet this demigod hero.

But now that they were actually face-to-face, the dust seemed to create a silent, eerie space, terrifyingly quiet as if empty.

Yet the sense of dread, the standing hairs, kept multiplying.

Night's face suddenly turned pale,

Even though his mind was calm, his body had a strong adverse reaction,

I will die~! I will die~!!!

Absolutely will die~!!!!!! Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die!!!

A horrifying killing intent suddenly swept out from the dust,

In that moment, Night felt as if he saw the suspended Sword of Damocles slowly descending upon his head and neck.

Simultaneously, a cold voice, like the calm before a storm, sounded.

"Didn't expect even I would be deceived by a mouse.

I misjudged…"

Then, from the rolling dust, a figure steadily walked out, step by step.