Medusa’s heightened instincts allowed her to notice the arrow just in time to jump in. She stretched her arm in front of the surprised priestess and prevented it from piercing her chest.

“The negotiations have failed.” She seethed as she watched the cowardly scholar retreat.

While he joined the ranks of armed men at the beach, she turned towards Eugenia who was in complete stupor. The arrow could have ended her young life in an instant, but how had it come to this? The arrow might have been meant for the Gorgon, but it seemed too accurate in its path for Eugenia’s heart. As the battle would rage soon, she could not allow the girl to stand in the crossfire.

“Move.” She said and grabbed the human girl by the neck. In just that moment a volley of arrows rained down on where they had just been standing. Medusa slithered across the temple grounds and pushed Eugenia behind a wall to wait for the wave of arrows to end.

She peeked around the wall to take a look at their formation. They were keeping their distance naturally, but that would not save them. Arrows meant little to the Gorgon and they would soon realize that they couldn’t keep her away for long.

Medusa raised her hand and turned her nails into claws.

“Y-Your arm!”

She suddenly felt a weight pull on her. The priestess was holding on to her lower arm, wetting her fingers with the red liquid flowing from the arrow wound. Her face was pale and soon turned blue.

“It is nothing.” Medusa pried the girl’s hands off and then broke the arrow tip from the shaft. Then she pulled the wooden shaft out of her arm with a wet noise.

“Oh no, y-you’re bleeding so much! I need to tend to the wound!” She was jittery and unsteady as she searched the ground for anything to cover the bleeding hole in the Gorgon’s arm.

Medusa moved her arm up and down a few times and made a fist. The bleeding had already stopped. The hole would regenerate soon enough. Of course the girl was in shock, so she naturally wasn’t in a state of mind to realize this. Thus the snake woman sighed and grabbed Eugenia by the neck again, like a cat would its off-spring.

“Just who do you take me for, human?” She asked in her most scolding tone.

“But-”

“No buts. I am a Gorgon. Mere injury will not threaten my life. Do not belittle me with your concern.” She forced the priestess’ hand on the wound and made her realize that it was closing. “Now that you are aware, settle down and do not move from this position. The hail cannot reach you beyond this wall. Whatever you do, move not one limb. Am I understood?” She would not accept any backtalk this time.

“…yes.” Eugenia swallowed heavily.

“These cowardly humans may not be as clever as they believe. Their last mistake.” She muttered and looked across the wall again. They were currently holding their fire.

There were a lot of them, but none could hold their own against her in combat. She would break their shields and tear apart their bows as they were petrified in an instant. The distance was short enough for her to get to the beach before they could even hit her. Especially because they could not aim thanks to her cursed eyes.

She left the protection of the crumbling wall and readied herself for the attack.

“Hm?” Eugenia’s ears perked up and she jerked back.

With superhuman reflexes Medusa turned around and deflected several arrows coming at them from the side. Medusa moved just in time to slice through more arrows coming straight for the two of them. Her claws cut through the wood effortlessly and her swings were so fast that she could get them all at once.

She slid into the shadow of the wall and looked towards the west. What she saw should have been impossible.

A row of archers was placed on the western cliff and aiming their bows towards them. But how did they get there so fast? She did not lose sight of the expedition for longer than a few heartbeats. The crumbling wall only shielded them from one direction, so they could easily get flanked.

“Where did they come from?” She frowned and caught two arrows out of the air, before throwing them back with the force of a bowstring. The surprised archers found themselves scrambling, but two of their comrades had received the projectiles to their unprotected throats. “Move!” She yelled at the girl, but she was too stunned to react. She really had no composure in stressful situations.

Medusa clicked her tongue and then threw Eugenia over her shoulder. The girl protested for a moment, but then was left breathless as she was carried along at dizzying speed. Medusa jumped over a fallen pillar and then grabbed on to the crumbling ceiling to cross a great distance with a leap. They landed behind the ruined altar which shielded them from two sides.

This was a problem. They were shooting to skewer the Gorgon, but as long as Eugenia was with her, she might have ended up as collateral damage. She could feel the unyielding silvery gaze on her back. The owl was sitting above them with judging eyes.

“If you wish to say something, then do it already!” She hissed at the little owl. But Athena did not respond.

“Sorry! I didn’t want it to come to this!” Eugenia prostrated next to her and apologized. She must have misunderstood who Medusa was addressing. Then she suddenly raised her head and seemed to search for something. “Is Athenai alright?!”

“That useless bird is spectating from its elevated seat.” She huffed and pushed Eugenia’s head down just in time to avoid another arrow. “Worry more over your own head.”

“What shall we do?” She was truly lost.

“You will do nothing. Wait for me to end this skirmish.” She picked up a rock and threw it towards the archers who once again had to jump out of the way. They were in a pincer position, but once Medusa moved out they would track her. Then the priestess was safe and Medusa could cut loose.

She jumped over the altar and released her wings from her back. She would fly down on these foolish men like a hawk hunting its small prey. With a few flaps she was already rising above the roof. The men seemed shocked to see her fly over their heads. It seemed some of her attributes were lesser known than others. Perhaps due to the fact that she didn’t let many intruders escape.

From up here she had an incredible view over the island. With a glance towards the west she realized how the archers had gotten there. Small boats were tied to the cliffs. They must have separated from the triremes before they left the storm, so that Medusa would not notice them. The giant ships drew all attention towards them.

How could this be? She felt it to be strange. How did they know where it was safe to land? How did they know from where they would have a good aim at the holes in the temple? The scholar thought himself clever, but even he could not have surmised the details of the island in the short time he had been here.

Her eyes widened as she thought of another thing. Midair she spun around to see the east side of the island. There they were! More archers had already taken position on the lengthy hill! Even to the north, she could see two more small boats. They were already mostly surrounded.

In human warfare that would grant them a huge tactical advantage, but to the Gorgon the amount of archers made no difference. Whether they shot at her from the front or behind, she would pick them off in waves soon enough.

“Aaah!” The shrill scream of a girl made her freeze in the air. The hail of arrows was flying straight into the temple ruins.

Medusa shouted in anger and dove straight down towards Eugenia who was cowering under the attack. With wild swings she deflected even more arrows and then kicked up an old wall to serve as additional cover. She didn’t say anything to the shivering bundle of a scared human and instead inspected her for injuries. She was still unharmed, to her quiet relief.

Her alertness did not let up, but the moment she had returned to the ruins the arrows ceased as well. For now she just took a look in all four directions and counted her enemies.

It seemed that they were shooting randomly, as their eyes had to be closed or averted, yet their aim was much too accurate. It was as if they knew the layout of the temple by heart. Whenever Medusa moved out to eliminate them, they would shoot into the temple where Eugenia was defenseless…

What?

She held her face in one hand and squinted in distress.

This would mean that… they were aiming for Eugenia on purpose? It couldn’t be. Even that coward would not conceive of such a dastardly plan. More importantly, under any other circumstance, not one soul would have believed that the Gorgon would care for the well-being of a human girl.

How? How did he know all this? Why would he make such a strange gamble? The more she thought about it, the more mysterious the scholar appeared. She was losing her grip on the situation.

“Have... they stopped?” The priestess was covering her head with both hands and curled up behind the altar with a scared expression.

Right now she was a severe weight around the Gorgon’s neck, keeping her tied to this place. The accursed owl above was watching her every move. It was agonizing to be held down. She had never felt this caged despite her centuries long exile on this island.

She gritted her teeth and focused. There was a solution to this, she just had to keep calm as she always did. If the girl was the issue, then she would just have to get her out the equation. Arrows could get them in this ruined temple with its hundreds of gaps and nearly collapsed walls, but there were still places that were protected from all sides.

The first was Medusa’s lair. Even if she were to make an exception just this once and let Eugenia break her promise to stay out, there was no easy way to get to it. The entrance to the lair was in the open, perfectly exposed to the arrow range of three directions. The Gorgon may have survived such an attack, but even she could not guarantee the girl’s safety during a three-way volley.

That left only one place.

“The Greenhouse.” She said loudly.

“W-What about it?”

“We will take shelter there.” Medusa said determinedly and grabbed the priestess by the arm. “I will create a distraction and then you will run forward without stopping once. Understood?”

“I-I will try.” She was far too uncertain. At this rate she would stumble or falter from weak legs.

Medusa inhaled and exhaled twice to steady her voice.

“Do you trust me?” She asked in a deep voice.

“Yes.” The girl replied instantly. Far too naturally. It was somewhat troubling.

“Then run. Without breaks, without paying attention to the noise around you. Close your heart off from all fear.”

The girl said no more and raised herself up. They both knew this island well and the path to the Greenhouse was very straightforward. The prior fear that was shaking her limbs was now fading away. Eugenia had decided to do as she was told, no matter the consequences.

Medusa glanced over the altar and noticed that the archers were moving to find a better angle. With a strained smirk she grabbed a pillar next to her and then crushed it with her bare hands. The entire structure collapsed forward and crashed into the tiles, throwing up a cloud of white dust.

“Now!” Medusa yelled and then jumped up to deflect arrows that were aimlessly shot into the dust.

The girl ran ahead with all her might. The Gorgon followed behind like her shadow and kept her alive until they reached the large wooden door. Without care for the construction she slammed it open and then pushed the girl inside just in time before ramming it shut behind them.

Inside the Greenhouse the atmosphere was serene. The trees and plants were softly shaking in the breeze from the heavily slammed door and the sunlight seeped inside almost tranquilly from above. In a way this place was their irreplaceable haven.

“I will close the blinds!” The priestess rushed the wall mechanism and pulled the lever. Since the stormy night she had somehow managed to repair it. Moments later the wooden planks moved over the glass ceiling and made a protective shell. There was still a big hole in one of them from the storm, so they could hear the loud grinding echo inside all too well.

When the last plank clicked into place they could be certain that no hail would penetrate the roof. They were now safe from arrows. There was still the risk of them setting the building on fire, but she would not give them time to do so.

Medusa’s bloodlust had been rising for a while now, so she could barely contain her claws. She despised humans and especially intruders, but she would never forgive cowards! For toying with her for so long, they would experience a death far worse than simple petrification.

First she would take care of the men she could hear approaching outside. They were far closer than was healthy for them.

“Lady Medusa!” The sudden call made her hesitate at the door.

“Hm?”

“Don’t get hurt.” She begged.

There was no response as Medusa left her behind.

“It worked! I cannot believe that it worked!” Markos, leader of the mercenaries - a man with more scars than skin one might say - was joyous indeed.

“I had a hard time believing it myself.” Typhos admitted humbly. Inside he felt less elated, rather than disturbed. The moment the Gorgon had raised her arm to protect the priestess he had been certain of it. Yet in his heart he could not accept it.

Eugenia was the Gorgon’s weakness.

The unfortunate merchant’s elaborations were romanticized nonsense, but his observation was not entirely incorrect. The Gorgon defended the priestess, albeit her motivations were certainly not selfless. It seemed the silvery eyes above them were weighing heavily on both sides.

“They retreated into the Greenhouse.” A scout informed him after rushing through the temple to get word from the other units.

“Exactly as you said they would.” Again Markos praised him unduly. His attitude was alarmingly simple-minded.

Typhos simply nodded. To escape a four-way pincer attack there was only one safe place. The Greenhouse would shield Eugenia long enough for the Gorgon to crush them all. At least that would be the case if they hadn’t acted as quickly as possible.

“The slaves are in position?” He inquired from the scout.

“Yes sir. They rolled the barrels as close as possible.”

“Tell them to get even closer.”

Both the scout and the mercenary exchanged looks after hearing that. It was obvious that sending the slaves any closer was the same as throwing them on the chopping block. Of course the scout questioned him not and instead rushed towards the battlefield.

“Your archers are quite apt even with lacking visibility, so I presume they can hit their targets?” He was trying to sound relaxed, but there was a hint of tenseness in his voice.

“My men could shoot out the eye of a boar inside the thickest forest, boss.” He bragged.

“Naturally. That is why I hired you.” He smiled.

“Spartans don’t back down from a battle, so we’ll carry the arrows to their target directly if we have to.” He apparently felt insecure after seeing Typhos’ unimpressed reaction.

Boasting was such a pitiful display of weakness. He could hardly stand the mercenary captain’s presence. He reminded himself to not focus on meaningless things and moved forward.

“Are you going to get closer too?!” He was shocked.

“It is not any day that a man can see his plan come together, would you not agree?” He pulled off one of his golden rings and spun it in his hand. “Keep your aim steady in case we need to retreat.”

“Even if we’re this prepared you still don’t think we’ll win that easily?” His brow was covered in sweat and he gave a forced grin.

“Nothing comes easily in this world.” Typhos said and pushed the ring back on his finger.

The heavy door burst open and Medusa rushed into the surprised men like she had become Thanatos himself. They were rolling barrels towards the Greenhouse, but the moment they noticed the monster approach they scrambled and tried to rush off.

Too slow.

In an instant Medusa was in front of the first terrified shaggy bearded man and glared deeply into his eyes. The scream was stuck in his throat as he turned to stone. In the same movement she grabbed two of them by the legs and petrified them as well. The statues fell into the dirt in a spread out position.

The remaining frightened men drew small daggers and waved them around in terror, but simply looking at their pursuer ended their lives. That seemed to have been all of them.

“Raaaaaaagh!” Another man jumped on top of her from an elevated spot, knife bared and ready to stab her into the back, but the snake hair bit into his hand and made him lose grip of the knife. The next moment the Gorgon’s hand crushed his face and rammed him into the ground. He bit into her flesh with all his might, but was only rewarded by a careless glance of the cursed eyes. Pieces of the statue were torn out as she had still held on to the face.

She felt nothing as she ended their lives. Not even satisfaction.

At one glance she could tell that these men were nothing more than sacrifices. They were not clad in armor or armed with swords. There was not even a trace of strategy involved in their movements. If she had to take a guess, she would surmise that they were men forced into labor by the mercenaries. Slaves. Yet to the Gorgon this made no difference. They dared to attack her, intruded on her island and were moving something towards Eugenia’s Greenhouse.

Speaking of which…

She slapped one of the barrels with her tail and it burst open immediately. The contents splashed all across the walls and earth. She put one finger into the puddle and licked the liquid.

“Water?” She raised a brow. How peculiar. They had rolled their water supplies all the way over here. Even for madmen, this was a rather incoherent action. They could not have hoped to appease her with these. They also had no reason to believe that water was a weakness of hers. “What are you scheming?” She muttered and searched the surroundings for something suspicious.

“Keep standing right there if you would, monster.” The irritating voice of a certain scholar pierced her patience and created a wave of hatred inside her intestines.

Medusa focused on the man who was standing atop a pillar and looked at a piece of parchment in his hands instead of paying attention to her. It was unclear whether he did it to avoid her eyes or to mock her. Both seemed likely.

“Your life is mine.” The Gorgon growled and raised her claws.

“Where are you looking?” He asked with a smirk.

The next moment the world shattered.

Rumbling like an earthquake, blinding brightness like lightning, heat as consuming as the hottest flame!

Medusa was blasted into a wall and lost all orientation for a bit. The loud noise of an explosion had shaken even her strong eardrums and hindered her comprehension of sound and intake of air flow. After regaining her senses a moment later she coughed and pulled out a piece of wood that had stabbed itself into her chest. Her eyes were blurry, but then refocused.

Only now did she realize that her right side was on fire. She fell over and extinguished the flames in the dirt. With some effort she raised her torso up and looked upon the still relaxed scholar who had sat down at just the right distance.

“Impressive, very impressive. If not even that could kill you I am starting to wonder what can.” He chuckled.

“Ba…stard…” Her lungs were regenerating, but it was still hard to speak.

“I am from a noble bloodline on both my parents sides.” He said with a hint of disdain. Her insult actually had a light effect on him. Then he cleared his throat. “Ahem. You may wonder what manner of miracle we have acquired to smite you.”

“Keep talking…” She smiled darkly. The moment she was fully regenerated she would crush his throat.

“This is a tale rather popular among the locals of a certain mountain north of Thebes. It is said that this mountain once spewed fire and death over the entire land for the span of three days and nights.” He was reading the contents of the parchment while telling the story. “The fearful villagers had no choice but to pray and hope for a miracle as the fields and towns around them were burned to cinders and covered in horrible black soot.”

Medusa closed her hand to test its strength. She could pick up some sand.

“To their unending relief and gratefulness, the disaster did not strike their village down. They were in direct line of a rather unremarkable cave that nobody had ever paid attention to before. As the dark clouds were lifted from the sky, a large figure rose from that cave. The man was malformed, but of incredible strength, as he carried an immense chest filled to the brim with something glowing on his broad shoulders. The villagers swore they could hear sizzling sounds from inside.”

The Gorgon could finally breathe through her mouth again.

“The large man left fiery steps behind. The imprints kept burning for an entire week.” He shook his head softly. “They did not dare to approach the man or to question anything. But as he walked through their village he stopped at the hut of the village blacksmith. The poor man was honest and brave, but even he did not manage to question the stranger. He just silently offered his anvil to him.”

“You enjoy local mythology?” She asked sarcastically and grinded a rock to dust under her arms. She bit her lip when she noticed that the chiton that Eugenia had sewed for her was ruined by the fire. “I can tell you some stories myself… just come closer.”

“I must refrain. I am quite comfortable at this distance.” He shrugged and then kept reading the parchment. “The stranger used the anvil to make himself iron shoes. With one on each foot the deep imprints stopped burning the ground and he finally seemed satisfied. Soon he revealed himself to be the god Hephaestus! Indeed, he had been using the fire of the mountain to forge lightning bolts for his king, Zeus. All the villages around them had fled their homes or cowered in fear at the eruptions of the fiery mountain, but only this village had prayed to the gods to have mercy.”

Medusa rose from the ground and had feeling return to her tail. It was time!

Rrrrrrumble!

The earth shook once more and she realized the truth of the scholar’s plan. The noise had come from the east and then another followed from the north.

“Their devotion was repaid and they were spared. The blacksmith’s anvil was turned into pure gold in return for its use and never wrought down by wear and tear. The villagers created a temple in the Olympian smith’s name and worshipped him ever since. As for the footprints, they never faded. Whatever had stuck to the bare feet of the god had been changed by his divine presence. A rock as soft as clay, yet with properties nobody had ever seen.” He closed the parchment and looked towards the smoke filled sky. “Until my mentor tested it and claimed it as a new discovery. This ‘Kalio’ is a divine ore which has properties of both the earth and fire elements.”

“Titans take you!” Medusa rushed into the crumbling Greenhouse. Giant holes had been torn into the walls by the explosions.

“And thus it rejects water more dearly than anything else. The effects are quite impressive.” He smirked as he watched Medusa rush into the burning rubble. “If one were to shoot an arrow holding a clump of this ore into a barrel filled with common water, the effects would be devastating even to a solid wall.” He got up and turned back towards the ships. If he lingered too long he would endanger himself.

As he looked back at the burning and crumbling Greenhouse he added one more thing.

“There is no place for you to hide her now, monster. This island does not belong to you anymore.”

The flames and ashes covered the former haven built by the combined hands of the priestess and the Gorgon. Until every link was severed, the scholar would not relent.