"We don't have any other clues now. Athens is our last hope. If Athens can't be found either..."
"Whether we can find Dioni in Athens is not the issue we need to worry about right now. The problem is that Athens is now Apollo's base camp. If Apollo's Athens camera is setting up an ambush, wouldn't we be walking into a trap if we go there this time?!"
Sophia also pointed out the dangers.
Even he could see the danger of this matter.
But just now.
Hield has actually made a decision.
Dione is Hilde's irreplaceable family member, and because of this, Hilde has an unshirkable obligation to bring her back.
Even if he did so, it would be very dangerous for Hilde.
Chapter 2, Part 4: Unexpected Reinforcements
But Hield had made up his mind.
Once you make a decision, you won't regret it.
With this thought in mind, Hilde turned around and stared at Sophia in front of him.
"I know how dangerous it is for me to do this, but I have to do it now. I'm very sorry. This trip to Athens may be dangerous. I don't want you to accompany me, but I don't think you will listen to me. If I don't let you go, you must follow me."
"If you have already decided, then I will definitely go."
"That's fine."
Hilde held out her hand.
"Then come with me to Athens."
"Of course!"
Both of them knew very well how dangerous Athens was, but even so, Sophia had no choice but to follow Hilde, and Hilde did not ask Sophia to stay away. Since a terrible disaster was coming, let the two of them face it together.
After making this decision, Hilde and Sophia left the underground temple together. Both of them were in a very heavy mood. If they went to Athens next, the probability of encountering danger would be too great. No matter who it was, this might be an action from which they might never come back.
But after the two of them came outside.
A familiar person was standing in front of them.
"Tomyris..."
Hilde looked at the wolf-eared girl in front of her.
She knew that Tomyris had no hostile intentions, otherwise, she and Sophia would have noticed Tomyris long ago.
"What are you doing here?!"
Sophia dodged and stood in front of Hilde.
"We don't have time for you right now!"
"I'm here to help you."
Tomyris looked very depressed. She lowered her head and her eyes seemed to be dim. I don't know what she was thinking. Hilde seemed to see Tomyris's inner distress. She knew very well who was responsible for the series of difficulties Tomyris encountered. Wasn't Tomyris responsible for handling the mess of the Kingdom of Scythia?
"The Byzantine Kingdom and the Scythian Kingdom are in a state of hostility. As a princess of the Scythian Kingdom, you personally come to me and say you want to help me. Do you think I will believe you?"
Hilde directly raised his doubts.
And Tomyris just shook her head.
"What Scythian princess... I am nothing now. The Scythians, including my father, don't need me at all. I tried my best to protect my country, but in the end it was just a joke. Everything I did was meaningless."
"you……"
What's going on here?
Tomylis, who could give everything for her country and nation.
Why has it become like this today?
Tomyris raised her head slightly and continued, "And I am here to help you because of the will of Lady Artemis. I know that the trouble you are in now is caused by Apollo, so Lady Artemis wants me to help you solve these troubles."
"It's Artemis..."
Hilde was even more puzzled.
Aren’t these two siblings?
Why would the sister choose to stand against her brother?
"But are you really willing to help us?"
"To be honest, I was very reluctant to help you at first, but I thought about the King of Thrace. Lord Apollo ignored the suffering of mortals and cultivated a demon called the King of Thrace in the human world, bringing suffering to the people living in this area. Now he plans to continue doing such things. Helping you defeat Apollo can help the Scythians become better... So, if this is the case, I am willing to help."
Tomyris is not a selfless person, but Hilde knows that he is a very upright person. In this situation, Tomyris has already said so much. If Hilde does not appreciate it, it will obviously be unreasonable. Besides, Hill is extremely short of combat power now. It would be great if he could have the help of Tomyris.
"No matter what your reasons are, it doesn't matter if you want to help me, but there is one thing I must make clear to you in advance."
I saw Hilde looking at me seriously.
Tomyris could only smile helplessly.
"You say it."
"The reason we came here is to look for Apollo. Dione, whom I regard as my sister, was captured by Apollo. I originally thought that Apollo would hide her in this place, but obviously I was wrong. So now, the next place we are going to is Athens. But Athens is far more dangerous than here, because it is Apollo's base camp. Apollo's oracle, Cleon, is now the archon of Athens. Sophia and I both suspect that Cleon must have set an ambush in Athens, waiting for us to get in."
"Are you still going?"
Faced with this question from Tomyris.
Hilde nodded heavily.
"Of course I want to go!"
"But you said that the other party might set a trap. This is very dangerous for you."
"So what if it's dangerous? Dione is my family. Because of my negligence, my family was captured right before my eyes. If I don't save her, who else in this world can help her? How desperate will she be... I once promised that I would protect my people, and I also promised that I would protect my family. Now, it's time to fulfill my promise."
Hearing Hilde say these words from the bottom of his heart.
Tomyris couldn't help but widen her eyes.
She saw something very similar in Hilde.
"Since you said that, I think I have to go. There is a high possibility that there is a trap in Athens. But Apollo and the oracle named Cleon certainly didn't expect that there would be another oracle accompanying you. If the two of us work together, even if we encounter danger, we can at least guarantee that we can escape safely."
"Not two."
Sophia smiled and stepped forward.
"And me."
"You? Are you an Oracle too?"
"Yes... Although I still don't know which god's oracle I am, at least I shouldn't be a big drag on the two of you, so let me go with you and catch them off guard."
Hearing Sophia say this.
Tomyris also nodded.
"So good!"
"Without further ado, let's set off now."
The most cruel torture
With Tomyris' help, Hilde really felt that the success rate of this operation would be much higher. After all, Tomyris was an oracle who could fight the Thracian king on equal terms, and her arrival this time also represented another god, Apollo's sister Artemis. The attitude of this goddess was also very important, telling Hilde that she had a strong backing.
Of course, Hilde did not hope that the gods would truly stand on her side and be against Apollo. Although there would be contradictions and conflicts between gods, in Hilde's view, they were all the same. When dealing with mortals or worldly problems, they would only help themselves and would never stand on the side of mortals.
Therefore, this matter still needs to be resolved by Hilde and the others themselves.
It was bound to be a very long journey from Adlisia to Athens. Although the three of them were oracles, it would still take more than a few days to travel. Fortunately, Tomyris knew Hilde's secrets, so Hilde could fly directly in the sky without worry, while Tomyris, like a lone wolf, ran quickly on the ground.
From Adria to Athens.
A journey of thousands of miles.
If it were an army, it would probably take half a year to arrive.
But for these three oracles, it was no problem for them to advance during the day and take a proper rest at night, or even travel day and night, and cover a hundred miles a day. In about ten days, they could reach Athens.
But for Hilde.
She was very worried.
Dione, can you hold on?
After all, Dione was experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
Hilde estimated the time.
It's about that time now.
And this trip to Adlisia has been delayed for some time.
Hilde was worried that when she arrived in Athens, she would find that Apollo and Dione were not in Athens either. That would be completely bad news for Hilde.
And in Athens.
Dione has been here for three days.
Since she woke up, she found herself in a strange city. She was not tied up anymore, but was placed under house arrest in Cleon's mansion. There were even slaves responsible for taking care of Dione, but Dione had no way to escape. There were soldiers at the door. Another oracle, Cleon, would come up to check on Dione whenever he had time.
Of course, what's even more terrifying is...
Apollo is here too.
This god claims to be Dione's father.
But now he was watching Dione, who was already beginning to show withdrawal symptoms, with great interest.
"Ha ha……"
Dione was panting, sweat dripping from her forehead, but now she felt very cold, just like the time when she was in the Thracian winter and had no clothes to wear. Her face was pale and bloodless, and many red spots appeared on her arms, which were painful and itchy.
However, all of this was sheer torture for Dione. She was now trapped in the room on the top floor, unable to eat or drink, and had to endure Apollo, who was sitting high in front of her.
"Can't hold on any longer?"
Apollo looked at Dione with a teasing smile.
"I never thought that my daughter would get sick."
“…This is not a disease.”
Dione was trembling all over, and she forced herself to raise her head and look at Apollo.
"This is... a gift from my sister..."
"Gift? Hilde? However, I am very curious. You have been tortured to this point, but you still don't want to tell me what the disease is. In fact, I can help you heal your pain. I can cure all human diseases, let alone this strange disease of yours."
Hear Apollo's words.
Dione knew it very well.
The fact that Hilde sucks blood is a secret.
If Apollo knew about this, it would definitely be a huge threat to Hilde.
Therefore, Dioni must not tell anyone.
“…Don’t even think about it.”
"Ah, very good."
Apollo stood up and suddenly kicked Dione in the stomach.
Dione had never been beaten like this before. Although she was a demigod, she felt that all her internal organs were displaced after being kicked by a genuine god. She was kicked into the air and then thrown heavily onto the wooden table next to her, smashing it to pieces. The pain caused by this kick even made Dione unable to feel the uncomfortable feeling of withdrawal reaction.
"Cough cough..."
Dione spat out a large mouthful of blood.
Then he grabbed the broken wood next to him.
Stabbed towards Apollo.
Apollo had already seen Dione's actions, and the sharp wooden thorn was directly slapped away by Apollo. Then, Apollo reached out and grabbed Dione's hair tightly.
