Chapter 8, Section 7: The Impossible Rescue
"What about Tomyris?"
"I do not want to say."
Tomyris responded coldly:
"But now, I am the oracle of Hades."
"So you, are you an enemy or a friend?"
"I am still your friend, Sissi. I have sworn allegiance to you, so I will naturally not... betray you."
Tomyris emphasized the word betrayal, as if it was meant to be meaningful. At this point, Hilde could roughly guess what had happened. Sure enough, when she turned her head to look at Artemis, she could see that Artemis's reaction was rather strange. She was stunned at first, then lowered her head, revealing a bit of melancholy. So, the betrayal that Tomyris emphasized just now should refer to Artemis' betrayal of Tomyris, otherwise, the oracle would not change his mind so easily.
Xerxes said unhappily:
"If it weren't for Artemis, you would have taken care of Ares long ago."
"Ares is the god of war, and he is not so bad that he must die to atone for his sins!"
Artemis argued with reason. She stood up and explained to Xerxes, "Killing him will only further inflame the conflict between you and the Olympian gods. By then, even if things are eased, it will be difficult to change the status quo. Do you really want to completely become at odds with the gods on Mount Olympus? Have you really considered that if Ares dies, the Olympian gods will come down from the mountain and collectively attack you. Can you bear it?"
"..."
Artemis said this.
This also left Xerxes speechless.
After all, dealing with Hercules had almost exhausted Xerxes' abilities.
Not to mention dozens of gods on Mount Olympus taking action together.
The reason why Mount Olympus could not hit the power of the gods was because Zeus thought that the fewer people who knew about the original book of creation, the better. However, if Ares died, Hilde would have killed two gods, both of whom were among the most respected gods of Mount Olympus. Therefore, letting Ares go might just be a helpless move.
In order to let everyone understand my good intentions.
Artemis continued to explain:
“Although Ares is easily angered, impulsive, and despises humans, hates Athena and everything related to Athena, he is actually just a child, not like Apollo. This time, Ares has learned how terrible the power of Hilde is, and he also knows that his father is planning a terrible thing, so Ares’ attitude has changed.”
"If Ares continues to be our enemy..."
Xerxes pointed at Artemis and said unhappily:
"Then just wait."
"...Okay, I'll wait."
Suddenly, this tense attitude appeared in front of Hilde.
Everyone was very nervous, especially towards Artemis. Tomyris ignored her, and Sophia and Dione seemed to have some complaints about the goddess of hunting. Only Hilde was still sitting in her seat, not saying a word. She just listened to what everyone was saying quietly, and in her heart she was quickly sorting out what she had just heard.
Now, Hilde roughly understands a lot of things.
Artemis's motivation.
And the possible consequences and so on.
However, Hilde also has his own opinion.
She raised her hand, interrupting the conversation of several people, and then said: "I agree with Artemis's idea."
"Hilde..."
Artemis didn't expect that at this time, Hilde would still support her ideas.
"Killing Ares won't solve our current predicament, and it may even lead to retaliation and attacks from the Olympian gods. We killed Apollo and didn't get attacked, only because Apollo was the god who controlled the original library of creation and all his actions were carried out in secret. However, if it was Ares, the result would be different. Zeus would have an excuse to call all the gods down the mountain to attack me, and there would be no need to be sneaky like we are now, and the gods would not be able to work together."
"Yes, that's what I thought."
Artemis nodded.
Afterwards, Hilde held her chin and looked at Artemis.
"What problems will arise after Sophia is captured?"
"...It's hard to say." Artemis shook her head and said helplessly, "I only know that after Hera found out that Sophia was the oracle of the goddess of night Nyx, she went crazy and suddenly exploded, and then Sophia failed. Although I know the reputation of the goddess Nyx, Hera's reaction to Nyx was obviously a little too excited. The capture of Sophia must have a lot to do with Nyx."
"That is to say..."
Hilde stood up.
"Sophia, you may not be able to come back."
"..."
Hilde asked.
Artemis didn't know how to answer.
Can she come back? It seems that she can't. If Sophia is captured in heaven, she will most likely be executed by the gods. But what if she can come back? This possibility is even smaller. It is hard to imagine why the gods would return such an oracle to Hilde. Especially, she was captured by Hera... Given Hera's personality, it is almost impossible for her to let Sophia go.
Seeing that Artemis was silent.
Hilde probably understood it, too.
"What are the chances of a rescue mission to Mount Olympus?"
"Zero. No chance."
"why?"
"Once you are on Mount Olympus, the power of the gods will not be restricted by worldly laws. They are complete gods... According to your current strength, when you reach Mount Olympus, you will face gods with power that is enough to change the rules of the world. Therefore, you may be defeated in an instant. Not to mention, the barrier protecting Mount Olympus will also prevent mortals from entering the divine realm."
"Okay, I see."
Hilde took a deep breath.
She didn't say anything else.
He just lowered his head and sat in front of the table.
I don’t know what I’m thinking.
Seeing Hilde like this, Dione next to her said, "Sister Sissi, you can't be too depressed. There must be a chance! Even if something happens to Sister Sophia, isn't Sister Tomyris the oracle of Lord Hades? When the time comes, just like in the epic, we can bring Sister Sophia back from the underworld!"
"How can it be."
Artemis poured cold water on him.
The state of escape begins in the eighth section of the eighth key
"Just as the gods of the underworld cannot enter the human world, living creatures cannot expect to return from the underworld intact. Moreover, it is still uncertain whether Hades would allow this to happen. The records in the epics themselves are problematic."
Artemis said.
Suddenly I felt that it was extremely inappropriate to say such things at this time.
At least, in front of Hilde, it felt like Sophia was captured by the gods.
It was really too much for me to shatter their hopes.
But Hilde didn't think there was anything wrong, or rather, she didn't care about it at all.
For her, if Sophia really died in the divine realm, at the hands of the gods, it was Hilde's fault. Going to the underworld to retrieve Sophia's soul was just a way to make up for the loss. Hilde covered her head in pain. Her messy thoughts and worries all came to her mind at once, and because of this, after these thoughts were intertwined, Hilde had a splitting headache.
"Sissi, are you okay?"
Xerxes stepped forward quickly.
"...I'm fine."
"You look so bad."
"Your complexion can't be good at this time."
Hilde shook her head helplessly, then gently pushed Xerxes' arm away.
"Anyway, now Sophia has been captured, and we are powerless. We can only pray that Hera, who captured Sophia, will show leniency and spare her life. Is that right?" Hilde raised her head and looked at Artemis coldly. "Besides that, with our current situation, it is impossible for us to run to Mount Olympus and rescue her from the hands of a bunch of gods."
"..."
Artemis nodded.
And Hilde knew it was definitely so.
"Then if that's the case..."
"Hilde, what are you going to do?"
"Sophia's matter can only be put aside for now."
When Hilde said this, even Tomyris, who had been silent just now, couldn't help but look up and looked at Hilde in astonishment. But Hilde didn't seem to be talking nonsense. Her expression was very calm and serious, and she didn't seem to have any problem with what she had just said. Before anyone else could ask anything, Hilde stood up and walked out of the big tent: "I'm going to think about it for a while. I'll leave the rest to you to help deal with."
"Sister Sissi!"
Dione wanted to follow.
She was worried about Hilde's condition.
However, all he got was Hilde's cold reply: "Don't come over here."
This was the first time Diony had seen Hilde like this. In the past, Hilde had always been very gentle to her, but just now, that feeling, that look, was like looking at a stranger. Diony was frightened, and just when she was about to say something, she was stopped by Xerxes. Xerxes hugged Diony in his arms, and then cast a helpless look at Hilde's departing back.
"Sister Xerxes, why..."
"Sissi, there's nothing we can do about it."
Xerxes hugged Dione tightly.
Although her tone was calm, her trembling shoulders proved that she was also very emotional.
"Sissi really has no way to deal with Sophia's matter. Moreover, she is the king, the king of millions of Byzantine people. Her safety and her goals are related to the millions of people in the Byzantine Kingdom. These people together are more important than anyone else. If...if for the sake of the country, for the sake of the people who trust her, she has to give up her loved ones. Then, as a king, Hilde must give up. This is what a qualified king must do."
"Then Sister Sophia..."
"say no more."
Xerxes patted Dione's head.
"I think Sissi needs time to calm down and think."
"But!"
Dione quickly pushed Xerxes away.
Then she cried out, "When Apollo captured me, Sissi came to save me regardless of everything! It was so dangerous at that time! And I am not as important to Sissi as to Sofia! But, but... Sissi still came to find me regardless of everything, and so did Sofia... and so did Xerxes. We all worked together to defeat Apollo and save me. Why, why is there no way to save Sofia?"
“These two things are of different nature.”
Xerxes gently stroked Dione's cheek.
Wiped away her tears.
"Because Apollo can be defeated, but we cannot defeat the entire Mount Olympus."
"but……"
"Promise me that you will let your sister Sissi take a few days off. Don't tell Sissi anything about Sophia these days. She is so smart, she will definitely find a solution and figure it out on her own. Whether it's rescuing her or... giving up."
Xerxes said so.
However, everyone sitting here knows it in their hearts.
Rescue was absolutely impossible.
It is impossible to go to Mount Olympus and risk certain death just to rescue Sophia.
However, Artemis, who was standing on the other side, had her own idea in mind. She lowered her head and pondered for a while. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly met Tomyris's cold gaze. Tomyris's gaze only swept across Artemis' face, and then moved to the side. Seeing this scene, Artemis could only shake her head helplessly and turned to walk out.
After Artemis leaves.
Xerxes looked at Tomyris.
"What happened between you?"
"I was abandoned by her."
After saying this, Tomyris bit her lips tightly and clenched her fists.
"abandon?"
"She...she doesn't want me anymore."
