notes: this chapter might have some errors. I  will try editing any wrong parts tomorrow

Chapter 13: The Huntresses

"Ughh......"

Alter's head hurt after waking up. He immediately remembered that he was made to fall asleep. Lilliana was then kidnapped. Such a useless war god.

"Who in the world are they?"

He was puzzled at the actions of his assailants. What were their intentions?

And the fact that he was knocked down unconscious without even a fight was an embarrassment to all his past colleagues. He swore he would get even one way or another.

"Well, better to find her immediately."

Alter said, smiling nonchalantly, going to a certain direction like it was natural. If anyone looked closely to his left hand, it was clutching on a loose thin rope that extended to the wilderness.

"I'm gonna go rescue a damsel in distress. Does that make me a hero?"

The god asked himself in humor to his actions.

________________________________________________________

A strange light was travelling the Mare Nostrum. Moving very quickly, it created huge waves of water along the way. If anyone could go near the light, they would see a man running so fast that his legs were already a blur. He wore a feathered cap and his favorite winged shoes. His hand was holding a winged staff with two ruby snakes wrapped around it.

"This is bad indeed."

He was worried, as his job had become more and more troublesome lately. Just a few minutes ago, he was at the capital of the League, and now he was heading to the royal palace at Aegyptus. After that, he must go assess the situation at the Far East. For now, he tried recalling the information he was carrying.

"Gorgon found at Serifos? Really........ A civil war at the Middle Kingdom.............. The Lacedaemons were planning to rebel against the League? Tsk tsk................ The Demon king amassing an army..... The god of war Mars was missing? She was an idiot to enter the Strait of Death.............  Need part time clerk.... where the heck did this come from?"

Having a wide array of information networks, he carried the info that could decide the fate of Empires. He would only tell what each empire needs to know in order to keep the balance of the world. That was his job, according to his predecessor and mentor, who already passed away. 

But that balance would soon be ruined if he fail to do his job properly. And yet, even with this great responsibility he carried, he did not failed doing his job in the most relaxing way.

"I'll try the new flavors of ice cream at the capital first."

But before he could think of anything else, he failed to notice something charging towards him. 

"WHA?!!"

He followed his instincts, and abruptly changed direction. He stopped running to find the thing that he almost collided with. What he saw made his eyes open wide. It seems it was more shocking than that of the important news he was carrying.

"You- who, what?"

What appeared before him was a man. But this guy was almost the spitting image of him.

"Are you my twin or something?"

"Of course not."

That man replied, grinning. He held the same staff as Hermes. He also wore winged sandals. the only difference was his hat, which has wings instead of just feathers.

"Lets have our courtesies. I am the god Hermes."

"Likewise, pleased to meet you. My name is...."

Before the man could finish speaking, he disappeared and in a flash, appeared before Hermes, his staff raised up in the air, ready to strike him.

"Damn!!"

Hermes managed to avoid his strike. But the man followed up with a kick to his stomach at light speed, and the force made Hermes fly off a long  distance.

"Guhah!"

With Hermes spitting blood, the man appeared to the direction he was flying to, kicking him downwards this time.

CRAAASHH!!!!!

Hermes crash to a small island, creating a crater a few feet wide. 

He felt his consciousness fading due to the impact. He saw the enemy walking towards him.

"Mercury, at your service."

The man finally introduced himself. Hermes became confused.

"Mercury..... I..... did not know.............. such god existed...."

" Of course you don't."

The man replied, staring at Hermes whose head was bleeding. He was not really built for battle, as he only served as a carrier of information, so his constitution was weaker than most gods.

"As early as possible, we want you out of the 'theater'."

".....What are you planning....."

"Haha, you don't need to know. Our emperor's ambition will be fulfilled, and the Imperium returned to its former glory."

So it was the Imperium who made the first move, Hermes thought. He miscalculated, thinking that he would not be a part of this conflict. But now he was attacked by a rogue god.

"We just need the information you currently have in that head of yours."

"Fool, as if...... you could force me.... to tell you."

"Oh don't worry, at the capital, you'll tell us all of them yourself."

The man grinned evilly. Hermes still has a trump card to escape, his Caduceus. He just need enough time and he would be able to escape with his magic. But before he could do so, Mercury took something out of the air and threw it to Hermes. It was a golden colored net.

"Trying to escape? Unfortunately, you can't now."

Hermes tried to gather power into his staff, to be able to teleport a few distance, but the mana he gathered only dispersed to thin air.

"That net disrupts the use of magic. You're coming with me."

And before Hermes could react, the staff Mercury was holding bashed his head, making him lose his consciousness.

"One down. A few more to go."

Mercury stared at the east side of the Mare Nostrum. He successfully finished the first step of the 'plan'. Grinning, he proclaimed.

"For the Imperium."

And then ran towards the direction of Roma, carrying the unconscious Hermes.

___________________________________________________________

Alter continued moving through the forest. Though he had great difficulty due to the surrounding fog, he still moved according to the direction of the thin rope.

The fog still enveloped the forest even after five days had passed. Even with a guide, he cannot help but get lost for  few moments due to the thickness of the fog.

"Where is this Gleipnir leading to?"

It seemed that the assailants have traveled a long distance from where they appeared before. They were skilled at hiding their tracks, since Alter had not even detected at least one sign that they had passed an area.

"Hmmm.... why does it smell slightly?"

He had smelled something similar to rotten eggs. It also felt hotter ever since he followed the Gleipnir rope.

"Did they found out and led me to some terrible trap?"

He voiced out his worries, but immediately rejected it as he found no signs of such thing happening. And when he got out of the bush.....

"Whoa!! A huge hot spring!"

He discovered a hot spring in the middle of the forest. 

"So that's what was making the smell. I've read about it in a book."

He tried soaking a branch, then his fingers, trying to check if the water's temperature was safe. And when he confirmed it was good, his mind told him to take a break and relax.

"How lucky! I never went to one before. Is there volcanic activity or something nearby?"

Excitedly stripping his clothes, he tied the Gleipnir to a tree, before slowly entering the hot spring.

"Oooohhhhhh!!"

The temperature was good, and the warm waters made his body relax.

"This really is great...."

While relaxing at the hot spring, his mind wandered on many thoughts.

The trip to Delphi was supposed to be a short one, according to Tishia. Being plagued by setbacks, Alter suspected the Moirai sisters doing something behind the scenes, or it really might just be because of his actions and choices. The three ladies told him they could not influence his thread of fate, but now he was suspecting that they might be using some cheat or backdoor methods. But he just dismissed it in the end as paranoid thinking.

Then, where could Gold and Tishia be. Even after losing them for only a week or so, Alter could not help but worry. Tishia was a bit naive, but not to the extent of the war goddess he recently met. About Gold, he was worried the little goddess might be up to no good, as she was mischievous in nature. He just hoped his absence would not led to any funny situation.

About Lilliana, he wondered how that lady became the war god. Not only her abilities were lacking, but her attitude was sometimes annoying. He was not troubled though, as he found 'Lily' interesting in many ways, and majority of it was about her naivety that led him poking fun at her.

But how did this crimson avenger turned into a stubborn yet open person? The answer lies on Alter's actions before they fell off the Hexareme in the Strait of Death. A strange magic circle flickered under Lilliana's feet at the time she was defeated by Tishia in their duel.

Using World's Truth, he found out that the magic circle had similar effects to that of the 'Hypnotize spell'. It was a banned spell during the Dark Ages where the victim would unconsciously be influenced by the orders of the caster, and together with his friends, he set out multiple countermeasures to prevent its usage. Seeing it again now, his sense of justice was again provoked by this unknown culprit.

He manipulated the spell and neutralized it at that time, but not all of its detrimental effect was lost. It seems that she also had 'Enfeeble' casted on her, a spell that lowers the battle abilities of the afflicted, but he could not find its magic circle. That would explain why such a person with the divinity of a war god would be that weak. 

"Wait.... I'm being bad here....."

He accidentally compared Lilliana with an npc who was also a war god. He had battled that god, borrowing Gold's and the other's powers, and yet he still had a hard time before finally defeating it. 'That was during the Dark Ages, not now', he chided himself.

He felt terribly weak, since all of his original connections were severed, all except for Gold's. He thought that if the NPCs that were originally his teammates had developed sentience, what would be their reaction upon meeting him? Are they still alive? And where in the world are they now?

Alter, who was deep in thought, did not noticed that someone else had already entered the hot spring. When he became fully aware of the surroundings, he froze when he opened his eyes.

"Mmmm...."

There was someone at the middle of the spring.

'A woman!!'

He shouted silently, as he tried to hide himself behind some rocks. It was indeed the figure of a woman. Her lower body was submerged in the spring, and she was currently holding the center of her chest with both of her arms, as if praying.  And she had pointy ears, which would make her an elf.

"Holy.... cow..."

He muttered as he saw the voluptuous chest of the elf. 

Alter also started praying to the heavens for two reasons. One about thanking for the satisfying eye candy and another asking not to be snagged by this obvious death flag.

Splosh!!!

He heard something drop in the water. Observing the surrounding, he saw nothing, including the nude elf. After a full minute of silence, something surfaced out of the waters.

"Wha?"

The lady elf's body floated on the spring with her head facing downwards, like some dead animal's carcass in the water.

"O-oi!!! Are you okay?!"

Alter abandoned all form of concealment and waddled quickly towards the lady. He hugged her neck as he reached for the banks. Raising the lady's body out of water, he immediately realized something.

"This idiot lost consciousness and drowned in the spring??!!!!"

He really wanted to laugh and add it to the 'Top Ten Silliest Deaths'. But he did not have any such luxury, as he immediately decided to give CPR.

"How was that done again?"

He positioned his hands on the middle of her bare chest and made chest compressions. Then Alter tilted her head and lifted her chin. Pinching her nose, Alter covered her seductive mouth with his, and blew in air. He continued administering CPR until she coughed out the water.

"Cough! cough!!"

The female elf was still unconscious, but she was now breathing comfortably. She had a very beautiful face, not incomparable to Tishia and Gold, but she looked a little more mature, giving off a feeling similar to Lachesis of the Moirai. Her wet silver hair was shining mystically.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Wait... silver??"

Alter had a very bad premonition. His senses tell him bad things await him if he did not escape immediately, and his body was at full alarm. He tried to silently leave to safety, but the three goddesses of fate likely messed with him, as his feet tangled to hers and he fell towards her.

Alter's head fell over something soft. It was a feeling greater than a pillow, but his situation did not allow any form of wild fantasy. Because the eyes of that woman opened wide.

The two of them nude, both of them face to face to each other. These incomprehensible events made the female elf's face red in great shame, and then ashen in despair, and then even redder in deep fury.

"Uh... hello."

"A man.... a man just touched me......"

Alter wanted to retort that he had done worse than touching. But he was scared at the bloodlust that could even beat that of Typhon's. The elf's eyes sparked and silver fire burned from her eyes.

"You.... defiler........scum...............

She extended her hand, as particles of light gathered around it, forming into a silver arrow. She tried to stab the arrow at Alter, but he managed to roll to the side and fully evade it.

Where the arrow struck the ground, a large crater had formed.

"I did not mean any harm!!!"

"UNFORGIVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The silver haired elf stood up, and recited some words. Silver light now gathered at the outline of her body.

"With the Guidance of the Moon, and the blessings of the Wilderness, Let the Hunt begin."

She glared in hatred at the foolish imbecile of a man who dared defile her.

"God Mode"

And what appeared before Alter was a goddess wearing bluish-silver loose clothes, with a green belt around her waist. A flower ornamented her hair. adding to the pristine appearance of the beautiful maiden. She was holding a silver bow, and her figure glowed as if moon had descended.

But her eyes, though comparable to the moon's beauty, was glaring at Alter with murderous intent. She notched a silver arrow to her bow, aiming at Alter.

"Die, you wretched thing."

TWIIIIING

And released her bowstring. The arrow glowed and seemingly gathered energy at its tip. It sang through the air and approached Alter in a split of a second. But Alter did not panic as he unsheathed Tyrfing and used its blade to strike the incoming arrow. What he did not expect was that the arrow  exploded, dealing damage to him.

"Guhah!"

"Fools should just die. Receive my wrath!"

As Alter tried to recover from the impact, another silver arrow was notched and released. He focused this time on evading the incoming arrow, but it suddenly deviated from its trajectory and followed Alter as he tried to dodge.

"Homing?!"

The arrow followed his every move without slowing down. He managed to strike it in the end when it was only a few millimeters away from its body. But the silver goddess did not allow Alter to relax, as a rain of arrows followed.

Alter had no choice but to use his divinity. While running he invoked his chant

God Mode!!

(Ancient Avenger Form)

What appeared was a white grim reaper holding two black and white sickles. Its golden skull faced the silver goddess.

The goddess was surprised at Alter's transformation, but she did not falter due to her extreme hatred at him. Notching a silver arrow, she aimed at the grim reaper.

"Eh?!"

But it suddenly disappeared from her vision, reappearing in front of her in a blink of an eye. It jumped and raised the two sickles overhead to strike her.

"Fangs of Judgement"

The two sickles glowed, but even as they descended  with frightening speed, they only slashed through thin air. The silver goddess had already jumped high above, executing a somersault and releasing an arrow to the golden skull at point blank.

FWIIP!

But the grim reaper was gone before the arrow was even released. It reappeared on her back, but she blocked the incoming slash with her silver bow.

"Kuh!!"

"Too late!"

The goddess used summoning magic, and two magic circles appeared at her side. She though, without her guardian beasts, it would be difficult to exterminate this scum of a man.

But that was her bane, as Alter used Magic Mod to mess with the magic circles. Instead of her trusted beast companions, large vines sprouted from the magic circle like overgrowth. She was held prison by the creeping vines, as it bound her hands and feet.

"WHA- WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!"

The goddess was both shocked and enraged at the turn of events.

"Its just simpl....."

Thinking that the threat was gone, he reverted back to his original form. And the black haired boy whom she really hated reappeared.

"Ehem. Its just simple. I hacked through your magic."

Having the base ability to alter magic sequences, Alter was feared by both enemies and allies alike. From a simple fireball, he could change it to a 'dragon breath', given the circumstances. Manipulating an enemy's summoning magic was mere child's play to him,

The goddess was still confused, as she never heard of someone who can do such things. She could only glare in spite at the black haired boy before her.

"Since I'm the winner, I got the questioning rights."

She still wanted to kill him, but she was not so stubborn as to deny the rights of the winner. She only nodded silently, all the while emitting killing intent. Alter could even feel the pressure on his cheeks.

"Whoa! Easy there! You're the one who was leading those group of hunters from before. Where did you bring Lilliana?"

"...... I won't tell."

"Even if I do this?"

Alter used Magic Mod on the the magic circle that summoned the vines. The vines turned slightly reddish, and it suddenly moved vigorously like tentacles.

"Wh-what are you trying to do?!"

"Heheheh......"

Alter laughed evilly as the vines started creeping on her body.

"S-stop... I... Stop!"

If this was a Gal Game, he had already unlocked a new CG, featuring the captured female elf with tentacles. It was wriggling and already pulling on her undergarments.

"Please.... stop that!"

"So be obedient, shall we?"

"Y..yes! I'll do as you say!"

"Please?"

"PLEASE!!"

Alter was not so bad as to rape the goddess using vines. He just wanted to try the things he always see on hentai. But his ego told him to stop at that.

"Okay~"

Using Magic Mod again, he changed the vines, returning it to a shade of green. It became docile, only binding her hands and feet. Tears had formed on the corner of her eyes, and her prior anger increased, but so was her fear of Alter.

"For someone like me......."

"Now.... where's Lilliana?"

"She was only with my hunting companions...... she's fine and free....."

"Who are you by the way?"

".... I am Lycaea, The goddess ....."

"I am Alter. The god Chaos. To tell you the truth, it was all just an accident."

"...I won't forgive you."

So he really won't gain her trust this easily. At least the bloodlust was lessened.

"Bring me to your companions."

"...I am bound....."

"Promise me you won't attack me..."

"I won't promise that. The great me?"

"Magic Mod..."

"OKAY! Enough already!"

She reluctantly agreed. Alter made the vines disappear, and Lycaea was freed from her bindings. After rubbing her arms due to pain, she walked away from Alter.

"...Follow me..."

Alter followed the goddess. She was really beautiful, a different level than the young looking elven girls he saw at the

capital.

After half an hour of walking through the deep jungle, they arrived to a grove of trees neatly lined, forming a large circular clearing. 

Alter saw different young females, from elves, to humans, to different colored beautiful nymphs, and even beastmen. They were all merrily singing and eating in the center of the forest clearing. He even saw Lilliana happily eating with some green colored nymphs.

He couldn't believe what he just saw.

"What is this?"

"They are my companions in the hunt"

Lycaea proudly said. Though she immediately turned into a frown,

"What do you want to do?"

"I just want Lilliana back. She's my companion."

"...Very well."

As they went nearer the merry circle, lots of eyes stared at both Lycaea and Alter.

"The mistress..."

"With a man..."

"H-how can this be? Did she abandon her vow?!!"

"Is that her captive? But mistress hates men..."

"Alter!!!"

Different kinds of reaction were present among the girls. Lilliana, who was biting the leg of a roast chicken, made an incredulous face that looked as if she was caught red handed on the middle of an act.

She immediately ran towards the black haired boy.

"Don't harm them! They're friendly!"

"Friendly indeed."

Lots of arrows were notched on the bows held by the female companions of Lycaea. They were all aimed at Alter.

"Please! He's a good man!"

Lilliana  tried to reason with her new friends but..

"Oho.. so he's your boyfriend huh?"

"You told us you were still single but.."

"You lied to us."

"That's not true!! He's not my boyfriend!!"

Chaos ensued as Lilliana tried to defend both Alter and her dignity.

"I saw it. He defeated mistress Lycaea."

One of the nymphs replied. 

Everyone became silent. Someone stronger than their mistress, they cannot hope to defeat such person,

"I want to have peace with you all. I only came for my companion."

Alter didn't have any deep meaning with those words, yet Lilliana still blushed. Lycaea still found it hard to accept her defeat, so she planned to beat him in her own game.

"I'll accept your apologies, only if you beat me in hunting."

"Okay. The conditions?"

To Lycaea's surprise, he easily accepted. Her pointy ears twitched.

"We'll hunt the Calydonian Boars roaming in the forest. The one who hunted the most will be the winner. If you lose, I'll have you punished severely."

"Sure."

"........ its a one-on-one. No interference from companions. Summons are exceptions."

Lycaea intended to have the advantage. Her summons would be very helpful in hunting. She was confident she would win this.

"If I win, not only would you forget your grudge, but I want you and your companions to become my ally."

"...I don't understand what you are trying to say."

"What I mean is, if I need any assistance, please help me if I ask you."

".....fine."

'How preposterous of him to ask. Well, not that it even matter. He won't win with just those powers.'

Lycaea secretly laughed. She would have her revenge against that boy. He would regret humiliating her.

Alter secretly laughed, Not only will he be able to leave without anyone gaining a grudge, but he could also gain allies in this foreign world.

-Chapter End-

note: tiamat's on the next chap. Sorry guys. xD