"Clang—"
As the storm's thunderous fury was about to strike, a crisp yet solemn metallic chime rang out like a great bell. Its deep resonance spread, carrying the weight of an ancient, sacred hymn.
"Chaos begets calamity—order shall return to this place!"
The raging ether surged but was stopped cold by the stellar barrier encircling Chiron and Typhon's offspring, unable to advance even an inch.
At the same time, the Scythe of Time in Medusa's hands began to tremble and hum. It slipped free from the violet-haired goddess and flew into the palm of a faint, mist-like figure suspended in the sky.
Samael had arrived without a sound. With one sweeping motion, he merged the inscrutable divinity of fate with the irresistible interdiction of time and space, unleashing the full might of the Scythe of Time.
In an instant, several of Typhon's longest-reaching heads were severed in succession. Still wearing expressions of shock, the gruesome heads tumbled to the ground, throwing up clouds of dust.
Poisonous blood gushed forth as the ground collapsed into pits. Black-green miasma billowed outward, fouling the battlefield in filth and decay.
"Roar!"
Typhon howled in pain, his arms wrapped in thunder and storm as he brought them crashing down. Wherever his fists fell, space itself tore open, splitting into chaotic black chasms.
But at that moment, the stars above blazed in unison. Dozens of radiant streams of light descended, layering together to block the monster king's devastating strike.
By the time Typhon smashed through the obstruction, the bastard who had ambushed him was already gone, retreating to stand beside Chiron and those brats.
Damn it! The two divine forces that bastard planted inside me—too troublesome, too vile!
His attack having failed, Typhon was about to press forward, but the twin powers gnawed at him from within like maggots burrowing into his very bones. They rampaged through his body, forcing him to halt and focus on suppressing the chaos within his veins.
What is this? Something that can resist even the annihilation of the Abyssal Authority—and interfere with my immortality?!
His expression twisted as he glanced toward the necks where new heads struggled to regenerate. Black blood oozed from the wounds, and patches of muscle had already begun to rot.
Poison? Unknown toxins? Despicable.
Still, poison was little more than a nuisance to him, his resistance long since perfected. It couldn't truly harm him—merely disgust him.
What did concern him, however, were the two figures who had breached the storm Barrier.
Themis, the goddess of justice and defense, paired with this other troublesome one with a twisted, offensive divinity. Together, they were indeed a difficult combination.
You damn centaur!
Typhon's eyes burned with malice as he glared at Chiron, silently cursing him.
Now he finally understood what Chiron had meant with that murmur about "perfect timing, perfect angle."
That arrow hadn't been meant to cripple him at all. Its purpose was to pierce the storm Barrier and link with the starlight—to hold him at bay, while signaling the two newcomers and marking the coordinates.
What he still couldn't fathom was how they had arrived so precisely, and why some strange force had shielded his senses during their approach.
"You made it. Any later, and I might not have lasted."
Chiron let out a long breath of relief where he stood. Athena and Medusa, fresh from the edge of death, turned to him with eyes full of joy.
"Without guidance, with another Barrier in the way, this place was nearly impossible to find. Good thing you gave us the coordinates."
"But how did you know Themis and I would be nearby? That full-power shot just now was reckless, wasn't it?"
Samael stepped to Chiron's side, patting his friend's shoulder. Stroking his chin, he cast a sidelong glance at Typhon, still struggling to purge the foreign powers from his body, then turned back with a curious smile.
"Forty-five minutes. Class ends on time—no overtime allowed."
Chiron blinked, his grin spreading wide.
"Hah! So you really remembered that."
The three educators exchanged looks, and laughter welled up between them.
It was a rule born of Samael's suggestion, a habit they all came to share: whether in lecture or practice, a proper lesson always ended within forty-five minutes.
Teachers should always leave students some space to act and reflect, alternating lessons to make it easier to shift their thoughts.
So, when Samael and Themis noticed that the group who had gone to the watering hole had been gone far too long without any word, they immediately realized something was wrong and rushed toward the area.
Before they arrived—after Athena and Medusa had been pushed to their very limits—Chiron had stepped in, holding the line until just past the forty-five-minute mark. At the same time, when Chiron fired that storm-piercing arrow with everything he had, Samael and Themis, not daring to hesitate, were already closing in on the scene and received the signal without fail.
Decades of silent rapport, built on deep trust and understanding, turned what should have been a desperate crisis into a narrow escape.
Samael lifted his fist slightly and gave a thin smile to his companions. The three raised their hands and gently bumped knuckles.
"Do you three truly take this king so lightly?"
The god-monster king, Typhon, having burned away the last trace of foreign power inside him, regrown his severed heads, and restored himself, glared at the three who now stood in triangular formation. His roar rumbled with menace.
One Greater God with strange divine powers and a bizarre weapon. One depleted Main God of lesser standing. One troublesome old Titan.
For Typhon, even together, they were barely troublesome.
Given time, he could slaughter every last one of these intruding rats.
"How could I ever underestimate you, Typhon, King of Monsters..."
Samael narrowed his eyes in a smile, deliberately savoring the name.
"Say it again. Leave them behind, and I may consider sparing your lives."
Typhon looked down on the three educators whose combined presence blended into one. After weighing the situation, he chose to feign compromise, letting out a cold snort.
"That will be difficult. They are our students. As teachers, protecting them is our duty."
Samael spread his hands helplessly, a troubled look on his face.
"The children of the Arima Caverns are my offspring. I merely intend to cleanse their bloodlines."
Typhon's gaze flickered. His hundred dragon heads receded and faded, his form shifting back into that of a man.
Now was not the time to get entangled with these pests. It went against his original intent to avoid drawing too much attention before he had fully matured. If they had any sense, they would step aside.
"Medusa is indeed your daughter. Taking her to fulfill a father's duty... that sounds perfectly reasonable."
Samael's brow relaxed as if he agreed that Typhon had the right to claim Medusa.
But whether it was the wise Chiron, the goddess of justice Themis, or even Medusa and Athena—who seemed as though they were about to be cast aside—they all twitched their lips, their expressions caught somewhere between disbelief and grimace.
This guy was about to start lying again.
Samael pulled Athena back behind him, rolling his eyes at Typhon.
"But your appetite's a bit too big, isn't it? You want to take her as well?"
"Aren't you afraid the one on Olympus will come knocking to untangle the bloodline she shares with you?"
"What, you thought her appearance here was just a coincidence?"
...
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