Inside the arena, Perseus's speech resonated with a large number of Athena's followers in Athens, and the King of Athens seized the opportunity to logically have the priest take Perseus to Parthenon for a baptism, hoping to tie this powerful demigod hero to Athens's war chariot.
Ares was naturally pleased with this, because under the surveillance of his other alt account, Sea King Poseidon had already met Medusa, and it wouldn't be long before Medusa's appearance would be exposed right under his nose; to rescue Medusa, Perseus had to be in position quickly.
Ares then checked Heracles's itinerary and found that this great hero, carrying Notus, had already arrived outside the city-state of Athens and was heading towards Parthenon, so he relaxed, confidently beginning to dispatch Perseus to the designated location.
At this moment, Athena or The Fates indeed began to cause trouble again; just as the veiled Medusa, wearing a hood, hurried past Poseidon's incarnation, a gust of wind suddenly arose from nowhere, lifting her veil. If you ask Ares why he knew this wind was their trick without anyone appearing—Medusa's veil was actually a scarf wrapped three times around the lower half of her face, and for such a wind to blow it up, it would be strange if there was nothing wrong with that wind.
This scene also fell into Poseidon's eyes; upon seeing Medusa, he paused slightly, but Medusa had already hastily pressed her veil back down, re-covering her face. She looked at Poseidon with some fear, then turned and ran towards Athena's Temple.
Poseidon's incarnation watched Medusa's receding figure, then stroked his chin and chuckled:
"Wow, perfect."
Then, he looked around, and finding no one paying attention, he also followed Medusa into Athena's Temple.
At this very moment, Ares also saw Heracles carrying Notus arrive at the plaza in front of Athena's Temple, and he quickly had Perseus go to meet him.
"Heracles?" Perseus waved as he approached Heracles, looking up at Heracles, who was a head taller than him, and asked, "Are you Heracles?"
"Hmm." Heracles nodded, then carefully looked at Perseus and asked with some hesitation, "Are you... Perseus?"
"Yes, yes."
Perseus laughed heartily and patted Heracles's arm:
"It's truly nostalgic; back when we were with Teacher Chiron, I was always the one chasing you all to fight, and only you could fight with me then."
"Indeed, it's quite nostalgic." Having finally met an old friend from childhood, Heracles, who had become taciturn since the death of his wife and children, couldn't help but show a slight smile.
"When shall we spar again?"
"I'm busy now, next time for sure."
The two chatted casually for a few moments, then Perseus pretended to "accidentally" see Notos, God of the South Wind, carried by Heracles. He walked over, patted the wind god's shoulder, and then asked:
"Oh? Is this your slave? He looks quite sturdy; he should fetch a good price."
"No." Heracles calmly stated something quite unbelievable for a normal human: "He claims to be Notos, God of the South Wind; I don't know if it's true or false. He caused rain on my path, trying to stop me, and then I beat him up. I'm taking him to Athena's presence to confront him and see if he is indeed Notos, God of the South Wind."
"I see." Perseus said with a smile, seizing the opportunity: "That's perfect, I also need to go to the temple. I won the championship in a Goddess of Glory competition in this city-state and am going to the temple to receive a personal blessing from the Goddess. The Goddess has always favored heroes, and now you have accomplished such a feat, so why don't we go together?"
"Hmm, alright." Heracles thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
So Perseus helped carry Notus, and the two heroes walked towards Parthenon one after another. Meanwhile, inside the temple, Athena, sensing through her statue, saw Medusa frantically hiding in her temple, and the old lecher Poseidon closely pursuing her, and her beautiful brows furrowed.
She turned and looked at Kroto, who stood beside her, representing the future, and asked:
"Can't it be somewhere else? Does it have to be in my temple that such a thing happens?"
"No." Facing Athena's question, Kroto calmly replied: "Your temple is also a point that cannot be ignored above fate, so Poseidon must violate Medusa within Athena's Temple."
Seeing the displeased Goddess of Wisdom, she added: "Athena, to become the future God King, you must learn patience. As the Goddess of Wisdom, I believe you wouldn't be so foolish."
"Of course, I know." Athena was extremely displeased. As a virgin goddess, especially after being targeted by Persephone, she had developed a severe aversion to such matters. Poseidon's actions made her feel utterly disgusted, but with Kroto watching, she was helpless.
However, at this moment, Athena suddenly sensed that outside her temple, two demigods of Zeus's bloodline were approaching. She glanced in that direction, her gaze piercing through the thick walls of the temple, directly falling upon Heracles and Perseus, who were carrying Notos, God of the South Wind, and hurrying towards her.
"Heracles?" Athena murmured, "And that demigod hero... is it Perseus? Were they called here by Ares to protect Medusa?"
She secretly glanced at Kroto beside her, then looked down at Medusa, who had been cornered by Poseidon in the temple below, and a faint smile quietly curved at the corner of her lips.
Ares, you've used me so many times; it's only fair that I use your people in return.
Athena came up with a plan, so she pretended to be very unwilling and disgusted, closing her eyes and turning her head away. She even raised aegis, using this shield to block her own sight while also blocking Kroto's sight, preventing her from interfering immediately.
And after she had done all this, Heracles and Perseus also arrived at the temple entrance, carrying Notus, and entered the magnificent Parthenon.