?
Hearing Poseidon's roar, Athena's smile froze, and she tilted her head in surprise.
It seemed Poseidon had misunderstood something, but it didn't matter. His hatred, no matter who it was ultimately directed at, had no impact on her plan. Because of Ares's meddling, Athena had grown accustomed to taking the blame over the years.
Moreover, when Athena was secretly disrupting the plan of The Fates, she basically always blamed Ares, the "rebel." They blamed each other, acted as tanks for each other, and attracted some of the enemy's hatred for each other. It was a fair exchange, each relying on their own abilities.
So Athena simply ignored Poseidon's impotent rage. When the Sea King used all his might to break through the divine power barrier she had set at the entrance and lunged at her from inside the temple, Athena agilely turned, blocked Poseidon's trident with her shield, then spun around, used her spear as a staff, pressed it against his neck, and then hooked his leg, directly bringing Poseidon to the ground.
As the King of the Seas, Poseidon couldn't just sit there and wait for death. As Athena completed this series of actions, pinning his injured body to the ground, Poseidon immediately prepared to use the power of earthquakes to counterattack Athena. However, at that moment, the corner of his eye caught sight of the Goddess standing behind Athena.
The Noble Phantasm against Olympus Gods, the Hearth Goddess Hestia.
This great Goddess, who had once been pursued by both Poseidon and Apollo, and could be considered the dream lover of most male gods on Olympus, was now standing behind Athena, frowning, and looking at Poseidon with a very angry and disappointed gaze.
"Poseidon, my dear brother," she said to the King of the Seas, who was pinned to the ground by Athena. "I didn't expect you to do something so shameless. That innocent little girl is not only a poor victim, she is also Athena's priestess, and you are Athena's second uncle! You and Zeus often talk about the importance of identity and status, so why have you forgotten this identity of yours now? Look at you, you don't look like a God King at all. You look like a thief who was caught by the owner after stealing something. How embarrassing!"
When Poseidon saw the woman he had pursued for many years standing in front of him, looking at him with such disappointment, the blow to him was even more severe than Heracles punching him in the chest a hundred times.
The divine power swelling within his body slowly dissipated, and his hand, which had been clutching the sand on the ground, gradually relaxed. Poseidon slowly turned his head, lying on the ground as if resigned to his fate, not daring to meet Hestia's gaze again.
What's more, counting the Hearth Goddess, there were already four main gods present, plus the demigod hero Perseus, whose strength was slightly inferior but who knew many strange and powerful spells and was not weak in martial arts. If it really came to a fight, Poseidon was not their opponent.
Seeing Poseidon's surrender, Hestia sighed deeply, then she said to Poseidon:
"It's a good thing Athena came to inform me in time, so you didn't cause a great disaster, Poseidon. Apologize to Athena, and then go back. Regarding your matter with Zeus, I will go to Olympus later and have a good talk with Zeus."
After Hestia finished speaking, Athena also cooperatively released her hold on Poseidon. The Sea King got up from the sand without a word, glared at Athena, and then, without apologizing, silently walked to the cliff of Athens, leaped, and jumped into the ocean, disappearing from sight.
"Alas."
Hestia watched Poseidon's figure disappear from view and couldn't help but let out a long sigh, but strangely, as she sighed, another person beside her also sighed in sync with her.
Hestia turned her head in surprise, only to see her great nephew Ares, who had arrived beside her at some point, looking at the cliff where Poseidon had jumped into the sea, sighing at the vast ocean:
"Alas, what a pity, why couldn't he be killed? It's all your fault, Athena, why did you let go? Coward."
"Ares." Hestia helplessly covered her forehead, then looked at Athena, who was looking at her innocently, and then sternly admonished:
"You too, stop arguing with your sister. Although she snatched your divine office, it was Zeus who gave the order, wasn't it? As a family, you should live in harmony, so that our Olympus Gods' rule can continue."
"Oh, so Hestia, you mean this matter is ultimately Zeus's fault?" Ares pretended to be naive and nodded seriously: "Understood, let's go, Athena, we'll reconcile now and then go confront Zeus!"
Athena turned her head, not wanting to bother with Ares. She bowed to Hestia and said, "Hestia, I'll go back first. Athens is in chaos and needs my comfort."
"Mm." Hestia nodded to Athena, then softly said, "Let that frightened priestess child rest well. Also, those two children in the temple who helped her are extraordinary heroes, Athena. This time, you must reward them well. If it weren't for them, who knows what absurd things Poseidon would have done."
"I know."
Athena bowed slightly to Hestia, showing her respect, and the Hearth Goddess turned her head to look at Ares and said to him, "Ares, I've heard from Athena about what happened between Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus before. The biggest mistake in this matter is still with Zeus. I'm going to Olympus to see him, would you be willing to come with me and see me off?"
"Of course, I'd be delighted, Hestia."
Facing this noble and morally exemplary elder sister among the Greek gods, Ares no longer acted like his usual defiant self. Instead, he uncharacteristically showed some humility. He also bowed slightly to Hestia, then summoned his chariot from the sky and invited the Hearth Goddess to board.
Hestia politely thanked her nephew, then gracefully sat in the back seat of the chariot, maintaining a not-too-far, not-too-close distance from Ares. Ares, at this point, also proactively took on the role of charioteer. He drove the chariot, carrying Hestia towards Olympus.
It wasn't until the chariot's light disappeared from sight that Athena turned around to look at her half-collapsed temple. At this moment, the somewhat annoyed voice of the Goddess of Fate, Kroto, echoed in her mind:
"Athena, can't you even handle something like this?"
"What are you saying, respected Kroto, can you blame me for this?" Athena blinked innocently and replied, "It's not that Athena didn't try, but Ares is too cunning. Three Goddesses, I swear, besides me, you won't find anyone else, whether in heaven or on earth, who can contend with Ares. So... it's all Ares's fault, right?"