Wizard's expression froze, his admonishing voice caught in his throat, as his gaze turned hollow just like those before him.
After a moment of daze, he quietly rose to his feet, like a puppet being manipulated, without uttering a word, his steps awkward as he rounded the desk and walked out of the office, even tidying the curtain used for cover, leaving the space entirely to the "intruder."
Thus, only Athena remained in the office. She walked to the window, gazed at the false sky constructed by magic outside, and quietly waited.
Her thoughts soared once more in this rare tranquility.
This was a poacher's camp—
The loosely structured Black Wizard organization created by Hermes.
Unlike Grindelwald's apostles and Voldemort's Death Eaters, the person who founded this organization seemingly had no strong desire to rule the world, commit genocide, or undertake any major clean-up actions. All members joined under the bind of interests, leading to an organization as easily infiltrated as a certain unnamed S.H.I.E.L.D.—
Athena was the first deity awakened by Hermes.
And upon awakening, Hermes explained the situation to her—Secret Vaults, power, and the evil dragon guarding the Secret Vaults.
Thus, she agreed to Hermes' opportunity, offering her puppet to others, but evidently, she couldn't just do surface things, having slept for a thousand years, everything in the world was changing, she couldn't just heed whatever Hermes said, she had to see for herself.
And upon seeing, she uncovered some clues.
After a brief investigation, she successfully discovered the power Hermes supposedly "hid" (actually couldn't hide)—
A globally spanning, long-standing illegal poaching and black market trading organization, "Poachers," whose resources and concealed power, upon understanding, compelled Athena to decide to annex this force—the "secret plan" was quite successful.
With the help of the Celestial Empress.
Yes, unlike the superficial power structure of subterfuge on Mount Olympus, the Celestial Empress, Hera, was probably one of Athena's closest friends—
This relationship, pale when described as best friends, was more akin to allies, confidants.
After all, they had a common enemy—the cursed God King Tyrant.
Upon this awakening, realizing Hera didn't follow the plan to revive Zeus, Athena instantly understood Hera's plot, and without hesitation, she decisively joined in. After brief secret agreements, they decided to incorporate the "Poachers" under their command.
If used properly, this was definitely a good trump card.
And incidentally, it severed Hermes' private dealings, making it a win-win situation.
However, plans never keep pace with changes.
First, Hermes disappeared without a trace, Ares lost an arm—
Next, their temple on Mount Olympus suffered a devastating attack, and the undercover agents within Hogwarts were totally uprooted—
All of this couldn't be disentangled from that cursed man, the original plans completely miscarried.
Under a series of blows, not only did Olympus lose important high-level combat power, but it also severely disrupted Hera's covert attempt to take over the Poachers organization.
And as time ebbed away, on the side of the office, a small, seemingly ornamental stone fireplace had its calmly burning flames suddenly leap high, turning a bright emerald green.
Then, from the flame, a figure spun out.
A man in a gray travel cloak, hood pulled low, masking most of his face, only the distinct jawline visible, yet his stature seemed somewhat short and mismatched with that face appearing potentially over two meters tall.
Standing firm, lifting his head, his eyes met Athena within the office, the air almost bursting with invisible sparks.
He seemed certain of something, then reached out to gently remove his hood.
And then, that rugged visage began to distort like ripples, changing, his form slightly shrinking, transforming from featureless flatness to a balanced, even graceful form, within seconds entirely morphing into another person.
Her hair rich deep brown, like ripened wheat, simply styled, her face seemed the masterpiece of Ancient Greece's finest sculptors, every line flawless, bearing maternal elegance and unquestionable authority.
Those profound eyes now clearly reflected concern for Athena.
Her identity was obvious.
"Pallas!"
Hera's voice carried an almost indiscernible tension. She strode forward, lifting both hands to grasp Athena's arms, beginning to carefully scrutinize her, "You… are you alright? Heaven forbid, I couldn't reach you at all, only knew the temple seemed bombed, what on earth occurred…"
"I escaped, Hera."
Athena's voice remained calm, though facing this woman, the icy shell seemed to thaw slightly, "The situation is far worse than we anticipated."
"Escape… wait, did someone really capture you?"
Hera exhaled deeply, pulling Athena to sit on the office's only sofa, her gaze drifted, as though pondering, "Okay, tell me, what has happened? You and Ares were both there that night, how could someone defeat both of you simultaneously…"
Thus, under Hera's inquiry, Athena recounted her experiences over the period.
Minutes later, Hera's expression seemed to freeze—she gaped, "You… aren't joking, right?"
"I wish it were so, but unfortunately,"
Athena shook her head, voice solemn, "We previously judged based on Hermes' provided intel, heavily misestimating the 'Demon's' strength… That individual, his personal power far exceeds estimations, even with Ares and me united, stands no chance before him, Hephaestus chose betrayal, I…"
She paused, seemingly choosing her words, "My escape relied purely on luck, and his arrogance believing he could control everything. His original plan was likely to let me go, then trace back to you—don't worry, me seeking you confirms the absence of a tail."
"Then that's good." Hera nodded, retracting her gaze from Athena's back, "So, do you have a plan?"
Upon hearing this, Athena lifted her pale gold eyes to Hera, tone extremely serious, "Yes, that guy's strength is overwhelmingly powerful, heavily protected against certain obscure defenses, we probably have one path—drive tiger swallow wolf."
"...You mean, awaken Him?"