(Apollo POV)

2 years!

In these 2 years, we traveled towards the northeast of Greece, posing in different places. Obviously, in these last years, not for a day did I stop training Chiron and Casca.

And I haven't even stopped trying to create the [Solar Blessing], I've made progress in this technique, but still without very considerable results.

Who knew trying to change human cellular structure would be so difficult?

Well, putting that matter aside, the three of us were now walking across dry ground; we didn't know where we were, but the climate was tropical savanna.

Around us, there were countless small and medium-sized trees with crooked branches and bushes, as well as tall, light grass everywhere.

Given that this region was in the northeast of Greece, there was a wild climate, and let's say it wasn't just the climate, as there were countless monsters and animals.

The advantage was that these monsters and animals were great forms of training for Casca and Chiron.

"Teacher, what is the reason for us walking in this impractical way?" Chiron asked

From the corners of my eyes, I looked at him, who was quite different from two years ago.

In recent years, Chiron has had a great transformation.

He went from a slight boy to a young adult with a good amount of muscle mass.

His wheat-brown hair reached past his neck and was tied back in a ponytail.

On his body, he wore archaic clothing, which is a long white shirt that extended into something close to a skirt on the lower part of the body, reaching the knee.

But the big change in his body was that he was now walking with human legs; even though he literally had a horse's tail behind him, he walked with normal human legs.

(Chiron image)

This is because I have taught something basic that the Greek gods do, which is transformation. Basically, using divine power or the spell called [μεταμόρφωση], it is possible to change, alter, or even transform into an animal, so the opposite is also guaranteed.

Now, the reason for Chiron's question was why he and Casca were walking with their backs straight and taking firm and elegant steps, not leaving the slightest flaw in their posture when walking.

"Elegance and nobility are always welcome." I said it with a smile.

"I understand, but there is no one but us to see this."

"And who said that you were doing this to show someone? Good manners are the basics of living beings."

"Ah! If the teacher says so." Chiron just sighed and continued.

But with Chiron sighing, a 16-year-old woman who was walking next to me, only a little behind, opened her mouth.

"Even though you possess this calm aura, you complain too much, Chiron; I don't see the slightest problem with Lord Apollo's teaching." The teenager said it with a smile.

This teenager was obviously Casca.

She has also changed in recent years; her previously thin body has had some muscles, however, without losing her femininity.

Proving that she was in the prime of her adolescence, her body began to have beautiful curves.

Her hair was still short, not longer than ever.

Another difference she had was the clothes she wore.

Now she wore brown clothes, a leather shirt, a tight skirt with a vertical opening, and black leather pants, which matched her long brown boots that went past her knee. In addition, she wore armor over her clothes, to be more precise, a silver breastplate.

Her features were mature for a 16-year-old, and her black eyes were as sharp as the sword she carried at her waist.

(Casca image)

"Complaining increases the intensity of my words; what I said is much more like a curiosity than a complaint. And let's be honest, the day you see any problem in the teacher's speech will be the end of the world." Chiron said calmly looking at Casca.

"Hmm! Well, you're right about the last part." Casca gave a smile as she shrugged.

"Fanatics are really a problem." Chiron exclaimed with a slight smile on his lips.

It can be said that because the two of them went through hell... I mean, forming together, the two of them became almost like siblings.

Chiron didn't see Casca as a woman even remotely, he saw her as a friend who went through the same difficulty as him, and Casca much less saw Chiron as a man, but rather as an older brother.

And when I say they saw each other as brothers, it was a normal sibling relationship, not the Greek style, if you know what I mean.

"If I say that's not true, then that would be a lie." Casca said, not caring about having the stigma of a fanatic.

Chiron just gave a smile; it was impossible to unbalance Casca talking about her faith, admiration, and unshakable loyalty to me.

Well, the appearance of the two has changed, but their essence has not.

In fact, it wasn't just the two of them who had a change in their appearance.

In these two years, you could say that I reached the peak of my growth.

Not to be a narcissistic asshole, but I really am a good-looking guy.

As I thought about it, I walked in silence until I furrowed my eyebrow.

Chiron and Casca, after a few seconds, also noticed.

"Mana signs!?" Chiron said, looking to the side.

"Is it 6?" Casca exclaimed, tilting her head to the side.

"No, there are 12 people. One of them had a large amount and a great quality of mana, while others only had a normal and low amount of mana." I said, crossing my arms.

Chiron walked to my side and looked at where the mana signals were coming from, which were coming from a small savanna.

"I think the teacher wants to go and see what it is, right?" Chiron gave me a slight smile, seeing my eyes full of curiosity.

"Yes, let's just watch, but without prying."

What made me most curious was the strong mana that one of the beings was releasing.

"I highly doubt it, since the teacher isn't very good and doesn't interfere in things, although I owe a lot to that habit."

I think I just got called a busybody, not that he's wrong.

Without thinking twice, I took Casca's hand, and placed my other hand on Chiron's shoulder, and released my divine power.

The sun shone down on us, and a circle formed beneath our feet.

And in the next instant, a golden flash spread over us.

••• ••• •••

(3rd POV)

10 men were walking along a trail that entered a savanna.

These 10 men had a sheathed sword on their waist, even though none of them had the appearance of a soldier or even a swordsman, yet their arms were like the trunk of a tree.

The 10 men walked around a woman and a young man.

The woman appeared to be in her 20s and had an ordinary appearance, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. And on her body, she wore a white dress that conveyed purity

But the woman looked quite uncomfortable in that dress, especially because she preferred simple things to extravagant ones.

"Cypselos, don't you have to do this?" The woman said this, shaking her lover's hand.

"Axiothea, I would never let the person I love most in this world go through this alone, I may not have the strength to save her, but at least I won't let you go alone." Cypselos said confidently.

Even though Axiothea could see that beneath this confidence was the purest fear, after all, he who does not fear death is a fool, but in her point of view, there is no one in this world braver than her lover.

"Thanks." She murmured with her eyes almost filling with tears.

They were tears of joy, anger, hatred, and especially guilt, for dragging their loved one into this situation.

One of the men who walked in silence could not hold back his sigh or his words.

"She's right, Cypselos; you don't need to sacrifice yourself along with her, think about your mother and sister."

"My father is more than enough to support my mother and sister. Furthermore, Axiothea and I are together in life and death; if she goes to the underworld, I will follow; if she goes to the Elysian Fields, I will cross the very dominoes of Hades for my beloved."

Cypselos' words are arrogant and unrealistic, but they bring Axiothea a lot of comfort.

But this comfort was broken by a soft, melodious voice.

"Oh! Those are quite challenging words for my uncle."

Along with this voice that sounded like a beautiful chord on a lyre, a circle formed on the ground and pressure fell on that area.

And around the circle, three figures appeared: a young man with brown hair and a beautiful woman with black skin.

But without a shadow of a doubt, the figure in the middle of these two was the most stunning.

In the middle of this figure, there was a man who appeared to be in his 20s.

The man had long golden hair that reached the end of his back; in addition, his hair looked like it was woven from the essence of the sun.

His eyes, instead of looking like they were made from the essence of the sun, were more like someone had stolen the sun itself, duplicated it in two, and placed it on this man to be his eyes.

Even though he had slightly androgynous features, he still had striking masculine features, creating a perfect harmony between the two poles.

To further increase her charm, in the middle of her glabella, there was a sun mark. His clothes were white with golden tones, giving off a noble, elegant, and pure air.

He was so beautiful that he transcended the concept of gender; man or woman, regardless of gender, felt attracted to this man.

Which was fair enough; after all, this man is Phoebus Apollo, the pinnacle of male beauty.

All the humans were in shock when they saw the handsome man appearing in front of them.

"W-who are you?" One of the men surrounding Cypselos and Axiothea drew his sword, which made Casca frown.

People did not know that they were facing a God, especially because the Silver Age was the age in which humans moved away from the divine or denied the Gods. Well, there was also the fact that these humans weren't exactly the most sensitive to the types of energy in existence; if not, he could notice the divine power of the beautiful man.

The only ones who noticed something strange were Cypselos and Axiothea, in fact, it was mainly Axiothea who had some suspicions since on his glabella there was a Sun symbol, and he said uncle when his Cypselos spoke of Hades.

"You blasphemers…"

Before Casca could say anything, the same man who had asked approached Apollo, who was just smiling.

But before he could get any closer, he felt a punch hit his arm, sending his sword flying and sticking into a tree trunk, and in the next instant another punch was delivered to the pit of his stomach.

The owner of the punch was Chiron, who took his hand, holding the man's hand and twisting it towards the back, performing an immobilization maneuver.

Apollo had inverted a martial style called Pankration which was basically a combination of boxing and wrestling techniques.

And this same martial art called Pankration was taught to Chiron, who helped Apollo perfect it.

"Sorry, friend, but it's better for me to restrain you than for her to brutally beat you." Chiron said, hearing Casca's snort.

"You're then interfering in a ritual." The man who was being pinned down by Chiron exclaimed angrily.

"What kind of ritual?" Apollo asked with interest, directing his eyes towards the woman, who possessed a large amount of mana.

"This is a ritual of..."

"Shut up, Cypselos." A large, bald man shouted, pulling his sword from its sheath.

"They don't belong to our village, so they leave now." Raising his sword, he points at Apollo.

"You shouldn't have done that, buddy." Chiron said, with a sympathetic expression.

"Why are you or that little girl going to do anything?"

The moment he finished his sentence, the last thing he saw, heard, and felt before passing out was a woman's palm hitting his chin and the sound of his jaw breaking, along with the pain that was transmitted to his brain.

And in the next instant, thanks to the force of the attack, his body was thrown into a tree.

"I don't think any of you will think about raising your voice now." Casca said, clapping her hands as if to clean her hands.

Apollo felt slightly sorry for the man who had become unconscious, but not enough to cure him.

So Apollo walks towards the girl.

The men, scared mainly by Casca's gaze, moved away, making room for Apollo to pass.

In front of the woman, Apollo looked at her while the scared man took a step forward.

{He really cares about her.} With that thought, Apollo stood in front of the two.

"I'm sorry, but where exactly are we?" Apollo decided to start with a simple question.

"It's… hmmm!?" The man was unable to speak, perhaps out of fear or apprehension, but even so, he was still in front of his beloved.

"I apologize, Lord, but my beloved Cypselos is not very good with words, if you don't mind I, Axiothea, will answer your questions." Axiothea said in a rather polite manner.

"Please respond, Axiothea."

"We are in Nemea, Lord." Axiothea said as a surprised look appeared on Apollo's face.

•••

(A/N: It's a bit obvious, but Νεμέα in the chapter title means Nemea)