Beauty Of Thebes

Chapter 36: Sleep In Peace, Human

The second hunt began soon after.

Apollo and Artemis reattached the sandal laces they had received from Hephaestus. The rugged terrain of the mountains mattered not them no the moonlight leaking through and darkness seeping through the dense leaves for the twin gods ran faster than anyone else. 

Waiting for the signal to start, their fervent redness resembled one of a competitive spirit.

Artemis untied the leash on the hounds. The hounds growled, drooling from the tip of their mouths smelling the scent of their target. The barks of the hounds echoed an eerie sound.

And then, with wings sprouting, they shot forwards and moved swiftly. The golden sandals added to their speed as if they were cutting through wind. The skin of the gods were not in the least bit affected. The branches hadn’t scratched them nor did the leaves cut them like a knife.

Artemis ran towards her prey like an elegant lioness. She unfolded the silver lining bow in her hand, pulling her arms together in parallel. The side view of the goddess demonstrating her hunting skill was reminiscent of a female warrior. The tense muscle of her lips and jaw, which were clenched and tightened, shone under the moonlit night. 

She let go of the bow without hesitation.

The arrow chipped through the air with a shrill sound. Artemis filed a series of relentless arrows. The third arrow she used hit her prey.

“Ah!”

The birds, who were asleep in the dark forest, flapped their wings and climbed higher into the azure hearing the scream of a woman. 

Apollo swiftly turned his head towards the direction of the sound.

‘A mortal woman?’

Was this Artemis’ catch?

Fine, so be it.

Apollo drew his bow and aimed it towards the direction his sister’s hounds were running to. 

Artemis’ arrow shot through the shoulder of the woman only struck the outer layer of her flesh. The blood dripping caused the hounds to chase after the mortal with more fervent excitement.

The back of the woman, who let out a groan and ran desperately for her life, was wrapped in a white cloth, making her bloodstain on her shoulder more noticeable. Her outfit attracted the eyes of the forest to the point where it could be said that she had done it on purpose.

The branch hit her head and the cloth that had covered her forehead flipped over. Short bobbed hair cut off revealed her white neck. The white skin from her back view looked fragile.

“Pamphagos, Laelaps, Tigris! Go after her!”

Artemis called her loyal hounds’ name and commanded. She paused for a moment and pulled the silver lining of her bow and aimed it in the dark.

One… two… three… four…

She threw volleys of arrows without hesitation. The arrows cleverly passed her hounds chasing their prey and aimed it at the weak woman who could do nothing but run.

Artemis smiled and sang the songs of Muses with a voice of joy and anger.

“Brother, do you plan on losing the game? Do you concede? You won’t participate?”

Apollo couldn’t understand why his sister looked impatient. He sighed, pulling up his bow. Blood red eyes followed his target. 

Looking at the woman’s short hair, he could see the situation roughly. Artemis had wanted to vent her anger at the immoral conduct of the mortal woman. 

Apollo’s hand held his bow. His arrow was directed to the woman’s heart. If he let go, it’ll land on her heart. Suddenly, he thought that this game was too favorable for him. Artemis’ archery and Apollo’s archery had different personalities. 

While his bow was made to kill, Artemis’ was made to hunt. 

She’d slow her down first by injuring the tendons of her legs. Then her hounds, drunk with the blood of their prey, would chase after the prey with blood curdling excitement. The hounds would drink the blood of the prey, making the clean up of the hunt easier.

Should the mortal woman slow down, she’ll only end up bitten by the hounds. The well-trained hounds would attack her neck intensively so as to not cause damage to the rest of her body. She’ll die painfully. 

Artemis wasn’t one to show mercy. 

That was her hunting style.

‘I don’t know what you’ve done, but sleep in peace, human.’

Apollo chased the trajectory of the arrow he sent out of pity. The woman was distracted as she ran for her life while not knowing a shadow of death was upon her.

Then, a giant crow the size of an eagle fell. The arrow hit the crow by a hair’s breadth and crashed.

“!”