Hera's overreaction caused Jason to pause in surprise.
Lifting his gaze, he saw Queen Hera by the throne symbolizing her noble status, her eyes wide open as she looked at him in a panic.
Her line of sight fixed firmly on the golden dagger Jason had drawn.
"Um, Goddess Hera..."
"Jason, put that thing down right now!"
Hera interrupted Jason, who was about to speak, her expression exceptionally anxious.
Clearly, seeing the dagger reminded her of some unpleasant experience.
After all, it had not been that long since that day.
Jason blinked and, upon realizing, could not help but chuckle wryly as he said: "Goddess Hera, rest assured. I will not do as I did back then...
In truth, I do not have a habit of self-harm."
Upon hearing this, disbelief flickered in Hera's eyes as she said: "Fine, fine. Whatever you say.
Now, immediately, put that thing down right away!"
Seeing this, Jason had no choice but to approach Hera while holding the dagger.
Hera's body trembled involuntarily at the sight, her panic visible to the naked eye.
At this moment, not a trace of the queen of the gods remained.
Then, Jason arrived beneath the queen's throne, held the dagger in both hands, raised it toward Hera, and said: "Noble, beautiful, and merciful Queen Hera, please allow me to return this dagger you once bestowed upon me!"
Hera was taken aback, finally understanding why Jason had suddenly drawn the dagger.
Subsequently, their gazes met once more.
Hera stood above, looking down at Jason in his white robes below, at those beautiful emerald eyes of his.
Her expression gradually grew complex.
"You truly will not give me even a moment to prepare."
Hera, having calmed her emotions, sighed with complexity.
Then, she laughed and said: "But this does suit you... Have you considered, though, what if I refuse to accept this dagger? What would you do today?"
"Um... Actually, I did consider it." Jason hesitated for a time before finally replying: "But in the end, I felt the outcome would not change in the slightest, so I came here."
"Oh?" Hera raised an eyebrow lightly and said to Jason: "You are so certain I would take it back?"
"No, I am not certain." Jason shook his head, lifted his gaze to Hera, met her beautiful golden eyes, and said: "In fact, I think the possibility is slim, for it was I who betrayed you, noble goddess. It was I who deceived you time and again. But I will not give up.
If once is not enough, then I will try multiple times.
If not now, then in the future.
Goddess Hera, I, Jason, will surely return this dagger to you!"
Jason's calm and resolute voice echoed through the serene ancient temple.
There, the white-robed hero removed the mask from his face, confronting the goddess who had lost him due to the tricks of fate.
Beneath the throne symbolizing the queen's dignity in the ancient temple.
Holding the dagger bestowed by the goddess, he firmly informed the noble her that no matter what, he would return this dagger to her!
Hera's expression wavered slightly.
Her eyes reflected Jason's steadfast gaze from below.
Even without discerning the truth of his words, even without the scales of judgment to weigh them.
Hera still felt the weight of those words.
"...All along, it was you who deceived me, you who betrayed me. Yet why now does everything feel as though it is my fault."
Hera laughed. She sat down upon the throne.
Her expression was complex.
It mingled sorrow and anger.
"Very well. I can take back this dagger, but Jason, you must promise me: from this day forward, leave Hecate!"
"I am sorry, noble Goddess Hera." Jason lowered his head. "This, I cannot do."
"Then leave Hephaestus!"
"I am sorry, noble Goddess Hera. This too, I cannot do."
Bang!
A loud crash.
Hera slammed her hand fiercely on the arm of the throne beside her.
Her beautiful eyes glared angrily at Jason below as she said: "Jason, do not push me too far!"
"You wish to offer nothing in return, yet expect me to take back this dagger, to set aside my prejudices against you, to forgive your betrayal of me, your deceptions.
Jason, do you think that possible?!
Who do you take me for, Jason?
I am the queen of the gods. I am Hera!
Were it anyone else... Anyone but you!
If it were another, I would make them pay a hundredfold, cast them into the endless abyss to taste a hundred times the suffering!"
Hera finished in one breath, her chest heaving with evident fury.
Then, looking at Jason below, who kept his head bowed in silence,
She recalled his confession to her that day on the isolated island.
She recalled him plunging the dagger into his heart, the words he spoke to her beneath the scales of judgment.
She recalled the days since he had appeared before her as the white-robed hero Heracles.
Hera's expression gradually softened.
She looked at Jason below, her gaze filling with affection.
In the end, she sighed soundlessly and said to Jason with tender affection:
"Jason, I can forget everything from before.
I can overlook your deceptions, your betrayal.
I can take back this dagger and let all that transpired be as if it never happened.
Moreover, I can promise you this: I can give you everything you desire.
I swear it by the River Styx of the underworld!
So long as you agree, from this day forward, to leave the side of Hecate and Hephaestus."
At this moment, Hera had set aside her lofty bearing as queen of the gods.
She was willing to relinquish her hatred for Jason.
So long as he was willing to return to her side!
But...
Regrettably, the answer had been given years ago.
"I am sorry, Goddess Hera."
Jason's voice held not the slightest tremor.
His eyes, lifted toward Hera, showed no excess emotional fluctuation.
"I cannot promise you... I cannot betray Hecate Teacher and Hephaestus Teacher."
"So, you are willing to betray me?"
Hera laughed... Deep down, she had likely already anticipated this outcome.
"So even now, you refuse me once more..."
As Hera spoke, her smile gradually changed, turning bitter and helpless.
For in this moment, the last flicker of hope in her heart had vanished.
Now she knew clearly: there was no possibility.
None at all.
"Jason, do you know? I can summon divine thunder... I can kill you here!"
"Yes, I know." Jason replied quietly.
And after Jason's response, the entire temple fell into wordless silence once more.
"...Get out."
In the end, seated upon the lofty throne, Hera forced out that word.
And once she did, she seemed to lose all strength, slumping dejectedly.
Everything should have ended... Yes, it truly should have.
"Goddess Hera..."
"Get out!"
Hera glared at Jason and said: "Or else today, you stay here forever!"
When Hera made this decision, it should have been over.
"Goddess Hera, as I said, I came today to return this golden dagger..."
"I told you to get out. Did you not hear me?!"
"Or are you truly seeking death!"
After Hera roared in fury, the temple fell quiet once more.
Just as she believed Jason was leaving.
Step, step, step...
Very light footsteps, but in this ancient and serene temple, they sounded exceptionally piercing.
Hera, slumped on the throne, instinctively followed the footsteps downward with her gaze.
Then, Hera could not help but freeze, her eyes widening.
Incredulity filled her eyes!
For the Jason she had expected to leave did not turn away.
Instead... He stepped toward the throne, one step at a time!
Whoosh,
Hera abruptly rose from the throne, looking incredulously at Jason, who approached her step by step.
From below upward, toward the lofty throne.
"Jason, what are you doing!"
Hera's voice rose by more than two decibels.
"I have come to return the dagger, noble Goddess Hera."
Jason gave this light reply.
On his lips, he addressed her repeatedly as noble Goddess Hera.
Yet his feet stepped steadily toward the throne.
"You...!!!
Wait, wait, wait for me!"
As Hera's mind blanked, processing the information before her.
Due to Jason's blasphemous act, his offense against divine authority.
A bolt of divine thunder formed naturally and struck down toward Jason!
And this was true divine thunder.
It was the divine thunder left by the king of the gods, Zeus.
A single bolt was enough to shatter Jason's mind!
"No, Jason, dodge it quickly!"
Hera cried out upon seeing it and exerted all her power to try to stop the divine thunder.
But alas, it was too late.
The divine thunder struck toward Jason in the blink of an eye.
Even though Hera reacted, she could not halt it.
And in this moment, as Jason felt the sensation of death and helplessness surfaced in his eyes, slowly closing them.
Sacred white light suddenly blazed forth.
The white robes Jason wore suddenly emitted dazzling, sacred white light.
In that instant, the white light coalesced before Jason into the ethereal form of a golden shield.
It was the hardest shield in the world.
At the same time, it was the only shield capable of withstanding divine thunder, the power of the Olympian king of the gods, Zeus.
It was the companion divine tool of the most radiant jewel among the Olympian gods.
The companion divine tool of the goddess of wisdom, Athena.
The divine shield Aegis...
...
"Hephaestus Teacher, could you give me a shield? It seems I lack a lifesaving piece of equipment."
"A shield? ...I am sorry, Jason. Teacher can give you anything, but not a shield. Because the shield to protect you has already been reserved by a certain someone."
"She will give you a shield... It is the hardest shield in the world!"
...
The awaited death did not come.
The sound of thunder clashing against the shield caused Jason to slowly open his eyes.
He saw the rampant lightning before him.
And the golden shield firmly fixed in front of him, blocking his path.
The hardest shield in the world.
Jason paused.
Looking at this shield... He could not help but recall.
He recalled how, back then, Athena had retrieved this sacred white robe from the stars and placed it in Jason's hands, and all that had transpired.
...
"Put it on, Jason."
This pristine white robe was what she had taken from the stars back then.
A sacred garment crafted with unknown amounts of time and effort.
"It looks good, does it not... Promise me, you must always wear it. Otherwise, would my efforts not be in vain? Hehe."
"Remember, you must always wear it!"
At that time, Jason had thought Athena's repeated instructions were to rival Hecate, since she wore white robes and Hecate wore black.
"Everything you have done up to now, even if unknown to the world, with no one singing praises of Jason's name.
I will.
Because I have always been watching you, observing you, and bearing witness to every story you inscribe.
I know all about you.
Thus, I will use my wisdom to guide your path forward, clear the thorns and brambles for you, and... forever watch over you."
At the same time, he recalled the words Athena had spoken to him then, looking him straight in the eye.
Boom...
The thunder dissipated.
Hera's divine power finally halted the divine thunder from continuing its descent.
And sensing the threat's disappearance, the conjured shield lingered briefly before dissolving into sacred white light, returning to Jason's white robes.
At the same time...
"It can be used two more times!"
Athena's lingering words echoed in Jason's ears.
"Do not worry about anything now. Hurry and run, as far as you can. I am coming right away!"
Simultaneously, the message Athena had left within the white robes resounded in Jason's ears.
He would not be in danger...
Athena had said this more than once.
Jason truly would not be in danger, for long ago, she had placed the world's hardest shield upon him.
And in the most conspicuous place.
Though it was not the true article, for the true one awaited Jason's tribute to her before she would grant it.
But evidently, even the replica was more than sufficient.
Because...
"Jason, are you alright!"
Just as in the message she left, she had arrived.
She, who had been hesitating and lingering nearby, sensed her contingency activate and rushed in at utmost speed, startling the gods outside like Rhea, to arrive within.
She pulled Jason close, shielding him behind her.
Lifting her head, she glared furiously at Hera!