A teacher does not interfere with the path chosen by their disciple.
Thus, before Jason took Hecate as his master, that agreement between them—the agreement to [unconditionally fulfill one thing for Hecate].
This was now the only constraint Hecate had on Jason.
Jason left... Taking the spear given to him by the ancestor of all demons, Typhon, Jason was heading to the Garden of the Hesperides to defeat the hundred-headed dragon Ladon.
To offer tribute to Ares, one of the twelve Olympian gods!
When Jason left, Hecate looked at his back... That back, which in the blink of an eye after three years had passed, had unknowingly become broader.
Hecate sighed silently and said, "If you and I had not met, perhaps your future would not have become so unpredictable..."
Hecate was the goddess of opportunity, the miracle already destined in fate. As long as she intervened, the destined fate would be changed.
Thus, now, no one knew what future awaited Jason.
And as Hecate's murmur fell, she could not help but smile.
"When everything ends, even if the world is destroyed, you will follow me... Though a wayward disciple, this student was not taken in vain!"
...
...
When Jason emerged from the underworld under the escort of the butterflies of the underworld and returned to the mortal world to see Chiron again, through Chiron's mouth, Jason learned.
Five full days had passed since the agreement to defeat the hundred-headed dragon Ladon within a week!
This was the time that had flowed in that endless abyss.
"Already five days have passed... Teacher Chiron, I originally planned to spend some time with you upon returning this time, but it seems that will not be possible."
"It is fine, because no matter when you return, I will be here waiting for you." Chiron replied softly to the regretful-faced Jason.
Hearing this, Jason nodded, then thought for a moment.
Immediately after, from the silver pouch given to him by Athena, he took out that deep-sea-colored lyre.
"Then, Teacher Chiron, at least before I leave, please evaluate the lyre playing I learned from Goddess Amphitrite."
After speaking, under the sunlight, Jason and Chiron went to the shade of a large tree nearby.
Then, the white-robed Jason lightly played the lyre in his hands.
That beautiful music made the centaur sage Chiron reveal a smile, his emerald eyes gazing at the boy before him, who was gradually shedding the childishness from his face and was now sixteen years old, quietly listening to his playing.
Until sunset at dusk, Jason rose and, accompanied by the golden-horned deer, left his sight.
...
...
After that, it was a day of travel.
On the afternoon of the last day of the agreed week, accompanied by the golden-horned deer, Jason finally arrived outside the Garden of the Hesperides.
Arriving outside the garden, the lightly neighing golden-horned deer crouched down. After Jason dismounted, it rubbed against his cheek.
"Sister Deer, please wait for me a moment."
Jason stroked the golden-horned deer's head and smiled as he said, "Do not worry. I will be back soon."
The golden-horned deer looked at Jason, nodded gently after a moment.
Thus, Jason turned to face the Garden of the Hesperides, contemplated for a time. This time, Jason did not take out the caduceus to make himself invisible, because Jason knew that the gods were probably watching him now.
Moreover, this was a tribute to offer in victory to Ares. Using invisibility now would inevitably leave a bad impression on Ares.
Thus, after a brief contemplation, Jason took out the lyre and, playing beautiful music, entered the Garden of the Hesperides.
The beautiful music quickly attracted the three nymph sisters guarding within this garden. Their names were the Hesperides.
The lyre from Sea Queen Amphitrite possessed magic that felt like being gently caressed by the endless sea, making those who heard it feel incomparably comfortable.
Combined with Jason's playing, which not only had the approval of Goddess Amphitrite but also the blessing of the Greek sirens.
This made any being who heard the music even more easily enchanted by it.
The Hesperides three sisters gazed at this white-robed man who played beautiful music as he entered the garden and could not help but turn their eyes toward him.
But they did not dare forget their duty, so they appeared before Jason and said to him, "Please stop. Hero from afar, you cannot proceed further, because this is the Garden of the Hesperides."
Jason looked at the three sisters who appeared, stopped playing, bowed to them, and said, "Beautiful nymphs, I apologize for intruding uninvited, but I will not choose to leave, because following the guidance of the noble goddess of wisdom Athena, it was she who led me here."
"Goddess of wisdom Athena?"
"Yes." Jason nodded gently and smiled as he said, "Following the guidance of wisdom, I need to take one golden apple from the golden apple tree, and moreover, issue a challenge to the hundred-headed dragon Ladon guarding the golden apples!"
"You want to challenge the hundred-headed dragon Ladon?" One of the three sisters, hearing this, said to Jason in surprise, "Hero from afar, do you know the power of the hundred-headed dragon Ladon? That is absolutely not an opponent you can defeat!"
"It is fine." Jason smiled in reply. "Because at this moment, not only is the goddess of wisdom Athena guiding me, but the great war god Ares is also guiding me. I will surely achieve victory!"
Hearing Jason's words, the three sisters glanced at each other, pondered together for a moment, then stepped forward and continued to say to Jason, "Unknown hero, may we ask if you could tell us your name?"
"Ah, that is indeed my oversight." Jason smiled apologetically, though in his heart he felt quite helpless. He actually did not want to reveal his name at all.
"My name is Jason."
At this moment, the gods... At least Athena and Ares were certainly watching. Jason naturally would not blurt out the name Heracles.
"Jason... Sorry, Jason, we cannot let you pass." The Hesperides three sisters shook their heads at Jason and said, "Because guarding the Garden of the Hesperides is the command given to us by the great king of the gods Zeus and Queen Hera.
Without their permission, we cannot let you pick the golden apples."
"I see." Jason nodded, indicating understanding.
"Then... I must offend you!"
As the words fell, with a wave of his hand, inextinguishable fire of the underworld flew from Jason's clothes, drawing a circle beside the Hesperides three sisters and imprisoning them within it.
"Sorry, beautiful nymphs. Please wait a moment inside. And please do not touch this flame, because it is the inextinguishable fire of the underworld. It is very dangerous, but it will naturally extinguish once I leave."
After Jason finished speaking, he noticed that the three sisters did not appear shocked or angry because of this. Instead, smiles still lingered on their faces.
"I see, we understand... By the way, Jason, may we ask you a question?"
"What?"
"May we ask, do you have a family? If not, what do you think of us? If you do, actually, we do not mind..."
Hearing their shy words and looking at the Hesperides three sisters expectantly watching him, Jason's mouth could not help but twitch slightly twice.
He then decisively turned away, ignoring the calls from the three sisters behind him, and walked toward the depths without looking back.
What a waste!
Ahem.
He proceeded onward, and under the guidance of the gods observing in secret... In situations like branches or the like tripping Jason, it was not long before Jason arrived before the hundred-headed dragon Ladon.
At the same time, he naturally also saw the golden apple tree behind this dragon.
Of course, though the golden apple tree would similarly shock one, compared to the hundred-headed dragon Ladon at this moment, it seemed utterly ordinary.
The Ladon that entered Jason's eyes was so massive that Jason seemed like an ant in its eyes, not to mention anything else.
Looking around, what presented itself before Jason's eyes was a dense mass, all heads!
"Ignorant human, stop your steps. This place is absolutely not one you can set foot in!"
At this moment, the largest head on the hundred-headed dragon Ladon's body slowly lifted its head and said to Jason in a deafening voice.
It did not act rashly, because on Jason's body, it sensed the auras of multiple gods!
"Hundred-headed dragon Ladon?" Jason looked at the hundred-headed dragon before him, this creation in the style of Cthulhu, which madly drained sanity, and could not help but ask softly.
"You know me?"
"Yes." Jason nodded. "Because I have come for you!"
"For me?" Hearing Jason's words, who knew how many heads looked at each other, appearing very puzzled.
"Following the oracle of the goddess of wisdom Athena, I need to pick one golden apple from the tree behind you. And following the oracle of the great war god Ares, hundred-headed dragon Ladon, I must... defeat you!"
As the words fell, the spear adorned with black and silver was drawn by Jason, and at the same time, with extreme speed, Jason swung toward the hundred-headed dragon Ladon!
And in the instant the spear was unsheathed, illusory shadows of butterflies of the underworld flew from the spear, floating beside Jason.
These butterflies of the underworld disturbed the minds of some of the dragon heads on the hundred-headed dragon Ladon, causing them to fall into brief confusion. But more dragon heads, because of Jason's action, let out angry roars.
A hundred mouths, a hundred different voices. The roaring hundred-headed dragon Ladon made the entire Garden of the Hesperides tremble under such sounds!
But this did not affect Jason in the slightest.
Because the demon spear given to him by Typhon contained the power of the abyss. All of Ladon's sounds were absorbed into this demon spear the instant they touched Jason.
In this way, Jason had broken the most troublesome move on the hundred-headed dragon Ladon!
Not only that, facing this demon spear, the hundred-headed dragon Ladon soon felt fear emanating from the depths of its heart.
Aside from roaring, for a moment, it actually did not want to fight it at all!
And at this time, Jason had already leaped onto its body and, with a sweep of the demon spear in his hand, shattered who knew how many heads.
Immediately after, Jason began running across the body of the hundred-headed dragon Ladon.
Because he knew how to defeat the hundred-headed dragon Ladon... Even though no one had told him, Jason also knew the weakness of the hundred-headed dragon Ladon!
As its name implied, this was the hundred-headed dragon Ladon, not a hundred Ladons.
Its body was only one!
This was also why Jason jumped onto the hundred-headed dragon Ladon's body.
As just said, when Jason looked around, he could only see heads. Thus, it was obvious that the hundred-headed dragon Ladon had hidden its body beneath the heads!
Though Ladon feared the suppression that the demon spear in Jason's hand inflicted on it, at the same time, it quickly noticed Jason's goal. This made Ladon feel anger rising.
Thus, the heads on its body, even though feeling fear, still began pouncing toward Jason, biting toward Jason!
Placing oneself in danger to achieve safety.
Though the body of the hundred-headed dragon Ladon was the most dangerous place, because a hundred heads would attack you, it was simultaneously the only way to defeat it!
"How about it."
Thus, at this moment, Athena, watching Jason approvingly, could not help but raise the corners of her mouth and say to Ares, clad in red armor beside her, "Does this child qualify to receive your belt? ...Let me say first, ever since making the bet with you, I have not said a single word to this child!"
Ares was silent.
He watched Jason battling Ladon before him. Though he quickly noticed the strangeness of the demon spear in Jason's hand, this did not hinder Ares from being amazed by Jason's performance at this moment!
"This guy... qualifies as a warrior."
After a long time, Ares gave his answer, which made the smile on Athena's face even more beautiful.
However... While smiling, as Athena's gaze glanced over the demon spear, her brows furrowed unnaturally a few times.
At this moment, among the gods paying attention to Jason, almost all believed this demon spear was a creation given to Jason by Hecate.
But only Athena... sensed something amiss!
Because she felt an ominous aura from the demon spear... Even though it was hidden very deeply, it could not escape Athena's eyes!
However, regarding this, Athena said nothing.
After all, though she did not care about the outcome of this bet, and though losing would be of no consequence to Athena, winning was naturally better if possible!