Legend Management Bureau Chapter 142

[ … words ]

A sliver of warm sunlight shone onto Shiranui Asuka’s face. She slowly opened her eyes; she had slept relatively soundly last night.

She saw Ramula sitting right in front of her, watching her with a gentle smile.

“Sister Ramula, you’re back?” Shiranui Asuka asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Mhm.”

“Where is Senior Du Yu?”

“Right behind you.”

Shiranui Asuka turned to look, but her expression instantly morphed into horror. A woman covered in bruises and horrific wounds was lying in Du Yu’s arms. If it weren’t for her signature blonde hair, Asuka wouldn’t have even recognized her.

“Is that… Sister Gorgon?”

Shiranui Asuka hurriedly rushed over to check on Gorgon’s injuries.

“Asuka, you’re just in time. Help me check the injuries on her private areas,” Du Yu said, his eyes filled with sorrow. “If you can, please treat them for her.”

Shiranui Asuka nodded and began her examination.

Du Yu silently stepped aside and turned his head away.

“Ah!”

Shiranui Asuka let out a piercing scream, as if she had just witnessed something utterly terrifying.

“What’s wrong, Asuka?” Du Yu asked without looking back.

“Se-Senior Du Yu… what could have possibly caused Sister Gorgon’s injuries?”

“A man violated her.”

Shiranui Asuka gritted her teeth and pulled back the white cloth covering Gorgon’s lower half. Beneath it lay massive patches of mangled, bloody flesh. Could these horrific injuries really have been caused by intercourse?

“There’s… there’s no way to simply treat these wounds… Even if we took her to a hospital, I’m afraid Sister Gorgon’s lower body might already…”

“That absolute scum…” Du Yu ground his teeth together, a raging fire burning in his chest.

“You two deities… please leave me be… I… I’m fine… I haven’t completed today’s prayers yet…” Gorgon gently pushed Asuka away and struggled to her feet, fresh blood trickling down her legs with every movement.

Moving at an agonizingly slow pace, she straightened her torn clothes, limped over to the statue of Athena, and wept tears of repentance.

“Respected Goddess… please forgive my sins…”

“You’re still begging for her forgiveness?” Du Yu was taken aback. He turned to stare at Gorgon, completely at a loss for words.

Right at that moment, a brilliant beam of light flashed across the sky, and the Goddess Athena descended.

“Athena?”

Du Yu flinched. ‘Athena showing up at a time like this is bad news,’ he thought to himself.

She landed in the center of the temple, a faint glimmer of anger etched across her face.

“Ah!” Gorgon instantly dropped to her knees at the sight of her. “Noble Goddess Athena…”

Athena marched straight up to Gorgon, raised her hand, and swung it fiercely toward the mortal’s face. Du Yu, who had been standing nearby and fully on guard, immediately shot out his hand and caught her wrist.

“You…” Athena turned to glare at Du Yu in confusion. “Let go. No one is permitted to touch me.”

Du Yu pulled his hand back. “I don’t want to touch you either, but I won’t stand by and let you torture this pitiful woman.”

“Hmph.” Athena withdrew her hand as well. “I can spare her a beating, but I sensed her copulating with a man right here in my temple. This is the ultimate insult to me.”

“You’re right, that man is total trash. He certainly lives up to his reputation as the ‘King of the Sea’.” Du Yu nodded in agreement. “So please, go hunt him down and kill him. I’ll wait right here.”

“Kill that man?” A flicker of hesitation crossed Athena’s face. “I will discipline this woman first. We can discuss the man afterward.”

“No need. I’ll keep an eye on her for you. She won’t make any more mistakes, so go take care of that man first.” Du Yu stepped in front of Gorgon, shielding her from Athena.

“God of China, what exactly are you doing?” Ramula whispered beside Du Yu, sounding rather displeased. “I told you the story. Is this how the plot is supposed to go?”

Du Yu bit his lip. He just couldn’t stomach the injustice. Why should Poseidon be allowed to get off scot-free?

“Athena, where were you last night? This is your temple! If you can’t even hear the prayers of the people inside it, why bother building it in the first place?” Du Yu demanded aggressively.

“Yesterday, I…” Athena furrowed her brow. “That is none of your business.”

“Fine, keep your secrets. But at the very least, it proves you are largely at fault here too!” Du Yu took a step forward, glaring into Athena’s eyes. “As a ‘God’, you refuse to shoulder your own responsibilities, and instead, you want to pin all the blame onto a mortal?”

“Deity from afar, please stop speaking on my behalf.” Gorgon slowly shook her head. “I have indeed committed an unforgivable mistake. No matter how Athena chooses to punish me, it is a sin I rightfully deserve.”

“Is that really true?” Du Yu looked down at Gorgon, his expression complicated. “You could face a punishment far beyond what you can bear. Your entire life might be ruined forever.”

Gorgon offered a bitter, broken smile. “Thank you for worrying about me, Lord Deity. But do you honestly think my life can still be salvaged? Have I not… already been ruined?”

“That…” Du Yu faltered, the words dying in his throat.

“I am pleased that you recognize the weight of your sins.” Athena stepped forward with measured grace. “I shall bestow upon you the punishment you deserve.”

“I willingly accept it, noble Athena. Only this can cleanse my sins.”

Du Yu wanted to argue, but he realized he was merely an outsider. Even the victim herself wouldn’t support his intervention.

Athena lowered her gaze to Gorgon’s blood-soaked legs. “Your lower half has defiled my sacred temple. I curse your legs to fuse together into one, never to be separated again.”

The moment the words left her lips, Gorgon collapsed to the marble floor in blinding agony. Her two pale legs visibly went limp—like two living, fleshy ropes—before violently twisting and merging into a single tail.

“You used your voice to seduce a man. I curse your voice to become forever hoarse. Your tongue shall split, your mouth will brim with jagged fangs, and whenever you part your lips, you will emit a sound despised by all the world.”

Gorgon opened her mouth in pure terror and thrust out her tongue. It felt as though a serrated, invisible blade was slowly slicing it down the middle. She desperately tried to scream, but the only sound that escaped her throat was a sharp, venomous “Hiss…”

“Hey!” Du Yu roared at the goddess. “Aren’t you taking this a bit too far?!”

“God of China, do not interfere. Stand back and observe.”

Du Yu clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. Even though he knew Gorgon wouldn’t lose her life here, Athena’s cruelty felt overwhelmingly heavy-handed.

Athena threw a frigid glare over her shoulder at Du Yu before turning her attention back to the writhing woman.

“Men cherish your porcelain skin above all else. I curse your body to be cloaked in filthy, green scales. No one will ever desire to stroke your flesh again.”

Gorgon shook her head frantically. At last, the agonizing truth dawned on her. Athena wasn’t dispensing righteous justice to make her atone; this curse was laced with a venomous, uniquely feminine jealousy. It was as if the goddess was merely using her as a punching bag to vent her own twisted fury. Before Gorgon could utter another hiss, a horrific sensation washed over her—like thousands of insects skittering beneath her skin. She raised her arms, watching in despair as coarse, emerald scales rippled across her flesh, layering over her body like rolling waves.

“But what I despise the most is your flowing, golden hair,” Athena sneered, her teeth bared in malice. “I curse every single strand of your hair to transform into a venomous serpent. They will writhe upon your scalp for the rest of your days, ensuring no man in this world will ever dare approach you again.”

“No…” Gorgon struggled to force out a single, broken syllable. In the very next breath, her golden locks erupted into a frenzy of motion. Every individual strand thickened and morphed into a viper, their heads rearing back as they hissed and darted around wildly.

Du Yu involuntarily narrowed his eyes. Why did this terrifying transformation feel so familiar?

“Could it be… no, no, no…” Du Yu muttered, slowly shaking his head. “It must just be a coincidence. If she really were ‘her’, she would possess one more very specific ability…”

Gorgon was paralyzed by fear. Her entire body had morphed into that of a monstrous serpent, leaving her with no choice but to writhe and drag her fused ‘legs’ across the floor. She continuously inspected her newly mangled form, her eyes reflecting the gaze of someone staring at an abominable beast.

Because she was, indeed, a beast.

She lifted her head, tears streaking down her scaly cheeks. She simply couldn’t comprehend it. Why had her years of devout, day-and-night prayers culminated in this horrific fate?

“Why would those supposedly great deities ravage me like wild animals?”

“Why would the goddess I worshipped above all others personally disfigure me into a monster?”

She gathered every ounce of her despair and resentment, condensing it into a single, piercing glare aimed straight at Athena.

“Oh, right. Your eyes.” Athena met Gorgon’s hateful stare without flinching. “I despise the way you look at me. Do you think your eyes are so beautiful? I curse your eyes to become a murky, serpentine yellow. From this day forth, any man who meets your gaze shall be turned to solid stone.”

As the final curse echoed through the temple, blood burst from Gorgon’s eye sockets. A fundamental metamorphosis took place as her sclera turned a sickly yellow, and her pupils contracted into razor-thin vertical slits.

Only then did Gorgon slowly lift her head once more. Every last trace of her humanity had been eradicated.

“A… Athena…” Gorgon hissed, her voice grating and inhuman. “Why are you doing this to me…?”

Athena scoffed, her brow furrowing in disgust. “You brought this upon yourself. If your beauty hadn’t been so outstanding, how would you have ever enticed a man? If you hadn’t lured him here, I would still be recognized as the purest of goddesses. And if that were the case… Zeus could have married me!”

Du Yu froze in his tracks. So Athena really was just doing this out of spiteful revenge?

“It’s all because of you… It’s all your fault!” Athena shrieked, losing her divine composure to sheer madness. “I lost my glory! I lost my rightful status! I originally had absolute confidence that I could overthrow Hera for the title of ‘Queen of Heaven’! But you ruined everything!”

Athena stood there panting heavily, her chest heaving until she gradually regained her calm.

“The only thing I can do now is ensure you spend eternity suffering in agony. You will use the rest of your miserable life to atone for what you cost me. Do you understand, Gorgon?” Athena paused, a cruel smile touching her lips. “Actually, no. I don’t think you deserve to bear the ‘Gorgon’ family name anymore. What you are now would only insult your bloodline. I should call you by your given name… Medusa. Isn’t that right?”

The realization hit Du Yu like a physical blow—

Medusa, the most infamous monster in all of Greek mythology. Was it really her all along?