This is the story of a magician and an elf girl.

“Roar… Gaga…”

"What...breath..."

"Wait…it's targeting us?!"

"Oh no...Everyone! Deploy the barrier!"

"No! Everyone has run out of magic power... and there are also symptoms of magic vein poisoning... We can't stop such a scale!"

"!"

The hellhound lying on the ground with its mouth pointed at the adventurers was almost resorting to the worst possible strategy. Obviously, given the current situation, if the monster didn't care about its companions at all, or its eyes were already dyed red with murderous intent, then no matter whether this attack would kill all of them, it would not change its end.

“Whoosh, bang, boom!”

Then, an oval-shaped fireball exhaled with a powerful shock wave and attacked Athena and the others. The last light of death in front of their eyes was about to fall...

“Gagaa ...

However, the reflection that finally appeared in front of the light overturned the fate of the adventurers. Showered in the firelight and hot wind, he somehow regained his original intention. This reminded Wendy of the magician's back rushing towards the immortal phoenix, just like the blue bird flying before burning out its life. It was a question of whether there was reason or rationality, but whether people's hearts would care about each other.

“Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!!!”

In an instant, the light fell again.

"JACKAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The monster, whose whole body was hit by huge heat, had no means to resist the hot wind and shock wave. The power of the invulnerable armor was at best immunity to the concept of swords and swords. Once attacked by other concepts or magic, he naturally had no resistance. What's more, it was the hellhound's desperate breath. He endured thousands of high temperatures alone at a very close distance, which was a fatal blow to a human - he was doomed to die.

"Jack...Jack!! Jack!!"

"How could... I'm not breathing..."

"No...Jack! Master Jack!!"

"How could this happen... Master Jack... wake up!"

Wendy spread her wings and caught Jack from high in the sky, and brought him back to the ground when he was almost falling. His whole body was severely burned and the armor he was wearing was falling off piece by piece - if this cursed armor was a curse that he had to bear throughout his life, it could also be said to be the embodiment of his lifespan.

"No... there's still a heartbeat... I'm afraid it's just temporary paralysis... Wendy, quickly give him artificial respiration! Everyone else, get ready to evacuate!! We have to escape quickly before that guy fully recovers!"

"No! We will never run away until Master Jack leaves here!!"

"Master Jack said so! We should use our own hands to create our own future!"

Stop talking nonsense! You can’t win by yourself!!”

"Jack...Jack...wake up...Jack..."

Wendy, holding onto Jack's cold hand and shedding tears, was enveloped in an uneasy atmosphere and a dark environment. The adventurers who stood in front of the hellhound clearly couldn't even use their magic power, but they still wanted to stand in front of the incarnation of hell - when the hellhound healed its wounds, that would be the end of the adventurers' death.

Light, the only one who could fight the hellhound, has fallen, and now even the last hope... Jack has fallen. If Athena does not join the battle, the future of mankind will end here.

"...Wendy...I'll leave Jack and everyone else to you..."

"Goddess...sir..."

"It's decided... We must fight... You must survive... Only by surviving can everything change... For this reason, you must not die here..."

"But...but! Goddess...didn't you say...if you intervene in this battle! There will be no--"

"——It doesn't matter if it's meaningless. If I continue to watch, I'd rather not be a goddess!!"

The light accumulated in her hands turned into a spear and a shield for Athena, who was wearing a majestic divine outfit. Wendy also discovered that the shield seemed to have an ominous aura...

"Don't look at it...you'll die."

"!"

Athena moved the shield with a snake face embedded in it away from Wendy's sight. She knew very well that this shield was her only trump card against the hellhound. It was a divine weapon made from the head of the legendary hero killer - the Aegis Shield, which had the power to petrify all living things in the world.

However, Athena should know that if the goddess interferes with people's choices and destiny, it will leave her with a responsibility that she will never be able to repay in her lifetime, and Zeus will definitely not agree with her doing so.

"To be honest... I have wanted to do that for a long time... but the situation always takes away my choice... again and again... You people are really too cunning... you always... always take away my chance to redeem myself at the critical moment..."

"Lady Athena..."

"But... this time... I'm really helpless... That's enough... Let me bear all of this - I don't want to see you suffer anymore..."

""...""

She is a goddess - a Valkyrie in charge of wisdom, justice, and war. In the past, she could take away everything from others in order to protect her self-esteem and beauty. She put feminism first. But now it is different. Since Athena came to the world, she has come into contact with the adventurers' humanity that can smile happily regardless of any self-esteem. She understands that self-esteem cannot be a reason to hurt others. She realized from the magician and Jack that a true goddess should be able to protect people.

People can live without wisdom and wealth, without power and throne, because what people want most is to meet someone who can love them, nothing more, and this is why Athena could not get the golden apple.

For this, she could let go of all her willfulness and persistence, just for this time.

She also wants to be a companion to humans.

Even if it means violating the rules of heaven, we will do it.

"...I will release you in the name of Athena... Aegis... The time has come to show your power... Reflect the monster from hell in front of you and turn it into gravel -"

Athena raised the shield and released the power of the Eye of Medusa. A bright red light shone from the eyes of the head. The hellhound staring at it seemed to be bound by countless thorny vines and could not move. The regeneration of its body also stopped.

It had absolutely no idea what it was looking at. Those were the eyes that could petrify the legendary sea monsters in an instant, the eyes of the female basilisk that had deceived countless heroes, and were comparable to divine weapons.