Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Prior to the battle between Vahn and Zeus, a beautiful woman with fair skin, an immaculate figure, and long golden hair could be found laying listlessly within a bed that could easily fit one-hundred people comfortably. She had pale amethyst eyes that seemed to glimmer with starlight, and, though her outfit gave off the impression of regal nobility, formed from a pale-pink robe lined with downy feathers, the fact her dark red lingerie was on full display gave her the appearance of a high-class courtesan rather than what she truly was, a Queen of Gods.

While languidly laying on her bed, the woman, Hera, was absentmindedly poking her crown, a pout visible on her otherwise perfect face as she lazily droned, "You have a beautiful wife waiting for you but choose to lay with your own descendants...haaaa..."

After releasing a tired sigh, Hera threw her crown with a bit of force, embedding it into the magically reinforced marble that constituted the base material of her palace. Then, floating lazily from the bed, her pale amethyst eyes began glimmering with malicious intent as she muttered, "Shall we see what kind of excuse he has come up with today...?"

Though she had mellowed out considerably since her time on the Surface, Hera still harbored a great deal of hatred for Zeus' illegitimate children. She had tried to become more generous, treating all of his children and grandchildren as her own, but, at times like this, Hera couldn't help but want to lash out. Zeus had forced her to stay within the palace he had constructed to serve as her cage, stating it was for her own protection.

Hera was very aware of the recent attacks, as she had also been a victim to them, but, even after she had been targetted within the palace, her husband insisted it was safer. This had caused Hera a great deal of frustration, as, whenever her husband was with another woman, she was able to sense it. She knew he had spent the last few days engaging with more than a hundred different women, using the recent attacks as an excuse to lock her away so that he could act without inhibitions.

What Hera never understood was why her husband bothered to sleep with other women in the first place. She could freely alter her size, shape, and appearance. She was also far more durable than the most powerful Demigods, and, even if he wanted to try something 'dangerous', she never refused to play along. There were even times when she thought her shame would kill her, but, as it was for her beloved husband, she pushed through, performing countless acts unbefitting of a Queen of Gods...

Shaking her head, Hera continued to ogle herself within a massive mirror while holding up various different outfits to her chest. She was intending to interrupt her husband's fun, but, knowing what would follow, she wanted to look her best for him. Their make-up sex was one of the few times she felt her husband still loved her, so, despite knowing it was just a facade, Hera was very reliant on the passionate act to avoid losing her mind...

Just as she felt like she had found a suitable outfit, a flowing robe formed from silk that glittered like the stars, Hera sensed a disturbance in the very core of her being. Her eyes instantly widened as her expression quickly devolved into one of panic. She could sense something terrible was happening to her husband, something far greater than the spontaneous explosions that had made all of their lives miserable.

Before Hera could teleport to her husband's side, a ripple of malevolent energy spread throughout her palace. At the same time, the floors, walls, and ceiling all turned into fleshy masses, complete with pulsating veins and the distant throbbing of a heart. It was a grotesque sight, but, rather than show disgust, Hera's expression remained one of concern as her mind continued to search for ways to aid her husband.

While Hera was still focused on other things, the shape of her palace quickly morphed into a vast, cavernous, structure. It was only when she heard the sound of distant footsteps that her expression changed from concern to unbridled wrath, her pale amethyst eyes becoming blacker than ink as she looked toward the duo that had imprisoned her...

Creating a very stark contrast between each other, the first figure was a tall woman wearing pristine white armor that complimented her more feminine attributes. Beneath that, she wore a battledress formed from royal blue cloth that was lined in pale gold runes, each reminiscent of Divine Words. As for the second figure, she was much smaller, and, instead of wearing armor, she wore a form-fitting bodysuit that still left areas of her abdomen, thighs, and back exposed. Most of her body had a very light layer of pure white fur covering it, and, atop her head and poking out from her back, large ears and a squirrel-like were the only features that stood out more than her glowing purple eyes.

Before Hera could demand they introduce themselves, the smaller of the duo turned to the larger one, asking, "Is this little girl really our target? She looks more like a high-schooler than a Queen of Gods..."

Though Hera had a mature figure, her overall height and weight were only 155cm and 44kg. She was around the same size that Artoria had been before her transformation, back when she was still in the body of a perpetually fourteen-year-old young woman. This, combined with the fact Hera also had a very youthful complexion, made her seem a lot younger than she actually was. If she was dressed up in a uniform, she would be indistinguishable from a freshman, albeit one with lascivious tendencies...

Hera was considerably offended by the words of the eerie animalistic girl, but, the moment she lifted her hand to punish the foul-mouthed 'brat', both figures seemed to vanish. This caused Hera's eyes to widen considerably, her gesture turning into a sweeping motion that caused five barriers of holy energy to surround her body. Then, bringing her hands together in a gesture of prayer, she began to rapidly chant a spell using Divine Words, her aura compounding exponentially with each verse.

While incomparable to Goddesses like Hecate, Hera had a considerable mastery over illusion, curses, blessings, and transfiguration. She specialized in decreasing the fortune of others and shapeshifting them into more monstrous forms, turning humanity against them and causing them to suffer tragic fates. One of her favorite past times had been tasking Heroes with the subjugation of monsters, the majority of which were the illegitimate sons and daughters of her husband.

What Hera could have never expected was that the moment she was nearing the completion of her spell, the sound of glass shattering echoed through her ears, though not before an ivory-white spear pierce through her chest from behind. She barely managed to turn her head to the side, locking eyes with the older of the two women, one with golden hair and silver irises set with slit-like pupils. The woman had a serious and solemn look on her face, her eyes shimmering with intense focus as she plainly stated, "Your mistake was failing to summon your Guardian before trying to attack...now, rest in peace. I pray that you find solace in your next life..."

Understanding it took a lot more than piercing the heart to ensure the death of a Goddess on Hera's level, Artoria released a swirl of holy energy from [Rhongomyniad]. It quickly formed into something resembling a pure white star, enveloping Hera's entire body and breaking down into its constituent particles before being completely extinguished after seven minutes.

[Rhongomyniad] was a weapon that served as one of the pillars holding up the Surface, keeping it separate from the Reverse Side. It was one of the restricting factors that even sealed Goddesses like Amaterasu, so, against entities trapped on the Reverse Side, it had an absolute advantage. It was also an undeniable truth that, at her current level, Artoria was stronger than virtually every Olympian. This even included Zeus, but, due to the latter's Divine Authority, she would be unable to muster her full power against him.

Just like Ishtar, Zeus' Authority as a 'King of Gods' allowed him to siphon the Divine Authorities of those who followed him. It also gave him a significant advantage against other Gods, as, unless they had a similar amount of Authority, their power would be greatly restricted. This was one of the main benefits of being the highest God within a Pantheon, and, without it, it would be impossible to keep other Gods in line.

Hera also had a considerable amount of Authority as the Queen of Gods, but, due to having nearly died in the distant past, requiring her to fuse with a woman named Europa, she had become much weaker. The true reason for her swift defeat, however, was the fact she had been trapped inside of Illya's Marble Phantasm, a realm of slaughter that had the ability to reduce the grade of a person's Divinity by up to two stages. Hera's weakened Divinity had only been B-Rank from the start, so, with her power being reduced to D-Rank, she barely even qualified as a Demigod, much less a Queen of Gods...

Though it was a little anti-climactic, Artoria and Illya didn't drop their guards for even a moment. Defeating Hera was only one of their assignments, and, though she was a priority target, this was primarily to prevent her from harassing and empowering others, not because her power was great. Rather, she was the weakest of the Olympians at present, specializing in magic that made her better suited to a support role than a primary combatant.

With Hera out of the way, Olympus was left largely unprotected. Though there were hundreds of elite Demigods and powerful automated systems to repel intruders, none of these posed a threat to the indomitable Tier 5 duo. Illya, alone, was able to cut a path of destruction through thousands of human-sized automatons, but, with Artoria having donned her raiment as the Goddess of Fortune, it was only a matter of time until they completed their secondary objective: drawing the attention of Olympus' defenders.

---

Ignoring the sounds of countless explosions, a rather adorable figure with night-blue fur and scarlet eyes could be seen devouring large chunks of a vibrant gold crystal. This was none other than Fenrir, but, rather than appear in her humanoid form, her current appearance was closer to that of a rather large husky cub, albeit with large ears and a fox-like tail.

Fenrir currently felt very excited, as, despite lacking the power to fight against her Master's enemies, she had had been given one of the most important tasks: destroying the Heart of Olympus. Here, the energy from the continent-sized crystal mountain was condensed into a few drops of brilliant golden liquid. This was condensed Divine Energy, and, under normal circumstances, a single drop would be enough to drastically increase even a God's power. A mouthful was enough to grant a mortal eternal youth, and, if you were already a Demigod, consuming a chalice of the coveted material was enough to elevate you to actual Godhood.

Due to its myriad number of uses, even Zeus wouldn't arbitrarily squander [Sacred Divine Water], a single drop of which was used to produce the legendary [Nectar of the Gods]. Thus, over the course of several thousand years, a small basin had filled with the coveted liquid. Above it, a massive golden crystal, similar in appearance to [Das Rheingold], condensed the energy from Mount Olympus before forming it into a drop every three to ten years.

Not caring about the significance of the crystal in the slightest, Fenrir had burrowed into the Heart of Olympus like the larva of a caterpillar. She had also stolen all of the [Sacred Divine Water], securing it safely within her near-indestructible collar. It actually took a considerable amount of restraint to stop herself from lapping up the tantalizing golden liquid, but, knowing her Master had a use for it, Fenrir took her frustrations out on the crystal that produced it. She could feel her power increase at a rate that, admittedly, terrified her. However, since her Master had already told her everything would be okay, Fenrir didn't hesitate in the slightest, even as the white sections of her fur began to glow with a pale golden light...