85 CURE

Having the strength to move mountains was one thing, but not having dyslexia was such a blessing. His Divine body had taken care of that issue, which meant that words wouldn't float off pages anymore and that he could dive into the endless knowledge of the library.

Frankly, the moment he picked up the first book, he'd long lost track of time. He had gotten tired of walking to the bookshelf the moment he finished a book so he'd just grabbed a dozen or so of them and placed them on his desk for convenience. He had sensed students starting to fill the library, but none of them dared to approach him. They looked at the mound of books that surrounded him with annoyance, but there was a hint of fear in their eyes when they looked at him. It seemed that the rumour of a rogue god bullying their mistress to submission had spread throughout the island.

He didn't particularly care about the attention he was getting and other than his periodic visits to the refreshment counter, he paid the students no heed. Instead, he immersed himself in the books that painted a whole new picture of the Percy Jackson universe. It was a far far more detailed and complicated world than it seemed from the books. Lesser Immortals, Higher Immortals, Power Systems, Pantheons, Magic Systems, Ancient Laws, The Gloom. So many things that fleshed out the universe that he had gushed over in the youth of his past life.

"It is complete", a soft voice interrupted his reading session.

He ripped his eyes from the book he was reading, looking up at the famous sorceress.

"Oh, has it been a week already?", he asked Circe, raising his left eyebrow in mild surprise.

"Six days and twenty-two hours to be exact. I work fast and keep my promises", Circe said, holding her chin up in pride, her black dress and braid making her more beautiful than ever.

"I'll be the judge of that", Athos smiled, standing up to his full height and towering over Circe. "May I see the antidote?"

Circe's proud expression faltered as she looked up into Athos' eyes. She could see a flicker of black lightning dancing behind his dark-blue irises that stared into her own with an intensity that made her clench her fist in nervousness.

When she first meet the man before her, she couldn't truly understand him. He wasn't a Higher Immortal nor was he a sorcerer but when he looked at her with those eyes, she was sure of something.

It didn't matter.

He would go through with every threat that he dished out, and he would do it without a single change in his dark-blue eyes.

"Everyone OUT!", Circe said, her magically enhanced voice reaching every corner of the Library.

Her students who were already warily eyeing Athos and her interaction acted as though somebody had tasered their backs. They shot out of their seats and scrambled to the exit, not bothering to put the books back on their shelves, much to her annoyance.

She waved her hand, returning the books to their rightful place before turning to Athos who continued to stare into her eyes as though daring her to rebel. She sighed in helplessness before raising her hands and ripping apart space once more.

Meanwhile, Athos raised his eyebrow further, looking at Circe ripping apart space. He usually wouldn't have reacted as such displays were common with gods and goddesses but he had caught a faint flicker of blue light on her palm. It lasted for barely a fraction of a second and was something he would have brushed off if he hadn't just gone through a crash course in the Greek Magic system. Was it Aether's carving? She definitely had Eros' carving for her charmspeak. Was it Eros' influence that made her jealous to the point of turning Scylla into a monster? Circe really was never one to fall in love so easily.

"Here, this is it", Circe said, plucking a small bottle that was filled to the brim with a silverfish-white liquid that was glowing ever so slightly. It was sealed with a brown cork and exuded an aura that made him more refreshed than ever.

"How should I administer it? Are there any side effects? Anything else I need? I order you to tell me the truth", Athos said, examining the bottle.

Circe grit her teeth at being reminded of her oath, but she pushed down her anger, refusing to let rage cloud her judgment. "As long as it enters Scylla's bloodstream, it should take immediate effect. As for there being any side effects, I do not know. This is something I have brewed only once, and you may need this."

A long, spotless peplos materialised in her hands.

"Why would I need that?", Athos frowned.

"Well....", Circe's dour expression worsened and she looked at him as though asking, 'Just how dense can you be?'. "I poured the poison into the pool where she took a bath, so Scylla was naked when she turned into a monster. When she turns back into a nymph, I doubt she'll have clothes."

"Oh! Ahem...yes, that makes sense", Athos awkwardly coughed before placing the garment in his watch while Circe muttered something about men under her breath.

"Oh! How much gold can you make?", He suddenly asked, catching Circe off guard.

"Eh? What? Gold? I can materialize a fair bit. But why?", Circe asked, confused.

"Reasons. Give me all you have. And can you upgrade this for me?", Athos waved off her question and pointed at his watch. Having more storage space was always a plus.

Circe walked up to him and examined the watch for about half a minute.

"Magically speaking, my forte is Love Magic. I haven't advanced much with regard to Aether's Domain which means I can't do anything permanent to the watch. I don't have enough Divinity to affect the miniature space pocket either. As for your other request....", Circe touched the watch with a finger for a few seconds before taking it off. "You now have enough gold to sink a small boat"

"That'll do, well, I'll be off then", Athos nodded and his suit morphed back into his black armour. Perastos let out a long mental sigh of relief as if holding a non-combat form for long was tiring. It was never the same after the Dragon Blood. He brought his fingers to his lips and let out a high-pitched whistle that would make any mortal's ears bleed.

Before Circe could ask him why he whistled, the wall to her right began to tremble.

BOOM!

A tall muscled horse burst into the Library, pulverising the wall behind it. It neighed in indignation and glared at Athos.

"Yeah yeah. I'm sorry about taking so long. Here, take this as an apology", Athos held out his palm and two large gold bars appeared.

Arion's annoyed expression vanished as he pounced on the bars, his teeth cutting into the metal like a hot knife on cheese. Circe was in shock, looking at the destroyed wall and at the horse that was gobbling gold. Could her day get any weirder?

"No. That's all for now. We have to go", Athos shook his head at Arion who was now looking at him with puppy eyes. If he let Arion eat as much as he wanted, his reserves of gold would vanish in an instant. The divine horse may as well have a black hole in his stomach.

Athos wasted no time, jumping on the back of the grumpy horse and turning toward Circe.

"I'll be back"

BOOM!

***

Its good to be back.

Mass release time.