Chapter 834: Ch 833: Shameless

He threw a punch.

It was as though the sun had risen from the earth itself. Countless golden rays converged into a blazing golden sun, an ocean formed from innumerable Fists of Light.

Then six or seven seconds after the light appeared—

BOOM!

A deafening explosion finally reached Artemis's ears.

Then came the sharp sound of something shattering, like glass breaking apart.

The moonlight overhead vanished without warning.

At the same time, the dense forest below faded into a phantom. The vast woodland that had only just sprung across the plain was wiped away as cleanly as if someone had erased it with a giant rubber eraser.

The reddish-brown plains of Mars returned to reality, once again stretching beneath Artemis's feet.

Standing on the red earth with her bow in hand, she stared at the scorched wasteland before her. Her expression shifted unpredictably as she drew a slow breath.

"...Seventy percent? Without Burning?"

Disbelief colored her voice.

That attack had only been seventy percent of Ryo's strength? And what exactly did without Burning mean?

Did he have another state beyond this? But what was he even burning?

Less than eighty meters away, Ryo looked at Artemis in surprise, "We were that close?"

Just moments ago, he'd pushed every detection method he had to its limit. Telekinesis, Spirit Rank perception, reiatsu scans—everything.

And somehow, he'd failed to notice they were only eighty meters apart.

'A concealment-type authority?' His eyes lit up. 'That's... actually perfect for me.'

He'd already realized something during their fight.

Once Artemis invoked her Authority, he hadn't been completely helpless, but he hadn't been far from it either. Until he further expanded his Cosmo and simply overwhelmed her with raw power, he had no effective way to counter her.

It was a weakness born from his lack of familiarity with Little Garden's combat system.

Fortunately, it wasn't an impossible flaw to fix. Everything came down to Authorities.

Once he learned how they worked and became accustomed to fighting with them, the problem would solve itself.

'Imagine standing eighty meters behind Zeus... then casually opening with a Galaxian Explosion.'

The thought brought an unmistakably mischievous grin to Ryo's face.

Seeing it, Artemis instinctively took a step back.

Realizing she'd done so, her face flushed with shame. She clenched her teeth, stepped forward again, and drew the short dagger at her waist.

"You're sure you want to fight me up close?" Ryo narrowed his eyes.

The golden aura around him intensified, writhing like a living creature.

"I'm not holding back anymore." His eyes fixed on her face, his voice carrying an unmistakable warning. "And I think it's time you let go of your revenge and put the past behind you."

Artemis's expression turned icy. "You're still mocking me!"

"...Can you not understand plain language?" Ryo frowned. "Try thinking about the situation instead of blindly following your feelings, you idiot. You're way dumber than your older brother Apollo."

"...Apollo is my younger brother." She bit the words out through gritted teeth.

The next instant, her silver hair darkened into a pitch-black abyss. Her eyes slowly filled with an ominous glow.

"In the name of Artemis, Goddess of the Moon..."

"Ryo Yagami. I curse you! May your words bring you unimaginable calamity. May every pure-hearted maiden despise you. May—"

"A Greek curse?!"

Ryo's face changed instantly. He couldn't believe she'd resorted to that.

It was a forbidden spell infamous for bringing down two generations of divine kings. Most people only used something like that as a final act before death. Was she really so thin-skinned that a little provocation pushed her this far?

"pfff!"

Artemis suddenly spat out a mouthful of filthy black blood. The same ink-dark fluid trickled from her ears, eyes, and nose, carrying a nauseating stench.

"...Backlash..." She wiped the blood from her lips, her expression bewildered. "Why...?"

Ryo fell silent for a moment before asking, "Who do you think my lovers are?"

"...Impossible..." Her body swayed. "Even a three-digit God King shouldn't be able to cause this level of backlash..."

Ryo opened his mouth, sympathy in his eyes.

Seeing that expression, realization dawned on Artemis.

"...Algol? The Demon Star?" She stared at him in disbelief. "You and that woman...?"

"What else?" Ryo shrugged. "With backlash this severe, you should already know the answer."

As he spoke, he slowly walked toward her.

Then he crouched.

Raising his fist, he drove the back of it hard into her cheek, pressing it deep into her soft skin.

Only after leaving a perfect fist-shaped imprint did he stand back up.

Smiling brightly, he said, "There. I kept my promise. I kissed you with my fist."

He even gave her shoulder a friendly pat, adding in a tone guaranteed to infuriate anyone, "You really shouldn't make promises you can't keep. And if you're injured, stop pretending you're fine. Otherwise... you end up looking like this. Go find a mirror sometime."

Artemis glared at him murderously.

If looks could kill, Ryo would have died a thousand deaths already.

Yet he wasn't finished.

"What a shame. I only used seventy percent of my strength. You couldn't even force me into Burning, let alone make me use my Gold Saint techniques." He sighed dramatically. "Being too strong has its problems. Finding worthy opponents is hard."

"pff..."

Another trickle of black blood escaped Artemis's lips, though she stubbornly swallowed the rest.

She wiped her mouth and struggled to stand.

Seeing that, Ryo hurried over to help. And to prevent her from refusing, he very thoughtfully snapped both of her arms first.

Her scream echoed across the plain.

With a sympathetic sigh, he said, "You're in such bad shape. I'll help you walk. If you can't make it back to camp, people might think I bullied you."

Artemis glared at him with blazing fury.

She considered kicking him, but abandoned the idea. She had no doubt whatsoever that this man would simply break her legs too.

Seeing her "good behavior," Ryo nodded approvingly. "I didn't have as much fun as I'd hoped, but at least I got a good measure of my current strength. Thanks. You really helped me out."

Artemis said nothing.

She allowed him to support her, her gaze colder than ancient ice.

Once they had started walking, she spoke in a voice devoid of warmth. "I won't let this go. As long as I live... I'll repay today's humiliation in the cruelest way imaginable."

Ryo reacted as if he'd been terrified, nearly dropping her. "W-What's wrong with you? You're that cruel? You actually want to marry me? That's disgusting!"

The icy mask on Artemis's face shattered. "When did I ever say I wanted to marry you?!"

Ryo steadied her again before giving her a look somewhere between amusement and pity. "Think about it. What's the cruelest revenge a woman can take on a man?"

"Marry him. Spend all his money every day. And make him stand there watching because there's nothing he can do about it."

For a long moment... Artemis completely forgot how to speak.

There was only one sentence she desperately wanted to say to Ryo.

She had never, in all her life, met anyone so utterly shameless. He was more shameless than Zeus and Indra... combined.

.

.

.