Chapter 330: Magic castle reward 19
The stillness of the forest was broken by the rustling of leaves as a figure descended from the heavens, her form glowing faintly in the fading twilight. Nikolas stood rooted to the spot, his fists clenched and his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. Beside him, Aphrodite stood, her expression was one of apprehension. She knew what was coming.
The goddess who approached was Themis, the arbiter of divine law and order. Her golden scales of justice dangled from her hand, gleaming ominously. She walked with purpose, her gaze fixed on Aphrodite and Nikolas.
"Themis," Aphrodite whispered, her voice trembling. "Why have you come?"
The goddess stopped a few paces away, her expression cold and unyielding. "You know why, Aphrodite," she said. "You have broken the sacred laws, and your actions cannot go unanswered."
Nikolas, a demigod born of Aphrodite and the human warrior Alexios, stepped forward. His divine lineage was evident in the way his presence seemed to command the air around him. Placing himself between Themis and his mother, he met the goddess's gaze with a defiance born of both his human and divine natures.
"What sacred laws?" he spat. "You gods play your games, impose your rules, and punish those who live under your whims. What gives you the right to curse us?"
Themis's gaze shifted to him, her eyes narrowing. "You dare question the gods? You, who are neither fully mortal nor truly divine, exist in defiance of balance. Your very creation was an affront, Nikolas. The curse upon you and your descendants is justice for your hubris and hers."
Nikolas's chest heaved with fury. "A curse for what? For loving her? For being drawn to her beauty and power? What right do you have to dictate our lives?"
"The right of the divine order," Themis replied coolly. "Your union with Aphrodite and the actions born of it have consequences that ripple beyond your understanding. The offspring of your bloodline will bear the mark of your sin: impotence, cursed to struggle in perpetuity."
Nikolas's blood boiled at her words. He turned to Aphrodite, his eyes blazing. "You told me the gods wouldn't forgive, but I won't let them dictate my life—or yours."
"Nikolas," Aphrodite said softly, reaching for him. "Please, don't do this. Let it go."
But he couldn't let it go. Not when Themis stood there, her face barely concealing its judgment, her scales gleaming with the weight of his supposed crime. Something inside him snapped.
He let out a sharp whistle, a sound that echoed through the forest. The ground beneath them seemed to come alive as his animal companions emerged from the shadows: wolves, bears, deer, and even birds descending from the treetops. They surrounded Themis, their eyes glowing with a feral intensity.
The goddess stiffened, her lips curling in disdain. "You dare summon beasts against me? Do you not understand who I am?"
"I understand perfectly," Nikolas said, his voice low and dangerous. "You're just another god playing with lives you don't care about."
Before Themis could react, the animals lunged. Wolves snapped at her legs, bears roared as they clawed at her divine form, and birds swarmed her, pecking and tearing at her face. Themis cried out, her golden scales falling to the ground as she fought back, but the onslaught was relentless.
Aphrodite watched in horror, her hands covering her mouth. "Nikolas, stop this!" she screamed. "You don't know what you're doing!"
But he didn't stop. He couldn't. His rage consumed him, driving him to act with a recklessness he'd never felt before. When the dust settled, Themis lay still, her divine form dimmed, her eyes wide with disbelief. The goddess of law and order had been defeated by a demigod and his forest kin.
Nikolas turned to Aphrodite, his chest heaving. "We're leaving," he said, his voice raw. "Now."
She hesitated, her gaze shifting between her son and the fallen goddess. "Nikolas, this is madness," she said. "The gods will come for us."
"Let them come," he growled. "I'll kill them all if I have to."
Aphrodite's heart ached with a mix of fear and a strange, forbidden desire. She had never seen anyone defy the gods this way, let alone for her. It ignited something within her, a longing that was both terrifying and exhilarating.
Without another word, Nikolas grabbed her hand and led her deeper into the forest, leaving Themis's lifeless form behind.
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Days turned into weeks as they fled, moving from one hidden sanctuary to another. But Nikolas's rage did not subside. It burned brighter with each passing day, fueled by his hatred for the gods and his desire to protect Aphrodite. He began to speak of vengeance, of taking the fight to Olympus itself.
"I won't stop until they pay for what they've done," he told her one night as they sat by a fire. "The curse, Themis, all of it—they brought this on themselves."
Aphrodite watched him, her heart torn. She knew the gods would not let this go unpunished. But she also couldn't deny the fire in his eyes, the passion that consumed him. It drew her to him, even as it terrified her.
"Nikolas," she said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "This path you're on… it will destroy you."
He turned to her, his gaze intense. "I don't care," he said. "As long as I have you, nothing else matters."
Her breath caught at his words. She had seen mortals and demigods fall in love before, but this was different. This was obsession, raw and unfiltered. And she couldn't deny that it awakened something within her—a hunger she had never felt before.
Their bond deepened as they traveled, their nights filled with whispered promises and stolen moments of passion. Aphrodite knew it was wrong, that their relationship was a defiance of everything the gods stood for. But she couldn't help herself. Nikolas's love for her was unlike anything she had ever known, and it consumed her as much as it consumed him.
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When Nikolas learned that his father, Alexios, had been informed by the gods of his wife and son's deeds and was now out on a hunt for his son,, Nikola's rage reached its peak. He saw Alexios as a pawn of the gods, complicit in their tyranny.
"I'm going to kill him," Nikolas declared one night, his voice filled with determination. "He betrayed us."
Aphrodite's eyes widened. "Alexios is still your father," she said. "You can't be serious."
"I'm more than serious," he growled. "He played his part in this, and I'll make him pay."
Against all odds, Nikolas confronted Alexios in a clash of blood and betrayal. The battle was fierce, and though Alexios fought valiantly, he was no match for his demigod son's unbridled fury.
When Alexios lay defeated, Nikolas turned to Aphrodite, claiming her as both his muse and his partner. Though riddled with concerns, her growing passion for Nikolas clouded her judgment, binding them together in a defiance that shook the heavens.
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