They were all alerted by the surge of energy that had erupted here in just a moment, but when they arrived, the two of them saw only the corpses that had fallen from on high, the dying who were still moaning in pain, the craftsmen who had survived the calamity, and the damaged temple at the top.
"What happened here?"
Standing on a ground littered with debris, Clytius's expression was somber. At his inquiry, someone soon stood out from the crowd and related to him what had just taken place.
Having likewise heard the full story, Tripdolimos turned to look at Clytius. He faintly noticed a trace of sorrow flicker across the face of the King of Eryxis, but he knew it was not for the dead and injured craftsmen.
"… it's alright, you stay here. Whatever has happened, you are the Chief Shepherd chosen by the Goddess, her spokesperson in the Mortal Realm."
"You should prioritize the affairs of the Goddess; everything else is trivial."
With a calm voice, Clytius understood his eldest son's intentions, but he merely gestured for the people nearby to follow the prince's orders. He then turned and walked toward the old city.
"As for her matters... do not concern yourself, let me handle everything."
"I will arrange everything swiftly and discreetly, just like Demophon."
Silently, watching his father's retreating figure, Tripdolimos was momentarily at a loss for words.
He understood the other party was going to attend to the aftermath concerning Queen Metanira, as earlier that morning, the queen was found dead in her own palace. Although it looked like suicide, there were no signs of any outsider's entry, and the murder weapon had disappeared without a trace.
In his grief, the King had immediately called his son, asking him to use the miraculous 'Divine Arts' to help find the murderer. But then the commotion at the Temple directly led Clytius to 'understand' the cause and effect.
Thus, the two had promptly come here and saw the ground littered with the injured and the dead.
"...I understand, Father, I will take care of it all."
Taking a deep breath and watching Clytius's departing figure, Tripdolimos spoke softly, regardless of whether his father could hear.
The next moment, he turned around, his gaze gentle as he looked at those present. He could see the confusion, doubt, incomprehension, and suspicion in their eyes—emotions that should not be seen in the eyes of the craftsmen who were building the Temple for the Goddess.
So the prince stepped forward, signaling everyone to look toward the direction he was facing.
"The incident that just occurred was an accident, created by an Outsider, and the Goddess lured him away to another place for our safety."
As he spoke words he himself didn't believe, Tripdolimos crossed his hands over his chest.
A glow emanated from his hands, and a gentle power healed the pain of the injured. As a Deity inclined toward the aspect of Life, the Divine Arts passed down by Demeter had many that could easily achieve this, but raising the dead...
"The souls of the devout will surely enjoy peace under the protection of the Goddess..."
In a solemn voice, Tripdolimos looked towards the dead.
"Now... let us together appease their souls."
(Writing directly is still prone to mistakes; I deleted a section yesterday, so it's better to write around the subject, as he's just a supporting character anyway.)
As minutes and seconds passed by, under Tripdolimos's consolation, the mortals on the ground proceeded in an orderly manner with everything.
They collected the bodies of the deceased, believing that all this was not only unrelated to the Goddess but also grateful for her grace. Most importantly, they threw themselves back into the repair of the Temple.
After a long time, the void flickered, and the figures of the twins emerged. Glancing at the activity on the ground, they exchanged looks.
They had been following the image of Poseidon together, witnessing firsthand the "he chases, she flees, she has nowhere to escape" between the two Deities. Demeter tried every possible way to escape from Poseidon, even transforming into a mare and mingling with the mortal herds.
Strictly speaking, given the general abilities of Chaos's deities, such seemingly unreliable transformation had a certain probability of eluding Poseidon, but unfortunately, whether it was due to a buff of Desire, the Sea Emperor's insight also seemed to have increased, and the Goddess of Agriculture was ultimately discovered.
Without hesitation, Poseidon then transformed into a stallion, utterly disregarding the difference in species. He even transformed back into a human halfway through the act.
That was the reason the twins left early and exchanged glances... Eros hesitated for a moment. She wasn't sure, after all, the Golden Arrow wasn't hers; the Lead Arrow was, so to prevent a misperception, she still asked for confirmation:
"Just now... did Poseidon shake off the influence of the Golden Arrow midway?"
"… Yes, that's what happened."
Nodding and with an equally strange expression, Volos confirmed:
"It was when he turned back into human form... my Golden Arrow lost its effect. After all, it's just an arrow shot out of human hatred, reaching this far was already the limit."
"But in my perception, Poseidon's 'emotions' didn't seem to change?"
Eros asked again, and Volos gave the same answer.
Nodding, Volos added:
"Perhaps he had already intended to do it... Maybe without us, this day would have come too?"