Soon, the night passed by in the blink of an eye.
In a separate room, Medusa slowly opened her eyes as she lay on a soft bed.
After washing up and stepping out of her room, she quickly heard cheerful voices coming from the living room.
The moment she recognized two of the voices that rang out from time to time, her expression changed dramatically. A look of shock and fear spread across her face, and her body tensed up instinctively.
These two deeply familiar voices—etched into her very soul—belonged to none other than her elder sisters, who used to love teasing and bullying her.
Although she hadn't seen them with her own eyes yet, Medusa was certain that those voices unmistakably belonged to her sisters. The familiar tone and manner of speech left no doubt.
There was no time to question why they were here. Her immediate concern was facing those two devilish sisters.
But after the initial jolt of fear, an overwhelming sense of joy welled up within her, pushing her to quicken her pace toward the source of the voices.
After passing through a hallway, the suite's living room appeared before Medusa's eyes.
There, on the living room sofa, two identical little girls with matching appearances and outfits were seated on either side of Eriri. One of them was even clinging tightly to Eriri, her gaze filled with longing and adoration, as if she wanted to meld with her entirely.
Both of the girls had long purple twin-tails and wore white off-shoulder dresses. Though their beauty fell just slightly short of Medusa's, it was still more than enough to place them at the pinnacle of this world's beauty standards.
Seeing these familiar figures she had longed for, Medusa couldn't hold back her excited voice.
"Sister Stheno! Sister Euryale?!"
Though she had always feared the teasing and taunts from Stheno and Euryale—and her insecurity about her figure stemmed largely from their constant teasing—
Medusa's love for her sisters had never wavered.
Despite the hardship of being bullied by them, being able to live together with her sisters had always been her greatest happiness.
With Medusa's voice ringing out, the chatter in the living room came to an abrupt halt, and several gazes immediately turned toward her.
"Oh my, Medusa, it's been a while," said the elegantly poised little girl seated on Eriri's right. Her voice was gentle and soft—she was none other than Stheno, the eldest of the Gorgon sisters.
As she spoke, Stheno rose from the sofa and walked toward Medusa.
Though her face wore its usual faint smile, the urgency in her steps and the emotion in her eyes made it clear that she was anything but calm inside.
As much as she enjoyed teasing and toying with Medusa, there was no doubt that Medusa was her most beloved little sister.
Sharing the same deep affection was the little girl seated on Eriri's left, Euryale—the second sister of the Gorgon trio.
Back when Medusa was banished alone to the "Shapeless Isle" near the Island of the Golden Apples for offending Athena, Stheno and Euryale willingly gave up their goddess status to follow Medusa and live alongside her.
Even after Medusa went mad from slaying too many intruders and turned into a monster, Stheno and Euryale never abandoned her. In the end, they even allowed themselves to be devoured by her willingly.
It could be said that the love Stheno and Euryale had for Medusa was wholehearted and unwavering—even unto death.
Due to their personalities, Stheno and Euryale always found joy in teasing their adorable little sister, often treating it as the greatest source of entertainment in their lives.
Perhaps in their minds, only they were allowed to bully their precious sister.
Upon seeing Medusa, Euryale reluctantly let go of Eriri's left arm, which she had been clinging to tightly, and stood up. She fixed her sharp gaze on Medusa and followed alongside Stheno toward her.
"Medusa!"
"Eek!!!"
Euryale's loud call made Medusa instinctively tense up, letting out an adorable squeal.
"I-It's been a while, Sister Stheno, Sister Euryale!"
Watching her two sisters steadily approach, Medusa felt immense pressure welling up inside. Her mind involuntarily returned to the days they had spent living together on the "Shapeless Isle," and she simply stood still, awaiting their approach.
Behind Stheno and Euryale, Eriri sat on the sofa with a faint smile, clearly enjoying the scene and not intending to intervene in the reunion of the three sisters.
Second by second, the distance between Medusa and her sisters decreased.
When the two were about two meters away from her, they suddenly stopped and exchanged glances.
Matching mischievous smiles spread across their faces. Then, under Medusa's surprised cry, they both lunged at her.
At this moment, Medusa was in her younger, childlike form—appearing even smaller than Stheno and Euryale—so receiving both sisters at once with such a petite body was clearly impossible.
To prevent her sisters from getting hurt, Medusa immediately transformed her body into her mature, older form, spreading her arms to embrace their incoming tackle.
The clothes Medusa wore had been created by Eriri when her body was crafted, and they could automatically adjust to fit her body regardless of its size.
So even as her body grew larger in an instant, she didn't end up exposed.
Neither Stheno nor Euryale showed any surprise at Medusa's transformation, since they too now possessed bodies capable of shifting in size and age at will.
This was why they hadn't found Medusa's childlike appearance odd earlier.
Not long ago, Eriri had pulled Stheno and Euryale from the Throne of Heroes into the real world, granting them bodies with the same traits as Medusa—capable of age manipulation and immune to the effects of time.
As a Counter Force, Alaya could only watch helplessly as its Heroic Spirits were taken by Eriri, unable to offer any resistance.
The events of yesterday had made it clear to Alaya: any attempt to stop Eriri was nothing but futile.
Eriri's decision to resurrect Stheno and Euryale hadn't been spontaneous. She had planned it two days earlier.
That evening, while they were having dinner, Eriri noticed Medusa looking at Rin and Sakura with clear envy at their deep sisterly bond. Knowing Medusa's past, Eriri had quietly made up her mind.
To make up for the regret in Medusa's heart, she had arranged everything to bring about this reunion.
...
As Medusa caught her sisters in her embrace, she had already closed her eyes, prepared for the sensation of them sinking their fangs into her neck and sucking her blood.
But even after nearly half a minute had passed, the expected pain never came—nor did the usual biting remarks.
Opening her eyes slowly, she glanced at the sisters clinging to her on both sides.
Both of them had their eyes closed, contentedly soaking in Medusa's presence, their faces adorned with blissful smiles.
Seeing this heartwarming scene, Medusa opened her mouth slightly but found herself speechless. After a moment, she simply closed her eyes again and chose to enjoy the warmth of being reunited with her sisters.
Two or three minutes passed before Stheno and Euryale finally recovered from the joy of seeing Medusa again.
"Hehe, Medusa, you were so adorable in your little form just now. How many years has it been since I last saw you like that~"
Still clinging to Medusa, Stheno beamed at her up close.
On the other side, Euryale looked shyly at Medusa, her usual sharpness nowhere to be seen.
"Medusa, it was wrong of me to always bully you in the past. It's just... you were so cute, I couldn't help myself. Can you forgive your big sister?"
"Big sisters… you two are…"
Seeing her sisters behave so differently from what she remembered, Medusa stared wide-eyed in disbelief. She even wondered if this was all just a dream brought on by longing.
But the warmth of their touch and the familiar scent surrounding her confirmed that this moment was very real.
"Oh my, Medusa, that kind of reaction makes me a little sad," Stheno said softly.
Though her words suggested sadness, her face wore nothing but a soft, teasing smile.
"Really now, silly Medusa! Didn't I make myself clear enough?" Unlike Stheno's gentle voice, Euryale raised her voice a little as she continued, "Ahem, Eriri already told us everything. We didn't realize back then how much our actions hurt you. I'm sorry, Medusa."
By the end of her sentence, Euryale's tone had softened considerably.
"No!" Medusa quickly waved her hands and said, "Second Sister, I've never blamed you. There's no need to apologize."
"Medusa, you dummy... you're just too adorable, and that only makes me want to bully you more!"
"Um... if possible, I'd still prefer if you didn't bully me anymore…"
Hearing Medusa's soft voice, Stheno and Euryale exchanged glances and burst into giggles.
"Don't worry, Medusa. We already promised Eriri—we won't bully you like we did before," Stheno said with a gentle laugh.
But then her tone suddenly shifted with a teasing lilt. "Though… a little bit of harmless teasing might still happen. After all, our little sister is just too cute."
"Mmh… that's good enough."
Taking a deep breath, Medusa suddenly reached out and gently grasped the small hands resting on her shoulders.
"Sister Stheno, Sister Euryale… I'm truly glad to see you again. And also…"
Her tone suddenly dropped, and her expression grew somber.
"I'm sorry… I failed to protect you. Worse, I became a monster and devoured you both. What Second Sister used to say wasn't wrong at all. I really was a useless little sister."
After Medusa's words fell, a heavy silence filled the room.
Suddenly, Stheno leapt down from Medusa and walked slowly to stand in front of her. She raised a hand to gently touch Medusa's lowered cheek.
"You really are a fool, Medusa. We've never blamed you. Not once. Even being devoured—we did that willingly. To be united with our adorable sister… that, too, was a kind of happiness for us."
Euryale, who had also jumped down from Medusa, quickly stepped forward and added, "That's right. Everything that happened was our own choice. You didn't do anything wrong, Medusa, so there's no need for guilt. Even if it all happened again, we'd still choose to stay by your side."
"Big Sister… Second Sister…" Medusa looked at them with tearful eyes. Then, in a sudden motion, her body shrank back to her petite form, and she threw herself into Stheno and Euryale's arms.
"That kind of tragedy will never happen again. From now on, I'll protect you both. I promise."
"Haha! Medusa, don't forget—we're not the powerless goddesses we once were," Euryale laughed. "Ever since becoming Heroic Spirits, our strength has increased greatly. And now that Eriri summoned us into this world, we're even stronger than before."
Hearing this, Medusa beamed and nodded. "Mhm! Congratulations, Sisters."
"So if anyone comes looking for trouble again, we'll face them together, alright?"
"Yes! Big Sisters!"
...
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