Chapter 140: You don’t have a choice

Leon backed away again, his mind racing to catch up with everything unfolding far faster than he was prepared to process.

"That can’t be the actual requirement," he said.

"That’s not—" He stopped, searching for the right words. "That’s not how any of this is supposed to work."

"It’s exactly how this works," Medusa said, her tone patient, though an edge of something firmer had crept into it now.

Leon’s thoughts raced back toward everything he’d read in Iris’s grandmother’s books, piecing together whatever fragments he could recall about Medusa’s actual history.

According to the text, she’d once been a beautiful woman, cursed by the goddess Athena after Poseidon had taken a particular interest in her, the punishment falling entirely on Medusa despite having no real control over another god’s attention.

He wasn’t entirely certain how much of that story was actually true, given everything else he’d already learned about how loosely these old legends seemed to map onto reality.

But nothing in what he’d read had prepared him for this. A curse, a tragedy, a punishment born from jealousy, sure.

Marriage as a literal requirement for unlocking a shield’s full power hadn’t been anywhere in the text.

"That doesn’t match anything I read about you," he said carefully. "Nothing about marriage, or about this being some kind of condition."

"Books get things wrong," Medusa said simply. "Or leave things out entirely. You shouldn’t trust everything printed on old paper, Leon."

"That’s convenient," Leon said, unable to keep the skepticism from his voice.

Medusa’s expression sharpened slightly at that, the earlier warmth cooling by a noticeable degree.

"I’m not lying to you," she said. "This is the requirement. Whether you believe it fits neatly into whatever story you read doesn’t change what’s actually true."

Leon studied her carefully, searching for any hint of deception in her expression, though he found nothing beyond calm, unwavering certainty.

"Even if that’s true," he said slowly, "you can’t just expect me to agree to something like that. Not after everything that happened today. Not after meeting you a handful of times."

"I don’t expect," Medusa said, her voice growing firmer, the playful lilt draining out of it entirely now. "I’m telling you how it is. You’re meant to be with me, Leon. That’s not a choice you actually have."

Leon’s frown deepened sharply at that. "Everyone has a choice."

"Not this time," Medusa said, taking another step forward, her earlier softness replaced now by something considerably more intense, almost desperate beneath the surface. "Not about this."

Leon held his ground this time, refusing to retreat further, though the sheer, sudden shift in her demeanor left him considerably more unsettled than her earlier flirtation ever had.

"You’re going to have to explain that," he said. "Because right now, it sounds like you’re not actually giving me an option."

Medusa’s eyes locked onto his, something fierce and unreadable burning behind them.

"I’m not," she said simply. "I already told you. This isn’t up for negotiation."

Leon’s frown deepened. "Then explain it properly," he said. "What does marrying you actually mean?"

Medusa’s expression brightened slightly at the question, some of her earlier intensity easing into something closer to eagerness.

"I’ll unlock the full power of Aegis for you," she said. "Everything it’s capable of, no limitations. But in exchange, you’d need to stay here. With me, forever."

Leon stared at her, the words settling slowly into place.

"You mean," he said carefully, "I’ll have to stay here with you forever?"

"Yes!" Medusa said, nodding with excitement.

"Think about it, Leon. No more running, or hiding behind a fake face. You won’t even have to worry about your stupid brother anymore, or the Player Guild Association. Just the two of us here... forever."

She reached for his hand as she spoke, her fingers curling around his.

Leon’s anger built with every word, each sentence landing heavier than the last.

"That’s it," he said finally, pulling his hand free. "I’m done with this."

Medusa blinked, her excitement faltering. "Leon—"

"There’s no difference between you and Arthur," he said, cutting her off, his voice sharp now, edged with a bitterness that had been building all day. "You both just see me as a tool. Something to use for whatever you actually want."

"That isn’t true," Medusa said quickly, her expression shifting into something closer to hurt.

"Isn’t it?" Leon shot back. "Arthur wants proof I’m worthy enough to serve some impossible standard before he’ll actually help me."

"You want me locked away in some field, playing husband and wife, so you never have to be alone again. Neither of you actually cares what I want."

"That’s not fair," Medusa said, her voice tightening.

"Don’t think for a second I’m staying here," Leon said, ignoring her, his voice rising now. "Playing pretend with you while I have actual goals to accomplish out there."

Medusa’s expression shifted sharply at that, something colder slipping in beneath the hurt. She let out a short, humorless laugh.

"What more goals?" she demanded. "You already killed your father, haven’t you? You had your revenge. What more could you possibly want?"

"That doesn’t mean I’m going to stay locked up in some strange field with you for the rest of my life." Leon scoffed.

Silence fell instantly, heavy and absolute.

The playful warmth that had colored Medusa’s expression throughout their entire conversation drained away completely, replaced by something considerably more dangerous.

The snakes coiled through her hair rose slowly into the air, no longer drifting lazily the way they had before.

They hissed loudly, every single one baring sharp, glistening fangs in perfect unison.

Medusa’s lips curled slowly into a wide, sinister smile, stretching further than should have been physically comfortable, revealing her own set of sharp, unmistakably serpentine fangs beneath.

Leon took an involuntary step back, every instinct in his body suddenly screaming at him that the warmth from moments earlier had been nothing more than a thin, deliberate mask.

"I thought," Medusa said slowly, her voice dropping into something low and cold, stripped entirely of its earlier softness, "that since you were different, I could try being nice."

The snakes hissed louder, straining against the air around her head.

"But since it’s come to this," she continued, her smile widening further, sharp and predatory, "don’t think you’ll actually have a choice."