Episode 15: The King of the Underworld is Tired

Episode 15: The Story of Typhon – (4)

Mount Olympus, the divine palace above the towering clouds.

Reclining and savoring his victory, Typhon found it strange that Cadmus had not yet returned.

Hadn’t he promised to reward him with a goddess in exchange for playing the lyre by his side?

Could it be that he fled?

There’s no way a mere mortal would refuse the reward of embracing a goddess.

It could be one of Zeus’s schemes.

As Typhon pondered for a moment, he considered summoning his subordinate, the monster Delphyne, to find the insolent human.

If not for the numerous divine powers approaching from afar.

"Are these weaklings coming to challenge me again?"

Even if the gods who had fled gathered, it would be pointless...

"Typhon! I have returned!"

Zeus, holding the Astrapē above the black clouds?

But his tendons were surely severed… Damn that human!

As Typhon hurriedly rose, black clouds gathered above his head, unleashing a torrent of fierce lightning.

Flash—BOOM!

"Arghhh!"

The pain.

It was unbearable.

It felt like his entire body was burning.

Wasn’t Zeus’s lightning supposed to only sting? How could it hurt this much?

Typhon grit his teeth at the power of Zeus’s lightning strikes.

When he ambushed Olympus, it wasn’t nearly this strong.

Those cursed Moirai and the strange fruit they gave him!

"I won’t be careless this time. Let’s see who truly deserves the throne of the chief god!"

In Zeus’s hand, now that he had reclaimed his stolen tendons, a destructive blue lightning bolt crackled, displaying his power.

With a thunderous roar, Zeus hurled the Astrapē once more.

"Arghhh!"

Typhon didn’t remain idle.

He was the god of storms, and a mighty wind, capable of toppling even the tallest mountains, raged furiously, laying waste to everything in its path.

Though Zeus’s lightning was painful, it wasn’t enough to kill the weakened Typhon outright.

A massive hand, carried by the storm, shot out toward Zeus with deadly force.

If he could just crush the king of the gods...

‘Once I subdue Zeus, the others are nothing.’

As Typhon thought this, a sweet voice echoed in his ear.

"Over here, just for a moment, won’t you?"

A soft, weak voice from below.

But an irresistibly alluring voice that briefly diverted Typhon’s attention and made him look down.

A beautifully adorned woman, Aphrodite, smiled brightly as she locked eyes with Typhon.

Under the full force of the goddess of beauty’s charm, the momentum of Typhon’s reaching hand faltered.

"Zeus! You don’t care if Mount Olympus gets a little damaged!"

"Less talking, more moving, Poseidon!"

"Then I won’t hold back!"

The blue-haired god raised his trident high and struck the earth with all his might.

The power of the Trident, a masterpiece crafted by the Cyclopes brothers, manifested as the ground shook violently, making the entire mountain tremble.

"O Earth, tremble. Reveal your inner depths to me."

With her voice cold and steady, Demeter placed her hand on the ground.

The earthquake was intensified by Demeter, the goddess of the earth.

The ground cracked and shifted unpredictably, making it difficult for Typhon to move and throwing him off balance.

Next, Hestia’s power warmly embraced the gods, while fierce flames burst forth from the hammer of Hephaestus, the god of fire and blacksmiths, consuming everything in their path.

A storm raged so violently that trees were reduced to dust, and the ground erupted in the battle of the gods.

Mount Olympus was gradually losing its form.

* * *

Some distance from Mount Olympus, a great calamity struck the cities of mortals.

Flash—BOOM!

Thunder roared continuously from the sky, and the earth shook violently with earthquakes.

Buildings collapsed, and storms raged as people cried out to the gods.

"Ahhh! Zeus, what have we done wrong!"

"This earthquake must be Poseidon’s punishment! Did you fail to offer the proper tribute to the sea?"

"Aahhh! Please save us!"

Rumble—

People desperately tried to flee the city, while some remained in the temples, praying to the gods.

They didn’t know which god, but they hoped that their prayers would be heard and the anger would be appeased.

BOOM!

Once again, thunder and storms raged, causing buildings to collapse.

"This... This isn’t right. The gods wouldn’t punish us like this!"

A priest of Demeter, residing in the city, clearly sensed something was wrong.

So far, the disasters that had occurred included thunder and lightning, heavy rains, earthquakes, and fierce winds.

No single god should possess all these powers.

Yet it would only take the power of one god to destroy this city.

"Could it be that the gods are fighting?"

The mortals soon realized.

This was merely the aftermath of their battle, like crumbs falling from a loaf of bread or sparks flying while mining metal.

The true disaster was unfolding on Mount Olympus.

* * *

"Hahaha! War! It's war!"

A red divine aura erupted from Ares' entire body like a storm.

His war horses, known as divine steeds, snorted fiercely as they ran through the air.

The god of war laughed madly as he charged forward in his chariot.

His target was the monster’s face, and it didn’t matter if his attacks couldn’t wound it.

Unlike the last time, when all he could smell was defeat, this time he could feel the melody of victory approaching.

"You… you vermin!"

Furious from being relentlessly beaten by the gods’ combined attacks, Typhon wildly swung his arms,

And once again, a terrible scar of destruction was carved into the world.

The war chariot that Ares had bravely driven forward was shattered, and he was violently thrown, crashing into the mountainside.

"Ares!"

Even the clouds that had drifted serenely scattered, and the stars in the sky climbed higher in fear of Typhon.

The horses of Helios' sun chariot, frightened, fled upward into the sky.

As the sky gradually darkened, Zeus’s lightning and Hephaestus’s flames illuminated the world.

BOOM!

"Arghhh!"

Once more, a blue thunderbolt struck Typhon's body, causing smoke to rise and delivering excruciating pain.

As Typhon howled in agony, glowing arrows pierced his eyes.

"I’ll aim for the right eye. You take the left!"

"The next prey is a big one, brother."

Apollo, the god of the sun, and Artemis, the goddess of the moon.

The two children of Zeus each fired arrows imbued with the power of the sun and the moon.

The twin gods, children of the chief god Zeus and the goddess of motherhood Leto, were both deities of archery and expert marksmen.

Their arrows never missed their target.

Next, the scorching flames of the blacksmith god enveloped Typhon's body, and the heavily armed goddess of wisdom struck the monster’s ankle.

The Olympian gods continued their coordinated attacks, but...

"If not for those Moirai’s tricks, these wretches would have fallen long ago!"

The monster was still standing strong.

Although victory was clearly in favor of the Olympian gods, Typhon was a doomsday weapon created with all the might of Gaia.

Though he was weary and wounded, he would not fall easily.

The sea god, sickened by the sight of Typhon still standing after the ongoing battle, decided to use all his power.

If he could bury Typhon deep in the ocean, no matter how immortal the monster was...

"Damn it. That accursed monster… Rise, waves..."

"Poseidon! If you summon a wave, all the humans on land will die!"

As Poseidon prepared to call forth a massive tsunami to bring Typhon down, Hestia urgently stopped him.

Victory was surely in their hands, so there was no need to sacrifice the lives of those on the earth.

"But how much longer can we keep this up..."

"Just wait a little longer! A turn of events will soon occur!"

As Athena dodged Typhon's kicks, she shouted, but Poseidon was frustrated and sighed deeply.

Typhon, like the gods, was immortal. With his ability to control the raging winds, he must have the divinity of a storm god.

Though the Moirai had weakened him with their deception, the only ones who could still inflict meaningful damage were Zeus and Poseidon.

Without the mighty force of one of the three chief gods, any wound inflicted would heal instantly, thanks to Typhon's incredible regenerative powers.

"Hahaha! Aside from those two, all of you are mere vermin... ugh!"

Just then, as Typhon easily deflected Hera's attack and sneered, a pitch-black, ominous slash flew toward him.

Typhon hastily raised his arm to block it, but divine blood, ichor, began to flow from his body.

The golden liquid splattered on the ground, marking the wound on the storm god.

This level of power… While weaker than Zeus, it was similar to being struck directly by Poseidon's trident.

Typhon turned his head toward the direction the slash had come from, looking at the new threat on the battlefield.

Approaching with a cold, murderous aura was a dark-haired god, wielding an old, wornout helmet and a massive scythe.

"...Hades!"

"Our uncle succeeded. Now this monster is finished."

That scythe was Skýthe, the weapon Typhon had stolen from Zeus and secretly hidden away!

The ultimate weapon, forged from adamantine, posed a serious threat even to Typhon.

"One of the three gods who rule the world, the king of the underworld, Hades, has rendered his verdict. Listen carefully, monster."

The somber god continued as he brought the helmet up to his head.

"You will be imprisoned in Tartarus for eternity."

As the king of the underworld fully donned his helmet,

Typhon, who had been able to track even Hermes, the fastest of the Olympians, lost sight of Hades completely.

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