Episode 35: The King of the Underworld is Tired

Episode 35: The Story of Otus and Ephialtes – (3)

It wasn’t difficult to deal with the giants who introduced themselves as Otus and Ephialtes.

I simply dodged the incoming punches and gave them a prick with my bident to calm them down...

"Aaaagh!"

"Otus!"

At this point, I drew upon a bit of divine power to intimidate them...

The giant known as Otus froze, fear flickering in his eyes.

They’re quite strong, but it’s clear they have no battle experience.

"First, you’re headed to prison."

I aimed my bident at the fallen giant's eye.

But my real target was his ankle.

With my right hand, I pretended to stab his eye with the bident, while with my left hand, I quietly drew the Styx sword from my waist, ready to slash at Otus's ankle.

"Wait! Please wait, Brother Hades!"

"Zeus?"

Suddenly, I heard Zeus calling my name from across the banquet hall, having returned unnoticed.

Judging by the ichor flowing from his head, it seemed Hera had yanked out some of his hair after sensing the tension.

Zeus looked rather ridiculous as he clumsily tried to reattach his hair.

But the smile on his face was anything but funny.

Seeing that Zeus had something in mind, I withdrew my bident and stepped back.

After all, these giants could easily be subdued again at any time...

"Ugh..."

As I stepped back, the two giants slowly got to their feet.

But their eyes, now filled with fear, and their trembling fingers betrayed their feelings.

Zeus glanced at the bleeding giants, a sharp smile forming on his lips as he spoke.

"Hmm. Hmm. Since you are esteemed guests in Olympus, we must treat you well."

This was the sincerity Zeus often displayed towards those who challenged his power.

"So, you’ve come to claim Hera and Artemis?"

There was a cold malice in that smile and in the calmness of his eyes.

But the brothers, Otus and Ephialtes, failed to notice it.

They were young, strong, but inexperienced fools.

That’s why they couldn’t understand why the other gods weren’t objecting to Zeus's drastic proposal.

"That’s right! Lord Zeus, we swore by the River Styx to take Artemis and Hera as our wives!"

"Hurry up and hand them over to us!"

They both looked foolish, though the one I attacked earlier, Otus, had a bit more awareness.

Not that it mattered; how could he still be talking like that after getting stabbed by my spear?

I was about to drag Otus and Ephialtes off to the underworld’s prison.

As the prophecy said, they couldn’t be killed, and I sensed a familiar divine power in them.

Zeus must know this, yet he stopped me—not out of mercy.

But to utterly destroy those who dared to challenge him and Olympus...

"Ah, of course, for heroes as mighty as yourselves, Hera and Artemis are not undeserving!"

"Really? But, Lord Hades, he..."

"It seems there was a misunderstanding with my brother Hades, hahaha!"

It’s all to ensure they meet their end.

* * *

"I’d love to hand over Hera and Artemis to you right away, but..."

"But...?"

"They’re not here."

The giants grew furious upon hearing that the two goddesses they had chosen as their wives weren’t present.

Zeus must have hidden them somewhere or told them to lay low for a while.

"What?! Lord Zeus! Were you deceiving us?"

Ephialtes shouted, his face contorted with anger.

But Zeus calmly soothed him with a soft voice.

"Artemis is on Naxos Island dealing with some important matters, so she isn’t here."

"What important matters?"

"She’s hunting down a Gigantes, a powerful monster with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a human. You’d have a hard time dealing with them."

Indeed, Artemis was not present at the banquet.

So perhaps traces of the Gigantes really had been found on Naxos Island.

"But since she hasn’t returned yet, it seems she’s been captured by those monsters. Hmm... It would be great if some brave heroes could step in..."

"Artemis has been captured?! Then, Lord Zeus, if we kill those Gigantes and rescue Artemis..."

"Oh, if you can do that, I’ll allow you to hold a joint wedding here in Olympus!"

So that’s Zeus’s plan.

There are too many flaws in Zeus’s story.

His tone is subtly encouraging them, the condition that they must kill the monsters to be allowed to marry, the vague answer about Hera's whereabouts.

Yet, the two giant brothers noticed nothing amiss.

Their youth and inexperience made them oblivious...

Peitho, the goddess of persuasion, subtly exerted her influence right beside Zeus.

The king of the gods spoke carelessly, yet his words, full of holes, strangely muddled the minds of the giants.

"Then hurry up and depart! If you're any later, Artemis might fall at the hands of the Gigantes!"

"Ah... alright! You better keep your promise, Lord Zeus!"

"Where is this place called Naxos?"

And so, the two fools fell for Zeus's words and descended from Olympus.

They would have been better off if they had been subdued and thrown into the underworld's prison earlier.

As if there was no longer any need to hide it,

Zeus, who had been watching the giants descend from Olympus with a cold gaze, opened his mouth.

When the king of the gods relaxed his expression and raised a cup filled with nectar, all eyes were on him.

"Though some ruffians appeared for a moment, I'll handle them myself, so all gods should continue to enjoy the feast without worry!"

"Oh... understood!"

"The outcome for those who challenge Olympus is always obvious."

"Naxos Island, is it? That will be their grave."

"Their last stroke of luck was being subdued by Lord Hades earlier. Hahaha!"

"There's so much room for error in prophecies... tsk tsk."

As Zeus finished speaking, the soft sound of Apollo's lyre resumed.

The nine Muses displayed their artistic talents, and Dionysus made wine to share with the gods.

"Oh... so this is the wine I've heard about."

"Thank you, Lord Dionysus."

Now, the gods of Olympus tilted their cups and began to eat ambrosia as if nothing had happened,

and Ares, who had easily broken a bronze jar, grumbled about having shattered a precious vessel.

I headed straight for Zeus.

* * *

"Zeus, was a Gigantes found on Naxos Island?"

"Ah, brother, it seems you don't know yet. Helios discovered traces of them while driving his sun chariot a while ago."

The Gigantes are monsters created by the earth goddess Gaia.

They become stronger and gain tremendous regenerative power when their bodies touch the ground.

So, these creatures, who must stay on land, were found on an island in the middle of the sea?

This is clearly a trap set by Gaia.

They're probably waiting for the reckless gods of Olympus to descend onto the island and search for the Gigantes.

"They infiltrated the island? Deceived the sea creatures under Poseidon's command?"

"We already knew the Gigantes were preparing traps to diminish our forces."

His head shook from side to side in response to my question.

He must have deliberately let the Gigantes pull their tricks on the island.

Since he could sink or destroy the entire island at any time, he probably planned to see what kind of traps Gaia and the Gigantes were setting up.

Although the Gigantes are a divine race, they aren't immortal and are more monstrous in nature.

I can’t be sure if they can be killed, but…

"It doesn’t matter if they don’t die there. My son Dionysus is with us."

"You intend to drive them mad and make them kill each other?"

"Heh. I can't let those who dare challenge me live."

Yeah... it made sense that he stopped me from subduing them and dragging them to the underworld.

There was a way to use those strong but foolish giants, so of course, he would have acted that way.

I had already sensed something when he stopped me from subduing them, but I didn't bother opposing it.

Trying to take by force a married goddess and a maiden who had sworn to the River Styx is clearly a direct challenge to Olympus.

Since it was a contest of strength, not justice, they wouldn't receive a warm welcome in the underworld if they ended up dead.

"By the way, which god’s children do you think they are?"

"The important thing is that they dared to challenge me, Zeus. They will die miserably there."

Even if Dionysus fails to shake their minds with madness, Zeus would have other plans.

He could send clouds transformed into beasts to provoke them into throwing spears at each other, or have Aphrodite bewitch them.

"It's a good way to check what traps the Gigantes have prepared while getting rid of a nuisance."

"Of course, but..."

"Look at that, they're already walking towards Naxos Island. Dionysus! Just in case, you should prepare as well."

At times like this, Zeus makes wise decisions worthy of the king of the gods...

But really, why does he always seem to think with his lower half when it comes to matters involving women?

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