Episode 36: The King of the Underworld is Tired

Episode 36: The Chaotic Story of the Underworld – (1)

And so, Dionysus quietly descended to the island of Naxos...

Zeus and I began to observe the situation below the clouds.

“Is this the island of Naxos?! Artemis~!”

“I can’t see anything.”

Naxos is an uninhabited island, devoid of humans.

That’s why it’s possible that the Gigantes have laid traps here.

The humans who offer us their worship are like our eyes.

“Gigantes, come out quickly!”

“I’ll slay you in one fell swoop, hahaha!”

Crash. Crack.

Two enormous giants who looked down on everything on the island roared and smashed the trees.

They seemed overconfident, as if there were no monsters capable of challenging them.

But the Gigantes are monsters created by our grandmother, Gaia, to overthrow Olympus.

They should have a healthy amount of caution towards us, who even defeated Typhon.

“Where’s Artemis?!”

“Monsters! The Aloadae brothers have arrived!!!”

I would never be as careless as those fools.

They must be lying in ambush somewhere, ready to activate traps with their powers...

At that moment, the island of Naxos began to shake.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

“Is that a trap the Gigantes set?”

“An earth power far surpassing that of Demeter... It seems Gaia herself created it.”

A thunderous noise echoed throughout Naxos as the ground cracked open.

The island's topography was completely shattered, as if Poseidon had struck the earth with his trident.

Boom! Crash!

“Ugh! What’s this now?! Is this the work of those Gigantes?!”

“Argh! You cowardly scum!”

The giant brothers who called themselves the Aloadae lost their balance and fell.

Ephialtes, whom I had slashed in the ankle, rolled on the ground, clutching his head.

No matter how formidable Gaia’s trap, there’s no way such powerful giants would be so easily defeated.

There must be something more.

“Ugh! Ugh. What is this…”

“A trap?! Did Lord Zeus lie to us?!”

From what I can see, there’s poison, hallucinations, and the earth’s direct rejection of them with divine power.

Lady Gaia has gone all out in setting this trap.

“Oh… I’m glad I didn’t send Hermes to scout.”

Zeus looked down at Naxos with a serious expression.

The trap seemed to be aimed at the Twelve Olympian Gods, leaving the giant brothers dazed.

As the island was devastated by a massive earthquake, Gigantes began to emerge from the ground one after another.

From the cracks in the earth, hideous monsters that were a mix of snake and human rushed at the giants.

But one of the Gigantes, who appeared particularly large, shouted first.

Could it be that the Gigantes now have a leader…?

“Hahaha! As our mother said, we’ve caught a big one! I am Agrios, under the command of King Eurymedon!”

“Die, dogs of Olympus!!!”

“Attack!!”

“…You bastards!”

“You cowardly monsters who took Artemis!!”

King Eurymedon? Does that mean these creatures have become strong enough to claim a king?

And that commander-level creature is an unfamiliar face.

Beside me, Zeus’s expression hardened the moment the word "king" was mentioned.

Since the human hero foretold by prophecy hasn’t been born yet, it’s wise to avoid a full-scale battle, but…

Soon, the island of Naxos was engulfed in a brutal battle between giants and monsters.

The Gigantes hurled boulders and swung trees.

“Which god are you?! Ares? Apollo?!”

“Gah!”

“You worm-like monsters! Hand over Artemis!”

Boom! Crash!

In response, the giant brothers swung their muscular bodies wildly, hurling the Gigantes through the air.

Gigantes caught in their brutal grip were smashed to pieces, but the brothers’ bodies were also gradually being injured.

“Grrr!”

“Ephialtes! Let’s escape from here and... Gah!”

“Otos!”

First, they lost their balance due to the earthquake, then they were weakened by poison and the power of the earth.

Finally, hundreds of Gigantes, who had been lying in ambush beneath the island, launched a simultaneous attack.

Even one of the strongest among the Twelve Olympian Gods can’t defeat such a large number of Gigantes alone.

The biggest problem is Lady Gaia’s power—the earth itself is rejecting them.

The Gigantes who introduced himself as Agrios under King Eurymedon jumped onto Otos’s back and strangled him.

Otos struggled, but eventually fell, and Ephialtes howled in despair.

“Indeed, it seems giants can be killed. Gigantes are closer to monsters than gods.”

Zeus stood up quietly and summoned his 'astrape'.

The intense power emanating from the blue lightning in his hand was destructive, yet...

This is one of the weaker bolts he possesses.

“Otos! Gah!”

“We just need to kill this one!”

“Crush him with your bodies!”

The remaining Gigantes, now reduced to a few dozen, threw boulders at Ephialtes after a fierce battle.

They climbed on top of him, crushing him with their weight, and struck his ankles, bringing him down.

“N-no…”

“Hahaha!”

And so, the Aloadae brothers, who challenged Olympus, met their deaths.

Although they managed to slay hundreds of Gigantes, the end was rather anticlimactic given their strength.

* * *

As the battle on the island of Naxos came to an end, Zeus stood up, holding his thunderbolt.

He intended to massacre the exhausted Gigantes after their fight with the giant brothers.

"Now that it's over, let’s clean up."

"Throw it lightly, so it won’t affect the sea too much."

Crackle—Rumble!

Zeus’s body, including his eyes, began to spark with lightning.

The king of the gods, who rules the sky, lifted his arm slightly…

Flash—Boom!!!

A single thunderbolt struck down on the island of Naxos.

But with that one strike, the entire island sank, and the Gigantes were wiped out.

The island was completely torn apart, so many lives were surely lost.

I’m not a god of prophecy, but I can already foresee Thanatos complaining to me about this again in the future.

"Zeus, I’ll head back to the Underworld now."

"Come visit Olympus again next time, haha!"

"I hope it won’t be for something like this again."

I can see Aphrodite over there, drinking nectar and chatting with the goddesses.

I should take her back to the Underworld.

"Hades!"

Our eyes met from across the nearly over party, and Aphrodite, who had been watching me, approached.

Was she smiling because she was looking forward to working in the Underworld?

She walked over and naturally stood in front of me.

"Let’s go quickly. We have somewhere to be, right?"

"Indeed."

Aphrodite, her eyes filled with anticipation, followed me.

But the murmurs around us sounded ominous.

"Gasp! Lord Hades again..."

"During the great flood... I had to work in the Underworld..."

"Poor Goddess Aphrodite..."

...I remember assigning that shivering goddess easy tasks when she was working in the Underworld.

* * *

"Hmm~ Hmm-hmm~"

As I led the humming Aphrodite to the entrance of the Underworld, I noticed a shadow of Thanatos.

Judging by the fact that he had tied up the souls of two giant figures with ropes…

"How could we be defeated by mere monsters! Release us!"

"Gasp! L-Lord Hades?!"

So Otos and Ephialtes, who were killed by the Gigantes, have come to the Underworld.

I should tell Minos to use them for forced labor.

They recognized me standing with Aphrodite and began to struggle.

"Release us, Lord Hades!"

"Send us back to the living!"

But it’s no use.

Maybe when they were alive and under the protection of prophecy, but…

Now that they’re dead and mere souls, do they really think they can escape Thanatos's grasp?

Thanatos’s shadow roughly tossed the souls of the two giants, and they tumbled onto the ground.

Still, they kept babbling nonsense about handing over Artemis and being sent back to the living.

If this keeps up, it’ll interfere with Charon’s work.

"Aphrodite, can you put those fools out of their misery?"

"Of course, that’s easy~"

The goddess of beauty and love smiled sweetly.

Soon, the lust-filled gaze of the goddess fell upon the giant souls.

"Let us out of here... Ah..."

"That treacherous Zeus! He must have Artemis with... Ohh..."

It’s not the first time souls brought to the Underworld have caused a ruckus,

but having the goddess of beauty and love subdue them will definitely improve everyone’s work.

Where should I assign this goddess?

The Cocytus River, where souls hesitate because it’s as cold as ice?

Or the banks of the Acheron River, where many troublemakers like these tend to gather?

Perhaps the Phlegethon  River, where souls hesitate to cross because of their memories of the living?

As I watched the goddess, who had her hand on her hip and her nose in the air, Charon spoke to me.

The always-tired ferryman of the Underworld grumbled.

"Sigh. These ones don’t even have coins. Should I still ferry them?"

"They are major sinners and must be judged. I’ll pay the drachma for them."

"Tsk… Alright. Get on, you lot!"

The two giant souls, now dazed, boarded Charon’s boat one by one.

First, the soul of Otos climbed aboard...

Splash—Sway.

Hmm? Was Charon’s boat always this fragile?

It was certainly built to remain steady, no matter how many souls boarded it.

"Hmm? Why is this so heavy? Hey, you, get on that side!"

Charon, seemingly having the same thought as me,

tried to balance the boat by placing the two souls at opposite ends.

Next, the soul of Ephialtes got on the boat...

Crack—Snap!

Huh…?

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