Episode 40: The King of the Underworld is Tired

Episode 40: Ominous Signs – (2)

“Lord Hades! Please help us! A creature with a body of a snake and a human...!”

This is... a prayer from one of my followers.

A desperate prayer from someone who is a proper priest.

Following the plea, I focus on the follower's vision, and something comes into view.

A creature with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a human... a Gigantes!

Have I finally caught their trail?

“Lady Styx, it seems a Gigantes has appeared in the mortal world. I need to descend into a human body for a moment...”

“...! I'll inform Olympus right away!”

Goddess Styx sets down her nectar and swiftly moves into action.

I, too, quickly exit the banquet hall.

“A Gigantes...!”

“A Gigantes, you say?!”

Running from the Underworld to Thebes is too far a distance.

Since my follower has enough faith to accept me...  

Possessing that human's body is the quickest way to grasp the situation.

* * *

“Hehe... No one will notice if we eat a few humans...”

“Hold back. We need them as sacrifices for the descent.”

On a mountainside near Thebes, in a dark cave, creatures with snake-like lower bodies and human upper bodies stared hungrily at the humans they had dragged into the cave.

Ten or so muscular monsters, each with the body size of several adult men combined.

As Hades suspected, they were the enemies of the gods: the Gigantes.

“Ugh... Mom...”

“The god Apollo from the sky will help us...”

“Lady Artemis, please respond to us...”

Dozens of people cowered in fear in a corner of the cave.

They had been kidnapped from near Thebes by the Gigantes—ordinary civilians.

Among them was Penedia, a priestess from Hades’ temple.

She had left the safety of Thebes, thinking that no one would dare touch a priestess of the Underworld.

‘So, this is why people have been going missing near Thebes...’

She never imagined that monsters far beyond human understanding would capture her.

“Hahaha! Do you think the gods of Olympus can see inside this cave?!”

“If you wait quietly, I'll grant you a painless death!”

The Gigantes laughed at the tearful and despairing humans.

Despite their desperate prayers, the gods did not respond.

That’s because not every plea reaches the gods.

Prayers not offered at the proper temple, or those not accompanied by enough offerings, and those not from nymphs, demigods, or ordained priests, rarely reach the gods' ears.

‘They kidnapped us for that ritual over there, didn’t they?’

All the other monsters had male faces, but the one in the center of the cave was different.

A beautiful female-bodied monster was chanting incantations while standing on a magic circle made of blood.

“This many sacrifices should be enough to summon him...”

“Lord Enceladus. The preparations are complete.”

“Is that so? Then throw the humans in!”

One of the half-human, half-snake creatures called out to another monster holding a giant club.

That one seemed to be the leader of the monsters.

“You, come here.”

“Kyaaa!”

A rough hand grabbed a woman's hair and threw her forward.

The female monster reached out, grabbed her heart, and ripped it out, scattering blood onto the floor.

“Ah... Ahhhh!”

“No... I don’t want to dieeee!”

'Thud.'

“Stop screaming.”

There was no use in trying to escape.

There was no use in resisting.

All the humans captured in this place would be sacrificed in that grotesque ritual.

The next victim, a man, shouted,

“Do you think the gods will stay silent?! I will watch your downfall from the Underworld!”

“Oh, that’s terrifying. Hahaha! I would love it if the goddess Athena came to stop us!”

The leader, holding a club, mocked him, and the cave echoed with laughter.

The inhuman beings, who even the gods feared, laughed maniacally, deepening the humans' terror.

“Hmph. Once we’ve defeated all the gods of Olympus, Athena will be my wife.”

“Of course, Lord Enceladus. But first, we must summon him...”

“Silence! Do you dare give me orders, trusting in your defeated husband?”

The female-bodied monster urged the continuation of the ritual, but the leader dismissed her.

Hades’ priestess, Penedia, closed her eyes and prayed more fervently than ever.

“Lord Hades! Please help us! These monstrous snake-human creatures...!”

“Hey, bring that woman in black over here.”

“Yes!”

It was her turn next.

A Gigantes, following orders, violently grabbed the priestess by her long hair.

Biting her lips until they bled, Penedia clasped her hands together and murmured a prayer.

“Please... I beg of you. These terrifying monsters...”

As her hopeless prayer continued, in that moment that felt like an eternity,

‘Fear no more. I am here now.’

Salvation had arrived for the mortal.

* * *

The woman, who had been praying with her hair roughly seized, suddenly lifted her head and faced the Gigantes in front of her. Instead of the human eyes she should have had, deep darkness swirled in her pupils.

"Huh? Your eyes are... Kugh!"

A black shadow surged from beneath her feet, piercing through the Gigantes’ wrist and neck in quick succession. A death far too futile for a creature said to rival even the gods.

"A divine power? Even if you're an Olympian god, possessing a human body alone..."

"To come here without any divine weapon or relic, how bold of you!"

With a slight wave of her hand—no, his hand—a black line connected, severing the Gigantes who had been charging at him. The pitch-black divine power tore through the space and sliced apart the bodies of these monsters, which were harder than steel.

Crash! Boom!

Now, only two remained. Encircling the female creature, the giant creature holding a massive club blocked the attack, and behind him, the female creature frowned.

"What are you? Are you one of the Twelve Olympians?"

"The god of the underworld, Pluto... No, Hades. You've heard my name, haven’t you?"

"...One of the Big Three!"

The bident responds only to the true form of Hades, not to his possessed form. The Styx Blade remains at the waist of his body in the underworld, and Kynee, the divine artifact made by the Cyclopes, lies in the treasure vault of the underworld. The body currently possessed by the god is not that of a hero or demigod, but of an ordinary female priestess.

Yet the one who has descended into this body is none other than Hades, the lord of the underworld.

"You filthy vermin..."

The Gigantes had no chance against him.

* * *

I managed to descend just in time. Any later, and my priestess's head would have been crushed by the hands of the Gigantes.

"Lord Pluto... Hades!"

"The Lord of the Underworld..."

"The richest of all, the ruler of souls, has descended to save us..."

The surrounding humans murmured. Despite the fear my name might inspire, their expressions showed relief instead of terror. After all, they had been on the verge of becoming sacrificial offerings in a gruesome ritual. 

I glanced at the humans kneeling, clasping their hands together, and weeping in relief, then shifted my gaze back to the Gigantes holding the club. When our eyes met, he flinched slightly before commanding the female creature behind him.

"Hmph. You are no threat. Once he arrives, you'll be nothing!"

But by the time I had descended here, I had already grasped the entire situation, including what this ritual was about.

"The strange circle on the ground resembles the trap you set on Naxos Island."

"...!"

"A strong divine power of the earth, a summoning of sorts... This sorcery is similar to the magic shown by Hecate, the goddess of magic, during the Titanomachy."

With a gesture, I sent the humans out of the cave. From now on, this cave and the entire mountain might collapse.

"Hurry up and complete the ritual!"

"I have no intention of stopping you, so take your time. I need to confirm with my own eyes who is backing you."

The two monsters remained highly wary of me, but I had no intention of stopping their ritual. The strange magic circle on the ground, created by sacrificing many humans and pouring in divine power from the earth, was designed for the descent of a god. I needed to confirm who was supporting the Gigantes here. When the ritual succeeds, the divine energy that surges forth will alert the other gods. It won’t be long before their attacks overwhelm this mountain.

There's no way Gaia doesn't know about this. Yet, even so, the reason she’s trying to summon someone here is...

"This is Gaia’s declaration of war. A provocation and warning after her trap on Naxos Island failed."

"You're spouting nonsense, you wretch!"

"By the way, who are you, the one hiding behind them? Gigantes are all male. You're no Gigantes."

The female creature trembled as I hit the mark. Although she had the lower body of a snake and a similar appearance to the Gigantes, she lacked the aura of one. She was likely a different kind of monster that only resembled them.

"I am Echidna, wife of Typhon! I will kill all of you detestable gods!"

Typhon’s wife—so that’s it. Her motivation becomes clear. Gaia must have revealed the ritual to her.

"Come forth! You, who exist everywhere and never fade away, great Titan!"

Shwick!

Echidna raised a dagger high and stabbed herself in the chest. She collapsed, but immense divine power surged from the wound, shaking the cave.

Kwoooo—

The body stiffened.

Time began to slow down.

Soon, Echidna, who had collapsed after stabbing herself in the chest, rose again and looked at me. This is a dangerous method even for Gaia, a poison-countering-poison approach.

It seems the Earth Mother Goddess truly wants to drive us out.

"It’s been a while, my eldest son, Hades. Did you miss your father?"

To think she would draw the consciousness of Cronos, who was imprisoned in Tartarus, into this world...

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