King of Underworld

Chapter 35 The Story of Otus and Ephialtes – (3)

It wasn’t difficult to give those giants who introduced themselves as Otus and Ephialtes a bit of a lesson.

When one of them threw a punch at me, I easily dodged it and pricked his arm with my bident to calm him down…

“Aaaagh!”

“Otus!”

At this point, I channeled just enough divine power to intimidate them…

The giant, Otus, froze, and I could see the fear in his eyes.

He was quite strong, but it was obvious he had no combat experience.

“You’re going to prison first.”

I aimed the bident at the fallen giant’s eyes.

But the real target was his ankle.

I pretended to stab his eye with my right hand, while my left hand quietly drew the Styx Sword from my waist, ready to slash Otus’s ankle.

“Wait! Just a moment, Brother Hades!”

“Zeus?”

Zeus had somehow returned to the banquet hall and called out to me.

His head was bleeding ichor, likely from having his hair yanked by Hera, who had caught on to his schemes.

Zeus was now clumsily trying to stick the hair back into place, looking utterly ridiculous.

However, the smile on his lips didn’t appear foolish at all.

Since Zeus seemed to have something in mind, I withdrew my bident and stepped back.

These giants could easily be subdued again if necessary…

“Ugh…”

As I stepped back, the two giants began to rise.

But the fear in their eyes and the slight trembling of their fingers revealed their true feelings.

Zeus glanced at the bleeding giants and spoke with a sharp smile.

“Hmm. Hmm. Such esteemed guests have come to Olympus; we must treat them well.”

This was the genuine side of Zeus that he sometimes showed to those who dared challenge his authority.

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

There was a cold killing intent in that smile and in those calm eyes.

However, the two brothers, Otus and Ephialtes, failed to notice it.

They were young and strong, but inexperienced.

This is why they couldn’t understand why none of the other gods objected to Zeus’s shocking proposal.

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

“Hand them over to us now!”

They both seemed foolish, but Otus, the one I had attacked earlier, appeared to have a bit more awareness.

But still, how could they talk like that after being stabbed by my spear?

I had been about to subdue the two giants and drag them to the Underworld’s prison.

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

Zeus must have realized this too, but he didn’t stop me because he wanted to spare them.

No, it was because he wanted to destroy them entirely.

“Ah, of course, heroes like you deserve no less than Hera and Artemis!”

“Really? But… what about Lord Hades here…”

“It seems Brother Hades had a slight misunderstanding, hahaha!”

Zeus wanted to annihilate them.

* * *

“I’d like to hand over Hera and Artemis to you right away, but…”

“But…?”

“They aren’t here.”

The giants were enraged upon hearing that the two goddesses they had chosen as their wives were not present.

Perhaps Zeus had hidden them away somewhere or told them to lie low for a while.

“What?! Lord Zeus! Have you deceived us?”

Ephialtes, the giant, shouted, his face contorted with anger.

Nevertheless, Zeus calmly reassured him in a gentle voice.

“Artemis is currently on the island of Naxos dealing with something important, so she isn’t here.”

“What important matter is she dealing with?”

“She’s hunting down a monster called the Gigas, a powerful creature with a snake’s lower body and a human upper body. You might find them difficult to face.”

Indeed, Artemis was nowhere to be seen at the banquet.

Could it be that traces of the Gigas had really been found on the island of Naxos?

“And since she hasn’t returned yet, it seems she has been captured by the monsters… I wish there were some brave warriors who could go after her…”

“Artemis captured?! Then Lord Zeus! If we kill those Gigantes and rescue Artemis…”

“Oh, if you do that, I will allow you to hold a joint wedding in Olympus!”

So that’s what Zeus was after.

Zeus’s words were full of flaws.

His tone subtly encouraged them, the condition that they must defeat the monsters to earn the marriage, and his vague response about Hera’s whereabouts.

But the two giant brothers didn’t notice anything strange.

They were young, inexperienced giants, and on top of that, the goddess of persuasion, Peitho, was subtly using her power right beside Zeus.

The king of the gods’ flawed words had a strange persuasive force that confused the giants’ minds.

“Then hurry and set off! If you’re too late, Artemis might fall prey to the Gigantes!”

“A… alright! You must keep your promise, Lord Zeus!”

“Where is this island of Naxos?”

And so, those two fools were swayed by Zeus and left Olympus.

They would have been better off being subdued and locked up in the Underworld’s prison earlier.

No longer needing to hide his intentions, Zeus watched the departing giants with a cold glare and spoke.

The king of the gods loosened his expression and raised a goblet filled with nectar, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Some ruffians appeared for a moment, but I’ll handle them myself, so all the gods should continue enjoying the banquet without worry!”

“Oh… Understood!”

“The fate of those who challenge Olympus is inevitable.”

“Naxos Island, is it? That’ll be their grave.”

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

“Prophecies have so many loopholes… Tsk, tsk.”

When Zeus finished speaking, the soft sound of Apollo’s lyre began to play again.

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

“Oh… So this is that famous wine.”

“Thank you for this, Lord Dionysus.”

The gods of Olympus resumed drinking and eating ambrosia as if nothing had happened,

And Ares, who had easily broken out of the bronze jar, grumbled about the ruined jar.

I immediately approached Zeus.

* * *

“Zeus. Was a Gigas really found on Naxos Island?”

“Ah, Brother, you wouldn’t know yet. Just a while ago, Helios discovered traces of them while driving the sun chariot.”

The Gigantes were monsters created by Gaia, the mother of the earth.

As long as their bodies remained in contact with the ground, they would grow stronger and gain incredible regenerative power.

So how were they discovered on an island in the middle of the sea?

This was clearly a trap by Gaia.

She must be waiting for the rash Olympian gods to descend to the island and start searching for the Gigantes.

“They infiltrated the island? Deceiving the followers of Poseidon in the sea?”

“We already knew that the Gigantes were preparing a trap to weaken our forces.”

Zeus shook his head in response to my question.

So he had allowed the Gigantes to infiltrate the island on purpose.

He must have intended to observe what kind of trap Gaia and the Gigantes were preparing since they could sink or destroy the island at any time.

The Gigantes were indeed of divine lineage, but they weren’t immortal and were more monstrous in nature.

Whether they could be killed would have to be seen firsthand, but…

“It doesn’t matter if the giants die there; my son Dionysus is on standby.”

“You plan to drive them into madness so they’ll kill each other?”

“Hmph. I can’t let anyone who dares challenge me live.”

I see… No wonder he stopped me from subduing and dragging them to the Underworld.

He had already figured out a way to use those strong yet foolish giants.

I had realized this when Zeus stopped me from subduing them but didn’t bother to object.

Trying to claim the queen of the gods, who was already married, and a goddess who had sworn chastity on the River Styx by force was clearly a direct challenge to Olympus.

Since it was a power struggle, not a matter of justice, if the giants died and arrived in the Underworld, they wouldn’t receive a warm welcome.

“So, whose children are they?”

“The important thing is that they dared to challenge me, Zeus. They’ll meet a terrible end there.”

Even if the god of madness, Dionysus, failed to shake their minds, Zeus would have other plans in place.

He could send a transformed cloud to provoke them into throwing spears at each other, or have the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, enchant them.

“It’s a good way to both confirm the Gigantes’ trap and get rid of these nuisances.”

“That may be true, but…”

“They’re already heading toward Naxos Island. Dionysus! Get ready, just in case.”

At times like this, Zeus indeed showed the wisdom befitting the king of the gods…

But just like with the recent Sisyphus incident, why does he only seem to think with his lower half when it comes to matters involving women?