Chapter 16
"You will be thrown into Tartarus for eternity."
As I finish my provocation and put on Kynee, I feel the familiar sensation again.
It feels like I've temporarily disappeared from the world and stepped into a different space.
"You... you bastard! Where are you hiding!"
Boom!
Typhon strikes with his fist where I was just a moment ago and sweeps the area with a storm, but I'm already gone.
[Zeus, let's follow Athena's plan.]
[Alright, I'll send the clouds when I see an opening]
I realized it clearly after landing that slash on Typhon.
I can wound Typhon while wielding Schythe, but I can't behead him in one strike.
Even weakened, he's still a monster that defeated all of Olympus.
His body's hardness is beyond imagination, so even Zeus's world-rending lightning only causes him pain.
Boom!
"Take this! Typhon!"
"Arghhhh!"
While wearing Kynee, when I infiltrated Olympus occupied by Typhon to retrieve Schythe.
I had initially intended to behead Typhon myself.
But when I arrived on the battlefield and asked the other gods to create an opening, only Athena had a different opinion.
[Uncle, only Zeus will be able to cut that monster's neck]
[I'm holding a sickle made of adamant. Even considering this?]
[Yes. Please deliberately reveal yourself to him briefly. Typhon is just a young monster with strong power but no war experience]
Even wielding Schythe made of adamant, I can't inflict a fatal wound on him with my power.
But if we drag it out, there's a possibility he might escape.
Zeus, who can behead him in one strike, is Typhon's top priority to guard against.
Therefore, we'll divert Typhon's vigilance towards me and secretly pass Schythe to Zeus.
When Typhon is wary of me, the invisible assassin, Schythe will already be in Zeus's hands.
That was the plan of the goddess of war and wisdom.
"Hades! You're hiding like a rat! Arghh!"
Boom boom boom boom!
The fiercest storm ever rages on Mount Olympus.
The monster writhes anxiously, knowing an assassin with the most threatening weapon is targeting him.
Inevitably, the intensity of his vigilance towards Zeus weakens.
"Weren't you fighting me, Ares! Don't get distracted, Typhon!"
The god of war, who can fully exert his power in fierce battles.
Ares, who had been flung into the mountain, leaps back into the battlefield and charges at Typhon.
"See for yourself what the flames of Olympus's forge are like!"
As Hephaestus, god of smithing and fire, raises his hammer high, the surrounding earth is engulfed in flames.
With the tacit approval of Demeter, goddess of the earth, the intensified fire grows so large it reaches the clouds.
Typhon responds by summoning another massive gale,
creating a gigantic firestorm connecting earth and sky.
Boom boom boom boom-
[Now's the time, Zeus. I'll pass Schythe.]
[I'll send a five-colored cloud, place it there, brother.]
Now's our chance, with Typhon's vision obscured by the firestorm.
A strange cloud full of five colors spreads thickly, and I gently place the sickle in my hand on the cloud.
***
"Arghhhh!"
The snakes forming Typhon's hair spew lightning and venom wildly, going berserk.
As he himself knows, the tide of battle is gradually turning in favor of the Olympian gods.
If only it weren't for those hateful Moirai and the human who dared to deceive him!
"Monster, Poseidon is here!"
Boom! Crash!
Once again, Poseidon's trident, imbued with blue divine power, strikes Typhon's face directly.
But the one he really needs to be wary of is someone else.
"Hades! The so-called lord of the underworld is like a gloomy rat!"
An invisible assassin is targeting him from the shadows, wielding Schythe, the strongest weapon.
Schythe is the mightiest weapon that wounded Typhon even before he fell into the trap.
If there's an opening, the blue blade made of adamant will fly towards his neck.
As Typhon fought the gods while constantly being wary of the invisible assassin, he sensed something.
An ominous attack coming from behind, it's him!
Slash- Swoosh!
His back is split open by the ominous slash, spilling golden ichor, but a smile forms on Typhon's lips.
An assassin is only fearsome when unseen; his position has just been revealed by that attack.
Boom!
A storm wraps around Typhon's foot as it lashes out in the direction the slash came from.
The ground is deeply gouged, causing a loud noise and a small earthquake.
"Heh... I've got you, bastard!"
"Cough..."
Hades lies fallen on the ground, his Kynee removed.
He seems to have suffered considerable injury, spitting ichor from his mouth as he lies there.
Typhon smiles victoriously and searches for Schythe.
If he can just reclaim the sickle Hades was holding, there's nothing to fear.
This time, he'll cut the sinews of all the gods' limbs and bury them in the ground!
But Schythe is nowhere to be seen.
He searched Hades' surroundings thoroughly with his transcendent divine vision?
"Ugh..."
Typhon's confused eyes catch Hades' cold smile mocking him.
Along with it, he feels a powerful force behind him. Zeus!
"It was quite a struggle, but this is the end! Typhon!"
Come to think of it, his lightning hadn't been coming for a while...
Swish-
Typhon's vision flips upside down and then goes dark.
***
Boom!
"Phew..."
Zeus, wielding Schythe, beheaded Typhon in one strike.
Simultaneously, the fierce storm that had been raging until just now stopped completely.
Typhon's body crumbled and no longer moved,
and his head that fell to the ground rolled around, covered in dust.
Yes, we've won.
Gaia's ultimate weapon aiming for Olympus has finally been defeated by the gods' joint attack.
Perhaps if Typhon had immediately invaded the underworld, freed the Titan gods from Tartarus, and fought together, we might have lost.
His one fatal mistake was showing arrogance, trusting only in his own power.
"Cough...!"
Hmm... My body hurts a lot from deliberately taking his attack.
Look at the ichor flowing from my mouth, his strength was truly immense.
For now, I picked up Schythe, which had fallen to the ground along with Typhon's head.
Was his neck too hard for Zeus to hold onto it?
I poked his head to make sure he was really down.
His fiercely glaring eyes are closed and not moving, seeming to have fallen into a temporary state of death.
[To create a definite opening, it would be better if you take a hit. If you remove Kynee at that moment, it will surely deceive Typhon...]
Athena, I hope this wasn't revenge for personal feelings from the great flood last time?
Did I make you work too much then?
"Hades! Are you alright?!"
Don't whimper, Hestia. I'm fine.
We gods are immortal beings, you should know that, right?
An experienced god who's been through the war with the Titan gods, yet so soft-hearted...
Though merciless when actually fighting.
"It was truly dangerous this time. To think Lady Gaia would create such a being."
"Mount Olympus has collapsed, what should we do?"
"We'll have to restore the mountain. The nymphs and lesser gods will have their work cut out for them."
As the battle ends, the gods begin to gather one by one, treating their wounds and catching their breath.
As the gods gathering spill golden ichor from their bodies, the surrounding air begins to shine with a golden radiance. Especially Ares, he seems badly hurt...
Now that we've defeated Typhon, it's time for the cleanup.
"Brother Hades, I'll be sure to repay you for coming to help Olympus."
"Hmph, Zeus. Of course, I'd like compensation too."
"...Poseidon, you as well."
"To think my arrows, like rays of sunlight, didn't work..."
"We were almost hunted by our prey, brother."
"The earth, like my child... completely destroyed. I'm sorry. It couldn't be helped."
"Lady Demeter, I'll do my best to restore nature."
"Pan, put off reviving nature for now and come with me. Let's check if there are any of his remnants left."
"Understood, Lord Hades."
For now, I moved to search for remnants nearby with Pan, who came hopping on his goat legs.
Since there was also a monster called Delphyne who was Typhon's subordinate, we need to deal with it thoroughly this time.
Typhon, with his head cut off, is incapacitated anyway, so it's fine to leave him as is.
With so many gods here, they should be able to handle any situation well.
Soon, small animals receiving Pan's orders spread out in all directions to search for monsters.
After listening to the whispers of forests and fields with his ear to the ground for a moment, Pan called me.
"Um... There's an unfamiliar animal in some cave, they say?"
Found it.
***
Following Pan to a nearby cave, I indeed felt the presence of a monster.
Seeing that it's weaker than the power emanated by Delphyne, whom I saw earlier, there were indeed more remnants left.
"It's this cave."
As I entered the cave Pan's finger pointed to, a dog greeted me.
A black dog lying askew on the ground, yawning lazily.
Judging by the fierce light typical of monsters gleaming in its eyes and the faint sense of Typhon's energy, it was clearly his offspring.
It was a bit cute how it immediately stood up and growled at us, sensing hostility from those who entered the cave.
But... the dog has three heads?
"Well, it seems to be a weak monster, so I'll take care of it."
As Pan stretches out his hand, the grass near the cave naturally intertwines to form a sharp spear.
The spear made of plants looked like it would pierce through the three-headed dog at any moment, but...
Grrrr! Arrrr...
Oh, it caught Pan's spear and is tearing it apart with its teeth?
Even if it was an attack carelessly thrown at a small monster, that's quite impressive.
"Ha... This monster..."
Pan glances at me and then concentrates green divine power in his hand.
He probably thinks he's lost face in front of me.
"That's enough. I'll do it myself."
"What? There's no need for Lord Hades to take action..."
There's no need to use Schythe on such a weak magical beast.
As I draw the Styx sword and approach, the dog that was chewing on the grass spear flinches and looks at me.
The three heads quickly examine my appearance and the sword, and then...
Whine! Yelp! Yip!
It just rolled over on its back...?
"That... seems to be a surrender."
Pan looks at the monster in disbelief and tells me.
As the god of nature, Pan can understand the language of animals and low-intelligence monsters, so his interpretation should be trustworthy, but...
As I stand dumbfounded at this seemingly mischievous monster that appears to be of Typhon's bloodline showing such behavior, it slowly approaches me.
The monster comes close, sticks out its tongue, and wags its tail vigorously while looking at me.
Pant pant! Huff! Whine!
"It's an honor to meet such an exalted one... I'll do anything, so please spare my life... is what it's saying."
What...?