Chapter 31
Lately, Goddess Styx has been avoiding me.
It must be because of that embarrassing display from before.
Even as she casually helps with Underworld duties, when our conversation continues...
"I-I need to check on the river!"
"Ah..."
Her ears, nape, and face gradually turn red before she slips away.
Have I tried to stop her? Of course I have.
"Goddess Styx, could we talk for a moment..."
"Eeeek!"
"Ah..."
She ran away like a maiden fleeing from Zeus, so I had no choice but to let her go.
But it doesn't end there...
When I feel a gaze and look toward a distant corner, I see Goddess Lethe with her somehow deadened eyes.
"Oh Hades..."
Never have those blank eyes felt so terrifying as they do lately.
Her silent reproach seems to make my skin tingle.
While I'm absently staring at my parchment, pondering these strange relationship developments,
A soul approaches with an urgent expression.
"Lord Hades!"
"...?"
"No souls have been arriving in the Underworld for days!"
Of course - when has this Underworld ever known peace?
I quickly called an emergency meeting of the Underworld.
The other gods arrived swiftly, apparently having received reports about death's disappearance.
"Suddenly, souls have stopped arriving in the Underworld!"
"Lord Thanatos is nowhere to be seen!"
Thanatos, the personification of death itself.
Bringing souls to the Underworld is his duty.
But I sent him to Olympus at Zeus's request?
Something about bringing in a serious criminal for judgment.
Yet he hasn't returned to the Underworld?
The Underworld gods, clearly sensing something amiss, offered their opinions with grave expressions.
Even Goddess Lethe and Goddess Styx wore serious faces.
"Could he have encountered a Gigantes while capturing the criminal?"
"Capturing Thanatos would be the quickest way to disrupt the cycle of life and death."
"Could it be the work of a monster like Typhon?"
Between the Gigantes that Cadmus reported seeing near Thebes,
And the possibility of Gaia creating a new monster to succeed Typhon and attack Thanatos.
Though Thanatos is a powerful deity, he's not invincible.
He could have been overwhelmed or captured by monsters.
"For now... let's contact Olympus and manage the situation above."
Without Thanatos managing death, the other gods must work harder.
The mortal realm is in complete chaos.
"Aaaaah! Dead chickens are walking around!"
"I cut off the cow's head but the body's still moving!"
"Damn it! Why won't you die?!"
"Look who's talking - you're still alive with a sword through your head!"
For now, the death gods Moros and Ceres are working frantically to harvest souls,
Hypnos is buying time by putting the should-be-dead into deep sleep,
And we have no choice but to contact Olympus about Thanatos's whereabouts.
"Damn! All this trouble because of Thanatos!"
"He couldn't be resting somewhere because his work was too hard, could he?"
"Impossible! Have you ever seen Thanatos take even a few days' rest?"
"True, not even once!"
***
Meanwhile, at Olympus.
The situation here was just as dire as in the Underworld.
With mortals not dying, numerous gods protested to Zeus, the supreme god.
"Father! Soldiers aren't dying on the battlefield!"
"This... this disrupts the natural cycle of life..."
"Lord Hades of the Underworld has strongly protested. About Lord Thanatos's whereabouts..."
"But Thanatos just went to capture one demigod...?"
However, even Supreme God Zeus couldn't properly grasp the situation.
Athena, whom he often consulted, was absent from the meeting due to other business.
"How could such a mere being defeat Thanatos?!"
Moreover, the Sisyphus that Zeus saw only seemed clever, with no special powers.
Pan, the nature god, offered Zeus a convincing suggestion.
"Lord Zeus... Perhaps he was ambushed by monsters like Typhon... or the Gigantes...?"
"That makes sense - he must have been attacked while going after Sisyphus!"
Finding this reasonable, Zeus immediately summoned Ares.
The God of War should have no problem with monsters capable of defeating Thanatos.
"Ares! It's time to show the same valor you displayed when you saved me with your sword!"
"Oh! You remembered my heroics, Father!"
"He must have been attacked by monsters while pursuing that insolent human. Rescue Thanatos and teach that mortal about death!"
"Understood! Leave it to me!"
Ares smiled ferociously as he steeled himself.
Anything strong enough to defeat Thanatos must be Typhon's offspring or a Gigantes.
Thinking of his thrilling battle with Typhon, he donned his armor,
And drew the fine sword Hephaestus had forged for him after the recent rebellion.
The monster(?) that attacked Thanatos would fall to the God of War.
Ares arrived confidently in Corinth in his chariot.
He planned to investigate where Thanatos's trail had ended.
But he could find no sign of him being dragged away by monsters.
Suspicious, Ares entered the palace of Sisyphus, the human Zeus mentioned.
He intended to interrogate this human about the black-winged god's whereabouts.
And since he was king, he might know about any monsters in the area.
"Intruder! Thrust the spears!"
"Who dares! This is the royal palace!"
Ares quickly surveyed the Corinthian soldiers surrounding him.
Special weapons? None.
Gods or heroes? None.
Monsters that could threaten him? None.
Hmm, nothing to worry about.
The God of War simply ignored everything and walked deeper into the palace.
The poor soldiers thrust their weapons, but they couldn't harm a god, especially one of the Twelve Olympians.
"Aaaah! Stop him!"
"N-No! The spear broke!"
"The sword won't work! Run!!"
Ignoring the humans' shouts, he searched for King Sisyphus.
Deep in the palace, going a bit lower...
Ah, there he is - in fancy clothes and crown, ambushing with a club.
The demigod swings his wooden club while shouting something.
"Zeus sent you to kill me! But this oak..."
At that moment, something caught Ares's divine senses as he reached deep into the palace.
Ignoring the club swung at his head, he expanded his divine power to sense further.
Underground - that power from below was definitely death's aura.
Crack! Thud.
"Wh-What! I hit his head but the club broke?"
This criminal human no longer mattered.
Once Thanatos, presumably underground, moved, he'd drag Sisyphus to the Underworld himself.
Ares rushed down and flung open the door to the basement.
Why was Thanatos's power emanating from underground? Was he injured by monsters?
Snore~ Khuuur~
What Ares saw below was...
The elderly black-winged god, having easily broken his bonds, sprawled out sleeping.
Sleeping very comfortably, snoring and scratching his belly, Thanatos opened his eyes...
And met the incredulous gaze of Ares.
***
Though Ares could be violent and simple-minded,
That was due to his divine aspect as god of savage warfare, not because he himself was stupid.
While Athena regularly outwitted him, that was because she was the Goddess of Wisdom.
The War God's mind drifted to memories of working in the Underworld during the Great Flood,
Trapped by one of Athena's schemes...
"Damn! Why are there so many cursed souls..."
"Huff... Ares?! Help me organize these soul lines!"
"My wing feathers keep falling out... Is this balding, no, feather-loss?"
Thanatos constantly deployed countless avatars to the mortal world, working day and night.
Throughout the Underworld, no, the entire world, none seemed busier than him.
Thanatos, working tirelessly without rest.
If Ares were in his position, he'd desperately need a break too.
His suspicions grew, along with mounting evidence:
Thanatos was snoring, having freed himself from the ropes.
This wasn't external sleep like Hypnos's power, but simply rest.
No trace of monsters strong enough to defeat Thanatos.
Thanatos's power felt unchanged, showing no signs of weakness.
As Ares's expression grew increasingly sour, Thanatos spoke in a very groggy voice.
"Ares?! You came to save me after I carelessly fell to that human!"
"Sigh..."
Please at least wipe the drool from your mouth before lying, Thanatos.
Ares quietly pressed his hand to his forehead.