Chapter 34: The Tale of Otos and Ephialtes - (2)

Boom! Boooom!

The sound coming from the outskirts of Olympus grew louder and louder.

For such a noise to be heard even in the divine palace on the clouds, it couldn't be something happening only on the ground...

Could this be the sound of Hephaestus swinging his hammer at full power?

Other gods also seemed to be getting agitated.

"Who's approaching Olympus?"

"But this sound..."

"Ah! Everyone, look over there!"

An unnamed lesser god points his finger somewhere towards the ground.

There, two giant beings were piling up mountains, filling the sea to create a path towards Olympus.

The sound of them throwing huge rocks and mounds of earth was the cause of this booming noise.

"Who dares to come to Olympus..."

"Those giants don't seem to be gods, so Lord Zeus will deal with them, right?"

"There's no need for Lord Zeus to step in. I'll just..."

"Wait, there's a prophecy! There was a prophecy!"

As the gods were making ominous remarks about dealing with these presumptuous giants daring to climb to Olympus,

we heard someone mention a prophecy.

Hermes, flapping the wings on his shoes, flew over urgently and said:

"There's a prophecy that no god or human can kill these two brothers!"

"What?!"

"So we just have to watch them like this?"

"Who on earth are those two?"

Can't be killed... huh.

Well, we should at least hear what they have to say when they get up here.

They don't seem to be coming with good intentions, but somehow I sense a familiar power from them.

"Olympus never has a peaceful day..."

"Indeed, the quiet Underworld doesn't seem so bad compared to this place where all sorts of incidents happen~"

These were the words of Hestia and Aphrodite, in that order.

Aphrodite just gave me a flirtatious look, seeming uninterested.

Well, she is one of the 12 Olympian gods after all...

Before we knew it, the protagonists of this noise revealed themselves on Olympus.

Two enormous giants.

Their faces looked to be barely in their early teens,

but their body sizes were so gigantic, like dozens of humans combined, that it felt grotesque.

"Oh, is this Olympus? Where's Hera, my future wife?"

"Artemis! Your husband is here!"

Are they insane?

***

"Hey, you're very pretty. Are you Hera?"

"Hmm... I'm not Lady Hera, and you're not my type either."

One of the giants points at Aphrodite and speaks.

The goddess of beauty skillfully deflects his words.

"Then where's Artemis? Her husband has come, but she's nowhere to be seen."

"Maybe if we destroy Olympus a bit, she'll come out?"

Are they really insane?

As if to show that many of the Olympian gods shared my thoughts,

someone immediately took action.

"You crazy bastards! You look like young punks, do you think Olympus is your playground?!"

"Huh? What's this little runt saying?"

"Who are you?"

The one pointing a sword at the giants while wearing armor is the god of war.

"I am Ares! You may not be killable, but I'll beat you until you're on the brink of death!"

"What are you going to do with that toothpick?"

"Shut up! I'll show you the terror of war!"

Ares charges in, but... those giants look quite strong.

Maybe on par with the top-tier Olympian gods?

Thwack- Clang!

"Gah!"

Ares' sword breaks as he swings it with momentum, and he flies back.

Death is inevitable in war, but with the prophecy that gods can't kill them, Ares' defeat might be natural.

"Ouch. That stings a little."

"It's just a toothpick after all."

Of course, they themselves must possess strong power too.

Not dying at the hands of gods or humans... giants with basic power on par with the top-tier Olympian gods...

"Whose bloodline are you from? What are your names?"

At my question, their gazes turn towards me.

"I am Otos. I will be Artemis's husband!"

"I am Ephialtes. We came from Thessaly!"

Thessaly? To think such strong giants came from a human nation.

They certainly seem to have divine blood mixed in...

"Thessaly...?"

"What on earth are they doing?"

"Saying he'll make Lady Hera his wife, what nonsense..."

The gods are in an uproar.

Do they think these invincible prophesied beings might actually take away Hera and Artemis?

"Argh! Let go of me, you bastard!"

"You're noisy, so stay there."

"....? You think you can confine me here?"

As Otos and Ephialtes work together to grab Ares and throw him into a huge bronze jar, the gods become even more agitated.

It's not like they're Typhon or anything, there's no need to panic that much.

"What's wrong with Olympus these days... Hades, did you put some curse on it?"

"What are you talking about now..."

Demeter expresses her aversion to the Underworld with a bored face.

It seems like she's just joking, but it's true that all sorts of things have been happening in Olympus lately.

"Prophecies often have loopholes... Hades, this should be easy for you, right?"

Aphrodite approaches me and flirts.

It's a bit annoying, but... she'll be a valuable worker in the Underworld, so I'll put up with it for now.

Many gods are flustered, but the 12 Olympian gods show little agitation.

Even Ares, just before being thrown into the bronze jar, just glanced at me with an incredulous look.

He'll probably break out of the jar on his own soon enough.

To think they'd confine the god of war in a mere giant bronze jar,

their desire to show off their power is clearly visible.

Their power is on par with the top-tier Olympian gods.

However, even with that powerful strength, they were scratched by Ares' sword.

As young giants, they have no battle experience, and while they can't be killed, the prophecy says nothing about subduing them.

On the other hand, the gods here are experienced, having fought wars with the Titans, Gigantes, Typhon, and others.

Even Zeus and I, the king of Olympus, are present.

"Hahaha! Quickly bring Hera and Artemis!"

"If you don't want to end up like the guy who just went into the jar, hurry up!"

It's so noisy, my ears hurt from their voices.

I should just step in and subdue them quickly myself.

It might be good to throw them into the Underworld prison where they can't gather strength for a while.

***

Among the two giant brothers, Otos had ambition.

The desire to climb Olympus, defeat all the gods, and take the beautiful goddess of the hunt as his wife.

"Otos, then I'll take Hera as my wife!"

"If we combine our strength, we can easily handle the gods!"

With his twin brother Ephialtes, who had equal strength, lending his power, it should be easy.

So they piled up Mount Ossa and Mount Pelion to create a path to the Olympian palace...

And finally succeeded in setting foot on the clouds.

"Argh! Let go of me, you bastard!"

"You're noisy, so stay there."

Otos confined the arrogant little god who attacked him in a jar,

and thinking of the beautiful Artemis who would soon be his wife, he shouted.

"Hahaha! Quickly bring Hera and Artemis!"

At that moment, the male god who had asked about their identity quietly stood up.

The gloomy-looking god let out a deep sigh.

"To think the lord of the Underworld would step in personally... Are those guys headed for Tartarus?"

"To think such ruffians would cause trouble in Olympus..."

"You giants over there, it would be better to beg for forgiveness now!"

As he slowly stood up, the panicking gods regained their composure.

Who is this guy?

His twin brother, Ephialtes, also curious about his identity, asks:

"And who are you?"

The black-haired male god who stood up with an annoyed face casually gestures in the air.

Along with his gesture appears a two-pronged spear.

But to think he'd face us with just such a toothpick?

Otos sneers and raises his giant fist.

As he approaches, the black-haired god just stares at them with a bored expression.

He made no response whatsoever.

"Hmph. Whoever you are, you won't be safe if you're hit by my fist!"

Otos's iron-like fist cuts through the air.

As the giant, large enough to lift Ares with one hand, strikes, a terrifying sound of air being split echoes.

Whoosh!

'Only' the sound of air being split echoed.

Nothing touched the fist aimed at its target.

And a burning pain felt in the wrist.

"Aaargh!"

"Otos!"

When did he dodge my fist?

I didn't see anything, when did he stab this into my wrist?

A gloomy aura slowly spreads from his body, his face still full of annoyance.

It's bright daylight, and Olympus is much closer to the sun than the mortal realm, but somehow the surroundings gradually darkened.

Otos, who had been proud of his powerful strength, felt fear rush over him this time.

This guy is incomparable to that Ares who charged at us earlier, could he be Zeus?

"You seem to have divine blood... Does your father not manage his children at all?"

"No! Oto... Argh!"

Ephialtes, who discovered his wrist had been pierced, rushed over in excitement but...

In an instant, he was stabbed by the spear and sat down, bleeding from his ankle.

"You're going to prison first."

The sharp two-pronged spear, the bident, approaches Otos's eyes.

It's too fast, I can't respond. My body... won't move.

"Wait! Hold on a moment, Brother Hades!"

"Zeus?"

Someone's voice is heard, and the bident stops right in front of his eyes.

"Ahem. Ahem. They're precious guests who've come to Olympus, we should treat them well."

Thanks to the intervention of a dignified blonde male god, he avoided having his eyes gouged out.

Zeus and Hades, so these are the Big Three?

The King of Gods, who just stopped Hades from swinging his bident, looks this way with a faint smile.

"So, you came to receive Hera and Artemis?"

However, Otos felt for some reason that this smile was chilling.