Chapter 35
It wasn't difficult to deal with the giants who introduced themselves as Otos and Ephialtes for a moment.
I dodged their fists appropriately, and stuck my bident in their arms to make them calm down a bit...
"Aaargh!"
"Otos!"
At this point, if I exert some divine power to intimidate them...
The body of the giant called Otos stiffens, and fear settles in his eyes.
They seem quite strong, but it's obvious they have no battle experience at all.
"You're going to prison first."
I point my bident at the fallen giant's eyes.
But the real target is his ankle.
With my right hand, I make a gesture of stabbing the bident into his eyes,
And with my left hand, I quietly draw the Styx Sword from my waist to slash at Otos's ankle, when suddenly,
"Wait! Hold on a moment, Brother Hades!"
"Zeus?"
The voice of Zeus, who had somehow returned to the banquet hall, calls out to me.
Ichor was flowing from his head as if Hera had pulled out his hair after sensing his infidelity.
The sight of Zeus stuffing his fallen hair back in was truly ridiculous.
However, the smile on his lips was by no means funny.
For now, I withdrew my bident and stepped back, seeing that Zeus seemed to have something in mind.
I could subdue these giants again anytime anyway...
"Ugh..."
As I step back a bit, the two giants rise.
However, their eyes filled with fear and slightly trembling fingers reveal their state of mind.
Zeus glances at the bleeding giants and says with a sharp smile:
"Ahem. Ahem. They're precious guests who've come to Olympus, we should treat them well."
The true intention Zeus often shows to those who challenge his authority.
"So, you came to receive Hera and Artemis?"
A chilling killing intent can be felt from that smile and sunken eyes.
However, the two brothers, Otos and Ephialtes, didn't notice.
They seem to be young and strong but inexperienced.
That's why... they couldn't understand why the other gods didn't object to Zeus's radical proposal.
"That's right! Lord Zeus, we swore by the River Styx to take Artemis and Hera as our wives!"
"Quickly hand them over to us!"
They both look stupid, but Otos, whom I just attacked, seems to have a tiny bit more awareness.
Though it's not much different, how can he say such things after being thoroughly stabbed by my spear just now?
I had just tried to subdue the Otos and Ephialtes brothers and drag them to the Underworld prison.
As the prophecy said, they couldn't be killed, and I also felt a familiar divine power from them.
Zeus must know this, but the reason he stopped me wasn't to show them mercy.
Those who dared to challenge him and Olympus...
"Ah, of course, Hera and Artemis are not too good for heroes like you!"
"Really? But... but Lord Hades here..."
"It seems Brother Hades had a slight misunderstanding, hahaha!"
He intends to kill them completely.
***
"I'd like to hand over Hera and Artemis right now, but..."
"But...?"
"They're not here at the moment."
The giants become angry upon hearing that the two goddesses they had set their sights on as wives weren't present.
Zeus probably moved them somewhere or told them to hide for a while.
"What?! Lord Zeus! Are you deceiving us?"
The giant called Ephialtes shouts, scrunching his face.
Nevertheless, Zeus soothes him with a gentle voice.
"Artemis is not here because she's handling an important matter on the island of Naxos."
"What important matter are you talking about?"
"She's investigating monsters called Gigantes, powerful creatures with snake-like lower bodies and human-like upper bodies. You might find them difficult to handle too."
Artemis is indeed not visible in the banquet hall.
So, have traces of Gigantes really been found on Naxos Island?
"But seeing that she hasn't returned yet, it seems she might have been captured by those monsters. Hmm... it would be great if some brave warriors could step up..."
"Artemis captured?! Then Lord Zeus! If we kill those Gigantes and rescue Artemis..."
"Oh, if you do that, I'll allow you to hold a joint wedding ceremony here on Olympus!"
So this was your plan, Zeus.
There are clearly too many flaws in Zeus's words.
The subtly encouraging tone, the condition of catching monsters to allow marriage, the vague answer about Hera's whereabouts.
But the two giant brothers didn't notice anything strange at all.
Partly because they're young and inexperienced giants,
But also because Peitho, the goddess of persuasion, is subtly exerting her power right next to Zeus.
The flawed words carelessly uttered by the King of Gods gain a strange persuasiveness, confusing the giants' thoughts.
"Then depart quickly! If you're late, Artemis might fall victim to the Gigantes!"
"A-Alright! Keep your promise, Lord Zeus!"
"Where is this place called Naxos Island?"
And so, the two fools fell for Zeus's words and left Olympus.
They would have been better off being subdued and locked in the Underworld prison earlier.
As if there's no need to hide anymore,
Zeus, who had been watching the departing giants with a cold gaze, opened his mouth.
As the King of Gods relaxes his expression and raises a cup filled with nectar high, everyone's attention focuses on him.
"Some ruffians appeared for a moment, but I'll deal with them personally, so all gods please don't worry and continue enjoying the banquet!"
"Oh... Understood!"
"The fate of those who challenge Olympus is obvious."
"Naxos Island, you say? That will be their grave."
"Their last stroke of luck was being subdued by Lord Hades earlier. Hahaha!"
"There are so many loopholes in prophecies... tsk tsk."
As Zeus finishes speaking, the soft sound of Apollo's lyre is heard again.
The nine Muse goddesses display their artistic spirit, and Dionysus makes wine to distribute among the gods.
"Oh... So this is the famous wine."
"I gratefully accept, Lord Dionysus."
Now the Olympian gods start tilting their cups and eating ambrosia as if nothing had happened,
And Ares, who easily broke out of the bronze jar, grumbles about breaking a precious jar.
I immediately approached Zeus.
***
"Zeus. Have Gigantes really been discovered on Naxos Island?"
"Ah, you don't know yet, Brother. Helios discovered traces of them while driving his sun chariot not long ago."
The Gigantes are monsters created by Gaia, the Earth Mother Goddess.
They become stronger and gain tremendous regenerative power when their bodies touch the ground.
Because of this, creatures that need to stay connected to land were found on an island in the middle of the sea?
This is clearly a trap set by Gaia.
She's probably waiting for reckless Olympian gods to come down to the island to search for the Gigantes.
"They infiltrated the island? Deceiving Poseidon's sea creatures?"
"We already knew they were preparing a trap to chip away at our forces."
Zeus shakes his head at my question.
So you deliberately pretended to be somewhat fooled by the Gigantes infiltrating the island and causing trouble.
Since you can sink or destroy the entire island anytime, you wanted to see what kind of trap Gaia and the Gigantes were preparing.
The Gigantes are certainly divine beings, but they lack immortality and have stronger monstrous attributes,
Whether we can kill them or not, we'll have to see for ourselves...
"It doesn't matter if the giants don't die there, because my son Dionysus is there."
"You'll drive them mad and make them kill each other?"
"Heh. I can't let those who dared to challenge me live."
I see... I thought it was strange that he stopped me from subduing them and taking them to the Underworld.
He had a way to use these strong but stupid giants.
I kind of guessed when Zeus stopped me from subduing them, but I didn't actively oppose it.
Trying to forcibly take the already married Queen of Gods and a goddess who swore virginity to the River Styx is clearly a direct challenge to Olympus.
Because it was a struggle of power, not justice, if the giants die and come to the Underworld, they won't receive good treatment.
"But they seemed like some god's children."
"What matters is that they dared to challenge me, Zeus. They will die miserably there."
Even if Dionysus, the god of madness, fails to shake their minds, Zeus probably has another method in mind.
Like sending clouds transformed into beasts to induce them to throw spears at each other, or having Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, charm them.
"It's a good way to check the trap prepared by the Gigantes and get rid of troublemakers at the same time."
"That's true, but..."
"It seems they're about to enter Naxos Island. Dionysus! You should prepare too, just in case."
At times like this, Zeus makes wise decisions befitting the King of Gods, but...
Like with the Sisyphus incident before, why does he think with his lower body whenever women are involved?