Chapter 71: Persephone's Story - (6)

Thanks to Iris's timely arrival in the underworld, the situation was resolved.

Everyone seems to be letting it slide for now...

"Iris, did Olympus call for me?"

"Yes. Lord Zeus asked me to bring Lord Hades to Olympus."

Chiron's death... is clearly Gaia's strike mentioned in Prometheus's prophecy.

Only the wise centaur could raise heroes to prepare against the Gigas.

An Olympian god can't directly raise heroes in the mortal world,

and if we find a suitable candidate among mortals, their ability would be questionable.

"The prophecy said to connect the underworld and the mortal world, so I'll need to discuss specific methods with Zeus. I understand."

This isn't just an underworld issue, so I can't decide based on my unilateral action.

I need to go up to Olympus to hear the information about the Gigas's base that Demeter will talk about,

and also convey the matter of her daughter, Persephone.

"Take care, Uncle Hades!"

"T-Take care?! This isn't your home..."

"What does it matter? I'm going to live here now. Hehe!"

"Huh... It's the first time I've seen a god adapt to the underworld so quickly..."

***

Ignoring the strange sounds from behind, I followed Iris to Olympus.

It seemed all the gods had gathered in the center of the Olympian palace, as I could only sense the gods' presence there.

Zeus must have summoned all the gods.

Passing through the huge golden doors and walking on the clouds, I saw numerous gods murmuring.

Zeus sitting on the golden throne with his eyes closed holding a thunderbolt, Poseidon talking with Hera.

The immortals of Olympus chattering about the Gigas and the prophecy.

"You say the wise Chiron died from the Gigas's torture?"

"Then what about raising heroes? It'll be hard to find such a great educator again..."

"The prophecy mentioned connecting the mortal world and the underworld... What if Lord Hades makes an exception and revives Chiron..."

"No matter what the prophecy says, how can the dead... Hmm. I shouldn't speak carelessly about this."

"We almost had Typhon's body released..."

"If that terrible being had fallen into Lady Gaia's hands again..."

"Sigh... To think this was the strike mentioned in the prophecy, it's a painful blow."

Hmm. The meeting hasn't even started, but the atmosphere is already not good.

Thud. Thud.

"Ah... Lord Hades."

"You've come, Great Uncle."

As I walked to a suitable spot, parting the crowd... or rather, the god-crowd, the gods recognized me and made way.

Zeus, noticing my presence, opened his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Ahem. Now that Brother Hades has arrived, we'll start the meeting. Hermes!"

"Yes sir!"

Hermes brought a huge parchment and spread it wide in the air.

A map of the entire world appeared before our eyes, with red dots marking places that seemed to have been attacked by the Gigas.

"Recently, there was a major invasion by the Gigas. As you can all see on the map, their targets were Corinth, Athens, Chiron's dwelling, and Mount Etna."

Red dots glowing according to Zeus's words.

With such simultaneous attacks, only Hermes could have come down during the Mount Etna attack.

If I hadn't been there... hmm.

"Brother Hades here took care of Mount Etna, Athena went to Athens, Apollo to Corinth... but we missed one place."

Lightning sparked from the king of gods' body, as if expressing his emotions as he lowered his voice.

Along with it, a subtle aura spread.

"As all the gods here know, the centaur sage Chiron was attacked, tortured, and gave up his immortality."

Crackle-

Zeus's eyes were covered in blue lightning, and electricity began to dwell in the clouds.

The anger of the sky god flows out with a solemn aura, enveloping Olympus.

Sweat flows from the foreheads of the lesser deities, and even those granted the golden thrones seem at a loss.

"Urgh..."

"Hmm..."

The king of gods, greatly angered by the death of Chiron, whom he usually highly valued and cherished.

It was Poseidon who calmed him down.

"Zeus. Chiron's matter is truly regrettable, but calm yourself."

"...I see, I've been rude to everyone."

"Ahem! Putting that aside for now, we've discovered their base using the Omphalos Stone. Demeter!"

"The Gigas were in the Phlegra Plain in the Thrace region. I'm certain because earth power that wasn't mine was coming from there."

"Apollo and Athena are currently monitoring that plain. Those creatures will never attack us again."

The discussion about the Gigas continued for a while.

Methods to completely destroy their base or Poseidon's plan to sink it underwater were proposed...

There was even talk of splitting the earth and turning it into an island... but all were rejected as it could lead to all-out war.

The conversation went round and round...

"In any case, we need a hero to defeat the Gigas... Hades, how about reviving at least Chiron?"

The topic returned to Chiron again.

***

When Poseidon's opinion came out, I could see everyone paying attention to what I would say.

Reviving Chiron... this would break the laws of the underworld that have been maintained for eons.

This is different from Sisyphus's case.

He was sent back because he was unjustly dragged to the underworld without living his full lifespan...

In Chiron's case, he chose death by voluntarily giving up his immortality.

"Hmm... If we revive someone who died saying they had unfinished business in the mortal world, what meaning would the boundary between the mortal world and underworld have? And even if we revive Chiron, what if Gaia intervenes and kills him?"

"Even though their base in the plain is thoroughly blocked by surveillance?"

"If a hero driven mad by Gaia's whispers runs wild and inflicts a curse or deadly poison on him, he would give up his immortality again."

Chiron is not a powerful being like us gods.

I acknowledge his excellent teaching ability, but his own physical strength is only comparable to that of a human hero.

Even if we grant him immortality again, one arrow imbued with deadly poison or a god's curse would...

"Indeed, it would be a cruel thing to do to Chiron."

"If the revived Chiron is attacked again, he might face a second death."

"We can't keep escorting him constantly... hmm."

"But the reality is there's no suitable candidate except him. Can you reconsider once more, Brother?"

I pondered again at Zeus's solemn words.

Prometheus's prophecy clearly said we could win if we connect the mortal world and the underworld.

But the reason the gods don't bring that up and focus on Chiron is simple.

If Gaia concentrates her forces on the underworld connected to the mortal world... Tartarus, where numerous Titans are imprisoned, would open.

According to Hermes, the number of Gigas visible in the plain exceeds at least several thousand.

Even if I'm one of the Big Three, I can't face thousands of lesser gods, dozens of the 12 Olympians, and one primordial Protogenoi.

If Tartarus opens and the underworld falls while trying to raise heroes, we would be defeated in an instant.

There must be another way.

A way to entrust education to the dead Chiron while also avoiding Gaia's eyes...

Then... how about this?

"I'll connect the underworld and the mortal world to have the dead Chiron educate living heroes."

"As you've guessed, Brother Hades, it's too risky to accept Prometheus's words literally..."

"How about opening a small passage in Thebes, my domain where Gaia's eyes can't reach?"

If most of the population believes in one god, that city becomes completely part of that god's domain.

Athens, Athena's city, is a prime example.

In a city changed like that, even Mother Earth Gaia can't convey her will to humans.

Surely when King Oedipus went mad, Gaia exerted her influence from the mountains outside Thebes.

"Gaia can't reach inside Thebes. We issue an oracle saying those who want to become heroes should come to Thebes..."

"After setting up a suitable person as our proxy, promising heroes go to the underworld to be educated by Chiron?"

"That's right. If we connect the outskirts of the underworld with my temple inside Thebes and only allow those with potential to pass through..."

The crowd fell silent, then one by one, they nodded.

"How about making the king of Thebes our proxy to train hero candidates, and bringing those who stand out to Lord Hades's temple?"

"We need the Omphalos Stone to maintain the passage between the mortal world and underworld continuously."

"We should have the heroes who cross over to the underworld swear an oath on the River Styx."

Originally, humans from the mortal world can't leave once they enter the underworld...

But in a truly exceptional case, we could allow it with many restrictions through an oath on the River Styx.

Prohibit disclosure through actions, words, pictures, etc., send them to Tartarus if they try to return to the underworld.

If we prevent them from setting foot in any area except the ravine on the outskirts of the underworld, and block contact with souls...

"Now, now! Then let me summarize! How about this as a countermeasure against the Gigas?"

Zeus closed his eyes, listened to the opinions of the crowd, then quieted everyone down.

Small lightning bolts extended from his hand, engraving words on the parchment.

The content was roughly as follows:

Issue an oracle to humans in the mortal world... those who want to become heroes should come to Thebes.

Inform the king of Thebes through an oracle, and build a training facility to raise heroes.

Those who stand out in that training facility quietly move to Hades's temple and cross over to the underworld.

Heroes receive education from the dead Chiron on the outskirts of the underworld, and when the time comes, they return to the mortal world.

4-1) Have the heroes and related humans swear an oath on the River Styx with numerous restrictions including prohibition of disclosure.

4-2) Temporarily transfer the Omphalos Stone to Hades to maintain the passage between the underworld and mortal world continuously.

"Is it alright to leave the more detailed parts to Brother Hades?"

"Of course. This way, the underworld and mortal world will be connected... We should be able to win according to Prometheus's prophecy."

"If you need any help, feel free to tell Olympus anytime. Hermes! Iris! You two will have to work hard."

We will not be defeated by the likes of Gigas.

We will surely win.

***

After the meeting ended, I walked towards Demeter.

To convey the story about Persephone, her daughter with Zeus.

The expressionless goddess with pale yellow hair stops as she sees me approaching.

"What business do you have with me, Hades?"

"Demeter. Your daughter Persephone is in the underworld right now."

"What? So the Gigas weren't the important issue! If you don't release my daughter immediately...!"

No... her eyes go wild at just the mention of her daughter.

This is why I came personally instead of sending a messenger...

I need to quickly get to the point and clear up the misunderstanding.

"This is out of my control too. She was hit by Eros's golden arrow and faced me, and she also ate food in the underworld..."

"Wh-Wh-What?! Ha-Ha-Hades!!!"

Please calm down, it's not the abduction you're thinking of...