Sisyphus...
The Tale of Thanatos - (2)
Lately, the goddess of the Styx has been avoiding me little by little.
It seems that the embarrassing sight I showed her last time is the cause.
Even while casually helping with the affairs of the underworld, as our conversation continues...
"Uh... then I will go check on the river for a moment!"
"Ah..."
Gradually, her ears, neck, and face turn red as she quietly slips away.
Have I tried to catch her? Of course, I have.
"Lady Styx, may I have a word..."
"Ahhh!"
"Ah..."
She runs away as if fleeing from Zeus, leaving me with no choice.
But this is not the end...
From a little distance away, I feel a gaze and when I look, I see the goddess Lethe with a strangely lifeless expression.
"Hades..."
I have never felt her vacant eyes so frightening before.
Somehow, it feels like she is silently reproaching me, making my skin tingle.
As I stare blankly at the parchment, sensing something strange in our relationship, a soul approaches me with a desperate face.
"Hades! Sir!"
"...?"
"The souls have not come to the underworld for several days!"
As expected, there is no way the underworld could be peaceful.
I hurriedly summoned a meeting of the underworld.
Other gods quickly arrived, perhaps having received reports about the disappearance of death.
"Suddenly, souls coming to the underworld have vanished!"
"Thanatos is nowhere to be seen!"
Thanatos, the personification of death itself.
It is his duty to bring souls to the underworld.
But he was sent to Olympus at Zeus's request?
Something about a serious criminal, so he was sent to bring that soul back for judgment.
But he still hasn't returned to the underworld?
The gods of the underworld, sensing the clear abnormality, were expressing serious opinions.
At this moment, even the goddesses Lethe and Styx wore serious expressions.
"Perhaps he encountered a Gigas while trying to capture that serious criminal?"
"To break the cycle of life and death, keeping Thanatos captured would be the quickest way."
"Could it be the work of a monster like Typhon?"
The Gigases that Cardomos saw near Thebes, and Gaia could create a new monster to attack Thanatos.
Though Thanatos is a powerful deity, he is not invincible.
He could very well be defeated or captured by monsters.
"First... let's contact Olympus and manage the situation on the surface."
Without Thanatos, the god of death, the other gods have no choice but to struggle more.
The situation in the mortal realm is truly chaotic.
"Ahhh! A dead chicken is moving as if alive!"
"I cut off the head of a cow, but the body is still alive!"
"Damn it! Why isn't this thing dead?!"
"You're the one who has a sword stuck in your head and is still alive!"
For now, the gods Moros and Cerberus, who are responsible for some aspects of death, are working as hard as they can to harvest souls.
The ones who should have died are being put into a deep sleep by Hypnos to buy time.
We have no choice but to contact Olympus and ask about Thanatos's whereabouts.
"Damn it! What kind of suffering is this because of Thanatos!"
"Could it be that he is resting somewhere after all the hard work?"
"That can't be! Have you ever seen Thanatos take a break for even a few days?"
"Indeed, never once!"
Meanwhile, in Olympus.
This place was also in a state of emergency, no less than the underworld.
As the lives on the surface did not meet death, many gods were accusing the supreme god Zeus.
"Father! The humans on the battlefield are not dying!"
"That... if this continues, the cycle of life in nature..."
"Hades has strongly protested. We need to know the whereabouts of Thanatos..."
"No, Thanatos must have gone to capture a demigod!"
However, even the supreme god Zeus could not fully grasp the situation.
Athena, whom he often consulted for opinions, was absent for a moment, missing the meeting.
"How could such a lowly creature defeat Thanatos?!"
Even Zeus thought Sisyphus seemed clever but felt no special power from him.
At that moment, the god of nature, Pan, spoke, giving Zeus some assurance.
"Lord Zeus... Could it be that he was ambushed by a monster like Typhon or a Gigas...?"
"That makes sense; he must have been caught while going to capture Sisyphus!"
Judging that it was a reasonable statement, Zeus immediately called for Ares.
As the god of war, he should have no problem dealing with a monster that defeated Thanatos.
"Ares! It is time to show the same bravery you displayed when you wielded your sword to save me!"
"Oh! You have heard of my exploits, Father!"
"He must have been ambushed by a monster while on his way to capture that insufferable human. You must rescue Thanatos and bring death to that human!"
"Understood! Just trust me!"
Ares, filled with determination, grinned fiercely.
If he could defeat Thanatos, it must be a descendant of Typhon or a Gigas.
He donned his armor, recalling the thrilling war against Typhon, and took out the legendary sword that Hephaestus had newly forged after the last rebellion.
The monster that attacked Thanatos would surely fall to the god of war.
Ares drove his chariot with great vigor and arrived at Corinth.
He had heard that the traces of Thanatos had ended here, so he planned to investigate.
However, no matter how much he searched, there were no signs of him being dragged away by a monster.
Feeling something was off, Ares entered the palace of the human, Sisyphus, whom Zeus had mentioned.
He intended to interrogate that human, who was Thanatos's original target, to see if he had seen the god with black wings.
And since he was a king, he might also find traces of the monster that had appeared nearby.
"Intruder! Stab him with a spear!"
"Who are you?! This is the royal palace!"
Ares glanced around at the Corinthian soldiers surrounding him.
No one had any special weapons.
No gods or heroes were present.
No monsters that could pose a threat to him.
Hmm, it seems there is nothing to worry about.
The god of war simply ignored everything and moved deeper into the palace.
The poor soldiers thrust their spears at him, but a god, especially one of the twelve Olympians, could not be harmed.
"Ahhh! Stop him!"
"No! The spear is breaking!"
"The sword doesn't work! Run away!!"
Though the humans shouted, he paid them no mind and searched for King Sisyphus.
Deep within the palace, if he went a little further down...
Ah, there he was, in splendid clothing and a crown, holding a club and preparing to ambush.
He appeared to be a demigod, swinging a wooden club and shouting something.
"You sent me to kill, Zeus! But this black wood..."
At that moment, Ares's senses, having reached deep into the palace, caught something.
Ignoring the club swinging at his head, he expanded his divine sense.
Below, from underground, he felt a power that was undoubtedly the aura of death.
Crack.
Thud.
"What... what! I hit him, but the club broke?"
This human, who had committed a crime, was no longer worth worrying about.
If Thanatos, presumed to be underground, moved, Sisyphus would be captured and taken to the underworld.
Ares rushed and flung open the door leading to the basement.
Why was he sensing Thanatos's power from below? Was he injured by a monster?
As he descended into the basement...
What Ares saw was...
The old god with black wings, lying sprawled out, easily breaking the ropes that bound him, sleeping peacefully.
Thanatos, seemingly in a very comfortable sleep, snored and scratched his belly with one hand, then opened his eyes...
And met the gaze of Ares, who wore a look of disbelief.
Ares, though rough and somewhat simple-minded,
was not foolish; it was just that he symbolized the violent nature of war.
He was always tricked by Athena, but that was because she was the goddess of wisdom.
In the mind of the god of war, memories of the last great flood began to resurface,
when he fell into Athena's scheme and worked in the underworld...
"Damn it! What are these damned souls doing..."
"Huh... Ares?! Please help me align these souls!"
"My feathers are falling out again today... Is this hair loss, or feather loss?"
Thanatos had dispatched numerous clones to the mortal realm, working day and night.
It seemed that no other god in the underworld, or even the entire world, was as busy as he was.
And he worked tirelessly without a moment's rest.
If Ares were in his position, he would have desperately needed a break.
The suspicions grew, and the evidence gradually aligned.
1. Thanatos was untied and snoring in his sleep.
2. It was not sleep induced by external factors like Hypnos's powers; he was simply resting.
3. There were no signs of monsters nearby that could defeat Thanatos.
4. The power emanating from Thanatos's body remained intact; he showed no signs of weakening.
Noticing Ares's face gradually souring, Thanatos spoke in a voice thick with sleep.
"Ares?! You came to rescue me after I was caught off guard by a human?!"
"Hah..."
First, wipe the drool from your mouth and speak the truth, Thanatos.
Ares quietly pressed his forehead.