The Tale of Otus and Ephialtes - (2)
Boom! Bang!
The sound from the outskirts of Olympus grew louder and louder.
If even the divine archery range above the clouds could hear such sounds, it must not be just happening on the ground...
Could it be that Hephaestus swings his hammer with such force that it creates this noise?
The other gods seemed to be getting increasingly restless.
"Who is approaching Olympus?"
"But such sounds..."
"Ah! Everyone, look over there!"
An unknown lesser god pointed a finger at something on the ground.
There, two gigantic giants were stacking mountains to create a path towards Olympus, filling the sea with earth.
Every time they threw a massive boulder or a mound of dirt, it was the source of this booming noise.
"Who dares to approach Olympus..."
"Those giants do not seem to be gods, so surely Lord Zeus will handle them."
"Lord Zeus need not intervene. I can..."
"Wait, a prophecy! There was a prophecy!"
The audacious giants dared to approach Olympus without knowing their place.
As the gods murmured in concern about how to deal with them, the word of a prophecy reached their ears.
Hermes flew over urgently, flapping the wings on his sandals.
"It is foretold that no god or human can kill those two brothers!"
"What?!"
"Then must we simply watch?"
"Who are those two?"
Cannot be killed...
For now, I should listen to what they have to say.
They don’t seem to come with good intentions, but somehow, I feel a familiar power from them.
"Olympus has no peaceful days..."
"Compared to this place where all sorts of incidents occur, the quiet underworld doesn’t seem so bad~"
It was Hestia and Aphrodite speaking in turn.
Aphrodite merely smiled at me, seemingly uninterested.
Well, they are the Twelve Olympians...
Before long, the noisy giants revealed themselves in Olympus.
Two enormous giants.
Their faces looked like they were barely in their early teens, but their bodies were so massive that they seemed like a grotesque combination of dozens of humans.
"Oh, is this Olympus? Where is my wife, Hera?"
"Artemis! Your husband is here!"
Are they insane?
"You, you are very pretty. Are you Hera?"
"Hmm... I am neither Hera nor your type."
One giant pointed at Aphrodite and spoke.
The goddess of beauty skillfully retorted.
"Then where is Artemis? My husband has come, yet she is nowhere to be seen."
"Perhaps if we break a bit of Olympus, she will appear?"
Are they truly mad?
As if to show that many gods shared my thoughts, someone immediately took action.
"These crazy fools! From what I can see, you seem like children, do you think Olympus is your playground?"
"Huh? What is this little brat saying?"
"Who are you?"
The one in armor, aiming a sword at the giants, was the god of war.
"I am Ares! Since you cannot be killed, I will just beat you until you are incapacitated!"
"What do you plan to do with that toothpick?"
"Be quiet! I will show you the terror of war!"
Ares charged in, but... those giants look quite strong.
Are they among the top tier of the Twelve Olympians?
Crash—Clang!
"Ugh!"
Ares' sword, swinging fiercely, broke, sending him flying.
In war, death is inevitable, and with the prophecy stating that the gods cannot kill them, Ares' defeat may have been expected.
"Ouch, that stings a bit."
"Still, it’s just a toothpick."
Of course, they possess strong power as well.
They cannot be killed by gods or humans... their basic strength is at the top tier of the Twelve Olympians.
"Whose bloodline are you? What are your names?"
At my question, their gazes turned towards me.
"I am Otus. I will be the husband of Artemis!"
"I am Ephialtes. We come from Thessaly!"
Thessaly? Such strong giants have emerged from a human nation.
They certainly seem to have divine blood mixed in...
"Thessaly...?"
"What on earth are they?"
"To claim Hera as your wife, what is this..."
The gods were in an uproar.
Did they think that with the invincible prophecy and their strength, they might take Hera and Artemis away?
"Ugh! Let go of me, you scoundrel!"
"You are noisy, so stay there."
"....? You plan to imprison me here?"
Otus and Ephialtes joined forces to capture Ares and threw him into a massive bronze jar, causing even more chaos among the gods.
Those fools are not Typhon, so there’s no need to panic like that.
"Why is Olympus acting like this... Hades, did you cast some curse?"
"What are you talking about..."
Demeter expressed her disdain for the underworld with a bored expression.
It seems like just a prank, but it is true that all sorts of things have been happening in Olympus lately.
"There are many loopholes in prophecies... Hades, this should be easy for you, right?"
Aphrodite approached me, acting coy.
It was a bit annoying, but... since she is a valuable worker from the underworld, I’ll tolerate it for a moment.
Many gods were flustered, but the Twelve Olympians remained largely unfazed.
Even Ares, just before being thrown into the bronze jar, merely glanced at me in disbelief.
Soon enough, he would break out of the jar on his own.
To think they would imprison the god of war in just a massive bronze jar,
Their desire to flaunt their power was evident.
Their strength is at the top tier by Olympian standards.
Yet, even with such powerful strength, they suffered a wound from Ares' sword.
Being young giants, they had no battle experience, and while they cannot be killed, the prophecy said nothing about being subdued.
On the other hand, the gods present here are seasoned deities who have fought against the Titans, Gigantes, Typhon, and more.
Even I, the king of Olympus, Zeus, was here.
"Ha ha ha! Quickly bring Hera and Artemis here!"
"If you don’t want to end up like the one who just went into the jar, hurry!"
It’s so noisy, their voices are grating on my ears.
I should just step in and subdue them myself.
Throwing them into the underworld's prison where they cannot gather strength for a while wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Among the two giant brothers, Otus had ambition.
He desired to ascend to Olympus, defeat all the gods, and take the beautiful goddess of the hunt as his wife.
"Otus, then I will take Hera as my wife!"
"If we join forces, defeating the gods will be a piece of cake!"
If his twin brother, Ephialtes, who possessed equal strength, added his power, it would be easily achievable.
Thus, they began stacking Mount Ossa and Mount Pelion to create a path to the divine palace of Olympus...
Eventually, they succeeded in stepping onto the clouds.
"Ugh! Let go of me, you scoundrel!"
"You are noisy, so stay there."
Otus imprisoned the audacious little god who charged at him in the jar,
and soon, he shouted, thinking of the beautiful Artemis, who would soon be his wife.
"Ha ha ha! Quickly bring Hera and Artemis here!"
At that moment, a male god who had asked them their identity quietly stood up.
The god, with a gloomy appearance, let out a deep sigh.
"To think the lord of the underworld would take action himself... Are those fools heading for Tartarus?"
"How dare such beings cause a ruckus in Olympus..."
"Giants, it would be wise to beg for forgiveness now!"
As he slowly rose from his seat, the flustered gods regained their composure.
Who is that?
Ephialtes, curious about his identity, asked.
"And who are you?"
The black-haired god, looking annoyed, waved his hand in the air.
With him appeared a two-pronged spear.
But to think he would face us with such a toothpick?
Otus scoffed and raised his massive fist.
As he approached, the black-haired god merely stared at them with an indifferent expression.
He made no response.
"Hmph. Whoever you are, you won’t be safe after my fist connects!"
Otus' iron-like fist sliced through the air.
As the giant, capable of lifting Ares with one hand, struck, a terrifying sound echoed.
Whoooosh!
Only the sound of the strike echoed.
Nothing touched the target aimed at.
And then, a hot pain was felt in his wrist.
"Ahhh!"
"Otus!"
When did he dodge my punch?
I saw nothing, yet how did he manage to stab my wrist?
From his face, still filled with annoyance, a sinister aura began to spread slowly.
It was bright daylight, much closer to the sun than the mortal realm, yet somehow the surroundings grew darker.
Otus, proud of his powerful strength, felt fear creeping in this time.
Compared to that Ares who had charged at him earlier, could it be that this is Zeus?
"You seem to have divine blood... Does your father not care for his children at all?"
"No! Otus... Ugh!"
Ephialtes, seeing his brother’s wrist pierced, rushed over in excitement...
But in an instant, he was stabbed with a spear, bleeding from his ankle and collapsing.
"First, you will go to prison."
The sharp two-pronged spear, the trident, drew closer to Otus' eyes.
So fast, I can’t respond.
My body... won’t move.
"Wait! Just wait a moment, Brother Hades!"
"Zeus?"
A voice was heard, and the spear stopped right in front of my eyes.
"Hmm. Hmm. Since we have precious guests in Olympus, we must treat them well."
Thanks to the stern-looking blond god intervening, I avoided losing my sight.
With Zeus and Hades here, could it be that these are the three main gods?
The king of the gods, who had just been wielding the spear, Hades, looked at me with a faint smile.
"Ah, so you came to take Hera and Artemis?"
Yet for some reason, Otus found that smile chilling.