Ominous Signs - (4)
"Such a thing... If it weren't for this body...!"
Kronos, who had lost the light in his eyes and collapsed, now looked at Echidna.
The beautiful woman, mixed with a serpent, the wife of Typhon, was growing cold with a hole in her chest.
Did she realize that she was being used by Gaia?
No. Even if she knew she was being treated as a discarded pawn, it is highly likely she crossed over to take revenge on her husband.
"Huh..."
I slowly caught my breath.
I could feel that the human body I had possessed was quite damaged.
I had drawn too much divine power to confront Kronos.
With a human body, it was impossible to bear all my strength, so I tried to control it as much as possible...
Not far away, the Gigantes, Enceladus, who had been burned by the sun's radiance, lay sprawled out.
Golden ichor flowed from various parts of Apollo's body, dripping onto the ground as he gazed at the monster's corpse.
"Apollo, when I leave, please take care of this human body a bit. My presence must have significantly shortened its lifespan."
"Understood, Uncle. After all, I am the god of healing. That much is no problem."
He answered me readily, smiling like the sun.
"But you arrived sooner than expected. Were you watching Thebes from the clouds?"
"Yes, when the messenger of Lady Styx came to Olympus, my father immediately dispatched me. While flying around near Thebes, I sensed an unusual power coming from the cave..."
He was talking about the moment Kronos was releasing his power.
He must have drawn upon his strength to adapt to Echidna's body...
Instead, it became advantageous for Apollo to discern the positions of friend and foe.
Did Zeus, who dispatched Apollo upon hearing that I had manifested in this world, hold a meeting by now?
"Ah, I had my subordinates inform Olympus of Kronos's manifestation. I never thought a deity trapped in Tartarus could descend to the mortal realm... The Protogenoi truly are remarkable."
Gaia is one of the Protogenoi, the gods that emerged from chaos at the time the world was created.
Possessing countless knowledge and wisdom unknown to us, such feats are possible.
However, to manifest Kronos, who once held the hegemony of the world, is a serious situation that no one could have predicted.
"And Gigantes have also appeared near Athens, and Athena and Ares have gone down."
"In Athens too? Gaia is making quite a grand declaration of war."
It would be too risky for the Earth Mother to reveal herself directly before us...
She would have no choice but to move her subordinates or use the Gigantes.
"I will return to the underworld now. I trust you to handle the aftermath."
"Then I will comfort the people of Thebes well."
The Gigantes have been dealt with... and I no longer sense the monster's aura nearby.
With Apollo, who possesses an incredibly versatile divine nature, including arts, archery, and prophecy, he should manage the cleanup well.
As I returned my consciousness to the throne of the underworld, I saw the god Hypnos before me.
He was not showing his usual sleepy eyes but had a sharp expression, arms crossed.
Hypnos, meeting my gaze, spoke urgently.
"Have the Gigantes been dealt with? Or could it be...?"
"The god Kronos has descended, but we repelled him."
"What?! Kronos in the mortal realm?"
"First, gather all the gods. I have something to convey."
Not long after Hypnos left the audience chamber like smoke,
Soon, most of the gods belonging to the underworld gathered here.
Some gods donned armor and held spears, as if prepared for battle against the Gigantes...
The presence of these souls outside the fortress...
Are they preparing the soul soldiers?
"For now, we do not need the forces of the underworld. We have repelled the Gigantes' invasion for the time being."
"I thought a full-scale war was about to break out..."
The goddess Styx seemed relieved and ordered the outside troops to withdraw.
Other gods also appeared to be somewhat reassured.
"However, Kronos, who should be trapped in Tartarus, has descended to the mortal realm."
"Is this Gaia's scheme?!"
"The consciousness of one trapped there can be extracted...”
"There must have been great sacrifices or offerings involved. Wasn't there?"
As Kronos's story emerged, the many gods began to murmur.
I conveyed what I had experienced while manifesting in the body of a priest.
Echidna, the wife of Typhon, the command entity of the Gigantes, and both Apollo and Kronos.
A silence fell among the gods as they absorbed all the stories.
"... So for now, the underworld is also preparing. Morpheus!"
"Yes, Lord Hades."
"Check the situation in Tartarus and deploy additional guards nearby. Also, inform the Hecatoncheires brothers that Kronos has emerged in the mortal realm."
Next, I turned my gaze to the old god with black wings.
"Thanatos. If there are any souls that meet an unnatural death, can you inform me immediately?"
"I assume you mean humans who might be sacrificed or fall victim to the Gigantes... Honestly, that would be tough."
"Then just let me know when many humans die, even if no disaster occurs."
"That much is possible."
The recent descent of Kronos was made possible because many humans were sacrificed.
If Thanatos, the embodiment of death, could simply inform me of places with many suspicious deaths, we could respond quickly.
"While I was manifesting in the mortal realm, was there any news sent from Olympus?"
"There is. Hades... Iris visited the underworld."
The goddess Lethe spoke of the news Iris had conveyed.
First, a Gigantes calling himself Porphyrion appeared near Athens, rampaging and attempting to violate Hera...
"Attempting to violate the queen of the gods?"
"There are certainly no shortage of madmen."
"Weren't those Aloadae or something like that the same last time?!"
"Enough, let us listen to the words of the goddess Lethe until the end."
...
It is said that an enraged Zeus sent Athena and Ares to tear him apart.
The soul of the slain Porphyrion is now dragged to the underworld, awaiting my judgment.
"I will send him to Tartarus. Now, please continue."
"Um... And Zeus held a meeting in Olympus."
The news that Kronos, who was thought to be eternally trapped in Tartarus, had emerged again,
Was enough to instill a sense of urgency among all the gods of Olympus.
The biggest problem is that it is difficult to quickly grasp Gaia's movements in sending the Gigantes.
The Earth Mother Gaia's power is far superior to that of Demeter.
The solution that emerged from the gods' meeting was...
"They decided to temporarily entrust the Omphalos to Demeter."
"They plan to use Demeter's power to locate the Gigantes' base."
"After all, the Omphalos amplifies the power of the gods..."
"But must we really use that object, which symbolizes the center of the world?"
"It may be necessary to go that far. Gaia is the Earth Mother herself, and with Demeter's power..."
The Omphalos, the stone that Kronos swallowed and later regurgitated instead of Zeus.
If Demeter temporarily holds that treasure at the center of the world, it could somewhat contend with Gaia's power.
In other words...
"Demeter said that if the Gigantes attack the surface just one more time, she would be able to trace their base's location by following the footprints of the earth."
Since the hero of prophecy has not yet been born,
Even if we discover the Gigantes' base, we cannot immediately launch an attack.
However, it would be possible to monitor their movements and strike a blow in a preliminary battle.
Moreover, the occurrence of sudden attacks like this one would be completely eliminated.
Zeus's judgment seems appropriate.
Of course, since the Omphalos is an important symbolic object, it must be returned at some point.
"But Gaia will also realize that the Omphalos has been moved elsewhere... If the Gigantes move, they will know their base will be revealed."
"Yes. Athena and Metis insisted that they must absolutely prevent that one attack."
"If we cannot stop that, the advantage will shift to them."
The next attack by the Gigantes is likely to be...
Unlike before, it may not just be one or two command entities or traps, but they could mobilize a vast force.
They might thoroughly prepare to ambush Olympus.
There is also the possibility that they will come to the underworld to attempt to open Tartarus,
Or they might completely annihilate the human nations and use the sacrifices to summon the Titan gods.
The gods, having received the results of the meeting in Olympus, began to murmur.
"Where do you think they will attack?"
"They will probably annihilate the human nations in one fell swoop and bring the sinners of Tartarus to the mortal realm..."
"They might even launch a surprise attack on Olympus."
"We must avoid an all-out war at all costs. Until the hero of prophecy emerges..."
Now the Gigantes will not move.
To be precise, they will sharpen their blades for a single ambush while watching our movements.
In the temple of Hades in Thebes.
The priestess Phenedeia, who had been kidnapped by the Gigantes and then freed, was speaking to her fellow priests in the temple.
"There were such monsters near Thebes?"
"My goodness... Lord Hades descended into your body..."
"Did you really say that? Don't worry anymore, for I have come..!"
Having been possessed by Hades and directly treated by Apollo, she rose as a strong candidate for the next high priestess.
The very fact that a god descended into her body proved her faith.
"Lord Hades is surely a merciful being."
"Surprisingly, the ruler of the underworld seems to care for his followers?"
"If we spread this news widely, wouldn't it help in expanding the temple?"
All the dead become the subjects of Hades.
The more humans die, the stronger his power becomes.
But is there a god who thinks of his followers before his own power grows?
Even descending in the face of death's crisis?
Not just any god, but the three great gods?
With such thoughts, Phenedeia spoke up.
"Could it be... that he also possesses the aspect of a merciful deity? After all, the underworld is the final destination of life, so perhaps he is generous to the living..."
The surrounding priests wore expressions of realization.
"Indeed... that could be possible?"
"Considering how busy he must be ruling the underworld, yet he still reaches out to his followers...!"
"Putting his followers before his own power..."
A few days later...
The number of worshippers in the temple of Hades exploded.
The reason seemed to be the priests who spoke of Pluto's mercy.
"Hades... Pluto cares for his followers more than any other god."
"Ahem, that's right. Many names are quite fearsome, but..."
"Is it true that he is so merciful to the living?"
Now, in Thebes, the reputation of the god of wealth and mercy, Pluto, began to rise higher than that of the originally major deity, Dionysus.