King of Underworld

Chapter 12: The Story of Typhon – (1)

Morpheus mentioned that he had ascended to the mortal world to distribute dreams among the living, when he saw a bird lying on the ground.

Just as he found it strange to see a bird fallen and covered in blood, it transformed into the god Hermes.

“Morpheus… I must see Lord Hades immediately…”

“What is this…?! Hermes?”

Morpheus hurriedly brought him to the underworld, where he was now undergoing treatment.

“Something urgent must have happened in Olympus!”

Hermes was the messenger of the gods and the herald of Zeus.

He was the son of Maia, the daughter of Atlas, and Zeus, and one of the twelve Olympian gods.

Like all messengers, Hermes was incredibly fast.

While Iris could surpass him by traveling via rainbow when crossing vast distances like between the underworld and Olympus, there were few who could catch Hermes at full speed.

Yet here he was, lying at the entrance of the underworld, covered in blood.

Moreover, as one of the twelve Olympians, his divine status was so high that few would dare touch him.

I steadied my confused mind and entered the room where Hermes lay.

“Lord Hades…”

“…What a state you’re in, Hermes.”

The young god, who always enlivened Olympus with his cheerful smile and witty actions, was in a pitiful condition.

His face, which had once been that of a handsome rogue, was covered in blood, and none of his limbs were intact.

Despite the attendants tirelessly changing his bandages and the lesser gods infusing him with divine power to restore his strength, blood continued to flow.

With one uncovered eye, Hermes glanced at me, tears welling up.

“A monster… there was a monster…”

“Explain in detail, does Zeus know about this?”

For an ordinary human, or even a nymph or a lesser god, such severe injuries would prevent them from speaking.

But as one of the twelve Olympians granted the golden throne of Olympus, he could still open his mouth.

“…It was a normal feast in Olympus… A monster calling itself Typhon… struck Lord Zeus in one blow…”

Piecing together his halting words, it went like this:

During a typical feast of the Olympian gods, a giant hand struck the hall…

Zeus, taken by surprise, suffered a severe injury and threw his lightning bolt, but the monster merely flinched.

The monster, introducing itself as Typhon, had the upper body of a human and the lower body of a serpent, resembling a Gigas.

Its eyes emitted heat comparable to Hephaestus’s fire, and storms raged from its entire body, presenting a terrifying appearance.

Other gods were either instantly defeated or fled, while Zeus resisted to the end with his Scythe but eventually…

“You mean he had to use the Scythe?”

“Yes… Lord Poseidon’s Trident and my father’s Astraphe could not inflict any damage…”

The Scythe.

A scythe made of Adamantine that Cronus used to cut off Uranus’s genitals.

For Zeus to need to use that weapon, created by the Earth Mother Goddess Gaia herself, indicated just how tough Typhon’s skin was.

But Typhon… Typhon, that name felt familiar. I was sure I knew it from somewhere in my hazy memories of my past life…

“My father… Lord Zeus was captured in its grasp… He told me to go to the underworld for help…”

“Keep talking.”

“The monster laughed and struck my leg… Please, help Olympus, uncle!”

Hermes, known for his unmatched speed, had tried to flee the scene but got caught in the storm that enveloped Olympus.

While the monster let other gods escape, it mocked Hermes and struck his leg.

With just that one blow, the messenger god’s leg was horribly twisted.

To avoid the monster’s sight, he transformed into a small bird and escaped…

Hermes lost consciousness after saying those words.

He had forced himself to stay conscious to relay Olympus’s situation to me, so it was only natural.

“Hades… Will you go to help Olympus?”

The goddess Styx looked at me with a face full of concern.

Unlike the time when the Gigantes invaded the underworld, this time the battle was in Olympus.

In the sea, Poseidon and I in the underworld were invincible.

So, what about Zeus in the sky?

“There’s a monster capable of defeating Olympus alone, this time it’s really dangerous…”

The answer lay in the absolute ‘god’ who ruled the world itself.

In the sky, even if all the twelve Olympian gods excluding me gathered, they couldn’t rival Zeus.

Yet the king of the gods, the chief deity of Olympus, had fought in his domain with the most powerful weapon, the Scythe, and was defeated.

If one couldn’t realize the strength of the monster Typhon from this, it would be sheer foolishness.

“If I can just rescue Zeus, there’s some hope.”

“But still…”

“Even if it gets dangerous, I can escape unscathed, so don’t worry too much.”

As an immortal god, Zeus would have been captured and confined somewhere by the monster.

So my task was clear.

Rescue Zeus and fight the monster Typhon.

Even though Zeus’s Astraphe only caused the monster pain and didn’t leave any wounds, I could at least distract it until Zeus could strike with the Scythe.

“Still… shouldn’t you take the army of the underworld with you?”

“It would be a meaningless sacrifice.”

If Hermes got caught in the storm surrounding Typhon, sheer numbers wouldn’t work.

Even if I brought the army of the underworld, Typhon wouldn’t even glance at them.

I turned away from the teary-eyed goddess Styx and left.

* * *

I returned to the fortress of the underworld.

Specifically, I returned to the audience chamber where my throne was and sat down.

Why do such troublesome events keep occurring?

Always busy with work, and whenever the underworld seemed a bit peaceful, problems arose elsewhere.

I sighed and reached out beside the throne.

A seemingly ordinary and worn helmet caught my fingers.

Kynee.

Until now, no creature had seen through me while I wore the Kynee, but would it work on that monster?

I had no choice but to trust the helmet made by Arges, one of the three Cyclopes brothers.

Gripping the Kynee firmly, I equipped my weapons and armor.

I strapped the Styx sword to my waist, and my entire body was clad in black armor forged from the waters of the underworld.

Once I was somewhat armed, Thanatos entered the audience chamber, flapping his black wings.

He spoke in a serious tone.

“Hades, I heard Olympus is in danger.”

“Thanatos.”

“That monster Typhon is immortal. My powers don’t work on it, just like with our gods.”

Had Thanatos seen Typhon?

He sent his avatars day and night to roam the mortal world, so he might have seen Typhon.

“I only observed that enormous creature from afar. When I tried to use my power to extract its soul, it turned its head towards me. Fortunately, it was preoccupied and didn’t pursue me…”

If Typhon was truly immortal like us, it was likely a relative of the gods.

Maybe a descendant of the Titans… Considering its form similar to the Gigantes, it might have been sent by Gaia.

Perhaps sent to end us after we repelled the Gigantes’ first assault.

“Tsk. You’re determined to go, aren’t you? Be careful.”

I passed by Thanatos and left the fortress.

For the first time in a long while, I crossed the river of the underworld fully armed and set foot on the mortal world.

Thunk.

The clear and pure air of the mortal world greeted me, a stark contrast to the gloomy air of the underworld.

I liked the feel of the land blessed by Demeter, but I wasn’t here for sightseeing.

The current time in the world was night.

With my transcendent divine vision, I could see the moon goddess Selene riding her silver chariot across the sky.

A black horse and a white horse were busily pulling the moon.

However, they were flying unusually high, as if fearing something on the mortal world, without trembling.

Was this also Typhon’s influence? I put on the Kynee and headed towards Mount Olympus.

* * *

The lofty Mount Olympus… was half-destroyed.

The divine palace in the clouds atop the mountain was also reduced to ruins, as if trampled by a giant being.

I couldn’t sense the presence of any gods, but I saw a monster resembling a Gigas.

The enormous monster, large enough to cover Mount Olympus, emitted fierce gusts of wind.

Whooosh…

Its shoulders reached the sky, and its head brushed the stars as it raged.

Whenever it got angry, the snakes attached to its hair spewed lightning and venom.

Boom! Rumble…

As it struck Mount Olympus with its fist, a whole peak collapsed.

“Raaaargh! Moirai! How dare you deceive me?!”

If it mentioned Moirai, it referred to the three goddesses of fate, but why?

“Lord Typhon! What have they done to you?”

“Delphyne! Those old Moirai on that insignificant mountain deceived me!”

A monster with the lower body of a dragon and the upper body of a human spoke to Typhon.

It seemed to be Typhon’s monster subordinate.

“They gave me a fruit, claiming it would grant me great power, but it’s making me weaker!”

“Those creatures…?”

So the three goddesses of fate from Mount Nysa had helped us.

But if this was Typhon in a weakened state, a direct fight seemed hopeless. I needed to find Zeus first.

“Ugh… It doesn’t matter! The only threat to me was Zeus, and he’s already trapped in the cave!”

Thinking there was no one

around, the monster babbled, confirming it was a newborn monster.

Veteran gods or Titans who had experienced war would never do such a thing.

My suspicion grew stronger that this monster was a recent creation by our grandmother Gaia, who made the Gigantes.

Did it not know about my Kynee?

Or did it think I wouldn’t help Olympus?

I was about to search for the cave where Zeus was imprisoned when I saw a strange creature.

A creature with the upper body of a goat and the lower body of a fish, hiding in the bushes in fear.

Sighing, I passed by, certain that it was a god who had transformed.