The Thirteenth Trial(?) - A Tale of Schemes
Truth be told, no matter how plausible Typhon's plan seemed, it had one fatal flaw. To carry it out, he needed the permission of Gaia, the Earth Mother Goddess and mother to Typhon, Adamantia, and Echidna. And from another angle, sending two goddesses to marry a mere human would tarnish their dignity.
Getting the Earth Mother's approval was obviously no easy feat. Typhon, having cooked this up himself, looked plenty nervous about it. Especially since this was his solo idea—there was zero chance she'd sign off.
But the snake-headed oaf had a plan for that too. "Just do it first and beg forgiveness later." That's how these man-woman pairings worked—once it happened, you couldn't stuff the cat back in the bag. Especially considering the tangled mess between Heracles, who'd suckled at Hera's breast; the immortal monster Echidna; and the goddess Adamantia.
The only real hitch was if Adamantia truly loved Heracles and acted on it. But she had a problem: her self-esteem was rock-bottom everywhere except her pride as a blacksmith, which was inversely proportional to her immense power and beauty.
She'd been born differently from the other gods. As the first Oreia and Neoi, but saddled with dominion over iron, she'd spent ages trapped in her mother's womb, Tartarus. That stay doubled as a secret forge job crafting the adamant sickle to castrate her rotten brother-husband, Uranus.
Only after finishing the adamant sickle could Adamantia emerge into the world. She slipped into Thalassa's sea domain and quietly set up her forge again. So even Uranus, the sky itself who saw all, never knew what she looked like. Nor did Cronus, the later king who wielded her sickle. Zeus had stolen her painstakingly forged Astrape lightning bolt to win the war, then ghosted Sicily entirely—never mind her face or mask.
Right now, the only ones who knew what the goddess Adamantia looked like were, hilariously, Gaia and Heracles. And Gaia's sole worry—the self-proclaimed kingly Typhon's one headache—was dead set on not letting the man who'd seen her precious eldest daughter's face slip away.
"So, Typhon. You're saying you'll send Heracles to the Black Sea to snag your ex-wife, and call it a 'task'?"
"Yes, yep. Uh, Mother. That's the plan."
"What an utterly idiotic idea. Did you think I'd pat your ass and say, 'Aigoo, brilliant thinking'?"
"……"
The unyielding Gaia was currently glaring at the trembling, forehead-to-the-ground snake-head like he was trash, legs crossed in a sultry pose. The heavenly beauty of the Earth Mother, with her childbearing hips flowing into flawless thighs and calves, deserved endless praise—but the murderous aura she radiated would send even Zeus scampering with his tail between his legs.
"What the hell were you thinking? Fine, your divorce was your own stupidity. But sending him to your even uglier ex to prove he likes ugly chicks? Are you in your right mind, Typhon?"
"N-no, Mother, I'm wronged! Big sis Adamantia consulted me first. Said she didn't know what to do about her ugly self."
"……Is that true, Adamantia? Everything this fool says—is it all fact?"
"Yeah, Mom."
"……"
Gaia wasn't just angry; she was losing her damn mind. Typhon's harebrained scheme was bad enough, but her eldest daughter going along with it? What the hell?
"You definitely got hit by Eros's golden arrow."
"……Yeah."
"So you like Heracles now, right?"
"I do. He told me he loves me himself."
"Then why agree to this nonsense?"
"Because… I have my reasons."
"What?!"
Gaia uncrossed her legs and shot to her feet with a roar at her eldest's nonsense.
"What reasons could lead to this idiocy?! Typhon's plan is pure stupidity—what were you thinking?!"
"……I have three reasons. I want to explain them to you, Mom."
"Hoo, fine. Let's hear them. If they're as absurd as Typhon's, you're not getting off easy. Got it?"
"Yeah, no worries there."
"……"
What to do with this rock-headed daughter? Gaia hesitated, but her wise eldest claimed reasons, so she held her tongue and listened.
"First reason: I don't want to marry Heracles as a demigod and goddess."
"……So you want him to snag your sister and offer her to Zeus or something?"
"No. I want you to make Heracles a god, Mom."
"……"
"You can do it."
Rare, but powerful demigods or humans could ascend to godhood. Only three could grant it: the king or queen of the gods who ruled the world, and the first Protogenos, Gaia herself—mother of all gods and child of Chaos.
If the Earth herself, Gaia, took one as her child, they could be reborn a god.
"Fine, say the first is making that boy a god. What's the second?"
"……Heracles is a good man. He'll make a good god. I want Echidna to have a good husband."
"……You're okay with a threesome marriage?"
"Heracles will treat her right. I believe it, Mom."
"I don't even know where to start. My head's killing me."
Love blinded folks to front, back, and context—but this was a first even for Gaia. Where had she gone wrong with this girl? No clue. And there was still a third reason.
"Fine… say a threesome marriage is no big deal. What's the last one?"
"With Heracles around, you'll lose the war, Mom."
"Yeah, probably. So you knew that too."
"Yep. That's why I have a plan."
"……What plan?"
Gaia felt uneasy now, hands trembling.
"I'll make Heracles the king of the gods. Yeah, he has to become the king of the gods."
『?!』
Adamantia, her blue eyes sparkling innocently at her mother, dropped that bombshell. Declaring her mate king of the gods naturally meant she'd be queen.
"You… you're serious?"
"Yeah."
"Since when?"
Gaia's voice shook. Her ever-meek eldest saying this?
"A long time."
"How long?!"
"Since the day you prophesied, 'Like your father, Zeus, you too will lose your throne to your child.'"
"That day? How…"
"From that day, I decided the one to take Zeus's throne would be the man I love, my mate."
"Why Heracles of all people?"
Gaia still wasn't convinced, glaring daggers for more reasons.
But her stoic eldest had hidden more bombs over the past year and a half.
"Heracles is qualified."
"Because he's hot?"
"That's part of it."
Adamantia answered bluntly, then beamed.
"Heracles is ready."
"What does that mean? Speak plainly, Adamantia!"
"Heracles is ready, Mom. That boy—no, the man I love—can forge iron."
『What?!?』
Her eldest's second bomb. And this one dwarfed the first.
Adamantia had never breathed a word in all that time. She'd even seemed inwardly suspicious of Heracles—like she actually was. Her self-esteem was abysmal, after all.
"Except in one field."
Handling iron was huge. It complicated everything massively.
Iron was Gaia's bones, Adamantia herself. Conceptually, if Heracles truly became the god of iron-forging, he'd possess both Adamantia and Gaia. And gain the right to challenge for king of the gods.
Gaia had no intention of letting that slide easily.
But her eldest's beautiful blue eyes gleamed with yet more secrets, staring unwaveringly at her mother—unfazed by Gaia's shock at the back-to-back bombs.