Gigantomachia -1- The War of Olympus and the Giants Begins
The Gigantomachia had begun—the war between Olympus and the Giants. Heracles joined the fray as Olympus's champion, gripping the fire-spewing warhammer he'd forged himself. Among his wives, Adamantia stepped onto the battlefield wielding the great scythe she'd made first, long ago.
The scythe wasn't exactly suited for combat at first glance, but that didn't matter. The Giants—known as the Gigas—had been born from the blood spilled when Uranus's genitals were sliced off, and this was the very weapon that had done the deed. Just seeing it sent the Gigas into a panic, fleeing in terror.
From the moment Heracles and Adamantia committed to the fight, what had been a war turned into a brutal, one-sided slaughterfest. No more, no less.
"How the hell did it come to this?"
Beautiful, wise goddesses surrounded him, but none could answer that question. No one knew why the battlefield had devolved into such a one-sided rampage. But the screams of the Gigas victims drowned out any such musings—Eurymedon, in particular, was teetering on the edge of madness.
"Fuck! I should've listened to Mom!"
Eurymedon was drowning in regret. Their mother, Gaia, had undoubtedly sent someone. She hadn't joined the war herself but dispatched Echidna—Heracles's wife and the Gigas's beloved little sister—to talk them out of marching.
"You can't win this war. Turn back."
But stubborn Eurymedon, the fool, had ignored her. Gaia's declaration that they couldn't win had pissed him off, blinding him to reason with his idiotic resolve to prove her wrong.
"Mom said we can't win this war, so hurry back, Eurymedon. This is her will—and mine too. Drive the Gigas away."
"I can't do that, sis. You egged us on to fight, and now that we're mobilized, you want us to stop? Where's the logic in that bullshit?"
"That's the Gigas's problem. Mom's will is for you to retreat."
"Yeah, well, we've got our own issues, so no withdrawal. Tell her that."
"You're really gonna defy Mom?"
"I never planned to listen in the first place!"
Eurymedon barked a laugh. Gaia had raised the Gigas with care for her revenge against Zeus, even planning to grant them immortality. But the Gigas couldn't care less. Revenge for their mother? Empty words. All they wanted was power—that was the real war.
Zeus was just an obstacle in their path to dominance. Mother's vengeance? They'd never given a damn about that.
"So you're pushing on with the war even though Mom doesn't want it?"
"That's right. We'll conquer Olympus, just like Mom first told us to."
"...Fine. I'll relay that."
"Huh?"
Eurymedon had brushed off Gaia's plea with a hearty guffaw, expecting more resistance. But Echidna agreed readily, leaving him blinking in surprise. He hadn't thought she'd give up so easily. A small mercy, perhaps—but she had more to say.
"But since you've chosen to fight, heads up: Big sis Adamantia will join Olympus's side."
"You're not planning to kill us all, right?"
"Of course not. Just one thing—do what big sis says, like always. You'll be fine."
"That's it? Really? In a war that decides the fate of the world?"
"Yep, that's it. Follow her lead. Not hard, right?"
Echidna's jade eyes sparkled as she spoke, almost eerily. And with a god from Olympus joining their foes? Surrender? Eurymedon scowled, deeply displeased.
"Sis Echidna, you're not telling us to kneel to Olympus out of fear of her, are you?"
"Come on, does Adamantia seem like the type to kneel to Olympus?"
"No, but... you're saying she's fighting on their side?"
"Her husband—my husband, Heracles—is fated to side with Olympus. She's helping fulfill that destiny. Honestly, she doesn't want to hurt you guys."
"..."
Of all Echidna's words that day, Eurymedon believed that one the least. Big sis doesn't want to hurt us? Then what about the hammer beatings we took as kids? Unaware that it was just tough love from their big sister, Eurymedon's heart sank.
And those fears proved true the moment they hit the battlefield. The damn big sis had brought the scythe after all.
"Fuck, she really does mean to kill us all! That traitorous sis!"
No Gigas warrior answered Eurymedon's vengeful scream. They all thought the same.
Meanwhile, around that time, as Gaia helped Heracles don his armor for the coming war, Adamantia waited nearby in her usual work clothes, gripping only a razor-sharp steel scythe. The blade emanated a ferocious aura, as if ready to cleave anything in its path. Heracles knew full well what it had cut before, yet she didn't look like someone heading to war.
To him, it seemed she was just uncomfortable about going.
And that wasn't strange at all.
"Adamantia, if you don't wanna fight, just stay here."
"Huh? No, I said I'd go. If you go alone, Zeus might suspect you. But if I join the battlefield too, he won't."
"You're not even properly armed. You hate the idea of war, don't you?"
"Says the guy whose whole getup is a lion skin and a hammer. Don't you know what this scythe is?"
"Yeah, I do, but..."
The scythe Adamantia held was the most fearsome weapon among the gods' arsenal—the adamant scythe that had severed Uranus's genitals. Famous for Cronus's use of it, it was the first weapon she'd forged in iron. After Cronus lost power, it returned to its maker, Adamantia. Even after millennia, it gleamed razor-sharp, radiating menace.
"This is plenty. Those guys were conceived by Mom from Uranus's blood. They'll tremble at the sight of it."
"Hmm, but they're your little brothers, honey. Makes it awkward for me to fight."
"What, you gonna worry about that? Keep it up, and the whole world's your family. Snap out of it."
"Yeah, you're right..."
For all his talk, Heracles—the modern soul reincarnated into this body—felt queasy about heading to battle his "family." He'd hunted monsters countless times since possessing this form, but knowing these ones were truly kin made it weigh on him anew.
Adamantia patted her young husband's back, dismissing his belated fretting. Refusing to march over something like that? It'd never end. As Gaia's husband and Adamantia's, he was practically every god's little brother—only Nyx and Erebus outranked him.
"Besides, I'm not going to kill my family. I'm going to save them."
"What do you mean? We're heading to war, not a rescue."
"I plan to hide the Gigas on this island, Sicily. I'll need your help."
"..."
This was news to him, but saving family? Sounded good. Even with Gaia's assurance not to worry, the unease lingered. Heracles readily promised to help his wife.
But then...
"...You're here to save us, right?"
"Ow! Sis! My bones—my bones!"
"Quit whining!"
"Gaaahhh!"
This was the heart of the raging Gigantomachia on Olympus's front lines. Mountains hurled by gods and giants soared through the air, islands crashed about, and the clash of weapons roared. One moment's distraction could mean burial under a mountain, an island, or a hail of arrows.
Yet Heracles swung his hammer on reflex, like he'd lost his mind. His beautiful wife was butchering the "brothers" she meant to save—with scythe and hammer.
Even amid the horror, he couldn't stop her.
"I... trust you."
"..."
He had no choice but to believe his beloved wife.