The Story of Typhon (3)
I witnessed an utterly ordinary human being granted the courage of Ares. Though I had observed countless humans before, never once had any left such a deep impression on me as this man did today. Yet determination alone could not fulfill the command Zeus had issued. Did Cadmus truly possess the ability to carry it out?
I asked him directly—what method he would use to reclaim Zeus’s sinews from Typhon.
“While I may not rival the God of Music, Apollo, I pride myself on possessing enough skill to charm at least one monster.”
Cadmus rummaged through his clothes, produced a flute, and brought it to his lips. He blew into it with a slow, measured breath. His posture was so practiced and natural that it was clearly not his first time playing.
The sweet melody flowed out. All the animals nearby froze in place. Even the nymphs dwelling in nature emerged to listen, and the very air trembled gently in resonance. Every space the flute’s sound reached seemed to move in perfect harmony with his tune.
When the soft rhythm that had filled the surroundings finally faded, a pang of regret washed over me before I could stop it.
Cadmus lowered the flute from his mouth and spoke to me with a confident smile.
“The monster will lose its senses the moment it hears my flute!”
I compared the performance for a moment to the music I had heard from Apollo, Zeus’s son and the god of music and art. It was similar to Apollo’s… no, perhaps even superior. His skill was easily enough to contend for the seat of God of Music itself.
Even so, it was still dangerous. This was no simple performance. He would need eloquence, courage, and luck to actually extract the sinews from Typhon. Against even a moderately experienced monster, it was nothing but a desperate gamble.
Yet when I pictured Typhon in my mind—that creature whose strength was immense but whose movements had seemed somehow clumsy—the odds did not look entirely impossible.
“Lord Hades, I have already prepared myself.”
In truth, I still believed Zeus had lost his mind… but the eloquence and courage Cadmus had shown when answering my earlier question clearly surpassed the realm of ordinary mortals. I finished my thoughts and gave a slow nod.
That said, if Typhon ignored the flute and tried to kill Cadmus, or if anything seemed off, I would use the Kynee to remain hidden and intervene.
Piririri— Piiriri—
A short distance from Mount Olympus, a man disguised as a shepherd—Cadmus—was walking while playing his flute. Several paces behind him, I followed invisibly beneath the Kynee, the sword of Styx drawn in my hand.
The path led toward a monster that could kill him in a single strike, yet he continued playing with perfect composure. When we entered Typhon’s domain and a violent storm began to rage, he staggered, nearly losing his footing.
Kuuuoooo—
But the fierce gale soon began to subside. It was a clear sign that Typhon had grown interested in the music and was withdrawing the winds wrapped around his body. Seeing definitive proof that Cadmus’s melody worked on Typhon, the man regained his confidence and pressed forward.
Gradually the animals of the mountain vanished from sight, and the number of shattered trees around us only increased. The closer we drew to Typhon, the heavier the oppressive pressure became, yet Cadmus continued onward, cold sweat beading on his skin.
And at last, we encountered the monster.
“Kahahahaha! What a truly magnificent performance! What is your name, human?”
Typhon, lounging sideways, laughed so loudly that the earth and sky trembled. Nevertheless, Cadmus stood firm on both legs.
“I am merely a shepherd passing through these lands. My name is Cadmus, O great one!”
“A shepherd? Just a shepherd! You possess heavenly music, yet you waste your days herding sheep?”
Typhon gazed down at Cadmus with eyes full of goodwill, as though watching an amusing pet ant. Even the hundred snake-heads that formed his hair—each capable of spitting lightning and venom—remained silent toward the man.
“Follow me. If you play that music for me whenever I desire, I shall grant you great rewards.”
“What manner of reward do you speak of, great one!”
Typhon pretended to ponder, bestowing favor upon the ant before him. At least, that was how it looked to me, Hades.
“If you wish, I shall give you any goddess you desire—Athena, Aphrodite, Leto, Artemis—any except Hera. What say you?!”
That insane monster bastard. So he considers Hera his own trophy, does he?
I worried for a moment that Cadmus might succumb to the temptation. For a human male, claiming a goddess was an almost impossible offer to refuse—especially if it removed the danger of having to deceive the monster.
“Of course, if the great one commands it, I shall obey! However… would you not like to hear even finer music?”
“Oh-ho… something better than what you just played?”
Cadmus’s throat bobbed once, then his voice rang out powerfully as he began to appeal to Typhon.
“In the past, I once defeated Apollo himself in a contest of the lyre. When Zeus learned of this, he destroyed my lyre with a thunderbolt!”
“You could indeed defeat Apollo… so he cut the strings of your lyre with lightning, you say…”
“If I could remake my lyre, I would play melodies twice as sweet as what you heard earlier.”
Truly, his eloquence, courage, and wisdom were all worthy of the first hero of humanity.
“Very well! These are the sinews of Zeus, whom I defeated. Use them to remake your lyre and return to me!”
“I am endlessly grateful, O great one.”
Typhon shifted his massive frame and retrieved the sinews from beneath the bearskin he had been lying on. Even separated from their owner, they pulsed with intense divine power, as expected of a god’s body. There was no sign of decay or damage anywhere.
“I shall craft the lyre and return at once.”
“Uahaha! Yes, come back quickly!”
The hero who possessed Ares’s courage, Apollo’s musical talent, and Athena’s wisdom had successfully completed his task.
“You truly retrieved my sinews, human.”
“It is an honor to be of service to Lord Zeus, King of the Gods.”
Cadmus and I returned to the mountain with the sinews and located the cave where Zeus was imprisoned. I was momentarily stunned to see the once-mighty Zeus lying face-down on the ground, completely drained of power… but the moment we reattached the sinews to both his legs, he became the Zeus I knew once more.
“Zeus. It appears the three goddesses of fate lent a hand against Typhon.”
“The Moirai helped me?”
When I informed him of Typhon’s weakened state, he clenched his fist with a confident grin. It seemed his assurance had returned.
“I know where Typhon hid my Astraphe. While I retrieve it, could you gather the other gods, Brother Hades?”
“Of course.”
No matter how much of his power Zeus had regained, Typhon was the monster who had single-handedly crushed Olympus. He could not be underestimated. If Zeus fought alone, he might lose again. It seemed he intended for us to attack together.
I left the cave immediately to search for the other gods. I removed the Kynee so they could recognize me and carried it openly in one hand while scanning the area. Fortunately, one of the gods found me first.
“H-Hades!”
The goddess of the hearth, Hestia, appeared. She ran toward me, terrified, and threw herself into my arms. The warm, gentle divine power I usually felt from her was flickering unsteadily, like a hearth fire about to be extinguished by a fierce wind.
“You came to help! But Zeus couldn’t escape in time…”
“I have already met with Zeus. Calm yourself.”
To think that even a veteran goddess who had endured wars against the Titan gods and the Gigantes would tremble with such fear—it drove home once again just how powerful a monster Typhon truly was.
I explained about Zeus’s sinews, then set out to find the others. Hestia looked utterly astonished to learn that a mere human hero had aided us.
“Good heavens… a human hero helped us…?”
“Once we defeat Typhon, I’ll introduce you properly.”
She too agreed to gather the other gods and regroup at the now-occupied Mount Olympus. From this point on, the speed at which the gods assembled would only increase.
Just as I thought that, a god with the lower body and horns of a goat and the upper body of a human came running toward me. He wore the exact expression humans usually reserved for Zeus.
“L-Lord Hades!”
He stopped in front of me.
“Khk… You have descended to the mortal realm to save Olympus… I am truly ashamed!”
Wait. So the creature I saw earlier—the one transformed into a mix of goat and fish—was you? Pan? I had assumed he was just some minor god and passed by while following Zeus’s trail. If I had known it was Pan, I would have taken off the Kynee and spoken to him.
Pan. The god of nature and shepherds, a satyr—half-human, half-beast—with a human torso but the lower body of a goat. He was the son of Hermes and thus Zeus’s grandson. You really need to improve your transformation technique. It’s a good thing Typhon had no interest in the fleeing gods except for Hermes.
“Is my father safe? Khk… things were so urgent that…”
When I told him Hermes was currently receiving treatment in the Underworld, he ground his teeth. Helplessness and sorrow over failing to fight the monster as a god seemed to war across his face. I comforted him as I had Hestia and told him to gather the other gods.
“Yes sir! I am a god of nature, after all. If I ask around, I’ll find the others quickly!”
I didn’t bother asking who he would ask. I had already seen the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks gathering around him. Since Pan was here and many gods seemed to have transformed into fish, I decided to head toward the river. There happened to be a suitable stretch of water nearby.
I revealed my presence and spread my divine power widely. Two fish suddenly leaped from the river. In an instant they transformed, radiating powerful divinity. Two of the Twelve Olympians.
“Uncle Hades!”
“God of War, what sorry state is this?”
“…Forgive me. The taste of defeat was simply too strong…”
One was the muscular god Ares, who had helped greatly with Underworld affairs during the great flood. The other was a goddess of breathtaking beauty with brilliant golden hair. She possessed an aura that could captivate anyone regardless of age or gender. Her figure was flawless, and a floral fragrance wafted from her. It was Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love, whom I had not seen in quite some time.
The goddess born from the sea foam created when Cronus castrated his father Uranus.
“It has been a while, Hades.”
Of course she was wearing the Kestos Himas, the girdle that granted the power to seduce any male. I turned my aching head away and spoke to her.
“Save that for when you fight Typhon.”
“Hmph… As expected, it doesn’t work well on the three chief gods.”
The embodiment of perfect beauty grumbled softly and removed the girdle. If Eros, god of sexual love, and Peitho, goddess of persuasion, had been beside her, I might have been slightly affected.
“A-Aphrodite…”
My nephew was already completely smitten, staring slack-jawed. Aphrodite was already married to Hephaestus, yet… there was no use telling the Goddess of Love not to seduce men. There was simply nothing to be done. Would she one day acquire the divinity of adultery as well?
I explained the situation to them and asked for their help.
“I see. Father’s sinews have been restored… Then we shall search for the other gods as well!”
“See you again soon, Hades.”
She really was like a female version of Zeus—ready to drag anyone she found attractive straight to bed. I turned to continue searching for the remaining gods when a wind blew through the forest and brushed against my ear. The swaying grass whispered Pan’s message to me. Zeus’s messenger eagle also flew in this direction.
“Lord Hades! I’ve found everyone!”
“Brother, while we engage the beast first, I entrust you with the Scythe. It should be somewhere on Olympus…”
The time for the counterattack had come.