After the Titanomachy - (3)
After the Titanomachy - (3)
The banquet of the gods on Olympus, high above the clouds that mortals revere, was not so different from their own gatherings.
“The humans prayed for wind this time, so I showed them a bit of mercy…”
“Lady Artemis, you look beautiful today as always!”
“After the banquet, I’ll have a few words for the nymphs.”
“Was that monster called Typhon really that strong?”
They chatted while drinking nectar and eating ambrosia, the food of the gods.
“Hmm… Would you like to continue our conversation somewhere quiet, just the two of us?”
“If that is what you desire, I am yours whenever you wish.”
When a god and goddess caught each other’s eye, they would slip away to a secluded place.
“I heard one of the nymphs under your command offered up quite a useful weapon…”
“Hm? Are you talking about my sword?”
“How about a round of pankration with that on the line? I’ll wager one of the water buffalo I’ve been raising.”
“You two are going to fight? In that case, I’ll take this side…”
They made interesting bets through the martial contest of pankration.
“Hahaha! Terpsichore! You truly are magnificent!”
“You flatter me, Lord Poseidon.”
“A dance worthy of one of the Mousai who preside over learning and the arts!”
They also enjoyed the arts, listening to music played by Apollo or dancing to it.
And at such divine banquets, I, Hades, was…
“Hmmm… Are you really not going to play with me?”
“Ah, and loosen that girdle a little. It’s giving me a headache.”
“But if I don’t wear this, you won’t even look at me…?”
I was rejecting the seduction of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love whom everyone coveted.
Of all things, she had to come wearing that Kestos Himas. My head was pounding because of it. Get away from me already.
Still, I knew she wasn’t using her full power to charm me. This was only half in jest.
“Tsk… How boring. Are you going to keep acting like this?”
“Go to your husband Hephaestus.”
Of course, it seemed like half of her was serious, which made it awkward. No, you have a husband—why are you doing this?
“Stay at least as far from me as the distance between the Underworld and Olympus…”
“Haa? The goddess of beauty is going this far, and you still insist?”
Aphrodite crossed her arms and struck a seductive pose that emphasized certain generous curves. The male gods around us couldn’t tear their eyes away from her.
“If you keep this up, something’s really going to happen one day.”
“I’d rather receive your affection than your concern… I’ll take my leave for today.”
From the perspective of a goddess who ruled over intense emotions like love, looking at me—a being who had completely stepped outside her domain despite being one of the three chief gods—must have felt rather unpleasant.
Apparently offended that her touch of beauty and love had been rejected, Aphrodite left with a deeply furrowed brow.
“Wow… What did I just witness? Uncle Hades, did you really just turn down the goddess of beauty?”
Hermes approached with his mouth agape in admiration, Caduceus in hand. The snakes on his staff had even turned their heads in the direction Aphrodite had gone.
“If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t have refused. You could’ve had an amazing night, right?”
“Haa…”
Hermes whispered with a sly grin, but I had zero interest. Why would I want a secret rendezvous with a goddess who already had a husband and children? Besides, Hephaestus hadn’t done anything particularly wrong to me.
“So why did you come?”
“Hephaestus, who was working in his forge, said he wanted to see you, Lord Hades. I’m the messenger, after all.”
It seemed Zeus had ordered Hephaestus to make my weapon. There must be parts that required my help.
“I should go now.”
I set down my golden goblet filled with nectar and walked out.
Was Hephaestus’s personal forge on this side of Olympus?
After passing what appeared to be a makeshift galaxy that Iris had painstakingly created by carrying water, and then walking through dense layers of white clouds for quite some time…
“Kyahahaha!”
“Hahaha! Slow down a little, will you!”
Around the time a pair of lesser gods who seemed to be lovers passed by my side, Hephaestus’s forge came into view.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal being hammered, heat intense enough for even gods to feel, and flames soaring high into the sky. The forge walls were lined with all kinds of divine weapons and armor that, if they fell into human hands, would spark wars just to possess them.
That sword over there spewed flames every time it was swung. And that blue-tinted armor—did it grow harder the more impact it received?
“You’ve arrived, Uncle.”
“Mm.”
As I was admiring the weapons touched by Hephaestus’s hand, he came out and greeted me. The lame but incredibly muscular and rugged god held a hammer in his hand.
“Everything here is a failure, so I’m embarrassed to show them…”
Any one of these looked like it would cause chaos if it fell to the mortal world. But from the perspective of the god of blacksmiths who had created Aphrodite’s magical girdle and Hermes’s winged sandals, it was only natural.
When I asked why he had called for me, Hephaestus scratched his cheek with an innocent expression and said,
“I was in the middle of making a spear called the Bident for you, Uncle, and I was hoping you could infuse it with some of your divine power…”
“Bident…?”
I had used a spear quite often during the war against the Titan race. Had Zeus seen that and ordered one made?
“Then are you making my weapon a trident like Poseidon’s?”
“No, this is a two-pronged spear.”
“But I already have the Sword of Styx, so I don’t really need another weapon…”
I unfastened the scabbard at my waist and handed him the Sword of Styx. The god of blacksmiths examined the blade with focused eyes for a moment, then smiled at me.
“This sword is quite excellent, but it can’t compare to the Triaina or the thunderbolt. However, the Bident I’m about to show you will be worthy of standing beside them.”
“Oh…?”
Hephaestus spoke with confidence, then went inside the forge and returned with a two-pronged spear gripped in an iron gauntlet.
I reached out toward the spear, which was still glowing red from residual heat. Psst…
The moment my dark, gloomy divine power touched the Bident, its surface was faintly shaved away. But that lasted only a moment. The spear soon accepted the power and turned pitch black.
It already looked extraordinary at a glance, but that wasn’t the end.
“Please wait a moment. The finishing touches are still left.”
Hephaestus carefully took the spear back inside the forge. Soon, the sound of hammering metal and explosive clashes of different energies began to ring out.
Kang! Tssst… Clang! Kaang!
The only ones whose skill could rival the god of blacksmiths, Hephaestus, were the three Cyclops brothers who had made my Kynee. I waited leisurely for the work to finish.
When Helios’s sun chariot had reached the edge of the world and it was now the turn of the moon goddess Selene, Hephaestus, who had been absorbed in his task, called out to me.
“It’s finished! Give it a swing!”
The spear blade had a glossy black surface. It gave off a chilling aura just by looking at it, yet to me it felt familiar—like the Underworld itself.
As if entranced, I grasped the Bident with my right hand. The spear let out a soft resonant hum, as if recognizing its master.
I poured a bit of power into the perfectly balanced weapon in my grip. It immediately radiated an aura several times stronger. A familiar yet eerie black divine power wrapped around the Bident.
I stared at the spear for a moment, then thrust it fiercely toward the sky.
Kwaaaaaaaa—!
A massive hole was punched through the clouds above Olympus, and the ferocious spear strike flew straight toward the heavens beyond. It was truly the best. I didn’t envy Poseidon’s Triaina at all.
“Do you like it?”
“Like it…? That’s an understatement.”
“And since your divine power has just been imprinted on it, you’ll be able to summon it anytime from anywhere, no matter how far away!”
Wait, it even had that function? There was no way I would ever lose this thing. It really didn’t fall short of Poseidon’s trident at all… Shouldn’t I give him some kind of reward for this?
I asked the visibly pleased Hephaestus if there was anything he wanted.
“I’m glad you like it. There is one favor I’d like to ask…”
“Go ahead and say it. If it’s a wish I can grant, I’ll do my best to fulfill it.”
“Please use the Bident often and spread the word that I made it!”
Wasn’t that obvious?
“The fact that this Bident, which can stand shoulder to shoulder with the three divine artifacts made by the Cyclops brothers, was crafted by me—Hephaestus, the greatest blacksmith in the world—should become widely known!”
The god of blacksmiths spoke with sparkling eyes. I firmly promised him that I would of course do at least that much. Since he wanted the honor of having created an outstanding weapon, it wasn’t a difficult request.
Though if we’re talking about the greatest in the world, weren’t the three Cyclops brothers a step above him…? Ah! I could compare it with the Kynee that Arges made and find out!
Kang! Kakang!
Back in the Underworld, I held up an old, shabby-looking helmet in one hand and clashed it against the Bident. The two artifacts of nearly equal strength collided, sending sparks flying.
“Kyaaaah! Hades! Again, again you’re testing a weapon with that precious helmet!”
Styx, who happened to be passing by, saw me and cried out in horror, trying to stop me. No, just a few more times and…
“You do this with the sword I made for you too—what kind of person tests weapons on those?!”
“Ah, by the way, this Bident was made by Hephaestus, the greatest blacksmith on Olympus…”
Styx approached me and began scolding me furiously. Her hands flapped wildly and her feet stomped so hard that a hole might open in the floor of the Underworld… Never mind.
“Bident or whatever, the Kynee should be carefully stored in the treasury, yet why do you keep abusing it like this?! I told you last time too…”
I had tried to naturally change the subject, but it didn’t work.