An Ominous Sign - (4)
The light faded from Cronus's eyes as he collapsed. I turned my gaze to Echidna. The wife of Typhon, that monstrous blend of beautiful woman and serpent, lay cooling with a gaping hole in her chest.
Did she realize she had been used by Gaia? Probably not. Even if she had known she was nothing more than a disposable pawn, the chance she would have gone along with it for the sake of revenge against her husband was still high.
"Hoo..."
I let out a slow breath. The human body I had possessed was badly damaged. Fighting Cronus had forced me to draw far too much divine power. A mortal frame couldn't handle my full strength, so I had restrained myself as much as possible, but...
A short distance away, the Gigante Enceladus lay sprawled out, his entire body charred black by the sun's radiance. Apollo stood over the monster's corpse, golden ichor slowly leaking from various wounds across his body and dripping onto the ground.
"Apollo, once I leave, please look after this human body for me. My presence has likely shortened his lifespan considerably."
"Understood, Uncle. Am I not the God of Medicine? Something like this is no problem at all."
He flashed me a smile as bright as the sun itself and answered readily.
"Still, you arrived sooner than I expected. Were you watching Thebes from atop the clouds?"
"Yes. The moment an envoy from Lady Styx arrived at Olympus, Father immediately dispatched me. I flew near Thebes and was scouting the area when I sensed an unnatural power coming from a cave..."
He must be referring to the moment when Cronus released his power. The Titan had probably been trying to adapt to Echidna's body by drawing out strength, but instead, it had only helped Apollo pinpoint the locations of both enemy and ally.
Zeus, who had sent Apollo after hearing that I had manifested in the mortal world, was probably in the middle of a meeting right about now.
"Ah, I had my subordinate inform Olympus about Cronus's manifestation. I never imagined anyone could summon a deity imprisoned in Tartarus to the surface... The Protogenoi truly are remarkable."
Gaia was one of the primordial gods, the Protogenoi, who had emerged from Chaos at the dawn of the world. Possessing knowledge and wisdom far beyond our own, something like this was possible for her. Still, to manifest Cronus—the very Titan who had once held dominion over the world—was an unforeseen crisis of the highest order.
"Additionally, a Gigante appeared near Athens. Lady Athena and Ares have gone to deal with it."
"Even in Athens? Gaia is certainly making her declaration of war in spectacular fashion."
It would be too risky for the Earth Mother herself to appear before us directly... so she had no choice but to move her minions or employ the Gigantes.
"I will return to the Underworld now. I leave the cleanup to you."
"Then I shall comfort the people of Thebes."
The Gigante had been dealt with, and I no longer sensed any monstrous presence nearby. With Apollo's incredible versatility—master of arts, archery, prophecy, and more—he would handle the aftermath perfectly.
When I returned my consciousness to the throne in the Underworld, Hypnos stood before me. Instead of his usual sleepy expression, he had his arms crossed with a sharp, alert look in his eyes. The moment our gazes met, he spoke urgently.
"Was the Gigante taken care of? Or perhaps..."
"Cronus manifested, but I repelled him."
"What?! Cronus appeared in the mortal realm?"
"First, gather all the gods. I have something to tell everyone."
It wasn't long after Hypnos left the audience chamber like drifting smoke that most of the deities belonging to the Underworld had assembled. Some had already donned armor and taken up spears, clearly prepared for battle against the Gigantes. The presence of souls I sensed outside the citadel... had they readied the soul soldiers?
"For now, the armies of the Underworld will not be needed. We have successfully repelled the Gigante invasion."
"I thought we were about to enter an all-out war..."
Styx looked visibly relieved as she ordered the troops outside to stand down. The other gods also seemed to relax, at least for the moment.
"However, Cronus—who should have remained imprisoned in Tartarus—has manifested in the mortal world."
"Is this Gaia's doing?!"
"To think she could extract the consciousness of someone trapped there..."
"There must have been a tremendous sacrifice or offering involved, correct?"
The moment Cronus's name was mentioned, the hall filled with murmuring gods. I told them everything I had seen and heard while possessing the priest's body—about Typhon's wife Echidna, the Gigante's command entity, Apollo, and Cronus himself. A heavy silence fell over the assembled deities.
"...In any case, we need to prepare the Underworld as well. Morpheus!"
"Yes, Lord Hades."
"Check on the situation in Tartarus and station additional guards nearby. Also, inform the Hecatoncheires brothers that Cronus has emerged in the mortal realm."
I then turned to the elderly god with black wings.
"Thanatos. If there are any souls who meet unnatural deaths, can you inform me immediately?"
"You're probably talking about humans offered as sacrifices or killed by Gigantes... Honestly, that's difficult."
"Then just let me know whenever a large number of humans die without any natural disaster occurring."
"That much is possible."
Cronus's manifestation this time had only been possible because so many humans were sacrificed. Since Thanatos was death itself, simply being told of locations with many suspicious deaths would allow us to respond quickly.
"While I was manifested in the mortal world, were there any messages from Olympus?"
"There were. Hades... Iris visited the Underworld."
Lethe relayed the news Iris had brought. First, a Gigante calling himself Porphyrion had appeared near Athens, rampaging and declaring he would violate Hera...
"He tried to rape the Queen of the Gods?"
"There really is no shortage of insane bastards."
"Weren't the Aloadae the same last time?!"
"Enough. Let Lady Lethe finish speaking first."
...Enraged, Zeus had sent Athena and Ares, who tore the creature limb from limb. The soul of the slain Porphyrion had been dragged to the Underworld and was now awaiting my judgment.
"Send him to Tartarus. Please continue."
"Um... and Zeus convened a meeting on Olympus."
The news that Cronus—who everyone thought would remain sealed in Tartarus forever—had reappeared was enough to instill a sense of crisis in every Olympian god. The biggest problem was how difficult it was to quickly detect when Gaia sent out her Gigantes. The Earth Mother's authority far surpassed even Demeter's.
The solution that emerged from the gods' council was...
The gods of Olympus have decided to temporarily entrust the Omphalos to Demeter.
"They intend to use Demeter's power to locate the Gigantes' stronghold."
"Makes sense. The Omphalos amplifies divine power, after all..."
"But do we really have to use that object which symbolizes the center of the world?"
"We may have no choice. Gaia is the Earth Mother herself, so Demeter's power alone..."
The Omphalos—the stone Cronus had swallowed in place of Zeus and later vomited up. If Demeter temporarily held that treasure located at the center of the world, she would be able to contend with Gaia's authority to some degree. In other words...
"Demeter said that if the Gigantes attack the surface just one more time, she can follow the traces on the earth to pinpoint their stronghold."
Since the prophesied hero had not yet been born, even if we discovered the Gigantes' base, we couldn't launch a direct assault. However, we could at least identify their movements and deliver a blow during the preliminary skirmishes. It would also completely prevent sudden attacks like this one. Zeus's judgment seemed appropriate. Of course, since the Omphalos was an important symbol, it would eventually need to be returned.
"But since Gaia has also noticed that the Omphalos has been moved elsewhere... she must know that if she moves the Gigantes, their stronghold will be revealed."
"Yes. Athena and Metis strongly insisted that we must prevent that one attack at all costs."
"If we fail to stop it, the momentum will shift in their favor."
The next Gigante assault would likely differ from before. Rather than just one or two command entities or simple traps, they would probably mobilize a massive force. They might thoroughly prepare and launch a surprise attack on the Olympian palace, attempt to come to the Underworld to open Tartarus, or even annihilate an entire human nation to use the mountain of sacrifices to manifest the Titan gods.
The gods who had received the results of Olympus's meeting began murmuring among themselves.
"Where do you think they'll attack?"
"They'll probably wipe out a human kingdom in one go and drag the sinners from Tartarus to the surface..."
"They might launch a surprise attack on the Olympian palace."
"We must avoid an all-out war at all costs. At least until the prophesied hero appears..."
The Gigantes would not move for now. Or more precisely, they would sharpen their blades for a single decisive strike while carefully observing our movements.
At the Temple of Hades in Thebes, the priestess Penedea—who had been kidnapped by the Gigante and then released—was telling her fellow priests what had happened.
"There were monsters like that near Thebes?"
"Oh my... Lord Hades actually manifested in your body..."
"He really said that? 'Do not worry anymore, for I have come'?"
Having had a god descend into her and received direct treatment from Apollo, she had suddenly emerged as the leading candidate for the next high priestess. The mere fact that a god had possessed her body was proof of her devotion.
"Our Lord Hades is truly a merciful being."
"Perhaps the Lord of the Underworld cares for his followers more than we thought?"
"If we spread this story widely, wouldn't it help expand the temple?"
All the dead eventually become Hades's subjects. The more humans die, the stronger his power grows. Yet here was a god who thought of his followers before increasing his own authority? One who would even manifest during a life-threatening crisis? And not just any god, but one of the Three Great Gods?
After thinking this far, Penedea spoke up.
"Perhaps... His Divinity includes the aspect of mercy as well? Since the Underworld is the final destination of life, he might be lenient toward the living..."
The surrounding priests wore expressions of sudden realization.
"Indeed... that could be possible?"
"Even though he's busy ruling the Underworld, the fact that he reaches out to his followers instead of ignoring them...!"
"To put his believers before his own power..."
A few days later...
The influence of the Temple of Hades exploded. The cause appeared to be the priests going around preaching about Pluto's mercy.
"They say Lord Hades—Pluto—cares for his followers more than any other god."
"Ahem, indeed. Though his other name is quite fearsome..."
"Is the rumor that he is so merciful to the living truly accurate?"
Now in Thebes, the name of Pluto, God of Wealth and Mercy, began to be spoken more highly than even the name of Dionysus, who had previously been the city's primary deity.