Black-Haired Beasts Are Not to Be Kept
Right after hearing the Cyclopes’ story, we headed straight for Tartarus’s castle.
“What’s this?”
“The weapons scheduled for delivery today.”
“Pass.”
Of course we didn’t storm the front gate. We slipped inside in secret, hidden in the carts the Cyclopes normally used to deliver the arms they forged.
Given the earlier chaos, our odds of success had been fifty-fifty at best. Luckily the news hadn’t reached this far yet—or so it seemed—because no one stopped us. Weapons counted as valuables, so even the barrier Tartarus had stretched across the entire castle let us through without a hitch. We rode the carts straight into the inner keep.
“Then… we’ll step back so we don’t get in the way.”
“We’ll wait at the rendezvous point.”
“I’m sorry… Please look after my family—Kedalion and Nux. I’ll repay this debt even if it takes me an eternity.”
“Got it.”
Once we’d sent the combat-weak Cyclopes away, we swept through every guard in sight and pushed deeper.
“Wh-what the hell are these things?”
“Gods? Where did they even—gahhh!”
Unlike the outer walls, security inside the keep was surprisingly lax. The jailers we ran into were no match for us. I was a little worried about the death gods we’d met earlier, or Echidna, the so-called second-in-command, but fortune smiled and we never crossed paths with any of them.
Following information we beat out of one of the guards, we finally reached the place where Kedalion was being held. What greeted us was exactly what I’d expected: Nux bound to a torture rack, Echidna with the same monstrous beauty the old myths described, and Kedalion herself being savagely tormented after learning the truth.
The instant I saw it, I drove my fist into that snake-woman’s face without a second’s hesitation.
“Kh…!”
Kedalion let out a pain-soaked moan. Even so, she was a goddess—her wounds were already knitting. Relief washed through me as I carefully carried her over to her mother, who had just been freed from the rack.
“Go on.”
“…B-but…”
Kedalion still hesitated, guilt written all over her for the things she had done—for coming back on her own without understanding her mother’s love. I spoke to the trembling girl in a quiet voice.
“It’s all right. Look. She’s crying just from seeing you.”
“Ah…”
Nux’s eyes were brimming with tears. Kedalion limped toward her, step by painful step.
“…M-Mom…”
“My baby…”
“Mom!!”
They threw their arms around each other and wept. Both of them were battered wrecks, yet pure happiness shone on their faces. Watching them, the rest of us felt our noses sting just a little.
Then—
“Y-you bastards… Do you have any idea where you are…?”
“!”
Echidna crawled out from the wall, face twisted with rage. Divine power as foul as her parentage rolled off her in waves. I turned to my companions.
“I’m leaving those two to you. Get out first.”
“…B-but…”
“Got it.”
“Nerites!”
“I’m going ahead. Finish up quick and catch up.”
“Thetis! You too—kh…!”
“Go. Now.”
“…Be careful, I pray…”
With that, the three gods hoisted Nux and Kedalion onto their backs and hurried off.
At that moment—
“You think I’ll just let you leave?!”
Echidna lunged past me, reaching for the others.
—Thud!
“…Ghk?”
I shot out a hand and seized her by the throat. Then—
—BOOM!!!!
“Gyaaaaah!”
—I slammed her into the floor. Matching her massive bulk, she was heavy as hell, so I kept slamming her into the ground over and over.
“W-wait—haaaah!!!”
Pain flooded her voice. Whatever she was babbling, I had no intention of letting her go anytime soon. This filthy bitch got her kicks mocking other people’s suffering—especially a mother and daughter’s. Thanks to her, the two of them had patched things up without us needing to explain a thing, but that was beside the point.
“Hup!!!”
Right now, this bitch needed a beating.
“Hurry! This way!”
Aphrodite and Thetis moved fast, each carrying one of the rescued pair. Nerites led the way, trident in hand, scanning every shadow with careful eyes.
“W-will he be all right? We’re one thing, but that Echidna creature looked terribly strong…”
Aphrodite voiced her worry, recalling the brief clash with Echidna’s power. As Tartarus’s daughter she radiated at least as much divine force as Moros, the god of doom—maybe more. Her concern was fair. This was the enemy’s stronghold. Reinforcements would pour in any second, and Tartarus himself could appear at any moment. Leaving Hephaestus alone felt far too dangerous.
Nerites answered in a steady voice.
“I don’t think we need to worry.”
“But…”
“Trust him. I don’t know much, but almost nothing in this world can stop that guy.”
“…Huh? What do you mean by—”
“There! They’re over there!”
Jailers’ shouts erupted behind us. The group cut the conversation short and ran for all they were worth.
—KRA-KOOM!!!
Some unknown god had suddenly appeared. His face was even uglier than that brat Kedalion’s—so hideous Echidna could barely stand to look at it. But ugliness aside, one fact was crystal clear to her right now.
The creature currently grabbing her and swinging her around was an absolute monster.
Wh-what the hell is this thing? Where did something like this even come from…! Ghk!!
Flames wreathed his entire body as he whirled her like a rope and smashed her into the ground again and again. The pain and humiliation were unlike anything she had ever known. Rage boiled up, and she thrashed with everything she had to break free.
“Damn it!!!”
With a violent twist she finally tore herself from his grip. She snatched a spear leaning against the wall and drove it straight at his chest.
“Dieeee!!!”
The thrust aimed dead for his heart. Even with powerful divine defenses, a Cyclops-forged bronze spear should have been enough to—
—CLANG!!!
“…Eh?”
Echidna’s face went blank. The spear she had put her full strength behind snapped like a twig. The broken tip scraped across her cheek and clattered away. Only then did she see what had broken it: the silver armor the man wore. Even a Cyclops weapon hadn’t left a scratch, let alone pierced it. Basic common sense felt like it had just been punched in the face.
“Wh-what is this armor…?!”
The next thing flying at her was a silver gauntlet of the exact same metal, wreathed in fire.
—CRACK!!!
“Gyaaagh!!!!”
The blow caved in her face. Her nose shattered, teeth flew, and that once-beautiful visage became something no one should ever have to look at. Reeling from the impact, Echidna’s body tumbled wretchedly across the floor.
“Kh… khhhh… uuuugh…”
Agony beyond anything she had ever felt flooded her. At the same time a long-forgotten question rose in her mind.
F-Father… what is he doing? All this racket upstairs and he still hasn’t moved…!
Tartarus showed no sign of emerging from the depths despite the chaos above. But—
“!”
Before the thought finished, a fist came crashing down at her head. She barely dodged and scrambled to shake the terrifying pursuit.
“L-Lady Echidna?”
“What in the world—!”
“Hey! Don’t just stand there—stop that bastard right now!”
She barked orders at the jailers she ran into. They were pathetic compared to her, but if they could slow him even a little it would be enough. Or so she hoped.
—Whoosh!
“!? Eek!”
—BOOM!!!
He simply grabbed the charging guards and hurled them like throwing weapons. Far from slowing him, they only made her spine crawl and blocked her escape routes. Fresh fury exploded inside her. All the kindness she had shown her subordinates over the years had just proven completely useless.
She was still weaving between flying bodies when—
“!?”
“Y-you there! You’re Thanatos, right?”
A door suddenly opened and the god of peaceful death stepped out. In this desperate moment, meeting someone strong enough to match her filled Echidna with genuine relief.
“Th-there’s an intruder! Go stop him at once! That’s an order!”
Thanatos should at least buy her time. If she could reach Tartarus while he held the line, this nightmare chase would end.
She shouted the command in a panic… but—
“…Heh.”
—Click.
“…Eh?”
Thanatos simply flashed her a smile and shut the door in her face. It took Echidna a full three precious seconds to process the sheer absurdity.
Then—
“You son of a bitch!!!!”
The curse tore out of her automatically. So the old saying was true—black-haired beasts are not to be kept. Trusting those pitch-black reapers had been pure idiocy. She pounded on the door in a rage.
At that moment—
—BOOM!!
“Eeeek!”
A guard’s body smashed into the wall right beside her and exploded into pieces. Strength drained from her legs—her serpentine lower half—and she collapsed on the spot.
The man began walking toward her, slow and deliberate. The overwhelming violence he radiated made the death gods look like harmless puppies. Panic flooded her voice.
“S-stop! Stop right there, you filthy ugly freak!”
“…”
His footsteps never faltered. Insulting someone’s looks in a situation like this was never going to make them pause, but she no longer had the luxury of thinking that far.
With death’s terror breathing down her neck she screamed,
“Y-you… do you even know who I am? I’m Tartarus’s—gahhh!!!”
Before she finished, a hand clamped around her throat. Then—
—BOOM!!!
—he hurled her into the wall, punching a clean hole straight through it. Looking at the perfect snake-woman-shaped imprint left behind, the man—Hephaestus—spoke the words only he, at this moment, fully understood.
“I know. Mother of Monsters.”