The Three Cyclops Sluts (1)
The Three Cyclops Sluts (1)
The path to Tartarus ran past the River Styx.
The rivers of the Underworld were utterly still.
—I trust you will keep your promise. I swear it upon the River Styx. Ohoho!
Styx bestowed her blessing upon our boat and departed.
The blessing she granted was a clear sign of where she stood in the coming war between Cronus and me.
She lent her protection to the future queen of the Underworld, Hades, and to the vessel we rode.
Thanks to that blessing, no monster drifting through the river dared lay a hand on us.
We are living beings, yet we move under the aegis of the goddess who rules the river of the dead.
Kieeek!!
Those who bared their fangs at us were banished from the river before they could even reach us.
Where those exiled from the river were flung, vanishing into the unknown, remained a mystery.
Having earned the enmity of the goddess who commands the rivers of the netherworld and the future queen who shall rule the Underworld, their souls might be better off destroyed outright.
"What's wrong, Brother?"
As I stood alone on the deck listening to the screams of the souls wailing in the river, Hades approached my side.
"Can't sleep? Why not get a bit more rest?"
"I can't sleep. We've been descending this river for days... Besides, I'm on the next watch, so don't worry. I got plenty of sleep."
She wore the black dress that Styx had gifted her.
Black already suited her, but with the dress matching, it almost looked like mourning attire.
"Are you angry, Brother?"
"Me?"
"I declared I'd rule the Underworld without consulting you. Even if I don't know whether it will actually happen."
"...It'd be more accurate to say I'm angry at Styx rather than you, right?"
"Brother, she might hear you."
"Even if she does, I've got things to say."
Even she would have to hold her tongue once she heard my grievances.
"You said you'd rule the Underworld—a realm that's hard enough to manage. Does she think a special gift or two makes up for that?"
"I've already received this dress."
"Trying to shut my mouth with a single outfit is shameless."
There's a saying about buying a child one set of clothes, but whether that's enough to offset a declaration of dominion over the Underworld... well, that's worth thinking about.
What if it's a garment that no subterranean entity could ever touch?
A dress with physical defense of 9999999?
A dress so suffused with magical power that simply wearing it lets you rule the underworld, even if it's useless on the surface?
Fine, then I'd accept it.
But aside from the front hem reaching the thighs, it's an utterly ordinary dress.
"You never know. What if someday more blessings are added, and it becomes a piece of equipment rivaling any armor on the surface?"
"I hope so. I hope it becomes the most beautiful garment in the world, something that makes everyone praise the Queen of the Underworld."
It was quite different from the image of a queen's attire I had in mind, yet Hades herself held enough charisma and dignity to fill the role.
A cool-headed beauty.
Plenty of hell's scum would doubtless try to defile the queen.
"...When the time comes to conquer the Underworld, I'll definitely help."
"Fufu, just hearing you say that makes me happy. But it's fine. The land I'm going to rule, I'll conquer myself."
Hades winked and pointed at the starving ghosts swarming near the boat.
"I'm not a child who hides behind her brother forever. I might not be as strong as you... but I've grown fairly strong in my own way."
Hades extended her hand toward the river.
Black spheres burst from her palm and scattered in all directions like drifting snow, settling over the ghosts.
Kieeaaak...
The groans of the starving ghosts echoed from below.
If Styx's blessing was the force that hurled those driven mad by the scent of a living Titan goddess beyond the river, then Hades possessed the power to tear them apart soul and all.
The Authority of Death.
A power she possessed from birth, passed down from Cronus and Rhea, and honed entirely by her own efforts.
'Basically a necromancer.'
Hades, with power that evoked fantasy-style black mages, could be classified as a mage-type if you had to put her in a category.
She also wielded close-combat weapons like swords and spears better than Hera, but her necromancy and magic were master-level skills even Amalthea acknowledged.
Like me, she had innate talent.
Just as the offspring of the gods display extraordinary talent in certain fields, Hades was born with the authority to command spirits and rule over death.
Skill forged from innate talent and effort.
She reached the level I'd been at before I went searching for Metis in just over two years.
Inferiority complex? None at all.
'As long as she's my woman, who cares?'
I'm just grateful that someone with this kind of innate growth speed and talent is on my side.
Frankly, I wouldn't even mind if she became stronger than me.
Even if the ruler of Olympus weren't Zeus but Hades—as long as I could swing my cock wherever and however I pleased, honestly it didn't matter to me who the chief god was.
I already have a wife I've promised to marry, and sex friends.
If I weren't the chief god, my freedom of movement might narrow, but my happy-happy Olympus life for my lower half wouldn't disappear.
"All done."
While I watched her from behind, Hades had completely erased every ghost clinging near the boat.
"...A little tiring."
Thud.
Hades buried her face against my chest.
She leaned on me as if she'd collapse the moment I stepped aside or pulled back, and I patted her back.
"You did well. That's Hades for you. Really strong."
"...If only I could use this power to kill Cronus."
Hades replied in a gloomy voice.
...Unlike her sisters, she had a tendency to show a pessimistic side from time to time.
"If only I were a bit stronger."
"It's fine. You're plenty strong. Hera and the kids would be hurt to hear you say that."
"...Sorry, Brother."
"No. We'll take down Cronus together. With the help of those beings down below."
Sssss.
Before we knew it, the boat had arrived.
If what we'd seen so far was the Sanzu River, then this place had an atmosphere so grim you could call it the demon world without exaggeration.
Hell, Purgatory. If someone asked how to describe this place, I'd answer like this.
"Tartarus."
Tartarus. The name alone conveys an absolute pit of hell.
We must find and rescue them.
"...They're starting to get pushed out about now."
Kieeaaaaak!!
This was where Styx's blessing ended.
The end of the river.
Dry land.
The moment we reached the 'land' of Tartarus, I grabbed my spear and leaped down.
"Damn, that's a fuckload of cockroaches!!"
They weren't literally bugs.
But the zombie-like, lurching ghosts were so numerous you couldn't set foot on the ground.
No way I'd let these pus-bursting, stench-emitting zombie bastards touch my little sisters.
"Come on! No matter how strong you are, you're just shitheads who cowered in hell! Losers who couldn't even think of facing Cronus and fled to the corners of hell!"
As expected, trash talk is the best aggro.
Kieeaaaaak!!
Howls of rage erupted toward me.
All manner of monsters and zombies charged, and I swung my spear at them.
Boom!!
"Listen up."
I landed on the soil of Tartarus, planting my foot atop a shattered corpse.
"No Cronus? That makes Zeus the King."
In other words, NCZK.
"Come at me if you've got a problem with it."
One by one, I handled the charging monsters in turn.
* * *
"Brother, I think we're almost there."
How long had it been?
Just when our surface provisions had dropped below half and I was thinking we'd need austerity measures—
Clang, clank, clang!
In the narrow canyon, from a small cave, came the sound of bellows, and we all let out cheers.
"Finally we can go back...!"
"...About three days?"
Three days after reaching Tartarus.
Add the time we spent flowing down the River Styx, and who knows how long we'd descended to the ends of hell searching for them.
Clang, clank, clang.
The hammering stopped.
It seemed the ones inside had noticed our presence. I removed the necklace from my throat, clutched it in my hand, and walked forward.
"Anyone home?"
"...Who's there."
"...?"
The voice from inside was a woman's voice.
Could it be a wife I'd find in hell?
But I heard there were three Cyclopes?
"I seek the three brothers born of the great Mother of Life, the goddess Gaia. I am Zeus, a descendant of the goddess Gaia and the legitimate son of the Earth Mother Goddess Rhea."
"...The Three Fates—no, Mother guided you here."
Creeeaak.
The door opened.
"Long ago, Mother told us. If a man ever came bearing her token, that child was destined to bring ruin to Cronus."
Fortunately, the voice was favorable, and I stepped toward the opened door.
And saw.
"Whoa, nice."
"Good to meet you, nephew. Though you're already quite built for a child."
"Fuck... he's handsome."
"Tch, I want to fucking bang him so bad..."
"..."
Cyclopes. In other words, Cyclops.
They were all one-eyed.
To be precise, they were women each wearing an eyepatch over one eye.
...Muscular older sisters.
Honed by the hammer work of the forge, they were muscular and tanned, and seemed to have gathered every ounce of their body fat into their chests and hips.
A gathering of slutty older sisters you'd never find on the surface, if that's how to put it.
'Is this the red-light district?'
The crimson glow inside the forge gave off a similar feeling, honestly enough to give me chills.
If they hadn't all been tall, glamorous beauties, I would've felt perfectly confident handling them in a businesslike manner.
But they were beauties, so.
"Are any of your siblings male... no, guess not. Tch..."
"Ha, fuck... how long has it been since I smelled a man. Aah, I feel like my pussy's getting wet already. I've only ever masturbated since coming here... haah. An actual cock..."
"Uh... sorry about that, nephew. We've been crammed in here so long our pussies have cobwebs. Please understand even if we're vulgar. Our first impression is... a shitshow. Haha."
"...Heh."
Well, if they're beauties, it can't be helped.
"Forge me weapons to defeat Cronus. Mine, and my siblings'—all of them."
I relayed the situation on the surface to the three.
They looked at each other, then pointed at my siblings.
"For the blue-haired one and the black-haired one over there, we can make them. But not for the others."
"Not that we can't make them—we don't have enough power."
"Isn't there something we can eat to regain strength? Having nectar and ambrosia would be perfect..."
"Fuck, don't talk in circles, just say it straight."
How dare a non-virgin slut put on airs.
"I'm going to go around paying my respects to every womb-door of every cocksleeve with this dick, so make the weapons first."
"...Insolent brat. Just because you're the child of fate—?!"
I took off my pants.
"...Yeah you are, fuck. Whoa, tch..."
"If you wanna suck it, get to work. I'll stuff your pussies plenty full as payment for the weapons."
The three Cyclopes sisters looked at each other, then began gauging my reaction—
"...How shall we make them for you?"
They instantly turned courteous.
As expected.
Authority comes from the cock.