King of Underworld

Chapter 12

The Story of Typhon - (1)

Morpheus said that while he was on the surface, delivering dreams to the living, he saw an ibis lying on the ground. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the blood-covered ibis was transforming into the god Hermes.

"Morpheus... I must see Lord Hades immediately..." "What is this...?! Hermes?"

Morpheus hurriedly brought him to the underworld, and Hermes is now being treated...

"Something urgent must have happened in Olympus!"

Hermes is the messenger of the gods and the herald of Zeus. He is the son of Maia, daughter of Atlas, and Zeus, making him one of the twelve Olympian gods.

Like all heralds, Hermes is incredibly fast. While Iris, who travels by rainbow, can cover long distances like between the underworld and Olympus swiftly, few gods can match Hermes in pure speed.

Yet, the god who boasts such speed was found at the entrance of the underworld, covered in blood? Moreover, being one of the twelve Olympians, few would dare harm him.@@@@

I steadied my confused thoughts and entered the room where Hermes lay.

"Lord Hades..." "...What happened to you, Hermes?"

The young god, who always brought life to Olympus with his lively smile and witty actions, was in a pitiful state. His face, which resembled that of a handsome rascal, was covered in blood, and there wasn't a single intact part of his body.

Servants diligently changed his bandages, and lower gods infused him with divine power to bolster his strength, yet blood continued to flow. With one eye not covered by bandages, Hermes glanced at me, tears welling up.

"A monster... there was a monster..." "Tell me in detail. Does Zeus know about this?"

A mere human, or even a lower god or nymph, wouldn't be able to utter a single word in such a condition. It was only because Hermes was one of the twelve Olympians, allowed to sit on the golden throne, that he could speak.

"...At a typical banquet in Olympus... a monster calling itself Typhon... struck Zeus with a single blow..."

Piecing together his stammered words, it went like this:

During a usual banquet held by the gods of Olympus, a giant hand suddenly struck the banquet hall... Zeus, caught off guard, was severely injured and threw lightning bolts, but the monster only flinched slightly.

The monster, introducing itself as Typhon, had a human upper body and a snake lower body, like a Gigante. Its eyes emitted a heat comparable to Hephaestus's fire, and its body was surrounded by a raging storm.

Other gods were quickly defeated or fled, and Zeus, the last to remain, resisted with his Scythe but ultimately...

"He had to use the Scythe?" "Yes... Poseidon's Trident and my father's Astrape couldn't even scratch it..."

The Scythe. The adamantine sickle used by Cronus to castrate Uranus, made by Gaia herself. The fact that such a weapon was needed to even scratch its skin...

But Typhon... Typhon, that name rang a bell. I knew it from somewhere in my faint memories of a past life...

"Father... Zeus was captured by its hand... He told me to go to the underworld and seek help..." "Keep talking." "The monster laughed and crushed my leg... Please, help Olympus, uncle!"

Hermes, known for his speed, tried to escape quickly but was caught in the monster's storm surrounding Olympus. Typhon, who allowed other gods to flee, laughed as he crushed Hermes's leg.

Was he sent to finish us off after we repelled the first Gigantes attack?

"Tsk. You're set on going. Be careful." I passed Thanatos and exited the fortress. For the first time in a while, I crossed the rivers of the underworld fully armed and set foot on the mortal world.

Thud.

Instead of the dull air of the underworld, I was greeted by the clear, fresh atmosphere of the surface. The touch of Demeter's blessed earth was pleasant, but I wasn't here to admire the mortal world.

The current time of the world was night. With my transcendent divine vision, I saw the moon goddess Selene riding her silver chariot across the sky. The black and white horses pulling the moon were busy galloping.

Normally, they wouldn't fly so high, as if fearing something on the ground, without trembling. It must be because of Typhon. I donned Kynee and headed towards Mount Olympus.

The towering Mount Olympus was... half-destroyed. The divine palace in the clouds atop the mountain was in ruins, trampled by some giant being.

I sensed no gods' presence, but I saw a monster resembling a Gigante. The giant creature, large enough to cover Mount Olympus, emitted a fierce gale from its body.

Whooosh...

Its shoulders touched the sky, and its head brushed the stars as it roared. Whenever it raged, the snakes on its hair spewed lightning and venom.

Boom! Crack...

As it struck Mount Olympus with its fist, a prominent peak crumbled.

"Raaagh! Moirai! How dare you deceive me?!"

The Moirai are the three goddesses of fate, but what did they do?

"Lord Typhon! What did they do?" "Delphyne! Those old Moirai tricked me on a minor mountain!"

A monster with a human upper body and a dragon lower body spoke to Typhon. Probably one of his monstrous underlings.

"They gave me a fruit, claiming it would grant me great power, but it's weakening me!" "Did they really...?"

The Moirai of Mount Nysa helped us. But if this is Typhon weakened, there's no way to win a direct fight, so I must find Zeus first.

"Still, it doesn't matter! The only threat to me is Zeus, who's already trapped in a cave!"

He must be newly born to foolishly reveal such information, thinking no one else is around. No seasoned gods or Titans would do that.

It strengthens my suspicion that Typhon is a monster recently created by grandmother Gaia.

Doesn't he know about Kynee? Or does he think I won't help Olympus?

As I was about to search for the cave where Zeus was imprisoned, I saw a strange creature.

A being with the upper body of a goat and the lower body of a fish was trembling in fear, hiding in the bushes. I sighed as I passed the creature, certain it was a transformed god.