The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon - Chapter 77

Chapter 77 – True Intent Of Zeus

Ares, the God of War and Battle; Eris, the Goddess of Discord and strife; and Nemesis, the Goddess of Judgment and Justice—these gods were like disasters that could turn even the most fertile land, blessed by Demeter, into a barren wasteland in an instant.
At least Nemesis, with her fair nature, was revered as much as she was feared.
But the gods of war and discord, who appear as one wherever conflict erupts, declared their divine duties in this forest openly.
Moreover, they even sent an authorization stamped with the seal of Olympus, permitting this in the name of Zeus and Hera, driving Chiron’s fury to its peak.

“Zeus, Zeus, King of the Gods. The prophecy has been fulfilled. Does it mean that you no longer care what happens to the other children?”

The sage who inherited the blood of the Titan King Kronos.
He rejected divinity and did not ascend to godhood, but his power and authority were revered even by the Twelve Divine Demons of Olympus.
His dominion over the wild centaurs, who recognized him as their kin, made him a ruler unmatched by any mortal king.
The mighty warrior who once faced the horde of outlaws that filled the land in the battle against the Titans was forgotten by time.
But the three gods present here vividly remembered the power of Chiron the warrior, not Chiron the sage.

“Oh… indeed, no matter how much time passes, the mad horse king who fought against the army of Menoetius hasn’t gone anywhere.”

Facing Chiron’s earth-shaking fury head-on, Ares’s eyes sparkled at the sight of his hair flying like wildfire.
Before he knew it, he was armed with golden, gleaming armor and a steel helmet marked with scars, holding a spear flickering with flames in one hand and a shield glowing with power in the other.

“Ares, may I consider this a divine decision to see the end now?”

“Chiron, having the chance to face you, who once rode the battlefield with my father, what difference does the reason make?”

A clash between an ancient warrior, the Greatest Sage of Greece, and the War God who had presided over every conflict since the beginning of time.
The kind of clash that would have warriors cheering, mortals groaning, and kings screaming in terror.
Nemesis’s tightly closed eyes twitched in response.

“Ares? Chiron? It seems there’s a bit of misunderstanding…”

In this completely unexpected sudden escalation, Nemesis felt a familiar headache coming on but tried hard to suppress it…

“Haha! This is exciting! It’s a fight! Who will win~?!”

Her younger sister, excited at the prospect of unleashing her most explosive and dangerous power, jumped around and incited the fight.
Forgetting why they had come here in the first place.

Though they possessed divine bodies free from all diseases and disabilities, Nemesis felt her neck stiffen at the chaos unfolding before her.

“Chiron, as an apology for the rudeness of intruding into your sanctuary and in honor of you, the great warrior of the Titan War. You may choose the battlefield and time.”

“Kihaha! Exciting, exciting, exciting~ The winning side is our side. Oh my, oh my~? If Chiron loses, will this area become a bloodbath like one of Dionysus’s festivals? Oh my! Totally my style!”

While the fair and resolute Nemesis hesitated with a slight chronic headache.
Ares, boasting his belligerent nature, contorted his handsome face into a vicious snarl and provoked Chiron.
To make matters worse, her wretched sister, flitting about excitedly, was adding fuel to the fire.

“…..”

Nemesis, who had been quietly observing, slowly raised her hand.
A fair hand, which one could hardly believe belonged to a stern judge, twisted in the air, revealing a dazzling white sword.
If the scales’ sword delivers justice and judgment, this white sword executes the convicted according to that judgment.
The goddess of the white sword, who governed justice and judgment on this earth that no force or power could evade, revealed her divine status.

“Huh? Sister?”

“…Lady Nemesis?”

“…Wait, hold on, sister!”

Eris, who had experienced that power the most and most frequently, was the first to scream.
Next, Chiron, who had witnessed Nemesis’s judgment a few times, widened his eyes in astonishment.
Lastly, Ares, who had seen judgments carried out due to the ruthlessness during the end of wars, was startled and lowered his spear.

Thus, Chiron’s office quickly fell into a lull.
However, the divine power of the Judgment Sword in her hand showed no sign of diminishing, and at that sight, the anxiety of the two gods and the one immortal reached its peak.

“Gasp!”

The white sword was swung decisively, distorting even the space as its strike hit the sinner.

“Huh? Ack?!”

-Boom!

The judgment of the white sword, a power that even the War God could barely follow with his eyes, struck down the one who had been brazenly teasing between the sage and the War God.
The maiden of discord herself.

Still, was it because she was her sister?
Or was the sin too light to be punished by the power of judgment?
There were no incidents of a pink meteor crashing through the ceiling or Eris disappearing without a scream.
She merely fell from the ceiling like a pigeon hit by a slingshot and rolled on the floor.
The golden ichor flowing through her enchantingly sparkling pink hair was pitiful, but Chiron and Ares were too stunned to say anything, as if cold water had been poured over their heads.

“Both of you?”

“Yes! Sister!”

“Ahem! W-we are listening.”

The eyes of Nemesis, which had always been closed to avoid losing fairness in visible situations, opened, emitting a bright white light.
No one present was unaware of the stern white eyes emitting their light.

Chiron, who never bowed his head except to the three highest gods, and Ares, who often defied his father, Zeus, instantly became meek lambs and closed their mouths.

“…From now on, I will convey the will of the principal gods and the Primordial Mother of Night. If anyone tries to interfere, it will be considered an act of defiance against Zeus and Hera, the king and queen of Olympus. It will also be seen as disregarding the authority of Nyx, the Primordial Mother of Night and one of the Protogenoi. In the name of Nemesis, the Goddess of Retribution and Justice, I will take measures against such actions.”

The white eyes glared at the three who had fallen silent declared the end of this chaos with the divine command.

At the highest peak of Olympus, towering above all things…

“Oh, My Goddess, My Queen, the most beautiful Hera. How delighted I am that you have come to see me first.”

As usual, Zeus was gazing down at the world from his lofty perch, but today, he was greeted by his spouse, who had come to see him first.
His golden hair, shining brighter than the sun, and his golden eyes, gleaming with the pride and authority of a ruler, sparkled with joy at the visit from his wife, with whom he had long shared separate chambers.

“…”

Despite receiving the welcome of the highest god, which no other goddess or woman could receive, the Queen of the Gods, the Mistress of the Heavenly Realm, simply stared at him without a word.

“…Uh, Hera?”

“…”

Usually, when Hera sought out Zeus first, it was one of two reasons.
Either she had discovered one of his secret nymphs or mortal lovers and had come to confront him.
Or she was furious over his attempts to rescue the lovers she had punished and had come to scold him sharply.
Especially since the now-grown Hercules, hidden in the Forest of Heroes, could no longer be concealed even with the cooperation of Hermes and Zeus.
She often came to personally torment her unfaithful husband, who was also Hercules’s father, in place of Hercules, who could not be harmed due to the sanctuary’s protection.

‘…I haven’t even bragged about Hercules lately.’

Since the incident where he, in a fit of rage, hung her at the edge of the world and even tied an anvil to her feet for trying to harm the child of prophecy, Hera had treated Zeus as if he almost didn’t exist.
Even though he was glad to see her return, having not even entered her abode in Olympus and wandering around the mortal realm because she couldn’t stand the sight of him.
Zeus felt a growing unease at the reaction of the goddess, something he had never seen throughout his long life and marriage.

“Hera, my love, My Queen. About that last time–”

“What are you scheming?”

Unable to endure the long silence, Zeus spoke first, but Hera interrupted him with her question.

“Hera, what do you mean by scheming…? I was just so angry back then. I’m sorry…”

“Not that. I mean sending Ares.”

Ares, who always roamed all over Greece and wandered from battlefield to battlefield.
No matter how much others pointed fingers and called him a war maniac or a barbarian.
To her, his mother, he was always a precious son who never hid his respect and affection, and also a beloved son who opposed his father more fiercely than his mother did, enraged by his father’s infidelities.

Such a child had returned home after a long time, but Zeus neither greeted his son properly nor kept him at home, sending him down to the mortal realm once again.
Including him as part of the request Hera had granted from her sisters.

“Oh, that matter. Ares is already well over a few thousand years old. How long will he keep wandering the battlefields? So I thought it was time for him to spread his influence directly among the young demigods…”

“Are you trying to avoid the topic even here?”

Zeus, feeling that the inevitable had come, did his best to change the subject.
Hera, disappointed by Zeus’s reaction, closed her eyes and turned away.

“H-Hera! Wait a moment!”

“…”

If she had nagged him, scratching his insides every time they met, he would have just let her go, thinking it was the same old thing.
For the first time since the incident at the end of the world, Hera spoke first, and the dew drops hanging in the eyes of the silently turning Goddess made the Chief God leap to his feet.

“Hoo… Alright, I understand. I’m sorry. But this isn’t something I can easily speak of…”

“What is it?”

Zeus wasn’t the only one who found his partner’s reaction puzzling.
If it were usually about a mistress, Zeus wouldn’t beg like this.
Instead, he would feel relieved watching her turn away silently, but trying to explain something while hesitating to speak was unusual.

“My Queen, what you seek. It must be because of the newly appeared creation of Lady Nyx, right?”

“So, you knew?”

Even though she ordered Hermes to conceal it, Zeus’s eyes and ears were spread all over Greece.
Even in terms of wit and cleverness, he was second to none, and there was little he didn’t know in Greece.

“Yes, that’s right. My junior, Nemesis, said she wanted to teach the young sibling, who already showed divine power in a human body, how to use that power properly and righteously.”

He honed himself over the mere span of a hundred years, engraving the passage of time into his soul.
A young god with a human body, possessing magic and martial arts that even gods would revere.
Still called by a human name, but Hera had no doubt that soon he would gain a new name and divine duties.

Even as he gazed at her with greedy eyes, he paid no heed to the goddess’s beauty or the queen’s authority, only coveting the wisdom and knowledge she had accumulated.
Despite his own powers and knowledge, the young god desired even higher knowledge, like a starving beast.
How could such a child, who had once sought after the wisdom of the great gods, ever live out his life as a mere mortal?

“He’s quite impressive for a child of this age.”

“Aha! So that’s why you’ve been quiet lately…”

“…”

“Sorry.”

Regardless of what might happen in the future, if that child were to receive his divine duties and ascend to Olympus.
Or even if he were to become a hero with the power of a demigod, Hera was already considering sending him to Hecate to be initiated into her mysteries.
After a long time, when Nemesis and Eris, who had come seeking her, requested to teach him, she readily allowed it.
But now Zeus had added Ares to the mix without her knowing?

“What are you scheming, Zeus?”

“Hmm…”

No matter how much Hera wanted it, allowing the gods’ entry and the manifestation of divine power in the sanctuary consecrated by Zeus and the Twelve Divine Demons, including herself, required Zeus’s consent.
She had sent the request with an ultimatum, not intending to start a serious conflict, but…
Zeus had added a completely unexpected clause and swiftly dealt with the matter behind her back.

“Hera, would you please swear by the Styx?”

“Swear by the Styx?”

As Hera questioned whether she had heard correctly, Zeus nodded heavily.

“Yes.”

“Zeus, what on earth are you…?”

“No matter how much you want, I can’t just tell you more than this. If you decide to leave, I’ll have to bear your resentment.”

Seeing Zeus’s golden eyes sink heavily, Hera forgot her rising anger and closed her mouth.
That frivolous and lighthearted Zeus, speaking with such heavy eyes and even invoking the Oath of Styx.

But seeing those eyes, Hera made up her mind to understand the true intention of the Supreme God right now.

“The Queen of the Gods, the Goddess of Goddesses, daughter of Kronos and Protector of the Sacred Oath, Hera, swears by the river of the underworld, the crossroads of fate, the Styx that all cross and all will cross. I swear that I will not divulge the secret that my partner, the King of the Gods, Zeus, is about to reveal to me.”

-Koogoong!

The Goddess of the River flowing deep underground received the Queen’s oath, and the celestial nebulae recorded her vow.
A heavy oath that even they could not resist bound the hands of Hera and Zeus.
Zeus, grimacing at the weight, began to reveal the secret, sighing heavily into Hera’s eyes, which demanded an answer.