Chapter 82: Persephone (7)
Bulge. Bulge.
The ground trembled.
At first, the vibrations were so faint that no one noticed.
But the rippling grew—slowly, steadily—until even Garm’s wolves began to feel the earth twitch beneath their paws.
And soon—
The ground shook hard enough that the wolves could no longer keep their footing.
Awooo?!
One wolf, startled, tried to leap away.
CRUNCH.
Its body was crushed flat in an instant.
Its blood sprayed outward, dyeing the earth red.
But strangely— There were no bones, no flesh, nothing left but the splash of blood.
—What the…?
—Do not panic!
POP!
The lieutenant who had yelled “don’t panic” exploded like an overfilled balloon.
—Stop moving! Reduce your sound!!
Seeing two casualties in seconds, Garm instantly grasped the situation.
Some kind of law, some domain, was controlling everything within a certain radius.
Shhk—
As if to confirm it, something shot upward from beneath Garm’s feet.
He dodged easily—unlike his men—finally understanding what was happening.
“The radius… figuring out the range of control is the key. All the stalling until now… was it for this?”
Garm clicked his tongue in bitter regret.
Two of his own pack killed—Because he had let his guard down.
An unforgivable mistake.
***
“….”
—Grrrr! Block it!
—Bring the spear we use for slaying dragons!!
—We are the Giantfolk! SHOW THEM OUR MIGHT!!!
—Aim for the belly! Think of it as a dragon hunt! Ready the harpoons!
Far away, Pallas and the giants clashed in a thunderous frenzy—roars, screams, and metal ringing through the air.
But here—
It was silent.
Deathly silent.
The only sound was the distant chaos of the giants being carved apart.
The contrast between the two battlefields was so stark it became suffocating.
Garm’s wolves felt it—the oppressive, unnatural air pressing down on them.
And worst of all—
Persephone was still smiling brightly.
As if enjoying a pleasant spring day.
The scene resembled a frame from a horror film.
“…I was tricked. Hades tricked me!”
Garm finally realized.
This goddess wasn’t “crazy.”
She was simply a child who found a new, entertaining toy.
—Damn it… Do you even know who I am?! I am Garm, the Hellhound of Nyx!!
***
The first god to receive news of Henna Field was Demeter.
At that moment:
Zeus was inspecting Olympus’s defensive walls with Athena.
Apollo and Artemis were sweeping the land with their divine sight searching for Typhon.
Hermes was calling gods to regroup.
Hephaestus was forging bronze golems to counter Pygmalion’s corrupted automatons.
Ares organized the assault legion.
Aphrodite prepared deadly traps.
Hera handled the overwhelming logistics and paperwork.
Hestia was absent for different reasons.
Naturally, Demeter—closest to the earth—felt it first.
“…So. They went for her first. Olympus was blindsided.”
Receiving a report that Persephone was in danger, Demeter did not panic.
Instead, she assessed the situation with the calmness of a seasoned strategist.
In fact—
The goblins and dwarves around her were far more frantic than she was.
“Lady Demeter!!! We must rescue Lady Persephone immediately! The goblins and dwarves are fully armed and ready!!”
Demeter looked at her chief aide, the dwarf Durin, with a tired smile.
“I know how much you adore her, but wait. We cannot even enter that field right now.”
“But—!”
Demeter silenced him with a gentle wave.
“Do not let your emotions rule you. And that child is not so easily captured. Unless a god of our level moves personally…”
***
Just as Demeter had said, the state of the battlefield was bizarre—
No other word suited it better.
One side was locked in a brutal, bloody clash,
While the other was fighting something unknown… unseen.
BOOM!
Another wolf beside Garm burst apart.
Even the fearless wolves who roamed Nyx’s hell—creatures famed for their lack of fear—
Began trembling one by one.
—What the hell… what is happening?!
Garm regretted it.
If he had known, he would have brought his strongest hunting pack.
No matter how strong he personally was, He could not protect all his subordinates in this situation.
Worse—
His divine authority was not suited for defense.
He had limits.
—If I had known, I should have brought Geri and Freki…
The “Geri and Freki” he mentioned were infamous devourers—
Their names literally meant Greedy and Ravenous.
They excelled at tearing apart sensory magic, authority, and enchantments.
But regret always came too late.
Besides… he couldn’t kill Persephone.
The giants could change the situation—but they were still locked in a mad clash with Pallas.
“Well now, Mr. Wolf—have you given up?”
—Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think a hellhound of Nyx lets go of prey once it’s in his jaws?
“You’re still full of energy. Wonderful. You’re exactly the sort of pet worth raising.”
Persephone snapped her fingers.
And suddenly—
The unseen became visible.
“You’re losing members too quickly. So I’ll just play with you until you’re tired.”
A long serpent appeared—
Black and white stripes winding down its indefinite, rippling length.
It floated beside Persephone like a loyal guardian.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? This one is one of the strongest creatures in my entire garden and farm~.”
Garm understood.
If this continued, his choices were down to two:
1. Go all out, or
2. Suffer massive casualties completing the mission.
Neither option was good.
Hades—the bastard—had failed to provide proper intel.
That damned god… he hid the truth on purpose!!
(To be fair, Hades hadn’t lied—
He simply had no idea Persephone was this strong.)
But looking at the situation?
It felt exactly like Hades had set them up.
—Retreat.
The losses are too great.
Garm made his decision.
If this kept going, the pack he brought would be slaughtered—or worse.
“Oh? I won’t let you run away, my little puppies!”
Persephone finally moved, preparing to strike.
In that instant—
Garm unleashed everything he had.
A wave of decay spread outward.
His body was engulfed by shadowy spirits that shrieked and clung to him.
BOOM!!
A burst of corruptive force crushed the serpent’s head—
And every wolf vanished into darkness in a single heartbeat.
Even Persephone, trying to seize them, stumbled back from the wave of rot.
The serpent needed time to regenerate its destroyed head—
And because of that delay, she lost them all.
Shh… shh… shh…
The serpent’s scales reformed.
“You caught me off guard. I didn’t expect you to be that strong… You just looked so pitiful I underestimated you.”
Even in the end, she managed to say something that made Garm want to tear the sky apart.
Garm’s retreat on Persephone’s side was quickly noticed by the giants.
The moment Garm unleashed his true power and shattered the barrier,
There was no way for anyone underground not to notice.
“THAT DAMNED DOG-BASTARD! He said not to use all his strength—and he’s the first one to break the barrier!!”
Giant chieftain Bergelmir exploded in rage.
They had painstakingly erected the barrier,
And yet the fool who said “If I go all-out, the barrier will break”
Was the same one who broke it himself.
Worse—
The goddess Pallas facing them was not someone whose power they could “hold back against,”
Especially with their own strength restricted today.
Their losses were much heavier than expected.
“Chieftain, we must pull back immediately. The gods’ gazes are beginning to turn this way.”
Hrungnir—giant sorcerer and sage—could sense divine attention slowly converging on their location.
Bergelmir felt it too.
And beyond that—
He saw clearly that Poseidon’s granddaughter, the frenzying Pallas,
Wasn’t even using her full power either.
If both sides unleashed themselves fully,
This entire region would become scorched earth.
Grinding his teeth, Bergelmir finally gave the order.
“Retreat. RETREAT! The gods will be here soon. FALL BACK!”
To be a giant—forced to retreat in front of an enemy—was a humiliation beyond words.
If only they had stuck to the original plan and held back, it might have felt different.
But once the battle got serious against a warrior like Pallas—
Stronger and fiercer than they had expected—
It only made the retreat all the more bitter.
With a sharp inhalation, Bergelmir hurled his massive axe at Pallas.
KA-KA-KA-KA-KANG!
The full force of a giant’s true power launched Pallas backward as she blocked the blow.
“NOW!! RETREAT!!”
By the time Pallas threw the axe aside and looked to assess the giants—
They were already gone, back underground.
***
“How disappointing.”
Persephone summarized the entire chaotic battle in a single sentence.
They clearly thought they had planned something magnificent—
Yet everything had felt… amateurish.
Like several screws had been missing from the very start.
Pallas silently agreed.
The giants and wolves had been powerful—
But something about the entire encounter was undeniably sloppy.
“Then for now, I’ll send a message to Olympus. Persephone, it seems your location has been exposed.”
“Yes. I also think someone had been watching me. Those giants underground looked like they were already lying in ambush.”
With Persephone also convinced, Pallas nodded and prepared a message.
Flutter—
The letter transformed into a white bird and soared into the sky.
“Alright. Until Olympus responds, let’s rest a little.”
Pallas thoroughly checked the surroundings for hidden threats.
Finding none, she finally advised Persephone to rest.
Persephone looked unharmed, but Pallas wouldn’t risk further danger—
Especially after seeing Garm, a monster unlike anything she’d encountered before.
“Alright. Then I should call my attendants first. They’re probably lost because of that barrier.”
Fweeeee—
Persephone whistled, the sound riding the wind across the fields.
While she summoned her attendants, Pallas began setting up a secure campsite.
THUD!
And in the very moment they both relaxed—
Something emerged from underground.
The only being capable of hiding presence and aura so perfectly—
Snatched Persephone away.