Chapter 93: Typhon (5)
What they saw was horrifying:
A massive serpent—its flesh completely torn apart, its two eyes melted away, its divine power drained to nothing—
A creature that was now little more than a corpse, was wrapped tightly around Zeus.
And in front of it stood Typhon.
Despite his arm being ripped off, one eye destroyed, and a giant hole torn through his chest,
He looked less like the victor and more like a defeated man—
Yet the truth was undeniable.
—Impressive, isn’t it, gods?
Even though I poured my power into that Avatar, it is already dead.
Had I not prepared for this possibility… things might have ended badly for me.
Typhon introduced his slain avatar almost casually.
Then, step by step, he approached the immobilized Zeus.
—Hahaha. Don’t struggle. You won’t be able to use your power anyway.
You and I were evenly matched.
So tell me—how do you intend to escape?
Grit.
Zeus clenched his teeth in rage, but he could do nothing.
The outcome had already been decided.
“Get away from him, you monstrous bastard!!”
—Hahaha. I can’t do that.
The victor has already been chosen.
“……”
Hera could not move—Alkyoneus was blocking her path.
“Ugh—kek! If I just keep holding, I win!! Kyahahaha!”
“You bastard!!”
Athena, too, was unable to move, blocked by Garm, Whose cursed regeneration allowed him to stall her indefinitely.
All the other gods were also entangled with their opponents.
Only Hermes managed to rush forward—but he was quickly surrounded by an overwhelming pack of wolves.
As Zeus rolled his eyes desperately searching for any escape,
Typhon, calmly drinking in the gods’ confusion, horror, panic, and fury, approached him like a king ascending to his coronation throne.
And then—
—I hereby claim the throne.
Rebel King.
***
Rumble…
A single thunderclap echoed across the world—
And after that, lightning vanished.
Only earthquakes and volcanic eruptions remained.
—D-did the gods of Olympus really lose?
—Then… what will happen to the world!?
—We’re barely holding off these Gigantes as it is!!
It was the sign everyone feared:
Olympus was falling.
The world now belonged to Typhon.
At that moment, Typhon tore out Zeus’s tendons and muscles—
Seeing this, Athena and the other gods could only make one decision:
—Retreat!! Retreat now!!
—Run!! Everyone fall back!!
Zeus lay in the distance, rolling helplessly across the ground—
His tendons pulled out, powerless to move.
Yet no one went to rescue him.
They couldn’t.
More than anything else, morale had collapsed.
If they didn’t retreat immediately, the entire army would be wiped out.
Olympus had to preserve what little strength it could to plan a counterattack later.
“Capture them! Let their bones and divine blood quench our hunger and thirst!!”
Despite Olympus’s desperate attempts to retreat in an orderly fashion,
Their army looked more like a scattered mob.
Some gods were still struggling to fend off enemies they had barely kept at bay before.
Many were cut down before they even had a chance to fight back.
“Guh!”
“You dropped your guard, Hera. Panicked, were you?”
“Shut up… You monsters need every handicap you can get.”
“Haha! Even wounded, you still think you can call yourself queen of the gods? Well, I don’t mind. Killing the queen of Olympus wouldn’t be a bad accomplishment.”
Fwoosh—!
Hera barely dodged the descending greatsword.
Yet a moment’s lapse in judgment cost her dearly—
From her chest to her abdomen, a massive cut ripped through her body.
Golden divine blood gushed out, soaking her from head to toe.
Her strength drained rapidly, and it was becoming difficult even to block attacks by brute force.
One moment of carelessness… The worst mistake I could’ve made. I never imagined Zeus would fall like that…
Fortunately, Athena was cleaning up the battlefield.
Unlike Hera, Athena had completely crushed Garm, Reducing his body to shreds as she worked to secure the retreat.
Though he tried desperately to regenerate and hinder her, It was nowhere near enough.
***
The army of Olympus was collapsing—
So overwhelmed that even escaping was becoming difficult.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a blue spear flew in from somewhere and embedded itself into the ground.
The impact triggered a massive earthquake, scattering Typhon’s pursuing forces.
Rrrumble…
“Uwaaaah!!”
“What is this!? An earthquake!?”
And then— Something impossible to see on land appeared:
A colossal tsunami rose up behind the spear and swept forward.
The awe-inspiring sight made the gods of Olympus erupt into cheers,
While Typhon’s forces stared at the coming wave with fear, rage, and annoyance.
“Poseidon…?”
“Poseidon!!”
“Father… finally?”
“He’s here—Poseidon has come!!”
—So the monster is a monster indeed.
He killed my clone in human form and can still summon a wave like this.
“Whistle~ and this is the god we might have to fight someday? Didn’t they say he wouldn’t be able to take divine form for a while?”
—That is… the god of the sea.
Typhon paused to reconsider.
He himself was barely standing, and if Poseidon took command, the battle could shift drastically.
—Our purpose is fulfilled once Zeus is neutralized.
Besides, Poseidon can’t focus on us with Tiamat’s awakening underway.
Do not pursue the retreating Olympians.
“Huh?”
—Even if they tried, how many could push through that tsunami?
And aside from Zeus, the rest of them are still alive.
And I can already feel Demeter coming up from the mortal world after stabilizing things there…
“Ah! Y-yes! Don’t pursue them! There’s no need to chase!!”
“Do not pursue! Victory is ours!”
Uwaaaaaaaaaah!!!
***
When the Olympian army finally escaped the battlefield,
They found their palace in ruins—And realized they had nowhere left to go.
“Hera! Your wound is too severe!!”
“Ah… Demeter, I let my guard down for a moment.”
“Good grief. Let me heal you first.”
It was Demeter who had driven off the Gigantes and monsters on the surface and brought supplies for the wounded—
Clean water, herbs, healing grain, and divine medicine.
“Hmm… Demeter, isn’t this a bit lacking?”
“This is the best I could manage. I brought as much as possible.”
“I see… Still, we’re fortunate. Everyone except Zeus survived.”
As the sea otter beside Demeter spoke, many gods glanced over at it.
A small otter among defeated gods was definitely hard to ignore—
Especially one holding a tiny fork-shaped trident and speaking casually with Demeter.
“……”
“Why is there an otter here…?”
“Wait… look carefully—that’s divine?”
With a sigh, Demeter addressed their confusion:
“He’s Poseidon.”
“?!?!?!?!?!?”
***
Even after retreating, the gods repeatedly snuck glances at the otter tending the wounded.
Not everyone had ever seen Poseidon in this adorable sea-otter form before.
“Honestly… my popularity never dies, does it?”
“Ugh… shut up and wrap the bandage properly.”
“Bold words for someone who lost so thoroughly.”
Poseidon tightened Hera’s bandage on purpose, Making her body jolt in pain.
Krrgh—!!
The pressure on her wound made Hera grit her teeth,
And of course Poseidon watched her suffering with great amusement.
After all— When else would he get to physically torment Hera like this?
“You… you little bastard…”
“Hahaha! Well, who told you to lose?”
“Shut it. I did not lose.”
“Kekeke, that’s not what Athena said. She said you got hurt because you let your guard down.”
“…Damn it. Zeus’s daughter siding with Poseidon of all people…”
Poseidon burst into laughter.
It had been a long time since he’d seen Hera acting like her younger self.
All her regal dignity and queenly poise—gone.
Now she was just furious, letting her original, thuggish personality leak out.
Well, it wasn’t like that side of her ever stayed buried for long.
“Hera, if you’re angry, vent it at Poseidon. What good is yelling at the younger ones?”
Demeter sighed and waved a hand, signaling them to stop.
If Hera took the bait and got heated, she would only suffer for it—
Especially since her wound might reopen.
“And honestly, this isn’t the first time Poseidon’s acted like this. That personality of his hasn’t changed since he was in the womb.”
With another sigh, Demeter shoved Poseidon far away and took over dressing Hera’s bandage herself.
If she didn’t, Hera would definitely grab the sea-otter god and beat him senseless.
“Uwaaaah! Demeter! I’m fragile right now! You’re supposed to wrap me gently—like a newborn baby!”
“Idiot. There’s no way you would ever get injured that badly.”
Fwip—
The flung otter-Poseidon spun several times in the air until Athena caught him.
“Father… did you tease Lady Hera again?”
Athena let out a long sigh as she held the dizzy sea-otter.
She had seen this exact scenario countless times, even back when they lived in the sea.
She was far past being surprised.
“Hahaha! Athena—Hera lost, didn’t she? Not to Typhon—no, no— To some low-ranked grunt! Absurd! Absolutely unbelievable! Big mighty Queen Hera, who always acts so high and mighty!”
Poseidon glanced at Hera, and immediately burst into roaring laughter.
BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
— That son of a bitch!!!
—“Stop! Hera! Your wound will reopen!!”
—“!@#$%^&*!@#%—!!!”
Even from a distance, her string of curses was impossible to miss.
Athena couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Poseidon flailing his short otter limbs as he laughed.
Seeing him enjoy such trivial things made it feel like losing the war wasn’t so crushing after all.
“Sigh… Everyone is depressed already from our defeat. So—why are you still in otter form? From what I heard, this is the same form you used when you were called the King of Otters— When Dionysus and Charybdis destroyed the amusement park.”
Poseidon stiffened.
That story already reached Olympus?
Damn it. Who spread it?
If that went around too much, he’d never hear the end of it.
Which bastard…?
Then Poseidon snapped his tiny otter fingers.
“It must have been Hermes! That little brat!!”
Athena knew perfectly well he was dodging the question, But she pretended not to notice.
Whenever Poseidon tried to deflect, He always showed that awkward fidgeting and shifty-eyed expression.
‘Honestly… Gaia was furious, and Charybdis cried nonstop. How much nagging is he going to get for that…?’
***
Just as Athena had heard— After Melkires and Crafton cleared Charybdis’s lair trial,
They stole her most treasured possession and ran.
It was perfectly within the rules, So none of the amusement park’s managers could stop them.
As a result, the entire park descended into chaos—
Or so Athena had been told.
“In other words, Gaia is a total helicopter mom.”
[TL Note: “극성맘” = Korean slang for an ultra-overprotective, hovering mom. Basically “helicopter mom on steroids.”]
“That’s right. She really needs to let her child— W-wait, when did I ever say that, Father!?”
Athena yelled when Poseidon shamelessly twisted her thoughts and fabricated her words.
What kind of outrageous slander was this!?
‘If Gaia ever hears that…’
“Oh? You mean—
‘If Gaia hears that, I’m doomed,’
—right?”
“…….”
Athena glared at him— Then promptly slammed the otter into the ground with full strength.
THUD!
“GUEH—!”
Every time he pulled this crap, she truly couldn’t restrain herself.
‘No wonder Lady Gaia, and even Lady Eurynome, nag him so much…’