Chapter 96: Typhon (8)
Dionysus was startled by Cerberus’s demand.
Did he need something beyond what Persephone had told him?
—Stop overthinking. You know the token.
That thing the sea-otter, or mermaid, or whatever sea-creature gave you.
The expression of pure annoyance on Cerberus’s three faces was unmistakable.
Only then did Dionysus think—“Oh! The item Lord Neptune gave me!”
He hastily dug into his pocket and pulled out a badge-like item marked with the face of a sea otter with a tiny fork symbol.
How a dog’s face could so clearly show irritation was a mystery, but at least Dionysus always kept the token with him.
“Uh…? But, Cerberus—do you also know Lord Neptune?”
He held up the token—different from the Charybdis Arrowhead Neptune gave him—and asked, puzzled.
High-ranking gods recognized the sea-otter emblem instantly,
But mortals, other races, and even many lesser gods often didn’t.
Dionysus had never really understood what this emblem truly was.
—Well, we know him if we know him. And don’t if we don’t.
—Never met him properly. Too much effort.
—But he’s friends with our mother!
Cerberus’s mother is Echidna… so Neptune must’ve known her because they both lived in the sea?
In any case, Dionysus felt indebted to Neptune yet again.
Cerberus clearly didn’t want to continue talking about it, so Dionysus chose not to push further.
Even when he asked others about this token, they gave vague, evasive answers—
As if explaining it would only create more complications.
Once Cerberus decided the conversation was over, he bit into a gigantic iron chain and pulled.
Grrrr—clank—clank—
With grinding gears, a massive door behind Cerberus slowly opened with a heavy thoom!
—Go in. Quickly.
—If Hades finds out, he’ll nag us and threaten to cut our pay.
—Yeah! And he won’t let us snack on tasty souls! We should eat as many as we can before he comes back!
The moment the door opened, Cerberus wrapped Dionysus with his tail.
“W–wait, whoa—!”
And then flung him inside.
It was exactly like an overworked employee trying to avoid trouble by rushing paperwork out of the way.
But Dionysus, already tumbling through the doorway, had no chance to realize it.
—The door was open for… what, five seconds?
—Hades definitely got the alert. Annoying.
—That cheapskate nags us even if the door opens for one second!
Riiiiiiiing!
—Annoying.
—Annoying.
—Annoying!!
***
While Dionysus was entering the Underworld with Persephone’s help to rescue Zeus…
Olympus was once again on the verge of a new battle with Typhon.
“Wow! That’s a sight. Look at that—snake-men, giants, flying bugs, undead things, robots—quite a collection.”
Unlike Poseidon—who was seeing Typhon’s army for the first time and sounded amused—
The rest of the gods were filled with despair.
“Without Lord Zeus… can we even hold out…?”
“Even Lord Poseidon isn’t in proper condition right now.”
“He’s cute, but still…”
Morale was already shattered from their crushing defeat.
There was no sign that confidence would return anytime soon.
And far in the distance stood the complete form of Typhon—
Striking enough to freeze divine blood.
During his fight with Zeus, he hadn’t even been using his full power.
Now Typhon’s human shape had partially shed—
And a storm-like aura roared around him.
Gaia’s life force manifested into countless monstrous forms, coiling like serpents around him.
Anyone would be terrified.
Worse— Every wound they inflicted earlier was completely healed.
***
“…But, yeah—he DOES look terrifying.”
“Uncle, is that really something you should be saying right now?”
“Why not? He is creepy and scary as hell.”
“Our troops are already demoralized—don’t make it worse!”
Artemis scolded Poseidon, who sulked with his little otter face.
Originally, Artemis kept her distance from Poseidon, respecting and fearing him.
But after seeing him in his adorable sea-otter form, she had ended up cuddling him often—
Becoming far more familiar with him than expected.
Ugh… staying in this form really does damage my dignity…
If his siblings heard him complaining about that, they would have howled with laughter.
Right now, Poseidon was being carried in Artemis’s arms like a plush toy.
“Please stay like this forever, Uncle.”
“…Your image is way too different now, you know.”
Watching Artemis cuddle the adorable sea-otter Poseidon, Athena let out a long sigh.
It was already a huge problem that the Lord of the Sea was running around in such a ridiculous form…
But having one of the Twelve Olympians holding a cute otter like a plush toy absolutely did not help morale.
“At this rate, the enemy will mock us just from looking at him…”
Whether she sensed Athena’s frustration or not, Aphrodite—dressed in full battle gear for a change—walked over and giggled teasingly.
“What’s wrong? It looks great to me. All the goddesses dream of hugging Lord Poseidon at least once, you know?”
“…Do you think war is a joke?”
Aphrodite kneaded Athena’s tense shoulders and replied lightly:
“Oh, relax. At least the goddesses can forget the terror of war and defeat for a moment thanks to this adorable sight.”
—Eeeek! Don’t pet my head! I actually styled it today!
—Hehe. And yet… you’re still just a cute little otter.
—What!? Hecate gave me a hard-boiled style today on request!
—Ah, sorry. I accidentally made it into a cute otter hairstyle instead.
—“……”
—KYahahahaha!!
Indeed, looking at him like this, the trauma of their devastating defeat didn’t seem visible at all.
And with the goddesses laughing openly, even the male gods seemed to loosen up a little.
“Hmph. I suppose that’s why Lady Demeter and Lady Hera are letting it slide.”
As the Olympians were finally regaining a sliver of calm after the defeat,
The horn signaling the resumption of war echoed across the battlefield.
Booooooooooooom—!
***
With the blast of the war horn, Typhon’s overwhelming army surged toward the Olympian forces once more.
And this time, their morale seemed even higher than before.
Believing victory was guaranteed, they charged recklessly without even adjusting their formation.
Meanwhile, the gods of Olympus shrank back like frightened turtles.
Normally, they might have realized that as long as Typhon himself wasn’t moving easily, they still had a chance.
But fear had already consumed them.
Watching both armies silently, Poseidon sighed and pulled something from his arms, handing it to Artemis.
“Artemis. Take this and shoot it above their heads.”
“…What is it?”
Poseidon’s “special countermeasure,” born out of the obvious fear and stagnation in Olympus,
Turned out to be… a golden sphere.
A perfectly smooth, radiant golden orb.
Artemis accepted it, gave Poseidon a suspicious look… and then nodded.
She didn’t understand why he was asking for this, but at the very least, she trusted that it wouldn’t harm Olympus.
But someone else did not look calm.
Hecate—who had come to the battlefield specifically because Poseidon requested it—froze the moment she saw the golden sphere.
“That is…”
“Yeah. I said I didn’t need it, but they forced it on me. Never thought I’d actually use it.”
“………”
A mixture of awe and exasperation flashed across Hecate’s face.
To think such a priceless treasure rests in the hands of someone who doesn’t understand its value…
Or perhaps that’s exactly why it ended up in his hands.
As someone who could be called the literal origin of sorcery, even Hecate coveted that golden sphere.
But she forcibly pushed those thoughts away and asked him seriously:
“…Do you even know how to use it?”
“Nope. They just said to ‘throw it at Typhon.’”
Hecate stared at him for a long moment, speechless, then threw her head back and glared at the sky—
Her master who told Poseidon to “just throw it,”
And this sea god who—despite knowing plenty of magic—still talked like this…
Truly infuriating.
With a resigned sigh, Hecate snatched the golden orb from Poseidon’s hands and turned to Artemis.
“Lady Artemis, when I give the signal, launch the golden sphere as high into the sky as you can.”
“Ah. Yes—understood.”
Next to them, Poseidon muttered sulkily:
“That’s exactly what I said.”
“……”
Hecate didn’t bother responding.
She needed to concentrate on the spell, not argue with him over trivial nonsense.
Besides, having spent time around Poseidon, she’d learned that sometimes the best way to deal with him…
Was to ignore him.
“Tch. Ever since that island, she’s gotten way snappier…”
Poseidon grumbled, but Hecate didn’t even flinch.
Soon, golden symbols—just like the ones seen on Pygmalion’s island—began to ripple and shimmer around Hecate.
“Alright. Shoot it as high as you possibly can.”
“Yes. Firing!”
BOOM!!!
With an explosive burst, the golden sphere shot high into the sky.
Trailing behind it, the golden runes swirling around Hecate rose upward like the tail of a comet.
***
The rising golden arrow of light was small—barely the size of a falling star—but even in the chaos of the battlefield, it was unmistakably bright.
It had to be.
The energy radiating from that tiny light was ancient magic, the kind almost never seen anymore.
―What?!
For the first time on this battlefield, Typhon’s voice cracked with genuine alarm.
He hadn’t expected Olympus to have prepared something like that.
―Stop it!! Stop it at once! That spell must not activate!!!
But Typhon’s warning came far too late—
And after his battle with Zeus and the creation of his avatar to fight Poseidon, Typhon’s power had been drained far more than he cared to admit.
There was nothing he could do.
The golden sphere, carried with perfect precision by Artemis’ near-divine archery, soared upward and landed exactly at the tangled center of Typhon’s forces.
Then, the golden runes trailing behind it ignited and the spell activated.
[Magnum Opus — The Sage’s Last Prayer]
It was the same spell Nyx had cast on the island of Cyprus—
A symbol of humanity’s journey to approach divinity.
But now, that divine path illuminated the way for the gods.
Golden rain descended from the heavens—not as lightning, nor as fire, but as gentle shimmering droplets—and fell upon Typhon’s advancing army.
It didn’t wound them.
In fact, the monsters struck by the rain felt their bodies lighten, their fatigue vanish, their spirits rise.
“Hmm? I feel… stronger?”
“Indeed. With this, we’ll be able to kill a few more of those vile Olympians!”
“Hahaha! Those fools must’ve botched their spell!”
Feeling strangely invigorated, Typhon’s forces mocked the failed magic and charged even more eagerly.
But—
―No… no!! Stop them!! Everything connected to my divine name—my authority—has been severed!!!
Typhon screamed.
Too late.
His army was already within reach of the Olympian shield formations.
KRAAAAAAGH!!
Some monsters lunged with razor fangs.
Others trusted their diamond-hard scales.
Still others charged with horns that had pierced everything until now—
And then…
They melted.
That was the only word for it.
Fangs that crushed mountains snapped like chalk.
Scales tougher than steel softened like rubber.
Horns that pierced anything bent like cheap tin.
―Aaaagh!!
―My horn!!
―Typhon, my lord!!!
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
What followed were mechanical, rhythmic sounds—
The sounds of spears and swords calmly stabbing and slicing.
The Olympian warriors moved like butchers at a slaughterhouse—efficient, emotionless, methodical.
Unlike the monsters, the Olympians instantly recognized what this spell meant.
They simply had to stab.
And cut.
And pull their weapons free.
Nothing the enemy had could harm them anymore.
They knew it instinctively.
“Do not rush,” Athena commanded from the center of the battlefield, her voice sharp and unwavering.
“They cannot break our defense. Hold your positions and perform your duties!”
Amid the horrific yet decisive massacre, Athena thought:
“Just what did Father Poseidon bring here…?”
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