Chapter 66 A Bitter Future

"Hermes is absolutely right."

When Hermes finally escaped the illusion and saw Apollo again, she was overjoyed. The feeling was indescribable. She was surprised that she always seemed to need him by her side.

If his dazzling golden light can dispel her gloom and act as her most loyal guardian to ensure she is not harmed... then without a doubt, Apollo would be the best companion.

Moreover, he no longer seems as aloof and arrogant as when we first met, looking down on people with his nose in the air.

Hermes stared at Apollo for a long time.

Then they saw the goat boy peeking out from behind Apollo.

“Mother.” This time it was the real Pan. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have disobeyed your orders and left Arcadia, and…”

He paused, then added dejectedly, "I'm just too weak..."

Because of his current weakness, he was able to exploit the powerful monster's weakness and possess his body, forcing him to commit a series of evil deeds and even harm his beloved mother.

After the Lord of Cilicia left his body and fled to a distant place, Pan finally regained full consciousness.

He stood beside Apollo, whom he usually disliked the most, head bowed, hesitant to embrace Hermes, who had just fallen into the illusion created by the monster.

But he still couldn't help but secretly raise his eyes and stare at her with a dark look in his eyes.

In that illusion where he was at the mercy of the monster's consciousness and his own body, Pan was forced to play the role of a master of all things, but for some reason, he did not reject this feeling of being above all living beings.

Especially when Hermes was touched upon...

Thinking of this, Pan paused, then lowered his eyes in shame at his own thoughts.

No, he thought. I should be a good boy; I absolutely cannot let my mother down.

However, Hermes completely ignored him.

She looked around at her surroundings. Although the sky was clear and the clouds were blue, there was no longer any human settlements like before she entered the illusion. There wasn't even a single person in sight. It was as if this vast plain and the flowers and grass had always been inhabited only by other creatures besides humans.

Were they dead? Or were they taken away by Typhoon?

Both guesses are too strange.

But the massive stone platform that once supported Typhoeos still stands, as if it were an extremely important symbol.

Hermes looked directly at Apollo and asked, "Did you see it?"

Apollo nodded.

Hermes asked again, "All of them?"

Apollo pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

“You should know that my prophetic abilities have limitations,” Apollo said.

This world is both fair and unfair; not every god is truly omnipotent, even with their innate talents and abilities.

That is precisely why Apollo sometimes felt troubled.

"I'm very curious why that monster only attacked me and also kept you out of the illusion. How did it manage that?"

Apollo noticed that Hermes was using a questioning tone.

“At that time I saw you shrouded in a black mist, and then you turned into a stone statue and never lived again. It had the help of a god higher than us.” Apollo recalled the prophecy he had vaguely seen, “but I could not tell who was secretly instigating and helping it.”

After all, that powerful monster, shrouded in ominous darkness, was not conceived by Mother Earth alone.

Hermes clearly understood this as well.

“To be honest, I’m even more looking forward to the trip to the Underworld in three days.” Hermes smiled. “You certainly wouldn’t mind taking me to find that half-snake woman after we’ve visited the Moirai…”

She didn't finish her sentence, but simply tilted her head towards Apollo.

“A monster,” Apollo finished her sentence, “even if it has the blood of a god.”

Yes, there are too many monsters in this world who possess the blood of gods.

Hermes finally shifted her gaze from Apollo's face, lingering on the silent Pan for two seconds. Even though the other seemed a little nervous, the smile on her face remained unchanged.

Then she looked again at the two snake spirits surrounding her.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Hermes' tone was unreadable; she seemed too calm. "You have never told me your true origins, but I can sense that you were indeed born in Arcadia and that you truly belong here."

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but…” Apistoni hesitated.

“But we don’t actually know.” Toke licked his sharp fangs, his expression sincere as he met the goddess’s gaze. “We were born in Arcadia, and from the moment we became conscious, we have never known who our parents are.”

Not to mention the Lord of Cilicia.

The snake spirits didn't even know their mothers' names. The blood flowing through their bodies was slippery and cold. They only vaguely remembered that they had to live on and follow the familiar forces of nature to find a master powerful enough for them to serve willingly.

That was the whole meaning of their existence.

Seeing this, Hermes nodded and said nothing more. After all, as long as the serpent spirits remained loyal to her, and at the very least wouldn't harm her interests, there was no problem.

She's probably more concerned about another troublesome guy.

“You should apologize to more than just me, Pan, because you’ve always been a troublesome kid.”

Hermes was finally willing to focus all her attention on the child who was giving her a headache.

“Look around you. This is all because you are no match for that monster. You should be glad that the master of Crete has not taken his anger out on you,” Hermes said calmly, her mood surprisingly relaxed. “Come with me to Delphi. As your mother, I can no longer indulge you as I have in the past.”

Apollo was taken aback; it turned out Hermes still remembered this.

Just like she herself had once entered that triangular cauldron.

Although she speaks so grandly now, Hermes actually just wants to verify her conjecture in this way—by letting Pan enter the bronze cauldron that can recognize the body and soul of any living being.

Hermes looked at Pan, who mustered his courage and raised his head. His violet eyes, inherited from Perius, shone with an inexplicable light, gleaming in the sunlight.

Why did Typhoon choose Pan? Was it because they were more compatible? Or was there some other, more secretive reason?

As a goddess with intricate ties to this world, she instinctively felt disgusted and uneasy about it, especially since Hecate's words had been troubling her all along.

Hermes thought that if the child was indeed a pure monster and harbored wicked intentions, then regardless of whether he also received the favor of the Earth Goddess, she would not hesitate to kill him and extinguish the dangerous flames before it was too late.

Even if it offends someone, even if it leads to retaliation, she is willing to do it.

From the moment Hermes learned that Pereope had died because of Pan, she had considered cruelly killing this child who was filled with greed, murder, and misfortune.

Now, it seems that Pan has been thinking for a long time and finally responded to his mother under the watchful eyes of all parties.

“Yes, my beloved mother.” Pan met Hermes’ gaze, and as he faced her undisguised inquiry and suspicion, he slowly calmed down amidst his heartache. “If this is your wish, then I will accept it no matter what.”

At the same time, Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite, and Prometheus also arrived. They noticed something amiss and, upon seeing that all the humans who had once lived there had vanished, their expressions varied.

Especially Athena and Prometheus, who created humankind and deeply loved this race.

Prometheus came to the edge of the giant stone platform and touched its rough outer wall.

"There's a monster's aura about them. It seems the humans on Crete... are in grave danger."

All the gods present heard the prophet's murmur.

Artemis also spoke with a serious expression: "Hermes, Apollo, did you encounter anything unusual here just now?"

Her gaze swept over the two boys who had been transformed from snake spirits into human form, as well as Pan, who had not appeared before.

"And this child... has he always been here?"

Apistoni and Tokei felt a chill run down their spines under Artemis's gaze, so they quickly transformed back into their original forms, climbed onto Hermes' body, and wrapped themselves around her arms.

Pan didn't speak, but looked at his mother with a complicated expression.

"..."

“Yes.” Hermes answered the goddess of the hunt’s question with some reservation: “Pan followed me from Arcadia, but was targeted by a monster hiding here. Apollo and I fought it for a while, but it cunningly escaped in the end.”

Upon hearing this, Pan's feelings became even more complicated, because his mother had actually lied to the gods for his sake.

He understood that if Hermes told the truth, he would likely be taken to Mount Olympus to be questioned, and even though it seemed to be entirely the monster's fault, he would probably suffer a terrible fate himself.

Most importantly, this so-called monster managed to escape the siege of two main gods, one of whom was the God of Light, who was known for killing monsters and was invincible in every battle!

Besides, Crete is home to the great goddess Gaia, the goddess of the earth!

Aphrodite couldn't help but cover her mouth and exclaim, "My God, no way! How terrifying must it be! Did you even get a good look at what it looks like?"

Hermes replied with some reservation: "It can take many forms; it can be a hideous behemoth or it can take the shape of us."

Artemis looked at her brother.

"Is that so, Apollo?"

"Hermes is absolutely right."

Apollo, without batting an eye, helped to increase the credibility of the brat's lie.

Actually, that wasn't exactly a lie—except for the fact that the monster had possessed Pan's body.

Apollo knew that Hermes did not want to abandon Pan at this critical juncture, and that Pan was an Arcadian being with her bloodline. If the gods found out about that matter, she herself might be forced to bear joint responsibility.

That would be extremely disadvantageous for either her or him.

Apollo had long since included Hermes in his domain, meaning he had to align himself with her.

After Aphrodite understood everything Hermes had said, she gasped in shock.

"Oh dear, this is so annoying. I think I need to find another place to hide from Hera," sighed the goddess of love and beauty, her beautiful face contorted with grief. "I'd rather face Hera than that horrible monster!"

"What if it turns into the likeness of Ares and Hephaestus... wait, what if it also turns into that evil goddess Hera?"

Artemis couldn't stand it anymore and frowned, giving the idiot a sidelong glance.

“Go back to bathing in the lake, Aphrodite. I don’t think that monster is interested in you at all.”

"So, will you protect me, dear Al?"

"Shut up."

"See, you didn't deny it, so I knew you had a crush on me too. Just say it, my dear little Al~"

“Just say you want to be beaten, Aphrodite.”

"..."

Hermes stopped listening to the two goddesses bickering, but she was glad that Artemis hadn't revealed that she had found the Thunder Scepter in Cilicia, otherwise it would have disrupted her plans.

One wonders if Gaia, who is currently dormant within the Tree of Life, is aware of all this? After all, that monster was running rampant in her own territory.

Or perhaps this was Gaia's instruction... Then why did she send her to kill the monster?

Hermes couldn't figure it out for a moment.

Suddenly, Apollo said to Athena and Prometheus, "Perhaps the competitions we originally planned to hold on Earth will not be able to proceed smoothly. You must quickly lead all the humans in the world to safety."

That was what Gaia commanded Athena and Prometheus to do; she instructed these two beloved deities to lead humanity away from their dwelling place and towards a place where ash trees grew.

What does that mean?

Hermes thought with a heavy heart.

She worried that the weak and innocent humans would be dragged into danger by the monsters, and that the humans of Crete, the island closest to Mother Earth, had already suffered.

Prometheus nodded heavily as well. As a prophet, he too had sensed something ominous.

He turned to look at the goddess of wisdom who had been quietly observing.

“The gods must know this, Athena.”

Athena then closed her sharp, eagle-like grey-blue eyes and said coldly, "I will report this matter to the Father God truthfully."

...

After bidding farewell to the gods, it was already late. Hermes, with Pan on his back, boarded Apollo's swan chariot and arrived at the Temple of Light at Delphi.

It's wonderful! As soon as you step inside, you see her statue standing side by side with the statue of Apollo, showing that Hermes is also the master of this place.

As Pan obediently entered the sacred bronze triangular cauldron, the night outside the temple was deep, the cicadas chirped incessantly, and the faint sounds of the Muses singing and dancing on the mountaintop could be heard.

But inside the temple, even the crows, which usually cawed incessantly, fell silent, perching quietly on the shoulders of the Priestess Pythia, observing everything before them.

Initially, there were no unusual changes inside the triangular cauldron.

Hermes stared intently at the triangular cauldron, her fair face glowing with an orange-red hue in the light of the sacred fire on the stone wall.

She whispered, "Perhaps that child is the most evil and powerful monster."

Apollo glanced at her sideways but said nothing.

At this moment, the flames inside the triangular cauldron suddenly went out, followed by a burst of blinding green light.

Artemis, who had been waiting outside for a long time, finally entered the temple.

Walking beside her, side by side, is Hecate, the radiant goddess of the moon, holding a dark blue torch.