Chapter 70 Variables

"Hermes' birth was a mistake, and you caused her to be born."

The atmosphere is very strange right now.

As for why?

Hermes glanced back at the gods following behind. It seemed they were all bored and wanted to descend to earth with her and Zeus, as if they were going to hold a grand banquet there.

What? Have you all suddenly become interested in team building?

No, she and Zeus were there to examine humanity, while the group of gods chatting and laughing behind them were clearly just looking for fun—especially Hera, the queen of the gods.

Hera, holding Hebe's hand, had a cold expression, but her gaze toward Zeus was full of mockery.

"How interesting. With you here, Hermes, who was originally going to do things for me, has instantly changed her mind." Hera's tone was full of sarcasm. "What? Are you two the most affectionate father and daughter?"

Poseidon, who was always eager for a good show, added: "That's for sure. That brat Athena has disappeared somewhere. I think Hermes is the only one our little brother likes the most right now."

Hermes, who was inexplicably mentioned: "..."

Unbelievable! Hera has started her indiscriminate attacks again! And Poseidon, always causing trouble!

I really want to complain, but they'll only become more aggressive...

Hermes misses Apollo a little, but he has already been tricked into going to the underworld and is now unable to step forward to help her share the burden.

Yes, while the gods were still in the main temple, Hermes secretly sent Apollo to the underworld to find Hecate and Eris, hoping the two goddesses would arrive before Zeus made his final decision. Hermes wanted to preserve this generation of humans, but as long as Typhoon was still alive, this possibility was extremely slim.

She guessed the reason why Zeus decided to create a new generation of humans—Typhoid's existence threatened the rule of the Olympian gods; it could manipulate and parasitize humans and even gods, and its power was considerable. Yet, it was subject to the Earth Mother Gaia.

Moreover, Hermes dares to guess... Gaia probably also wanted to preserve this generation of humans, otherwise she wouldn't have specifically instructed Athena and Prometheus to lead humans from all over the world to migrate.

But Gaia still tolerated Typhoeos's troublemaking, and it even tried to harm Hermes more than once!

Hermes couldn't help but glance at Zeus, who remained silent beside her. He stared intently at the approaching Attica peninsula, the clouds beneath his feet moving at an increasingly slower pace.

Is this a power struggle between Gaia and Zeus? Since the latter represents the entire Olympian pantheon, why does Gaia favor Hermes so much?

Hermes couldn't understand why.

Amidst the laughter and frolicking of the gods who had come with him, Zeus, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"I think you all know the purpose of my and Hermes's trip. The attack on the Temple of Delphi last night caused quite a stir."

Aphrodite feigned surprise and said, "Eh, Delphi? Isn't that Apollo's territory? Is his temple still intact?"

Ares, who was carefully supporting his adorable lover, chimed in, "Don't you know? My dear Copris, Apollo worked through the night to repair his temple, which must have been a complete mess! Be careful where you walk, lest you bump into the baby in your belly."

Hephaestus, still determined not to miss any opportunity to get revenge on Ares, said, "I think you should be careful too, Ares, lest you two fall down together."

Ares: "Shut up, you ugly old cripple! I don't want to fight you here!"

Hephaestus: "Why are you in such a hurry again?"

Demeter linked arms with Hestia, pointing and laughing heartily at the brothers who were arguing again.

Artemis, meanwhile, walked at the very back of the procession of gods, idly fiddling with her silver bow—she missed her original golden bow and needed to find an opportunity to get Apollo to exchange it for her weapon.

In short, all the gods present successfully ignored Zeus's words.

Seeing this, Hera's smile became even more sarcastic. She leaned down and whispered something in Hebe's ear, and Hebe immediately looked up at Hermes, his large golden eyes shining brightly.

Hermes: "?"

So what does this have to do with her?

Zeus was already in a bad mood, and when he saw that everyone looked so useless, his face instantly darkened.

"Enough!" he roared, raising his thunder scepter.

In an instant, the sky turned from clear to overcast, just like the face of Zeus. With a deafening roar of thunder, a violent storm immediately ensued.

It was truly astonishing that Hermes could almost see the panicked flight of the humans below. Some would consider the unusual weather an accident, while others would see it as divine punishment.

Because of Zeus's deliberate actions, the storm truly struck the gods. In the face of this sudden turn of events, the gods, who had been arguing fiercely, immediately quieted down. At least Ares and Hephaestus, who had been arguing the most, immediately shut up and remained silent.

“Oh my god, my hair and clothes! And I’m pregnant…” Hermes heard Aphrodite’s low grumble.

Hera glanced at Aphrodite, who was tidying herself up, then turned to Zeus and said, "Aren't you done with your madness yet, Zeus?"

...

...I have to say, Hera is really tough, she's started talking trash again.

Hermes silently applauded Hera in her heart.

As expected of the goddess she had her eye on earlier, her fighting power is top-notch!

Hera is surprisingly fond of constantly berating Zeus today!

"Say less, my noble wife." Zeus twitched the corners of his mouth, a faint smile appearing on his face. He never easily showed negative emotions when facing Hera. "After all, you all know that we have long been targeted by that cunning monster. This is a new crisis, and we must work together to solve it."

Even though Zeus did not mention Typhus at the meeting in the main temple, as he said, the gods were well aware of the matter.

The destruction of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi was shocking enough, and at least on the surface, they had to make the situation appear peaceful.

Hera patted Hebe's head and replied casually, "Yes, Zeus. And then?"

“As I’ve said before, you should know the purpose of my and Hermes’s trip. This is very important,” Zeus said calmly. “Humans are fragile and numerous, and that monster is hiding among them. It is skilled at bewitching people.”

"...So, you didn't really intend to give humanity a chance to survive, did you, Father?" This time it was Hebe who spoke.

Hermes looked at the little girl in surprise. She hadn't expected that in such a short time, little Hebe had grown up to the point of daring to question Zeus to his face.

It seems that Her Highness the Goddess's education of her daughter has finally had an effect.

Aphrodite then interjected, "So what does this have to do with humans?"

Upon hearing this, Artemis finally couldn't help but retort, "You should also say less, Goddess of Love and Beauty. It seems that you really are good for nothing except love and beauty."

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Aphrodite muttered in dissatisfaction. "Humans are innocent, after all..."

“That’s right, Koplis is right!” Ares quickly chimed in.

"Fools have their own kind of luck, or rather, a pair of fools who are a perfect match."

"I've told you a million times! Shut up, Hephaestus!"

Before Zeus could react, Hera simply raised her hand and cast a spell, silencing the three noisy creatures. Of course, this only lasted for a short time.

Hera withdrew her hand and looked up at Zeus, who still had a smile on his face... and Hermes, who had been silent for a while beside him.

“Continue, my equally noble husband,” Hera said calmly.

Zeus looked at Hera, his smile deepening.

“Yes, little Hebe, my daughter,” he continued, “for the destruction of Typhoon will inevitably be accompanied by the end of mankind.”

“After that, we will create a new order.”

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the underworld, Apollo was staring blankly at the snarling Cerberus.

Apollo could foresee that Hecate and Eris would come to him, but he was thinking about something else—why had Persephone, who should have been on Earth, come to the Underworld?

The cold winter hasn't even arrived yet, has it?

Did Hermes, the goddess of winter, know about this?

And that's not all...

Apollo snapped out of his meditation, his eyes slightly narrowed, his mood somewhat heavy.

He could see that Persephone and Hades had both fallen into a deep sleep that seemed endless, and that Tartarus's defensive lines were beginning to falter.

Those Titans who once rebelled—

"Apollo, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Apollo looked down and saw two clouds of black mist rising from the muddy ground in front of him.

The figures of the goddess of the moon and the goddess of strife gradually emerged from the black mist.

Apollo had always respected Hecate, who had raised him and his sister, but he instinctively disliked Eris, who was born mad and extreme—not to mention that Eris had almost hurt Hermes.

But he still politely nodded to both goddesses and greeted them.

“I remember Hera asked you and Hermes to come here to visit the Moileans, but…” Hecate hesitated, her words carrying a deeper meaning.

Apollo replied at the opportune moment: "The Father has taken Hermes away, and the gods are now on earth."

Hecate remained silent, but Eris chuckled and said jokingly, "I've already heard that Zeus is planning something disgusting again. His arrogant wife is quite pragmatic, but she shouldn't expect my good sisters to listen to her!"

The sisters Eris refers to are the Moirai sisters, who control fate.

Although Apollo already knew that he and Hermes would be rejected by the Fates, he didn't take Eris's mockery to heart because Hermes possessed an element of uncertainty and could easily alter the future he foresaw.

He ignored Eris and kept looking at Hecate, waiting for her to say something next.

Eris shrugged indifferently at this.

I really don't know how her best friend could get involved with such a despicable guy!

Oh, and there's that even more annoying Hermes!

Eris even thought maliciously—if Hecate hadn't intervened, I would have sown the seeds of discord between these two and turned them into enemies!

"Did Hermes send you?" Hecate asked.

Yes. She shares the same idea as me.

"So what is your opinion?"

That's right, Apollo and Hermes were the same; they both wanted this generation of humans to survive.

Perhaps only Hecate could persuade the stubborn Zeus, because the latter respected her even more than Hera. Moreover, Hecate knew all secrets; she could see more than Apollo.

That is beyond the scope of 'prediction'.

If Hermes is the new variable, then Hecate is the variable that has always existed.

Hecate seemed to become somewhat cheerful. She touched Cerberus's body and cast a regretful glance at Apollo.

“This time I choose to stand with the goddess Gaia,” Hecate said, while Eris laughed heartily beside her. “I warned Hermes before, but she didn’t seem to take my words to heart. Now the retribution has come.”

Upon hearing this, Apollo's heart sank.

Variables are truly a wondrous thing.

Because in that instant, he foresaw a new future.

Hecate could always easily change the future; she was better at doing so than Hermes.

Therefore, among all the gods, Zeus respected Hecate the most.

"Are you sure?" Apollo asked, even though he already knew the final outcome.

This generation of humanity will eventually perish, simply because Hermes and Zeus angered the great goddess of the earth.

Gaia did not want these beings, created since Zeus began ruling the world, to continue to exist, nor would she allow Typhoon to replace Zeus as the new supreme ruler.

Zeus only wanted to destroy this generation of humanity, while Gaia wanted to destroy the entire world.

Hermes and Pan were chosen by Gaia for this reason.

Apollo had considered telling Hermes everything about these matters, but he was defeated by his own indecisiveness.

Hermes was, after all, being manipulated by Gaia's will, and with Pan, a brat whose power should not be underestimated, Apollo knew he couldn't act recklessly.

If she dies because of his hesitation...

Apollo came to his senses and found himself feeling fear.

He couldn't imagine a future without Hermes by his side.

Why was he born with the ability to foresee unknown variables?

Thinking of this, Apollo's eyes darkened, and his face turned icy cold.

Seeing this, Hecate said even more meaningfully, "Let's go, let's go to the mortal world together."

At the same time, Eris chuckled and put his arm around Hecate's shoulder from behind.

"At least that little bastard has to be made to admit defeat!"

Under Apollo's cold gaze, Hecate's smile faded, and she waved to light her signature dark blue torch—a sign that she had made up her mind.

This is the truest side of the Moon Goddess, unlike the pity she showed when facing Hermes.

It's no wonder she befriended Eris, who represents chaos.

“I warned not only the child, but also you, Apollo.”

"Hermes' birth was a mistake, and you caused her to be born."

Hecate met Apollo's gaze, her pale face taking on a mocking expression in the eerie blue light, making it seem as if Hera were standing right there.

But Apollo knew it was time.

His gamble on Hermes was therefore worthwhile.

[Author's Note]

Yes, kids, I saw the ad and it revived! [Thumbs up][Thumbs up][Thumbs up]