Chapter 348
C348
"What...?"
Hera's expression hardened at the voice coming from the Player Kit.
"What are you saying all of a sudden? Are they withdrawing? This is ridiculous!"
The Giants are retreating from the fight.
That news shook everything Hera had been doing up until now.
"Why suddenly?"
-It was Zeus's doing.
The response that came made Hera's eyes widen.
"Zeus... him?"
The King of all Olympus and Hera's husband.
For a long time, Zeus had been absent from anywhere in the Tower.
Although he had escaped from Asgard's prison a long time ago, Zeus showed no interest in Olympus whatsoever.
But now, he suddenly encounters the Giants.
An ominous premonition seized her.
"He's not interested in Olympus anymore, is he?"
-We don't know either. However, the problem is that if we start this fight, we will become enemies again.
"Are you afraid because Zeus has joined the battle? Is that what you're trying to say, you, a leader of the Giants?"
It was a succession of events hard to understand.
Yes.
It could be said that it makes sense for Zeus to have returned.
After being exiled once, it was possible for him to return to Olympus if he couldn't stop worrying about it.
But the Giants were different.
The Three Great Gods of Olympus were practically sworn enemies to them.
They unleashed the Gigantomachy, killed many Giants, and took away their land.
And Zeus was the leader of those Gods.
"He has turned into a monster. For us, it is inevitable."
A monster.
Those were Gig?ntes' words, no one else's.
Hera, who had started the fight relying on the Giants, was taken aback and muttered.
"A monster...?"
Just a few years ago, she had not seen Zeus.
What had happened in that time for Gig?ntes to become humble enough to say such a thing?
She couldn't understand.
Hera was certain there were other reasons.
-Zeus said he would dry up the Giants' seed if we don't stop the Gigantomachy. And it seems he really has the power to do it.
Zeus wanted to stop the Gigantomachy.
It was none other than him, the same one who had instigated the first Gigantomachy.
-We will withdraw from this fight. We cannot continue to fight a battle with no chance of winning.
"Wait a moment...!"
The call was cut off at that point.
Looking at the powered-off Player Kit and shouting several times, Hera fell silent with a stunned expression on her face.
And then...
Crash!
She threw the plates and cups off the table, creating an instant mess in the room.
"Curse, damn it."
Her eyes reddened as she nervously disrupted the room.
The image of the man she hated so much was reflected in her eyes.
Zeus.
Once again, Zeus.
She had never loved him before. And Zeus had never loved her either.
Zeus only wanted to give birth to Hercules through Hera. Hera wanted to become the Queen of Olympus through him.
They joined hands to get what they wanted, but Hera could never bear Hercules.
The contempt she received for it, and the subsequent indifference.
And in the end, Zeus was trying to sabotage the cause she had been waiting for so long.
"Use the siblings Apollo and Artemis."
Woosh.
Hera turned her head.
Foolish Chaos's sudden appearance was no longer surprising to her.
With venomous eyes and piercing words, she pricked at Foolish Chaos.
"Wasn't this situation the result of listening to your words?"
"Haven't you come to this point by listening to my words?"
"You...!"
Hera, who was about to explode with fury, tightly clenched her lips.
He wasn't wrong.
In this situation, there were only two choices.
Withdraw or risk everything to seize the throne.
The first option was absolute surrender.
If she withdrew like this, Hera could never return to her original position in her life.
'I can do it even without the Giants.'
Apollo and Artemis.
They were the High-Rankers representing Olympus, and they were also Hera's connections.
If the two work together, it won't be impossible to break through the castle guarded by Pandora.
'There's no way Zeus will become greedy for the throne again.'
Zeus didn't return directly to Olympus after leaving with the Giants.
If he had ambitions for the throne again, he would have returned straight to Olympus.
Until now, it had been a fight worth trying without Zeus.
"And Hercules? You surely dealt with him properly, right?"
At Hera's question, Foolish Chaos responded confidently.
"He won't be able to return alive under any circumstances."
"...Alright."
Anyway, she had already come this far. From now on, there was only betting left.
"Let's move."
---------------------------
In the Sun Chariot.
YuWon took out the Player Kit and answered the phone.
"Is it already done?"
-Yes.
The response came from the other side.
It was a beautiful voice to the point of being suffocating. He always felt that the voice of that person and his actions didn't match.
YuWon thought once again that it was incredible.
He never imagined he would finish so quickly.
"Thanks. Although it was a mess you had to deal with anyway."
-It would have been much nicer if you just said thank you.
"We helped each other. This time it was your turn to help me."
-That's right. Although I don't know about the others, you have the ability to say those things.
Zeus's voice through the Player Kit sounded a bit huskier than usual.
Since he had finally reached the roof he desired so much. Surely, Zeus would feel like he was flying.
-Is this also the doing of that guy?
In response to Zeus's question, YuWon replied with conviction.
"Yes."
-Then I'll have to punish him.
It was a confident voice.
The corners of YuWon's lips lifted.
"We'll have to do it."
He had come this far, influenced by the game created by Foolish Chaos.
"At this point, it's clear he can't go on."
Probably, he knew that Zeus had stopped the Giants and Hercules had shattered his trap. If that was the case, it was obvious he couldn't go on.
'This far.'
The beginning of the counterattack.
But it wasn't just about confronting Hera.
YuWon looked at Danpung, who was sitting on his lap and dozing off.
"Let's meet soon."
------------------------
Grrrr.
"Hurry, quickly!"
"Hera is leading the way."
"Let's take back Olympus again."
The Rankers and Players began to equip themselves.
Each one grabbed their weapon and checked their gear. The Rankers supporting Hera calculated their chances of winning the fight and what they would gain.
"They say Pandora is on the other side?"
"She and Athena will be in charge of Hera."
"Apollo and Artemis also joined our side..."
"Our power is superior."
"Even those who were under Ares joined our side this time."
"Really? Well, for those who were trapped, this is the best chance."
"Hera also appreciated Ares. It's good news."
After winning this fight, the Rankers were like happy cats, seeing how Hera would become the new King of Olympus and everyone's position would rise even higher.
But that joy lasted only for a moment.
"By the way, hasn't it been a bit hot for a while now?"
"Now that you mention it..."
The Rankers gathered for the expedition began to feel something strange.
And then, suddenly...
Fwoosh!
A gigantic wall of fire rose around them.
"I-It's fire!"
"Who did this?"
"This fire is...!"
It was a fire no Olympus Ranker could be unfamiliar with.
A flame hotter than lava, vaguely mixed with gold.
Ssssh.
From within the column, a Ranker with golden hair walked out.
"No one will be able to leave here from now on."
Apollo.
One of the Olympus Rankers, the representative of the sun.
"Please understand, everyone."
He showed a brilliant smile that didn't fit the situation.
And at that moment...
Elsewhere too, Artemis began to move.
-------------------
"What's going on?"
In the middle of the Sun Chariot.
When Hera asked in surprise, the interior of the chariot fell silent.
It was a Sun Chariot carrying dozens of people. Well, more precisely, it was a replica of Apollo's Sun Chariot.
The Sun Chariot could no longer move forward and stopped in the middle of the sky. It was due to the sudden news that was transmitted.
"Apollo, Artemis..."
The military forces scattered in the Temples of Hera were now blocked.
It was because of Apollo and Artemis.
"Have my children betrayed me?"
"They're all still safe. Maybe there's some misunderstanding for now..."
"This was planned from the beginning, from the very beginning!"
Apollo and Artemis had not been with Hera from the start.
When they were heading to Olympus, Apollo and Artemis turned down her proposal to join together.
They gave vague excuses like they couldn't move immediately as Hades had just died.
"I should have noticed it at that time."
Without the Giants and without the support of the Giant race, fighting against Olympus with this number of people was like hitting a rock with an egg.
Without Pandora, the situation might have been different, but at this moment, there was no chance of victory.
"How did we come to this...?"
After Hades's death, Olympus, which was thought to be empty, was being protected by Pandora.
The support of the Giants was blocked by Zeus.
The siblings Apollo and Artemis cut off the support from the inside, and the Rankers under Hera's command were trapped in the middle of helplessness.
Uuung, uuung.
It was at that moment that Hera's Player Kit began to ring.
It was an unknown number.
The chilling sensation that ran down her spine was not a mere illusion.
It was her instinct, which had led her to this moment, the moment she received a call on her Player Kit.
-It's the first time we talk, but you greet like this.
The unknown voice came through the Player Kit.
-What are you planning to do now? Apollo and Artemis are gone, and the Giants have left.
Though it was a voice she had never heard before, it wasn't hard to imagine who that voice belonged to.
"Are you Kim YuWon?"
-Yes.
"Pandora, Apollo, Artemis, Zeus... did you do all of that?"
-If you had been a bit smarter, we wouldn't have come this far. It's a bit regrettable.
YuWon didn't deny it.
Pandora, Apollo, Artemis, Zeus.
The Rankers who ruled Olympus had become pawns of YuWon and were acting according to his orders.
In that moment, Hera felt a chill run through her entire body.
Being in such a precarious position, standing there like a loose string, all of this was created by an individual she had never seen before.
Hastily, Hera bit her lips so hard that blood was about to spill, trying to conceal her trembling voice.
"What do you want? Did you contact me because you have something to say?"
-Didn't that bastard tell you anything? Like how Hercules won't overcome the Labors and that he's surely already dead.
He spoke with a tone that implied he knew everything.
The moment she heard "that bastard," Hera immediately knew who he was talking about.
Foolish Chaos.
The individual who had killed Hades and promised to eliminate Hercules through the Twelve Labors.
Hera's eyes widened further when she realized that YuWon knew who Foolish Chaos was.
-No.
The surprise didn't end there.
-Hercules sent a message. He will begin the final Labor now.
The final Labor.
The trial of defeating the most powerful Beast King of Hell, the King Cerberus.
But for Hercules, that might be the easiest trial.
And the fact that he started it means...
-Start washing your neck, ma'am.
It meant that the Labor had already been completed.
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