A week had passed since the proposal, and as expected, the one who received the most support was Zeus.
What was surprising was that Hera’s support had climbed all the way up to Zeus’s neck.
Of course, most of them were goddesses, but considering that in the end it was the goddesses who controlled the male gods, this meant Hera’s power was overwhelmingly strong.
Among them, the god whose name I had heard the most was Iris, the goddess of the rainbow.
Iris already seemed to be working as Hera’s closest aide.
In the original mythology, Iris was Hera’s messenger, so it was only natural.
On top of that, Hera had pulled in Demeter and Hestia, filling the gap in terms of the goddesses’ insufficient martial strength, and so excluding Zeus, she became the most powerful faction.
Next, Hades, true to his title as the embodiment of gloominess, had gathered under him the gods most avoided by others.
Most notably, there were Thanatos, god of death, and Eris, goddess of discord.
Of course, those two gods were children of the oldest night, Nyx, so they could not be seen as fully belonging to Hades’s faction, but their wavelengths fit extremely well.
Lastly, my faction—Poseidon’s faction—was almost nonexistent.
Partly because I hadn’t tried to gather anyone, and mostly because ever since becoming Poseidon, I hadn’t felt any need for a faction.
When I could feel that all the seas and waters of this world, the most essential source of life, were within my grasp, there was no need to take in small fry.
Still, if I had to name a famous god within my faction, there were the goddess Styx of the Underworld and her daughter Nike.
In addition, Metis, daughter of Oceanus and Zeus’s woman, seemed to be… halfway leaning toward us for reasons I didn’t understand.
* * *
Under Zeus’s command, the massive war began.
Our war against Kronos’s forces was evenly matched, and since the gods were immortal, unable to be killed, the war only kept dragging on.
“Uwaaaah!!!”
“Strike.”
The ones who clashed most often against Kronos were Zeus, Hera, and Hades, and they had fought so many times that even during the war they naturally created a space that belonged to just the three of them.
Bang, bang, bang.
“You brats have gotten quite strong.”
“That just means you’ve gotten too old. Old man, step aside.”
“You impudent brat, Hades.”
“Hades, are you using words you learned from Poseidon again? Honestly, when you fight, you have no dignity.”
“Hahaha, old man. That’s a funny-sounding word.”
Unlike before, their fight with Kronos was even.
Partly because Kronos had prepared properly, but largely because Zeus had grown just as strong as Hera and Hades.
Even though he still couldn’t fully control lightning, he was now using a little of it.
“Poseidon, is it fine for you not to join that fight?”
“Styx, I don’t have much ambition. And from what I can see, this war is going to be very long. There’s no need to waste strength right now.”
Whenever Poseidon went out to the battlefield, the goddess Styx was always beside him.
Later, this became one of Poseidon’s symbols.
The symbol of the male god who even subdued the strongest river goddess.
“Styx, are you okay with this? There are rumors floating around the battlefield saying you’ve already become my plaything.”
“Hehe, don’t worry, Poseidon. I don’t mind at all. I’m grateful just because you are keeping the promise you made with me.”
“Guh….”
From Poseidon’s perspective, it wasn’t a bad rumor, but such a rumor degraded the dignity and achievements of a goddess, so it was a little uncomfortable.
Of course, Poseidon and the goddess Styx had made a certain promise, so it was a legitimate exchange.
“You are watching over my younger sister Asia’s husband and sons for me, so it’s me who should be bowing to you. On the battlefield, there is no family, but when my sister grieves that much, what can I do as her older sister?”
Because of Styx’s request, Poseidon had been making sure not to deal fatal harm to Iapetus, the husband of the goddess Asia, and their sons Menoetius and Atlas.
Even now, he was properly dealing with Atlas running toward him.
“Poseidon!!!”
“Stop yelling already. Because of you, I think I’m hearing hallucinations.”
“You brat!”
Thud.
Their fists collided, but the sound that came out was like something striking a chunk of metal.
“Ghhk.”
“You’re still weak. Come back after training more. You fledgling.”
Poseidon used his divine power to fling Atlas far away as Atlas winced from the impact of their fists colliding.
“Ugegeh!”
“In my previous life, those comics really were science.”
Just now, he had wrapped divine power around his fist and sent Atlas flying, similar to some manga.
Originally, Atlas and Menoetius would have been extremely powerful Titans, but to Poseidon—whose divinity was approaching a very high level in the midst of war—they were nothing much.
And Poseidon had also asked Gaia for the Adamantine Pillar and was still training with it using the proven methods.
If Zeus and Hades had fought those two, they both would have suffered heavy injuries, so Poseidon pretended to take responsibility for them and simply blew them away without causing serious harm.
If he wanted, he could have ripped out their tendons and left them unable to move while still alive.
But Styx had asked him not to.
* * *
The battle between the gods led by Zeus and the Titans continued for over ten years without ending.
Because their war devastated the entire world, Zeus reached the conclusion that they could not drag things out any longer.
“Prometheus, can you prophesy a way to end this war? Any further fighting will only create bad results for everyone.”
In response to Zeus’s question, Prometheus opened a map and pointed to one place.
“The victory of this war is something someone else knows far better than I. Go to this place. There you will meet Gaia, the great and radiant Mother of the Earth.”
“Ah! She exists.”
Immediately, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon began their journey to meet Gaia.
Hera, having the second largest faction after Zeus, had to remain and command the battlefield if Zeus were absent, so she stayed behind with Hestia and Demeter.
The three gods, hiding from the Titans, struggled their way to Gaia’s shrine deep inside the great pit of the world’s navel, the Omphalos, and asked Gaia:
“Lady Gaia, please grant us the means to end this war.”
When Zeus, acting as representative, asked the statue of Gaia, a massive tree surged upward, then transformed into the figure of a woman and appeared before the three gods.
“You must find those who are Titans, yet not Titans, and who currently harbor great wrath toward the Titans. Only after receiving their help will you finally achieve victory in this war.”
The three gods inside Gaia’s shrine immediately understood whom she meant.
Rumors about the Hekatoncheires and the Cyclopes, imprisoned by Kronos in Tartarus, had been heard even during the war.
Among the Titan gods who followed them, some had even suggested releasing them and joining them in the war.
However, since Tartarus was not a place they could open and close as they pleased yet, they had given up on it.
On top of that, Kronos’s faction had always monitored it so intensely.
“In the end, the conclusion of the war will be decided there.”
“Zeus, if there is a problem, it’s that Father Kronos also guards that place thoroughly.”
“Hades, something like that is not a problem for the strength of us brothers here.”
“You fool. As soon as Kronos notices we’ve disappeared, he will launch a full assault. Then Hera won’t be able to stop everything with her strength.”
“Ha! As if I didn’t consider that. That’s why we’re going to take ambrosia and nectar before we go. If they become our strength, we can end the war with one surprise attack.”
Hades and Zeus argued the entire way to Tartarus.
It wasn’t strange—they had fought nonstop for ten years—but to Poseidon, they both looked like idiots.
‘Here they go again. Hades and Zeus are so alike… maybe it’s lucky Hera isn’t here.’
‘More than that, finally this boring war is coming to an end.’
Poseidon was more excited for the world that would unfold after the war than for their bickering.
It was now confirmed that the war would soon end because of Gaia’s prophecy.
When the three brothers, still bickering, arrived at Tartarus, they saw Kronos’s soldiers guarding the entrance.
“Is that Campe guarding the front?”
“The problem is not just that giant—there are too many other monsters.”
“At this rate, we’ll be discovered by Kronos too quickly.”
After much deliberation, Poseidon and his brothers chose two who would keep the giant monster Campe occupied, and one who would open Tartarus and rescue the Hekatoncheires and the Cyclopes.
* * *
The plan began.
Poseidon and Hades, who had taken on the role of drawing Campe’s attention along with her army, began causing a disturbance on one side.
Boom!!!
The attack started with a surprise strike on Campe.
With the body of a dragon, a human torso, bat wings, and multiple animal heads, Campe quickly detected the attacks of Hades and Poseidon and charged at them.
“You traitors, I’ve heard that despite being Lord Kronos’s children, you raised your blades against him. The one with blue hair is Poseidon, the one with black hair is Hades.”
Campe easily blocked Poseidon and Hades’s attacks while ordering her army to cut off their retreat.
“Now you cannot escape this place. When I capture you, Lord Kronos will give me a great reward.”
Campe pushed forward as if she had already caught Poseidon and Hades.
Because she guarded the Hekatoncheires and the Cyclopes here, she had never fought the three brothers properly, leading to her misjudgment.
Hades and Poseidon pretended to be pushed back even further.
If things continued like this, they could kill Campe without Kronos noticing and rescue the Hekatoncheires and the Cyclopes.
* * *
Boom, boom, boom, boom—
The huge sounds of battle echoed within Tartarus, but they did not escape to the outside.
Gaia’s divine power blocked the aftermath of their battle.
Meanwhile, Zeus watched Campe’s fight with his brothers and waited for his chance.
At the moment, the monster and its army surrounded Tartarus so tightly that it was hard to get inside, so he waited for his brothers to draw them out a little more.
At last, when Campe moved her army to firmly capture Poseidon and Hades, Zeus darted forward with quick movements and stood before the bronze entrance to Tartarus.
Then he inserted the key—made from a portion of Kronos’s divine power that Gaia had secretly stolen—into the entrance.
Rumble—
The bronze gate of Tartarus opened, revealing the one-eyed giants, the Cyclopes, and the Hekatoncheires with their hundred arms and faces sitting inside.
“You must be Zeus. Mother told us about you.”
““Yes, Mother said you were the heroic god who would save us….””
Zeus flinched a little at the one-eyed Cyclopes and the hundred overlapping voices of the Hekatoncheires, but he quickly steadied himself, knowing they were essential to ending the war.
“Yes. I am Zeus. Everyone here, please lend us your strength.”
“Hm. If it means striking at our hateful younger brother Kronos, we’d do anything.”
““But the problem is that being trapped in Tartarus for so long has weakened our strength.””
At their words, Zeus laid out the ambrosia and nectar he had prepared in advance.
“These are ambrosia and nectar aged for ten years. I’m sorry to say this right after you’ve come out of Tartarus, but the situation is urgent. Even now, Hera must be barely holding the front line. Please, help us.”
“Oho, you even prepared such precious ambrosia and nectar. Why would we refuse?”
““Yes. Just as the Cyclopes said, we’ve been dreaming of giving that younger brother a blow for ages.””
The Cyclopes and the Hekatoncheires were overflowing with hatred toward Kronos, so they had no reason to refuse Zeus’s offer.
Even if Zeus had refused them, they would have chosen to be thrown back into Tartarus rather than let Kronos go unpunished.
They had always dreamed of giving Kronos a grievous wound, so they had no hesitation.
“Then, please eat and drink. We must deal with Campe first.”
“Campe, that giant hag, is also our hated enemy.”
““But… we would prefer if you didn’t kill her. Sometimes the food Campe brought us was like a drop of sweet honey.””
“That may be true, but the fact remains that she serves Kronos.”
““But not all of us must be Kronos.””
There was debate among the Cyclopes and Hekatoncheires about what to do with Campe, but they seemed to have decided to spare her for now.
Zeus nodded at their decision and hurried toward Poseidon and Hades, who were buying time.
“Poseidon, Hades, no need to stall anymore!!”
Poseidon and Hades heard Zeus shouting as he ran and, relieved, simultaneously charged at Campe.
“That damn monster dared look down on me.”
“Well. I don’t think it was quite like that, but now I can use full strength.”
Hearing Zeus’s voice from behind, Campe panicked.
‘A diversion strategy… so that’s what it was.’
Campe guarded Tartarus, but from the occasional information she received, she knew how big a role these three brothers played.
So she never imagined all three would leave the frontline….
‘This is a crisis. I can’t withstand these three brothers for long.’
The moment Campe finished thinking, she sent off her messenger bird.
What she needed now was to stall the three brothers long enough and push before the newly freed prisoners recovered their strength.
“You brats, don’t think I’ll retreat easily.”
When Zeus joined the fight, Campe went even more berserk.
At this point, the only method left to her was to alert Lord Kronos as quickly as possible.