After Hermes recited this poem, Athena and Hades had already grasped its meaning, but Zeus was still somewhat confused, only understanding about three-tenths of its full flavor. So he commanded:
"Hermes, translate it."
Hermes's legs went weak, and he immediately knelt on the ground, pleading:
"Zeus, please let me off, I truly cannot translate this."
"I'm asking you to translate it for me, not to die. Why are you so scared?" Zeus slammed the armrest of his divine throne and scolded, "Useless!"
"There's no need for him to translate, Zeus, isn't Ares's meaning clear enough?" Athena said with a forced smile, "His letter explicitly states that I have deceived you, and only he is loyal to Olympus. He now intends to bring his army to help you eliminate me, this 'treacherous minister.' This is the greatest transgression against your authority as the God King; he is practically saying you are incompetent and muddle-headed."
She bowed slightly to Zeus, then said:
"Now it seems that after dealing with the Snake-Footed Giants, our next target is Ares. And, you must not forget, in the ocean, Sea King Poseidon is still eyeing us covetously."
"Then, Ares is yours to handle."
Zeus glanced at Athena and commanded:
"Deal with all these rebellious fellows for me."
"Yes." Athena asked with her eyes closed, "Ares is, after all, your and Hera's own son. Should he be spared?"
"Do not show me any mercy." Zeus coldly ordered, "Since he has chosen to rebel, the most suitable place for him is Tartarus in the Underworld."
"I understand."
Athena replied.
With the discussion concluded, Zeus simply waved his hand, driving all the main gods, including Hades, out of his God Kings Hall. While the other main gods dispersed, each returning to their own homes, Hades transformed into a black mist, overtaking Athena and stopping her.
"Athena, come with me."
Hades looked at his niece very seriously and asked:
"I have something I want to discuss with you."
After speaking, Hades turned and walked towards a secluded small garden on the side of Olympus, while the Goddess of Wisdom thought for a moment, then smiled, and followed him.
When they arrived in the garden, Hades released death energy, driving away the Nymphs and minor gods playing in the garden. He then sealed the area with divine power. Only then did he turn around, looking at his beautiful and intelligent niece, and asked in a deep voice:
"Athena, I ask you, are you also like Ares, intending to rebel?"
Hades's directness made Athena slightly stunned. Afterward, the Goddess deliberated for a moment and answered just as frankly:
"Yes."
"You're truly honest."
Hades said in surprise:
"I thought Ares could reply to me so directly because of his personality. I didn't expect even you to be so frank."
"Because lying in front of you is meaningless."
Athena replied with a smile:
"No matter what I say or what I do, you will eventually understand, won't you, Uncle? I'm not afraid to tell you that Zeus's thread of fate has already been cut by The Fates. Even if I do nothing, the God King of the Olympus Gods will be replaced in ten years... Oh, now there's less than five years left."
"Aren't you afraid that I will help other candidates ascend then?" Hades asked.
"Then who would you help? Apollo? Or Hermes?" Athena retorted, "Among all the gods capable of contending for the position of God King, besides Ares and me, they are all a bunch of good-for-nothings. And Ares, hmph, I believe you certainly wouldn't help him, after all, his method comes at the cost of temporarily violating the order of life and death, right?"
Hades was silent. He gazed at the sea of clouds outside Olympus, somewhat emotional: "How much time has passed? Time truly flies too quickly."
After speaking, he shook his head, neither accepting Athena's invitation nor refuting her words. He simply removed his seal on the garden and left with his hands behind his back, his retreating figure appearing somewhat desolate.
"Hades, a marginalized god."
Suddenly, another voice sounded. Atropos, one of the Goddess of Fate, emerged from the shadows behind Athena, appearing beside her. She looked at the departing Hades with Athena and quietly asked:
"Will he interfere with our plan?"
"No, he won't. Although Hades is very strong and self-aware, knowing when to advance and retreat, he lacks the courage to change the status quo. Otherwise, the position of Olympus God King would not have been held by his younger brother, Zeus. He is destined to be merely a maintainer of the status quo, a guardian of rules. Since that is the case, he can only stand on my side, because among all the God King candidates, only I have the ability to ensure the current rule of the Olympus Gods."
Athena replied with a confident tone.
"Hmm, if that's the case, then we have nothing to fear."
Atropos turned to look at Athena and reported:
"What you asked us to do to Artemis and Orion, we have already done."
"Mm."
Athena nodded:
"That's good."
"But I don't quite understand."
Atropos asked with a puzzled tone:
"Aren't you pushing Sea King Poseidon to be our adversary and adding an ally for Ares by doing this?"
"No, he won't. Given Ares's goals and temper, he wouldn't ally with Poseidon. The Sea King isn't worthy at all; he would only trick Poseidon into coming to Olympus as a pawn."
Athena turned to look at Atropos, smiling as she responded:
"Moreover, with Kratos here, even if another Sea King appears, we can easily handle them!"
...
Crete, Apollo, who had left Olympus, rushed to the hunting grounds of Orion and his sister Artemis immediately after receiving the news.
His white-haired sister was standing with that tall, simple-minded fellow beside a huge, dead scorpion, their expressions solemn. Seeing this, Apollo quickly called out:
"Artemis, are you alright?"
Artemis turned around upon hearing this, a somewhat happy smile on her face for her brother:
"Apollo, you're here. Don't worry, Orion just protected me, he was so handsome... Come, look, what do you think of our prey?"
Artemis pulled Apollo over to the side of the huge scorpion, letting Apollo see the dead dangerous creature.
Its enormous size made it look like a small mountain, its black carapace made it resemble a war chariot, and its large pincers and the terrifying stinger on its tail made even the God of Light feel a chill.
If such a creature had existed when the Titans ruled the world, it might even have threatened the Titans.
And such a monster could not have remained unknown for so many years, so this was definitely not a natural creature, but rather the work of certain individuals targeting Artemis and Orion, or even him, Apollo.
Apollo pinched the bridge of his nose with a troubled expression, then gave Artemis a perfunctory answer, and then said to Orion:
"Come with me for a moment, I have something to discuss with you."