"I am sorry, great Lord Cronus. I cannot agree to this."
Almost the instant Cronus finished speaking, before even little Cerberus could react,
Jason shook his head and answered.
Without a single moment of hesitation.
To Jason, this was an obvious answer.
Typhon could not help laughing, her voice like silver bells. She said to Cronus, "Cronus, you take everything far too much for granted. And you do not understand this child at all. You have no idea what kind of person he is.
If he could be tempted so easily, how could I value him so highly and remain so obsessed with making him mine?"
As she spoke, Typhon threw Jason a flirtatious wink.
Jason lowered his head and pretended not to see.
"Supreme divine authority and the throne of the God-King may indeed be what everyone in the world dreams of, myself included."
Typhon smiled, her lips curving upward, her long lashes trembling slightly. Her eyes bent into crescents as she gazed at Jason with boundless charm. "Yet there truly exists in this world a child who has no interest in such things.
And he is far from ordinary. He shines brilliantly.
…You must have a hard time most days, don't you, Hecate?
After all, those who covet this child are far more than just me!"
Faced with Typhon's teasing, Hecate did not glare back as usual. She merely sighed and replied, "Every few days someone calls his name. Even when I seal my perception, the thick jealousy still seeps through.
Especially lately. A certain mad goddess pesters me every single day!"
As she spoke, Hecate shot Jason a fierce glare.
Jason innocently blinked back.
A mad goddess… It can't be Athena, right?
Surely… it's not that bad?
By now, Cronus understood. He looked at Jason in disbelief and asked, "Are you truly… not interested in divine authority at all?"
"No, great Lord Cronus."
Jason answered without hesitation. "The greatest goal of my life is, after ascending to godhood, to fulfill my promise to Teacher Hephaestus: to accompany her for hundreds, even thousands of years and continue offering tribute.
And also… to guard the gates for Teacher Hecate."
"Guard the gates?"
Cerberus snapped out of her daze, eyes wide as she stared at Jason. "You're trying to steal my job?! Believe me, I'll bite you… Wait, why did my hair turn white?!"
Gods can easily discern truth from lies.
Moreover, given the current situation, there was no way Jason would lie.
Thus, even though Cronus found it hard to believe, he understood that Jason spoke the truth.
"That is supreme divine authority!"
Cronus stared at Jason with wide eyes. "With it, you would possess everything in the world! No one could defy you! No one could disobey your supreme divine authority!"
Hearing this, Jason merely smiled gently at Cronus and gave no further reply.
And… is that thing really as wonderful as you say?
Not necessarily.
If it were truly that great, how did you end up imprisoned here?
And Zeus, who obtained that authority, always looks sneaky, constantly wary of this and that…
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Jason could not help glancing at Tartarus, who was secretly trying to steal pieces and regret moves.
So far, he had not said a single word.
Even when Cronus offered to grant him divine power and asked Jason to free him, Tartarus had remained silent.
"Father is the abyss itself. This endless abyss is Father."
As though sensing Jason's doubt, Typhon answered, "As a primordial deity, he possesses power enough to imprison even a God-King, but precisely because of that, he cannot leave this place.
Therefore, whatever happens outside, no matter what it is, he does not care."
"Yes." Tartarus nodded. "Do whatever you like out there. Just remember to come back and play Go with me when you have time."
At those words, Cerberus shuddered.
She grabbed the corner of Jason's robe and hid behind him.
After hiding for a moment, she felt something was wrong and scurried behind Hecate instead.
She even bared her teeth at Jason.
"Father, I would like to speak with Jason alone."
Typhon looked at Tartarus.
Hecate frowned, about to say something, when Tartarus nodded and lightly clapped his hands. The next second, Jason and Typhon vanished.
As Tartarus's child, Typhon naturally enjoyed certain privileges.
"Don't worry. She won't harm the boy."
Tartarus looked at the frowning Hecate. "Besides, I quite like that kid myself. I won't let anything happen to him…
Oh, right. I don't think you've ever played Go, have you?
Perfect, perfect. Come, come play a few rounds with this old man!"
…
"Why are you so nervous?"
Within the abyss, faint light flickered from the dim underworld flames.
Underworld butterflies danced around Jason.
Typhon approached him and revealed a seductive smile. "Could it be… you're really afraid I'll eat you?"
"Though to be honest, I did consider eating you."
Before Jason could reply, Typhon continued, "Because if I ate you, I could wield that sword. It would be a good option. I truly did think about it.
But… I couldn't bear to."
After speaking, Typhon silently gazed at Jason for a while with her bewitching eyes.
She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she held back.
She knew that if she extended her hand, Jason would step back.
"This is the last time."
Typhon's expression grew complicated. "Give me your answer, Jason. Will you… come to my side?"
Typhon was clever and exceedingly cunning.
Thus, the moment she sensed the birth of the god-slaying sword Mistilteinn, she knew Jason would come to her.
And this time… would likely be their final meeting in the abyss.
The next time they met, it would inevitably be atop the sacred mountain of Olympus.
Jason fell silent.
He had indeed come for this matter.
So just as he took a deep breath, looked at Typhon, and prepared to speak,
"No need. You don't have to say it."
Typhon interrupted him once more. "When I saw Hecate, I already knew the answer… You might deny anyone else, but you would never do anything she hated.
That woman… really makes one jealous!"
"…Even if Teacher had not come, I would still have given you an answer." Jason spoke anyway, addressing the goddess in the bright red cheongsam before him.
Typhon blinked, looked at Jason, and a helpless look appeared in her eyes. "Child, will you not even leave me the slightest sliver of fantasy?"
"Because I know this matter must be made clear."
Jason took a step back and said seriously to Typhon, "I am sorry, Lady Typhon. I… will never stand on your side!"
At those words, Typhon's body swayed slightly.
"…It seems I truly played a terrible move back then."
Typhon looked at Jason and sighed. "At the wedding of the Lord and Lady of the Underworld, I could feel that there was actually a great possibility…
I was too impatient.
But that supreme divine authority… even I covet it."
Jason offered no reply to Typhon's current lament.
In truth, she was right.
If Typhon had not rushed the birth of the god-slaying sword and played that move, Jason's answer now might not have been so resolute.
"Lady Typhon, there is actually one thing I do not understand."
After a moment of silence, Jason said to Typhon, "Why were you in such a hurry for it to appear? Even if it did, it would not pose a true threat to the great God-King Zeus…"
It still needed to pierce Athena's body.
Jason naturally did not voice this last part.
"It cannot threaten Zeus now, but what if… it pierced the body of the Goddess of Wisdom?"
Typhon knew even without him saying it.
"Athena told you that, didn't she? …But in truth, it is not absolute."
"Not absolute?"
Jason looked at Typhon in puzzlement.
"Correct."
Typhon nodded. "Not only piercing Athena's body. If it pierced mine, it could achieve the same effect."
Jason froze. He truly had never considered that possibility.
But now that Typhon said it, upon careful thought, Jason realized her words were absolutely true!
"You just asked why I was in such a hurry for it to be born, correct?"
Typhon gazed at Jason and slowly revealed her true purpose. "Very simple. There are two reasons.
First, I hoped its appearance would force you to come to me, to become mine, and then together we could destroy Olympus.
Second… I was actually looking for an ending for myself."
"An ending?"
Jason looked at Typhon, somewhat confused.
"Monsters are meant to be slain by heroes, are they not?"
"And I… Typhon, Ancestor of All Monsters… am I not the most terrifying monster in this world?"
Hearing these words, Jason gradually came back to his senses. His eyes widened.
Never having considered this possibility, Jason stared blankly at Typhon before him.
"I am Typhon, Ancestor of All Monsters, the final Titan born for destruction, and the most terrifying monster in this world."
"Child, do you know how happy I was when I noticed you and sensed the aura of destruction upon you?
Because I felt I had found a kindred spirit… The only difference is that you shine so brilliantly.
So brilliantly that even I wished to draw close to you, to bask in the light you radiate."
"Therefore, from the beginning, I have always held two expectations for you.
One is that we would join forces to destroy Olympus and fulfill my mission.
The other…"
Typhon smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, her brows full of seductive charm as though she had applied some divine beauty spell. She said to Jason,
"Is that you,
the most radiant hero in the world,
would kill me."
The hero in sacred white robes, Jason, was undoubtedly now the most brilliant hero in the world.
He was the beloved of the gods, the lover of the Goddess of Wisdom, the disciple of Hephaestus the God of Smithing, and the child of Hecate, Goddess of Crossroads who could create miracles.
He was the most radiant hero.
And she, Typhon, Ancestor of All Monsters, was the "mother" of nearly all terrifying beasts.
Most of the monsters Jason had slain until now were her children.
Thus, she was unquestionably the most terrifying monster in the world.
"I have no desire to die by the hand of that lecher Zeus… If I must die, let it be by the hand of the most radiant person in this world… that is, by your hand, child."
"Therefore,
help me. Help me destroy the sacred mountain of Olympus. Destroy everything!
Or slay me, defeat me, oh most radiant hero of this world!"