#556 A Celestial Queen’s Murmur

All women art either scum or trash.

Every single one of those folk dares to seduce mine own husband.

Oh, I am Hera, queen of the most wondrous god Zeus.

“I think Father instigates that on his own. The women find it a nuisance too.”

What is the matter with thee, Artemis? Thee, child born of Zeus and one of his mistresses, dare speak to me in that bold tone? 

“Please calm down. We art comrades working together toward a common goal. If we doth not set aside our differences, victory will be far from our reach,” pompously says Athena, another woman born to Zeus’ unfaithful lover.

She is a barbaric one, even for someone who is the goddess of war.

The blood of the unfaithful woman has’t tainted Zeus’ blood in her.

“Did thee say something, Hera?”

“I have a general idea of what that woman was thinking about. The wife of the chief god who wishes all her husband’s lovers dead, allying with the goddesses born of his mistresses? It is a preposterous idea.”

Silence.

It hast been several hundred years since mine own beloved Zeus was imprisoned on unreasonable grounds. 

“It hast not even been a decade since...”

This is the perfect chance to save mine own darling Zeus!

I needeth to bring the gods of the earth and flotes to their knees and get them to agree to release Zeus, and yet, wherefore is everyone agreeing to sign a pact?

Athena, Artemis!

If thee consider thineselves daughters of the great god Zeus, thee should doth everything in thy power to save thine beloved father!

That is the duty of a responsible child!

“A sound reasoning. However, I has’t never hath heard of logic so exsufflicate.”

“I care not whether he is freed or remains sealed, dies or disappears, suffers hell or not.”

Athena!

Is that how thee speak of the father who hath raised thee?!

“I doth not remember being raised by him...Besides, I am against this whole treaty. As the goddess of war—I cannot tolerate peace!”

“What about the god of war, Velesares, who is siding with the pro group?”

“He is a loser, and thus, that gent matters not! Meanwhile, I am the goddess of victory! Peace is achieved by laying waste to thine enemies, destroying them, and enslaving them!”

“She is rotten to the core.”

“Peace is when thee spend thine days trampling over losers! What is the point of joining hands and spending life in harmony?!”

“She is rotten to the core.”

It is as thee say, Artemis. Athena is a goddess with the worst personality. How did this lady grow up to possess such a twisted character when half of Zeus’ blood flows in hers?

Surely, it is from the bad blood of the woman with whom he hadst an affair.

“How can Velesares be so decent compared to her when thee and Zeus are the most despicable hybrid ever conceivable?”

My, how foul-mouthed.

But I concur. How could mine own darling Velesares has’t betrayed Mommy and sided with the foe?

Doest he not realize much I am suffering right now? A naughty son, he is!

“I think that is exactly proof of Velesares’ decent character...”

“I will not let thee get away with this, Artemis. Wherefore did thee join us in the first place? The enemy’s leader is thine own brother, is he not?”

“That is the point. Wherefore should I take mine own blasted brother’s side?”

I see she is twisted herself.

“It is mine own obligation as the younger sibling to balance out whatever Apollo does—which is wrong all the time—by opposing him.”

“I wouldst not go as far as saying he is wrong all the time...”

“Oh, he very much is! How he does it is beyond me, but he always manages to pull the lamest jokes ever and never turns the laundry inside out! His feet reek! The mere thought that we are siblings appalls me! That is wherefore I always turn against him!”

What a rebellious girl.

I hear she is what people call ‘tsundere’ nowadays.

I oft think Artemis is lovable, but at the end of the day, she is but another daughter of a leech that seduced Zeus. In short, she is also a foe of mine.

But for now, Artemis is an ally I shouldst be fighting alongside with. 

Let us face the problem at hand!

“Frankly, I wouldst say we art at an overwhelming disadvantage.”

“The demigods has’t all rallied to Apollo’s side. We art the only three gods left.”

Cursed fellows...! Those half-breed mongrels...!!!

Has’t those gents forgotten their debt of gratitude to us for welcoming them to the celestial realm?!

Most of them are born to Zeus and his mortal mistresses!

Doth they have nary intention of saving their father?!

“I doth not think demigods have the heart to respect Zeus as their father. Not even I, a pureblood goddess, feel that way.” 

“In addition to having no respect for Zeus, mine own resentment towards thee is deep, too. Doth thee think I had forgotten how thee treated the demigods when they still roamed mortal soil?”

Can thee really blame me for that?

Of course I would loathe the children born to those who distracted mine own darling Zeus.

What’s a little harassment?

“There is not a single thing thee did that can be dismissed as mere harassment.”

“Now that I remember, we fell victim to it, too. Just recalling that pissed me off. Die.”

Now mine own allies are turning hostile toward me!

Doth these ladies not know how to forgive and join forces for a common cause?!

“It is all thy fault.”

“The demigods has’t all turned against thee because of thine insufferable behavior. And because of the nature of the conflict, the earth and flote deities are also siding with them. Mine own sources told me that Hermes is trying to negotiate with Alexander to get him on their side.”

“But all deities from the three realms wouldsdt be wiped out in an instant if the super dragon Alexander participates in the war!”

We art at a terrible disadvantage.

The situation is grim. Our foes are plenty and strong, while our allies are few.

What a severe ordeal the gods are putting us through.

Oh, wait. I am a god myself.

But I will not be discouraged!

I will doth whatever it takes to save mine own beloved husband!

And so, I have prepared this—mine own last resort to turn things around!

“What is this? A box?”

“What doth thee plan on doing with this, Hera?” 

Considering thou art deities thyselves, thee shouldst know about the strict rules surrounding the blessings we grant.

“Wherefore so random?”

“Of course we know. But what art thee getting at?”

“Once a deity bestows a blessing upon a child of man, they art not allowed to bestow another nor revoke it, correct?”

Correct.

Because of that rule, we can only give blessings to a mortal once in their lifetime, and we cannot take it back.

It is a bothersome rule, but art thee aware of how this came about?

“Of course we do. We were there to witness it.”

“How many thousands of years has it been? Zeus loved one hero so much that he gave her all kinds of blessings.”

“He even ordered us to give the mortal our portion, as well as skills of divine origin. This resulted in a hero with hundreds of divine blessings.”

The hero then became the most powerful mortal on earth. Nay foe stood in her way.

Zeus wanted her to use her powers to conquer the earth. However...

“...She betrayed us.”

“The fellow was wicked enough to turn against us after all the power-ups she received. But when one is a living cluster of the world’s strongest powers, it is easy to fall to the depths of vanity.”

In the end, it is the gods’ responsibility to hold themselves accountable for their actions.

Oh, wait, I am also one of them.

We hadst to borrow the power of Hades and Poseidon to subdue the super-hybrid hero, and we owed a huge favor to their might.

“Please doth not speak of it like tis a memoir. It was definitely one of the crises that nearly destroyed the world.”

“We wouldst appreciate it if thee recount the details with more remorse in thine voice.”

But gods never reflect on anything.

Thus, the ultimate hero was sealed with the cooperation of the Three Realm Deities.

Sealing her was the most they couldst doth, as immortality was one of the hero's many blessings.

Whoever bestowed that blessing upon the child is terribly negligent.

“Um, Hera? I think we has’t hadst enough of walking down memory lane...” 

“Can we return to the main topic now? What is in that box thee took out?”

Learn to have a little patience.

Doth not rush. Everything I talked about so far is connected to this box.

That is because the ultimate hero is sealed inside it.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!”

Hmhmhm.

I suppose it must be two to three thousand years since.

The foolish child of man, who received all the blessings and abilities from gods, but betrayed them, was sealed in this very box by the power of the Three Realm Deities—Pandora’s Box!

Wouldst it not be interesting to open this box and unleash the ultimate hero? At the very least, the world wouldst be thrown into chaos to the point where the conflict between us celestial gods wouldst matter not!

“No, that is going too far! This is the same evil that once almost destroyed the world!”

“Have thee forgotten wherefore Zeus was imprisoned in the first place? Thee will repeat history!”

Quit thy whining.

Doth not fret; I alone cannot open this box. After all, the three chief gods fixed the seal, so I need their consent to open it.

“Oh, is that so? What a relief.”

“Neither Uncle Hades nor Uncle Poseidon wouldst approve of such a crazy deed. Thank goodness. World peace can still be preserved.” 

Hmhm. 

Except, I has’t discovered a way to open this box.

Hermes is a fool. Tis nay exaggeration to say that I, who can detect my husband’s repeated infidelities, has’t the ultimate information-gathering ability of all the gods. 

Keeping secrets from me is useless.

Hephaestus created a terrifying blessing himself, and I, the god of crafting’s mother, shall exploit that power.