Episode 61/Chapter 2: Great Hero (2)
TL: Tsubak
ED: StellarRain
"Lee Tae Ho! Hey! Lee Tae Ho!"
"Scathach master?"
A day before Scathach's crisis.
Tae Ho sighed in his room. He was holding the wooden tag Thor gave him.
Heda and Idun informed Thor that Tae Ho must see this alone so there was currently no one nearby. He had even entrusted Gae Bolg to Siri.
'I'm getting nervous.'
Normally, Cuchulainn might have cracked a joke to ease Tae Ho's` nervousness.
However, it had been a really long while since Tae Ho had been separated from Cuchulainn. Cuchulainn was always by his side, anytime and everywhere except when he entrusted Gae Bolg to Scathach.
'But why did they say that I must see this alone?'
Cuchulainn claimed that there would be an erotic video in it and that's why they should see it together but there was no way that was the case.
'Hey you bastard! You have to share the good things!'
Tae Ho shook his head when he heard Cuchulainn's shout while handing Gae Bolg to Siri.
'There's no way, no way.'
And for the slight possibility the video was 18+, he really had to see it alone.
Tae Ho thought and laughed . It seemed like he was excited to hear Idun's and Heda's voice after a long time. He was nervous that he even took absurd things seriously.
Tae Ho inhaled, closed his eyes, inserted magic power into the wooden tag and activated the rune magic.
[Hello again?]
A smile split Tae Ho's face as he heard the voice that emerged from the wooden tag. He tried to fix his expression by biting his lips but this was in vain.
A video materialized after the voice. The beam shot out of the tip of the tag and expanded into the shape of a triangle. It really resembled a hologram.
The video grew to the size of the upper body of Idun. All her body was displayed so Tae Ho felt like he was looking at a sculpture of Idun that Ragnar made.
[My warrior Tae Ho.]
Idun said and Tae Ho smiled again.
Heda liked to say 'Hello Again?' and Idun 'My warrior Tae Ho'.
"Yes, Idun-nim."
It wasn't a phone call, justa mere video but Tae Ho still replied.
Idun smiled in the video.
[I heard several things. That you became the master of Asgard and rebuilt Erin…..You have really become a great figure in the time I haven't seen you.]
Only a single month had passed since Tae Ho left Asgard and came to Olympus, so his change was really drastic.
It was now that Idun pouted and extended her head forward. She spoke in a low voice as if telling a secret.
[But you are still my warrior. My warrior. I can never concede this. Right? You are my warrior right?]
She spoke quite firmly at first but then her voice seemed like she was acting self-conscious so it was quite cute to see.
"Yes, Idun-nim. I'm your warrior."
Tae Ho answered in a good mood and Idun touched her ears in embarrassment.
Tae Ho understood why Idun was emphasizing that he was her warrior.
It wasn't that she saw the master of Asgard as someone below her at all.
'This is why she said that I should see this alone.'
Tae Ho smiled and stroked the Idun in the video. Idun fixed her posture as if she felt his hand. She spoke of something else with a voice hiding her embarrassment.
[Hm hm, I'm healthy now. You too, right? You must be. I will get angry if you're nott. Um, is it a bit weird?]
Idun blushed in embarrassment as she thought her speech was a little weird.
[Anyways, it's like that. I'm doing well so don't worry about me. It's really peaceful you know? The problem in the north was solved well and there's no problem in the residence.]
[My warrior Tae Ho, I want to see you. Not by transmitting my voice through a tag like this, but I want to see and talk to you face to face.]
"Me too."
Idun bit her lips. She shrugged her shoulders but spoke with a bright voice.
[More than that Tae Ho, how's life in Olympus going? You are doing well right? I'm really worried about you. Ragnar told me not to worry, telling me I worrying too much when we were talking about you. He said that you must be spending a happy life by registering the several Goddesses of Olympus in your saga but there's no way that's true, right? Yes? Right? Aren't my words right? My warrior Tae Ho.]
Tae Ho didn't answer. He turned his head as if evading her eyes and played dumb.
'Athena, Hestia, Echidna, Aphrodite….um, there aren't many, not that many.'
It was all to strengthen their forces.
If Cuchulainn had been here he would have exclaimed what kind of nonsense these Gods were spouting but fortunately he wasn't. Tae Ho could become more confident, no, more bold.
And fortunately, Idun's inquiry didn't last long. She changed subjects completely and started to speak about the small details in the residence. It wasn't that important but he felt warm just by listening to it.
[Whew, I have a lot of things I want to say but I should end it here.]
Idun took a deep breath after speaking for almost five minutes straight and fixed her posture. She looked at Tae Ho with the holiness of a Goddess like when they first met.
[My warrior Tae Ho, let my blessing accompany you.]
Idun spoke gracefully and kissed the air. However, she quickly became embarrassed at her own actions once again.
After this Idun took off the veil that was covering her eyes. Then, Idun's golden hair transformed into red and here eyes that were hidden behind the veil became a clear red color.
[Uh….hello once again?]
Heda cleared her throat and then spoke brightly. Her bright red ears could be seen after removing the veil.
[A moment. Just a moment.]
Heda turned around and took a breath. Tae Ho naturally grew a smile looking at her shy back.
[Whew, good. I'm okay now. Yes yes, perfect.]
When Heda turned around an aura of life overflowed from her. If Idun was the Goddess of life, then Helda was the Goddess of youth.
[Idun has already told you a lot so I don't know what to say. She's bad. Originally, we were meant to speak what we decided on.]
She grumbled and looked in Tae Ho's direction as if she was aware of his presence and asked with an ill-natured face.
[So, how was it for real? Did your saga get strengthened a lot?]
There were many sagas Tae Ho had but there was only one saga those judging eyes were asking.
Tae Ho evaded her eyes and played dumb once again. However, Heda's eyes sharpened as if she had seen through him.
[So that was the case. You me many Goddesses of Olympus. That was the case. That's why you completely forgot about Asgard.]
It was the 'so that was the case' attack. He was happy because he hadn't heard it in a really long while but he still felt like he was being poked in the heart.
[I heard that Olympus was in an internal war now so you meet Goddesses on our side and tell them that you would rescue Olympus? You wouldn't have gone and met enemy Goddesses right?]
Heda spoke while laughing and Tae Ho looked up at the sky. He decided that he felt like Heda's voice had become colder.
[So that was the case. You received meetings from enemy Goddesses and from races of Gods besides the Goddesses of Olympus. You really became the demon of men. That was the case.]
Heda was right like usual. Tae Ho felt goosebumps at this fact.
[Well, can that really be true? It's a joke. Yes yes, a joke. There's no way that can happen.]
Heda smiled brightly and Tae Ho experienced the miraculous thought of not wanting to reunite with Heda for the first time.
[Haa, I don't know what I'm doing alone. I want to go see you immediately.]
Heda dropped her shoulders as if strength left her body and sat in place. She looked upwards and then knocked the air with her fingers. And then the video that was reflecting Heda's body caught just her face.
It felt like Heda was really in front of him. She spoke with a teary voice.
[I want to see you. Really. I really want to meet with you.]
It was the same for Tae Ho. He stroke the Heda's cheeks that he couldn't actually touch.
[Let my blessing accompany you.]
Heda spoke and Tae Ho said the same. Heda forced a bright smile and stopped the video.
The next morning.
Siri returned Gae Bolg to Tae Ho and Cuchulainn clicked his tongue.
'Did you stay up all night?'
'Tch tch tch, what a poor youth.'
Cuchulainn let out a sigh and Tae Ho smiled bitterly with an exhausted face.
'But it was good to hear her voice after a long while, right?'
'Of course.'
'I also want to feel good. It sounds weird but you know where I'm going right?'
'You'll feel good soon. Scathach master said that she would come.'
'Right, I'm really looking forward to it.'
Cuchulainn didn't show it now, but he had turned half crazy when he thought that Scathach had died. His feelings towards Scathach didn't fall behind that of Tae Ho's on fort Heda.
'More than that, you said that you obtained a title?'
'Are you talking about 'The one that killed a God?'
'Right, that one. The title is really bloody.'
'This title gives me several advantages when I fight against Gods. The quests and the power of Olympus really look like a game.'
'I don't know what you are talking about but it's enough if it's understandable for you.'
Each world had infinite unique powers.
Just like Tae Ho described, the quests and titles of Olympus could be compared to the ones in the games.
It was a direct method of accomplishing a quest and obtaining a reward.
Erin had an extreme method of putting a restriction and obtaining strength just like the power of geass and the sentences, but there was also the method of strengthening your sentence by investing time.
'The most special ability should be the saga of Asgard. The range of application is wide and an absurd saga like yours can be made but…..the requirements are much more strict than you think. If you look at the training of the warriors, the efficiency much worse compared to Olympus or Erin.'
If you wanted to use your saga properly, you needed an anecdote that could support it.
Because of this, it extremely difficult to create a warrior with a strong saga.
But of course, you could also use the anecdote inside a legendary weapon and not your own anecdote, but in the first place those legendary weapons were hard to acquire.
Really, Tae Ho was a really special being even in Asgard.
First off, the number of anecdotes he possessed was staggering. Even Sigurd, the strongest warrior of Valhalla, felt small in front of Tae Ho.
Because of this, Tae Ho could mass produce strong sagas. In addition he even had an overwhelming amount of accomplishments of the dragon knight Kalsted, and many legendary weapons on top of that.
'You really are a cheat, a cheat. Ragnar looked at you well.'
He was speaking like a joke but there was some truth.
Tae Ho already reached the realm of being a cheat with just the strength of Asgard. Adding the strength of Erin and Olympus on top, he was beyond imagination.
Actually, Tae Ho defeating many strong beings of Olympus one by one just like Poseidon, was already proof of Tae Ho being a cheat.
Tae Ho was certainly the master of Asgard but had only been so for a short time. .
If you used a person as an example, he had just been able to walk.
No matter how strong a lion is, a lion cub isn't able to overwhelm a hyena.
But Tae Ho had accomplished something similar. No, he hadn't defeated a mere hyena but a full grown lion.
Ragnar's judgement was correct and his imagination would go astray.
The limit he had forecasted.
It was obvious Tae Ho would vastly surpass it.
'At first, I thought that Ragnar would be wrong in other meanings.'
Cuchulainn laughed in a good mood while Tae Ho frowned slightly.
'Why are you laughing suddenly? Did you think of something weird?'
'Did I?'
Cuchulainn clicked his tongue and waited for Scathach to visit them.
And a few hours later.
"Lee Tae Ho! Hey! Lee Tae Ho!"
Tae Ho flinched as he heard the shout of Scathach. It was because he hadn't heard her this angry even in the residence of Idun.
Just why?
Did he do something to enrage her?
Tae Ho looked back at what he had done but he didn't have enough time. The door of the room had opened with a bang.
"So you were here."
Scahtach smiled gorgeously and said. But her eyes were freezing cold so Tae Ho stepped back unconsciously.
"Ma, master?"
"You sold me out in a really nice way. Do you know how troubled I was? Huh?"
Scathach thought of Nidhogg's bright expression and dripped cold sweat.
She felt displeased because she felt like she was dirtying something pure if she told Nidhogg the truth, but she was also scared if she said something absurd and Nidhogg believed in that. It was also a scratch in her pride as a great master.
Tae Ho finally realized the reason Scathach was this angry and then extended his hands and made an excuse.
"Th, that is because I trust in your aspect as a teacher……"
"Your eloquence for words has improved while I haven't seen you."
Scathach cracked her knuckles and made a fist. The teachings of Scathach were really extreme, just like the tower of shadows had proved.
Tae Ho became cornered in an instant and with no escape so he gritted his teeth and spoke with a blunt tone.
"Master, i'm not originally like this but I'm still the master of Asgard andthe king of Erin…"
"So?"
"Well, so……"
He was wrong. His claim of authority didn't work on her.
Scathach snorted in reply, crossed her arms and opened her mouth with a harsh expression.
"Listen well Tae Ho. Even if you are the master of Asgard, the king of Erin or become the master of the nine realms there is one thing that will never change."
What is that?
Tae Ho thought and Scathach gave him an answer, as expected of a great master.
"I am your master and you are my disciple."
'Kya, master is the most bewitching when she says that.'
Cuchulainn admired and thought of his past. The situation and the atmosphere was clearly different to the situation Tae Ho was in but he didn't care such trivialities.
Ahero shouldn't care about such small things.
About an hour later.
Tae Ho, who felt like even his soul was beaten, gathered everyone he felt necessary to a meeting.
Thor, Bracky, Siri, Adenmaha, Nidhogg, Echidna, Athena, and Scathach.
Scathach joined as a new member of the group of nine. Also, the crow Hugin joined, who traveled far to reach Mesena.
[Let's begin speaking then.]
Odin spoke through Hugin's beak and everyone focused on him.
< Episode 61 - Great Hero (2) > End
TL note: Thanks for reading~
Episode 61/Chapter 3: Great Hero (3)
TL: Tsubak
ED:
[We currently have two methods right now.]
[The first is to conquer all the polises to weaken the sacred force of the enemy and strengthen ourselves and the other one is to attack the mount of Olympus and obtain victory in one attack.]
Odin went straight to the point as soon as he started to speak.
Going straight to the point instead of hitting around the bush was a characteristic of a God of Asgard.
[It's not an exaggeration to say that Zeus' sacred force is the entire mount of Olympus, but even so it can only get weaker if most of the land of Olympus become the sacred force of another God. In the other hand, our force will get strengthened so you can say that this is the safe method. But the drawback is that it takes too much time.]
Olympus was wide. The group had already taken over Apollo's and Artemis' sacred force but that territory wasn't even a tenth of all of Olympus.
In addition, they needed quite a lot of time to change the color of a liberated sacred force into theirs. Because of that, if they chose that option they had to get determined to do it for more than a year.
[The Protogenoi exists. If the battle gets prolonged more than this we can't know how they may interfere in the battle. Zeus will also change completely.]
Odin had acquired a lot of information in only a day since securing the connecting path. He was certain that Zeus still hadn't turned over.
[The other option doesn't take that long as victory will be decided in only one battle. It means that we will seek victory before Zeus and the Protogenoi turn sides completely. But it means that we will be striking the base of the enemy. The difficulty level and the danger won't be easy at all.]
Odin spoke up to that point and looked at Tae Ho through the eyes of Hugin. Actually, he had already transmitted all of this through Scathach.
It was a kind of general debate but it was also to give time for Tae Ho to decide.
Tae Ho received Odin's gaze and then turned to look at Athena after fixing his posture.
"Athena, what method do you want to choose?"
"I wonder what the master of Asgard thinks."
Athena spoke with a calm tone but Tae Ho could see through her with the 'eyes of the dragon'. There was a bit of anxiousness and nervousness in Athena's voice and eyes.
Tae Ho had asked to respect Athena's will but Tae Ho and even Athena knew well.
That the one that had the right to decide wasn't Athena but himself. If Athena's will split with Tae Ho's, then Asgard would act as Tae Ho wished no matter what she said.
Athena wanted to hear Tae Ho's thoughts first.
Tae Ho closed his eyes once and spoke without hesitation.
"Asgard will choose the latter option."
He had already decided this when he first heard things from Scathach. And this was also good for Olympus.
It was almost impossible for Asgard to conquer Olympus completely just like Cuchulainn remarked.
And after all of this ended and when Asgard fell back, Olympus would have to protect their own world by themselves.
Olympus had already lost strong Gods just like Poseidon and Ares. If Olympus got more devastated than now, Olympus could fall over completely in the battle against the ones that wanted to destroy the world.
Olympus wasn't an enemy for Asgard but an ally, and it was one of the shields to block the ones that wanted to destroy the world.
"I understand. Olympus will also cooperate with the latter option."
Athena drew a faint smile and answered. It was because she understood how Tae Ho thought of Olympus aside of the difficulty of the task.
And the latter option was also better for Athena.
The former option was to decrease the sacred force of the enemy and increase thris but Odin didn't speak about whose sacred force will get increased.
Athena trusted Tae Ho but she couldn't do the same for Odin. Because of that she welcomed the latter option.
[The story is fast.]
Odin laughed bitterly through Hugin's beak as Tae Ho and Athena came to an instant conclusion and then spoke while looking at Tae Ho.
[Asgard will follow the will of my successor and the new master of Asgard, Tae Ho.]
[Let's move the final battle to the mount of Olympus.]
There was light heartedness showing in Odin's voice. That was because the latter option was the way of Valhalla.
But it was at that moment. Thor, that was listening this time instead of speaking like how he did in all the other conferences, raised his hand and spoke.
"Father, i'm curious about something."
[Speak.]
"Does Asgard also have existences like the Protogenoi?"
Tae Ho and all the others held their breaths at Thor's question. If there really were existences like the Protogenoi in Asgard, they couldn't know when the same situation would occur over there.
But Odin laughed bitterly once again through Hugin's beak and spoke as if telling him not to worry.
[If you are talking about the generation of Gods previous to us, they did exist. But their character and scale is different to the Protogenoi. All of them were beings that wanted to maintain the world…and the decisive fact is that none of them are alive right now.]
"Are you saying that all the primeval Gods perished?"
[That's right. All of them died. And……i'm not trying to boast but I have lived longer than Zeus. There is only one genealogy above me compared to Zeus, that has to climb up a few times.]
Odin didn't speak more than that.
Tae Ho felt a sense of incongruity at Odin affirming that all of them had died but he didn't ask. It was because he didn't feel like Odin was lying.
[Let's return to the subject.]
[The army of Asgard, that has currently taken over the connecting path, will move to the sacred forces of Apollo and Artemis that has already been conquered by Tae Ho. It seems like they will take five days to move as it's a huge army.]
"If we are planning to attack the mount of Olympus immediately…….are we going to gather in Delphos?"
Hugin nodded at Athena's question.
[That's the plan for now.]
The place that was closest to the mount of Olympus inside of Tae Ho's sphere of influence was Delphos.
It was actually devastated because two battles took place there but there were still some polises between Delphos and the mount of Olympus so it didn't have that much meaning. It was merely a passing point.
[The Gods of Olympus that remain in the enemy camp will try to hinder us but they will only be able to gather in the mount of Olympus if we march straight to the mount. We will hold the initiative as attackers and not defenders.]
The debate had started ten minutes ago but they had already reached to a conclusion. Because of that, Athena asked about various matters instead of the things that had been decided.
"Odin, can you tell me the names of the Gods of Asgard that have come over to Olympus?"
[Me, Thor that is over there, Freya, Tir and Ullr. These five.]
"Father, will Freya also accompany us?"
Hugin clicked its tongue as Thor asked with round eyes.
[She was acting stubbornly saying that she would fight together in this battle. She also wanted to fight with Aphrodite.]
It seemed like she bothered her because the both of them were Gods of beauty.
Cuchulainn laughed and admired.
'Indeed, Freynim is also a Goddess of Asgard.'
'What does that mean?'
'It's a good meaning. Anyways, you also became a God of Asgard completely. Looking that you get angry about matters regarding Asgard.'
'Men are blind in their own causes.'
While Tae Ho and Cuchulainn were joking among themselves, Hugin turned to look at Athena.
[Is it fine if I thought that your forces consist of Echidna, Hephaestus and yourself? The injuries Hermes and Hestia suffered were serious.]
"It is for now."
The force was poor compared to Asgard but she couldn't get dispirited because of it. This land was Olympus and currently, the God representing it was herself.
Odin laughed as there was a solid resolution in Athena's face.
And this time Tae Ho opened his mouth.
"Odin, while the army of Asgard is marching I will go to rescue Demeter."
[Those are right words looking at the efficiency but…..are you planning to move yourself?]
Tae Ho was the master of Asgard. In addition, the force of Asgard also joined him so there was no need to move directly.
He could move Siri or Bracky or could also send Thor.
But Tae Ho spoke with a clear tone.
"Yes, I want to go rescue her myself."
'You devil of meetings. No- evil God of meetings. you are saying that you want to clearly have the meeting rights by making her indebted to you.'
Cuchulainn clicked his tongue as if he could see Tae Ho's black heart and Odin nodded. Just like he said before, it was better for Tae Ho to go rescue Demeter just looking at the efficiency.
[I understand. I have the commanding right over the army but the final decision lies on you so I will follow you.]
[Sleipnir will accompany you.]
He had already retrieved Talaria from Poseidon but there was no reason to decline something that was given to him. Tae Ho nodded once again.
[Tae Ho master, did it end now?]
Nidhogg, that was putting a hard expression during all the conference, asked with a sloppy mystical magic. She did participate in the conference without thinking much of it as she just followed Adenmaha but it seemed like it bothered her that she was just absent minded during it.
When Tae Ho smiled bitterly and grabbed her hand.
Thor checked Echidna, that was sitting with a hardened expression due to her exhaustion, and then asked Athena quickly.
"Athena, there's something I want to ask lastly."
"I will listen to you."
"There's someone that has been bothering me the most while I got to march over to Olympus. Do you know about his whereabouts?"
He didn't say his name but it was clear who he was referring to.
Athena dropped her shoulders slightly and answered.
"I don't know precisely but….I can only think of one reason looking that the Gigantes aren't attacking Olympus right now."
The reason the Titans couldn't join actively was because Hades had sealed the underworld and was stopping them.
The reason the Gigantes weren't able to come out would be of a similar reason.
The one protecting Olympus from the Gigantes. The one that would save Olympus from the Gigantomachy.
The strongest battle God of Olympus.
Thor closed his eyes. He felt regret and relief at the same time and showed a smile to Athena.
"Is that so? I understand. I will pray for Olympus so that we don't fight him in the future."
"Thank you."
Athena relaxed a bit at Thor's sincere words. It was because she sensed that Thor was more similar to Tae Ho than Odin.
[It seems like the general story has ended.]
[Asgard will march to Delphos. Let's meet over there in five days.]
Odin concluded the conference. He looked at Tae Ho through Hugin's eyes and the meaning his eyes had was clear.
Tae Ho hit his chest and said.
"For Asgard and the nine realms."
"For Asgard and the nine realms."
[For Asgard and the nine realms.]
Everyone excluding Echidna did the same, as the was looking at her surroundings asking what they were doing, and Hugin flew away through the window after hitting its chest with its wing.
The conference ended. Odin should be ordering the army of Asgard to march right now.
That's why they shouldn't stay still either.
"Let's depart right now."
They would rescue Demeter and contact with the primeval God of earth, Gaia.
The battle would start in five days.
They didn't have much time.
&
Aphrodite and Dionysus were gathered in one place.
This was the first time they met since they turned sides.
"It didn't turn well."
"Right."
Aphrodite answered Dionysus. Their looks could only be dark after having sensed the invasion of Asgard, the death of Poseidon and the destruction of the connecting path.
It was the worst of the worst.
The reason Poseidon had rushed off alone instead of joining with Aphrodite was to avoid a situation like this.
Destroying the advance party of Asgard with Athena before the reinforcements of Asgard destroyed the connecting path was the best option they had.
But Poseidon had failed.
The master of Asgard was between the advance party of Asgard and he defeated Poseidon.
"What will they do now?"
"There's a high probability they march to the mount of Olympus."
"Can't you seduce Thor?"
"It may be possible if i'm alone with him. But that bitch Freya won't stay still."
Aphrodite frowned. You could resist a seduction with another seduction just like Tae Ho proved with Adenmaha.
Aphrodite didn't think that she fell behind Freya but she still couldn't see Freya as being easy to deal with.
"What about the master of Asgard?"
"I don't know. I think something's wrong with his eyes that the seduction doesn't work on him at all. I'm sure his preferences are weird or he's an eunuch."
Dionysus smiled bitterly as Aphrodite got mad. Aphrodite's charm was so overwhelming that she still looked lovely when she was being that angry. If she went out to seduce with resolution, sexes and preferences didn't matter. Her power allowed to seduce even asexual people.
But it still didn't work.
In addition, her seduction executed in the core of her sacred force had failed so she thought that it was impossible to actually seduce Tae Ho.
"In the end, we can only place our expectations on them."
"I could have never imagined that this day would come."
Dionysus and Aphrodite looked at each other and smiled bitterly and then turned to look at another place. There was still some distance with it but they could see it clearly. The endless shaking of the ground was proving their existence.
Gigantes.
The giants of destruction.
And the one standing at their front.
The strongest warrior of Olympus that had stopped them until now but was now leading them.
He was wearing the fur of a huge lion and was holding a huge club which he used to kill countless monsters and giants.
"Heracles."
The glory of Hera, the son of Zeus.
He wasn't alone. The heroes of the Argo were at his side.
Heracles looked at a distant place. He looked beyond Dionysius and Aphrodite and at the west of the mount of Olympus.
"Asgard."
The enemy of Olympus.
The Gigantes marched. They advanced towards the mount of Olympus that would become the land of the decisive battle.
< Episode 61 - Great Hero (3) > End
TL note: Thanks for reading~