While things have been quiet and peaceful on earth, it seemed like the chaos had found its way to Mount Olympus. It was all thanks to Arnold and his relentless slaughter of Hercules. No one had ever humiliated Zeus as that mortal did. As if defeating Hercules wasn't enough, Arnold just had to set up a statue to mock them. The statue especially hurt Zeus as Hercules had always been his favourite.

The statue of a demigod being trampled on by thousands of mortals... If that wasn't a clear show of disrespect then Zeus didn't know what else was. His anger had almost gotten the better of him and he almost prepared himself to kill Arnold and his entire planet for what they did to Hercules.

Thankfully he was stopped by Hermes, who was just as agitated as his father. But unlike his father, he had not lost his sense of judgement. Zeus could surely kill Arnold and the rest of those mortals but what would happen after that? 

The immortal one wouldn't stay silent. Nor would the rest of the gods, especially those Norse and without Hercules and the Olympian army fighting against any god would be a suicide attempt for them. One they would never recover from, not even after resurrecting.

Moreover, none of the gods were allowed to harm any paladin or vassal except their own. If they did, well, then the thing that happened to Hercules would happen to them, only this time it would be the gods stomping on their own kind. And Hermes did not think it wouldn't be as fun as living in humiliation.

"Father, you have to quell your rage. Taking hasty decisions now would only lead to our demise and nothing else." Hermes tried his best to quell his father's rage, "Think of it like this. Killing that mongrel right now would be too easy. Rather than killing him in an instant, without any suffering would be like a reward to him. Instead, we should work to make his life as miserable as possible by letting him live and watch as everyone around him succumbs to your rage. But till then, you have to hold on to your anger."

"Shut up, you hummingbird!" Even though Hermes was moving faster than light, it did take any effort for Zeus to grapple his neck, "You are as useless as a swine's excreta! My son was defeated... slaughtered by those lowly humans and what were you doing? Why didn't you went to collect his corpse? I could have had my son back! But you... all of you had always been jealous of him. Maybe you were even laughing when he fell. Maybe some of you betrayed him and helped that mortal instead. Yes... you're the ones who betrayed me."

"Father... you're... choking me..." Hermes barely managed to get those words out as Zeus' grip tightened around his son's neck. Just as his vision had started going black Hermes heard someone yell at the all father.

"Enough of it, Zeus!" Hera yelled at her unfaithful husband, "Just because you lost one incompetent son, doesn't mean you can kill another!" 

Zeus kicked Hermes away before staring at Hera. He was not in a festive mood at all, and now his wife was there to ruin whatever mood he had left. At times he wondered what it would be like if only he could kill her, just like she had killed many of his lovers. All he could think of was how much he wanted to kill this woman, who once was the joy to his eyes. But now she was just a thorn stuck to his leg.

But it was better if that thought never came true as he didn't have the throne of Olympus because he was the strongest. He only was their king because he was married to the queen. If he hadn't married Hera, he would just be just a lousy god, nothing more.

Zeus knew it very well that if there was to be a war between him and Hera, most of the pantheon would side with Hera with no hesitation. Even his own children would side with her well because unlike him, she was actually respected by them. Hercules and the Olympian army in a way maintained the balance of power between the husband and wife and now that Zeus had lost both of the things, he was at a severe disadvantage against his wife.

He was afraid Hera was planning a coup against him. However, it was just one of his many paranoid thoughts. If Hera wanted to take the throne for herself, she wouldn't even have to stage a coup. She could simply throw him out of Olympus. But she didn't, because the moment Zeus was out of the pantheon, the other gods might launch an attack on them which would inevitably end up either in their death or worse, defeat. Just like Zeus was in a vulnerable state, the pantheon was as well.

"It would be better if you do not lecture me about family Hera." Zeus spat out in disgust, "Hercules always treated you with the utmost respect and yet you couldn't help yourself but mock him even after his death."

"Your son wasn't even able to kill one mortal even with your army and you're sulking that I am mocking him? Well, boohoo, so is everyone else!" Hera finally lost her temper, "I'll tell you once and I'll tell you a million times. Your son was an overconfident and incompetent basta*d! And your sulking wouldn't change that fact!"

Zeus opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he simply averted his eyes away. He knew everyone single god within and outside Olympus was busy mocking him. 

"Just tell me one thing Hera, Why did you forbid Hermes from recovering Hercules' corpse?" Zeus asked her, even though he already knew her answer.

"It was your decision to send in Hercules... Not mine. If I was to allow Hermes to go as well, the Immortal one might have seen it as an act of war. You have already been defeated by him even though you were at the pinnacle of your strength. Did you want to repeat it again without the Olympians or Hercules?"

***

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