Chapter 222: The Mother and the Queen

Chapter 222: Chapter 222: The Mother and the Queen

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By the time Damon and Typhon emerged from Mount St. Helens, they had already moved far enough away from the prison to leave behind most of the heat and smoke surrounding the inside of the mountain.

Typhon had barely stepped beneath the open sky when she raised a hand in front of her face, shielding her eyes from the sunlight. After spending millennia buried beneath miles of rock, even something as ordinary as that was rather annoying.

"Malaka..." the Queen of Monsters muttered as she narrowed her eyes. "Just as annoying as I remembered."

Damon, in a much better mood now that everything had ended without things escalating any further, at least for the moment, let out a small laugh. "Officially, welcome back to the outside world, Typhon."

The wind swept across the mountain, moving Typhon’s long black hair and Damon’s red hair as the two stood beneath the Washington sky. The woman slowly lowered her hand from her face and looked around, letting her eyes travel over the trees, mountains, clouds, and finally the sun. They were such simple things that anyone else would have completely ignored them, but Typhon hadn’t seen any of them in thousands of years.

Damon simply watched her, a little surprised that the woman could actually appreciate nature without that usual arrogance she radiated, something Damon was already beginning to get used to.... I guess she does have one or two things from Gaia, the redhead thought.

Meanwhile, Typhon couldn’t get the fact that she was truly free out of her head..... Truly free. She could go wherever she wanted and no one was trying to stop her. Taking a deep breath, Typhon barely had time to enjoy the thought before a strong green light appeared a few meters away from them.

Damon turned his head in its direction; he hadn’t told anyone where he was going, while Typhon tensed almost instinctively. "Now what?"

The light began to take shape until it formed the silhouette of a woman. Long black hair fell perfectly straight down her back, nearly reaching her waist and framing a pale face with delicate features. Two golden eyes immediately stood out against her skin, accompanied by long pointed ears that made it clear that, no matter how human she looked, she definitely wasn’t.

Her body was mature and quite curvy, dressed in a long black garment fitted around the waist and decorated with small golden details. A kind of dark mantle rested around her shoulders, formed from black feathers that made her figure look even more elegant. Several pieces of gold adorned her neck and arms, though none of them were excessive.

There was something different about her compared to Typhon.

While Typhon looked like she could solve any problem by crushing it with her own hands and still remain standing tall afterward, the woman in front of them gave the impression that she would rather sit back and have someone else do the work for her.

The Queen of Monsters’ red eyes widened more than usual as all of her attention focused on the newcomer. "...Echidna."

The golden-eyed woman didn’t respond to the call, but the soft look she gave Typhon made it clear that she had more than a few thoughts running through her head as well. Her eyes slowly traveled up and down the enormous woman, needing to confirm that it was really her and not some kind of trick after all these years. "Typhon, sister..."

Damon glanced between the two. He hadn’t expected Echidna to literally show up the moment they came out, but well, it saved him the trouble of having to go look for her himself.

Damon decided to stay quiet; it didn’t take Athena to understand that it was probably better not to interrupt.

And without needing to say anything else, in a rare display of affection from both entities, Echidna and Typhon proceeded to embrace each other.

Damon simply stood there watching them, internally wondering what kind of relationship those two really had. The stories said they had been lovers, but right now they looked more like two sisters who loved each other deeply. Although Typhon and Echidna clearly weren’t actually sisters, they did share a certain resemblance in appearance, but the simple difference in presence between them made it impossible to confuse the two.

Echidna didn’t even reach Typhon’s ankles in terms of power, and even that was being far too generous. There simply was no comparison between them. She wasn’t really a threat in divine terms either; otherwise, Damon was fairly certain his siblings wouldn’t have left her free for so many millennia instead of imprisoning her like Typhon.

Echidna’s fame came much more from her connection to Typhon and all the descendants she had produced alongside her. Although now that Damon had discovered Typhon was a woman, he was genuinely curious about the history between those two.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, the two women separated from their embrace. Typhon didn’t take long to make her own observations about her lifelong sister in everything but blood.

"Wow, you look different. What the hell are you wearing? Is this what Greeks wear now?" Typhon mocked with disdain. She had never really been much of a fan of clothing and all that stuff, although in the past Echidna had managed to influence her a little over time.

Echidna curled her lips into a knowing smile as she smoothed out her black dress with her hands. "It’s been more than four thousand years since you were imprisoned. Let’s just say humans have managed to be useful for at least one thing. Those sacks of meat have earned a little affection from me because of it," the Mother of Monsters scoffed.

Typhon let out a snort as she looked over Echidna’s dress once again. "Affection? Don’t exaggerate. They’re still humans." An arrogant smirk appeared on her lips. "Although I suppose if after four thousand years they finally learned to cover themselves with something that doesn’t look like a piece of cloth ripped off a sheep, maybe they aren’t completely useless."

Echidna let out a small laugh through her nose. "You’re just as pleasant as ever."

"And you still have strange tastes." Typhon adjusted the simple black chiton she was wearing, clearly less impressed with her own clothes than with those of her former companion. "Although I’ll admit it doesn’t look bad."

That seemed to be enough of a victory for Echidna, who raised her chin slightly with a satisfied expression. Typhon rolled her eyes at her reaction, and Damon decided he had already let the reunion continue long enough on its own.

"Well, it’s certainly nice and all that you two have reunited." Damon got both of their attention without needing to raise his voice much. "You’ll have all the time in the world to catch up, talk about clothes, and remember how much you hated humans four thousand years ago, but I think it’s time we get moving. Typhon, I’m going to officially introduce you to Olympus."

The Queen of Monsters turned toward him while Damon was already beginning to organize his next moves in his head. He had no intention of keeping Typhon’s return hidden. In fact, doing that would waste a large part of the benefit of freeing her in the first place. The sooner the rest of the supernatural world learned that an existence on Typhon’s level was walking freely again and doing so under the same banner as Olympus, the better it would be for Greece’s position.

Echidna, on the other hand, suddenly seemed to remember that they weren’t alone.

The relaxed expression she had maintained throughout her conversation with Typhon disappeared as she straightened her back. Her golden eyes focused on Damon with much more attention. She had been so focused on confirming that Typhon was truly standing in front of her that she had barely taken the time to process who the man that had walked out of the mountain beside the Queen of Monsters actually was.

And unlike Typhon, Echidna knew exactly who he was. "Lord Damon, you..." Echidna stopped, not knowing exactly how to continue.

Her eyes shifted toward Typhon in obvious confusion. There were plenty of questions in that expression, starting with what the hell the current King of the Gods was doing accompanying her and ending with how Typhon had escaped a prison that no monster had managed to break in more than four thousand years.

Typhon understood what she wanted to know fairly quickly and answered with a small nod. "It’s fine," the red-eyed woman said, trying to reassure her companion, only for Echidna to become even more surprised by how calm Typhon was.

Damon let out a sigh. "Yeah, hello, Echidna. Nice to see you too." The god’s relaxed tone contrasted sharply with the Mother of Monsters’ caution. "And if you’re wondering why I freed Typhon, the answer is pretty simple. It benefits the pantheon."

Damon gave both women a moment to process his words before continuing. "I have a lot of ideas about what comes next, and several of those plans involve the two of you. You’re the most important figures among the Greek monsters, and I intend to make some major changes to how the monsters operate, so the two of you are the easiest way to accomplish that."

Typhon crossed her arms, interested in hearing where he intended to take this. Echidna maintained a much more cautious attitude. "So I expect to have the cooperation of both of you." Damon looked at them expectantly. "I’m right, aren’t I?"

The question sounded harmless enough, but neither woman was naive enough to interpret his words as an innocent request. Damon wasn’t asking them to swear loyalty or demanding that they kneel before him, but he was making one thing clear from the beginning: if they were going to be part of what he was building, he had no patience for games, internal wars, or unnecessary problems.

Typhon let out a dry laugh. "You don’t have to repeat yourself, Olympian. I already told you I would cooperate." Of course, even when she agreed, she had to do it in a way that sounded as little as possible like she was obeying an order.

Damon couldn’t help but feel a little amused. He was already beginning to understand how this woman worked.

Echidna was far less complicated. "I have no intention of causing trouble, Lord Damon." And she meant it..... Typhon could afford to speak to the King of the Gods that way because Typhon was Typhon. Her pride barely allowed her to show respect toward anyone even when she acknowledged their strength. Echidna knew that side of her companion quite well.

She, on the other hand, had no reason to play the same game. She had remained free for millennia because she knew when to fight, when to stay out of the way, and when a situation wasn’t worth the risk. More importantly, she knew quite a bit about Damon, especially about the changes the redhead had made within Olympus and more than a few rumors about the things the new king was capable of doing.

The difference was fairly simple for Echidna: Typhon could challenge someone like Damon out of pride and trust that she would survive if the situation got out of hand. She didn’t have that luxury. And she certainly had no desire to test her luck against someone on the level of the King of the Gods.

"Good." Damon seemed satisfied with both answers. "Then we have that out of the way."

Typhon raised an eyebrow. "And now?"

"Now I introduce you to the family." The bitter expression that appeared on Typhon’s face made it quite obvious how little enthusiasm she had for that idea.

Damon let out a small laugh before extending his power around all three entities. "Trust me, they’re probably going to be a lot less happy to see you than you are to see them."

"That makes me feel much better," Typhon said with a sideways smile.

Echidna shook her head at her companion’s response. A flash enveloped all three of them and, without any further ceremony, they disappeared from the mountains of Washington on their way to Olympus.

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Olympus

The flash disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the three entities standing in one of Olympus’s great plazas. Echidna recognized the place without difficulty, although several things had changed since the last time she had set foot on Olympus. Typhon, on the other hand, remained silent as her red eyes traveled over the buildings, temples, and roads stretching out before her.

"So it’s still standing...," she muttered with obvious displeasure.

Damon slipped his hands into his pockets. "Heh, I’d say it’s doing a lot more than standing. Things are going great, hahaha."

"Hmmm...," Typhon murmured, clearly not sharing the redhead’s enthusiasm. Echidna remained close to her companion while some of the lesser deities, spirits, and inhabitants of Olympus began to notice their arrival.

Echidna was recognized almost instantly. The Mother of Monsters had been living freely for far too long for her appearance to be unknown among the Greeks. The enormous woman walking beside her, however, was a completely different story. No one seemed to know who Typhon was.

That didn’t stop the conversations around the plaza from beginning to die down. Even without knowing her identity, it was impossible to ignore the absurd amount of power radiating from the woman who stood over eight feet tall. Some deities simply watched her cautiously, while others made it fairly obvious from their expressions that they were much more interested in her appearance. Damon almost laughed at that; if they knew who the woman really was, they would probably be shitting their pants.

Typhon noticed every one of those reactions with amusement. An arrogant smile appeared on her lips. "At least some things never change."

Damon shook his head before starting toward the palace. "Enjoy it while you can. In a few minutes, I’ll probably have half the family yelling at me for freeing you."

Echidna raised an eyebrow. "And that doesn’t concern you?"

"Not at all," Damon replied.

Typhon let out a small laugh and began following him. "Maybe this will be more entertaining than I expected."

Damon didn’t answer. With every step they took toward the palace, more eyes began to follow them. It wouldn’t be long before all of Olympus knew that the Queen of Monsters had returned.

XXXXXXXXXX Picture hopefully lol >