Chapter 13: If I Could Use Magic, Would I Still Be in This Pathetic State?

[3rd POV]

"What? You want to learn magic too?"

The gods of Olympus were utterly shocked upon hearing Ares' words.

In their minds, Ares, the God of War, was the last person to be interested in magic, something that needed wisdom to use.

He had always been known for brute force and recklessness. This was as surprising as if Arnold Schwarzenegger suddenly announced he wanted to become a magical girl.

"What's the matter? What's the problem?" 

Seeing the reaction of the gods, Ares widened his eyes and snapped, "As a major god, I'm not worthy of learning magic?"

"Cough, that's not the problem."

Zeus was also taken aback by Ares' words. He cleared his throat and then quietly asked Athena, "That spell of yours, did it break his brain?"

"Absolutely not." 

Athena quickly shook her head in denial, "My spell wasn't even aimed at the mental aspect at all."

"What do you mean? Do you all think I, Ares, can't learn magic?"

Ares, committed to his image, stood in the Hall of Zeus, loudly proclaiming to everyone around him, "Let me tell you, Athena only defeated me because she had an extra magic spell, and I have low magic resistance. If I could learn magic, would I still be in this pathetic state?"

Although Ares' words seemed somewhat off to everyone, they did sound somewhat reasonable.

"Ares." 

Zeus thought for a moment, then waved his hand at him.

"How about this? Magic isn't really worth learning. I think that, with your strength, learning would be a waste. Come on, I'll have your brother make you some more divine weapons. What do you want? How about a new war chariot?"

"No!"

Ares waved his hand angrily, shouting, "Zeus, I'm the son of both Hera and you! I'm the most legitimate son of Zeus in this entire hall. Why are you so biased towards Athena? You've already given her a part of our authority, and now you're not even giving us a chance to win back what we lost? This is really unfair!"

"Exactly!" 

Aries' words immediately sparked Hera's agreement, who was the most upset about this matter. 

She looked at her husband and said, "Zeus, how can you be so biased toward our son? I'm telling you, if he learns magic, he'll definitely be stronger than Athena and more like a real God of War! You're not even giving him this opportunity?"

Zeus listened helplessly to his wife scolding him, thinking about how to brush her off.

Just then, Leto, officially married to Zeus, stepped forward, looked at Zeus, and said gently, "Zeus, just give Ares a chance. He has helped us, mother and son, and has done us a favor. My sister Asteria's daughter, Hecate, is the most powerful magician. I could go speak to Hecate and ask her to let Aries try learning magic from her on behalf."

Hecate...

Upon hearing that name, Zeus showed a hesitant expression. Hecate was, aside from Athena, the one god he feared most in the world. 

However, when he looked at Ares, who resembled a red-haired gorilla, his caution began to fade.

'Based on the previous duel with Athena, Ares' potential and strength are nothing special.'

Zeus thought disdainfully in his heart:

'Even if I let him go learn, the God of War doesn't have the patience or perseverance to focus on something as boring as magic. This is perfect for him to go and annoy Hecate a little to avoid her keep doing those terrifying experiments.'

Thinking of this, Zeus immediately relaxed. He nodded to Goddess Leto and said, "Alright, Ares, I'll give you one chance."

He looked at Ares and reminded him:

"But I must say, if you want to challenge Athena and win back your divine authority, you'll only get one more opportunity. If you lose, then you'd better accept your defeat quietly and stop doing those annoying things that disturb the work of the gods."

"Yes, I understand!" 

Hearing Zeus' words, Aries was overjoyed. A proud, smug smile appeared on his face, which looked both silly and annoying to the other gods.

After getting what he wanted, Ares approached Athena and, leaning close to her, said with a grin.

"Wait for it, Athena! When I'm done, it'll be your downfall! Hahaha—"

Afterward, Ares arrogantly left the temple, just like the Ares in mythology—reckless and utterly lacking in manners.

Looking at Ares' retreating figure, Poseidon let out a disdainful sneer and said to Zeus, "Zeus, look at your son. He acts like a fool who hasn't fully evolved yet."

"My son is not for you to criticize, Poseidon."

Zeus immediately retorted sharply to his brother, "At least he's better than your sons, who don't even look humanoid!"

At this moment, the two brothers showed all the other gods just how much they hated each other.

Seeing this, the eldest brother, Hades, and the eldest sister, Hestia, exchanged a helpless glance and sighed in unison.

Artemis looked at her mother, Leto, who followed Ares out shortly after him with some concern and then asked Apollo.

"Apollo, Hecate is a person with a bad temper. Do you think Ares might upset her?"

"Who knows? But I think they might actually get along just fine." 

Apollo said with a smile, looking at Zeus and Poseidon glaring at each other, then glancing at Athena, standing calmly with a smile, and Hades and Hestia, sighing. 

He chuckled and added, "Olympus isn't exactly a peaceful place."

...

On the other side, under Leto's guidance, Ares quickly left Mount Olympus and arrived on Earth.

On Earth, there were no humans yet, only filled by various monsters born alongside the gods and strange creatures born from gods like Poseidon who had unusual tastes and mated with monsters.

The Greek Goddess of Magic, Hecate, also lived on this land.

She lived in seclusion on the shores of the Oceanus Sea, in a basin sealed off by magical barriers. On the other side of this sea was the Underworld, ruled by Hades.

It was clear that Leto frequently visited this place. After landing, she quickly led Ares past the magical barrier and into the domain of Goddess Hecate.

Once past the barrier, the true appearance of the barren basin was revealed. 

Inside the basin, it was like a fairyland with various dense groves of trees everywhere, and many small but beautiful fairies and elves lived here.

The heavy, ethereal fruits hung from the branches, and the air was thick with ether, even stronger than the outside world.

In terms of the environment, this place was even comparable to the gardens of the gods on Mount Olympus.

Then, deep inside the dense forest stood the palace of the goddess of magic, Hecate, made from magic and trees. 

At the entrance of the palace lay Cerberus, the three-headed dog, who would later become the guardian of the Underworld.

After sensing the arrival of Leto and the God of War, Ares, the vigilant hound, straightened up and raised all three of its heads, glaring in their direction with hostility. 

However, when it saw that the visitors were Leto, it showed a joyful expression, wagged its tail, and ran up to greet her, licking her affectionately.

"Good boy." 

Leto gently patted Cerberus' head and asked, "Is Hecate at home?"

Cerberus nodded and then barked twice toward the palace. Then, a lazy voice suddenly came from inside the palace.

"Cerberus, is someone here?"

As the voice faded, a small figure slowly emerged from the palace.

To be continued...