The Greece Antagonist

"Buddy, thank you..."

Having narrowly escaped death, Sisyphus leaned against the stone wall, patting his chest fearfully and sincerely thanked his temporary teammate.

Although this guy was full of sly tricks and always seemed to want to sell him out.

But at critical moments, he unexpectedly came through, saving Sisyphus from peril time and time again.

Not sure whether to consider it a grudge or a favor.

At this moment, Luo En was too preoccupied to concern himself with Sisyphus' complicated feelings and stared into the distance at the figure standing in the center of the lava cave, a trace of surprise flitting across his eyes.

Medusa?

No, that's not right!

Quickly, after a closer inspection, Luo En decisively shook his head, dismissing the thought.

The half-woman half-snake spectral figure in the cave did not completely match Medusa's facial and body features, with at most a thirty percent resemblance.

Specifically, her scales had a higher coverage, her ears were sharp, and she had spotted skin, retaining more snake-like characteristics; rather than a deity, she seemed more like an incomplete divine monster, leaning more toward a cold temperament.

More importantly, she was not a living being, but a wandering specter.

Luo En lifted his gaze to the half-human half-snake skeleton in the corner of the cave and, piecing together the legend of Arima Cave, had a rough guess at the identity of this soul before him.

"Cerberus, you silly child, I told you not to come back again, He will kill you!"

Accompanied by a soft sigh, the half-woman half-snake specter showed a hint of helpless chagrin in her eyes.

The three-headed hound of Hell whimpered, drooping its head like a child who had done wrong, looking utterly disheartened.

"Don't blame Cerberus, it's just worried about your safety, a child's attachment to their mother should not be so harshly criticized."

Luo En stroked the central head of the three-headed hound of Hell, smiling as he stepped forward to persuade her.

"Yes, it's a good child, I never doubted that."

The half-woman half-snake specter nodded and then sized up the strange visitor in front of her intently, with a flicker of wariness in her eyes.

"As for you, why do you carry the essence of my three daughters?!"

"About that..."

Luo En did not directly answer, instead casting his gaze to a certain spot behind him.

In an instant, Sisyphus, who was cowering in the corner, started with a jolt, hurriedly pleading with a woebegone expression.

"Buddy, I know the rules; you don't hold back when you strike, can I just do it myself this time?"

As he spoke, he quickly picked up a stone from the ground and whacked the unsuspecting Adonis beside him unconscious, then confidently gestured towards his own head, fervently promising.

"Don't worry, we guarantee we haven't heard anything, not a..."

"Thump!"

But before he could finish his sentence, Sisyphus grunted and fell down rigidly.

Thetis withdrew her arm, which had been crossed behind him, and then skillfully cast seventeen or eighteen spells for suppression, unconsciousness, and binding, speaking indifferently.

"I was afraid he was faking unconsciousness."

"Well done!"

Luo En gave a thumbs-up in approval, and casually pointed to Adonis lying beside them.

"Don't forget to top him up too."

In response to Luo En's suggestion, Thetis readily complied, dealing the unconscious Adonis with the same array of spells.

Having confirmed that the potential danger was now neutralized, Luo En finally turned his head, revealing a warm and amiable smile to the spectral half-woman half-snake in the lava cave.

"Don't worry, Medusa and her two sisters are doing well, and they have ascended to deities."

As he spoke, Luo En handed the half-woman half-snake specter the bronze emblem imbued with the divinity of the Gorgon as proof.

After sensing it carefully, the half-woman half-snake specter finally breathed a sigh of relief, her hostility towards Luo En and his companions gradually fading, followed by a wistful sigh.

"Of all the children, their temperaments were the most stubborn; they must have caused you quite a bit of trouble, didn't they?"

When speaking of the Gorgon Sisters, the spectral cheeks bearing scales showed no hint of coldness; instead, they were touched with a tender maternal warmth.

Luo En gently shook his head, his face breaking into a gentle and friendly smile.

"Not at all, Lady Echidna, they were quite helpful to me."

Echidna, the Mother of Serpents, was one of the famous nymphs mentioned by Hesiod in the Divine Chronicle:

"Wild Goddess Echidna, her upper body that of a beautiful nymph with fair cheeks and slanting eyes, her lower body a great serpent; enormous and dreadful, with spotted skin, a raw meat eater, dwelling beneath the earth. There she has a cave, beneath a hollow rock far from both the immortal gods and mortal men. There, the deities set her a house, and she watches over Arima; terrifying Echidna, a nymph forever youthful..."

However, more famous than herself were her divine monster offspring sired by Demon Ancestor Typhon:

The hundred-headed dragon Ladon, guarding the Garden of the Golden Apples; the fearsome Colchis dragon guarding the Golden Fleece; the legendary twin dragons of Troy;

Cerberus, guarding the gates of the Netherworld; Hydra, who claimed the lives of countless heroes; the Nemean lion slain by Hercules;

The Caucasian Eagle that pecked at Prometheus' liver; the Sphinx that posed the classic riddle; the Harpies that plagued the seas;

And the Gorgon Sisters, who were persecuted on Formless Island and who, after much adversity, ascended to become lesser deities under Athena...

All the above were the descendants of Demon Ancestor Typhon and the Mother of Serpents, Echidna.

```

Indeed.

The specter before him was actually the biological mother of the Gorgon Sisters, as well as Luo En's mother-in-law in name.

As for why Cerberus was so affectionate and tame towards him, it was mostly because of the Gorgon Sisters' scent, which made him recognize Luo En as one of its kind, wanting to come to this cave to meet its mother, Echidna.

But judging from the current situation, this mother-in-law's predicament seemed not too promising.

"Medusa and her sisters seldom speak of family matters; may I ask indiscreetly, what is happening with you?"

Luo En glanced at the half-snake, half-human skeleton within the cave and asked solemnly about the cause.

"It was the hundred-eyed giant, Argos. It killed my body while I was hibernating..." Echidna sighed and spoke candidly about the process of her demise.

"Because of the war with Typhon?" Luo En inquired tentatively.

Echidna nodded and started recounting that past in a bitter tone.

Back in the day, Zeus, in his pursuit of eternal rule, did not hesitate to devour his wife Metis to stop the birth of an heir, and, commanding a host of Olympus gods, he launched a great flood to destroy the human race of the Golden Age, repeatedly violating the laws of life.

Such continuous transgressions finally led to the wrath of Mother Earth, Gaea.

Therefore, she entered the abyss of Tartarus, extracting the power of death and nothingness from this ancient abyss, and combined it with her own creative authority to conceive Typhon, the Demon Ancestor Typhon, the embodiment of destruction.

As time matured, Typhon's true body finally broke free from the chains of the abyss and surfaced on the earth, leading a large array of divine monsters to invade Olympus, and engaged in a great battle with the gods.

Although Divine King Zeus successfully defeated this formidable foe and resealed his remains and spirit back into the depths of Tartarus, the Divine King was fearful of Typhon's power and even more afraid that Typhon's offspring would become future threats to Olympus.

Hence, Olympus dispatched the hundred-eyed giant Argos to secretly kill the Mother of Serpents, Echidna.

And those offspring of Typhon, some, after suffering persecution, fled to various parts of the world, while others chose to submit, were branded, and sent to various places to serve the gods.

The Gorgon Sisters, who escaped to Formless Island, belonged to the former; Cerberus, guarding the gates of the Netherworld, belonged to the latter.

And fortunately in misfortune, although the body of the Mother of Serpents, Echidna, was destroyed, her spirit was luckily preserved.

Moreover, nourished by the Netherworld's deathly aura from the depths of Arima Cave, her spirit gradually stabilized, retained its original sentience, and did not fall into an eternal slumber.

Later, Cerberus, her offspring, sensing the presence of his mother, would often burrow into the depths of Arima Cave to visit Echidna, alleviating the loneliness of the serpent mother.

With her child's company, Echidna, now a specter, could find some consolation and continued to stay deep within Arima Cave.

However, the good times did not last long, and as time passed, strange changes came from below.

——Typhon, once cast by Zeus into the abyss, seemed to be showing signs of awakening.

——And, He was abnormally longing for life and sustenance.

Luo En thought of the bloody scene from the corridor earlier and couldn't help but furrow his brow.

"So, was He really about to kill Cerberus just now?"

```

For Luo En's bewilderment, Echidna sneered as usual, "There is no surplus of warmth in the wilderness; for most divine monsters, the weak are food. Moreover, these children possess Typhon's divinity. He has just shown signs of revival and urgently needs homologous power to replenish..."

Hearing his mother-in-law's narration, Luo En roughly understood the true nature of that "father-in-law."

Echidna, the Mother of Serpents, had at least taken some care of the Gorgon Sisters and other offspring of Typhon, fulfilling the role of a mother, retaining some basic warmth.

But that Demon Ancestor Typhon, born of destruction, was cruel and brutal, spreading his seed only for the sake of venting and reproduction. He didn't understand and didn't care about any offspring or familial love.

Therefore, Echidna always directly addressed Typhon by his name, never referring to him as her husband.

Clearly, just like the males in the animal kingdom forcefully mating with females, there was no such thing as affection between them.

Echidna was rather unlucky—forced to mate with a tyrant, and because of the mess Typhon left behind, she attracted the attention of the Pantheon of Gods in Olympus, ultimately losing her life as well.

Now, that resurrected King of Monsters had his sights set on his own blood relations, so it was not surprising that Echidna would not show Typhon any kindness.

"Does that mean you could also become His food?"

Luo En thought of the pit filled with giant beast carcasses and the dragon head in its early stages and couldn't help worrying about his mother-in-law before him.

"I've already died once; I'm not afraid to die again," Echidna said with a serene expression, shaking her head. She looked kindly at Cerberus and Luo En in front of her, patiently advising, "As for you, it's best to leave as soon as possible, and don't come back. It is not safe here."

Thinking of the Gorgon Sisters at home, Luo En volunteered, "I can take you with me!"

"I appreciate the gesture, but it's no use," Echidna declined Luo En's kindness once again, explaining helplessly, "After Argos killed me, to be on the safe side, he threw my bones into the Netherworld. Over time, both my body and my spirit have been completely permeated by the deathly aura of the Netherworld. It's impossible for me to leave this place."

Luo En smiled slightly, pulling out the Horn of Plenty and a little purple-red vial labeled Elixir of Immortality from his belongings, calmly speaking.

"But what if I could use the vital force of all things to cleanse your bones and spirit of the deathly aura and use the divine medicine to let you rebuild your body?"

"...!"

Echidna was startled, and in her ashen eyes, a flicker of hope was reignited.

As long as there is hope, no one can refuse the chance for life, and she was no exception.

Seeing the moved expression on his mother-in-law's face, Luo En's lips curled into a pleased smile.

In the future, the Hungarian mythologist Károly Kerényi speculated based on the ornamentation on an ancient vase that Echidna might originally have been the protective deity of viticulture.

This meant that he, as the God of Wine and Echidna had closely related divinity. It seemed he might have an additional spot for a Lesser Deity.

More importantly, by winning over the favor of this mother-in-law, the scattered offspring of Typhon around the world could potentially become a force to leverage against Olympus!

This was a potential power that even Zeus feared, one not to be neglected.

As thoughts surged, Luo En recalled the Demon Ancestor who had tried to devour them as snacks just before and sneered malevolently.

Typhon, is it? Well, you've just lost your wife!