"Tell me, what could possibly make the King of Gods come all this way in the middle of the night instead of tormenting people?"
Though Russell said this aloud, he had already guessed why Zeus had come. Nothing more than the duel three days from now—Ares and the Sun God becoming one person did not serve Zeus's interests.
"I came because of the duel between you and Ares."
Zeus spoke bluntly. "You are both being too impulsive. No matter who wins, as far as Olympus is concerned, both of you will be losers."
What did that mean? Friendship first, competition second?
Russell said nothing, and Zeus continued. "You are smarter than Ares. You must understand the deeper meaning here. You are both my children. I hope you will work together and turn your weapons against a common enemy, rather than fight over a woman."
"You saw the situation yourself. Ares was the one who started it. I yielded to him again and again, but he kept pressing me step by step. With nowhere left to retreat, I agreed to duel him."
Russell shrugged and added, "The gods can testify. He was the one who provoked me this time."
"Enough. Stop making excuses. I saw everything clearly. Not only did you provoke Ares, you likely angered Hera as well. All of this was the result of your calculations."
"How could that be? Plotting against two gods at once, one of them the Queen of Heaven renowned for her scheming—how could I possibly be capable of that?"
Russell shook his head repeatedly, sitting firmly on the throne of the victim and refusing to budge an inch.
"I have already persuaded Hera. You have no idea how much effort I spent on her because of you..."
Zeus felt deeply aggrieved. In all these