"That's his own flesh and blood! What did he do to deserve such humiliation?!"
At this moment, Hestia, who had held back all the way from the palace, couldn't restrain herself any longer, indignantly accusing her dear brother on behalf of a certain great-nephew.
"His own flesh and blood?"
Luo En sneered and shook his head, his eyes brimming with mockery.
"Hah, if anyone stands in his way, he wouldn't even spare his own father, let alone a son."
"...We... Zeus, it was a last resort!"
Hestia, who had almost misspoken, quickly corrected herself, defending her brother who once had saved their siblings and together overthrown the cruel reign of their father, Kronos.
"Moreover, he shows feeling for the lovers he's bonded with and for the children who share his bloodline, having rescued those persecuted mothers and children from Hera's grasp time and time again."
"Oh? Really?"
Luo En raised an eyebrow at Hestia, who was eager to clarify, his expression a mix of amusement and disbelief.
"If he's so responsible, then where was he when the goddess of childbirth, Leto, was struggling in labor?
Where was he when his daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades and forcefully kept in the Netherworld?
Where was he when the Agriculture God, Demeter, searched in vain for Persephone and was defiled by Poseidon?
Who turned Io into a little cow and gave her to Hera for punishment?
Who caused the children of Europa to become bitter enemies?
And who is responsible for the humiliation suffered by King Minos?"
With each successive question, Hestia pursed her lips, a struggle evident in her eyes.
"Is it..."
"Ares brings disaster and conflict? Ha, since when did the gods, who reigned with violence and once unleashed a devastating flood, become so loving? As for favoritism towards Athena?"
Luo En couldn't help but laugh coldly at this naïve thought.
"So, what do you think Ares would feel about having the power of victory taken from him? What about Hera, the Queen of Heaven?"
"...!"
Hestia started, her voice a bit hoarse.
"So, that's why Ares has always been at odds with Athena?"
"It's not just Ares..."
Luo En scoffed, his purple eyes dark and inscrutable, as if seeing through the seemingly splendid exterior of the Divine King to his most fundamental wicked desires and filth.
"Poseidon also wanted that power, which is why he caused all sorts of troubles for Crete Island, all to pressure Athena, as the great mother of the Minosians, into submission!"
"Won't Zeus intervene at all?"
Hestia instinctively blurted out, bristling with indignation.
"You see, you're being foolish again, right?"
Luo En rolled his eyes at this forgetful Goddess of the Hearth, directly piercing through her naïveté.
"Isn't this precisely what Zeus wants to see? He'd rather have Olympus in complete disarray, with no one able to restrain or threaten his sovereignty!"
Hestia's mouth opened, but no words came out to defend her divine brother.
Seeing the gullible sister of the Divine King's family still lost in her illusions, Luo En decided to speak plainly, to prevent her from being swayed by Zeus's few words later on.
"Not just the besieged situation Athena finds herself in now, Ares being stripped of the power of victory and reduced to a god of defeat, is likely also part of his plan."