[3rd POV]
"What did you say?!"
Upon hearing this, Hera's anger immediately skyrocketed. Her eyes turned red with anger as she stood up from her throne and approached him.
"Ares! I am your mother! Are you going to betray me too?!"
"No, Hera, I am doing this for your own good."
Ares replied sincerely. He first tried to put himself in her shoes and speak in her favor.
"Hera, please calm down and think carefully. Leto isn't a mortal. Like you, she is also a descendant of the Titans. Her children with Zeus will undoubtedly be powerful in the future. If you persecute her now, it's like making enemies with her children in the future."
"So what if she's a goddess? Even her father, Coeus, has already been thrown into Tartarus. Who does she think she is to seduce my husband, Zeus, the King of the Gods?"
Hera snapped angrily, "Do you expect me, the Queen of the Gods, to lower myself before the daughter of a traitor?"
"Leto's father may have supported Kronos in the past, but Leto herself is firmly on Zeus' side."
Ares patiently explained, "Hera, many of the gods on Olympus today used to serve Kronos, and Zeus trusts them. However, can you really trust all of them?"
"Leto's children clearly inherit Zeus' strength and bloodline. If they are born, Zeus will definitely make them the main gods among the Twelve Olympians. He will also take the opportunity to push Helios and Selene out of their positions, weakening their power and status... This would create enemies for you, Hera, that could hurt you in the future."
"This…"
Hera hesitated upon hearing this.
She was well aware of how she had gotten her current position. If it weren't for her being the wife of Zeus, Hera wouldn't even have a place among the Twelve Olympians.
Hera's power was actually not that strong. In terms of personality and experience as a goddess, she could not compare to her sisters, Hestia or Demeter.
Even now, Poseidon and Hades among the Twelve Olympians completely ignored her, and neither Helios, Selene, nor Prometheus certainly wouldn't help her.
If Zeus ever indulged in the future, and none of the Twelve Olympians would stand up for her, she wouldn't be able to control her husband anymore.
Hera would just have to let him do whatever he wanted, and she wouldn't even be allowed to get angry about it.
However, after thinking for a moment, Hera felt a bit disgruntled.
"It was Leto who first seduced my husband. As the Queen of the Gods, why should I swallow my pride and endure this?"
"So, Hera, it's just a matter of pride for you, and I'm here to help you solve this problem."
Seeing the right moment, Ares immediately offered his assistance.
"Today, you can continue doing what you want while I, Ares, will go and handle the trouble Leto is facing. In doing so, I will have earned the favor of Leto's children, and since I'm your son, even if they don't like you in the future, they'll still show you some respect because of me, Ares."
After Ares made his offer, Hera thought for a moment before agreeing to his plan.
Ares was her son, and deep down, she didn't see him as someone to be an outsider. She naturally felt that if something went wrong in the future, Ares would definitely be on her side.
Of course, whether Ares would really stand with her in the future was up for debate. Right now, Ares certainly didn't see Hera and Zeus as parents.
Their behavior as gods didn't deserve to be called "parents."
On the surface, it seemed like Hera would benefit the most from this, but that would only be true if Ares truly obeyed her.
If Ares started to think for himself, then there was no doubt that he would be the biggest winner.
By helping Leto, Ares would first gain the favor of Artemis and Apollo. Secondly, Zeus would likely ease his prejudice toward Ares.
As for Hera, she would believe that Ares was working for her future, and by stepping in now, Ares would essentially win the favor of the three gods of Olympus simultaneously.
This was a win-win situation.
After receiving Hera's approval, Ares quietly left and returned to the Temple.
He gathered his weapons and equipment and then leaped down from Mount Olympus, falling into the deep sea.
He arrived at a lonely island in the ocean, created by the Goddess of Shooting Star, Asteria.
Asteria was Leto's younger sister.
Since Queen Hera had forbidden the earth from providing a place for Leto to give birth, Asteria stepped forward to prepare a place for her sister's delivery.
When Ares arrived, he saw a floating island called "Delos Island" rise out of the sea along four huge golden pillars rose from the sea.
These pillars helped anchor the drifting Delos Island in place and Ares could feel a hidden thunder-like power coming from the pillars, clearly had Zeus's influence.
Looking at the pillars, Ares couldn't help but feel like someone was watching him from the sky.
It seemed that if his purpose here was to help Hera persecute Leto, a bolt of lightning would soon strike from the sky.
However, Ares' real purpose was to help Leto, and he calmly averted his gaze and ignored the divine power and pressure focused on him from the sky.
He walked straight into the island, heading toward a lonely temple.
Ares didn't hide his presence, and by the time he arrived at the temple's entrance, someone was already waiting for him.
It was a young girl dressed in a pale moon-white gown. She was very beautiful, and her divine aura emanated from her that felt both new and closely related to Ares's own divine power.
Although her power wasn't yet as strong as Ares's, it already had the potential to develop into that of a great god in the future.
The girl was holding a divine bow.
After seeing Ares, she immediately nocked an arrow, aimed in his direction, and threatened, "Stop! Who are you? Tell me your name!"
Ares looked at the girl.
She had white hair and a serious expression, but there was something a bit silly about her.
It was definitely the goddess from the game, the one with a romantic, innocent personality who had forced herself into his man's life.
He sighed deeply, looking up at the sky, feeling sorry for his tragic fate.
Seeing Ares suddenly sighing toward the sky for some reason, the newborn goddess Artemis couldn't quite understand his actions.
However, since her mother was in the temple behind her, giving birth to her brother, she kept her guard up and didn't relax her stance.
After noticing Artemis' defensive stance, Ares took a step back, released his grip on the hilt of his sword, and opened his hands in a gesture of peace to show that he meant no harm.
"I am Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera, the God of War of Olympus. You might not believe this, but I've come to help you."
Ares introduced himself to Artemis.
"Why would the son of Hera want to help us?"
Artemis asked, looking very suspicious.
"Because not only am I the son of Hera, but I'm also the son of Zeus, just like you."
Ares said as he pointed toward the temple.
"In the future, we'll all gather together on Mount Olympus, and I'd rather not be seen as an enemy because of something like this. Since we're all children of Zeus, we're like brothers and sisters, so I think getting along is better."
Artemis hesitated at Ares' words, glancing frequently toward the temple.
She could hear the agonized cries of her mother, Leto, as she gave birth to Apollo, which only deepened her concern.
Artemis, naturally endowed with the power of the goddess of childbirth, could ease Leto's pain significantly with her divine abilities. However, she was still unsure about trusting Ares, the "son of Hera."
Fortunately, their standoff didn't last long.
The sky above Delos Island began to darken, and a giant monster appeared, smashing through the storm and waves caused by Poseidon, heading straight for the island.
Seeing the situation, Ares turned decisively, headed toward the beach, and said to Artemis, "I'll handle Python. Leto is about to give birth, and she needs help."
Without waiting for Artemis' reaction, Ares stepped forward, leaving her behind.
As soon as Ares took a step, his body grew larger with the wind. After three steps, he had grown to a size strong enough to battle the ancient Titans.
Although he was still small compared to the towering Titans, this form was more than enough to confront the monstrous serpent Python.
As if sensing Ares' intentions, the storm and the waves above the ocean slowly calmed down.
Then, the monstrous serpent Python surged forward with increased speed.
In less than two minutes, it had reached the vicinity of Dilos Island.
Its enormous body swayed between being submerged in the sea and rising out of it, with its large, black, upside-down triangular head and fierce eyes staring directly at the massive Ares blocking its path.
The Python's gaze was filled with confusion.
Python had been sent by Hera to kill the Goddess Leto, but now, the son of Hera, Ares, was standing in its way, preventing it from attacking.
However, Ares ignored the Python's confusion.
As soon as Python stopped, Ares summoned his spear, raised his divine shield, and took a battle-ready stance.
To be continued...