After Kratos left, only the body of the faun Pan remained, and the air was thick with the smell of blood and destruction.
The nymphs, who had fled in terror, rushed panicked into the dense jungle.
However, fate did not give them a chance to escape.
A gentle breeze brushed past them, and a figure quietly stopped before them.
The visitor wore a winged petasos and winged sandals, a cynical smirk on his face—it was Hermes.
"Hey, beauties, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?"
Hermes's voice was still sharp, but in this situation, it seemed particularly strange.
His emerald-green eyes glided over the frightened nymphs, as if assessing the problems that needed solving.
The nymphs were so scared they huddled together, trembling.
Although the god before them seemed familiar, a faint sense of danger made them hesitant to answer.
"Alas, this barbarian is neat when he kills a god, but he never wants to clean up the mess."
Hermes shrugged helplessly, as if complaining about a calm companion.
"And he asks me to cover his tracks for him. This is really..."
The word 'barbarian' in his mouth naturally referred to Kratos.
In fact, ever since Kratos left Gaia's realm, he had been following this avenger from a distance, except for when Hermes couldn't penetrate near Gaia's body.
His task was not to assist in battle, but to observe and finish it.
Ensure that the chaos and killings caused by Kratos didn't prematurely alarm all of Olympus.
These nymphs were witnesses, proof that they were alive.
If they managed to escape and spread the word that the faun Pan had been killed by a blood-red warrior with a strange blade, this news would soon reach the ears of the other gods, especially Zeus.
This could disrupt Alexander's overall plan and even that of his father-god Hades.
But kill them directly?
Hermes touched his chin and dismissed the idea.
The risk was too great.
Although nymphs were not powerful gods, they were still spirits of nature. If they were killed, their souls would go to the underworld, and it would be hard to guarantee that the information wouldn't leak to "Hades" or their gods in this world through some channel.
That was also problematic.
"It seems I can only ask a few young ladies to rest for a while." A harmless smile was on Hermes's face. With a flick of his wrist, several ropes of divine power appeared in his hands, seemingly soft but actually extremely strong.
He moved as fast as a phantom, weaving through with incredible speed, and the nymphs were bound by the magical ropes one after another before they could even cry out, losing their mobility.
"Don't worry, I'm just inviting you to be guests." Hermes easily carried all the bound nymphs on his shoulders, as if carrying a light bundle of reeds.
He looked around and quickly found a hidden cave entrance.
He placed the nymphs deep in the cave so they couldn't escape or call for help.
He also cast a simple concealment spell at the cave entrance to prevent passing beings from discovering them.
"Alright, just stay quiet here. When things calm down, maybe someone will come and free you."
Hermes clapped his hands, quite satisfied with his handling.
This not only avoided the risk of silence but also blocked the message—perfect.
He turned and left the cave, his body still glowing.
He looked in the direction Kratos had gone and sighed helplessly: "What a troublesome barbarian who makes people worry."
He quietly followed and continued his little-known work as a 'scavenger'.
In Hercules's squad, the atmosphere was completely different.
Eros's appearance had brought a strange 'vitality' to this initially serious team.
Hercules, a macho man known for his great strength and ability to strangle the Nemean Lion with his bare hands, showed astonishing patience and gentleness towards Eros, who was miniature and seemed still a child.
When Eros pouted on a rock because she couldn't find a clue about the 'origin of Eros', Hercules magically produced some honeyed snacks from the world of Chaos and handed them over.
When Eros got tired and refused to walk alone, Hercules smiled helplessly, then carefully placed her on his shoulders, as broad as a platform, and let her sit, swinging her legs and directing their progress.
He even patiently listened to Eros chatter about how Hecate had 'cheated' her, how Thalia had 'laughed' at her, and why she couldn't be 'voluptuous' like Freyja...
"Hercules! Do you think that cloud over there looks like a squashed toad?" Eros pointed at the sky, whimsically.
Hercules looked up and seriously nodded: "Hmm, it really does, especially the bulging belly."
"Haha! You think so too!" Eros laughed proudly, temporarily forgetting her troubles.
In stark contrast to Hercules stood Theseus.
This hero had a straightforward personality and was initially extremely displeased with how Eros relied on her status as a god.
Eros quickly caught on and made teasing Theseus a great pleasure of her journey.
She would quietly poke the tip of her golden arrow at the back of his head to scare him while he was seriously studying a map.
She would imitate Theseus in a falsetto when he tried to explain his tactics to Hercules, deliberately distorting his meaning.
Once, she even took advantage of Theseus fetching water from a river, skipping a stone and deliberately splashing him.
At first, Theseus was so angry each time that veins bulged on his forehead, and he wanted to take this little brat off Hercules's shoulder and have a good 'theoretical' talk with her.
But every time, Hercules stopped him with a look or a word.
"She's still a child, Theseus," Hercules would always coax him like this, although he himself knew that this 'child' might be older than all of them combined.
Gradually, faced with Eros's endless pranks and provocations, Theseus began to get used to it.
From the initial rage to subsequent helplessness, and finally, in the end, he could even respond to Eros's harmless teasing with a snort or an eye roll, then ignore her.
It was as if his body had developed some kind of 'Eros antibody'.
This reaction made Eros feel a little bored.
"Hey, big guy! Why is your companion getting less and less fun?" Eros whispered in Hercules's ear.
Hercules just smiled sincerely and patted her head: "Because he knows you mean no harm, Your Highness Eros. And we still have things to do."
He looked into the distance, his eyes becoming serious.