King of Underworld

Chapter 112: Heracles of Thebes – (3)

Heracles asks me, “What do you mean, about myself?”

“Well, you’re aware that your father is Zeus, right?”

“Yes. My foster father has mentioned it, and so have my mother and Chiron…”

Of course, it must have been impossible to hide, given his extraordinary abilities from a young age.

“You drew Hera’s wrath from the moment you were born.”

“Well, that’s because I’m an illegitimate child…”

“That’s part of it, but more importantly, you suckled from Hera herself when you were an infant. Her fury could descend upon you at any time, which is why I had you dipped in the River Styx.”

“Wait, what?! Lord Hades was the one who had me… and I drank the milk of the Queen of the Gods?”

Heracles was stunned. I revealed the truth to him.

“Yes. The reason I had you immersed in the Styx wasn’t just that, though. It was also because you’re destined to become a great hero.”

“…”

“By immersing you in the Styx, I ensured that you wouldn’t die easily.”

Heracles stood there, dumbfounded. This must be the first time he’s hearing the full truth about his birth.

“Now that you know, do you understand what you must do once you leave here?”

“Is this all because of Lady Hera’s anger toward me?”

“Yes. You must go to her temple and beg for forgiveness. Although you’ve done nothing wrong, it’s necessary.”

“…Understood.”

“A storm may come, curses may fall upon you, but no matter what happens, never stop asking for her forgiveness.”

Heracles nodded reluctantly, his face still troubled.

No doubt, Hera will give him tasks to complete—trials that will serve both as her revenge and as the experiences he needs to grow.

“You’ve heard the rumors about the River Styx, right?”

“Yes… they say that those who enter the river become invincible.”

“Invincible? Hardly. It only toughens the body slightly. Don’t go around boasting about your body’s resilience.”

Thud!

I flicked a finger, making a small cut on his shoulder.

Heracles couldn’t hide his shock. He had never been wounded before, not even once since his birth, so of course, this was surprising.

But that’s all it is. Among mortals, he is virtually untouchable… but against beings with even a minimal amount of divine power, the protection of the Styx can be bypassed with ease.

Let’s not even get started on the Gigantes. He’s also vulnerable to certain attacks like poison, fire, and water-based assaults.

“Among humans, your body may indeed be unbreakable, but it’s different when you face beings in the realm of gods. Your goal is to become a god, isn’t it?”

“My blood… I’m bleeding…”

“I’ll arrange a proper sparring partner for you. You’ll need to get used to being injured.”

As I turned, one of the Furies, Megaera, approached us.

She arrived rather quickly after my summons—she must’ve been bored staying inside her cave for so long.

“Snakes for hair… bronze wings…! She’s… the Goddess of Vengeance?!”

“…Hades.”

“Thank you for coming, Lady Megaera.”

“We had to draw straws to decide who would come… Alecto is sulking about it again.”

“Ahem. As I mentioned, I’d like you to spar with Heracles here.”

Her piercing, blood-red eyes settled on Heracles.

For any ordinary human, the gaze of the Fury who hounds sinners until their death would have been enough to make them faint. But Heracles, far from being frightened, seemed to relish the challenge and grinned.

“If I manage to defeat you, will I become a god as well?”

“…Hah.”

She gave a soft laugh, finding the mortal’s arrogance amusing.

It wasn’t uncommon for mortals to yearn to become gods—Bellerophon and Mentes had shared the same dream.

However, Heracles was nowhere near strong enough to defeat Megaera. And even if he did, defeating a god wouldn’t automatically grant him divinity.

“Do you know what it means to be a god? Do you think it’s simply about being powerful and immortal?”

“…Isn’t it?”

“A god is a being who upholds the balance of the world. With thoughts like yours, no matter how many great feats you accomplish… you will never become a god.”

He’ll come to understand what it truly means to be a god as he undergoes his trials.

I should probably also tell Chiron to improve Heracles’ education in humility and character.

Still, with Megaera training him, that arrogance and overconfidence will likely be tempered.

As Heracles stared at her, puzzled, I decided it was time to take my leave.

“Well then, I’ll be off. Next time we meet… I expect you to face me as a god.”

“…!”

As I vanished in a swirl of black wind, I heard Heracles’ final words of thanks behind me as he bowed.

“…Thank you, Uncle.”

* * *

Upon returning to my throne room, I closed my eyes for a moment to gather my thoughts.

I needed to review my plans regarding Heracles and what lay ahead.

Zeus’ bloodline, Hera’s breast milk, the power of the Styx, Chiron’s guidance, the experience of sparring with a goddess, and now, the goal of becoming a god.

All of these elements would serve Heracles well as he completed the tasks that awaited him once he became an adult.

If he could overcome every task—each of which would be impossible for a mere mortal—he might indeed become a god, and perhaps even aid us against the Gigantes.

Of course, it was also possible for him to ascend to godhood before that.

I had previously spoken to Iris about Hera, so I knew she would soon place heavy trials upon him.

As long as her trials weren’t so severe as to break him entirely, Heracles should be able to withstand them.

I’d love to give him the blessing of Tyche, the goddess of fortune, but that might make things too easy.

After all, trials only hold meaning when they are challenging but surmountable.

“Hades, a message has arrived from Olympus, requesting your arbitration in a dispute.”

“What is it this time?”

I took the scroll from the messenger and examined its contents—more conflicts and disputes, as usual.

Ever since I had assumed the mantle of fairness and justice, I had occasionally been called upon to mediate conflicts among the higher gods.

It seemed this time, the dispute involved Eos, the goddess of dawn, Aphrodite, and Ares.

Aphrodite? This sounded like a love triangle. Did I really need to get involved in something like this? Should I just ignore it?

Wait… Zeus?

There was a letter from Zeus himself, asking me to come to Olympus.

Why would Zeus need me?

Could it be that he wanted to talk about Dike? Perhaps there was something regarding her strict judgments lately…

* * *

One major change since I assumed the mantle of the god of fairness was that many gods now sought my help from time to time.

While Dike’s arrival in the Underworld had reduced my workload significantly, there were still matters that required my arbitration as the god of fairness.

Not every conflict needed my intervention, but when issues arose that even Zeus hesitated to handle—particularly disputes involving high-ranking gods—Olympus would sometimes call on me.

Such as this current situation, where powerful deities like Ares, Aphrodite, and Eos were clashing…

“Eos! You think you can steal my lover just because mortals worship you as the goddess of dawn?”

“Please, Ares only fell out of love with you because he realized what a spiteful goddess you are! All you have is beauty—there’s nothing else appealing about you!”

“Ares, how could you…”

“Quiet, Ares!”

While Aphrodite and Ares were romantically involved, it seemed Ares had now become entangled with Eos.

A love triangle… How tedious.

“Alright, let’s all calm down and take turns speaking. Eos, why don’t you go first?”

The dawn goddess, with her deep, dark brown hair that evoked the night sky, turned to face me.

Unlike Helios and Selene, who had more or less passed their roles as the sun and moon gods to Apollo and Artemis, Eos still maintained her authority as the goddess of dawn.

“Hmph. Hades, I’ve heard that you’ve taken on the mantle of fairness. I suppose I should thank you for coming to Olympus to mediate this dispute.”

“Small quarrels often escalate into larger ones, as we saw with Apollo and Eros…”

This isn’t exactly a small quarrel. A dispute between the goddess of beauty and the goddess of dawn over the god of war? There’s nothing small about that.

If curses that could affect gods were involved, and if any of them abandoned their duties due to their anger, it would only create more problems.

Not to mention, the mortals caught in the crossfire—those who’d suffer without even knowing what was happening.

Better to settle this matter now before things spiral further.

“Ares and Aphrodite are no longer in love. Ares already spoke to Aphrodite about this beforehand.”

“So, you’re saying Aphrodite hasn’t been able to accept this and is still clinging to him?”

“Of course. They’ve had many children together, but their relationship is over, isn’t it?”

I glanced at Aphrodite, who was seething with anger, barely restraining herself. And there was Ares, nervously shifting in place next to her.

“Aphrodite, is it true? Are you and Ares no longer in love, as Eos claims?”

“Ugh! It’s not over just because Ares told me so! And that Eos was flirting with him even when we were still together…”

“Wait. Don’t get too worked up—take your time and explain.”

After listening to Aphrodite’s side, I turned to Ares. His face was clouded with guilt as he finally spoke up.

“Ares, do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“…Uncle… The truth is, my relationship with Aphrodite had grown distant recently, and then Eos…”

After hearing from all three of them, I concluded that this was a simple matter of a love triangle.

1. Eos had always been interested in Ares and had pursued him consistently, even when his relationship with Aphrodite was strong.

2. Aphrodite had been annoyed by this but hadn’t taken drastic action because Ares’ affection for her had been unwavering—until recently.

3. As their relationship grew strained, Eos made her move, and Ares began a new relationship with her.

And now I’m being asked to mediate this? Was there no one else they could turn to?

Why not speak to Eros, or Zeus, or some other god? Oh, right. Maybe they didn’t trust any of them to give sound advice.

I sighed and looked at the three of them.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t call on me for trivial matters like this. Lady Eos, I’m a rather busy god, so perhaps Dike could…”

Before I could finish my sentence, there was immediate pushback.

“But how could Dike mediate something like this?”

“Uncle, Dike is a goddess sworn to celibacy. She said this wasn’t something that could be resolved through justice…”

“Besides, this is a matter of love. Who better to handle it than Hades, who is adored by many goddesses?”

It’s true that I’ve received more than my fair share of affection from various goddesses… but I am not the god of love!