King of Underworld

Chapter 118
The God of the Sky, Uranus.

The Eagle constellation lies beyond the heavens, a constellation in the night sky.

Therefore, it is far above where the chariots of the sun and the moon run.

The night sky, shrouded in a dark curtain, became the driving force for my fight against the Titans.

Uranus was hiding there…

“I understand. Please succeed. For Olympus.”

“…Even if the power of the sky attacks me, tell him he doesn’t need to help.”

If he wasn’t friendly toward me, Zeus’s help could provoke even greater trouble.

If things go wrong, I’ll have to be prepared to take a few hits.

After the Goddess of Persuasion left, I stood up and hesitated to bring Kynee with me.

I originally planned to take precautions for any unexpected situations… but will Kynee work on Lord Uranus as well?

During the Titanomachy, Cronus never noticed my concealment through Kynee.

But it obviously wouldn’t work against Lady Nyx or Gaia, and although Uranus has weakened now… maybe it won’t work on him either…

Thunk.

I put down Kynee, which I had picked up. I also placed the Styx sword next to it.

If something happens, I can summon the Bident, so I should leave the other weapons behind.

Since I need to go beyond the night sky, far above,

I’ll have to ride Pegasus from Elysium to get there.

—Neigh!

After leaving the entrance of the Underworld, I mounted the winged horse, Pegasus, and ascended into the sky.

My target was the shining Eagle constellation in the night sky.

Swoosh—

Below me, as I rode Pegasus, the white clouds gradually became distant.

The landscape of the earth appeared small, and in the distance, I could see the temples of Olympus.

Hmm. I made eye contact with Zeus, who was watching from there.

Was he concerned and observing me?

Even though Zeus might have wanted to go and persuade Uranus himself, he couldn’t act rashly due to his position as King of the Gods.

Beside him, Hera stood with her arms crossed, also watching this way.

Swoosh—

I redirected my gaze from Olympus, as I was nearing the constellation.

Beyond it was the Orion constellation that I requested to be placed in the sky, the dolphin that helped Poseidon court Amphitrite…

There were also Andromeda, the human princess saved by Perseus, and the constellations of the Great Bear and the Little Bear…

Phew. After ascending to this height, I could feel that Zeus’s power no longer reached here.

Currently, Demeter is the Goddess of the Earth, but just as Gaia, the mother of the earth, holds the priority over the land…

I turned my head to follow the gaze that was fixed on me.

A white-haired girl, appearing to be in her teens, crouched on the dark sky and looked down at me with divine authority.

Her appearance seemed like that of a newly born goddess, but…

“Are you a child of Cronus?”

The moment I met her expressionless blue eyes, I felt as if I was being thrown into the distant sky.

Compared to Cronus, whom I fought during the Titanomachy, there was a vast gap. Slightly weaker than Lady Nyx… perhaps?

It was difficult to measure by sight alone. As expected, she was one of the Protogenoi.

“Yes, Ruler Of the Sky, I am Hades.”

Before me stood the God of the Sky, Uranus.

* * *

I thought I had made a good start,

But the next words out of Uranus’s mouth were unexpected.

“Yes. I figured as much. But thinking of you as that bastard’s child suddenly makes me not want to look at you.”

“…!”

Whoosh—

At her gesture, a sudden storm of divine power swept toward me.

A massive wind surged between the stars. Could this even be called wind?

Uranus, the God of the Sky, also symbolized the order and harmony of the entire universe.

The power of the Protogenoi, which had greatly influenced the cycle of the world, was indeed overwhelming.

The space of the sky, which I stood upon, felt as if it was opposing me.

But I couldn’t retreat like this.

This was undoubtedly a test from Uranus. I wouldn’t show any weakness here.

I was the Lord of the Underworld, one of the Three Major Gods who governed wealth and fairness.

I summoned the now-familiar spear, the Bident, into my right hand and held it firmly.

When the black substance, covering the entire world, surged toward me like a wave, I thrust the spear forward with all my might.

■■■■■—!!!

An indescribable shockwave erupted before my eyes.

My hand, holding the Bident, trembled, and even though I was protected by the power of the Underworld, the divine beast below me cried out in fear.

The storm—no, the mass of power was neutralized and scattered, causing fragments of shining light to dazzle my eyes.

Had this clash occurred on earth, a terrible catastrophe would have befallen mortals.

Whew—

I lowered the Bident and exhaled slightly.

As I caught my breath, I thought I was fortunate not to have sent another god.

The ruler of the sky stared down at me, no longer attacking.

In his—or rather, her—eyes, there was now a faint curiosity.

“You exerted quite some strength, protecting even the beast you’re riding.”

It was indeed a test.

“You are qualified to stand before the sky. You must have something to say to me, having come this far?”

I sent the unconscious Pegasus back to the ground with the wind and slowly took out a feather from my pocket.

I held it out so that the black feather given to me by Lady Nyx was visible as I began to speak.

“We are currently in opposition to Gaia, who had your child lead a rebellion. We sought the help of Lady Nyx, and she said she would assist us if I brought back your token!”

“Nyx’s feather?”

The space itself moved and delivered the feather from my hand to Uranus.

After examining it briefly, the Protogenoi spoke again.

“It is indeed Nyx’s feather. You managed to bring her out.”

“We were fortunate to have earned her pity.”

“You did well to drive out Cronus, that wretched traitor. For the one who mutilated his father like that, Tartarus is fitting.”

Long ago, the God of the Sky, Uranus, was ambushed by his child, Cronus.

As a result, he lost his manhood and fled, leaving behind a prophecy: [You too will be overthrown by your children.] That prophecy came true.

However, the manhood that had been severed never regenerated,

And the fact that an immortal god couldn’t restore a lost body part led to a distortion of his identity.

As his masculinity disappeared and he stepped down from the throne of the godking, affected by the generational shift…

“When I first took on this form, I was consumed with burning vengeance… but as time passed, I realized that revenge was impossible.”

He had, in the end, become a goddess.

* * *

The one who once held the world in their hands now looked at me with a slightly softened tone and expression.

Would she, fortunately, cooperate with us?

“It’s sad that I have to rely on children like you. But this is the only way to humiliate Gaia.”

Snap.

She plucked a part of her hair.

No, that was no longer her body. It was the very light from the constellations of the sky itself.

If the material of the sky were visualized, it would probably look like that.

A strand of silver light, emitting a gentle glow, flew toward me.

I received it with both hands and placed it in my pocket.

Is the test over? Somehow, it felt like this ended a bit anticlimactically.

As if sensing my thoughts, Uranus smiled faintly.

“If Nyx doesn’t intervene, Gaia will only benefit. I have no reason to help Gaia.”

“…Thank you.”

“Now, don’t bother me any further and be on your way. I’ve been irritated by the footsteps of children looking for me recently.”

So, she had indeed sensed the gods searching for Uranus.

In that case, should I consider it that she deliberately revealed herself?

“Thank you, Lord Uranus.”

* * *

Before descending to the Underworld, I briefly stopped by Olympus to report that I had received the token from Uranus.

“So now we can receive Lady Nyx’s assistance?”

“She won’t help us openly, of course. But if Gaia refuses to acknowledge us even after we wipe out the Gigantes…”

“Ah, that’s why you prepared for that scenario.”

“Right. Hermes. Even if we kill all the Gigantes, if Gaia remains hostile, we’ll have no choice but to seek Lady Nyx’s help.”

Zeus approached, nodding at Hermes, and placed his hand on my shoulder.

The lightning flickering from his hand suggested that he had seriously debated whether to help me during my clash with Uranus.

“…Olympus owes you a great debt, brother.”

Debt, huh. But for now, get your hand off me.

“Ha. I’m part of Olympus, too, Zeus. What are you talking about?”

“Hmm? Right. You’re always in the Underworld, so I just said that for fun. Haha!”

As the conversation progressed, sighs of relief echoed from all around.

I guess there were quite a few watching the conversation with the Protogenoi. Hera was also over there.

The Queen of the Gods, who met my gaze, spoke in a low voice.

“Now that we can receive Lady Nyx’s help… does it really matter which hero we take to the battle against the Gigantes? Like Cadmus…”

“Ahem… Darling.”

“Zeus, be quiet. Hades, you won’t stop me from giving out tasks, will you?”

Now that I’ve persuaded Lady Nyx, the necessity for a hero has indeed diminished.

Perhaps that’s why she’s still contemplating killing Heracles.

But it doesn’t matter. As long as there’s no direct divine punishment aimed at his death, there won’t be any task that can threaten Heracles.

“…Sure. As long as the task is about killing monsters or something.”

That would be a fitting trial for someone aiming to challenge the gods.