King of Underworld

Chapter 123: Second Task – Slaying the Hydra (2)

Heracles arrived at the spring of Lern where the Hydra resided.

Due to the poisonous air seeping from all directions, all the small plants in the area were withered, and there was no trace of any living creatures.

The place was filled with a menacing green mist, but how was the hero able to move within it?

‘Asclepius said he got this from the temple of Apollo. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to return it in good condition.’

Heracles had wrapped himself tightly in the hide of the Nemean lion, covered his mouth with a cloth, and carried an iron club.

The cloth covering his mouth and nose was a divine artifact, blessed by Apollo, the god of medicine.

Thanks to it, he was able to breathe without any issue despite the overwhelming poison in the air.

Of course, even without the cloth, the poison wouldn’t have a significant effect on his body, but following his teacher Chiron’s lesson, he remained cautious.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, something flew through the air. Very fast.

A long, golden object… a sword?

*Whoosh. Ting!*

A shining golden sword sliced through the air, flying straight toward his heart, only to be deflected by his iron club.

Wait, a golden sword? Could it be…

*Shiiing!!!*

A giant serpent, larger than a house, and a golden sword freely flying through the air.

Could that be… the creature that inflicted massive damage on the expedition to Mount Athos and killed the hero Orion…!

‘Chrysaor, the golden sword? Why is that monster here?’

The monster born from the severed neck of the goddess Medusa moved its enormous body, targeting Heracles.

The gigantic serpent charged at him with a loud roar, and Heracles was flung into the air, pushed by the creature’s massive frame.

“Hmph!”

*Boom! Thud!*

The impact couldn’t pierce the hide of the Nemean lion,

But the sudden attack knocked the iron club from his grip, sending it flying to the ground.

Heracles quickly moved to retrieve the fallen club and strike back,

But someone else picked it up before he could.

“Oh-ho-ho… So you’re the hero Gaia spoke of?”

“…?”

A beautiful woman with a smile as lovely as a rose.

But her lower body wasn’t that of a human; it was a serpent.

Heracles had been taught about this monster by Chiron.

She was once the lover of his father, Zeus, but was cursed by Hera and transformed into a monstrous form…

“Lamia?! I thought you were hiding in the mountains near Athens!”

“Oh my. Should I feel honored that a poor child, toyed with by the gods, recognizes me?”

Lamia’s smile widened into a grotesque grin that reached her ears.

The smile, more eerie than joyful, lingered for a moment before she spoke to Heracles.

“Of course~ The great Gaia told me that I would have the chance to take revenge on the cursed gods.”

“Gaia? The Primordial Goddess?”

“I know you’re Zeus’s son as well, the one who stood by idly while that filthy Hera cursed me… Ugh… Hahaha… Nothing good comes from dealing with the gods. Your fate will be the same.”

Her gaze filled with madness as her eyes rolled, and her smile grew more sinister.

Her sharp claws extended as she effortlessly lifted the heavy iron club with monstrous strength.

“The gods seem to favor you now, but will they when you’ve outlived your usefulness…?”

Heracles glared at the half-human, half-serpent creature before him, as well as the massive serpent, Chrysaor, beside her.

This hero of strength had a strange connection with snakes.

Though he didn’t remember it, he had killed two snakes when he was an infant.

In the underworld’s training ground, he had fought a bloody battle with the giant serpent Python,

And now his task was to slay the nine-headed serpent Hydra.

Lamia and Chrysaor, standing before him, were yet more serpents he found loathsome.

“I don’t know about my usefulness, but I do know that I have a talent for killing snakes. Come at me.”

“Haha… Are you going to face us barehanded, without that weapon you were so proud of?”

Heracles let out a battle cry and charged at them.

* * *

Gaia’s prophecy was absolute.

Her wisdom had uncovered the solution.

If a human hero were to intervene, the Gigantes would be annihilated.

The heroes who had already been born, like Cadmus, Bellerophon, and Perseus, couldn’t be helped.

Their souls were already in the underworld, beyond her reach.

So, wouldn’t it be best to prevent any more heroes from being born?

And if this rumored son of Zeus, who was said to surpass Bellerophon, was the target, all the better.

If she could stop this hero from building his legacy, it would be enough.

That’s why she sent Chrysaor and Lamia to the Hydra’s lair.

If they killed Heracles, great. If not, even weakening him would give the Hydra a chance to kill the hero.

Lamia had once been the queen of Libya and the lover of Zeus, but Hera discovered the affair and cursed her.

The curse was: “You will kill every child you bore from Zeus, and any child you may bear in the future.”

Thus, Lamia became a half-human, half-serpent monster, killing any human child she came across.

The men who fell for her sweet voice met the same fate, becoming her meal.

Naturally, she bore deep hatred toward the gods of Olympus, and gladly accepted Gaia’s proposal.

If she could hinder those detestable beings looking down from the heavens, even just a little…!

But…

*Shh… Shiiing!*

“Kyaaa! How could you swing an iron club with your bare hands?!”

They couldn’t leave a single scratch on Heracles.

The golden sword flying through the air didn’t distract him, and Lamia’s claws and swings of the iron club only tickled him.

The giant serpent that had killed Orion was crushed by Heracles’s fists, spewing blood as it collapsed.

Lamia was grabbed by the throat and lifted into the air by his brute strength.

“You mentioned earlier that nothing good comes from dealing with the gods, right?”

“Grrr! Yes! No matter how strong you are, you’re still human! You’ll fall to divine punishment…”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll become a god.”

“What?! You madman… Urgh…”

Heracles choked Lamia until she died and dropped her to the ground.

Next to her, the giant serpent Chrysaor lay dead, with its fluids spilling out.

The hero fastened the golden sword the monster had wielded to his waist and dusted off his body.

‘That wasn’t much. Now to go after the Hydra… Hmm?’

*Rumble… Shiiing!!!*

The Hydra, hearing the commotion, crawled out from its lair.

* * *

The Hydra had nine snake heads, with the middle one being particularly large. Its body was even bigger than that of Chrysaor, which Heracles had just killed.

This child of Typhon, whose poison caused even the gods pain, glared ferociously at him.

Heracles quietly picked up the iron club that had rolled on the ground and tightened the cloth around his mouth.

This snake was bigger and seemed stronger, but like all the others, it would fall at his feet.

He swung the iron club at the nearest head.

“Die!!!”

*Splat!*

One of the Hydra’s heads exploded from the impact of Heracles’s mighty blow.

The Hydra’s hide wasn’t as tough as the Nemean lion’s, making it easier to crush.

However…

*Splat! Hiss…!*

The Hydra’s head spewed venomous fluid as it burst, which was the problem.

The Hydra’s entire body was filled with deadly venom, and even a single drop could be fatal.

Fortunately for Heracles, the Nemean lion’s hide he wore was immune to the Hydra’s poison.

The poisonous fumes rising from the ground also couldn’t penetrate his body.

*Hiss-*

But the child of Typhon had more than just venom as a weapon.

It had a regenerative power comparable to that of the Gigantes, who were rooted in the earth.

“Huh. So the crushed head regenerates immediately.”

The head that Heracles had crushed quickly regrew, and the other heads took turns attacking him.

If any one of them managed to bite him, the venom would spread through his body, and he would meet the god of death, Thanatos. Heracles twisted his body to avoid the serpent’s strikes.

In a battle between a giant monster and a human, no matter how strong the human, it was difficult to take the monster’s attacks head-on.

If one’s balance was thrown off by the massive weight of the monster, it would be impossible to avoid the next strike.

Of course, for a hero of Heracles’s transcendent strength, such concerns didn’t really matter.

Still, he had to dodge the Hydra’s attacks one by one.

*Sssst!*

All because of that damn venom.

‘Should I retreat for a bit…’

Even though he had lopped off three heads, the constant regeneration seemed endless.

The ground was gradually being covered in green venom, and the enormous strength of the Hydra couldn’t be ignored.

A moment of doubt crept into Heracles’s mind, but then he came up with an idea.

‘Should I burn it? I hate to admit it, but I may have to…’

The idea was to use fire to stop the

constant regeneration.

He had thought of this method earlier, but had tried to resolve the fight with his own strength to build a legacy that would allow him to reach divinity…

But there was no way around the Hydra’s poison.

‘If it weren’t for that venom, I would’ve finished this already.’

Heracles backed away from the Hydra and fumbled at his waist to pull out a small flint.

He quickly uprooted a dried tree nearby and lit it on fire…

*Crack! Sizzle!!!*

If he could crush its heads with the club and cauterize the wounds with fire…!

*Shiiing!!!*

However, even after burning the severed heads, the Hydra’s regeneration didn’t stop.

Instead, while he was busy trying to burn the heads, one of the other heads swung at him, forcing Heracles to roll to the ground to dodge it.

Luckily, the Nemean lion’s hide protected him from the venom on the ground,

But Heracles glared at the creature with a surprised expression.

‘…What? It’s still regenerating even with fire?’

Why wasn’t the regeneration stopping?