King of Underworld

Chapter 20: The Story of Poseidon – (1)

The Underworld, which I thought would be extremely busy today as well, was surprisingly calm in Hades’ office.

This was because human nations were being established everywhere, and the world of the living had stabilized, reducing the number of deaths.

There were still many who died from various monsters, accidents, and violent animals, but it was manageable.

However, I still had one concern…

“You still haven’t located those Gigantes?”

“No, we couldn’t find any traces of the monsters you mentioned.”

They were the Gigantes, who could only be defeated with the help of human heroes, according to the prophecy.

I had planned to search for their location in advance and either annihilate them or reduce their numbers…

‘Is Lady Gaia providing them with a hiding place until their forces grow stronger?’

Even Zeus of Olympus didn’t know, and we couldn’t find them even after scouring the entire Underworld.

The only consolation was that it was likely to be a long time before the Gigantes challenged the gods again.

It would take a lot of time for them to gather strength with Gaia’s power.

Since Gaia knew the power of the gods who even defeated Typhon, she would only send them when there was a definite chance of victory.

‘Until then, a human hero must emerge… Cadmus seems to be a likely candidate, but he’s busy searching for his sister…’

As I was deep in thought, a soul soldier came in to inform me that a visitor had arrived.

Someone at the entrance of the Underworld, who appeared to be half-fish and half-god, claimed to be Poseidon’s messenger.

I realized that the time Poseidon had mentioned last time had come.

He had said he had something to tell me during the underwater banquet.

Although I could guess what he was going to say, I had to go and listen.

After telling the soul soldier to bring the guest in, I unfurled a scroll and looked over the locations in the world of the living where the Gigantes might be hiding.

Wherever they were hiding, they were going to become subjects of the Underworld.

As I imagined grim scenarios while examining the scroll, Poseidon’s messenger soon arrived at my office.

As soon as the door opened, he bowed to me.

“Greetings to the Lord of the Underworld! It is an honor to meet you. I am Triton, Poseidon’s only legitimate son!”

“Yes, I am Hades.”

The male god, who introduced himself as Triton, had scales covering his entire body, gills, and something that looked like a dolphin’s tail.

He seemed like a monster in human form, but considering his underwater birthplace, it made sense.

And a legitimate son… That meant he was the child of Poseidon’s official wife, Amphitrite.

“Is the banquet prepared? Then lead the way.”

“Yes! I will take you to my father’s palace!”

He’s quite efficient. Poseidon would like that.

* * *

This place was a beach on the surface.

When I was invited to Poseidon and Amphitrite’s wedding, a giant whale, one of Poseidon’s subjects, took me to the golden palace underwater.

I thought we would summon the whale to go underwater again this time, but…

Triton pulled out a conch from his waist and blew into it.

Bwoo-

A majestic sound spread from the black and white conch, and soon, two giant seahorses appeared on the surface of the water.

“These are seahorses I summon. They carry my father’s blessing and can move quickly underwater.”

“Are they a type of divine beast? Poseidon has imbued them with his power.”

The seahorses had saddles and reins, making it easy for someone to ride them.

Feeling the touch of seawater on my legs for the first time in a while, I mounted the seahorse.

“Then let’s head to the palace! Let’s go!”

As Triton spoke, the seahorses submerged into the water.

Srrk-

Simultaneously, a bubble formed around me, pushing the surrounding water away.

Poseidon’s power allowed me to stay dry and breathe underwater.

When I was invited to the sea god’s wedding, I used my own power to repel the water, but now there was no need for that, which was convenient.

Burrburr-

As we entered the water, numerous fish swam around in the blue world.

Mackerels with a dark blue hue, playful dolphins, sea turtles…

As we descended further, seaweed densely covered the seabed, with small fish busily moving among them.

I also saw a half-human, half-fish gathering seaweed, seemingly one of Poseidon’s followers.

The seahorse carrying me descended even deeper.

It felt as if a natural waterway was guiding us somewhere.

As we descended into the depths where sunlight barely reached, the surroundings were entirely dark.

However, with a god’s vision, everything was visible.

The scenery of what humans called the deep sea was quite impressive.

Humans feared the depths of the sea and often offered sacrifices to Poseidon…

Clear and transparent jellyfish, which seemed to have a consciousness, were playing with their tentacles, and more and more of Poseidon’s half-human, half-fish followers were visible.

“Look at this, hahaha!”

“This turtle is cute. Should we keep it as a pet?”

“Oh? But over there…!”

Some beautiful sea nymphs, Nereids, were laughing at a sea turtle, then suddenly looked this way and were startled.

Soon, they seemed to recognize the blessing of Poseidon and my appearance and quickly bowed.

Triton smiled and waved his unoccupied hand at them, and they blushed and moved away.

I guess that appearance is considered handsome underwater. It’s hard to understand with my Underworld sensibilities…

Burrburr-

We descended even further.

Probably deeper than what humans called the deep sea.

At this depth, the water pressure would be too much for a demigod who was born and raised on land to survive.

But Poseidon’s children wouldn’t have any problems.

A shark-man approached me as I leisurely observed my surroundings.

With only his lower body covered, he had a human form but with webbed feet instead of soles, shark fins, and sharp teeth.

The harpoon he held looked sharp enough to pierce enemies even in the deep sea.

Judging by his power, he seemed to be a guard captain near the palace.

“Greetings to the Lord of the Underworld. I am Andrianos, honored to be blessed by Poseidon.”

When I nodded and raised a hand, he also bowed to Triton.

“Lord Triton.”

“Yes, is everything ready for the banquet?”

“Yes, everything is perfect.”

After a brief conversation, the seahorse started moving again.

It felt as if a natural underwater current was guiding us to the bottom.

After moving for some time, Poseidon’s palace finally came into view.

The golden palace shining brightly underwater.

Despite being in the depths where sunlight shouldn’t reach, it was brightly illuminated.

The palace buildings stood majestically with white columns.

Colorful corals surrounded the palace, and a translucent barrier enveloped the entire palace.

The barrier seemed similar to the power Poseidon had bestowed upon the seahorse I was riding.

“Hades! Welcome to my palace!”

Finally, in front of the grand gate of the palace, stood Poseidon, the sea god with blue hair, spreading his arms.

* * *

The banquet prepared by Poseidon was no less grand than those on Olympus.

Bwoo-

Since it was underwater, there were a lot of seaweed dishes,

and mermen, with the lower half of their bodies being fish, played melodious tunes using conches.

I exchanged greetings with Poseidon’s sons and lower-ranked gods under his command, getting acquainted with them.

A lot of new gods had been born in the sea. Triton was… playing with sharks.

It wasn’t bad to watch sea clowns perform tricks while chewing on seaweed dishes and ambrosia.

The talking octopus juggling multiple shells in the air was quite a sight…

Aaah-

What was that sound?

From somewhere deep in the sea, I heard the angry voice of a woman.

This divine power that stirred the currents and summoned rough waves?

“Ahem… It seems Amphitrite is at it again.”

“Is there a problem with your wife?”

“Uh-hum. She acts like that whenever she finds out I’ve spent the night elsewhere.”

Poseidon said with a wry smile.

So, your wife found out you cheated and is furious?

How are you any different from Zeus…

Both Hera and Amphitrite really have a hard time. No wonder she wasn’t at the banquet despite being the mistress of the sea.

Poseidon, holding a blue goblet filled with nectar, stroked his beard and spoke.

“Sigh… I wonder how I should calm her down this time. But at least I don’t have to worry about the mistress of the sea changing…”

“It’s not that she’s worried about the mistress of the sea changing; she’s angry because you cheated, isn’t she?”

He seemed no different from Zeus.

Which of them would become the god of adultery?

I sighed and took a sip of nectar.

Indeed, nectar tastes different depending on the location.

How could nectar taste so refreshing here?

It felt like drinking cider in my previous life.

While it wasn’t bad to continue enjoying the banquet here, it was time to get to the main point.

I put down the blue goblet and met Poseidon’s gaze.

“Well… as I already suspected, tell me why you invited me.”

“Why are you asking when you already know? You’re right, Hades.”

He grinned with an ambitious smile.

“Of course, it’s about joining forces to overthrow Zeus. What else could it be?”

I knew it.