King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 19

The King of the Underworld is Tired – 19 (19/82)

A Story After Typonomachy – (3)

The feasts of the Olympian gods, revered by humans high above the clouds, aren’t so different from human celebrations.

“The humans wanted wind from me this time, so I showed a little mercy…”

“Lady Artemis, you look as radiant as ever!”

“Once the banquet is over, I need a word with the nymphs.”

“Was the monster Typhon really that powerful?”

The gods shared conversations while drinking ambrosia and nectar, their divine sustenance.

“Hehe… care to find a quiet spot with me and continue this conversation?”

“Whenever you desire.”

When a god and goddess caught each other’s eye, they’d slip away to a secluded place.

“I heard one of your nymphs offered a rather useful weapon…”

“Hmm? Are you referring to my sword?”

“How about a Pankration [an ancient Greek martial art] match with that as the prize? I’ll wager a water buffalo I’ve been raising.”

“Are you two going to fight? Then I’ll place my bet on this side…”

They made interesting bets through Pankration, a combat sport.

“Hahaha! Terpsichore! You are truly amazing.”

“You flatter me, Lord Poseidon.”

“A dance worthy of one of the Muses, who preside over the arts and sciences!”

They also enjoyed the arts, such as listening to music played by Apollo or dancing.

At such a feast of the gods, I, Hades, was…

“Hehe… are you really not going to play with me?”

“Oh, and loosen that girdle a bit; it’s giving me a headache.”

“But without it, you wouldn’t even spare me a glance, would you…?”

I was rejecting the advances of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love, whom everyone envied.

To top it off, she was even wearing the Cestus Himas [a magical girdle said to make the wearer irresistible].

It’s making my head throb; please, go away.

Still, I knew she wasn’t putting her full effort into seduction; it was more of a half-hearted jest.

“Tch… no fun. Are you going to keep this up?”

“Go to your husband, Hephaestus.”

Of course, there was a hint of seriousness, which was a bit concerning.

Why was she doing this when she had a husband?

“Stay as far away from me as the distance between the Underworld and Olympus…”

“Haa? Must you really be like that when I, the goddess of beauty, am going to such lengths?”

Aphrodite crossed her arms and struck a seductive pose, emphasizing her figure.

The male gods around her couldn’t take their eyes off her, but…

“Something bad will eventually happen if you keep doing that.”

“I crave affection more than concern… I’ll retreat for today.”

From her perspective, as the goddess of intense emotions like love, looking at me…

She probably felt uneasy that one of the three chief gods seemed so completely detached from her domain.

Her pride seemed wounded that the touch of beauty and love had no effect on me.

Aphrodite frowned deeply and left her seat.

“Wow… what did I just witness? Uncle Hades, did you just reject the goddess of beauty?”

Hermes, holding the Caduceus [a staff entwined with two snakes, symbol of Hermes], approached, gaping in admiration.

The snakes on his staff were also turning their heads in the direction Aphrodite had left.

“I don’t think I would have rejected her. Wouldn’t a fun night be possible?”

“Haa…”

Hermes whispered with a lecherous face, but I had no interest at all.

Why would I have an affair with a goddess who has a husband and children?

Moreover, Hephaestus hadn’t done anything particularly wrong to me.

“So, why did you come?”

“Hephaestus, who was working in the forge, said he wanted to see Lord Hades. And I am the messenger.”

Zeus had ordered Hephaestus to make a weapon for me.

Apparently, my help was needed in some parts of the process.

“I should go now.”

I put down the golden cup filled with nectar and walked out.

Was Hephaestus’s dedicated forge in Olympus this way?

* * *

After passing through a makeshift Milky Way, presumably created by Iris diligently drawing water…

After walking for a long time through the densely packed white clouds…

“Kyahahaha!”

“Haha! Slow down a bit!”

Just as lower-ranking gods who seemed to be in love passed by me, Hephaestus’s forge came into view.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal being struck, heat that even gods could feel, flames soaring high into the sky.

All sorts of divine weapons that would cause wars if they fell into human hands were piled up on the walls of the forge.

That’s a sword that emits flames every time it’s swung, and this armor with a blue metallic sheen becomes increasingly hard when subjected to impact?

“Have you arrived, Great-uncle?”

“Hmm.”

As I was admiring the weapons that Hephaestus’s hands had crafted, he noticed me and greeted me.

The lame but incredibly muscular and sturdy-looking god held a hammer in his hand.

“Everything here is a failure, so I’m embarrassed to show it to you…”

Even so, if even one of these things fell into the lower realm, it would cause chaos.

Still, from the perspective of the blacksmith god who made Aphrodite’s magical girdle and Hermes’s winged shoes, it was a natural thing to say.

So, when I asked him why he was looking for me,

Hephaestus scratched his cheek with a naive-looking face and said,

“I was in the process of making a Bident [a two-pronged spear] for you, Great-uncle, and I was hoping you could infuse it with some divine power…”

“A Bident…?”

I did use a spear a lot in the war against the Titan gods.

Did Zeus tell him to make a spear after seeing that?

“Then are you going to make my weapon a trident like Poseidon’s?”

“No, this is a two-pronged spear.”

“But I have this Styx sword, so I’m fine without a weapon…”

I unfastened the scabbard from my waist and handed the Styx sword to him.

The blacksmith god focused for a moment to examine the blade, then smiled and said to me.

“This sword is quite excellent, but it’s no match for the Triaina [Poseidon’s trident] and Zeus’s lightning. But the Bident I’m about to show you will dare to compare to those.”

“Hoo…”

Hephaestus spoke with a confident expression, then went inside the forge and brought out the two-pronged spear while wearing iron gloves.

I reached out to the spear, which was still red-hot with residual heat.

Fss…

The black and dark divine power emanating from me touched the Bident, and the outer surface of the spear was slightly shaved off.

But that was only for a moment; the Bident soon accepted the divine power and turned black.

It was extraordinary at a glance, but that wasn’t the end of it.

“Please wait a moment; there’s still finishing work left.”

Hephaestus carefully took the spear back and went back into the forge…

Soon, the sound of metal being struck and explosions of different energies colliding began to be heard.

Clang! Tss… Clang! Clang!

The only ones who could be compared to the blacksmith god Hephaestus in skill were the Cyclops brothers who made my Kynee [Helm of Darkness].

I waited patiently for the work to be finished.

When Helios’s sun chariot reached the end of the world and it was now the turn of the moon goddess Selene,

Hephaestus, who had been engrossed in his work, called me.

“It’s finished! Try swinging it!”

The spearhead has a shiny black surface.

A chilling aura is emitted just by looking at it, but it feels familiar to the Underworld.

As if possessed, I grabbed the Bident with my right hand.

The spear emits a subtle resonance as if recognizing its owner.

When I infused a bit of power into the spear that fit snugly in my hand, it unleashed a force that was several times stronger.

A sinister black divine power enveloped the Bident, and I stared at the spear for a moment before violently thrusting it towards the sky.

Kwaaaaaa-

A fierce spear strike that flew straight towards the sky beyond, creating a large hole in the clouds above Olympus.

Really, it’s the best.

I’m not jealous of Poseidon’s Triaina at all.

“Do you like it?”

“Like it doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

“And since the divine power has been imprinted, you can summon it anytime, even from a distant place!”

No way, it even has that function?

There’s absolutely no way I’ll lose this.

It’s really not inferior to Poseidon’s trident at all…

Shouldn’t I give him some kind of reward?

I asked Hephaestus, who had a satisfied expression, if there was anything he wanted.

“I’m glad you like it. There is one thing I would like to ask…”

“Tell me, and I’ll grant it if it’s a wish I can fulfill.”

“Please use that Bident often and spread the word about what I made!”

Isn’t that obvious?

“That is… I hope it will be widely known that this Hephaestus, the world’s best blacksmith, made the Bident, which is comparable to the three divine weapons made by the Cyclops brothers!”

I assured the blacksmith god, who was speaking with sparkling eyes, that I would definitely grant him that much.

It seems he wants the honor of making an excellent weapon, so that’s not a difficult task.

But aren’t the Cyclops brothers a bit higher on the list when it comes to being the best in the world…?”

Ah! I’ll know if I compete with the Kynee that Arges made for me!

* * *

Kang! Kakakang!

Back in the Underworld, I held a worn and shabby-looking helmet in one hand and clashed it against the Bident.

The two weapons, with almost equal strength, collided with each other, and sparks flew.

“Kyaaaak! Hades! Again, you’re testing weapons on that precious helmet!”

The goddess Styx, who was passing by, saw me and screamed in horror.

No, if I just do it a few more times…

“The same goes for the sword I made for you; who tests weapons on it!”

“Oh, by the way, this Bident was made by Hephaestus, the best blacksmith in Olympus…”

The goddess Styx approached me and scolded me.

Your hands are fluttering, and if you stomp your feet like that, there will be a hole in the bottom of the Underworld… No, never mind.

“Bident or whatever, you should be keeping the Kynee preciously in the treasure vault, but why do you keep mistreating it! I told you last time…”

I wanted to naturally change the subject, but it didn’t work.