King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 67

The King of the Underworld is Tired – 67 (67/82)

The Story of Persephone – (2)

Near Mount Etna [a volcano in Sicily, Italy], a group of beautiful nymphs and goddesses were playing ball.

Among them was a goddess born to Demeter, the goddess of the earth, and Zeus, the king of the gods.

“Kya-ha-ha! Throw it here!”

“Lady Kore, using flowers to catch it is cheating!”

“So what? You guys can use your powers too!”

The goddess, with shining golden hair and a beautiful appearance, looked to be in her early twenties.

She, who resembled a flower, opened her mouth.

“Haa… Mother seems to see me as too weak.”

“The Goddess of the Earth?”

Her formal name was Persephone.

She was affectionately called Kore.

“Yeah! Even if I go out to play for a little bit, she tells me to be careful of monsters, be careful of the Gigantes [a race of giants in Greek mythology]… Ugh!”

“Lady Demeter really loves Lady Kore.”

The goddess of spring and seeds was playing with numerous nymphs when suddenly…

She tilted her head, looking puzzled.

“Hmm? Doesn’t anyone else hear something?”

“The sound of birds singing?”

“I hear the cool stream flowing in the forest though…”

Other nymphs and lesser gods didn’t notice, but,

She, the child of Zeus and Demeter, could tell.

The intense vibration seemed to be coming from under the ground…

Kuaang! Puwhak-

Suddenly, monsters with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a human appeared from under the ground a short distance away.

The enemies of the gods, the Gigantes.

“Kyaaaak! Monsters suddenly!”

“Gi… Gigantes?!”

“Oh my… Zeus!”

The nymphs were flustered by the appearance of the large and hideous monsters.

But it was too early to panic yet,

The Gigantes popping out of the ground were not just one or two.

Puwhak. Kugugu…

The nymphs tried to run away, but soon they had no choice but to stop.

Because the Gigantes, scattered everywhere, were watching them.

“Kuhahaha! Are those creations of the gods? They look delicious.”

“That blonde one seems to be a goddess, let’s catch her and take her away!”

“Don’t forget that our goal is our brothers buried under the mountain!”

“Then brothers! Let’s kill all the witnesses and dig up Mount Etna!”

The nymphs froze in fear at the gruesome conversation of the monsters, a combination of snakes and humans.

Who could stand against the powerful monsters, each matching a lower god or human hero…

“Eit!”

Pasususu-

“Cough! Cough! Is that poison?!”

“What is it… Cough.. Is it a divine power? Knock down that goddess first…”

“Kuk…! Plants are binding us…”

Could it only be a god?

As yellow powder spread from Persephone’s hand, her eyes sharply narrowed, the Gigantes couldn’t hold back their bursting coughs.

Following that, flowers and plants rapidly grew from the ground, binding them.

“…Lady Kore!”

“Zeus! Help us!”

This was the power of the goddess of spring.

Her power, which controlled spring and seeds, was not ideally suited for combat,

But because she was Persephone, the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, her divine status was quite high.

“Cough… Was there a goddess who controlled poison and plants?”

“Ha, she’s just one!”

“It’s not poison, it’s pollen! You monsters!”

However, the Gigantes gathered here were not easy opponents either.

No matter how high Persephone’s divine status was, next to the Twelve Olympians [the major deities of the Greek pantheon],

There were hundreds of Gigantes appearing here…

“Peloreos! Let’s overturn Mount Etna before Olympus notices quickly.”

“Thoas, you worry too much.”

“Kuh! Olympus? I’ll kill them all if they come!”

“Let’s be careful in case Zeus is watching. Pallas.”

Four Gigantes command entities comparable to or slightly behind the Twelve Olympians.

Persephone would definitely not be safe.

* * *

Kwaaaang!

While many Gigantes were digging up Mount Etna, the remaining ones surrounded Persephone and the nymphs.

The monsters approached with sneers, seemingly planning to play with them slowly.

“Khehehe. I want to hear your screams.”

“Wh.. What should we do… Kyaaak!”

“Save me! Lady Demeter! Aaaagh!”

The surrounding nymphs were gradually eaten or torn to death by the Gigantes.

No matter how much Persephone fought back, she was alone, and the monsters were overwhelmingly numerous.

“I’ll take care of that goddess.”

“Pallas. Are you having all the fun alone?”

“Uhaha! If you’re not happy, you can attack me too.”

“Haa… Chee…”

Persephone gritted her teeth, forcibly drawing out her diminished divine power.

Even if she grew plants to interfere, scattered pollen, or struck with divine power,

That Gigantes named Pallas was too strong.

Certainly comparable to the Twelve Olympians.

Excluding that monster, there were three other Gigantes command entities.

Even if Mother, Demeter, came herself… she couldn’t defeat all these monsters.

Seueuk-

The Gigantes in front of her slowly approached, loosening his grip.

The snake’s lower body moved eerily, pressuring the goddess.

“Have you given up already? Goddess?”

“My father is Zeus, and my mother is the Goddess Demeter! You will all die miserably! I, Persephone, assure you!”

“Huh? What is it, a curse?”

A curse that could destroy a city with just one word was useless.

The daughter of Zeus and Demeter felt powerless for the first time in her life.

The monster grabbed her neck and lifted her up, now right in front of her.

“Iik…”

But she couldn’t resist at all.

She had exhausted all her divine power, and she was so exhausted that the ichor [the ethereal fluid that is the blood of the gods and/or immortals in Greek mythology] flowing from her wounds filled the ground.

Dudududu-

She, who was born with a golden lineage that everyone envied and enjoyed a life without regrets,

Had to be defeated by such a hideous monster.

“Looks like you’re a young god, blame your fate.”

Huoong-

Just as Persephone closed her eyes tightly to endure the impending pain, she felt a strange sensation on her side,

A thick male palm gently pulled her in.

‘Huh?’

Puwhak-

When Persephone opened her eyes slightly,

What she saw was a Gigantes whose head had been blown off and died miserably…

“Are you alright?”

A black-haired, black-eyed god who had placed her on the chariot he was riding.

* * *

She quickly realized who the god who had saved her from the desperate crisis was.

A powerful aura that far surpassed her mother, Demeter, the Olympian goddess of the earth.

Perhaps… a black-haired god with power comparable to Zeus, the king of the gods,

As far as she knew, there was only one such being.

‘The master of the underworld, Hades…’

The surrounding monsters rushed in at the death of their comrade,

But a two-pronged spear that tore through the air appeared from the god’s hand and was fired.

Kwaaaaang!!!

A black beam of light emitting a chilling aura crossed the space,

The Gigantes caught in the destructive black current disappeared as if they had evaporated.

Tjeojeok… Huuuuung-

The terrible traces of destruction were engraved on the earth,

The Gigantes were horrified as they watched the clouds in the sky split in half.

“Heo.. Heoeok!”

“Kuaaaak! What kind of god is that!”

“This power is…! One of the Twelve Olympians? Ares? Hephaestus?”

“Bullshit! Such a guy…”

Hades, with Persephone in the back, drove the chariot again and charged.

The Gigantes, each matching at least a lower deity, died in vain.

The moment he wielded the spear was not even visible, and the snake monsters’ attacks did no damage.

Puhihihing! Pureureureuk!!!

The ghost horse driving the chariot charged, stepping on the lower body of a Gigantes,

Following that, a black spear strike containing a chilling murderous intent flew, and without fail, the monster’s corpse was scattered.

Kwazazazak! Puwhak-

“Kueuek!”

“Eurytos! Let’s attack together!”

“You create an opening, Thoas!”

The Gigantes were trying to hold him back in order to create a gap to take out Typhon’s body [a monstrous serpentine giant and one of the deadliest creatures in Greek mythology].

The three command entities that Persephone had seen earlier all rushed in and surrounded the chariot with the black aura.

Just as the goddess of spring was about to say it was dangerous,

The cold smile on Hades’ lips deepened.

Seueuk-

The two-pronged spear, Bident, was planted on the ground.

A huge crack spread out, temporarily connecting this world and the underworld.

The atmosphere became heavy, and a black aura spewed out from the ground.

What came out of the endless crack were soldiers of the underworld.

Ghost soldiers with translucent bodies came out endlessly, holding spears and swords.

“You son of a bitch! It’s Hades, the god of the underworld!”

“Uaaa! Die!”

“Even if he’s one of the three main gods, he’s alone!”

“The already dead are coming to this world!”

Kwajijik! Kuuung!

The Gigantes picked up the surrounding trees and swung their fists, resisting…

But the soldiers of the underworld continued to increase in number to the point where it was difficult to count them.

The forces of the underworld, which had been increasing since humans were first created.

The army of semi-transparent beings successfully blockaded the Gigantes who were trying to take out Typhon.

“Peloreos! If we defeat only Hades, we win! Keep your mind straight!”

“For Mother Gaia [the personification of Earth and one of the primordial deities]!”

A slanting spear strike stretched out into the sky, blowing away the upper body of another Gigantes.

There was no monster that could regenerate even though half of its body was blown away by the power of the underworld.

“Receive- Ara!!!!”

Thoas slammed a wooden club down on Hades’ head as he retrieved the spear from the chariot.

As if he had put all his strength into this attack, its power was enough to break even a mountain.

Tjeoeoeong!

But the master of the underworld pulled out a black longsword from his waist and lightly blocked it with one hand,

A loud noise erupted from the collision of the powerful forces, devastating the surroundings.

Kuuuung. Kwakwakwang!!!

Even in this chaos, Persephone’s body, riding behind Hades, was unharmed.

And she realized that the master of the underworld had never allowed a single effective hit.

‘He’s toying with monsters, each matching an Olympian god…’

The Twelve Olympians include Zeus and Poseidon, but they are grouped with Hades as the three main gods.

And the rumor that even if all twelve gods of the golden throne attacked, they could not defeat one of the three main gods.

That story she laughed and chatted about with the nymphs was true.

It seemed that she had only now discovered the corners of Hades’ lips, which had been giving a cold smile since the battle began,

One of the Gigantes command entities, who was catching his breath, rushed in excitedly.

“Damn it! Don’t underestimate us, Hades!”

“Wait…! Eurytos!! Don’t rush in so excitedly…”

Seogeok- Puwhak!

“Kuaaaak!”

But as the jet-black longsword flashed, the rushing Gigantes’ arms were cut off.

Eurytos, who had rushed in boldly, rolled on the ground, spewing a fountain of blood.

“Eu.. Eueu…”

“He’s stronger than I thought…!”

She had heard many rumors about Hades, the master of the underworld.

That he ruled the underworld, so he must be hideous and terrible… usually gruesome rumors.

She was a young god who had never been to the Olympian banquet, so even more so.

Even if humans talked about him being a god of mercy, she thought it was just talk because she had never seen his face directly.

It was not uncommon for humans to sublimate fear into faith…

But now Persephone could see that all of that was wrong.

The kindness of gently holding her waist and saving her from danger.

His strength comparable to her father, Zeus, and his meticulous consideration to protect her throughout the battle.

Lastly, she had imagined him to be hideous in appearance…

His face was cold and handsome, unlike the master of the underworld.

A small whisper flowed from Persephone’s mouth as if she were possessed.

“He’s so cool…”