King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 68

Persephone’s Story – (3)

As I hurriedly drove the chariot north, I soon found the Gigantes [Giants] massacring the Nymphs [minor female deities associated with nature].

Nymphs dying with screams, and a single blonde-haired goddess struggling to resist.

Crack!

“Kyaaaa!”

“Save me! Lady Demeter!”

“Ugh… I don’t want to die…!”

I hadn’t seen that goddess at the banquet held in Olympus last time.

Judging from the power I felt, her appearance, and combat experience…

She seemed to be a young goddess who hadn’t even been born for 200 years.

Her divine power, which felt like it came from a powerful god, seemed to be just below the Twelve Olympians [the major gods of the Greek pantheon].

Doo-doo-doo-doo-

Although it was a bit far, the ghost horse quickly dashed across the land and arrived in no time.

What I saw was a Gigas commander holding the goddess’s neck with a sadistic smile.

“You seem to be a young god, so resent your fate.”

The power I felt from him was a little below Apollo or Ares, about the level of the Twelve Olympians.

And three guys with power no less than him.

The Gigantes clinging to Mount Etna and digging into Typhon’s body were about the level of lower gods.

Roughly hundreds to thousands of monster forces.

So many bugs have gathered.

Pooh-wack-

I summoned the Bident [a two-pronged spear, Hades’ signature weapon] and slammed it down hard.

The Gigas’s head exploded in an instant, and blood splattered on the ground.

I drove the ghost horse, gently picked up the exhausted goddess, and put her in the back of the chariot.

This chariot of Hades is the safest place on the battlefield.

“Are you okay?”

No answer came back, but it didn’t matter.

Judging from the ichor [the ethereal fluid that is the blood of the gods] flowing profusely from her body, she must have been seriously injured.

“Who are you!”

“Even if it’s an Olympian, it’s just one more! Charge!”

“What can you do alone…”

Numerous bugs noticed the death of their comrade and swarmed in.

Mount Etna is a little different from ordinary mountains.

If a god with more than a certain amount of power could destroy a mountain or so.

What if it’s Typhon’s body?

The reason why the seal that imprisoned him is maintained is…

The enormous size of Mount Etna, Zeus’s divine power, the sealing formation created directly by the gods, etc.

This is because various preparations have been made.

Looking at the condition of Mount Etna…

“Take this-“

“What do you think you can do alone!”

Kwaaaang!!!

What was I thinking about? Right, the state of Mount Etna.

If those terrible monsters, the Gigantes, were given a little time, they seemed capable of digging out the mountain sufficiently.

But since I’m interfering, the commanding entities will flock to stop me…

The guys on par with the lower gods…

“Eurytos! Let’s cooperate!”

“You create an opening, Toas!”

Three guys with far greater power than the other Gigantes surround my chariot.

Even so, Dionysus and Ares. These guys could be taken care of with just these two.

Now that I have arrived here, the situation is already as good as resolved.

Now there’s no need to rush, so shall I kill them slowly?

I slammed the Bident into the ground and used divine power to create a path to the underworld.

Jjeo-jeo-jeok-

It seems like I’m causing too much damage to Demeter’s territory,

But since the Gigas attacked, she would understand to some extent.

The underworld is not just an underground world.

Another world completely separate from this world.

You can never reach it just by digging down into the ground.

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

“Ugh! Die!”

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

“The already dead are coming to this world!”

Unless I connect the worlds with my power like this.

A wave of translucent dead crawled onto the earth and clung to the Gigantes.

These are an army that never dies. They will continue to revive unless the entire underworld is blown away.

In fact, even though the plan to quickly steal Typhon while avoiding the eyes of Olympus had failed,

The three Gigas in front of me still seemed to have hope.

“Take- this!!!!”

A huge wooden club swung over my head.

Oh. He’s using some strength? That was what I was thinking as I pulled out the Styx sword [a sword imbued with the power of the River Styx, the river that forms the boundary between Earth and the Underworld] from my waist and held it out.

Jjeo-eo-eo-eong!

But it’s useless no matter how hard you grit your teeth and strike down with both hands.

It’s not like Zeus or Poseidon swung it…

Another guy’s gaze turned to my mouth, and he jumped in, extremely furious.

Giantification, super strength, rapid regeneration, granting divinity to the earth, etc.

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

“Wait…! Eurytos!! Don’t rush in…”

Oops, wasn’t it rude to be smiling on the battlefield?

You seem very angry. But…

Seogeok- Pooh-wack!

“Kuaaaak!”

It’s so ridiculous that you guys have the vain hope that you will win.

You should be running away right now, but you’re trying to beat me?

Did you think I would be defeated by you just because I don’t have the helmet of invisibility, Kynee [Hades’ helmet that grants invisibility]?

If this were a full-scale war, I would be defeated.

But this is just a preliminary battle, the prophecy does not activate.

* * *

As I watched the dead killing the remaining Gigas, I felt the presence of a god approaching quickly.

Flying here from the sky is… Hermes?

Hermes, holding the Caduceus [Hermes’ staff, often depicted with two snakes entwined around it], quickly looked around and then made eye contact with me.

The messenger god approached me with a slightly relieved expression.

“Uncle Hades! Was it a Gigas attack?”

“Yes, it seems to be Gaia’s strike mentioned in Prometheus’s prophecy.”

“They came to steal Typhon’s body. It would have been really dangerous if you weren’t here, Uncle.”

Hermes, who was looking around a little more, was surprised to see the peak of Mount Etna.

I blew it away a little while fighting earlier…

“Heok…! The entire mountain peak… Could it be that you did it, Uncle?!”

“…It was a mistake.”

“…Typhon’s body could have been released.”

I adjusted it as much as possible so as not to affect Typhon’s seal,

But those guys were quite strong, so I couldn’t help it.

“But I don’t think Prometheus’s prophecy will end here.”

“I summoned the underworld forces earlier, and I’m guessing that it means that we will win if this world and the underworld are connected.”

“Hmm… It can be seen that way, but I feel uneasy about something.”

Hermes frowned and pondered.

Is this really the attack mentioned in the prophecy?

“First, you go to the underworld and report on the current state of Mount Etna. And also, tell them that all the enemies have been killed, so no support is needed.”

“Are you going to check Typhon’s seal?”

“I will check it for a while, so tell Olympus not to worry and prepare for other places…”

There may be additional attacks from Gaia, hidden ambushes, or more remnants of the Gigas,

It would be better for me to fix the seal myself.

This place, Typhon’s seal, is an important strategic point.

That’s why I need to check the condition of Mount Etna and inject divine power to make it more solid…

“And also, stop by Demeter and ask if she has found out the Gigas’s base.”

“Yes. I understand…”

“I’ll ask! She’s my mother!”

A blonde-haired goddess, who was listening to the conversation between me and Hermes, suddenly jumped in.

She was looking at me with sparkling eyes…

“Are you Demeter’s daughter?”

“Yes! And my father is Zeus!”

Demeter and Zeus’s daughter?

* * *

After Hermes left, I faced the blonde-haired goddess.

Looking at her smile, which seemed to be asking me to ask anything I was curious about, reminded me of someone…

“The messenger god Hermes can go and come back… There’s no need for you to ask Demeter.”

“Lord Hades. Still, it would be better for me to tell my mom…”

“Okay, since you are the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, you can just call me uncle comfortably.”

“Yes! Uncle Hades!”

The blonde goddess, reminiscent of a warm spring day, smiled brightly and answered.

…? Why do you like it so much?

Well, I also have a position…

“So, what should I call you, niece?”

“Please call me Kore! Everyone who is close to me calls me that!”

A nickname? Why are you telling me to call you by your nickname?

We met for the first time today.

“What’s your name?”

“Please call me Kore!”

“…I’m talking about your name, not your nickname.”

She seemed to make a pouty face for a moment,

Soon, she smiled brightly and answered.

“I’m Persephone! Uncle Hades!”

“What… did you say?”

In an instant, it was as if I had been hit in the head with a blunt weapon.

Very old memories that I had forgotten with Mint… memories of my past life.

Knowledge flooding in like a river overflowing a bank.

Surely, according to the memories of my previous life… wasn’t she Hades’s wife?

Eros [the god of love, also known as Cupid], the son of Aphrodite and Ares.

He was practicing archery and accidentally hit Hades with an arrow that made him fall in love,

And Hades, who happened to see Persephone, fell in love with her and kidnapped her to the underworld…

“Uncle Hades? What are you thinking about? Is there anything I can help you with…”

If so, could it be that Eros is practicing archery around here too?

Thinking this far, I used divine power to detect the presence around me…

Shoo-woo-woo-

Soon, I belatedly discovered an arrow flying towards me from a close distance.

Love, a hot and passionate emotion, can come suddenly, anytime, anywhere.

Because of that, Eros’s arrows were also fast and stealthy.

But if I was on guard in advance, it wasn’t at a level I could be hit,

I hurriedly turned my body and dodged the arrow flying from behind.

Shoo-woong-

Wait, if I dodge the arrow, this direction is…!

Thud.

“Huh?”