King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 110

The King of the Underworld is Tired 110 (110/140)

Heracles of Thebes – (1)

Do you know the story of how the hero of prophecy, Heracles, was born?

As the great hero they had been waiting for failed to appear after so long, Zeus devised a plan.

‘Instead of simply waiting, what if I deliberately fostered a great hero from childhood?’

Instead of observing the journey of someone destined to become a hero, what if he received the full power and blessings of the gods from the start?

A hero with divine blood possesses overwhelmingly greater power than ordinary mortals from birth.

Therefore, a demigod—a hero with one divine parent—must be cultivated.

The higher the divinity of the parent, the stronger the demigod becomes.

Thus, a demigod born from Zeus himself would be the strongest of all.

The Earth Mother, Gaia, must have suspected that the hero was connected to the Gigantes [a race of giants in Greek mythology].

The hero had to be raised in the realm of the gods, beyond Gaia’s reach.

Places like Olympia, where Zeus’s own sanctuary was located; Delphi, the realm of Apollo; or Athens, the city of Athena.

The demigod couldn’t die at birth. He needed to be born to someone of means.

And not too far from Thebes, where heroes were nurtured, lest the demigod perish before reaching it.

‘That woman would be suitable—the Queen of Thebes who serves Hades…’

For this reason, a candidate emerged, influenced by Zeus’s personal preferences.

It was Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon, the King of Thebes.

“Oh? You’re home early today, dear?”

“Ahem. It happened…”

So Zeus, disguised as Amphitryon, King of Thebes, visited his wife and had relations with her.

Of course, Alcmene remained unaware of this fact until later…

“No, which god came down to you? Pluto, the main god of Thebes, would never do that…”

“Hic… It must have been Zeus.”

“…It’s the will of the gods, so there’s nothing we can do. Did they instruct us to raise the child?”

And so, Heracles, the child they conceived, was held by Zeus and suckled at Hera’s breast.

He was also moved around, even to the underworld, to evade the wrath of the Queen of the Gods.

“…The child often disappears and returns. This time, he was gone for an entire month…”

“Could it be that the gods need this child?”

“In a dream last night, a goddess appeared and told me the child’s name is Heracles.”

Fortunately, Heracles grew up safely, and Amphitryon invited several dignitaries to tutor him.

He learned everything from archery and horseback riding to swordsmanship, spear handling, and various liberal arts.

However, there was one problem…

“Your Majesty, I cannot teach that child.”

“No… are you saying it’s impossible even for you, who studied in Mycenae?”

“He mastered everything I know in a month, so there’s nothing left to teach…”

“Is it even possible to break a stone with his bare hands at that age?”

“He hasn’t been injured even once so far?”

“I even saw the wooden sword shatter when it struck his body during swordsmanship training last time…”

The problem was that Heracles was too exceptional.

Heracles, with Zeus’s blood, Hera’s milk, and the power of the River Styx [a river in the Underworld in Greek mythology], was on a completely different level from ordinary people.

Amphitryon, witnessing Heracles break a steel sword with his bare hands, realized they could no longer manage the child.

“Perhaps it’s because he is Zeus’s child. Ordinary human education won’t suffice.”

“Did Heracles overhear the maids whispering behind his back that he was a monster?”

“Let’s take the child to the temple. I heard many people train at the temple from a young age…”

Thus, after much deliberation, Amphitryon and his wife decided to take the child to Pluto’s temple.

If they entrusted Heracles to Pluto’s temple, which selected and trained aspiring heroes, they could surely rest assured.

* * *

Whoosh-

“As soon as Heracles approached…”

“Light emanated from all the statues…”

“The gods are welcoming him so warmly; he must possess the qualities of a great hero.”

Heracles, upon entering Pluto’s temple, instantly found himself in the underworld.

Different air from the mortal realm, strange skies and scenery, a chilling energy that touched his body…

Whoong-

“Hey! Watch out!”

Heracles noticed an arrow flying toward him from somewhere.

The arrowhead was rapidly approaching his chest, yet he watched it without any sense of alarm.

Thwack- Ting-

The arrow failed to penetrate his skin and bounced off. His body, strengthened by the River Styx, was impervious to harm from an ordinary human weapon.

Heracles turned toward the voice… and saw a blond teenager running up, panting.

About his age? The young man, appearing to be in his late teens, wore a dumbfounded expression.

…Like others who had witnessed Heracles’s superhuman strength and steel-like skin.

“Huk… huk… No way… the arrow bounced off? Is it some kind of divine protection?”

“The arrow—did you shoot it?”

“Ah, that’s right! Sorry about that. I accidentally shot it while practicing archery.”

“Archery practice?”

“Yeah. This is the heroes’ training ground, right? But why isn’t Chiron [a wise centaur in Greek mythology, often depicted as a teacher of heroes] here? It’s about time he came… Follow me for now.”

The blond man, momentarily flustered, approached him and spoke as if it were commonplace.

Heracles smiled. He appreciated that the man wasn’t overly frightened, even after seeing that he was unharmed by the arrow.

“Are there many people here with bodies that can’t be injured?”

“Not really… but there are heroes who deflect arrows with swords, heroes who regenerate wounds, and archers who shoot down flying arrows…”

“Chiron, are you talking about the wise Chiron?”

“Yeah. That’s right. The real wise Chiron, just like in the history books! His lower body is a horse, you know?”

On the way to meet the centaur Chiron, Heracles learned many things.

First, the man’s name was Jason, and he was a member of the royal family of Iolcos.

He also learned about the underworld training ground and the intensity of their usual training.

“…Yesterday, a giant monster…”

“Jason, is that person next to you a newly arrived hero?”

“Ah, Teacher Chiron!”

Soon, a centaur appeared—the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse.

“I am Chiron. What is your name, child?”

“…Heracles.”

“Tsk. You’re not using respectful language to your elders, Heracles.”

The centaur, smiling but with a vein throbbing on his forehead, gently stroked his head.

Would this centaur be any different from the numerous teachers he had already surpassed?

* * *

This is the underworld, Hades’s throne.

From a few years ago,

Since Heracles arrived in the underworld, I have been receiving regular reports about him from Chiron.

Initially, Chiron was curious about why he was receiving special treatment,

But after learning that Heracles had suckled Hera’s milk and bathed in the River Styx, he understood.

Looking at the hero’s progress reports so far…

– Heracles fought against the hero Bellerophon [a hero in Greek mythology who rode the winged horse Pegasus] for about 10 rounds and was defeated. This was a sparring match under the condition that he would lose if a weapon touched his body, so in actual combat, he would be even more formidable…

– He said he didn’t feel challenged by the training, so I had him lift a rock bigger than an average house. It might be a little heavy…

– Now, among my students, the only ones who can withstand him even for a moment in a sparring match are Theseus [a legendary hero and king of Athens] and Atalante [a skilled huntress in Greek mythology], and…

– Lord Hades, Heracles has won 1v1 sparring matches against all heroes except the great hero Cadmus [a legendary Phoenician prince and founder of Thebes]. Heracles will definitely become the most outstanding hero among the students I have taught!

The latest report stated that Heracles had won sparring matches against all the other heroes except the great hero Cadmus.

As expected of the hero of prophecy. He has already surpassed Bellerophon and Perseus [another hero in Greek mythology]?.

He still can’t beat Cadmus… so his strength is about that of a lower-level god?

I’m glad I dropped my nephew into the River Styx.

Hmm. Speaking of the River Styx, the goddess Styx is arriving.

In her hand is parchment stamped with Hermes’s seal. Did my nephew send news from Olympus?

“Hades. They say a child has been born between Eros [the god of love] and Psyche [the goddess of the soul].”

“The number of gods has increased, so it is a cause for celebration. Is there any other news from Olympus?”

“There is nothing else except that Apollo, who was dragged away and punished by Poseidon [god of the sea] last time, has been released and returned. At best, there is news that the Gigantes are not moving and that Gaia seems to be conserving her strength as if she is plotting something. Oh, and Dike’s [the goddess of justice] recent actions are too excessive…”

Is that all—a warning to be wary of Apollo’s return and Gaia’s schemes?

Dike’s actions? She must be lecturing the Olympian gods to uphold justice.

Excessive? Even if Zeus himself intervenes, I have no intention of restraining Dike.

“By the way… how is the work of fostering Zeus’s son, who bathed in my river, going?”

“Are you talking about Heracles? Now that I think about it…”

It’s about time a new report about Heracles arrived…

Just then, a messenger opened the door and presented me with parchment.

“Lord Hades, this is a regular report from Chiron of the Hero Training Center.”

“Hmm.”

I unfolded the parchment scroll and read it, finding some rather strange content.

“Lord Hades, I am in a heavy mood as it seems to reveal my incompetence. However, there is a matter that must be properly reported.”

Incompetence? The best educator, who has trained countless heroes, feels incompetent?