King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 133

The King of the Underworld is Tired, Episode 133

The Goddess of Prophecy, Thetis

Time flowed like a river.

Whether in the Underworld or the mortal realm, the passage of time is unstoppable.

The patience of Zeus, king of the gods, was also wearing thin.

“Hades, the goddess Thetis wishes to speak with you.”

“Thetis, you say?”

The one who would bear the child prophesied to surpass his own father.

The goddess who visited the Underworld to see me long ago during Poseidon’s rebellion on Olympus.

What could be the matter this time? The issues with Charybdis and Poseidon’s children have been resolved.

I was resting with my head on the goddess Styx’s lap when this happened…

I rose from my bed and proceeded to the throne.

For a goddess who should be in the sea or on Olympus to come all the way to the Underworld,

It surely couldn’t be another rebellion. Did she come to ask for something?

“Please help me! Zeus keeps trying to marry me off these days!”

“Ah.”

“It was quiet for a while, but recently it’s started again…”

I looked at the goddess with water-colored hair, who was on the verge of tears, and sighed, running a hand through my hair.

I clearly asked Zeus to accommodate her last time.

Is his patience finally running out, and he’s trying to eliminate the source of his anxiety?

“How much is he forcing you to do this?”

“He says I can never become the wife of a god and tells me to marry some human, but why should a goddess like me marry a mortal… Waaah…”

“Haaa…”

Thetis was shedding tears and complaining to me.

From Zeus’s point of view, he can’t possibly let her marry a god. Would a child greater than a god become one of the three main gods?

He must only feel secure if she marries a human and has a child.

I understand the position of this goddess, who is being forced into marriage.

But…

“Goddess Thetis.”

“Hic… sob… yes?”

“If you marry a god, wouldn’t Zeus harm your child?”

If I were swayed by emotions and helped her marry a god as she wished,

Zeus wouldn’t stand still. Even if I or Poseidon intervened, Zeus wouldn’t budge.

Then the war of the gods would begin.

Unless one side backs down from Zeus’s pressure, it would lead to destruction.

With Gigas [Giants born of Gaia and Uranus, who challenged the Olympian gods] as our adversary, we would only end up fighting among ourselves and perishing together.

Power is Zeus’s reverse scale [a metaphor for something that provokes extreme anger or retaliation, derived from dragons whose scales, when touched in the wrong way, would enrage them],

Even if I am his brother and the main god of the Underworld, I don’t want to cross that line.

“…Then. What should I do… sob… No one will help me, so I came all the way to the Underworld…”

But to force her to marry a human? That’s not fair.

Goddess Thetis is so against it; isn’t this like being sold off in an arranged marriage?

I don’t have many ideas, but I should still try what I can.

“Thetis, I will try to persuade Zeus.”

“…!”

“But if you marry a god, Olympus could be split in half. So… what about those who are of divine blood but not demigods?”

If she marries one of the three main gods, the child will surpass Zeus.

If she marries a god, the three main gods might become the four main gods.

If she marries a demigod, the child might become a god.

But Thetis’s pride won’t allow her to marry a human.

“I want to help you, but the prophecy is still a concern.”

* * *

Goddess Thetis looks at me pitifully with greatly disappointed eyes.

“But what if it’s a human who pleases you?”

“There’s no way there’s a human who will please me.”

“Then… you could hold a competition or game in which humans participate. Goddess Thetis, you can watch the competition yourself and choose someone you like.”

There are hardly any humans who refuse to marry a goddess.

Those who do not have the steadfast spirit of the great hero Cadmus or Heracles cannot escape the beauty of an immortal.

So, with the condition that the winner can marry the goddess, recruit participants from all over Greece.

Only outstanding humans with courage, daring, and wisdom will have the opportunity to court the goddess.

I roughly laid out these thoughts to Goddess Thetis.

“If there is no one you like, you can make the winning prize a suitable treasure. Only those who please the goddess will have the opportunity.”

“Then, if I keep refusing with the excuse that I don’t like them…”

“But Zeus won’t give up until you have a child. The prophecy has already confirmed that your child will surpass his father.”

The prophecy didn’t say ‘if she has a child,’ but ‘Thetis’s son will surpass his father.’

Therefore, it is a confirmed fact that Goddess Thetis will have a son.

From Zeus’s point of view, he must be relieved only when Thetis’s son is born.

“Hoo. There’s no way to refuse marriage no matter what I do.”

“Is there anything else you want? It seems like you can ask Zeus for something more.”

“…I’ll think about that later.”

“I will convey your wishes to Zeus for now.”

Is this the best I can do? Zeus is unlikely to reject this proposal.

It would be nice if the conflict could be resolved with this… Should I go to Olympus and talk to him?

* * *

So, I came to Olympus with Goddess Thetis.

Zeus’s expression seemed to stiffen subtly when he saw me and Goddess Thetis together, but it soon relaxed.

“Hades is not the type to covet Thetis… Is this something related to her treatment?”

“Goddess Thetis says she will marry a human.”

“…Have you finally decided? Thetis?”

Zeus was half-doubtful, and Goddess Thetis nodded reluctantly.

“But you can’t just grab any human and marry them, can you? Even if there is a prophecy that he will surpass his father… At least he should be a king or a hero who has achieved great things.”

“Hmm.”

“How about holding a hunting competition among humans who are not children of gods? Only those who win there and please the goddess will marry.”

“It can also foster heroes… Not a bad idea.”

Zeus pondered and then summoned several gods.

Thus, a hunting competition was discussed to aim for marriage with Goddess Thetis.

A competition for all Greeks would be held regularly every two years.

Of course, this was conveyed to humans through oracles…

“Have you heard about the hunting competition where you can marry Goddess Thetis?”

“I honestly don’t believe it; it’s an opportunity to take a goddess, but isn’t it also that the winner has to please the goddess?”

“The winning prize is treasure and honor, but Goddess Thetis is watching the competition…”

“I know that she is not married. She is looking for a groom among humans!”

“If one of your parents is a god, you cannot participate, so you cannot go out.”

Thus began the competition among humans to catch the eye of Thetis, the goddess of the sea, who is said to be beautiful.

Of course, it won’t be easy to catch the goddess’s eye, but… heroes who covet experience, honor, and treasure participated in the competition.

* * *

At that time, when the mortal realm was bustling with the hunting competition organized by Goddess Thetis,

The great hero Heracles [also known as Hercules, a divine hero in Greek mythology], was silently performing his tasks.

The fifth task was cleaning the Augean stables.

Cleaning the stables where hundreds of livestock had been defecating for decades was daunting even for the great hero.

So, he diverted the flow of the river and swept away all the waste.

Of course, the god of the river protested…

“You bastard! Who gave you permission to change the flow of the river!”

“…I am Heracles, performing Hera’s task. I’m sorry, but…”

“The hero of prophecy. Hmph… I’ll let you off once.”

Thanks to his widely known name, he was able to get through it safely.

The sixth task was hunting the Stymphalian birds.

A flock of man-eating birds that shot feathers at people or pecked and ate them with their beaks.

Birds with bronze beaks and claws, raised by Ares [the Greek god of war], but…

Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!

“It’s noisy… Shut uㅡp!!!!”

The great hero’s vocal cords were also amazing.

The eardrums of the birds that were surprised and fell to the ground, bleeding from their ears, burst from the loud shout.

Because he shot and caught the fleeing birds with arrows.

The seventh task

He also finished capturing the Cretan bull, the father of the Minotaur [a mythical creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man]…

The eighth task

He also finished capturing the man-eating mares of King Diomedes.

The next task he received was…

“The ninth task is to bring back Geryon’s cattle.”

“Are you talking about that monster king with three heads and torsos?”

Geryon’s place is an island at the end of the western land.

Heracles sailed smoothly to the island without anyone’s interference.

Thud. Pow!

“Ugh!”

The screams heard as soon as he entered the island.

What Heracles saw with a familiar face after taking out an iron club and moving was a familiar face.

“…Triton?”

“Oh. Isn’t that Heracles?”

“What are you doing here…?”

“It’s nothing; I was impressed by the way you educated Polyphemus [a cyclops in Greek mythology]. I was wondering if I should use that method too.”

Triton, resting his club on his shoulder, was educating a giant.

The giant, whose eyes were bruised and whose limbs were twisted from being beaten so much, was kneeling in front of Triton.

The giant, who looked bigger than Heracles, was filled with fear and dread.

“This is my half-brother Antaeus [a giant in Greek mythology who was invincible when in contact with the earth], who has been repeatedly killing passersby after arm wrestling with them.”

“Ah… I see.”

“My father told me to control my children, so I have to do this.”

Crack! Pow!

“K… Keueuk…”

“Hahaha! Antaeus! Isn’t your mother the goddess Gaia [the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities]? Show more grit.”

“N… No. I will never harass passersby again…”

Triton smiling refreshingly. Antaeus, the son of Gaia and Poseidon, groaning as he dies.

Heracles stared blankly at them for a moment and then questioned Triton’s words.

“Triton.”

“What?”

“He is the child of the goddess Gaia and Poseidon… Why isn’t Antaeus here a god? No, in the first place… My goal is to become a god, but I don’t know anything. Despite already achieving numerous feats, the position of god still feels far away. Please give me advice.”

Will Triton be able to resolve his questions?