King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 146

The King of the Underworld is Tired 147

The Story of Asclepius – (1)

Asclepius.

He was born from the union of the god Apollo and Coronis, a princess of Thessaly.

However, while Asclepius was in Coronis’s womb, she cheated on Apollo with a mortal man. Apollo, upon hearing this news from a crow, killed Coronis in a fit of rage.

Legend says the crow, which once had white feathers, was burned black by Apollo’s wrathful gaze for delivering the unwelcome news.

Thus, the sun god, having retrieved the infant Asclepius from Coronis’s corpse, recognized his inherent talent and sent him to be raised in the underworld city of Thebes.

This is how Asclepius came to learn medicine from Chiron [a wise centaur known for his knowledge of medicine and healing] in the underworld.

“Indeed. He had the talent Apollo spoke of.”

“…?”

“He couldn’t learn how to handle weapons at all, but his medical talent surpasses everyone else’s.”

So, Asclepius abandoned the sword and spear, dedicating himself to accumulating medical knowledge, and soon surpassed even Chiron.

Though, it should be noted that the heroes who fought to the death in the underworld often became unwilling sacrifices for his medical knowledge acquisition.

Crack!

“Kuaaaak! Asclepius, you crazy bastard!”

“Ah. That’s not it. Then, if I turn it the other way…”

Crack, crack!

Despite the many trials and errors, he grew steadily.

“Now, when you go outside, wear this mask. In areas with a lot of dust, dust accumulates in the human chest…”

“It’s a bit stuffy.”

“And when a child has a stomachache after eating food, give them water boiled with the herbs I gave you…”

“Asclepius! His Majesty the King [Hades, King of the Underworld] is urgently looking for you!”

“Did he say his feet hurt again?”

“…How did you know?”

“That’s an incurable ailment that keeps recurring, so if you follow this management method…”

While other heroes wandered around, catching monsters, Asclepius traveled around Greece, treating the sick.

“The benefits of mint that Pluto [Roman name for Hades] gave to the human world are so numerous… Hmm.”

“Teacher! As you said, the corpse that died from the plague…”

“Did you get proper permission from his parents?”

While other heroes trained in martial arts to build their reputations, Asclepius researched medicine and expanded his knowledge.

Thus, people’s perception of Asclepius now is…

“He is the master of medicine, Asclepius.”

“The best doctor in Greece, who can cure any disease?”

“Isn’t he able to revive the dead? I saw him touch the chest of someone who wasn’t breathing, and they came back to life…”

“The story of him saving a man who drowned? That was truly amazing.”

“Maybe he has such abilities because he is Apollo’s son.”

A person who was recognized for his qualifications in the underworld hero training camp solely for his medical skills, the ship’s doctor of the Golden Fleece Expedition [a famous quest in Greek mythology].

Everyone in Greece acknowledged his medical skills, which were comparable to Orpheus’s [a legendary musician and poet in Greek mythology] music.

Many even seriously believed that he could revive the dead.

By Hades’s past life, in the 21st century, it was just CPR on someone who drowned and wasn’t breathing…

The medicine of this era has not developed that far.

Eventually, rumors spread widely that Asclepius even revived the dead,

and in some rural villages, he was even worshiped as the god of medicine.

“Are you the human named Asclepius who is said to revive the dead?”

“…Who are you?”

“I am Artemis [Greek goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals, the Moon, and archery]. Apollo, your father, is my brother.”

Naturally, the rumors spread to Olympus, where the gods reside.

* * *

Thud!

Asclepius stared blankly at the huge boar corpse thrown from somewhere.

A house-sized boar, bleeding all over and dead.

Its identity was the boar that was rampaging in Calydon [an ancient city in Aetolia, Greece].

“It’s a sacred animal I raised. It was hunted by human heroes, and immediately after, I covered their eyes with fog and brought the corpse here.”

“But why would the goddess do this…?”

“I heard rumors that you can revive the dead. Revive my sacred animal.”

“The boar that appeared in Calydon…! Was it sent by the goddess?”

In fact, Artemis had no real intention of saving her sacred animal sent to Calydon.

Isn’t it natural for a god to be angry with humans and give them a suitable punishment in the form of a task?

Artemis also did not deviate from this basic principle,

so she was thinking of delivering an oracle, pretending she couldn’t win, and telling them to perform the ritual properly if the boar was defeated by the heroes’ struggles, but…

‘Even if they are heroes, how could they slaughter my sacred animal as soon as they saw it? I have to order this human to revive it and send it back.’

That’s right.

The boar that Artemis gave as divine punishment was killed ‘at once’ by the heroes.

That was the problem. Divine punishment shouldn’t end like that…!

If the divine punishment directly given by the 12 gods of Olympus was resolved by the heroes’ ‘fierce struggles,’ it would save some face, but…

If the divine punishment ends like this, there would be a problem with the goddess’s pride and dignity, and even lower-ranking deities might laugh at her.

‘Next time, I’ll have to imbue it with plenty of madness and lunar power so that it can’t be easily dealt with.’

Of course, Asclepius, who was suddenly told by the goddess of the moon to revive the dead sacred animal, was embarrassed.

Cold sweat ran down his forehead, and his hands trembled.

“Goddess Artemis! I do not have the ability to revive the dead.”

“There are so many people who have seen you revive humans who cannot breathe, so why are you lying?”

“If you are talking about saving someone who fell into the water, you are mistaken. I don’t have that ability.”

“Don’t lie. A human is not a god. If they can’t breathe, they die.”

A god is excellent in their field but does not have detailed knowledge of areas they do not oversee.

No, it is safe to say that they don’t need to have it. Omnipotent power, divine power, solved everything.

Goddess Artemis is not Apollo, who possesses the divine power of medicine.

Of course, if she had directly seen the human that Asclepius saved, rather than just hearing rumors, she would have noticed that he did not revive the dead,

but Artemis, who had become accustomed to demigods and gods performing all sorts of miracles, and had even seen the hero Hercules ascend to godhood not long ago, thought that Asclepius might be able to revive the dead.

The strongest hero became the god of power,

so why wouldn’t the best doctor be able to revive the dead?

“If you really didn’t revive the dead, swear on the River Styx [a river in the Underworld across which Charon carried the souls of the dead]. Then I’ll believe you.”

“That is…”

Asclepius couldn’t answer.

In fact, he didn’t know the exact principle of reviving someone who had stopped breathing.

He only knew that if he breathed back into a human who had not stopped breathing for long,

and made the beating heart beat again, there was a possibility that they would wake up.

Asclepius was unsure whether he had rescued the soul from Thanatos’s [the personification of death in Greek mythology] grasp,

or whether he had brought someone from the threshold of the underworld back to this world.

Goddess Artemis, who watched him hesitate, smiled and said.

“Heh heh. I won’t ask about the crime of daring to lie to a goddess. Of course, if you treat my sacred animal with all your heart.”

* * *

“But goddess! The dead are under the jurisdiction of Pluto! How can someone like me invade his territory!”

“Do you think I wouldn’t have taken that into account?”

Goddess Artemis’s smile did not fade despite Asclepius’s desperate plea.

How annoying, being bothered by a human. You should just obey when a god orders you.

“Hades did not punish you even if you revived the dead.”

“That’s because I didn’t revive the dead…”

“No. When I saw it, your medical skills had already surpassed my brother. You are capable of aiming for the divine power of medicine.”

“…?”

“My guess is… you, who have the potential to become the divine power of medicine, were not punished because you revived the dead with medicine, not someone else.”

In fact, Goddess Artemis didn’t care whether this human would be punished later.

The important thing is that he can revive the dead.

Apollo’s son? Hmph. I don’t care if he gets punished by Hades for reviving the dead.

My great-uncle Hades might give me a little scolding… but I can handle that much.

Goddess Artemis, who had never worked in the underworld, sincerely thought so.

“Ummm…”

Asclepius’s eyes wavered at the goddess’s confirmation.

But how can he revive a monster that is not only out of breath but also has its whole body pierced like that?

“Do your best to heal it. With your abilities, you will surely be able to revive my sacred animal.”

“…I understand.”

In the end, Asclepius could not refuse the goddess’s order and began to examine the boar.

He had to do his best to heal it because the goddess was watching directly.

Taking out the spears and swords stuck in its body, wiping away the blood…

Using herbs to boost recovery, bandaging and sealing the wounds…

“This is how…”

Swish. Swish.

Asclepius’s ‘treatment’ continued for a while.

But he himself never thought that the dead boar would come back to life, but…

“Oweeek…”

‘…What. Why is it coming back to life?’

How could this be? The boar that was clearly dead came back to life.

An achievement that cannot even be compared to saving a human who has stopped breathing.

The reason for this was as follows…

Heroes are those who have reached and surpassed the limits of humanity.

Orpheus’s music calms storms,

Idas’s courage did not back down even in front of the sun god,

Atalante’s [a huntress in Greek mythology] archery was considered good enough even by the gods.

Then what about Asclepius?

He was renowned as the master of medicine recognized by everyone in Greece, and there was no doctor comparable to him…

Even in rural villages, there were already places that worshiped him as the god of medicine.

Just as Orpheus surpassed Apollo with music,

Asclepius’s medical skills had already surpassed Apollo long ago.

His name had absolute authority in the human medical world,

and his reputation for reviving the dead was comparable to Orpheus, who calmed the storm in the Golden Fleece Expedition.

Moreover, his father was Apollo, and the goddess of the moon, one of the 12 Olympian gods, believed that he could revive the dead.

In other words, a demigod close to God had achievements, abilities, reputation, and faith.

This inevitably led to a rise in status…

“Very well done. I’ll see you again on Olympus next time.”

“…?!”

In the end, he really achieved the feat of reviving a dead life.