King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 147

The King of the Underworld is Tired 148 (147/179)

The Story of Asclepius – (2)

“Very well done. I shall see you again on Olympus.”

“…?!”

Squeak…

The Goddess Artemis gently stroked the fur of the revived boar before departing with her divine beast.

It was a good outcome, having carried out the goddess’s command and avoided divine punishment, but Asclepius couldn’t simply rest easy.

Unlike breathing life into someone whose breath had merely stopped, this boar had definitely been dead…

Potential to become the god of medicine or not, wasn’t this definitely something that would incur Pluto’s wrath?

“Ugh…!”

Asclepius possessed the greatest medical knowledge in Greece.

His mind, which had absorbed all of Chiron’s medical knowledge in just a few years, quickly spun, seeking a way out.

No matter that it was the Goddess Artemis’s command, wouldn’t he be the one to receive the punishment for this transgression?

No matter how merciful Pluto was as a god, bringing back the dead without permission was a major problem.

Anyone entangled with the gods never has a good ending. The same goes for me… I have to think of a way out.

The only point of hope was that the part where he dared to infringe upon the divine realm was the Underworld.

Pluto was a god of mercy and fairness… The wronged and the guilty would receive fair judgment in death…!

Wait, did I revive that boar because I wanted to?

All of this was entirely due to the ‘forceful request’ of the Goddess Artemis.

The goddess of the moon and the hunt was one of the Twelve Olympians [the principal gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon]. Not many dared to stand against her.

But if I explained this situation and received Pluto’s protection…!

Vitality returned to Asclepius’s eyes.

‘Yes. I should go to Thebes right now, prostrate myself in Pluto’s temple, and beg for forgiveness. If I answer everything honestly, surely the god of mercy and fairness will forgive me…’

The hero of medicine immediately bought a horse nearby and headed to Thebes.

He had to go to Pluto’s temple and quickly explain the whole situation before the god handed down divine punishment.

* * *

This is the Underworld.

As all humans imagine, terrifying and truly gloomy…

“Which idiot put a male soul in a female body again!”

“Last time, someone with incomplete memories was reincarnated. Why do they keep making these mistakes?”

“Isn’t it obviously the fault of the gods up on the clouds? We never make such mistakes…”

“Wait, this is something we need to report to Lord Hades immediately.”

“Tsk tsk. They’re always playing around and eating up on Olympus, so they can’t even handle something like this quickly.”

It is a place where gloomy gods work diligently day and night.

Flipping through numerous documents in one hand while commanding souls with their mouths, or even using divine power to melt away fatigue…

As I watched the usual routine, I too was receiving reports.

“Lord Hades, now that the hero of prophecy, no, the god of strength and struggle, Heracles [also known as Hercules], has ascended, we must close the Underworld Training Camp.”

“Hmm. Tell Persephone [Hades’ wife and Queen of the Underworld]. There is no longer a need to neutralize the energy of the Underworld, and also tell her thank you for her hard work.”

“I will return Chiron [a wise centaur and tutor of heroes] and the monsters to their original positions first. But what should we do with the remaining heroes there?”

“Make them swear an oath on the Styx [a river in the Underworld by which the gods swear] to keep their mouths shut, then send them up to the surface. They will be the last class. Convey this to Olympus as well, and announce this fact to all the divinities of the Underworld.”

And immediately, I closed my eyes and focused my mind, turning my gaze to the mortal realm.

Among my numerous followers on the surface, the most radiant and the most familiar.

But as my faith grows day by day… there are not a few like him.

Is that devout believer Theseus [a legendary hero and king of Athens]? There’s someone in Argos too, and why is there someone near the sea? It’s a place where Poseidon’s influence is immense.

[Some text was here that appeared to be an error, so I removed it.]

Ah, finally found him.

I spoke into the mind of the old high priest in my temple in Thebes.

“Are you… my high priest now?”

“Th-This voice…! Could it be Lord Hades!”

As expected, I could feel him flinching and prostrating himself on the spot.

“From now on, the Hero Training Camp in Thebes is closed. This is something all the gods have agreed upon, so convey that.”

“Yes. I will deliver your message!”

“Of course, if there is someone nearby with the qualities of a hero, there will be no light shining from the statue.”

“Understood!”

Just as I was about to cut the connection and continue my work, the high priest spoke urgently.

“Th-There’s something. Just… just a moment, please wait, Lord Hades!”

“…What is it?”

“Since this morning, a man named Asclepius, said to be the greatest doctor in Greece, has been begging for forgiveness, saying he revived the dead. Please, if you would look into it…”

At his plea, a lower god also reported from the Underworld.

“Lord Hades. This is a report from Lord Minos in the Underworld’s Judgment Hall. He says that the soul of a monster that should have come to the Underworld hasn’t arrived… He suspects that the god Thanatos [the personification of death] has fled again.”

What now?

* * *

First, I turned my gaze to the lower god who had just reported to me.

“Put that matter aside for now. And go to the god Thanatos and the goddess Mnemosyne [the goddess of memory] and tell them that I am looking for them.”

“Yes? Y-Yes… Understood.”

“Halt the reports for a moment. It seems that a mortal being has been revived.”

Whispers were briefly heard, saying that the god Thanatos had fled again, or that Charon [the ferryman of the Underworld] had been negligent this time.

Anyway, if I close my eyes again and listen to the high priest’s plea…

“A human named Asclepius is prostrating himself and begging for forgiveness, saying that he saved the divine beast of the goddess Artemis due to his mistake.”

“Asclepius?”

“Yes! He is the greatest doctor in Greece, and I have heard that there are ignorant people who worship him as the god of medicine!”

I’ve definitely heard of him. I remember… Was he a hero who belonged to the Argonauts [a band of heroes in Greek mythology]?

I should read his memories after all.

“I will borrow your body for a moment to speak with him. Bring that human, Asclepius, into the temple.”

“…Yes. Yes! It is a great honor!”

Swooshㅡ

Thus, I descended into the high priest’s body and looked at the human called Asclepius.

Perhaps because he was the greatest doctor in Greece… he recognized me just by looking at my eyes.

“This lowly sinner greets the master of the Underworld!”

“Whether you are guilty is something to be judged from now on. First, explain your situation.”

“Yes! I…”

He explained in great detail.

How he had breathed life into humans who had fallen into the water and stopped breathing a few times… and how the rumor that he was reviving the dead had spread because of that.

The fact that the Goddess Artemis, having heard the rumor, suddenly appeared and asked him to save the Calydonian Boar [a monstrous boar sent by Artemis to ravage Calydon], and that he had no choice but to treat it, but it really came back to life.

And that he immediately rushed here to beg for forgiveness, judging that he had dared to offend my dignity… everything.

Hmm. He doesn’t seem to be lying, but I still need to verify it.

When I looked at the Goddess Mnemosyne, who had descended into the body of the priestess, she also nodded.

Huh… So he really revived the dead?

He’s no less than Orpheus [a legendary musician and poet], who broke through the Underworld to save the dead.

Now that I look at him again slowly, I can feel a dignity closer to a god than a demigod.

If he has revived a completely dead life, he has achieved a feat close to becoming a god.

“…It is the truth. To revive the dead without my permission… you are right to have committed a wrong.”

“……”

“Originally, it would be a grave crime, so I should immediately take your life and punish you, but considering that you have come here to beg for forgiveness and that the treatment was due to Artemis’s coercion, and that you did not have a clear intention to invade my domain, I will not take your life.”

“Thank… Thank you! Lord Pluto!”

“But remember. If you revive the dead even once more like this time, you will be dragged to Tartarus [a deep abyss in the Underworld].”

At those words, Asclepius, who had been repeatedly bowing his head to the ground and begging for forgiveness, cautiously raised his head.

What was dwelling in the eyes of the one who had become a hero through medicine was curiosity rather than fear.

“Th-That… Lord Pluto…!”

“…?”

“I have treated those who have fallen into the water and stopped breathing before. Is that not reviving the dead?”

Heroes are all like this. A little arrogant, and those who try to hone their skills and get closer to God.

This mentality, which sometimes does not spare even their lives, is a common trait of all heroes.

And of course, he didn’t revive the dead. I, who vaguely remember my past life, know.

That act was CPR… artificial respiration… was it? Anyway, it was a medical skill that saved people who were on the verge of death.

“Dragging those who were about to knock on the door of the Underworld back to the mortal realm is not considered a sin.”

“Ah…! I see. So I didn’t revive the dead…!”

“But don’t do that act anymore. Your medical skills have surpassed Apollo [the god of music, arts, knowledge, and medicine], so there is a possibility that you will revive the dead.”

“Understood! Then, perhaps… would you allow me to write the facts I just learned in a book…”

“…That doesn’t matter.”

I roughly cut off the connection and turned my consciousness back to the Underworld, examining Thanatos in front of me.

The eyes of the old god with black wings were darting around busily.

“Thanatos. Why didn’t you inform me that a soul had been revived? I only found out after receiving a report from another divinity.”

“…Did that happen? I didn’t know.”

“Don’t lie.”

“I really didn’t know. Do you have proof?”

I stared at the god of death, who was feigning ignorance in front of me.

Haaa… Seriously, he’s not even a lower divinity.

The god of death, who knows where, how, and when every soul in the world died, didn’t know?

That’s nonsense… You might as well say you were subdued by a human.

“Hoo… Anyway, I heard that the soul is Artemis’s divine beast, so go and catch it again.”

“Tsk. One boar soul like that doesn’t need to come to the Underworld…”

I could hear the voice of the god Thanatos as he slumped his shoulders and left the audience chamber.

I didn’t say which soul it was just now… Surely he said it was a boar soul?

…Look at this.

I knew it, he knew all along, but he just glossed over it because it was hard to send his clone again.

Sigh.