Episode 67: The King of the Underworld is Tired

Episode 67: The Story of Persephone – (2)

Near Mount Etna, a group of beautiful nymphs and goddesses were playing ball.

Among them was a goddess born of Demeter, the goddess of the earth, and Zeus, the king of the gods.

“Kya ha ha ha! Throw it here!”

“Kore, catching it with flowers is cheating!”

“So what? You guys use your abilities too!”

A goddess with radiant golden hair and stunning beauty, appearing to be in her early twenties, spoke.

She looked like a flower herself.

“Haa… I think my mother sees me as too weak.”

“The goddess of the earth?”

Her full name is Persephone.

Her nickname is Kore.

“Yes! Even when I go out to play just a little, she tells me to be wary of monsters, be careful of the Gigantes… Ugh!”

“Lady Demeter really must love you, Kore.”

As the goddess of spring and seeds, she was playing with the many nymphs when…

Suddenly, she tilted her head, showing a curious expression.

“Hm? Don’t you all hear something?”

“Is it the sound of birds crying?”

“I hear the refreshing sound of a stream in the forest…”

The other nymphs and lesser gods didn’t notice it, but Kore, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, could sense it.

A powerful vibration coming from below the ground...

Kuaang! Phwahak!

Suddenly, creatures with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a human appeared from beneath the earth.

It was the Gigantes, enemies of the gods.

“Kyaaah! Monsters all of a sudden!”

“Gi...Gigantes?!”

“Oh my… Zeus!”

The nymphs were shocked by the appearance of these large and hideous monsters.

But it was too soon to panic, as more Gigantes were emerging from the ground.

'Phwak. Kugugu...'

The nymphs, trying to escape in all directions, soon found themselves unable to run any further.

Because Gigantes surrounded them, watching from all sides.

“Kahahahat! Are these the creations of the gods? They look delicious.”

“That blonde one seems like a goddess; let's capture her and take her away!”

“Don't forget, our goal is to free our brothers buried beneath this mountain!”

“Then brothers! Let’s kill all witnesses and dig up Mount Etna!”

The nymphs froze in terror at the grotesque conversation of these snake-like monsters.

Against such powerful creatures, each one as strong as a lesser god or a human hero, who could stand a chance?

“Take this!”

'Paaassss-'

“Cough! Cough! Is that poison?!”

“What is this? A divine power? Knock that goddess down first…”

“Urgh…! The plants are binding us…”

Only a god could oppose them.

As yellow powder spread from Persephone’s hands, the Gigantes couldn’t stop coughing.

Then, plants and flowers rapidly grew from the ground, binding them.

“…Kore!”

“Zeus, help us!”

This was the power of the goddess of spring.

Her power, which governed spring and seeds, wasn’t suited for battle.

However, as the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, Persephone possessed significant divine authority.

“Cough… Was there a goddess who could wield poison and plants?”

“Hah, but she’s just one!”

“It’s not poison, it’s pollen, you stupid monsters!”

But the Gigantes gathered here weren’t ordinary beings either.

Even though Persephone's divine authority was second only to the twelve Olympian gods,

There were hundreds of Gigantes in this place.

“Peloreos! Let’s tear down Mount Etna before Olympus finds out.”

“Thoas, you worry too much.”

“Kheh! Olympus? If they come, I’ll kill them all myself!”

“I’m telling you to be cautious, Pallas. Zeus might be watching.”

There were four Gigantes commanding the others, each nearly equal to or just slightly weaker than the Olympian gods.

Persephone would never escape unscathed.

* * *

Kwoooom!

While many of the Gigantes were digging up Mount Etna, the remaining ones surrounded Persephone and the nymphs.

The monsters slowly approached, mocking them, as if they planned to toy with them.

“Khehehe. I want to hear you scream.”

“W-what should we do… Kyaaah!”

“Please, save us! Lady Demeter! Aaah!”

One by one, the nymphs were either devoured or torn apart by the Gigantes.

No matter how much Persephone resisted, she was alone, and the monsters were overwhelmingly many.

“I’ll take care of this goddess.”

“Pallas, you’re gonna have all the fun by yourself?”

“Hahaha! If you’re unhappy, come and take her from me.”

“Haa… tsk…”

Persephone gritted her teeth as she desperately drew out her remaining divine power.

Even when she tried to hinder them by growing plants or striking with her godly energy, the Gigante named Pallas was too strong.

He was indeed comparable to the twelve Olympian gods.

There were three other Gigantes besides him commanding the monsters.

Even if her mother, Demeter, were to come herself… they wouldn’t be able to defeat these monsters.

'Sssssk'

A Gigante approached her, flexing his hands, as his snake-like lower body moved in a chilling manner, pressuring the goddess.

“Have you already given up, goddess?”

“My father is Zeus, and my mother is the goddess Demeter! All of you will die miserably! I, Persephone, swear it!”

“Huh? What, is that a curse?”

Even a curse capable of destroying an entire city with a single word was useless.

For the first time in her life, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter felt powerless.

The monster, now close enough, grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground.

“Urgh…”

But she couldn’t resist at all.

She had exhausted her divine power, and her ichor, the golden blood of gods, was spilling so much from her wounds that the ground was soaked.

'Dudududu-'

She, who was born of golden lineage, envied by all, and lived a life with no regrets,

was now about to meet her end at the hands of this grotesque monster.

“You seem to be a young goddess, but blame your fate.”

'Whoosh'

As she clenched her eyes shut, bracing for the pain to come, she felt a strange touch on her side.

It was a thick male hand gently pulling her in.

‘Huh?’

Thwack!

When Persephone opened her eyes slightly,

she saw the Gigante’s head smashed to pieces, dead.

“Are you alright?”

Before her was a dark-haired, dark-eyed male god who had placed her in his chariot.

* * * 

It didn’t take long for her to realize who the god that saved her from certain death was.

The immense power he exuded far surpassed that of her mother, Demeter, one of the twelve Olympians.

Perhaps even rivaling the power of Zeus, the king of the gods… 

There was only one such dark-haired god she knew of.

‘The ruler of the underworld, Hades…’

As the monsters charged in rage over their fallen comrade,

a spear split into two prongs appeared in the dark-haired god’s hand, as if tearing through the air.

Kwoooom!!!

A black beam of energy emitting a cold aura cut through the space, and the Gigantes caught in its destructive force vanished as if they had evaporated.

'Crackle... Whoooosh-'

The terrifying destruction carved into the earth, and the sky itself was split in half by the black spear’s power, causing the Gigantes to tremble in fear.

“Wh-what the hell!”

“Kyaaaah! What kind of god is that?!”

“This power…! Is he one of the twelve Olympians? Ares? Hephaestus?”

“Shut up! A being like this…”

With Persephone riding behind him, Hades drove the chariot forward once again.

The Gigantes, each at least as powerful as minor gods, were slaughtered effortlessly.

None could even see the moment when his spear struck, and none of the snake monsters’ attacks could touch him.

Whinny! Snort!!!

The ghostly horses pulling the chariot trampled the lower bodies of the Gigantes,

and as the spear infused with a chilling killing intent flew through the air, another monstrous corpse would always fall.

Crash! Thwack!

“Grrgh!”

“Eurytus! Let’s attack together!”

"Create an opening, Toas!"

The Gigantes tried to restrain him, desperate to create a chance to pull out Typhon’s body.

The three commanding Gigantes Persephone had seen earlier all rushed in and surrounded the chariot, black mist swirling around it.

Just as the goddess of spring thought this was dangerous and was about to say so, a cold smile deepened on Hades’ lips.

'Swish-'

The two-pronged spear, the bident, struck the ground.

A massive crack spread out, temporarily connecting the world of the living and the underworld.

The atmosphere grew heavy, and black energy erupted from the ground.

From the endless fissure came the soldiers of the underworld.

Ghostly soldiers with translucent bodies emerged, wielding spears and swords, in an unending stream.

“Damn it! It’s Hades, the god of the underworld!”

“Aaah! Die!”

“Even if he’s one of the Three Gods, he’s alone!”

“These dead men have no place in the living world!”

Crash! Boom!

The Gigantes pulled up nearby trees and swung their fists to resist, but…

The soldiers of the underworld multiplied beyond count.

From the time humans first came into being, the ranks of the underworld’s army had steadily grown.

The ghostly army, emanating an aura of death, successfully sealed off the Gigantes trying to free Typhon.

“Peloreos! If we take down Hades, we win! Stay on gaurd!”

“For Mother Gaia!”

A diagonal slash of Hades’ spear shot into the sky, slicing off another Gigante’s upper body.

Even with the power of the underworld god tearing half their bodies apart, there was no monster that could regenerate.

“Take this!!!”

Toas, from atop the chariot, aimed a massive wooden club at Hades’ head, swinging it down with all his strength. The blow was strong enough to crush a mountain.

Clang!

But the lord of the underworld casually blocked it with one hand, drawing a black longsword from his waist.

The immense clash of power caused a deafening boom, reducing the surroundings to ruin.

Boom! Crash!

Yet, even in this chaos, Persephone, sitting behind Hades on the chariot, was unharmed, without a single scratch.

And she realized that not once had Hades allowed an attack to land.

‘He’s playing with these monsters, each one powerful enough to rival the Olympian gods…’

"Although Zeus and Poseidon were among the Twelve Olympians, they, along with Hades, were grouped as the Three Gods."

There was a rumor that even if all twelve Olympians were to join forces, they wouldn’t be able to defeat one of the Three Gods.

It turns out the stories she had laughed about with the nymphs were true.

It was only after the battle had begun that she noticed the cold smile constantly hanging on Hades' lips.

One of the Gigante commanders, who had been catching his breath, became enraged and charged in.

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

“Wait...! Eurytus!! Don’t rush in recklessly…”

Shwack- Thwack!

“Kraaaah!”

But with a swift flash of his jet-black longsword, both arms of the charging Gigante were severed.

Eurytus, who had boldly attacked, fell to the ground, spraying blood in all directions.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

“He’s… even stronger than I thought!”

Persephone had heard many rumors about Hades, the ruler of the underworld.

They said that, since he ruled over the dead, he must look grotesque and terrifying… Most were grim rumors.

As a young goddess who hadn’t even attended the Olympian feasts, these stories only added to the mystery.

Even when humans spoke of him as a god of mercy, she had dismissed it as mere hearsay, having never seen him herself.

It wasn’t uncommon for humans to turn their fear into worship…

But now, Persephone could see that all of that was wrong.

The gentle way he had rescued her, softly wrapping his arm around her waist in her moment of danger.

His strength, rivaling even her father Zeus, and the careful way he protected her throughout the battle.

And finally, the fact that, contrary to the grotesque image she had imagined, his face was cold but handsome…

A small whisper slipped from Persephone’s lips, as if she were entranced.

“…He’s incredible.”

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