A Slightly Different Story of the Underworld - (1)
Thus, I crossed the entrance to the Underworld riding in a chariot with Demeter.
"I've only heard about it, but is that the famous Charon's steel vessel...?"
"Demeter?! What brings you to the Underworld?"
I also encountered Charon, who was waving his arms as he ferried souls across the Acheron River...
"Kr. Krurung?!"
"A monster descended from Typhon? I didn't know such a thing existed in the Underworld."
"I infused my power into it, so it is safe."
I saw Cerberus, who guarded the entrance to the Underworld...
"Could you pick up that parchment that just floated away?"
"Damn it. The recent attack by the Gigantes has increased the number of souls."
"We're running out of living space..."
Demeter, who was suffering from overwork, let out a deep sigh and spoke to me.
Her face was clouded with deep concern.
"How can Kore, that child, live in a place like this...?"
With Demeter, I returned to the place where Persephone was staying.
To my surprise, my niece was quite calm.
Unlike the mischievous demeanor she had shown me, she was quietly weaving fabric.
As soon as Demeter spotted her, she rushed over and embraced her.
"Kore! How lonely have you been in this cold and dark Underworld? Now that I’m here, let’s go back..."
"I wasn’t lonely at all, Mom. You shouldn’t think of me as just a child..."
"How can you be so young and live in this dark Underworld...?"
"I’ve eaten food here, and I want to live with Uncle Hades in the Underworld."
Persephone gently pushed Demeter away with a sulky expression.
Still, she is quite a divine being, and Demeter’s overprotectiveness seemed a bit excessive.
"Ha... That’s because of Eros's arrow. The feelings you have are not normal..."
"I swear by the River Styx that I haven’t changed at all, and I wanted to marry Lord Hades even before I was struck!"
"What. What did you say?!"
"Ha..."
Demeter turned her head sharply to look at me.
A vow by the River Styx, no matter how powerful Eros's arrow is, it cannot create memories that did not exist.
The power of the golden arrow... rather, it makes one clearly remember the moment they fell in love.
Thus... those words are true.
For someone who has already fallen in love, being struck by the golden arrow...
Perhaps that love becomes even more solid, or it can hold onto a love that is cooling with the passage of time?
So... it’s not that she fell in love because of Eros's arrow,
But rather, a moment of fluttering feelings has transformed into an everlasting love...!
Demeter looked at Persephone with a heartbroken expression,
And she quietly embraced her mother.
"K-Kore... how could you possibly fall for the lord of the Underworld..."
"Well... I was in a situation where I was caught by a Gigante, and he saved me."
"Caught by a Gigante? Are you okay now? So it was during that time when Mount Etna was attacked...!"
"Mom, come on, Uncle Hades saved me right when it was dangerous."
Demeter looked at Persephone with worried eyes, infusing her with divine power to check for injuries.
First, we need to sort things out.
"Arrows and love... for now, you have eaten the food of the Underworld, so according to the law, you must stay here..."
"Hades...!"
"But Persephone, aren’t you the goddess of spring and seeds? If you stay here, it will disrupt the cycle of the world."
The laws of the Underworld were created to maintain the balance of the world.
If the goddess of the four seasons is completely bound to the Underworld, the realm of the living will be in danger.
"Uncle, do you dislike me? It’s not because of the golden arrow..."
"The words sworn by the River Styx must be true; since you have eaten the food, you must live in the Underworld... But do you know how important your role is in the realm of the living?"
"Ugh... well, still..."
"Think about what I said not long ago. You are the goddess who oversees one of the four seasons and seeds."
Her eyes drooped slightly, and her voice became softer.
"... I understand. I can come up to the realm of the living occasionally, right?"
That’s a relief.
But saying she will go up to the realm of the living occasionally, not down to the Underworld...
Does that mean she intends to spend most of her time in the Underworld?
"I will only go up to the realm of the living when I am needed as the goddess of spring."
"Haah... It’s better than other male gods who covet beauty, but still, Hades is better..."
Fortunately, it seems that spring will not disappear from the realm of the living.
To convey the results of the Olympian meeting and discuss Persephone's situation,
I summoned all the gods in the Underworld to the meeting room.
Many gods had already seen Persephone, but we had to go through the formal introduction process.
"... Thus, Persephone will be staying here periodically."
"Hehe. Let me reintroduce her, this is Persephone, who will marry Lord Hades!"
My niece...
"Just when I was busy, a new goddess is welcome."
"Tsk tsk... She seems young, yet she is bound to the Underworld. It seems love makes one lose their senses..."
"Wha... marriage?! Who decided on this marriage?"
"Let’s set aside Persephone for now and inform you of the results of the Olympian meeting."
I conveyed to everyone the conclusion that we would connect the realm of the living and the outskirts of the Underworld, entrusting Chiron with the training of heroes.
I had also brought the Omphalos stone for that purpose...
"It seems to align with the prophecy and is a suitable solution."
"We must ensure that the hero candidates keep their mouths shut, so we need to impose many restrictions..."
"But who will be in charge of this? Does everyone have the time?"
"Let’s set up a barrier in the valley where the heroes will be trained, so they cannot dare to roam the Underworld."
Since dead monsters and Gigantes can also come to the Underworld, there will be plenty of training opponents for the heroes.
Fighting against monsters that do not truly die will surely cultivate strong heroes.
"But... can humans withstand the energy of the Underworld?"
This is where the problem arises.
If they are well-trained heroes, it might be different, but how can aspiring heroes withstand the power of the Underworld?
The Underworld is a place where ordinary mortals can only come after facing death and leaving their physical bodies.
No matter how much it is the outskirts of the Underworld, the energy of death emanating from all directions is not good for the living.
"Isn’t the Underworld a place where even a living person would become emaciated after just a short stay?"
"Unless they are demigods or fully-fledged heroes, pure humans would struggle in the Underworld..."
"If we exert our power, the energy will only become stronger... We need the gods of the realm of the living."
"Uncle Hades, I think I can solve that problem!"
Just as I was considering ways to separate part of the Underworld, Persephone spoke up.
She wants to solve it with the power of the goddess of spring and seeds?
"Can you really do it? The Underworld is my domain, so it will consume quite a bit of energy..."
"A small valley should be fine!"
"Are you sure? Persephone, no matter how much you are the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, you are not at the level of the twelve Olympian gods, right?"
"... It would be too much for a young goddess like you."
"To neutralize another god's domain, especially Hades's energy..."
"I can do it! I can’t just play and eat in the Underworld!"
If she takes on the task, it would be perfect since she must stay here periodically after eating the food of the Underworld.
However, she would have to continuously exert her power in the valley, which would be quite exhausting.
Even if I were to seek help from other gods in Olympus...
There is no god who would enjoy staying in the Underworld for long.
The twelve gods have heavy responsibilities, so they cannot stay in the Underworld either.
"... For now, let’s head to the outskirts together."
I arrived at the outskirts of the Underworld, where Persephone would train the heroes.
In the vast canyon that stretched across the outskirts of the Underworld, Chiron was waiting for me.
"Lord Hades. I have heard the story."
"Yes. As you know, I hope you will train the heroes here."
"Well... I never imagined I would be training disciples in the Underworld..."
"So you think it’s impossible?"
"On the contrary, there are advantages; if we use the monsters that have met their end, they will make good teaching materials."
The monsters that have met their end and come to the Underworld have received the blessing of forgetfulness and have become gentle beings.
Some have become like Cerberus, guarding various places in the Underworld...
"The Python that Apollo killed is also doing well here."
"You mean the giant serpent that was the original master of Delphi."
The great serpent Python.
One of the monsters born from the earth goddess Gaia and Poseidon, it was the original master of Delphi.
Possessing prophetic abilities, it sensed that Apollo would kill it and take its place, so it attempted to kill the young Apollo but failed.
Later, the grown Apollo, as a god, shot thousands of arrows to kill Python,
And Python's wife, Pythia, surrendered willingly, so he made her the priestess of the Delphi temple instead of killing her.
Of course, the background for Apollo being able to kill Python, who was the child of Gaia and Poseidon...
"Poseidon, now Gaia is our enemy. Her child, the monster, is too..."
"Well... it was destined to die, but..."
"The god of prophecy must be on our side."
It was made possible by the tacit approval of the gods who were in opposition to Gaia.
"There are also the dead Gigantes, the Sphinx that Oedipus dealt with, and the sea monster that Perseus killed..."
"This is worrying; I hope the heroes don’t find it too difficult. Hahaha!"
"Um... Uncle Hades. Shall we start now?"
It was time to begin neutralizing the energy of the Underworld.
After telling Persephone that we should start now, I stepped back from Chiron.
Drum drum drum...
First, I would separate the valley as much as possible with my power.
To lessen Persephone's burden, I scattered the energy...
Nodding to Persephone, a bright light burst forth from the body of the goddess of spring and seeds.
Wham—
"Ugh..."
At the same time, I felt a bright and warm power gently enveloping the canyon.
And I could see the sweat flowing from Persephone's neck and the ichor dripping from her nose.
"Ugh... ugh."
The place where the heroes would be trained was perfectly covered by the power of spring.
In the canyon, which felt like my domain, I sensed a slight awkwardness, as if something was caught.
But Persephone, having exerted herself, collapsed to the ground.
Thud.
I hurried over to support her back.
As I wiped the sweat from Persephone's forehead, she looked at me and smiled brightly.
"Are you okay? It seems like you overdid it."
"Haah... It’s a bit tough, but... I’m fine! If I rest a bit, I’ll recover quickly..."
Swoosh—
The goddess of spring, having consumed too much energy, collapsed into my arms and fell asleep.
I glanced down at the goddess, who appeared warm and lively even in her completely defenseless state.
"... Lord Hades."
"The fact that Persephone was struck by the golden arrow... is fortunate for us gods."
Chiron, who knew the circumstances of her staying in the Underworld, quietly approached.
The reason she consumed so much energy that she fell asleep was likely because she had fallen for me.
Having sworn by the River Styx... it’s not that she developed feelings for me because of the golden arrow,
But if the golden arrow hadn’t existed, I wouldn’t have thought to bring her to the Underworld.
I would have simply dismissed it as a fleeting emotion of a young goddess.
"... If the goddess of spring did not stay in the Underworld periodically, it would have been difficult to cultivate heroes."
I had been trying to look away, but...
Not only those who suffer from the gods' rapes or love affairs come to the Underworld.
There are also those who, deeply in love, commit suicide to avoid separation, or those who joyfully meet death in a fleeting moment.
"What is love, truly difficult."
"... Defining that emotion clearly would be difficult even for the goddess Aphrodite."
I quietly embraced her back and legs to ensure that the sleeping Persephone would not wake up.