The King of the Underworld is Tired

Chapter 120: The First Task – The Nemean Lions (1)

Three days had passed since the hero sought forgiveness in front of Hera’s temple.

A storm, aimed solely at Hercules, relentlessly battered him.

Swoooosh—

Cold rain poured down on him, turning the ground into a muddy mess.

The soaked earth quell underfoot, and waves of chills surged through his body…

Whoooosh—

On top of that, a fierce storm imbued with Hera’s power wrapped around Heracles, trying to force him away from the temple, but he stood firm.

The torrential wind and rain were nothing he couldn’t withstand, thanks to the endurance and iron-like muscles he had forged in the underworld.

A week passed.

Now, Heracles had become a well-known figure near the temple of the goddess Hera.

Rumors spread in nearby cities that the muscular giant was enduring the storm as a penance to apologize to the goddess.

“Hey, are you the one they call Heracles? What on earth did you do to deserve this?”

“Whoa! Be careful, a storm is raging around here!”

“Even the goddess Hera isn’t heartless…”

Sympathy for him began to grow among the people of the city, and some even started cheering him on.

They hoped that the hero would endure the punishment of the goddess and be forgiven for his sins…

Two weeks passed.

When sympathy for Heracles began to rise among the humans, Hera sent hail to drive away those who supported him.

Hailstones harder than most rocks fell from the sky, pelting down endlessly.

Thud. Thud-thud.

“Oh no, let’s move further away!”

“Watch out! The hail is only falling over there!”

“It really must be the punishment of the goddess Hera…”

However, the hero’s skin, toughened by the power of the River Styx, remained unscathed.

Heracles still… maintained his original posture.

The murmurs of the people grew louder, and now even those who approached him vanished.

Rumors spread that he might not be human, and some speculated that he was either a demigod or a disguised monster.

Three weeks had passed.

Up in the clouds, Hera grew anxious.

Her plan had been for the despicable bastard son of Zeus to leave the temple, so she could drive him into madness.

But that man kept begging her for forgiveness, seeking her mercy.

If he kept praying for his sins so close to her temple, his inevitable descent into madness could harm even her own priests with his violence.

If only she could drive him away from there… then she could send him into madness.

Unable to bear it any longer, Hera summoned her daughter, the goddess Hebe.

“Hebe.”

“Yes, mother.”

“You, the goddess of youth, should seduce that man. Just make sure he leaves the temple.”

Thus, Hebe, disguised as a human, approached Heracles.

Even though she had taken on human form, she was still the goddess of youth, and her beauty bewitched all mortals.

“My goodness…”

“How can such beauty exist? Could the princess Psyche have possessed such beauty?”

“She could easily be the incarnation of Aphrodite.”

As countless humans showered her with praise and admiration, the goddess moved toward Heracles.

The sight of her approaching the sinner punished by the goddess stirred sighs among those watching.

“Are you the one they call Heracles?”

“……”

“Goddess Hera is being harsh, isn’t she? Why has she given you such trials?”

“……”

“I’m curious about your story. Let’s go somewhere quiet and talk. Goddess Hera won’t mind if you step away for a bit.”

Her pitiful, feigned compassion reached out to touch Heracles’ shoulder, but—

He didn’t move an inch. He showed no interest whatsoever and remained with his head bowed to the ground.

After trying for a long while to tempt him, the goddess of youth eventually gave up and left.

Four weeks had passed since Heracles knelt in front of the goddess’s temple.

An enraged Hera summoned Pan, the god of nature and son of Hermes.

If storms, hail, rain, and the goddess’s seduction wouldn’t work…!

“Pan. Show that bastard the disgust of nature. Make him recoil in disgust, exposing the ugly truth of human frailty as they shake off filth.”

“I understand, but that man is Heracles, isn’t he?”

“Don’t utter that cursed name in my presence!”

“Gah… I’m sorry!”

Following the command of the queen of the gods, the god of nature moved.

The birds flying in the sky, the deer drinking water nearby, the boars, squirrels, and chipmunks…

“From now on, release your filth there.”

All sorts of animals followed the orders of the master of nature, and…

Little by little, animal feces began piling on Hercules’ body. Eventually, they began to accumulate in earnest.

Dark, foul-smelling excrement piled up in front of Hera’s temple, spreading a terrible stench.

* * *

And thus, Heracles felt like his nose was going to rot.

Plop. Drip. Squelch—

"Ugh...! The smell! What is that thing?!"

"Leave it. That's a sinner repenting for some wrong he did before Lady Hera. It’s already been four weeks."

"Then what is all that? All the birds and animals are excrecting all over him!"

"Shh! Shh! That must be divine punishment."

"Ugh… the smell. It reeks inside the temple too! Is this right?!"

"I think I’ll have to pray to Lady Hera that this sinner has repented. I can’t handle the stench anymore..."

"What on earth did he do to deserve this…?"

The once favorable looks toward him turned into disgust as the animals' filth piled onto his body.

The immediate stench was far more tangible than the nobility of a repentant enduring a goddess's divine punishment.

'Damn it. I’m going to pass out from this awful smell.'

Naturally, Heracles felt like he was going mad.

His iron will, which had weathered hail, storms, and the seductions of women…

Plop.

'Ugh. That filthy beast just relieved itself on me—again!'

…finally showed its limits in the face of this overwhelming stench and discomfort.

But fortunately for Heracles, his mental fortitude was more solid than that of Hera's priests.

They started praying due to the overwhelming stench that filled the temple day and night.

"Oh, Lady Hera... What did he do to deserve this?"

"Please, just end his suffering with divine punishment… the entire temple smells of animals..."

"Though he is guilty of a crime worthy of death, surely this sinner has repented by now..."

Watching this scene from the clouds, Hera became furious.

"Crack! That bastard has incredible patience!"

"Mother… I’ve tried talking to him, but he won’t even look at me. Perhaps it’s better to just forgive him—"

"Quiet, Hebe!"

‘Hmph… He may have bathed in the Styx, but he’s still mortal. I’ll just make sure he dies through the trials.’

* * *

After a month and a day, on Thanatos' day,

A priest of Hera approached Heracles, who was now covered in animal filth.

It was the same priest he had first encountered.

“Ugh… the smell. Listen, Heracles! You’ve won.”

"...!!"

"Lady Hera has given us her oracle. Clean yourself up and receive the oracle."

The priest pinched his nose and hurried back into the temple.

Finally, after a month, Heracles slowly stood up.

Plop, plop.

Filth dropped from his body, but Heracles grinned.

At last… the queen of the gods is giving me a task?

Splash!

The hero stripped off all his clothes and jumped into the nearby river.

The stench and filth were so intense that the fish swam away in a panic, and soon enough, the river god appeared.

Leaning on his staff, the river god immediately pointed at Heracles.

"Which madman is polluting my waters? It’s you, the one being punished by Lady Hera!"

"The river god...? Ah, my apologies."

"What? Apologies? This madman! If today weren’t Thanatos' day, I’d have killed you myself, not Lady Hera!"

With that, the river god disappeared, leaving Heracles standing there, dumbfounded.

It wasn’t that he feared the god's punishment.

'I feel like I could win if I fought him... or maybe not?'

For a moment, he entertained an insolent thought, but he washed his leather tunic, sandals, and other clothes in the river and dressed cleanly.

When he returned to Hera's temple, all the animal filth had disappeared.

It seemed the priests had offered their thanks, as Hera’s power had cleansed the area.

"Heracles, come inside. The high priestess will deliver Lady Hera's oracle."

"Hmm."

As Heracles entered the temple, an elderly woman appeared before him.

Judging by her luxurious attire and the demeanor of those around her, she was clearly Hera’s high priestess.

"I will now deliver the oracle of Lady Hera."

"......"

"There is only one way to absolve your original sin. You must complete all the tasks assigned by the goddess."

"How many tasks must I complete?"

"She has decreed a total of ten tasks, and the first task has also been revealed."

Ten tasks to complete? Looks like I'll be traveling all over Greece.

Sure, my goal is to become a god, but...

As Heracles grumbled internally, he listened to the high priestess announce his first task.

"Your first task is... to eliminate the Nemean lions."

The Nemean Lions? But when I learned from Chiron...

I was told there was only one Nemean lion.