The King of the Underworld is Tired

Chapter 121: The First Task – The Nemean Lions (2)

The Nemean Lion.

The child of Typhon and Echidna, and a half-god like its siblings Orthrus and the Hydra.

A monster that lived in the valley of Nemea, biting to death humans and animals alike without discrimination.

“The Nemean lions, you say? Could you explain a bit more? I’ve spent a long time at the Hero Training Academy in Thebes, so I’m not so familiar with the affairs of the world.”

“Ah… the term Nemean Lion originally referred to Typhon’s offspring. However…”

One of the reasons why Gaia, the Earth Mother, had been quiet.

The Plains of Plesra, where the Gigantes reside. If that place is under the strict surveillance of the gods, then...

Why not mass-produce the monsters that were already strong or make them stronger?

Especially if they were Typhon’s children, who nearly single-handedly defeated Olympus.

Thus, with Gaia’s assistance, the Nemean Lion successfully reproduced.

“Recently, dozens of lions following that monster appeared and wiped out an entire village.”

“…Dozens of them?”

“The people living near there would know the details better than me.”

Heracles stretched his body and exited the temple.

Facing dozens from the very first task, he didn’t think he would lose, but wasn’t this too many?

Before heading to Nemea, he made thorough preparations.

He gathered spears and arrows to face the pack of lions from the blacksmith, and after picking up a heavy club made from olive wood…

“Do you have a club made of steel, by chance?”

“…? You think you could carry something like that around?”

“I’ll pay you plenty. Can you make it? If you start today, when will it be ready?”

“I’m blessed by Hephaestus, so I can make it quickly.”

In the end, after ordering a steel club from the blacksmith and slinging it over his shoulder, Heracles set off for the region of Nemea.

Even in Nemea, there wasn’t much useful information.

All he picked up was a rumor from a young man.

“It’s several times bigger than other lions, and its red eyes are quite striking…”

“See? That’s the Nemean Lion. It’s like watching a pack of wolves, the way the others follow it…”

“So, where are they?”

“They live in a creepy canyon about four days' walk from here. I hear it’s a place mixed with human corpses and rain. Ugh… Why are you asking about those terrible things?”

When he realized he could get no more information from the man, Hercules moved directly toward the canyon.

* * * 

“…Hmm.”

The scent of thick blood lingered at the entrance, and an ominous atmosphere hung around, with no signs of life.

The canyon was nearly barren, with almost no animals or plants, giving it the appearance of a desolate desert.

As Heracles, armed with various weapons, entered the canyon, the monstrous lions slowly began to emerge.

As if they had caught his scent, the man-eating lions gathered in greater numbers.

These were no ordinary monsters. They were descendants of the Nemean Lion, Typhon’s child, and half-gods.

Their claws were sharper than the finest swords, and their hides were much thicker than ordinary monsters.

Swish.

The hero quietly pulled out his spear and club from his back. A long spear in his left hand, and the steel club in his right.

The martial arts he learned from the Centaur sage Chiron were supreme and intricate. But against creatures like these…

Thud. Roar—

Swinging and stabbing alone were more than enough.

The first lion that approached, licking its lips, had its head pierced by the spear.

Though the monsters didn’t give him time to retrieve his spear, they had to endure the punishment of his steel club, which followed immediately after.

Two, three… By the time he had slain five…

The gathering lion monsters continued to fall one by one to his hands.

Heracles’ leather tunic gradually became stained with red, yet the monsters, undeterred by his appearance, charged forward without any fear.

Roar— Roar! Slash—

However, the thick hides were torn apart by Heracles’ strength, and their proud claws and teeth couldn’t even scratch the skin blessed by the Styx River.

“Whew… What a bother.”

The fight between dozens of monsters and a single man ended in a one-sided massacre.

As Heracles swung his spear to shake off the blood, what caught his eye were the corpses of the monsters he had created.

Grrr…

And one enormous lion, with an imposing figure, whose arrival he hadn’t even noticed.

Its blood-red eyes gleamed fiercely, its mane shone golden unlike the others, and its claws were sharper than a blade.

“So, you’re the leader of these monsters… No, you must be the Nemean Lion.”

Roar!!!

Before Heracles could even finish his sentence, Typhon’s child charged at him.

Yet the hero, completely unfazed, shoved his steel club into the lion’s mouth as it lunged at him.

Roar!!!

How troublesome it had been to kill all those lions one by one.

But thankfully, the leader showed up on its own—if it had run off, he would have had to search for a long time.

“Haa—!”

With a swift motion—

Heracles lifted the lion, which was thrashing in frustration, unable to bite through the steel club.

The lesson he learned from slaying the many monsters was that their hides were incredibly tough.

While he had pierced through them with his own strength, most of the heroes he had trained with in the underworld would have struggled significantly against their toughness.

Monsters grew stronger and more potent as one moved up their ancestral line.

So just how tough would the original Nemean Lion’s hide be?

Could it be so tough that even his strength couldn’t pierce it?

No, that would be impossible.

There are none other than gods who can resist the strength of this Heracles!

With that thought, the hero slammed the massive beast into the ground, head first, with all his might.

The Nemean Lion let out a ferocious roar as it was hit with a powerful shock.

Roar!!!

* * *

The hero and the monster fought for several more hours after that.

The Nemean Lion couldn’t wound the hero’s skin, but on the other hand, Hercules also struggled to penetrate the monster’s hide and deal a decisive blow.

Boom! Crash!

As they charged at each other relentlessly, the canyon’s terrain began to collapse under the intensity of their battle.

Amidst the destruction of massive rocks breaking and fragments flying everywhere, Heracles thought to himself.

‘This thing’s hide is tough, but should I just strangle it and suffocate it? Or drown it? Maybe I could attach a lump of molten lead to my spear and shove it into its mouth…’

Countless ways to easily kill the Nemean Lion ran through his mind.

His experience fighting the goddess of vengeance, Megaera, and the combat techniques he learned while sparring with many heroes, including Cadmus.

The hero who had gained much experience in the underworld knew that flexibility was key to victory in battle.

However… the words of the Lord of the Underworld held him back.

“On a human level, your body might be invincible and impossible to wound, but things are different in the realm of gods. Your goal is to become a god, isn’t it?”

Even his skin, strengthened by the River Styx, was meaningless in the realm of gods. If he strangled the lion to death…

It would feel as if he was acknowledging the toughness of the lion’s hide and giving up on facing it head-on.

‘…No way! I’m destined to become a god. I won’t stoop to using tricks just because I can’t pierce the hide of a mere beast like this!’

So, he continued pounding on the lion’s thick hide again and again.

No matter how tough the hide was, it couldn’t be tougher than his skin, which had been submerged in the River Styx.

If it was hard to pierce… he would just keep hitting it until it gave way.

Let’s see which is stronger, my body or this beast’s!

“Dieeee!!!”

Roar! Roar!!!

Before he knew it, Heracles had discarded all his weapons and was engaged in a bare-knuckle brawl with the monster.

His eyes now gleamed with a viciousness that rivaled the monster’s, and his fighting style grew more and more primal.

This was his desperate attempt to preserve his pride, his trial and challenge on the path to becoming a god.

The hero—or rather, the god in the making—grabbed the lion by the scruff of its neck and repeatedly smashed its head. Once, twice, three times.

Then came the punches. His well-trained muscles convulsed violently as he mercilessly pummeled the lion’s snout…

Thud. Thud. Roar!!!

He took the lion’s frantic attacks head-on, relentlessly countering with blow after blow.

Rather than tiring, his punches grew even stronger, and finally, the lion’s hide surrendered.

Thud. Thud. Crunch.

The sound of the lion’s snout being crushed under the weight of his blows, unable to withstand the hero’s strength.

The Nemean Lion whimpered in fear, and Heracles, with a satisfied grin, focused his attacks on that spot.

In the end…

Roar!!! 

Thud!

The massive body of the man-eating monster collapsed to the ground, signaling the hero’s victory.

The Nemean Lion, its snout and face completely crushed, met its death…

But Heracles, though a little exhausted, bore no wounds on his body.

“Ha! Ptooey!”

Any other hero would have been hailed as a great champion for this feat alone.

But as he shook off the red blood from his fists and slung the lion’s corpse over his shoulder, it was clear—he wasn’t content with being just a great hero. He was one who aimed to challenge the gods themselves.

< When your head is lacking, your body must suffer. >

This was one of the truths that the goddess of wisdom, Athena, had spread throughout the world.

“Hmm. I thought it would take a few more days to fight, but this thing was easier than I expected.”

But when your body is that of Heracles, there's no need for your mind to suffer.

The infamous Pride of Nemean Lions.

Wiped out by Heracles in just one day.