The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon

Chapter 27 – Why Is The Sky Always Clear At Such Times?

Ah, in her long rebirth, was there ever a more satisfying moment in history?
From birth to growth, everything had been such an utter disgrace to Hera’s divine duty, prestige, and dignity that it had been trampled into the ground—among Zeus’s detested bastards, this one in particular must be cursed and killed in the most gruesome way from her perspective.
Zeus had even punished her by hanging her at the edge of the world for attempting to harm such a hero…

“How dare you?!”

-Thunk!

She had forgotten that she had secretly come out and was hiding in the clouds from Zeus, but her divine wrath made the plants tremble in fear.
Fortunately, there was no one below to pay attention to this.

“Aaaaah!!”

“Ahhh! It’s coming this way!!”

“Gack!”

“Brother!!”

“Zetes has been struck!!”

“What hit you?”

“I don’t know! It suddenly flew and hit the wall!”

“It’s a shockwave! Never stay in that maniac’s direct line of sight!”

Each time he swung his arm, the shockwaves rippled and dented the stone walls.
Each time his feet stomped on the ground, the entire earth shook as the monster lost its sanity and rampaged.
The slight shaking of the trees was hardly noticeable.

“…Ugh.”

Seeing that, Hera almost doubted whether Zeus might have been right, but she couldn’t just let it go, intending to cast a curse if necessary….

“I guess I don’t need to intervene.”

Hera watched the terrifying spectacle in awe.
In the midst of that ferocious rampage, where no bold hero would dare approach, the child stood.

“Aaaaah!!”

“My ears hurt, you brat!”

-Thwack!

Facing Hercules head-on like a millennium-old tree, yet swaying relentlessly like a reed, was the black-haired hero.
Hermes had mentioned…

“It’s Dianes.”

Dianes of Passos.
She had learned the name by eavesdropping on a private conversation between Zeus and Hermes.

It was a night after yet another council where Zeus boasted endlessly about Hercules.
Normally, Hermes would have diffused the tension with a joke and a smile, but that night, he averted his eyes in quiet fury, the anger and murderous intent evident in his beautiful eyes.
Determined to end it once and for all, Hera was climbing Olympus, seething, when she overheard Zeus and Hermes discussing a piece of poetry.
Recently, the supreme god, who cared for nothing but Hercules and women, was unusually excited over just one piece of poetry.
Listening quietly to the rising question, it turned out that the one who submitted the poem was Dianes of Passos, who was recently praised in unison by her son Ares and Poseidon at the gods’ banquet.
Ares was so innocently pleased that he bragged about it everywhere, making the usually unruly second son seem adorable for once.
And that wasn’t all.
Poseidon, who boasted about his young new follower, caused an earthquake in Olympus by brandishing his divine artifact, the trident Triaina, in the middle of the banquet to demonstrate the spear technique the boy had dedicated to him.

And when Hermes casually handed over Dianes’s poem to her…
Why did Zeus summon Hermes to boast personally?
She then understood why Ares and Poseidon, the two gods known for their ferocity in Olympus, praised that child so highly.

An eloquent poem, written in a serene style.
However, the sacrifice and love of Zeus, which she had never considered, warmly comforted her heart.

“Hmph, such an impudent child.”

Of course, it wasn’t just a few verses of poetry that appeased her heart.
However, beneath the guise of praising Zeus, the poem contained a comfort meant for her, and that comfort evoked memories of Zeus’s past affection and love, which somewhat calmed her anger.
For the first time in a while, she could sleep peacefully without any inner turmoil.
Thus, it was only natural for her to feel a small sense of gratitude towards the child named Dianes.
In addition, he was a faithful hero who did not carry Zeus’s bloodline, making it even more commendable to her.

-Bang! Bang!

In the heart of the colosseum, where explosions roared incessantly.
Compared to the tyranny shown by Zeus’s illegitimate child, Dianes, who stood against him, was too passive and merely defending, being pushed back.

“Although the strange magic shown at the beginning did inflict significant damage…”

The wrath of Hercules, surpassing that pain, seemed to cover it, becoming even more fierce and savage in his movements.
She considered reaching out to help Dianes but soon gave up and withdrew her hand.

“If I reveal my divine power in Chiron’s sanctuary, it will surely cause an uproar.”

The Forest of Heroes was an absolute sanctuary promised to Chiron after Olympus was established and victorious in the war against Kronos.
No power could surpass his forest, and even Zeus could not harm a student under Chiron’s protection within his sanctuary.

“Even so, I want to give a small gift…”

Was there no way?
Watching the battle between Hercules and Dianes with a pounding heart, she noticed a girl standing on one side of the Colosseum.
A girl with beautifully tied auburn hair, even in Hera’s eyes.
Even as other men fled the Colosseum in haste, the girl couldn’t take her eyes off the duel, stamping her feet.

“Oh my.”

Her eyes sparkled with deep love and worry.
And those eyes were undoubtedly following the sweat-soaked back of Dianes.

“Yes, pure love is indeed the greatest gift.”

With a benevolent smile, the Queen of the Gods nodded her head.
As she gestured, the clouds began to obscure her figure and slowly descended.

-Boom! Boom!

“Aaaaah!!”

“Yes, that’s how a great hero should be.”

My heart pounded wildly, and all my nerves rang sharply.
Every time his fist brushed past, bones screamed, and every time he kicked, muscles crumpled.
Every moment, every breath, wondering if it might be my last moment, my last breath.
In an extreme situation where chilling questions kept arising.
It was truly a series of moments I had desired.

“Yes, it was worth putting all my internal qi into the strike.”

Five Yin Pseudo Destroying Art.
The master of energy among the Twelve Godly Demons, with the unique martial arts of the Heaven Splitting Wave of Anguish.
Originally hailing from Podalab Palace beyond the Hundered Thousand Great Mountains, he combined Podalab’s unique internal qi techniques and demonic arts to create the unprecedented Demon Qi Art.
The five yin arts, lamented as uncontrollable even by Buddha, were the roots of suffering.
The qi art of the master, rooted in this, was as powerful and divine as it was precise in its qi manipulation and consumed an enormous amount of internal energy.
If an ordinary, first-rate martial artist attempted to use it, their entire body would twist, leaving them neither dead nor alive.
However, I managed to compensate for my lack of internal energy with divine qi and precise qi manipulation, successfully striking Hercules.

‘Honestly, I thought it was a bit much, but since it turned out as I wanted, it’s fine.’

What I desired from Hercules was not just a rookie armed with pride and arrogance who would recklessly charge in.
The unparalleled martial prowess that land-dwellers could only dream of, and the tremendous potential lying dormant within.
A lifelong adversary that would sound the alarm in my instincts using all of that.
And I successfully drew out the monster lurking within him by mobilizing all my resources.

-Smack!

“Ugh!”

A colossal shock reverberated through my arms, although it clearly grazed past.
Even a rough estimate suggested that a single strike would turn dozens of top-tier masters into bloody pulp, making the corners of my mouth twitch involuntarily.
With not even a shred of resources left, relying solely on my physical and martial arts skills, I faced off against a legendary hero etched in human history.
How could my heart not race as a martial artist?
Moreover, it was even more enjoyable as I felt each move becoming more refined and sharper.

As my entire body honed and my martial arts deepened, I couldn’t help but smile faintly.
Hercules twisted his body greatly and raised his clasped hands high into the sky like a hammer.

“Dieeeeee!!”

“Huh?”

A move from Hercules, putting all his strength into it, ignoring defense.
But even as I watched this, I couldn’t move an inch, as if my whole body were bound.
A golden aura enveloped Hercules’s fist with a monstrous roar.
I had seen that aura before, reminiscent of lightning.

“No, why now?”

Artemis.
The goddess of the crescent moon who marked our first encounter with ill fate.
The aura she emitted when enraged and the power Hercules was displaying were different in nature but clearly of a similar kind.

“Ah..!”

“Uryaaaaaaa!!”

In the moment I hesitated, seeing that unexpected aura once again.
Hercules’s hammer aimed at my head came crashing down.

-!!!

An explosion.
Just an explosion that swallowed everything whole.
The atmosphere itself could not withstand the thunderous roar, and an intense silence engulfed everything as the colossal shockwave shattered even the Colosseum.
A terrifying strike reminiscent of the missile bombardments I had seen on YouTube in my past life.

-Kugugugu….

When the aftermath gradually subsided.
All that remained was the half-destroyed Colosseum slowly collapsing and Hercules, who had lost consciousness and fallen after exhausting all his strength.
And in front of him, only I stood, barely standing, covered in blood.

“….What on earth?”

In the midst of everything around me being half-destroyed and desolate, how was I the only one unscathed?

-Whooong…

It was thanks to the strange sound emanating from the demonic artifact that flickered like a shadow on my arms.
At the moment of crisis, when I was prepared to suffer internal injuries and was about to draw up even my true essence.
Suddenly, the demonic artifact broke free from the flow of the Martial Spirit Cultivation Technique and manifested freely according to my will.
What I envisioned was a sturdy shield to block the hammer of lightning.
The divine artifact manifested on both of my arms transformed into a pitch-black shield, absorbing all the impact like a black hole.

However, I couldn’t block all the aftermath, and I was covered in blood from the shock, but I avoided internal injuries or having my bones shattered.

“This… unexpectedly… was profitable…”

-Whoooo…

The divine artifact slowly faded away with the sound of the air resonating.
Seeing this, I too collapsed to the ground.
It wasn’t only Hercules who had given his all.

“Keh… It was a good, very good fight…”

It had been a long time since I had such an enjoyable fight—no, a struggle.
I also gained something substantial, and above all, I couldn’t help but smile amidst the twisting pain in my chest due to that thrilling sensation still ringing in my brain.

Ah, on days like this, it should rain heavily, but I don’t know why the sky is always so clear at such times.

“Khehekhehehehe…”

With that idle thought as my last, I closed my eyes in satisfaction.