Chapter 110: Heracles of Thebes - (1)

Do you know how Heracles, the prophesied hero, was born?

After a long time passed without the expected great hero appearing, an impatient Zeus came up with an idea.

'Unlike Perseus or Cadmus, what if we deliberately raise a great hero from childhood?'

Instead of watching the journey of one destined to be a hero, if they receive abundant power and blessings from the gods...

Heroes with divine blood are inherently different from other mortals, possessing overwhelmingly strong power from birth.

Therefore, a hero with one divine parent, a demigod, must be raised.

The higher the divine status of the parent, the stronger the demigod becomes.

Thus, a demigod born from Zeus himself would be the strongest.

Gaia, the Earth Mother Goddess, would have guessed that the hero was related to the Gigantes.

The hero must be raised in the realm of gods that can evade the eyes of the earth.

Such as Olympia with Zeus's own sanctuary, Delphi in Apollo's domain, or Athens, the city of Athena.

The demigod mustn't die right after birth. They must be born as the child of someone with considerable wealth.

They also shouldn't be too far from Thebes, which raises heroes. The demigod might die before reaching Thebes.

'That woman seems suitable. The queen of Thebes who serves my brother Hades...'

For these reasons, mixed with Zeus's personal preferences, there was a candidate.

It was Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon, the king of Thebes.

"Oh? You're home early today, dear?"

"Ahem. That's how it turned out."

So Zeus, disguised as Amphitryon, the king of Thebes, went to his wife and had relations with her.

Of course, Alcmene didn't know about this at first and only found out later...

"No, which god came down to you? It couldn't have been Pluto, the patron god of Thebes..."

"Sob... It must have been Lord Zeus."

"...It's the will of the gods, so we can't help it. Is he telling us to raise the child?"

Thus, their child Heracles was held by Zeus and suckled Hera's breast,

and to escape the angry Queen of the Gods, he wandered briefly here and there, including the Underworld.

"...The child often disappears and returns. This time he was gone for as long as a month..."

"Could it be that the gods need this child?"

"In my dream last night, a goddess appeared and said the child's name is Heracles."

Fortunately, Heracles grew up safely... Amphitryon invited various notable figures to teach him.

Everything from archery, horseback riding, sword and spear handling, to playing the lyre and various other cultural arts.

However, there was one problem...

"Your Majesty, I simply cannot teach that child anymore."

"What... Even you, who studied in Mycenae, say it's impossible?"

"He learned everything I know in just a month, so there's nothing left to teach..."

"Is it possible for someone that age to crush stones with bare hands?"

"They say he's never been injured even once?"

"The other day during sword training, I saw the wooden sword shatter when it hit his body..."

The problem was that Heracles was far too exceptional.

Heracles, with Zeus's bloodline, Hera's milk, and the power of the River Styx, was on a different level from ordinary people.

When Amphitryon saw Heracles crush a steel sword with his bare hands, he realized they could no longer handle the child...

"Perhaps it's because he's Zeus's child. Ordinary human education won't suffice."

"I wonder if Heracles heard the servants whispering 'monster' behind his back?"

"Let's take the child to the temple. I've heard many train at temples from a young age..."

So, after much deliberation, Amphitryon and his wife decided to take the child to Pluto's temple.

If they entrusted Heracles to Pluto's temple, which selects and trains aspiring heroes, they would surely be at ease.

***

Whoosh-

"As soon as Heracles approached..."

"Light from all the statues..."

"For the gods to welcome him so, he must surely have the qualities of a great hero."

Heracles, who entered Pluto's temple, was swiftly transferred to the Underworld.

Air different from the living world, strange sky and surroundings, a chilly sensation touching his body...

Whoosh-

"Hey! Watch out!"

Heracles saw an arrow flying towards him from somewhere.

The arrowhead rapidly approaching his chest, yet he just watched it without any sense of crisis.

Thwack- Ting-

The arrow bounced off, unable to pierce his skin. His body, strengthened by the River Styx, couldn't be wounded by ordinary human means.

As Heracles turned his head towards the voice... there was a blond youth who had come running, out of breath.

Roughly his age, perhaps? The male who looked to be in his late teens had a dumbfounded expression.

...Like others who had witnessed Heracles' superhuman strength and steel-like skin.

"Huff... huff... No way... The arrow bounced off? What kind of divine protection is this?"

"The arrow, did you shoot it?"

"Ah, yes! I'm sorry about that. I was practicing archery and shot it by mistake."

"Archery practice?"

"Yeah. This is the training ground for heroes, right? But why isn't Teacher Chiron here? It's about time he should arrive... Anyway, follow me."

After a brief moment of confusion, the blond male approached and spoke to him familiarly.

Heracles smiled. He liked that the other wasn't overly frightened despite seeing him unharmed after being hit by an arrow.

"Are there many people here with bodies that don't get injured?"

"Not exactly, but... there are heroes who can deflect arrows with swords, regenerate wounds, or archers who can shoot down incoming arrows..."

"By Teacher Chiron, do you mean the wise Chiron?"

"Yeah, that's right. It's the real wise Chiron from the history books! With the lower body of a horse, you know?"

On the way to meet the centaur Chiron, Heracles learned many things.

First, that the name of the male in front of him was Jason, and he was royalty from Iolcos.

And facts about the Underworld's training ground and the intensity of their usual training...

"...Yesterday, a huge monster..."

"Jason, is that person next to you a new hero?"

"Ah, Teacher Chiron!"

Soon, a centaur with the upper body of a human and lower body of a horse appeared.

"I am Chiron. What's your name, child?"

"...Heracles."

"Tsk. You're curt with your elders, Heracles."

The centaur, smiling but somehow with a vein popping on his forehead, gently patted Heracles' head.

Would this centaur be any different from the many teachers Heracles had had so far?

***

This is the Underworld, Hades' throne.

From a few years ago until now,

Since Heracles arrived in the Underworld, I've been receiving regular reports about him from Chiron.

At first, Chiron was curious why Heracles was given special treatment,

but he understood after hearing that Heracles had suckled Hera's breast and been dipped in the River Styx.

Looking at the hero's progress reports he's sent so far...

Heracles lost after 10 or so matches with the hero Bellerophon. Even this was under the condition that he would lose if a weapon touched his body, so in a real battle he would be even more impressive...

Feeling that his body wasn't being trained, I had him lift boulders larger than most houses for practice. It might be a bit heavy...

Now, among my disciples, only Theseus and Atalanta, and... can withstand even a moment in a match against him...

Lord Hades, Heracles has won in one-on-one matches against all heroes except the great hero Cadmus. Heracles will undoubtedly become the most outstanding hero among all the disciples I've taught!

The last report was that Heracles had won in matches against all other heroes except the great hero Cadmus.

As expected of the prophesied hero. So he's already surpassed Bellerophon and Perseus?

Since he still can't beat Cadmus... perhaps he's about as strong as a lesser god?

I think it was a good decision to dip my nephew in the River Styx.

Hmm. Speaking of the River Styx, here comes Goddess Styx.

In her hand is a parchment with Hermes' seal. Has my nephew sent news from Olympus?

"Hades. Eros and Psyche have had a child."

"A new god is born, that's cause for celebration. Is there any other news from Olympus?"

"Nothing else except that Apollo, who was punished after being dragged away by Poseidon last time, has been released and returned. At most, there's talk that the Gigantes aren't moving, and it seems Gaia is conserving her strength, possibly plotting something. Oh, and that Dike's recent actions are too excessive..."

Is that all? Apollo's return and a warning to be careful of Gaia's schemes.

Dike's actions? I bet she's lecturing the Olympian gods to uphold justice.

What do they mean by excessive? Even if Zeus came personally, I have no intention of restraining Dike.

"By the way, how is the raising of Zeus's son who was dipped in my river going?"

"You mean Heracles? Come to think of it..."

It should be about time for a new report on Heracles...

Just as I thought that, a messenger entered the room and presented me with a parchment.

"Lord Hades, a regular report from Chiron of the hero training ground."

"Hmm."

Unrolling the parchment scroll, I read some strange content.

"Lord Hades. I feel conflicted about revealing my incompetence, but there is a matter I must properly report to you."

Incompetence? The greatest educator who has raised countless heroes claims incompetence?

What kind of matter could it be?

"Heracles has completely lost his motivation. No matter what I try, I cannot change his mind, so if you could please help..."