Chapter 80: The Story of Bellerophon - (3)

After the short but intense stroll in the sky, I had already handed Pegasus over to Hermes and glanced back slightly.

"...Uh."

Goddess Styx was still looking down, unable to meet my eyes.

Although she had approached me several times before, now that I had made a move, she seemed at a loss.

I was about to smile at her cute appearance,

but my expression froze at the timid voice coming from the goddess's mouth.

"Um... Hades. The accident that happened up there today..."

"...It wasn't an accident."

"What?! Then... then..."

I decided to take another step... one step forward.

I moved closer to the beautiful goddess, and although she flinched, she didn't avoid me.

Like in the sky, I gently placed my right hand on her waist... and with my left hand, I cradled the back of her head.

At this moment, showing my true feelings to the Goddess of Oaths, more beautiful than anyone else.

Embarrassment, courage, hesitation... all sorts of emotions filled my mind,

but the result of the smoothly flowing action washed away all those emotions.

Smooch.

This time, it wasn't the power of Euros' east wind pushing us, but entirely my own will.

***

Bellerophon.

Born with great strength, he originally wanted to go to Thebes to become a hero...

but after accidentally killing his brother, he was living under the protection of Proetus, the king of Tiryns.

However... when the queen, Anteia, tried to seduce him,

"Bellerophon, won't you spend just one night with me?"

"...I'm sorry, my queen."

He coldly refused, unable to betray Proetus, his benefactor.

But who would have known that the queen would become angry and lie to the king?

"Darling, Bellerophon tried to seduce me. He called me to his room and subtly flirted..."

"Wh-what?! That bastard...!"

The king believed her words, but according to the custom of hospitality that a host must respect a guest who has come, he couldn't kill Bellerophon.

"Bellerophon, take this letter to His Majesty Iobates, my father-in-law."

"Yes, I understand."

So King Proetus's trick was to write a letter to his father-in-law, King Iobates of Lycia, saying "Please kill the bearer of this letter," and send Bellerophon with it.

His father-in-law who received the letter would kill him instead.

"So, you've brought a letter from my son-in-law?"

"Yes, here it is."

However, King Iobates, who read the letter Bellerophon brought, was also reluctant to kill him directly.

So King Iobates...

"Bellerophon, do you think you could defeat the monster Chimera?"

"Chimera...?"

"It's a troublesome monster that eats humans. I'm asking because this letter says you're a man of great strength and power. If you succeed in killing it, I'll give you my daughter Philonoe and pass on the throne of Lycia."

"Is that true? Then I'll take on the challenge!"

He tried to have Bellerophon killed by the hands of the Chimera, a monster that was active in Lycia and ate people.

***

Although Bellerophon left the palace of Lycia confidently, everything, including the location of the monster, was unknown.

Thinking that he might have difficulty facing the monster with his strength alone, he headed to a nearby temple of Athena.

As he was usually excellent in martial arts and strength,

he was able to hunt a few nearby deer and offer them to the Goddess of Wisdom, seeking an oracle.

"O Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, I must kill the monster Chimera with my own strength. I seek the wisdom of the gods..."

The news that a human was trying to kill the Chimera, a powerful monster and child of Typhon, was conveyed to the Olympian palace through Athena,

and the gods on the clouds rejoiced at the signs of a new hero being born.

"It's difficult for an ordinary human to kill a child of Typhon."

"Wouldn't someone like Cadmus have a chance against the Chimera?"

"It's a powerful monster that could kill even decent heroes, so how about giving a little help? If we send Pegasus..."

"Pegasus to a mere human? And isn't Pegasus a divine beast belonging to the underworld, created from Goddess Medusa's blood?"

"If we ask Lord Hades for permission, we could have the human try to tame Pegasus directly..."

"You mean to test if he's worthy of handling the celestial horse? I agree with that."

The conclusion from the gods' meeting was soon delivered to the underworld and reached Hades' ears.

Thus, Hermes, who received the celestial horse from Hades, released Pegasus in a meadow, and Goddess Athena appeared in the dream of the resting Bellerophon and said:

"Take this bridle and go to the nearby meadow. If you can put the bridle on the winged horse, Pegasus, while it's sleeping and hold on, the divine horse will become your strength."

"A winged horse... Pegasus...?"

"And the location of the Chimera is..."

When Bellerophon woke up, he found a horse bridle lavishly decorated with gold in his hand.

Realizing that the dream he had last night was an oracle, he ran to the nearby meadow and immediately found Pegasus.

The all-white winged horse was sound asleep after grazing in the meadow as Hermes had ordered.

Bellerophon carefully approached the divine beast from behind.

The sleeping horse didn't notice the hero's approach, and soon he succeeded in putting the bridle on the horse.

Thud-

Neigh! Whinny!

"Ugh, quite a fierce resistance!"

Bellerophon, having put on the bridle, quickly mounted the horse's back and attempted to tame it.

He would only be recognized as the master if he could completely exhaust the power of the divine horse, which was resisting fiercely, flapping its white wings.

Neigh!

Flap- Whoosh!

As the divine horse twisted its body violently in the air, Bellerophon used all his strength in his thighs and hands,

and Pegasus, thinking it would be difficult to shake him off easily, moved its wings and rose high into the sky.

"No... The clouds are beneath my feet...! But don't think I'll give up on you just because of this!"

The strong wind struck the human hero's body. The sight of the sky, experienced for the first time in his life, overwhelmed him.

The only things he could rely on were the golden bridle given by Goddess Athena and his own strength.

After rising to a certain altitude, Pegasus stopped flapping its wings and suddenly turned its head towards the ground.

And then the divine horse folded its wings and began a steep dive, intending to die together with the hero on its back?

Whoosh!

"Urghhhh!"

But Bellerophon didn't let go of the bridle until the end.

He gritted his teeth and endured through the strong gale, the dive from an altitude where clouds were below him, and the threat of death approaching in an instant.

Neigh-

Just before touching the ground... Pegasus, as if admitting defeat, spread its wings and glided.

The hero, who had been gripping the bridle on the back of the celestial horse, wiped away his cold sweat with a sigh of relief.

In the end, unable to shake off Bellerophon, Pegasus quietly descended to the ground and acknowledged him as its master.

"Well, now you won't run away even if I get off. Thank you."

And so, Bellerophon rode on the back of the celestial horse and flew to where Goddess Athena had told him the Chimera lived.

***

Flying to the place Goddess Athena had mentioned, there was a huge monster combining three animals, including a lion's head.

Upon discovering the terrible monster, the hero, still mounted on Pegasus, took out his bow from his back and nocked an arrow.

Whoosh-

A fierce arrow shot with all his might flew towards the monster, but...

Thud.

"No...!"

It bounced off lightly as soon as it touched the Chimera's body.

The Chimera's skin and muscles, inherited from Typhon's bloodline, were too thick to be penetrated by human strength.

Afterwards, Bellerophon continued to fire dozens of arrows, but couldn't even scratch the skin.

The Chimera growled mockingly and breathed intense flames from its mouth...

The flames reached up to where Pegasus was floating in the sky.

Whoosh-

"Tch. Let's retreat for now, Pegasus!"

Bellerophon had no choice but to turn around and return to the village,

leaving only the enraged Chimera behind.

Growl-

Oh dear... As a child of Typhon, it's like my own child, but sadly, it's destined to die by a hero's hand.

A voice suddenly transmitted from the earth.

The Chimera, being an intelligent monster, was bewildered. What is this somehow familiar feeling...?

Growl?!

Despite the Chimera's confusion, the voice continued to be heard.

From all directions? No... A strange voice piercing into the monster's mind...

You are destined to die by a human hero's hand, but prophecies rightfully allow one to choose the process.

Among the three heads, the goat head with terrible wisdom whispered to the other heads.

This voice certainly feels similar to its parents, Typhon!

I will guide you

With the last words heard, the Chimera, with reddened eyes, began to run somewhere.

Bellerophon, who had returned to the nearby village, was thinking about how to attack the Chimera when he came up with an idea and headed to the blacksmith.

He abruptly visited the blacksmith who was hammering steel and asked him to make a strange spear.

"Please make me a spear with a lump of lead attached to the end."

"Lead...? What are you going to use such a thing for? I can make it if you'll take it with you?"

"Of course, I'm going to use it to kill the monster."

So Bellerophon, carrying the heavy lead-tipped spear, smiled with satisfaction.

When it breathes fire, if I throw the spear into its mouth, the lead will melt and enter its stomach, killing the monster.

But...

When he returned, the Chimera was nowhere to be seen.

Could it be that the monster had hidden out of fear of humans? Or had he come to the wrong location?

The confused Bellerophon searched the entire area but couldn't find the Chimera.

Then he heard a voice. A voice coming from the sky...!

"Bellerophon, the Chimera ran in this direction. Hurry up."

On a cloud a little distance away was a fully armed goddess.

She pointed her spear in one direction, indicating to Bellerophon which way the Chimera had moved.

"Thank you! O unnamed goddess!"

"I am Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom."

After paying his respects to her, Bellerophon mounted Pegasus and quickly pursued the Chimera.

Wait, but this direction... Wasn't it towards Lycia?