Chapter 1993 – 1993. God’S Atlantis
“Kuh-uh-uh-uck!”
Hades, grabbed by the collar by Zeus, let out an ugly scream and flailed his arms and legs.
His breath hitched. It wasn’t just because his collar was seized.
Divine power.
Overwhelming divine force was pressing down on Hades.
‘If it’s divine power, I’m not one to be outdone…!’
Hades was the king of the Underworld. And this was the heart of the Underworld. It was only natural to exert more than 100% of his power in his own domain.
Yet, he couldn’t overcome Zeus’s divine power.
‘Is it the worship of humans that gives Zeus power?’
Humans living on the surface couldn’t help but fear the sky. A place they could see just by looking up, the infinitely vast sky not granted to humans, and the vague fear of disasters descending from the sky.
‘Even so, this level of power is unexpected. I can only say he was strong from the start….’
Hades gritted his teeth.
He couldn’t so easily succumb just because his opponent was strong. Even if he were to lose, he had to gain at least some advantage. Hades began to strategize.
“No answer, huh? Do you truly wish to be beaten?”
Krrrrrr.
Thunder rumbled from Zeus. Blue lightning wriggled like a living snake along his arm. Astrape. Zeus’s lightning. Hades tensed up at that tremendous power.
‘I resisted with divine power… but it’s useless.’
Gods are immortal, so they don’t die.
But that didn’t mean they were invincible. They could certainly be neutralized. Just like the Titan gods, including Cronus, who were currently imprisoned in Tartarus.
Hades gave up resisting.
“I have lost.”
“You know your place well. I’ll give you a chance to clean up the mess you’ve made.”
Zeus’s voice was laced with cold fury. It was too cold to be called mercy for a traitor. This wasn’t mercy that Zeus was giving willingly.
That was why Hades could laugh even when his collar was grabbed and he was overwhelmed.
“It seems you know that I’m the only one who can resolve this chaos. Well, who or what god would want to take charge of this boring Underworld? The lower-ranked gods would be devoured by the Underworld, and the 12 Olympian gods have already settled into their positions, so they wouldn’t fall into the Underworld.”
“You talk too much. Do you really think I can’t do anything to the likes of you?”
“Calm your anger, Zeus. Kidnapping your daughter and wife, Persephone… I am also reflecting on it. I was too hasty.”
Thwack!
Zeus’s fist landed squarely on Hades’s jaw!
His jaw cracked, and he felt excruciating pain.
The fist didn’t stop with just one blow.
Bang, bam, bang!
The fist wasn’t fast. It slowly gathered power and heavily pounded Hades.
“Kuh-uh-uh….”
Hades gritted his teeth. Each time he was hit, it felt like the bones inside his body were being crushed. The bones of a god, incomparable to those of a human? In front of Zeus’s fist, that was meaningless.
Bam! Bang!
The punches continued.
Was there any point in enduring?
Baaaaaam!
One punch shattered his head. As an immortal, Hades’s shattered head regenerated. After briefly fainting and waking up, Hades couldn’t avoid Zeus’s fist that came flying again.
Bang!
The fist landed again.
Hades realized that the fist was using pure brute force, not divine power.
‘That monster….’
Suddenly, a rumor that had circulated among the gods came to mind.
Zeus was still growing.
The Titanomachy, which was thought to be Zeus’s prime, was merely his childhood. Once Zeus had fully matured, even if all the Olympian gods joined forces, they wouldn’t be able to defeat him. Such a preposterous rumor had been circulating among the gods.
‘Was it not a rumor but a prophecy…?’
Bang! Bang!
By now, he was getting used to his body being shattered. Through a hole in the ceiling, a god descended. The god with winged shoes spoke to Zeus in a tense tone.
“Lord Zeus! Please stop! Lord Hades… no, Hades is already half-dead! He’s lost his will to resist!”
“…Tch.”
Zeus clicked his tongue and lowered his fist. He still held onto the collar he had grabbed.
“Hades. Listen well. The reason you’re not being thrown into Tartarus is thanks to the other gods of Olympus. They all said that you should rule the Underworld. They said to be lenient with one mistake. All the gods except me.”
“…Is that so. It seems no one wants to rule the Underworld. Fine. Do as you please.”
Hades slumped. He released the strength in his body. He had no will to resist. His divine power and charisma couldn’t control the Underworld.
Zeus tossed Hades aside like trash.
“Hermes.”
“Yes, Lord Zeus.”
“Return to Olympus with Persephone.”
“Aren’t you coming with us, Lord Zeus?”
“Since the sky isn’t visible in the Underworld, there are many who don’t know how to look up to the sky. I plan to show them the greatness of the sky on this occasion.”
“I, I see!”
Sensing the bad atmosphere, Hermes acted quickly. He flew to Olympus with Persephone without looking back.
• • •
I knew the story of Hades and Persephone as well as it was famous.
But I didn’t think much of it.
Unlike the original myths, the current myths have changed a lot. The fact that Athena doesn’t exist among the 12 Olympian gods says it all.
It’s different from the original myths. So, what should happen doesn’t happen, and what shouldn’t happen does happen.
Poseidon falling in love with Medusa was something that should have happened. Originally, Medusa had sex with Poseidon in Athena’s temple and became a monster due to Athena’s wrath. But even without Athena, Poseidon was there, so it was natural for them to love each other.
‘I can’t give a beauty like Medusa to Poseidon.’
So, I made Medusa my woman. Poseidon’s opposition? Who cares.
‘The matter of Hades and Persephone is something that shouldn’t happen.’
Persephone became my woman as soon as she was born.
Hades was gloomy, but he was relatively sensible among the gods of Olympus. So, I thought he wouldn’t touch Persephone. Persephone was my wife.
‘That’s what I thought.’
Hades was a madman.
He dared to touch my woman.
‘I can’t just let this slide. I need to set a clear example. So that the Underworld can’t crawl back to the surface.’
There was also the purpose of venting my anger.
A little curiosity about the Underworld was a bonus.
‘First….’
I saw the lower-ranked gods looking at me. The gods who followed Hades in the Underworld.
“L, Lord Zeus. Forgive us…!”
“We were wrong!”
“We will start our duties right away! We will work hard to reduce the chaos between the Underworld and the surface as soon as possible!”
Tzzzzzzzz.
Just by harboring a little bit of murderous intent, lightning crackled around me. This was a divine power, a natural phenomenon. Zeus was lightning itself.
“If you have committed a sin, you must be punished.”
I grabbed the lightning and swung it.
The lightning spread in all directions through the air, sweeping over the gods. The gods all collapsed to the ground. The lightning didn’t disappear but lingered on their bodies. Since they couldn’t die, it would torment them for a long time.
‘You bastard! You touched my woman?!’
I swung my fist.
Baaaaaaang!
The wall shattered, and the shockwave smashed the decorations. I destroyed everything that looked intact, whether it was a pillar or anything else. The more I rampaged, the more the Underworld wailed.
‘Hmm?’
As I punched, I realized something was off.
My physical abilities had become a little stronger. I could notice it because I had been punching continuously.
‘Is Zeus’s body growing even at this moment?’
I shook my head.
No matter how much of a Zeus he was, he wouldn’t suddenly grow. There were several ways for the gods’ power to increase. Innately, it was determined by fate, and postnatally, it was through faith. It wasn’t for nothing that the gods desired human worship. They received worship because it was helpful.
‘Worship is, in essence, reverence.’
In conclusion, those who revered me had suddenly increased.
I glanced behind me. The gods of the Underworld were writhing in pain from the lingering lightning. They were revering me.
‘The fear of the gods makes me stronger… It must be possible because I am the king of the gods.’
Baaaaaang! Bang!
I moved forward, smashing everything.
The wall shattered, and lava splashed out, covering me, but it was nothing. I was too strong now to be fatally injured by lava. I could swim in lava without any problem.
Baaaaaaang!
A huge door flew off and crashed somewhere.
“Krr-rr-rr… whimper… whimper….”
A huge black dog with three heads bared its teeth at me, then was startled and cowered.
Cerberus. The gatekeeper of hell, buried its three heads on the ground and trembled pitifully.
I approached and punched one of its heads.
One of the huge heads shattered instantly. The broken skull and brain spilled onto the ground. Cerberus, horrified, tried to get up and run away. My fist was faster. I punched and shattered another head.
Cerberus, with only the middle head remaining, panicked and didn’t know what to do.
“Since you have the symbolism of being the gatekeeper of hell… I’ll stop here. But this is the last time I’ll let you off.”
“Whimper…. Whimper….”
There would be no next time.
This was also a warning to Hades.
As I passed Cerberus, a river appeared, blocking my path.
‘Is this the famous river of the underworld?’
