1. I Became Hades
1. I Became Hades
I was a pretty impressive guy.
To summarize my body in numbers: 188, 80, and 18.
I won't bother explaining what that last number means.
My face was pretty handsome too. Far beyond just winning favor on blind dates, it was enough to make strangers turn their heads at least once as I walked down the street.
With broad shoulders and nice chest muscles, most clothes looked great on me. I knew that fact all too well, so I spared no money when it came to maintaining my body and face.
I got my hair cut at expensive salons and received skin treatments regularly. Most of the clothes and shoes I wore were brands anyone would recognize by name, and selling just the single watch on my wrist could buy a decent imported car.
I had a ton of money, too.
Some of it I earned myself, and some I inherited from my parents. I lived in a nice house, drove a nice car, and rarely remembered having to hold back from doing what I wanted because of money.
So back then, I truly believed it.
That I was the most superior of all males, or to borrow a term from the internet, the ultimate Alpha Male itself.
Yet, a guy like me blew his entire fortune on stocks and committed suicide.
Thinking about it now, it was a truly dumbass choice.
They say a person's whole life flashes before their eyes right before they die, but in my case, the stock trading app popped up before my life did.
Holding onto charts that plummeted day after day, I held out, asking myself if it could possibly go any lower, and threw even more money into it every time it dropped.
At first, it was my own money.
Next came loans.
After those got crushed too, I pulled in yet another loan.
Every time I thought 'this is rock bottom,' a brand-new bottom appeared. Whenever I thought 'surely it won't drop further than this,' the market kindly showed me the basement. And even after breaching through the basement, that wasn't the end of it.
In the end, it came down to a situation where I had to liquidate not just my cash and stocks, but also my car and house.
At that moment, I felt everything was over.
All my life, I lived believing I was superior to others. I had the looks, I had the money, and wherever I went, I was treated relatively well.
I faithfully abided by the saying to treat women like flowers—to pluck them when they're at their prettiest and throw them away when they wither.
I never really suffered from woman troubles like other guys struggled with, and even if I faced failure, things always somehow ended up with me on the winning side.
A guy like that turned into a debtor overnight.
I simply couldn't stand it.
So I did a head-first dive into the Han River.
And only after I actually died did I realize it.
'Why the hell did I do that?'
Losing money didn't mean life was over. My face was still there, my body was intact, and as for debt, if I just lived and repaid it tenaciously, it would have ended eventually.
Above all, failing big once didn't mean I could never make money again.
Yet I severed all those possibilities myself.
Regretting suicide only after dying was absurd, but regret was usually something that arrived late anyway.
After blaming myself for a long time like that, when I opened my eyes, I was standing in a place I had never seen before.
The surroundings were dark, but not to the extent that nothing could be seen. Flames tinged with blue light burned in various spots throughout the vast space, and black stone pillars catching that light lined up endlessly.
The ceiling was so high that it couldn't even be properly seen.
It felt like a palace, yet also like a giant tomb.
And in the very center of it all, someone was sitting.
Seated on a massive throne made of black stone, the man gave off the impression from the very first glance that he was no ordinary human.
His hair was pitch-black and his skin was pale, yet he didn't look sickly. The lines of his face were so sharp and well-defined that even I, a fellow man, couldn't help but admire them.
His physique was also incredible.
Even while sitting, he appeared quite tall, and his broad shoulders and firm body were clearly defined through his black garments.
Honestly, my pride was hurt a little.
While alive, I was fairly confident in my appearance and body, but the man before my eyes was at a level that utterly crushed mine from a tier above.
However, as I stared at him for a moment, a strangely frustrating aspect caught my eye.
It was his clothes.
I didn't know whether they were expensive clothes or not, but first of all, they were way too dreary. He was black from head to toe, and despite having such a great physique, he seemed to have zero intention of highlighting his body lines.
His hair was just roughly swept back without looking properly styled, and there were almost no ornaments like jewels or precious metals.
The problem was that behind the man, gold and jewels were literally piled up like mountains.
Large jars held enough gold coins to overflow, and colorful jewels rolled around between randomly stacked chests. Minerals and metals I'd never seen before were scattered everywhere; regardless of how valuable they were, they didn't look ordinary.
Even if I scraped together every bit of wealth I owned when I was alive, I doubted I could buy even a few of those jewels shoved away in that corner.
Just then, the man sitting on the throne opened his mouth.
"You have died."
Even his voice was great.
A deep, calm voice resonated throughout the vast space.
After pondering for a moment, I nodded.
"It seems so."
"You took your own life."
"Yes."
"Simply because you lost your wealth."
At that moment, the corners of the man's mouth twitched ever so slightly.
It felt like he was sneering, so I didn't feel too great.
"Foolish."
"I think so too."
"Only now?"
"I came to realize it clearly once I actually died."
The man looked at me for a moment and said nothing more.
Instead, I looked around the surroundings again.
An endless black palace, blue flames, mountains of piled treasure, and a mysterious king waiting for the dead me.
Reaching this point in my thought process, a name suddenly flashed through my mind.
"Wait a second."
The man looked at me.
"Are you by any chance Hades?"
"Humans call me by that name."
My eyes widened involuntarily.
Hades.
The King of the Underworld in Greek and Roman mythology, and personally, my favorite god.
He didn't mess around with every woman that caught his eye like Zeus, nor did he smash human cities out of anger like Poseidon.
Unlike other gods in mythology who caused major trouble, he generally stayed in his own realm, governing the dead, and kept promises and rules relatively well.
Unlike the other gods who caused scandals with women at every opportunity, even in the later mythological records I knew of, Hades' affairs with women could be counted on one hand.
Plus, he was a god of immense wealth.
Since all the gold, silver, jewels, and minerals beneath the earth were connected to his domain, it was only natural.
I looked back at Hades.
Taking in his handsome face, magnificent physique, and the mountain of gold piled behind him in turn, I shifted my gaze back to his drab clothing.
Strangely, I felt annoyed.
The fact that my absolute favorite god was living like this frustrated me for no good reason.
"Why are you looking at me with those eyes?"
Hades asked first.
"No, it's just such a waste."
"What is?"
"All of it."
Hades' brow narrowed ever so slightly.
I pointed to the treasure piled up behind him.
"You're super rich, right?"
"Indeed. For wealth is born beneath the earth."
"Then that means you're way richer than I thought."
"One could say that."
"And you're the king here too."
"Indeed."
"And most dead people end up coming here eventually."
"That is so."
I shut my mouth for a moment, then spoke honestly.
"Then why have you been living like this?"
This time, Hades' expression distinctly stiffened.
"Is there some problem with my life?"
"There are tons of problems."
Apparently, being dead made me lose my fear.
If I were alive, no matter how much of an Alpha Male I was, I wouldn't have spoken like this before a god.
But I was already dead, so what more was there to be scared of?
"Zeus causes every single scandal imaginable and is still remembered as the King of the Gods, and Poseidon is famous for his foul temper, yet being called the Ruler of the Seas sounds pretty cool, right?"
Hades said nothing.
I continued speaking without pause.
"Yet even though you've got loads of money, overwhelming power, and are the King of the Dead, people just remember you as some gloomy god holed up underground managing corpses."
"This place is my kingdom."
"Exactly. Your kingdom is this rich, so why are you living without anyone knowing about it?"
I picked up a gold coin nearby.
It was heavy.
"If it were me, I wouldn't just stack stuff like this in a warehouse."
"Then what would you have done?"
"First off, I'd use it to style myself."
Hades looked at me with an expression that said he truly could not understand.
I pointed a finger at his clothes.
"Why are you walking around wearing clothes like that when you have a face and body like yours?"
"It is the vestments of a king."
"To me, you look like a funeral home employee."
Hades' gaze sharpened.
Even so, I didn't stop.
"If you have so much gold and jewels, drape some of it on your body, style your hair properly, and wear clothes tailored to your frame. That way, when people look at you, they'll think 'Ah, that's the King of the Underworld.' Walking around like you do now just makes you a handsome hikikomori living underground."
"......"
"And you should be a bit nicer to living humans, too. That way, you'd receive faith and leave behind a good record."
"I am the King of the Dead."
"You're also the God of Wealth."
At those words, Hades remained silent for the first time.
I rolled the gold coin between my fingers as I spoke.
"It's not like people live their whole lives thinking only about the day they die. Everyone wants to live in a nice house, feed their families well, and make a lot of money."
Hades was still staring at me.
"So instead of just promising to treat them well after they die, you should tell them you'll help them live well while they're alive."
I chuckled slightly.
"Everyone dies eventually. That can't be helped. But in return: 'I will help you live richly and happily until you die. I will safeguard the wealth you earn justly, and once you die, I will take care of you fairly then as well.'"
The more I thought about it, the better it sounded.
"Wouldn't that make for a remarkably great god?"
Hades fell silent for a moment.
Then, he asked very calmly.
"If you know the world so well, why did a bastard like you kill yourself just because you lost a little money?"
I was at a loss for words.
He struck right at my sore spot.
"That's...... because I was a fucking idiot back then."
"You couldn't even govern your own single life properly, yet you give me unsolicited advice so easily."
"You're not wrong about that."
I scratched my head for a moment, then ultimately said shamelessly:
"Still, if I lived as you, I'm confident I'd do better than you're doing right now."
"Better than me?"
"Way better."
Silence fell.
Only the faint sound of blue flames burning could be heard.
I thought Hades would get angry or send me to some horrific place right away.
But contrary to expectations, Hades didn't get angry.
Instead, as if he had found something amusing, he stared at me for a while before slowly rising from his throne.
"Very well."
"Very well what?"
Hades walked up to me.
I thought he was huge even while sitting, but looking up close, he was truly gigantic. Back when I was alive, I wasn't considered small anywhere either, yet I had to raise my head slightly.
"Then live it in my place."
"Live what?"
"My life."
"......Huh?"
Hades brought a finger to my forehead.
"According to your words, you should be able to do far better than me."
Only then did an ominous feeling creep over me.
"Wait a second."
"Prove it."
"No, I just meant that hypothetically—"
My vision rapidly darkened.
Instinctively, I tried to step backward, but my body wouldn't move.
"Fuck, wait!"
The last thing I saw right before losing consciousness was Hades' face, which, unlike at first, was smiling with immense delight.
When I opened my eyes again, I was on a gigantic bed.
A black ceiling came into view.
After lying there blankly for a moment, I pushed my body up, and immediately felt a strange sensation. My arms and legs were longer than I remembered, and my entire body was filled with a heavy, immense power incomparable to when I was human.
Opposite the bed stood a large mirror.
I slowly walked toward it and froze right in my tracks.
Standing in the mirror was not me, but the man who had been conversing with me just moments ago.
It was Hades.
I touched my face.
The Hades inside the mirror moved identically.
"......Insane."
Even up close, the face was ridiculously handsome.
Even though I had been pretty confident in my face while alive, I had no choice but to acknowledge it. The eyes were deep, the bridge of the nose was high, and the jawline was sharp yet ruggedly masculine without being overly harsh.
His body was the same.
Just looking at what was visible over the clothes, it was far better than the body I had forged in the gym over several years.
The problem, as expected, was the clothes.
Looking down at the jet-black robe draped over my body, I let out a sigh.
'He really dresses like shit.'
Looking around, the bedroom was in a similar state. All the furniture was black and grand, but there were hardly any proper decorations, while precious jewels and metals were piled up carelessly on one side.
It looked as if a king with all this wealth hadn't spent a single penny on his own bedroom.
After reflecting for a moment, I opened the bedroom door.
Servants and nymphs waiting outside bowed their heads simultaneously.
"Your Majesty, King of the Underworld."
Hearing those words gave me a bizarre feeling.
Just a moment ago, I was a human who blew everything on stocks and died, but now I had become the king ruling over the entire Underworld.
Hades had truly thrown his life—no, his godhood—to me in its entirety.
I looked down at my clothes again.
What I had to do was roughly decided.
Whether it was changing the world, expanding faith, or fighting Zeus, those were problems for later.
First off, I didn't want to step outside looking like this.
"Bring me a tailor."
The moment the words left my mouth, I flinched first.
'Huh?'
In my head, I had clearly thought in my usual tone, 'Go get a tailor.'
But what came out of my mouth was completely different.
The deep, authoritative voice, the natural tone of giving commands—the speech mannerisms of a king who had reigned over countless beings tumbled out as if deeply ingrained in the body.
It wasn't like I was deliberately imitating it either.
It just came out like that the moment I opened my mouth.
Apparently, what Hades handed over wasn't just his physical body.
'Well, not bad.'
If I had to think like a king inside my head too, it would have been exhausting, but if only my speech naturally came out with dignity, it was actually more convenient.
The servant carefully raised his head.
"A tailor...... Your Majesty?"
"Indeed. Whether living, dead, or a nymph, it matters not. Bring the one with the most exquisite skill."
It came out naturally again.
Perfect.
"And summon an artisan who works with jewels as well."
"Has something happened, Your Majesty?"
"There has."
I gave my black sleeve a tug and let it go.
"Starting today, I intend to live a little more like a god."
The surroundings went quiet.
This was likely the first time Hades had ever uttered such words.
Well, whatever.
Now that I was living a second life—no, a first divine life—in someone else's body, I intended to live it properly this time.
At least I wouldn't die because of stocks.
And above all, with this face and this wealth, I was absolutely going to ensure I wouldn't go down in mythology as some gloomy underground hikikomori.