Tumult in the Underworld (2)
Crack— Craaaash!
The sound of Charon’s ferry failing under the weight and splitting clean in half. Or rather, the sound of it being smashed to pieces.
We gods are transcendent beings with reflexes far beyond those of mortals. We moved with impossible speed and agility.
Charon urgently shoved the souls of Otus and Ephialtes aside and hurled himself toward the riverbank. Since the Acheron was within my domain, I seized control of the water and hauled the sinking wreck back to the surface.
Boom.Thud.
“Huff… What the hell!”
“In thousands of years, that ferry has never broken once…”
“...?!”
That was why the souls of Otus and Ephialtes had not fallen into the river.
Old man Charon stood there with his mouth agape, utterly stunned. Aphrodite, who had only ever heard stories of his ferry, looked equally shocked to see it actually destroyed.
“Wasn’t that a divine artifact…?”
“I never imagined it would shatter like this…”
“Do you have any guess what caused it? Did you make some mistake recently…?”
No matter how heavy those two souls were, Charon’s ferry was a sacred object. It was imbued with his authority—functions that reduced its weight, assisted its movement across the river, and more. Under normal circumstances, it should never have broken no matter how many souls climbed aboard.
“It started creaking during the last great flood. I guess it finally gave out.”
“Since the great flood? If you had told me sooner, I could have done something about it…”
“...How? I’m already so busy I could die. When would I have time to trek all the way to the castle just to complain about a boat?”
True enough. After operating for so many centuries, the fact that it had lasted this long was a miracle in itself. No matter how much divine power it held, we had clearly overworked the poor thing.
“Since the Underworld was first created, countless souls have ridden that ferry. It’s a wonder it didn’t break sooner…”
“Tsk… It’s all because those damn mortals keep dropping dead over the stupidest things.”
Charon stared at the wreckage of his ferry and the oar in his hand, his face etched with pure futility.
“Damn it all! What the hell is this, Hades!”
“As you can see, Charon’s ferry has been reduced to this state, Thanatos.”
Thanatos, who had been sending countless avatars into the world of the living to guide souls, appeared on the scene. He had likely come to protest the massive backlog of souls now clogging the Acheron.
The souls who could not cross the river continued to multiply, collectively raising a clamor of confusion. The moment they spotted us, the murmuring among the dead grew even louder.
“What in the world is happening…?”
“Gasp… P-Pluto?!”
“No way… He looks exactly like the statue in the temple… Is that Lady Aphrodite?”
“Why is Lord Charon’s ferry…?”
They had died, been led down by Thanatos, and arrived in the Underworld only to find their ferry destroyed, the boatman standing dazed with oar in hand, and the faces of Thanatos, myself, and even Aphrodite waiting for them. The souls began to lose their minds.
“Oh, Zeus above…”
We had to clean this up immediately. If we let it drag on, the cycle of the world would break again like last time.
“Aphrodite, charm every incoming soul from this point forward and line them up in orderly rows.”
“Huh…? Oh, yes…”
“Thanatos! There should be small boats near the River Styx used for retrieving fallen souls. Bring them.”
“Damn it! Fine!”
“Once Thanatos returns with the boats, we can ferry the souls across the Acheron. That should work for now, Charon?”
“I can manage, but their speed and durability are nothing compared to my ferry…”
“Just handle it for the time being. I’ll have a new boat built and sent over as quickly as possible!”
Damn it. This Underworld has an accident every other day.
“Hades! The souls suddenly stopped arriving, what is—”
“Lady Styx! Charon’s ferry has been destroyed!”
Lady Styx came running, alarmed by the sudden halt in incoming souls. After I quickly explained the situation, her expression mirrored Thanatos’s.
“That can’t be! That ferry never received so much as a scratch despite all those centuries…”
“After all those centuries, it was bound to break eventually!”
“...?!”
Soon her subordinates were bustling about alongside Thanatos’s clones, transporting the spare boats. I hurried back to the Underworld’s administrative office to sort out the resulting mess.
“Lord Hades! Is this another incident involving Lord Thanatos like last time…?”
“No, this time it’s because Charon’s ferry broke. Just focus on your duties.”
“Yes…?! Understood!”
“Also, send word to Olympus that I urgently require Hephaestus.”
This was the perfect opportunity to rebuild Charon’s ferry from scratch. I would make it larger and far more durable so this never happened again.
If the greatest blacksmith in the world—Hephaestus, who far surpassed even the Cyclopes—made it personally, such problems would not occur. Still, if there were others capable of assisting the god of the forge… Since we were building it anyway, we might as well do it properly.
“Summon Daedalus and Pygmalion as well. Stop by Lady Mnemosyne first to restore their memories before bringing them here.”
“Understood!”
Even those who lived the most turbulent lives in the mortal realm eventually arrive in the Underworld.
Daedalus was the greatest architect and inventor of the age of King Minos, one of the Underworld’s judges. Pygmalion was the sculptor who fell in love with a statue of his own creation. Astonishingly, he had even married her—because Aphrodite had brought the statue to life in answer to his prayers.
“So Aphrodite turned the statue you created into a living woman?”
“Yes! I offered a sacrifice and prayed, and she answered me!”
“No wonder the Underworld’s records listed a statue…”
I had been quite surprised when that living statue arrived as a citizen of the Underworld.
And so the greatest architect, sculptor, and blacksmith of Greece gathered inside the Underworld’s citadel.
The purpose: to build a new vessel for Charon.
“Huff… To be allowed to work alongside Lord Hephaestus is the greatest honor of my existence!”
“Daedalus, is it? I’ve heard your name many times.”
“I am a sculptor, but… are you perhaps commissioning a figurehead?”
Pygmalion had guessed correctly. Since the old ferry was destroyed anyway, we would give Charon a proper ship. Naturally, it needed a majestic figurehead carved in his likeness at the prow.
“Uncle Hades, what do you think of constructing the hull from metal?”
“Metal? Is that even feasible?”
“Yes. Since propulsion will be handled by divine authority, we can focus on durability…”
“The interior layout…”
In my previous life I had reached the skies and even space, but no matter how skilled a blacksmith god he was, technological limits still existed. A purely metal vessel might not move well… However, this was the age of myth. Whatever the design lacked could be compensated for with supernatural power.
Besides, while trees did not grow in the Underworld, metal was in abundant supply. It might actually work.
“Let’s try it. I will provide unlimited materials.”
“Then leave it to me, Uncle! The greatest blacksmith in the world will not disappoint you!”
Hephaestus laughed heartily and thumped his muscular chest. Daedalus wore an expression that said the challenge was worth attempting as he fell into deep thought.
Thus, an unexpected shipbuilding project began in the Underworld.
Clang!Clang!
“So this is the metal that only appears in the deepest underground veins?”
“And from now on this will be sailing the Acheron?”
“Turn that section a little more to the left.”
“A boat made entirely of metal… Who would have imagined such a thing appearing in the Underworld…”
Countless technicians, blacksmiths, and laborers of the Underworld rushed about, moving materials according to instructions. On one side, sinners performing hard labor hauled heavy ingots, while Hephaestus and Daedalus moved briskly, issuing commands.
“Hmm. How can I express Lord Charon’s baldness in a suitably majestic way…? If I just give him luxurious hair…”
Pygmalion, Greece’s greatest sculptor, could be seen carving a figurehead modeled after Charon’s appearance. Once he finished, we would infuse it with divine power and mount it on the prow.
The construction of Charon’s new vessel was completed at astonishing speed. The combination of Hephaestus’s leadership, Daedalus’s brilliant designs, and the tireless labor of countless souls made it possible.
“This should satisfy Charon, no?”
“As you requested, we installed multiple devices along the hull to naturally deflect the water currents…”
I gazed at the massive vessel. It looked sturdy enough to carry dozens of souls without issue. Constructed from various metals, fitted with the current-deflecting mechanisms I had requested from Hephaestus, and crowned with a figurehead bearing Charon’s likeness and divine power.
“Poseidon would probably try to steal it.”
It was utterly incomparable to Charon’s previous shabby little ferry.
Near the entrance to the Underworld, along the River Acheron.
Charon, who had been frantically ferrying souls, and Aphrodite, who had been charming the unruly dead into order, greeted our arrival.
“Wait… You expect me to ferry souls with this from now on?!”
“Hades, how long must I continue this work?”
I wasn’t sure about Aphrodite, but old man Charon’s eyes were fixed on the majestic new vessel. He climbed aboard and began touching everything, letting out sounds of awe.
“Ooh! It even possesses authority to cleave through the currents. With this, I won’t need to row anymore…”
“Ah, due to the laws of the Acheron… you will still need to perform the ‘act of rowing’ itself.”
Charon’s face, which had brightened for a brief moment, quickly darkened again.