Persephone's Story - (1)
It had been a long time since Mente and I created mint-based dishes and spread them throughout the mortal world. Fortunately, the effort seemed to have paid off—the ferryman Charon had taken quite a liking to them. Maybe I should take a moment to see how the living world was reacting.
Thebes had changed so completely that it was fair to call it my territory now. It reminded me of how Athena was worshipped in Athens. The followers of Dionysus were being pushed aside by my own worshippers, reduced to a small minority. I suspected it had something to do with the rumor that those who chased freedom and debauchery only to commit crimes would face judgment in the underworld.
If I simply listened for a moment, the voices of Thebes’ people drifted to my ears. Near my temple, the conversations about mint went something like this.
“We should adjust the amount of mint used for funerals a little.”
“We could even eat the plant blessed by Pluto.”
“It grows well with just water. Why not cultivate it in bulk?”
“Its main use is as a herb or spice, so there’s no need to grow it in massive fields…”
“Priest, is it true that to become a priest of Pluto you have to like eating mint?”
“Hahaha! It’s true that mint is Lord Pluto’s symbol. But do you know what his oracle actually said?”
“An oracle? What did it say?”
“Personal tastes differ, so we must not discriminate against those who dislike his symbol.”
“Wow! Then you can become a priest even if you hate mint!”
Once the mortal world learned that mint could be used for everything from tea to snacks mixed with honey, the amount of mint used in funerals decreased noticeably. I looked over the parchment where Mente had meticulously summarized the trends in mint cuisine’s spread and spoke to her. She stood before me with a slightly nervous expression—understandable, since she had written the report herself.
“Mente, you’ve grown quite comfortable writing reports now.”
“Really? I write them every day, so… hehe…”
The Mente who once struggled with underworld duties was clearly adapting. At this rate, I could start giving her more responsibilities. I lifted my head with a satisfied smile, only to meet her eyes. She was grinning ear to ear, as if something wonderful had happened.
“Lord Hades. Now that mint dishes have spread so widely in the mortal world… um… about that reward you mentioned before…”
Hmm. That’s right. I had made her a promise. If she finished this task properly, I would take her along on the patrol near Mt. Etna.
“You said it would be just the two of us…”
“Yes. You’ve been doing excellent work lately, so let’s go together.”
“Yaaaay! Thank you!”
She threw her arms around me. Hey, wait—don’t suddenly hug me like that.
“Hehe…”
The refreshing minty fragrance from the goddess clinging to me tickled the tip of my nose.
The mortal world we visited together with Mente. We soon reached the area around Mt. Etna. Just as expected, the vast meadows, animals, and countless nymphs welcomed us.
I drove the chariot pulled by ghost horses once around the mountain to inspect Typhon’s condition. While I was enjoying the scenery, Mente spotted some figures in a nearby forest and waved enthusiastically.
“Oh! Delias! Iphigenia!”
“Mente?!”
“Didn’t you say you became Lord Hades’ priestess…”
“No, didn’t you say you became a goddess now?”
A few Naiads—nymphs just like Mente—were playing there. They looked delighted to see her, but the moment their eyes met mine atop the chariot…
“H-huh?! G-God…?”
“Mente became a lower god of the underworld… then could it be…”
“Black hair, black eyes, ghost horses… the Lord of the Underworld?”
Their faces drained of color instantly. They threw themselves to the ground before me in panic, pressing their foreheads to the earth. Seeing them unable to even consider leaving, I let out a sigh. I hadn’t done anything, yet they were already terrified. Well, I suppose it was only natural—who would view the underworld as friendly? Mente, who had asked me on a date the very first time we met, was clearly the unusual one.
“Mente. I’ll look around elsewhere, so go enjoy some time with your friends.”
“U-um… yes, thank you. Everyone’s prejudices are just too much…”
The teary-eyed Mente hopped down from the chariot and ran toward her friends. I moved away to give them space. I would return for her later.
“Oh my… Mente, aren’t you scared of him?!”
“A lower god of the underworld, of all things…”
“Becoming a goddess is wonderful, but living underground…”
“Hey! The underworld is great, you know!”
I could hear every word even from here…
After enough time had passed, I returned to the spot where Mente had gotten off. She should have had sufficient time to catch up with her friends by now. Sure enough, she was already waiting for me.
“Sigh… Everyone has way too many prejudices about the underworld…”
“It can’t be helped. It is the final destination for mortals and the realm of the dead, after all.”
Watching Mente climb back onto the chariot with that gloomy expression while talking about the underworld made me smile despite myself. Even though she had spent so much time in the living world, she had become a true native of the underworld.
“Once you actually experience the underworld, it’s really fun. These days I even think the souls are kind of cute.”
“Haha… Or is it just that you’re a peculiar nymph?”
“What? I’m a perfectly normal Naiad! And now I’m a goddess!”
“In my eyes, you’re still that strange nymph from back then.”
“Ugh… I’m not strange…”
What are you talking about? Where would you find another nymph like you? What kind of insane nymph would want to spend time with the Lord of the Underworld?
Recalling those old memories, I turned to her with a smile—
“Hm?”
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me. This odd feeling… It was coming from the north. A surge of power. Multiple entities moving at high speed. Far more than a few—at least several hundred. They weren’t human, nymph, or god…
“Lord Hades?!”
Shaaaaa— I released even more of the divine power I had been suppressing to visit the mortal realm. Plants and animals around us withered and died. The Dryads, spirits of the trees, screamed in terror, but there was no helping it.
I stretched out my hand, searching the area thoroughly. From deep beneath the earth, countless presences were stirring…
Rumble…
This sensation was unmistakable. Gigantes. The hated archenemies of us gods. And an assault involving at least several hundred of them. Why appear here instead of attacking Olympus or one of the great human cities…
Ah. Of course. This was Mt. Etna—the place where Typhon’s body was sealed. If Gaia dug up the mountain and claimed that powerful monster’s corpse, she could cause tremendous chaos. She might summon Typhon’s consciousness from Tartarus, or use the body as a sacrifice to create new monsters. In the worst case, Typhon himself could be resurrected… Even in the best-case scenario, a rampaging corpse would inflict massive damage. Unless a large number of Olympian gods intervened, the freed body would lay waste to everything around it.
“Lord Hades? Did something happen…”
“The Gigantes are attacking. Return to the underworld at once, Mente.”
Was this the single strike Prometheus had spoken of? Certainly, losing Typhon’s body would be an enormous blow to the gods.
“No matter how well you prepare… the gods will still fall to Gaia’s strike. Even if I warn you ahead of time, the result will be the same.”
“You mean we’re doomed to take one hit no matter what?”
“Of course. It will deal quite a painful wound to your plans.”
But Prometheus, this time your prophecy seems to be wrong. Because this Hades is standing right here.
The goddess of mint, Mente, was in a wonderful mood. She had successfully carried out Hades’ command to spread mint cuisine throughout the mortal world, and he had kept the promise he made last time by bringing her along on the Mt. Etna patrol.
She had even reunited with her old nymph friends from the living world and enjoyed a nice catch-up. Now she was looking forward to spending some quality time with the handsome Lord Hades.
She had never been able to make any real progress because of the terrifying glares from Lady Styx and Lady Lethe. But today, alone with him in the mortal world, she would finally show him her charm!
…Or so Mente had been thinking.
“Hm?”
Hades, who had been looking at her with an affectionate(?) smile, suddenly stiffened. A low groan escaped him as black divine power slowly began to leak from his body.
“Lord Hades?!”
As if sensing something wrong, he extended his right hand and drew forth his power. The overwhelming might of one of the three chief gods who ruled the underworld poured out, bringing death to every living thing nearby. This was not the merciful god who usually protected the lives of the mortal realm and restrained his strength for their sake.
What was happening? Why was he—
Shaaaaa— The power Hades unleashed grew stronger and stronger. Bit by bit… more… and more… Could even the combined divinity of every god in the underworld produce a more overwhelming pressure than what she felt now?
The ghost horses snorted and stamped, reflecting their master’s emotions. Blue ghost flames swirled in their eyes while hellfire erupted beneath their hooves. The specters bared razor-sharp teeth in cold sneers, as though eagerly anticipating the slaughter to come.
The once ordinary chariot now radiated a blood-chilling ghostly aura. Screaming figures of the damned were carved into its surface. It had transformed into a nightmarish vehicle befitting the Lord of the Underworld.
Mente trembled as she watched Hades gradually become enveloped in darkness.
“Lord Hades? Is something wrong…”
Gigantes. The enemies that Hades and the other underworld gods had always regarded with such caution. According to the prophecy, they were monsters the gods could not defeat without human heroes. In that case, now that she had become a goddess, shouldn’t she fight by his side? Was he really planning to face such dangerous foes alone?
“Lord Hades… I can fight too—”
A large, gentle hand stroked her long hair. Eyes as deep and endless as an abyss stared down at her. Unlike the awkward, troubled man who had always avoided physical contact with her, he now wore a cold smile and whispered softly into her ear.
The merciful Pluto who always protected unjustly condemned souls and remained calm even in the face of blasphemy was gone. The being before her now was Hades, the King of the Underworld feared by all.
“Yes… I’ll summon the other gods. Please be careful.”
Mente could not possibly disobey.