The Athos Mountain Expedition - (1)
The place was the Underworld connected to Thebes—the training grounds for heroes. Today, as always, the deceased instructors led by Chiron were teaching aspiring heroes. Suddenly, the sound of a bell rang out across the area.
Ding— Ding— Ding—
“That sound definitely means… we’re supposed to gather at the building, right?”
“Let’s put training on hold for now.”
At the Centaur Sage’s call, the heroes set down their weapons and began heading toward the building constructed in the canyon. Everyone was still panting or drenched in sweat from the intense training they had just finished.
“Alright! Everyone, gather round. Today we have a very special guest visiting us!”
“Chiron sir, when you say a special guest…”
“Who could it be this time? We already have all sorts of great heroes here…”
The aspiring heroes turned their eyes toward the other deceased instructors at Chiron’s words. It made sense. After all, legendary heroes like Perseus, Cadmus, Bellerophon, and many others were the ones teaching them. If someone was more special than even the great heroes… could it be a god?! But surely not even a god would come here in person…
Just as the word “god” began to surface in their minds, someone entered the gathering place. A man of enormous muscular build wearing gleaming armor and weapons. All eyes fell on him as he strode confidently forward, stopping before Chiron on the platform and opening his mouth.
“So these are the ones who gathered because they want to become heroes, Chiron?”
“That’s correct, Lord Ares. I already heard from Lord Hades. You’ll be helping us for the next two months.”
…?! Who? Did Chiron just say Ares? No, was it really a god? And not just any god—Ares?! The one among the Twelve Olympians who presided over war, the son of Zeus himself?
Now that they thought about it, this overwhelming presence… the power they could feel…
“Umm! It is an honor to meet God Ares! I am from Sparta…”
“We greet the God of War. Thank you for always watching over us on the battlefield…”
“Ares of the Golden Helmet! It is an honor to see you in person!”
Having reached this point in their thoughts, they hurriedly prostrated themselves or offered respectful greetings, reacting exactly like any other mortal would. Anyone who saw the God of War before their eyes would likely respond the same way.
However, Ares didn’t even turn to look at them. He continued speaking only with Chiron, as if the only one here qualified to converse with him was Chiron alone.
“Yeah, somehow I ended up working in the Underworld again. Though it’s only for two months.”
“Have you worked in the Underworld before?”
“Mm. During the Great Flood, I fell into Athena’s cruel scheme and…”
“Hahaha! That’s a story I’d love to hear someday.”
The heroes listened intently to the conversation between the Centaur Sage and the God of War. Between their natural exchange, all sorts of secrets and tales about the gods were being revealed.
“Anyway, having to teach these mortals how to at least take down one monster sounds like a lot of work.”
“Still, they are all excellent students. It feels rewarding.”
“Since I’m here, shall we check their levels one by one? Then…”
Ares, who had been talking with Chiron, swept his gaze across the area. Under the god’s stare, the mortals couldn’t dare meet his eyes and lowered their heads, but… one boy mustered the courage to briefly lock eyes with the God of War.
“Hup…!”
“Oh… What’s your name?”
Though the boy had immediately lowered his head, unable to endure the gaze, Ares thought he had shown quite a bit of courage compared to the other humans here and spoke to him.
“M-me, sir? It is an honor! My name is Peleus, a human! O God of War!”
“For a mere mortal, you’ve got quite the spirit. Then let’s start with you.”
While Ares was conversing with the heroes at the training grounds, a messenger god from Olympus had arrived at the castle of the Underworld’s ruler, Hades, to deliver new information.
“Hermes, you’ve been coming to the Underworld quite often lately.”
“Ahaha. Father told me that since the prophesied hero has been born, I should keep him well informed about the movements of the Gigantes…”
Hermes scratched his head with an awkward laugh at my question. The prophesied hero, huh. Of course, I was certain it referred to Heracles, but what did the other gods think?
“Do the other gods of Olympus believe what Zeus says?”
“Not at all. Especially Lady Hera. Olympus is in an uproar over how furiously she screamed. From what I know… she shouted, ‘That womanizing god sires another bastard, and now that he has no more excuses, he’s claiming it’s the prophesied hero!’”
“Given everything he’s done so far, not many gods would believe Zeus…”
“There are rumors that Lady Hera is scouring the mortal world with fire in her eyes. She intends to kill that Heracles.”
Did she know that I had hidden Heracles in the Underworld for a month? Probably. That’s why I couldn’t keep him hidden here any longer. Hera’s anger was justified… especially since Zeus had secretly made her breastfeed him. That would only fuel her rage even more.
But Heracles truly was the prophesied hero. How could I convince her of that? I had made him bathe in the River Styx precisely to prepare for situations like this, but there was still an uneasy part.
No matter how much Heracles grew after bathing in the River Styx, if Hera directly cast a divine punishment on him, he would die. So what I needed to do was…
“Hermes. Deliver my words to Hera.”
“To Lady Hera?”
“Tell her that trying to kill a newborn would only dirty the hands of the Queen of the Gods, so it would be better to let him grow a little and then assign him labors.”
If the Queen of the Gods, who raged at bastards, could calm her momentary emotions and listen to my words… aside from suddenly encountering Gigantes or receiving Gaia’s direct wrath, there would be no threats to Heracles. And dealing with monsters according to Hera’s labors would be excellent real combat experience for a great hero.
“Yes. When I return to Olympus later, I’ll convey your message.”
This might be a terrible thing to do to my nephew… It was no different from tempering a person to create a great hero capable of defeating the Gigantes. No matter how much humans called me the God of Mercy, I was still a deity who ruled the Underworld.
Now that I had heard Olympus’s opinions regarding Heracles, it was time to get to the main topic. The fact that Hermes had come here meant something had happened in the mortal world again.
“You came to the Underworld to report on the Gigantes’ movements, didn’t you? Let’s hear it.”
“Yes. Strange things have been happening lately. The monsters that the heroes who finished training in Thebes were supposed to subjugate keep disappearing.”
“The monsters are disappearing?”
“Yes. Perhaps Lady Gaia… has decided to prevent the heroes from completing their labors altogether? The Gigantes are still bound in the Phlegraean Fields, so…”
So now she was seriously interfering with the heroes? It seemed Gaia’s prophetic abilities were starting to catch on. The speculation that human heroes and the Gigantes were somehow connected might have turned into certainty. If things continued like this, raising Heracles into a great hero might become difficult. The locations of the monsters he was originally supposed to kill could change, or they might be slain by other heroes…
“So after Brother Apollo and I scoured the entire mortal world, we found that the monsters were surprisingly close by.”
“Close by?”
“They were gathered on Mount Athos, near the region of Macedonia in northern Greece. If the monsters are all gathered in one place, wouldn’t this actually be an opportunity for many heroes to achieve great feats?”
Gaia must have stolen the monsters away so the heroes couldn’t accomplish any great deeds. It wouldn’t have been difficult for the Earth Mother to influence creatures born and raised from the earth.
“That’s why Sister Athena plans to personally issue an oracle and recruit an expedition. She intends to gather heroes in the Macedonian region and provide various support.”
“But that might be exactly what Gaia wants. There’s a chance the heroes could be annihilated instead.”
Forming a large-scale expedition made up of heroes… But the monsters gathered from all over might instead annihilate the heroes. That was the Earth Mother Gaia’s true aim. However, there was no way Olympus wouldn’t realize this…
At my question, Hermes grinned and spoke.
“But doesn’t a mortal need to overcome a trial of this magnitude to become a true hero?”
In other words, only those who broke through Gaia’s trap could prove themselves to be truly outstanding heroes. If Athena even issued an oracle, heroes from all across Greece would flock to join the expedition. And many humans would die in the process.
“…That’s true. So, who will lead the expedition?”
“The hero chosen to lead the expedition to conquer Mount Athos was a bit surprising. He’s a mortal that Sister Artemis seemed quite interested in… Ah! I remember now.”
Olympus must have already decided on the hero to lead this labor. Supporting those with the potential to become great heroes was the essence of focus and selection.
“It’s Orion, the son of Uncle Poseidon.”