The God of Thieves and the Man Who Returned
Hermes, the God of Thieves. As a bastard son of Zeus, he was the first deity to unlock the mana of 'Speed.' Despite being a young god, his seat among the Twelve Olympians is proof of the dizzying heights his mana has reached. With feet faster than the eye can follow, he wears the Ptenopedilos—winged sandals that allow him to traverse the heavens. He is the messenger of Olympus, capable of crossing in half a day the same continent that would take a human months to sail. He has reigned as the patron god of thieves who, like him, possess fleet feet.
His reason for choosing the path of a thief was nothing profound. It was his nature, his temperament. He was simply born that way. Even before he reached adulthood, he was already stealing his brother Apollo’s cattle, delighting in the chaos that ensued. He was born a thief to the core. The rules of the world are dull. Predestined fates are boring. Chaos, however, is pure joy. When something that was there vanishes, humans finally recognize their lack and break free from the rules. Is there any time more enjoyable than waiting for an unexpected outcome to arrive? And so, to decide an uncertain fate, Hermes flips a gold coin.
"Looks like some barbarian who only knows how to use brute force has crawled in here. Haha, how amusing."
Hermes, who had briefly touched the ground, leaped back into the air, his lips curling into a smirk. 'A hero who uses the mana of Strength, is it? Judging by how ignorant he is, he must be from Ares' lineage. There are so many heroes these days, I can't even keep track of their faces.'
Bursting the Minotaur had been impressive. He had been briefly tense, but a hero is still just a hero. At the end of the day, they are half-human. Hermes scanned the black-haired man standing before him. He could perhaps be put to use if brought to Olympus, but that lack of manners was a major disqualification. More than anything, he was angry. These foolish mortals dared to challenge him, a god, without even showing a shred of reverence. He had no intention of letting them live.
Hermes pulled something from his robes. It was a staff carved with the likeness of two snakes. Whoosh! As Hermes glared with a flash of intensity, his body began to erupt in a violent, golden light.
"Listen! You foolish mortals gathered here."
His voice began to echo not just across the battlefield, but throughout all of Corinth.
"Under the name of the great god Hermes, messenger of Olympus, I shall bestow an oracle upon the heroes gathered here."
His mana surged through his staff, forming a massive magic circle in the sky.
"Those arrogant enough to oppose a god shall meet their defeat here, perish, and pay the price! Any hero who carries the blood of a god shall kneel before the great god Hermes!"
A high-level compulsion spell has been cast. The laws of the world are being rewritten to force the targets into submission.
Whoosh! Under the name of an oracle, the magic was cast. The golden wave he unleashed rippled across the entirety of Corinth.
"An oracle...!" Perseus tensed up. An oracle is a type of revelation where a god dictates a human's fate. It is different from a prophecy, which merely foretells future events. An oracle ignores prophecy and forces a human's destiny into a specific path.
"Using cowardly tricks. You talk about prices and whatnot, but in the end, you used an oracle because you were afraid of being attacked by us. You coward." Theseus glared at Hermes with contempt.
Hermes laughed gleefully. "Yes, yes, it's best to say whatever you want while you still have the energy. Soon enough, you won't even be able to breathe."
Hermes had made sure the oracle could be heard throughout Corinth. He didn't intend to destroy the city entirely in this invasion. He had to leave enough for his son, Autolycus, to rule over, at the very least. That didn't mean Hermes was some doting fool, though. If they didn't show him reverence even after he killed all their heroes? Then this polis was rotten to the core and had no reason to exist anyway.
"It reeks. You'll slaughter everyone just because they annoy you? How many cities have you destroyed that way?" Theseus stepped forward with disdain.
Hermes mocked her. "Why would I bother counting? Humans just multiply again once time passes, don't they?"
"Let's see if they'll still multiply after I cut out that arrogant tongue of yours."
Rip! As Theseus snapped her wrist, a battering ram condensed in the air. It floated, aiming precisely at the space between Hermes' brows. But at that moment—
"Ugh." Thud. Theseus couldn't fire her volley of arrows and collapsed to her knees. It was as if an invisible hand from the ground had grabbed her body.
"Haha, to think that heroes would have such poor memories. Hmm, what was it I said?" Hermes cackled, cupping a hand to his ear.
"'All heroes shall kneel before me!' That is the price for ignoring an oracle. Starting to feel it now? Ah, but as a merciful god, I always give foolish humans a chance. Be grateful."
Hermes pulled out a gold coin. His face twisted into a grotesque smile.
"If it lands on tails, I'll make an exception and absolve you of your sins. A decent offer, isn't it? Now."
Ting! The coin that would decide their fate was tossed into the air.
"Oops, heads. It seems fate wasn't on your side, hero."
Flash! Sparks flew. The next instant—
Bam! Hermes' greaves slammed into Theseus' right cheek with full force. There had been over fifty meters between them, but the speed was beyond sight. Boom! Theseus was sent flying, grinding into the earth.
Hermes clapped his hands. "Lady Theseus! Ohhh!"
The battle had begun. Perseus tried to pull out his light-spear and leap, but—Thud! Before long, his knees, too, were driven helplessly into the ground. The three heroes of Theseus' party were in the same situation. The healer tried to resist by casting various spells, but they had no effect.
"Ugh, is this the true effect of an 'oracle'...!"
"Weren't oracles supposed to be requests from the gods?!"
"It feels like a forced-action spell. And a high-level one at that; you wouldn't be able to interfere with the world's rules to this extent unless it was a supreme rank...!"
Theseus' party couldn't find a way out either. At this rate, all the heroes would be executed by the god Hermes, and Corinth would either fall into his hands or be wiped off the map. The oracle he had decreed was becoming reality.
'Hehe, serves you right.' Hermes wore a satisfied grin. 'I did use up 70 percent of my mana, but for this result, it's more than enough.' Unlike a simple oracle used to guide humans in a desired direction, the 'Oracle' spell that forces an outcome required a significant burden even for Hermes. Especially since he was young and magic wasn't his specialty. Of course, even so, the difference in mana between a god and a common hero was like the earth and the sky. The content of an oracle spell cast by a god in earnest must come to pass. It is a law that acts upon the world. Look at them—the strongest heroes among humans. Those who had been defying him without knowing their place just moments ago were now kneeling, unable to show reverence. Regardless, it was a foregone conclusion that he would slit their throats.
"First, I'll execute the woman who dared to attack me, and then the barbarian."
It was when Hermes raised his dagger to look at the disrespectful ones. "?" He tilted his head at a strange sight. The black-haired barbarian. For some reason, that hero was walking toward him with his legs planted firmly on the ground.
"You ignorant fool, do you not even know the language? Hey, barbarian hero over there. Didn't you hear me tell you to kneel before a god? I said show reverence, just like your friends."
Stomp, stomp. He didn't stop. How could this be? There shouldn't be a living creature in this world capable of defying a god's oracle.
"Hey!" —Crush...! Strength gathered in the man's fist. There was no trace of rising mana. But the heat generated from his body created the illusion that the surrounding space was warping. Hermes was overcome with an ominous premonition. And he followed his instincts. The next instant—
—BOOM!!
The ground where Hermes had been standing shattered as if it had exploded. Hermes barely managed to move his legs and dodge the attack. Cold sweat trickled down his spine. 'What... was that just now?'
Hermes shouted in a panic. "Wh-what are you! How did you ignore my oracle and swing your fist? You disrespectful... Where is a hero like you from!"
The black-haired man pulled his arm out of the ground. Clatter, rocks fell away. He turned his head and locked eyes with Hermes.
"I'm not a hero."
"What did you say...?"
"If you still don't know who I am, that's just as well."
"I know who you are? No, that's impossible. Whether it's the barbarians or Sparta, that's Ares' domain. I've never been there in my entire life..."
Zap. Lightning struck inside Hermes' head. Black hair. Hermes had definitely seen his face before.
"The Lord of Corinth...?"
Crackle! Hermes put distance between them. He had a gut feeling that he must never be caught by him.
"Hahaha, that's impossible. Sisyphus! That trickster is trapped in Cronus' Tartarus, from which no one can ever escape! Even if a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand years pass, he can never get out!" He shouted, his voice growing higher and higher. "A mere human who isn't even a demigod throwing a Minotaur, and now defying me and swinging a fist? You're talking nonsense! Hero, I will make you pay the price for trying to mock me."
Hermes pulled out a gold coin. "I promise you. If it lands on heads, you die right here. More miserably than any death recorded in history!"
Ting! He flicked the gold coin up with his thumb.
—BOOM!
The black-haired man charged right up to Hermes' eyes. Sisyphus grabbed the spinning gold coin. Crinkle.
"Ugh."
The crushed gold coin fell from his hand, clattering pathetically to the ground.
"My mother once told me," Sisyphus said, looking down at Hermes. "Do the work you must do every day, make many friends, and..."
"Never forget an enemy, and pay them back tenfold."