Chapter 202
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: What the Hell Did You Do?!
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What the hell did you do!
There was a time.
A time when he was absolutely certain that the moment he left this forest of heroes, the world would be his oyster.
And who could blame him? He had overcome even Chiron with his innate strength, his martial prowess ripening more with each passing day, and the knowledge he had begun to accumulate in the forest—all of it was forging him into what he himself saw as perfection.
Not to mention, he had encountered countless heroes who boasted radiant beauty and wisdom, even if their power fell short of his own, which only swelled his confidence further.
Occasionally venturing out of the forest, he found that not even hordes of soldiers or fellow heroes could stand against him, leaving him tossing and turning at night in anticipation of what trials and tribulations his father Zeus might have in store to justify granting him such generous time.
But then, one day, a man appeared like a comet, turning all his thoughts upside down.
The people called him the Black Storm for bringing turmoil to the hero's forest and Greece alike, like hair as black as ink standing out in stark contrast.
The heroes praised him as the Black Wind for ushering in a new current unlike any before.
Even Theseus, shining with wisdom, and the giant of the sea Orion himself had never imagined it—that name, Heracles, now standing shoulder to shoulder with another great hero named Dianes. They were the stars of this tale.
Heracles had sensed it from the very first moment he met this man called Dianes.
This guy's different.
This guy's a fundamentally different being. His instincts rang alarm bells without cease.
The forest of heroes was a gathering of unique individuals with not a single similarity among them, yet even in that place, Dianes stood out as something utterly alien—enough to be dubbed the Black Wind, the Black Storm.
Yet despite racking his brains and sifting through his vocabulary to explain it, Heracles could only conclude that he was simply different.
In line with the heroic spirit that demanded firsthand verification to clear his mind, he clashed with him twice and lost both times.
Only then did Heracles understand what his instincts were trying to tell him.
He, Heracles, had always been ahead of everyone, stronger than all, and thus lonelier than any.
Dianes embodied that solitude even more profoundly—living a life no one else could comprehend, yet carrying on with such unshakeable confidence.
Overwhelming power drew fearful glares that he brushed off with effort; rash mistakes left blood in his wake, and though no one dared directly blame him, the silent accusations hung heavy every day.
Heracles had lived carefully, laughing boisterously to shrug it all off. And now, Dianes approached him as an object of admiration.
He had nothing to fear.
He had nothing to hold back against.
The true man, the great hero Heracles had always yearned to be—it was none other than this man, Dianes.
"Yeah, that's how it was. You know."
-Thwack!
Zeus's thunderbolt-infused fist shattered the monster before his eyes, slicing through the fleeting reverie.
"What the hell is going on here?!"
-Kyahak!
The massive bear that claimed dominion over the forest and the prairie king that had razed dozens of villages would cower and flee at the sight of him, instincts overriding all.
Yet these unidentified monsters bared their fangs at Heracles without a hint of fear.
"What the hell did you do, Dianes?!"
Heracles bellowed at his idol, whom he was certain had stirred up trouble again this time, while employing the aura manipulation techniques he had been taught in spare moments.
He extended his massive palm straight like a greatsword, then slowly drew it back as if nocking an arrow on a bowstring.
Every muscle fiber surged with Zeus's thunderbolt, infusing boundless vitality, and as the lightning danced across his skin, its rumble echoed in his ears...
"Hraaaah!!"
-Kwarung!
Heracles's strike—born of linking his father's thunder spear with Dianes's hand blade technique—tore through the pitch-black night, illuminating the world around.
"Kue-"
"Kihya-"
Artemis's crescent moon, Selene's full moon, even Hecate's new moon were nowhere to be seen, yet the thunder turned the blackness into daylight.
There, a massive canyon blocking their path loomed, along with the grand ramparts spanning it, gazing down once more.
...accompanied by swarms of black phantoms crawling the pass like ants from an anthill.
"...This is ridiculous."
"Wild boar! You didn't aim right! Almost hit me!"
"Hmph, then all those lessons from Dianes were for nothing."
A true hero must be as steadfast as an ancient oak.
Heracles advanced boldly down the center of the road, crushing all foes in his path.
But unlike him, Atalanta darted through the black monsters like a meteor across the night sky, relentlessly swinging her massive war club.
Dianes really is a monster among monsters.
Chiron had been a great teacher, raising and protecting them young heroes, drawing out their utmost potential.
But Dianes went beyond that.
His black eyes pierced like a ghost beyond their potential, coaxing out something that transcended their limits.
The results? Pesakaines, son of the shepherd god Paris, who made a name for himself, and Atalanta with her red aura.
Especially for Atalanta, whose temper was foul and nerves frayed to the extreme—Dianes's teachings had leveled their eyes in a radically unconventional way.
"Linked Revolving Kick!"
-Thud! Crack! Kwajik!
If Heracles met the torrent head-on at the road's center, Atalanta leaped across the canyon's front, back, left, and right, scattering and repelling the monsters assailing from all sides.
Each swing of her lithe legs ignited her red aura like flames, and the engulfed monsters screamed as they burned to ash.
The monsters creeping down the walls were steadily suppressed by Atalanta's endless whirlwind dance, bounding off them like a dancer.
"Hey! Cut it out and come down! Even if this isn't reality, rampaging like this could affect the outside!"
"I know!"
At Heracles's warning, Atalanta kicked off the canyon wall, spun gracefully in the air, and landed beside him.
"You have zero finesse. Aura doesn't grow on trees—waste it like that and you'll run dry. Didn't Dianes chew you out for it?"
"What? My aura running dry? I'm no weakling, so I wouldn't know~"
"...Annoying."
People sometimes spun tales and songs of romance between the mythic heroes, claiming these two—the only aura awakeners of their era—were destined lovers.
The reality? This.
Trained under the same master in the same field of bare-handed combat, they constantly measured each other's prowess and bickered endlessly. In Dianes's words, they were classic rivals.
Atalanta had dashed about the battlefield with glee, but Heracles had faced overwhelmingly more foes.
While sweat drenched her brow and neck, Heracles showed only slight fatigue, not a drop spilled.
No formal agreement, but Heracles was the victor this round.
Atalanta ground her teeth quietly at his smug face—learned who-knows-where—that she wanted to punch, teasing her mercilessly.
"So where the hell did Dianes go? He just bolted off alone."
"We're at fault for following on our own... But who could've guessed it'd be like this."
Leaving Tegea behind, they hadn't slowed except for brief rests late into the night, pushing toward their final hurdle to Corinth.
The great fortress of Acrocorinth, famed for its impregnable defenses, halted their steps.
They had passed mighty Mycenae at a distance and endured the sorrow of bypassing Argos, Perseus's birthplace, without a visit.
Yet three demigods hastening onward compressed a week's journey into moments, bringing Corinth within sight.
But then, in the dead of night, Dianes shot up and vanished without a word, leaving the puzzled pair behind.
Heracles smirked slyly, while Atalanta scowled in quiet fury.
Why hide it?
Acrocorinth housed Greece's grandest temple to Aphrodite!
Her priestesses were all stunning beauties offering carnal pleasures as tribute, and Acrocorinth's thousand elite hetairai promised heavenly ecstasy above all.
Even a sharp mind like Dianes's couldn't resist sneaking a visit out of curiosity.
Heracles chuckled, figuring their great teacher was off sampling Aphrodite's mysteries.
His disciple and lover, Atalanta, couldn't stomach it and tailed him.
Heracles, thrilled to catch him red-handed and tease endlessly, and Atalanta, seething with rage, now endured this ordeal against bizarre monster hordes. They could only sigh.
"Ha... Dianes, man. If he'd just gone to the Aphrodite temple, we'd all be happy..."
"...."
Unable to affirm it outright, yet knowing it wasn't entirely wrong, Atalanta quietly averted her eyes from Heracles's lament.