The King of the Underworld is Tired

Chapter 123: The Second Task – Slaying the Hydra (2)

Hercules arrived at the spring of Lerna, where the Hydra resided.

Because of the poison spewing from all directions, all the nearby small plants had withered and died, and there were no signs of life anywhere.

In this place filled with a dangerous-looking green mist, how was the hero able to move freely?

'Asclepius said he received this item from the temple of Apollo. I'm not sure if I'll be able to return it in good condition.'

He tightly wrapped himself in the skin of the Nemean Lion, covered his mouth with a cloth, and wielded his iron club.

The cloth covering his mouth and nose was a sacred item blessed by Apollo, the god of medicine.

Thanks to that, he could breathe without issue, even amidst the overwhelming poison.

Of course, even if he uncovered his face, his body wouldn't be greatly affected by the poison, but, following the teachings of his mentor Chiron to never be careless...

"Hm?"

Suddenly, something flew through the air-very fast.

A long, golden, glowing object... a sword?

Swoosh. Ting!

The shining golden sword sliced through the air, aiming for his heart, but it was deflected when it struck his iron club and flew away.

Wait, a golden sword? Could it be...

Sssssss!!!

A massive serpent, larger than a house. And a golden sword flying freely through the air.

That's... the creature said to have caused massive casualties to the Mount Athos expedition and killed the hero Orion!

'Chrysaor of the Golden Sword? Why is that monster here?'

The creature, born from the severed neck of the goddess Medusa, began to move its enormous body, targeting him.

With a deafening roar, the giant serpent charged straight at Heracles, sending him flying through the air from its immense weight.

"Hup!"

Boom! Thud!

Though the impact couldn't pierce the skin of the Nemean Lion, which he wore,

His iron club, which he was loosely holding due to the surprise attack, flew far away and hit the ground.

Heracles immediately moved to pick up the fallen club to swing it, but...

Someone else was quicker to grab it.

"Oh-ho-ho... So, you're the hero Gaia mentioned?"

"...?"

Before him stood a beautiful woman with a smile as radiant as a rose.

But her lower half was not human-it was the body of a snake.

Heracles had been taught about this monster by Chiron.

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She had once been the lover of his father, Zeus, but after being cursed by Hera, she had turned into this monstrous form...

"Could it be Lamia?! I thought she was hiding in the mountains near Athens."

"Oh. Should I feel honored that a pitiful child, whose fate is toyed with by the gods, recognizes me?"

Lamia grinned, her smile stretching from ear to ear.

Her wide grin was unsettling, more eerie than joyful, as she looked at Heracles and spoke.

"Well, of course~ The great Gaia promised me the chance to get revenge on the cursed gods."

"Gaia? You mean the Protogenoi?"

"You know that you're the son of Zeus, right? That piece of trash who stood by and did nothing when that wretched Hera cursed me... Uh... Heh heh... Nothing good ever comes from getting involved with the gods. Your fate will be no different."

Lamia's self-deprecating smile twisted into madness as her eyes glimmered with insanity.

Her fingers subtly grew sharp claws as she effortlessly lifted the heavy iron club with monstrous strength.

"The gods seem to favor you now, but let's see if they still do once your usefulness runs out..."

Heracles glared at the half-woman, half-snake monster before him, and next to her, the giant serpent, Chrysaor.

The mighty hero seemed to have an odd connection with snakes.

Though he didn't remember it, he had killed two serpents as an infant.

He had also fought a giant serpent, Python, in the underworld's training grounds.

Now, his task was to slay the nine-headed venomous Hydra, and standing before him were Lamia and Chrysaor, yet more cursed serpents.

"I don't know about my usefulness, but I do know I'm pretty good at killing snakes. Come at me."

"Heh heh... And you plan to do that barehanded, without your precious weapon?"

With a shout, Heracles charged at them.

* * *

Gaia's prophecy was absolute.

Her wisdom had finally found a clue.

If a human hero intervened, the Gigantes would be annihilated.

The heroes already born could not be helped.

Cadmus, Bellerophon, Perseus, and others...

Their souls were in the underworld, so she had no way to touch them.

But... what if she could stop any new heroes from rising?

Especially if that hero was the son of Zeus, who was gaining fame surpassing even Bellerophon.

She had to stop the hero from accomplishing his feats.

Thus, she sent Chrysaor and Lamia to the lair of the Hydra.

If they killed Heracles, that would be great, but even if they couldn't, if they could at least weaken him, then the Hydra could finish him off.

Lamia had once been the queen of Libya and Zeus's lover, but when Hera discovered the affair, she was cursed.

The curse she received from the queen of the gods was this: [You shall kill all of Zeus's children that you give birth to, and all the children you will bear in the future.]

Thus, Lamia became a half-woman, half-snake monster and killed every human child she saw.

Men who were enchanted by her sweet voice met the same fate, becoming her meals.

Naturally, Lamia bore deep resentment toward the gods of Olympus and gladly accepted Gaia's proposal.

As long as she could hinder those hateful gods looking down from the heavens, even just a little...!

But then...

Sss... Ssssss!

"Ahhh! How is he blocking an iron club with his bare body...!"

They couldn't even leave a scratch on Heracles.

The flying golden sword didn't distract him in the slightest, and the claws and iron clubs of the Lamia barely tickled him.

The giant serpent that killed Orion collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood after being struck by Heracles' fist...

The Lamia found herself lifted off the ground, her throat gripped by his brutal hand.

"You said earlier that meddling with the gods wouldn't end well for me, didn't you?"

"Grrr! Yes! No matter how much you crawl and struggle, you're still human! The divine punishment will..."

"That's not something you need to worry about. I will become a god."

"What did you say?! This lunatic... Kugh..."

Heracles dropped the strangled Lamia to the ground.

Next to her, the enormous serpent lay dead as well, oozing bodily fluids.

The hero, who had strapped the golden sword carried by the monster to his waist, dusted off his body.

'That was nothing. Now to hunt the Hydra... Hm?'

Rumble... Hisssss!!!

Hearing the commotion, the Hydra slithered out of its cave.

* * *

Nine snake heads, with the middle one unusually large. Its body was even bigger than the recently slain Chrysaor.

The child of Typhon, capable of emitting venom that even caused pain to the gods, glared at him ferociously.

Heracles quietly picked up the iron club rolling on the ground and tightly wrapped a cloth over his mouth.

This serpent was large and strong, but as always, it would eventually fall at his feet.

He swung the iron club at the nearest head.

"Die!!!"

-Thwack! Splat.

One of the Hydra's heads exploded, struck by Heracles' overwhelming strength.

Since the Hydra wasn't like the Nemean Lion, its skin wasn't that tough.

However...

Splat! Hisss...!

The problem was the fluids splattering from the Hydra's crushed head.

The Hydra's venomous liquid, flowing from its entire body, was deadly, and even the slightest contact was dangerous.

Fortunately for Heracles, the Nemean Lion's pelt he wore protected him from the Hydra's venom.

And the toxic fumes rising from the venom on the ground couldn't penetrate his body either.

Hisss-

But the child of Typhon had more than just venom as a weapon.

It possessed incredible regeneration, on par with the Giants who walked the earth.

"Huh. The crushed head regenerates right away."

The head crushed by Heracles regenerated quickly, and the other heads began attacking him in turns.

Just one bite, and the venom would spread through his body, sending him to meet Thanatos, the god of death. Heracles twisted his body to avoid the serpent's attacks.

In a fight between a giant monster and a human, no matter how strong the human is, they can't afford to take a direct hit from the monster's attack.

The massive weight of the creature would throw off their balance, and once their stance was broken, they would be vulnerable to an attack.

Of course, for a hero like Heracles, who possessed extraordinary strength, such concerns were irrelevant.

Nevertheless, he had to dodge each of the Hydra's attacks.

Hisss!

All because of that damned venom.

'Should I retreat for a moment...?'

Despite cutting off three heads, the Hydra's immortality allowed it to keep regenerating.

The ground was increasingly stained with green venom, and the monster's sheer size and strength were not to be ignored.

Heracles, feeling a twinge of hesitation, came up with a plan.

'Should I burn it...? My pride is a little hurt, but I don't have much choice.'

The idea was to cauterize the wounds to stop the Hydra's relentless regeneration.

He had thought of this earlier but wanted to resolve the battle with his own strength to achieve the deeds necessary to become a god. However...

There was no way around the Hydra's venom.

'If not for that damn poison, I would' ve finished this long ago.'

Heracles stepped back from the Hydra and fumbled around his waist, pulling out a small flint stone.

He immediately uprooted a nearby dried tree and set it ablaze...

Crunch! Sizzle-!!

If he smashed the Hydra's 

heads with the iron club and seared them with fire...!

Hissss!!!

But even with its head burned, the Hydra could still regenerate.

Taking advantage of the moment Heracles was occupied with burning one head, another head lashed out, forcing him to roll across the ground.

Luckily, the Nemean Lion's pelt protected him from the venom on the ground, but...

Heracles stared at the monster in shock.

'...What? It regenerates even after being burned?'

Why wasn't the regeneration stopping?