King of Underworld-Chapter 180

I was reclining against the side of my audience chamber, eyes closed, when a voice called for me from outside.

It was my son, Zagreus, born from my union with Persephone.

"Zagreus? Come in."

"Yes, Father."

The doors to the audience chamber opened, and Zagreus entered with steady steps.

His appearance was neat in a sharp black suit, but his tired face and the way he rubbed his eyes betrayed another long night of work.

Stopping a short distance from my throne, Zagreus began to vent his frustrations at me.

His tone and gestures betrayed a sense of injustice. Did someone cause trouble again?

"Father, please do something about Melinoe."

"...?"

"She’s run off with Lord Morpheus again. Naturally, she’s abandoned her duties, and as a result, not a single mortal experienced a nightmare last night..."

Melinoe.

The goddess of nightmares, ghosts, and madness—and my daughter.

She was born of my union with Styx, and her beautiful, long black hair resembled her mother’s. However, her personality leaned toward being carefree or negligent at times.

Perhaps it was because she inherited part of the domain of madness from Dionysus. She occasionally acted unpredictably.

"Have you checked the Underworld for her?"

"Yes. I searched everywhere with Lady Lethe, but there wasn’t a trace. She must have fled to Olympus."

"Olympus? Couldn’t she have gone to the mortal world? Surely not Olympus..."

"No, it’s definitely Olympus! Do you know how often she goes on about how much better it is than our gloomy Underworld? I’ve lost count of how many times she’s told me she prefers the brightness of Olympus!"

As always, she was chasing love and running away from the Underworld.

Though, considering the age gap between her and Morpheus... No, as someone married to Persephone, I’m not one to talk.

"Thanks to her, it’s just Makaria and me left to handle everything! I don’t even understand why she dislikes the Underworld so much!"

"Alright, alright, I understand. I’ll go to Olympus and look for her."

"What? You’ll go yourself, Father?"

"Yes. It’s been centuries since I last saw Zeus anyway. I’ll retrieve her. In the meantime, I’ll leave the Underworld in your care."

"Again? Me?"

I decided to temporarily entrust Zagreus with the responsibilities of the Underworld while I headed to Olympus.

But perhaps I had asked this of him too many times. Zagreus slouched his shoulders and grumbled.

"Can’t you have Makaria or one of the others do it instead?"

"Hmm. Who else but you can I trust with this? Besides, you’ll only get used to managing the Underworld by doing it often."

"Fine... I understand."

I patted Zagreus on the shoulder a few times before leaving.

Among my many children, Zagreus is the most dependable.

Makaria, my other daughter with Lethe, embodies the concept of peaceful death.

She is always busy assisting Thanatos in his duties.

That’s why I often left the Underworld to Zagreus whenever I had to step away.

As he continues to grow, I’m confident that even if something were to happen to me, the Underworld would remain stable.

If I were to compare him to someone, he’s akin to Triton, Poseidon’s child—a true successor.

* * *

Vroooom—

Crossing the Acheron River in Charon’s boat, I emerged onto the surface world to the sight of airplanes soaring through the sky.

When those were first invented, the Olympian gods had a field day reacting to them.

I, having knowledge from my previous life, wasn’t particularly surprised, but the others were in an uproar.

"Isn’t this basically encroaching on the domain of Uranus, who rules the heavens?"

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"It seems like humans are thriving just fine without heroes now."

"Maybe it’s time for the gods to retire."

There was even a suggestion to immortalize the first inventor of the airplane as a constellation.

Of course, all such proposals were dismissed, as Zeus’ current policy prohibits significant interference in the mortal realm.

"Well, well, Uncle Hades? I was just about to visit you in the Underworld."

"Hermes, it’s been a while. Your outfit has changed quite a bit."

"Oh, haha, you noticed? My outfit? Well, Hephaestus lent me a hand with this."

At the entrance to the Underworld, I encountered Hermes, whose attire was indeed different from what I remembered.

A dress shirt and shorts, a staff disguised as an ordinary cane for his Caduceus, winged sneakers, and a bag slung over his back.

Is this what modern travelers wear these days?

"Have you seen Melinoe in Olympus, by any chance?"

"Oh, you mean my adorable niece who likes to play tricks with nightmares? Hmm... I think I might have. You’ll probably find her at the banquet hall."

"Banquet hall?"

"Yes, Uncle. Uranus is visiting Olympus right now. He’s been talking about humanity’s foray into space..."

After receiving more updates from Hermes, I made my way toward Olympus.

Naturally, I didn’t forget to conceal my presence to avoid detection by the satellites and other devices that humans had launched into orbit.

I recalled the time Apollo was spotted near the sun while observing its heat.

Back then, the mortal world erupted into chaos, with debates about whether it was a god or an alien. Afterward, the gods became much more cautious.

* * *

The landscape of the Olympian palace had changed significantly since my last visit.

The grand structures built above the clouds were still there, but...

Whirrr—Whooosh...

What appeared to be marble columns were actually intricately designed mechanical devices. Drones floated beside the river of the Milky Way, and humanoid figures—more precisely, cyborgs resembling humans but without souls—turned their elegant, human-like faces toward me and bowed.

- Welcome, Lord Hades. Thank you for visiting Olympus.

As I approached the grand steel doors, a voice resonated, accompanied by Hephaestus’ divine power.

Impressive. It detected my divine presence. Hephaestus had remodeled Olympus yet again.

A small aperture flashed a red light before the doors automatically opened.

It reminded me of the automatic doors of modern human architecture, yet the ones here, built above the clouds, felt out of place.

Even for Hephaestus, this couldn’t have been created overnight. How much effort had he put into all of this?

Upon entering the banquet hall, I was met with a truly astounding sight.

I wondered if I’d been struck by one of Zeus’ thunderbolts, distorting my vision, because I couldn’t believe how much Olympus had changed.

I hadn’t visited the palace in centuries, but could it have changed so drastically in that time?

Ding-ding-ding~ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

"Ahaha! Pour another round!"

"Apollooo! Turn up the music a bit more, will you?"

"Of course! Euterpe!"

"Haha! Hera, come here! You look stunning tonight."

"Oh my, do I? Well then, perhaps just for a moment..."

Under the dim lighting of the Olympian palace’s ceiling, beams of colorful divine energy illuminated the space.

On one side, DJ Apollo, sporting sunglasses and a suit, was operating equipment to play music, while Zeus and Hera kissed beneath the vibrant lights.

Dionysus, as expected, was having the time of his life dancing with nymphs, while goddesses swayed seductively in another corner.

"Hmm. Not bad. They seem to be putting on quite the show."

Sitting on a chair, sipping nectar, was a petite figure with white hair and a childlike build. She wore a white dress and surveyed the scene with the calm gaze of someone observing jesters. It was Uranus, the primordial deity.

Her eyes turned toward me as I entered.

"Hades, is that you?"

Right. I should greet her first.

"Greetings, Lady Uranus. What brings you to Olympus?"

"Zeus invited me. I was getting bored of stargazing, so I decided to come."

"Ah... I hope the hospitality isn’t lacking..."

"This is adequate. Don’t your mortals party like this? I believe they call it a ‘club’ or something."

Ah, a club. That explains it.

The music, the atmosphere, the machines serving drinks—this was unmistakably modeled after a human nightclub.

It’s remarkable. Once, gods introduced culture to mortals, but now, mortals have progressed to the point where their culture influences the gods.

As I conversed with Uranus, a nymph in a black dress called out to me from across the room.

I noticed a shelf stacked with bottles glowing faintly. Surely not all of those were nectar.

"Um, Lord Hades, would you like a cocktail?"

"Cocktail? Not nectar? Very well, make one."

"Yes, sir!"

Pour—

The nymph pulled out a glass, placed it before me, and began deftly pouring various liquids with swift, graceful movements.

Ah, this must be the floating technique. Her skillful, rapid hands finished their work, leaving a vibrant, multicolored cocktail before me.

"...What exactly is this?"

"Oh! At the bottom, there’s nectar, followed by juice from the golden apples Lady Hera has made available to everyone. Then there’s brandy crafted by Lord Dionysus himself, honey syrup from the bees Lord Aristaeus raises, and..."

Good grief, they’ve put in just about everything.