Chapter 36 Journey to the Underworld ③
"You're sure to show off your skills, right?"
Cerberus's duty is to guard the gates of the underworld. In addition to the gods of the underworld, the silver humans of this generation will also come here after death and live in the eternal underground kingdom.
Unlike the Silver Age humans ruled by Zeus, the king of the three generations of gods, the humans of the Golden Age had their lifelines severed by the Fates at the end of Cronus's reign. But after they all disappeared from the earth, they did not return to the underworld. Instead, they became beings similar to elves and gods, wandering the world as protectors in the clouds, upholding justice and morality alongside Themis, the goddess of justice, and punishing all evil.
Hermes once saw the souls of the Golden Humans in Arcadia. They were all male and always followed the Silver Humans, silently watching over these descendants created by the gods.
She had never thought about where humans would go after they died. She always thought that each generation of humans would eventually perish physically and their souls would become guardians that their descendants could not see or touch. But she never expected that although they were all human, their fates were so different.
She thought about what Apollo had just said, and her feelings became complicated.
Perhaps starting with this generation, human souls will only be able to go to the underworld after death, instead of remaining free in the mortal world like the previous generation.
They will become Hades' subjects and remain in the underworld forever.
That was a digression unrelated to the mission at hand.
Generally speaking, Cerberus will not actively stop those who want to enter the underworld, but if they still dare to try to leave after entering, it will not hesitate to pounce on them and tear them apart—of course, this does not include the gods of the underworld. Hemera, the daughter of Nyx and Erebus, would occasionally enter and leave the underworld to maintain the natural order of the world.
Since the Olympian gods came to power, the gods who lived in the sky, on the earth, and in the sea could no longer freely enter the underworld, even though there was not only an abyssal prison where rebellious Titans and giants were held, but also a peaceful kingdom similar to the surface world.
The three creator gods who lived in the underworld handed over the reins of the underworld to Hades, the eldest brother of Zeus, and thus a new king came to rule.
After Hades ascended to power, he established a rule that all beings not belonging to the underworld must abide by: once they enter the underworld, there is no turning back.
His beloved pet Cerberus therefore guarded the entrance gate day and night.
No, the underworld has always been a place of dark nights, because it is the domain of the three primordial gods: Nyx, the goddess of night; Erebus, the god of darkness; and Tartarus, the god of the abyss.
The darkness and mist that Hermes and Apollo traversed earlier proves everything.
Now, Cerberus, the three-headed hound of hell, stood blocking the purple-patterned iron gate with its massive body, glaring menacingly at the two Olympian gods who had come from the ground. Its gaping maw with sharp fangs was barking and roaring, clearly warning them not to even think of trying to pass through it.
But this was a task given to Hermes by the goddess Gaia.
Its importance is self-evident.
Hermes bit her lower lip, hating herself for not being strong enough. She absolutely could not offend the gods of the underworld, and therefore absolutely could not truly and substantially harm Cerberus.
But Cerberus doesn't want to let them in, so how can they get past this major obstacle?
"Good dog."
Hermes emerged from behind Apollo, and under his unwavering gaze, beckoned to the still-barking Cerberus, making soft sucking sounds.
"Good puppy~ Come here, let big sister pet you~"
She even crouched down and stretched out her arms towards the enormous creature not far away, as if to embrace it.
Apollo: "..."
Cerberus: "..."
Is this guy out of his mind?
Although Cerberus looks like a dog, it is a monster in essence.
Seeing that Hermes was still persistently treating it like a dog, Cerberus tilted its head, its three ferocious dog faces showing a blank expression for a few seconds, as if it were confused.
But after its initial confusion, it roared a few more times and charged directly at the two arrogant and ignorant Olympian gods, its ferocious and vicious appearance suggesting that it wanted to bite off their heads and tear their bodies and limbs apart.
Hermes quickly grabbed Apollo's wrist from behind and flew up with him, dodging Cerberus's attack.
She looked down at the ferocious dog below, baring its teeth and staring at her, and breathed a sigh of relief, having narrowly escaped death.
Apollo, who had been brought up with her, gently broke free from that soft, boneless hand.
He could actually figure it out, but it felt pretty good to be protected by this kid like that.
“Fool.” Apollo’s tone held no reproach. “Cerberus is incredibly ferocious. How could you treat it like an ordinary mortal dog?”
Hermes pouted, feeling annoyed. "I thought all cute dogs were the same..."
Apollo was speechless.
Isn't it obvious that they're different? Cerberus is a monster, and he's not cute at all.
They should be thankful that Cerberus didn't have wings, otherwise they would definitely be in dire straits right now.
It began to growl again, and the foul liquid dripping from its fangs fell to the ground, filling the air with a putrid stench.
"In that case...I have a good idea!"
Hermes suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and a familiar, radiant smile appeared on her face.
Apollo felt a familiar chill run down his spine.
This wasn't the first time; almost every time she laughed like that, he would suffer the consequences.
"Why don't you hold off Cerberus for me, and I'll go over there, open the gate, and rush in?" Hermes explained her brilliant idea with a smile, completely disregarding Apollo's sudden darkening expression. "Anyway, Brother Apollo, you've often fought monsters in the mortal realm before, so you must have a lot of experience with this, right?"
"We're partners who trust each other, so we absolutely have to work together to complete the mission!"
That brat actually had the nerve to say something like that.
If it weren't for his rational and restrained nature, Apollo really wanted to beat Hermes up on the spot and make her annoy him every day.
“I’m going into the underworld with you, not…” He paused, but didn’t say the part about being used by you without restraint. “Besides, how can you be so sure you can open that door?”
After that, without my help, will you be able to achieve your goal as smoothly as before?
Since we're partners, we have to stay together until the end, right?
"Don't worry, Brother Apollo, I have a brilliant plan!" Hermes didn't explain further, but simply patted Apollo's broad shoulder, looking confident. "A perfect partnership can't be complete without the most important element: trust!"
After speaking, Hermes gripped her scepter and swooped down at the three-headed hellhound below. She was as swift as the wind; in the mortal realm, she could traverse mountains and continents in the blink of an eye, and now she could only cleverly manipulate everything with ease.
She threw the scepter at Cerberus, who lunged at her, and in the instant it bit the scepter, she quickly circled behind it.
Cerberus would destroy all those who violated the rules of the underworld, but its corrosive fangs could not break the scepter that possessed the power of the earth goddess, so it swallowed the sacred object whole and turned to glare menacingly at the overconfident maiden goddess.
Seeing this, Hermes smiled happily and waved at it.
"Good boy/girl, my dear little puppy~" she teased the dog again, "You can't spit it out after you've eaten it~"
Under Apollo's unwavering gaze, Hermes began a new round of toying. Although she had told Apollo that he should restrain Cerberus, the situation was now completely reversed.
Hermes kept flying around, luring the huge, clumsy Cerberus to keep its eyes on her and attack.
Her speed wasn't enough to confuse or overwhelm it, but it was enough to capture its attention.
That's enough to create opportunities for her good partner.
"Okay, my cute big dog~"
Hermes spoke cheerfully to the howling Cerberus, but her gaze shifted to Apollo, who had already reacted and summoned his golden bow, a profound meaning flashing in her eyes.
"You're sure to show off your skills, right?"
The God of Light is an unparalleled archer, a powerful long-range war god. He is both the master of disease and plague, and the possessor of medicine and healing.
His name itself implies the destruction of evil.
When Hermes sensed that the scepter she had swallowed by Cerberus was beginning to exert its power, she lured its increasingly violent and frenzied nature toward Apollo, who was drawing his golden bow, while silently reciting a phrase in her mind.
—I believe in you, I believe in all of you, my partner and companions.
Apollo's arrow, gleaming with unparalleled golden light, was released from the bow, carrying both light and disease towards its prey.
At that moment, his gaze lingered on her.
Hermes dodged to the side, allowing the God of Light's attack to land precisely on the enraged and unprepared three-headed dog.
Six golden arrows pierced Cerberus's three eyes simultaneously. As crimson blood and green venom gushed from its body, Cerberus roared in agony, its front paws frantically scratching at its destroyed eyes.
No matter how fiercely it injures itself, the arrow belonging to the God of Light will not leave its eye socket and eyeball, making it even more unbearable, and its huge body curls up on the ground and rolls back and forth.
It can't see anything, and its movements are no longer convenient.
Hermes felt the creature's suffering, and though she felt pity for it, she could not stop now.
Her scepter had already completed its mission inside its belly.
Green snakes kept crawling out of the monster's gaping maw. They were born from the Hermes Scepter, blessed by the Earth Goddess. They quickly climbed up from the monster's internal organs, past its throat and teeth, and finally appeared outside the monster's body.
Numerous green snakes coiled around the agonizing body of Cerberus, tightly binding the enormous creature, occupying and restraining its neck, chest, waist, abdomen, and limbs.
Cerberus wailed pitifully, overwhelmed by the relentless attacks and powerless to resist.
This scene was extremely cruel, yet Hermes did not hesitate.
Her naivety and kindness, as well as her wickedness and ruthlessness, were perfectly embodied.
Apollo sighed, unable to tell whether this was the nature of the god of deception and theft, or the influence of the earth mother Gaia.
Hermes's scheme continued.
The deep golden scepter was the last one to fly out of Cerberus's mouth.
Hermes pointed her scepter toward the gates of the underworld, allowing the venom from the monster's belly that clung to the scepter to corrode the iron handles, ultimately opening the tightly locked confinement for her and Apollo.
Only then did she finally share her compassion and kindness with the unconscious Cerberus lying on the ground.
Apollo, quite tacitly, withdrew his bow and walked towards it.
"I'm sorry, poor dog."
Hermes summoned the green serpents back into her scepter and reached out to stroke Cerberus's drooping head—all three heads were touched by her palm.
“We shouldn’t have treated you so cruelly, but we had no choice; we also had things we had to accomplish.”
While Hermes gently comforted Cerberus, Apollo was also using his divine powers to heal it.
Of course, there's also the serpent staff that just came out of its belly, with its cloak still hanging on it.
After the golden light faded, everything returned to normal.
“Cerberus is about to awaken,” Apollo said to Hermes, a strange light flickering in his light blue eyes, while a deep meaning settled in his gaze. “Let’s go in, little strategist.”
He went back to using that endearing nickname.
Hermes nodded and smiled in response to the rather reliable God of Light.
“Thank you for your trust, understanding and cooperation,” she said gently to him, “Brother Apollo.”
She already considered him a good partner.
Apollo remained silent, so Hermes picked up the scepter at her feet and walked first toward the door that had been opened.
After crossing the purple-patterned iron gate, she arrived at the raging River of Pain—Acheron. Only by crossing it to the other side could they continue their perilous journey.
For some reason, the area in front of the Acheron River was packed with people, filled with unrecognizable, screaming spirits.
Moreover, two male gods of the underworld were lounging lazily in hammocks overhead. One of them, with silver hair and silver eyes, stretched out his arm and yawned, then smiled and said a few words to the other, who had blond hair and golden eyes, looking quite content.
Hermes was still wondering when she heard Apollo's voice coming from behind her.
“Those are the children of Nyx and Erebus, the twins Thanatos and Hypnos,” the god of light explained to her. “The former is the god of death, and the latter is the god of sleep. It was they who brought the souls of the Silver Men to the underworld after death.”
"Now, take out the money pouch from your waist."
Apollo's gaze swept towards the River of Pain at the forefront of the dead, where he saw Charon, who possessed a boat capable of crossing the River Styx, wielding a long pole and breathing fire from his eyes.
The Ferryman of the Styx was greedy and stingy, which is why he had Hermes prepare the coins beforehand.
"Don't forget to hide the triangular cauldron and the crow inside."
Apollo added a sentence.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
