King of Underworld

Chapter 187: Side Story – Rebellion in the Underworld (1)

Recently, the gods’ misdeeds had reached an extreme.

“Sniff… Sob… Lord of the Underworld, Poseidon forced me to…”

“…I see. You will be given comfort here in the underworld, so rest easy.”

The soul that had just left was a victim of Poseidon’s actions.

Not long ago, a mortal who had fallen prey to both Zeus’s love and Hera’s jealousy arrived here as well.

Callisto, who suffered torment caught between Artemis, Zeus, and Hera.

Lamia, and countless other victims whose names I couldn’t even remember, had come to the underworld.

Not just Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, and countless other male gods, but even goddesses.

Selene, who fell in love with the mortal Endymion and kept him in eternal sleep.

Hera, who tormented countless mortal women and illegitimate children who had drawn Zeus’s affection.

There were too many cases of immortals inflicting harm upon mortals.

And even after crossing the River of Forgetfulness, these victims retained their memories and poured their grievances out to me.

“Sigh…”

No matter how many times I warned the gods, nothing changed.

And no matter what I said to Zeus, it was a waste of effort.

How could I stop the immortal beings’ cruelty?

Even if they were my blood relatives, there had to be a limit… Shouldn’t they show some restraint?

There’s a saying about family ties being close, but it felt like it was time to gather everyone and scold them thoroughly.

“Hades-nim, Hermes has arrived in the underworld.”

“The messenger god? Let him in.”

The face of Hermes, who descended to the underworld, wore a deeply troubled expression.

What had happened on Olympus for him to look like that?

Recently, the mortal world had been struck with volcanic eruptions, torrential rains, earthquakes, and all kinds of disasters.

And now Olympus was causing trouble? My head ached terribly.

“Greetings, Uncle. I’ve come because… a conflict has broken out among the gods on Olympus.”

“Conflict? What nonsense is this?”

As if the harm to mortals wasn’t enough, now there was infighting? What was Zeus even doing?

For now, I decided to listen to what Hermes had to say.

“It was something bound to happen sooner or later…”

Sighing deeply as if the world would collapse, Hermes began to explain.

### * * *

The marriage between Aphrodite and Hephaestus was, from the start, a forced union.

Because of that, Aphrodite frequently committed infidelity with various gods, especially Ares.

It wasn’t as though Hephaestus was unaware of his wife’s affairs.

Once, he even trapped Aphrodite and Ares in a net to humiliate them.

But this time, things unfolded a little differently.

Hephaestus caught his wife and brother in the act once again.

Bursting in on their illicit meeting, he was, of course, furious.

In his rage, Hephaestus swung the hammer in his hand directly at Ares’s head, knocking the god of war to the ground.

The matter should have ended there.

But Ares retaliated fiercely against Hephaestus.

“Dammit! Why did you even marry Aphrodite when you never had her love? You crippled, ugly bastard!”

“What did you say?! It sounds like you’re asking to be beaten to a pulp today, Ares!!!”

“Ah, no…! Stop it!”

Hephaestus, the god of fire and volcanoes.

Though usually focused on his blacksmithing, his combat prowess ranked among the top of the twelve Olympians.

In other words, Ares could never hope to defeat him.

On top of that, Hephaestus had the moral high ground.

But for some reason, this time, Ares refused to back down.

“If Aphrodite was meant to be won by strength, then our father would’ve taken her! She and I love each other, can’t you see that?”

“Father Zeus gave her to me, and you can’t accept that, so you keep pulling this nonsense!”

The god of war and the god of fire glared at each other and exchanged blows, turning Olympus into a battlefield.

Raging flames and violent war energy clashed, destroying massive buildings.

As the commotion escalated, other Olympians joined in.

Aphrodite, unwilling to give up on love, sided with Ares.

Athena, who always found them detestable, sided with Hephaestus.

Poseidon, who happened to be on Olympus, supported Hephaestus.

Eros flew in to defend his mother.

At this point, the affair was no longer the issue.

As the fight grew, the gods began venting their pent-up grievances and hurled accusations at each other.

“Marriage is supposed to be between people who love each other! How could something forced ever work out?”

“Eros, is that why you keep shooting those golden arrows everywhere? It’s your fault I…”

“Athena! Are you criticizing me out of personal spite again?”

“Do you not consider how recklessly you fight in my wars, Ares?”

“This is what happens when Aphrodite falls into the hands of these children. She should’ve been given to me, the lord of the sea…”

“Everyone… Please, just stop…”

Hestia, the only one maintaining her composure, tried to calm them with a timid voice, but it was no use.

Finally, a fierce lightning bolt fell between the warring gods.

*BOOM!*

“Enough! Stop this fighting! What kind of disgraceful behavior is this among gods?”

Zeus himself intervened, hurling lightning to forcibly end the conflict.

* * *

As Hermes reached this part of his story, I raised my hand to stop him and asked a question.

What happened above the heavens was absurd, but Zeus must have mediated the situation well, right?

“If Zeus intervened, he would have handled it properly. That guy may act strange at times, but he’s good at mediating these situations. You should head back to Olympus and…”

“Ah, about that. After Father finished mediating, Hera stormed in, fuming, having found evidence of Father’s infidelity.”

“…Again?”

“Yes. So, Father’s mediation has completely lost credibility.”

So Zeus messed with another mortal woman again.

The quarrel between Ares and Hephaestus was ultimately about Aphrodite’s love.

And now, not just any Zeus, but one whose authority had been tarnished by an enraged Hera.

How could the god of infidelity and assault mediate a love quarrel and expect trust?

“I see. So, are they still fighting, then?”

“Yes. The angered gods are even affecting the mortal world…”

“Wait, are the natural disasters in the mortal world, the ones flooding the underworld with souls, caused by that?”

“That’s correct. However, Father suggested asking you, Uncle Hades, to temporarily mediate…”

Before Hermes could finish his sentence, I could no longer suppress the boiling anger.

Without realizing it, my divine power radiated coldly, and a roar escaped my lips.

“Temporarily mediate?! Do you have any idea how many souls have poured into the underworld because of the Olympian gods’ love quarrels?! How much suffering the mortals endure because of Olympus’s misdeeds, and how much work it creates for the gods of the underworld?! How many times has this happened now?! And now Zeus, who undermined his own authority, wants me to mediate? Is this a joke?!”

“T-That is…”

“Hermes. Come to think of it, weren’t you also after Aphrodite? Be honest with me. Did you think this fight between Ares and Hephaestus would give you a chance to win her over?”

“…Actually, we already have a child. Hermaphroditos…”

“I don’t want to hear any more! Get out of my sight this instant!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Hermes fled in terror, and with him gone, I began to regain my composure.

Hah. Let’s calm down. Think this through slowly.

Let’s review everything one more time, step by step.

Ares and Aphrodite’s affair enraged Hephaestus, who struck Ares.

Their fight escalated, involving other gods, splitting Olympus into factions.

Zeus mediated, but his authority was undermined when Hera, furious over his latest infidelity, intervened.

This ridiculous godly squabble caused natural disasters in the mortal world, killing countless humans.

*BOOM!*

“Haaaah…”

Calm down. Calm down.

Without realizing it, my foot had crushed the floor of the audience chamber, leaving a massive hole.

I am the king of the underworld. I must remain calm and make rational judgments.

First, I’ll go to Olympus and discipline those childish gods…

*Knock, knock.*

“Who is it outside?”

“Hades-nim, a mortal woman has emerged from the River Lethe without losing her memory. She’s weeping, claiming Zeus did something horrific to her. How should we handle her?”

This is unacceptable.

The underworld is drowning in work, and yet, the gods above torment humans and indulge in wickedness?

There’s a limit to how much one can tolerate their antics. This has crossed every possible line.

Merely going to Olympus to scold the gods won’t be enough.

This has to be addressed from the ground up.

I’ll have to overturn Olympus.