King of Underworld

Chapter 6 The Story of Life – (1)

The gods had Prometheus, a Titan who foresaw the future and surrendered, create the human race.

And his brother, Epimetheus, created various creatures like pigs, horses, and birds that I knew of.

At this crucial juncture in the world’s timeline, what was I, Hades, the King of the Underworld, doing?

“The number of souls passing over the River Styx has increased significantly lately.”

“Hades, in the end, isn’t it humans that matter? Taking on the other creatures’ souls is overwhelming…”

“Ask Hypnos, the god of sleep, for a little help, and once the Underworld is stabilized, then you can focus solely on humans.”

I was busy organizing the Underworld due to the countless deaths of newly created life forms.

The Underworld isn’t just a place for humans.

As numerous souls flooded into the Underworld upon reaching the end of their lives, my workload as its administrator increased dramatically.

If I had lived a leisurely new life until now, it meant that from now on, I had to manage things in earnest as the king of the dead.

All kinds of newly born creatures were dying too easily.

The life forms thrown into nature by the gods began a fierce struggle for survival, and Thanatos, the god of death, who brought the deceased souls to the Underworld, complained of fatigue.

He became the busiest worker in the Underworld overnight. As he started sending numerous shadows, or rather, clones of himself to bring the deceased souls, the Underworld became crowded with souls.

There were even times when souls had to wait to reincarnate.

Fortunately, this was a problem that time could solve.

As some time passed, the newly born creatures would learn wisdom from their surviving ancestors and live longer than now.

“Hades, I’ve been wondering lately if it wouldn’t have been better to side with Cronus.”

……I’m struggling too, so bear with it.

For now, though, it’s a tough time for some gods.

Thanatos, the personification of death, had hollow eyes and a haggard appearance from controlling his numerous clones.

His once shiny wings were now dull, and his steel-like black feathers seemed to be falling off, creating an illusion.

Can one see an immortal god, especially the son of Nyx, collapse from overwork?

“Hearing that from the king of the Underworld is terrifying. Please don’t joke, even in jest.”

Thanatos let out a sigh with a pained expression.

Oops, I had blurted out my thoughts again.

The Underworld was so desolate that I had developed a habit of talking to myself.

* * *

A lot of time passed, and as the cycle of life and death normalized, bringing peace to the Underworld, we cheered.

For the immortal gods, it wasn’t an exceedingly long time…

Finally, animals adapted to their environment, and humans began living in groups, reducing the frequency of easy deaths.

Although it was a short time, the hellish workload (Tartarus-like) was finally seeing an end.

If only Zeus hadn’t created Pandora and sent all sorts of diseases and harmful substances to the earth…

Or perhaps if Prometheus, who gave humans fire, were made to work like a slave in the Underworld as punishment.

Honestly, I think it was too harsh to have an eagle peck at his liver just for sharing some fire. Thanks to him, humans occasionally offer sacrifices to me…

The Underworld was in a state of overflow for a while because of Pandora’s box that Zeus had thrown to the earth.

Couldn’t Athena, the goddess of wisdom, be dispatched occasionally?

Anyway, a small party was held in the Underworld as we had some leisure time after a long while.

Thanatos and Hypnos, who had worked hard, Styx, the goddess who helped with the Underworld’s affairs, and several other gods all gathered inside the fortress of the Underworld, drinking nectar and ambrosia.

In one corner of the banquet hall, a few souls who played the lyre made by humans entertained us, while the attendants were busy serving drinks and food.

I sat at the high seat, sipping nectar, while fervently cursing Zeus inwardly.

Ding. Diring~

“Gulp. Phew… I can finally rest a bit.”

“Luckily, our stories have spread among humans, making it easier for my clones to bring souls.”

“That’s right, most of the dead humans these days give up when they see my wings.”

Did you know? The drink of the gods, nectar, doesn’t have just one taste.

Once in the mouth, it has a refreshing, smooth, and simultaneously sweet and cool flavor.

“Phew..! The nectar tastes better than usual today.”

Even the usually nagging Styx goddess was drinking like mad for that reason, I suppose..?

The food of the gods, ambrosia, is even more unique.

It tastes like whatever the eater most desires at that moment. For me, it tasted like the pork belly I ate in my past life.

When I got tired of pork belly, it now tasted like sweet chocolate chip cookies.

“Hades. Do humans offer many sacrifices to you too?”

The Styx goddess, who had been drinking nectar next to me, brought up the topic of humans.

I heard that human nations had emerged on the earth.

The stories of the Olympian gods had spread widely, and sometimes humans called my name when offering sacrifices.

Should I listen to what humans are saying now?

I briefly ‘lent an ear’.

[Hades! Hades, why did you take my mother, why!]

[God of abundance, Pluto! Accept these animals and grant me a blessing!]

[Hades… please… please don’t take me…]

[Close your eyes and open them, and Hades will be standing before you! Die!]

Hmm. The earth is still a mess.

I remembered the face of a devout worshipper who offered me dozens of cows he had raised and then shut my ears again.

My other name is Pluto, the bountiful one. The god of wealth.

Some humans worship me as the god of abundance, probably due to their belief that the underworld is a rich place.

Indeed, the underground is full of precious gems and minerals that humans value.

Moreover, I possess the Cornucopia, the horn of plenty, fitting my title as the god of wealth.

When you put your hand inside this large horn, you can endlessly pull out any food and treasure you desire.

It’s a remarkable item befitting the god of abundance, but what use is it to me… I’m not human, so it doesn’t mean much.

“Hades…”

Please stop clinging to me. Oh Styx goddess, you’ve had too much nectar.

We are relatives.

“Lord of the Underworld… a report…”

A soul standing guard with a spear quietly approached and whispered to me.

He was a male soul who had lived for about 30 years before dying. He had chosen to stay in the Underworld instead of reincarnating, thus being assigned a role here.

I thought there would be very few souls choosing the Underworld, but many did, perhaps due to forgetting their memories of the earthly life after passing through the River Lethe.

Of course, the balance of reincarnation had to be maintained, so I couldn’t grant everyone’s wishes.

Pushing aside the Styx goddess, who was demonstrating the great power of nectar that could even make gods drunk, I listened to the soul’s words.

“The goddess of the rainbow, Iris, is visiting the Underworld right now. She has come to deliver a message from the high one…”

As soon as the soldier conveyed this, the modest celebration paused.

Styx, who seemed instantly sober, Thanatos and Hypnos, who put down their ambrosia, and everyone else directed sharp gazes towards me.

“Could it be… we just started to rest…”

“Couldn’t be… Oh Zeus.”

The banquet hall doors opened, and a beautiful goddess with blue-green hair and white wings entered.

She emitted a subtle rainbow-colored aura from her body.

Usually, some would be mesmerized by the beautiful goddess, whom even Zeus admired, but here, only tension filled the air.

“It’s been a while since I last saw the lord of the Underworld.”

Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, was a messenger who delivered the will of Zeus and Hera.

However, she mainly conveyed Hera’s will rather than Zeus’s, so there was still hope.

“Zeus has decided to punish the depraved humans by causing a great flood.”

Suddenly…?

Punish depraved humans > Great flood > Most humans die > Increase in Underworld population > Overwork

The minds of the gods here quickly processed this.

With their brilliant minds, they concluded that an overwhelming amount of work lay ahead.

“Hypnos, could you put me to sleep?”

“…I swear by the River Styx, I will not let you close your eyes until the great flood is over.”

“I don’t think I can help you this time, Hades. I shall take my leave then…”

“Oh Zeus, please.”

Do I need to open Tartarus?

I seriously contemplated a coup.