Chapter 54 : The One Who Thinks First

Hercules, who was taught by the wise centaur Chiron, a half-man, half-horse teacher of heroes, was a weapon master capable of handling all weapons.

However, his true ability was not in his skill with weapons but in his superhuman ‘strength’.

Thunk.

A club fell from Hercules’ hand.

“Ugh!”

At the same time, the front paw of the Nemean lion fell toward Hercules.

Without even looking back, Hercules raised his right hand.

Snap.

The lion’s sharp claws were caught in Hercules’ right hand.

“Grgrgr…….”

A brief struggle of strength ensued.

And.

Grrrr…..

The lion’s front paw was slowly lifted.

Hercules grabbed the lifted paw with both hands and threw it with all his might.

Boom!

The Nemean lion, flying far away, crashed into a cliff.

It was an overwhelming force.

“I must strangle it to death.”

According to the myth, Hercules is said to have killed the Nemean lion by strangling it, as its skin was impervious to weapons.

As if reenacting the myth, Hercules approached the Nemean lion and strangled its neck while it tried to rise.

“Grgh….!”

The Nemean lion, strangled, thrashed wildly.

Boom! Boom!

The mountain shook, and the earth and cliffs were torn apart.

However, it could never escape from Hercules’ grasp.

Hercules kept strangling the Nemean lion’s neck until day turned to night.

We could only watch Hercules, unable to help.

The 12 Labors given to Hercules were tasks he had to solve on his own.

It wasn’t until the world darkened that Hercules released the Nemean lion’s lifeless neck.

The strange event occurred immediately after.

As Hercules walked back to retrieve his club, leaving the corpse behind, the Nemean lion, which he had thought was dead, suddenly rose.

It was as if it had two lives.

“Hercules!”

When I shouted in surprise, Hercules was already strangling its neck again.

“Didn’t he strangle it properly?”

No, that wasn’t it.

The Nemean lion’s strength was much stronger than before.

Even against the stronger lion, Hercules strangled it and managed to cut off its breath, but it took half a day to do so.

It wasn’t until the early morning of the next day that Hercules could finally kill it.

“Was there a story like this in the myth?”

No, there wasn’t.

While there are many versions of Greek mythology, there is no mention of the Nemean lion having two lives.

There was also no story about it becoming stronger.

“There are more variables than expected.”

Hercules, unable to wash off Hera’s madness.

The Nemean lion with two lives.

Something felt off in the Greek myth I knew.

In the end, I had to seek out an entity that might know the answer to all of this.

After catching the Nemean lion, we first went to find Molorcus.

When we found Molorcus, he had assumed Hercules was dead and was performing a ritual in the yard.

It was just past the dawn of the 31st day, the day after he had vowed to catch the Nemean lion.

Boom!

Molorcus, performing the ritual, looked at the returned Hercules in shock.

“As promised, you brought the lion.”

When Hercules laid the Nemean lion’s corpse down, Molorcus’ eyes widened.

“You really brought the lion!”

“Indeed, so the tribute should be offered not to me, but to Zeus.”

“Understood.”

Hercules gave credit for the lion’s defeat to his father, Zeus.

Then, he picked up the Nemean lion’s body again and began walking.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to Mycenae to show the king the lion and prove that I have completed the task.”

“I will accompany you.”

“Accompany?”

“Don’t you need to cleanse the madness?”

“…….

Hercules, unable to cleanse Hera’s madness, was currently not thinking clearly.

He was merely enduring and bearing it.

If that weren’t the case, he would have figured out a way to defeat the Nemean lion without my help.

And I had a way to cleanse the madness that had been placed on Hercules.

“If we get Jeanne’s help, the madness on Hercules will be cleansed.”

“You’re talking about that girl who suddenly appears and disappears?”

“That’s right.”

With Jeanne’s divine power, even Hera’s madness could be purified.

In the myth, Hercules also visited the Temple of Athena to undergo a purification ritual and overcame his madness.

Jeanne herself had said that it would take a long time to undo the goddess’s curse.

And…

“In the future, I will be able to assist with the tasks as well.”

“Who are you to try and help me?”

Molorcus’ amber eyes stared at me with suspicion.

The eyes of the demigod seemed to glow, as if trying to pierce through my true intentions.

In front of those eyes, I told the truth.

“I have a task as well.”

“Oh? You also have a task?”

“Yes, it’s a bit different from Hercules’ tasks.”

The quests given to me by the status window could also be considered tasks.

“My task is to help the people who visit my altar.”

“Interesting.”

“Yes, very interesting. All sorts of people come.”

Yi Sun-sin, Napoleon, Joan of Arc……

Since unexpected figures had visited.

“I guess I’m one of those odd people too.”

“I won’t deny it.”

Because among those odd people, Heracles was the most extraordinary.

A demigod, not a human.

It was the first time that a ‘god’ who would later be accepted into Olympus had visited.

Anyway.

“My task this time is to help you.”

Saying that, I opened the door to Molorx’s stable.

A fragrant smell of seaweed soup wafted in from beyond the open door.

“It’s ready, Lord Seojun.”

“Eungong, please have your meal.”

Jeanne and Vanesha greeted us.

On the ‘Table of Napoleon,’ seaweed soup and various side dishes were laid out.

I spoke to Heracles, who was staring at the meal with surprised eyes.

“Let’s have a meal before heading to Mycenae, Lord Heracles.”

Three days later.

Heracles and I arrived in Mycenae, where King Eurystheus of Argos resided.

When we arrived, Eurystheus was enjoying a dinner feast with the nobles in a grand hall.

“Hahaha! Drink! Drink!”

“Congratulations, Lord Eurys!”

Eurystheus was the agent tasked with overseeing the Twelve Labors on behalf of the goddess Hera.

He was originally supposed to be the king of Argos, but Hera had seated him on the throne to prevent Heracles from taking the position.

Living in constant fear that Heracles might rebel, Eurystheus believed that Heracles had died after going to capture the Nemean lion.

As a result, he had been holding feasts every day.

Thud─!

Heracles threw the Nemean lion in front of Eurystheus.

“Ugh, ugh!”

Eurystheus, who had been drinking wine, was so startled that he fell off his chair.

“Oh, oh, I confirm it! I, I acknowledge it!”

Frightened of Heracles, Eurystheus hastily acknowledged the completion of the trial.

“What’s the next task?”

“G, go to the Lernaean swamp and capture the Hydra with twelve heads. That is the second task assigned by the goddess Hera.”

“….”

Heracles frowned at the mention of the Hydra.

Like the Nemean lion, the Hydra was no ordinary monster.

Born from Echidna, the mother of all monsters, and Typhon, the god of storms,

They were beings on par with demigods like Heracles.

“T, the task was given by the goddess Hera.”

Perhaps even he thought it was ridiculous, as Eurystheus kept glancing nervously at Heracles.

I asked Eurystheus,

“Why does it have twelve heads?”

“I, I don’t know. It’s always had twelve heads.”

“…”

I frowned.

‘Why does it have twelve heads?’

In the original myth, the Hydra was a monster with nine heads.

A creature of ‘immortality’ with infinite regenerative power, growing two new heads each time one was cut off.

It was possible that it had been decapitated multiple times, causing the number of heads to increase to twelve — but somehow, that didn’t seem right.

‘Is this another anomaly?’

“I, I confirm it, so take this corpse away!”

Step, step.

Heracles carried the Nemean lion on his back and left the banquet hall.

— Make a bronze jar! Hurry!

Leaving behind the frantic voice of the king from inside.

‘Hera’s unresolved madness.’

‘The Nemean lion with two lives.’

‘The Hydra with twelve heads.’

I decided to seek out someone who might know the answer to these unsolved mysteries.

Screech—Screech

He was tied to a rock.

An eagle was pecking at his liver, repeating a cycle of destruction and regeneration.

He was a ‘traitor.’

A sinner sentenced to eternal punishment for betraying the gods —

Tied to a rock and condemned to have his liver eternally devoured by an eagle.

And…

‘The one who thinks first.’

A prophet who could foresee the future, predict the present, and knew the past.

The one who could provide answers to my unsolved questions.

“You’ve come.”

The old man, bound in chains and being pecked at by an eagle, lifted his head.

His cloudy eyes stared at me.

The god who gave fire to humanity — Prometheus.

“Stranger.”

He already knew that I would come looking for him.