The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon

Chapter 33 – The Visit Of Hermes

Chariclo, the mistress and caretaker of the forest, fainted upon seeing the half-destroyed Colosseum.
There was a small incident where Asclepius laughed so hard he almost burst his belly at the sight of the bloodied Hercules. But in the end, I was taken to the infirmary once again.

“It’s only been two days since I enrolled, and apart from the infirmary and the Colosseum, I know nothing about this forest.”

“Hahaha, I searched the entire forest as soon as I arrived. There was a rumor back then.
They said Hermes hid his Talaria somewhere.”

Hercules, lying next to me wrapped like a mummy in bandages, boasted to me.

“Talaria?”

Was that the name of some fairy?
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar word, and Atalanta, who was sitting next to me, leaned in and whispered in my ear.

“They’re Hermes’s winged sandals.”

“Ah… so that’s what they call Talaria.”

I didn’t know that.
Even though it was a universally known myth, I wasn’t omniscient, so there were gaps in my common knowledge.
But it was just a few minor details that I didn’t know.
Honestly, everyone remembers the caduceus with the two snakes that the gods’ messenger and the original trickster carries around, but who remembers the shoes that lets him fly?
I also used to stroll through the sky after mastering Heavenly Ascent, but those flying sandals didn’t leave much of an impression.

“Weren’t the gods originally able to fly?”

“Don’t say that if you ever meet Hermes, okay? Hermes’s Talaria aren’t just about flying; they’re magical sandals that let you fly faster than a bird. He’s so proud of them.”

I heard that Hermes, the messenger of the gods, often visits this forest to see Chiron. Because of this, Hermes’s children had a better relationship with their father compared to the children of other gods.

“Last time, Lord Hermes gathered his sons for a treasure hunt, but the treasures he hid were…”

“What were they?”

“I don’t know!”

Atalanta shook her head, as if too embarrassed to say more. Watching this, Hercules looked at me with a puzzled expression and asked,

“Dianes.”

“What now?”

“How on earth did you headbutt that hedgehog to make it as tame as a lamb in just one day?”

What?
Despite the absurdity of his question, I somewhat understood Hercules’s curiosity.
Though it felt like an incredibly long time had passed, I had only been in this forest for three days.
The fight I concluded with a magnificent headbutt against Atalanta was just yesterday.
Seeing her clinging to me, the others, including this guy, must be thinking the same thing.

“The others are already amazed. They can’t believe you knocked out that fierce huntress, who is like a lone chimera, with a single blow.”

“Hercules?”

“Was it about two months before you came? The whole forest was turned upside down because of a wild boar that settled here, and Atalanta charged at it alone, saying she’d offer it to Artemis.”

“Hey, Herc?”

“That berserker who got up with a sword in hand after being hit head-on by that massive boar… now she’s dropping honey from her eyes, not wanting to be away from you… uh, um.”

I gave him hints several times.
The woman squeezing my hand like she is wringing out a rag is the berserker you are talking about.
The great hero, who was like a wild boar, finally caught on to my hint at the very end, despite my effort to smile.

“U-u-hahahaha! Th-that just means the beautiful huntress is extraordinary…”

Our prospective great hero tried to laugh it off, but from the perspective of the Heavenly Demon with a century of ruling experience in the martial world, it was already too late.

“Hey, Dianes? You don’t know much about Artemis’s hunters, do you?”

“Huh? Um? That’s right.”

Like a benevolent saint, Atalanta elegantly spread her twilight-colored dress and slowly bent down with a smile, reaching her hand under my bed.

“As Artemis’s hunters, we run through the forest on crescent moon nights, hunting. Deer, wild boar, sometimes even fierce beasts like bears or leopards.”

Scary, for some reason, really scary.
The beautiful huntress with whom I passionately shared a kiss earlier.
Her soft body that embraced me and her ruby-red eyes that gazed at me so intensely were still mesmerizing.
But now, all those elements, with her head bowed under the bed, were radiating a sharp, piercing murderous intent.
The only consolation was that this intent was directed not at me, but at the idiot next to me.

“Among them, there were vile men who, not knowing any better, entered the goddess’s hunting grounds and tried to disgrace her huntresses.”

“Oh, I know that very well.”

On the island of Passos, I almost became a headless corpse at the hands of one of those huntresses.

‘Oh right, come to think of it, I completely forgot about the divine energy I absorbed back then.’

Although the amount wasn’t much, in terms of purity, it was more refined than any other high-level Taoist qi I’ve seen.
Ironically, those who were undoubtedly younger and less refined in energy than her seemed like living Buddhas or immortals, ready to ascend with just a little nudge.
Whether it was because she was ruled by the moon or simply born that way, that goddess was like a pure, 0% additive psychopath.
Trying to turn someone’s head into a long-distance target, then confidently babbling nonsense that left me stunned, I think I spewed some ridiculous nonsense in return.
Surely, she wouldn’t have chased me all the way here just to get revenge for that, right?

“Kuhahaha! So, you think you can catch me now? Atalanta, I understand that you want to show a cool image in front of your lover, being enchanted by Eros’s golden arrow.”

“L-lover?!”

“Oh, reacting to that statement?”

Whether she was a goddess of the moon or a lunatic under the moonlight, that could be thought about later.
It seemed the King of Arcadia, Atalanta’s father, had deep karma.
To have raised such a lively and emotionally rich daughter into such a venomous lunatic.

“I am Alcmene’s son. With the glory of Hera on my back and the blood of Zeus in my veins, I am Hercules! Do you think an arrow will pierce me unless it’s from Master Chiron or your lover, Dianes?”

The great hero, whose face was wrapped in bandages, shouted loudly.
In response to his confident statement, our lovely huntress…

“By the way, it was me who got the request to shoot a poisoned arrow at Asclepius last month.”

She countered with a cold smile.
But what did she say he get shot with?

“…Was it you?!”

Oh, this is quite refreshing.
Even after getting beaten up by me continuously, Hercules, who used to laugh it off like a man, turned pale with fright.

“I happen to have some of that poison left from then. Since Asclepius is stationed at the clinic, he even allowed me to bring in weapons to keep an eye on the boars.”

Atalanta smiled sweetly and took out an arrow, dipping the arrowhead into a poison bottle.

“Wait! I’m a patient…!”

“It’s okay. Since it’s a paralysis poison, you’ll be able to sleep soundly without Hypnos even having a chance to visit.”

Hercules must be struggling to move due to the aftereffects of our fight.
Wouldn’t getting hit with a poisoned arrow be a bit too dangerous?

“Dianes, there’s no need to look at him like that. That boar may have said it nicely, but just like he said, an arrow won’t even scratch his body.”

“But it doesn’t mean it won’t hurt! And now you’re precisely targeting the wound inflicted by Dianes?!”

As expected of Artemis’s daughter.
Atalanta accurately aimed at his wound, and Hercules panicked.
Hercules silently pleaded for my help with his face wrapped in bandages, but reflecting on my martial arts political life spanning over a hundred years.
I thought it would be more beneficial in many ways to just quietly erase my presence and watch.

Moreover, it was a poison potent enough to astonish even a natural external martial arts master who’s used to handling swords.
Come to think of it, while organizing the Tang family, I did acquire quite a bit of that secret poison technique.
At that time, I hadn’t mastered the poison technique, but considering the secret methods of the Tang family that could convert poison into internal qi and body qi with unimaginably deadly poisons, I thought I should ask Asclepius later if I could get a few bottles to practice poison techniques as an experiment.

“Atalanta!”

“Eek! M-Master!”

Just when Atalanta was about to turn Hercules into a porcupine.
Chiron clattered into the infirmary.

“Hahaha! As expected of young heroes! So full of energy even when injured!”

Chiron, wiping his face as if tired, was followed by a handsome young man laughing heartily.

Before I could even wonder who he was.
Atalanta, who was holding an arrow, and Hercules, who was groveling in front of her, were startled and bowed.

“Hermes?!”

“Oh, we greet the messenger of Olympus.”

Hermes.
The messenger of the gods, the shepherd, the god of thieves and tricksters.
The young man with impressively curly blond hair and a cheerful demeanor was the second Olympian god I met.