King of Underworld

Chapter 137 The Argonauts – (4)

The heroes on the Argo were baffled by this unexpected situation.

The Golden Fleece of Colchis was the city’s treasure. Of course, they had anticipated fierce battles or intricate schemes, but…

The city was burning, and people were fleeing?

What would happen to the Golden Fleece in this case? No, first of all, wasn’t it their duty as heroes to save people?

Jason, frowning, grabbed the arm of a woman who was fleeing with soot all over her face.

The woman, who had been running with a panicked expression, grew fearful as she saw Jason and the heroes behind him.

“Eek…!”

“I mean no harm. We just arrived in Colchis by ship. What on earth has happened here?”

“Th-that… Just run away quickly! There’s a monster, a monster…”

“A monster? We are heroes who slay monsters. We might be able to help you…”

“The—the princess is over there! Please, let me go!”

“…Princess?”

Jason released the woman, who still hadn’t regained her composure, and murmured her last words to himself.

The princess of Colchis was over there, and she was asking them for help?

“A monster? What kind of beast could it be?”

“Let’s go to the place she mentioned.”

“Yes. We need to get an explanation, so let’s head there…”

“Please, help! My father is trapped under the house…”

“Jason, go on ahead!”

“You’d better follow soon, Hercules!”

The heroes, weapons drawn and ready to move, noticed people trapped around the wreckage of destroyed homes.

An old man was coughing, unable to escape from a burning house, and children were crying in front of a collapsed building…

Several heroes, including Hercules, broke away from the group to rescue people. Asclepius pulled herbs from the satchel he always carried, and Orpheus set aside his lyre to help transport the injured.

Kra-ra-ra-ra—!!!

“Aaah!”

“H-help! Somebody save us!”

The area, filled with black smoke and ashes, could hardly be called the once-prosperous city of Colchis.

From somewhere, horrific screams, sounds of destruction, shouts of soldiers, and the growls of a monster could be heard.

Tat-tat-tat-tat.

The heroes of the Argo hurried towards where the princess was said to be, eager to discover the source of the catastrophe.

And soon, they found it.

A monster spewing flames, trampling over countless soldiers armed with spears and swords as if they were nothing.

Its body was unimaginably large, its red scales glistened beautifully like Pluto’s treasure, and flames surged from its mouth.

A dragon. It was a dragon!

The origin of Thebes.

The one who tricked Typhon and reclaimed Zeus’s sinews.

The first and greatest hero.

Could it be that this dragon looked similar to the Ismenian Drakon that King Cadmus once fought with all his might and barely managed to kill?

Wharrr!!!

“Kuh-agh!”

“Do not fall back! The citizens of Colchis are behind us!”

“Raise your shields! Princess, now!”

The dragon’s mouth released a fierce blaze.

It seemed as though everything in front of it would be consumed in one breath.

“Hah… Ha… Ένας τοίχος από νερό που τους περιβάλλει όλους!!!”

A woman in extravagant attire, surrounded by soldiers at the rear, chanted a mysterious spell, and a huge stream of water surged from the ground, blocking the flames.

Sizzle—!!

The clash of fire and water created an enormous amount of steam, obscuring the view, and for a moment, the flames from the dragon’s mouth paused.

That was when Jason and the other heroes ran towards her.

“We are heroes from all across Greece who have come to Colchis! You seem to be a powerful sorceress; could you explain the situation…”

“How dare you! This is Princess Medea of Colchis!”

The woman called Princess Medea of Colchis quickly scanned the heroes.

A faint blue light flickered in her pupils, and she addressed the soldier who tried to block the heroes.

“Wait! Bring them over here!”

From close up, Jason saw that Princess Medea was a strikingly beautiful woman with brown hair.

However, none of the heroes present harbored any ill intentions toward her.

Kra-ra-ra-ra!!!

“Hold your formation! If we fall here… Ack!”

“Damn it!”

“Watch out for its claws! They easily pierce armor!”

In a battlefield where a mythical monster rampaged, no fool could afford to be distracted by a woman and still be called a hero.

Princess Medea, looking tense, spoke quickly.

Up close, her face was drenched in sweat, and blood trickled from her nose.

“You are not people of Colchis, are you? If you help us, I swear by the goddess Hecate that we will repay you!”

“Of course, we’ll help! Nestor, you take command for now! I need to hear an explanation from the Princess!”

“Meleager! Aim for the creature’s eyes or mouth with your spear! Atalanta, too!”

“Zetes, let’s fly above and keep it in check!”

“Is there anyone else who can use magic?!”

“Someone, go fetch Hercules!”

While Nestor temporarily assumed command from Jason and the heroes battled the dragon,

the captain of the Argo asked Princess Medea a question.

“Princess, I understand that time is pressing, but please explain why this dragon is destroying this place. If it’s divine punishment or something we should not have touched…”

“It’s not that. That dragon is actually Colchis’s treasure, the sleepless dragon that guards the Golden Fleece.”

A sleepless dragon guarding the Golden Fleece?

But why was it now destroying the city?

“I’m not sure how it happened, but the dragon devoured the Golden Fleece. My magic confirmed that it’s inside its stomach.”

“No… what do you mean…!”

“And the dragon isn’t in its right mind. It’s consumed by madness, destroying everything in sight.”

“Madness…? But a dragon’s mental strength should be far superior to a human’s…”

Wharr!!!

“…προστατεύω!”

“Gasp!”

During their conversation, the dragon, blocked by the heroes, released flames once more.

Suddenly, light flashed from Princess Medea’s body, and a translucent shield appeared, protecting the soldiers.

Though the princess looked utterly exhausted, her magic surpassed that of any other sorcerer Jason had ever seen.

She was indeed deserving of the title “the greatest witch of Greece.”

The reason this terrible monster hadn’t completely obliterated Colchis in an instant was undoubtedly thanks to her magic.

Once again using magic to shield against the dragon’s attack, Medea staggered.

Noticing her dizziness from overusing her magic, Jason supported her and spoke.

“I understand the situation now! We’ll also help to kill this dragon!”

* * *

Hercules, who had rushed over after rescuing people from the debris, saw Atalanta’s arrow bouncing off the dragon’s scales as his first sight.

Pii-yoo-ting!

“That’s impossible! No scales should be this tough!”

“Gah… how can it be so strong?”

“It doesn’t even leave a scratch! Damn it! Is it some kind of blessing?”

The heroes took turns attacking, but the red dragon was immensely powerful.

The flames from its mouth rivaled Hephaestus’s fire, and its massive body could send soldiers to their deaths with a simple movement.

On the other hand, ordinary people like the soldiers were actually a hindrance. Attacks they could have dodged had to be blocked with shields, and attacks that could be deflected had to be withstood, keeping those behind in mind.

Though Meleager’s spear and Atalanta’s arrows struck fiercely, the dragon growled and looked around.

As if it was searching for something.

“Jason! I’m a bit late since I was rescuing people in the wreckage! We’re supposed to kill that dragon, right?”

“Yes! Hercules! According to the princess here, that creature devoured the Golden Fleece!”

Hercules, holding his iron club, locked eyes with the dragon, and the savage beast met the great hero’s gaze.

Kraaaaa—!!!

In an instant, the dragon stomped, shaking the earth and collapsing nearby buildings.

This wasn’t just a mere stomp. What in the world…

As the dragon charged, the heroes were flung aside like balls. The soldiers with shields turned into pieces of flesh in an instant, and blood sprayed into the air along with embers.

The protective barrier created by Medea shattered, and the princess collapsed, blood streaming from her nose.

“Kuh-ugh! Such sudden power…”

“Raise… raise your shields! Don’t let it get close to Her Highness, the Princess!”

“Ampion! Erginus! Move away!”

“Damn it… Boutes is down! That thing, did it save its strength…?!”

Red eyes glaring this way, filled with murderous intent. Then, a claw swiped through the air.

Clang!

As the iron club clashed with the dragon’s claw, a fierce spark flew. Only then could Hercules look closely into the dragon’s eyes.

Eyes filled with hatred, not with heat, but with madness.

‘Is it targeting me?’

Whoosh– clang!

Once again, Hercules blocked the dragon’s swinging claw with his iron club.

A heavy sensation spread from his fingertips throughout his body. A typical hero would’ve been torn apart in an instant.

This sleepless dragon focused solely on killing him, ignoring Princess Medea’s magic and the spears and blades thrown by the other heroes.

How could this be? No matter how strong it is, it’s just a monster.

Clang-clang-clang! Wharrr!

Blocking another claw strike and rolling to dodge the flames, Hercules felt a sense of déjà vu.

This was a different sensation from Hydra or the Nemean Lion… it was more like the feeling he had while fighting the god Triton or Lady Megaera.

He didn’t know how strong the Ismenian Drakon, son of the war god, was, but he felt sure that it wasn’t stronger than this red dragon.

After all, he had long since surpassed King Cadmus.

Thud!

“Wha… What! He’s actually blocking it!”

“…Who is that man?”

For some reason, the great hero could sense the gazes of those around him.

The awe directed at him as he singlehandedly withstood the dragon’s attack, head-on, which had ravaged the city.

Relief, expectation, hope, pleas, and desperation. And… hope.

In the slowly flowing time, words drifted through Hercules’s mind.

“…Simply harboring such thoughts, no matter how many achievements you accomplish… you will never become a god.”

“It seems you need to spend more time among humans.”

“Then, to become a god, wouldn’t you need something different from what I’ve said?”

There was a soldier blankly watching him fight the dragon. There was the princess of Colchis, chanting spells with her eyes shining.

There were the heroes who had once felt jealousy and admiration toward him, now crying out to him in desperation. Refugees who had fled pointed at him in amazement…

When he had saved those people buried in the wreckage earlier, what had they said to him?

Surely… they had spoken with their hands clasped.

Thank you, my god.

Humans seek gods. Gods answer their hopes.

Every time he heard people’s heartfelt prayers, he felt something peculiar.

—

Right after the dragon’s charge, which seemed to be at full strength, completely broke their formation.

Jason, who had been thrown to the ground in the aftermath of the clash between the dragon and the great hero, prepared himself for death.

No one could intervene in that collision, and the mere aftermath of the battle seemed to generate a raging storm.

Then, a voice reached Jason’s ears.

“Jason.”

“Hercules, is that you? How can you be speaking from over there…”

“You might think this is nonsense, but can you… offer a prayer for me?”

The calm voice spoke as if they were having a casual chat, completely oblivious to the situation.

A prayer? He always talked about wanting to become a god, but was he actually starting to believe he was one…

“…Of course!”

However, Jason willingly agreed to Hercules’s request.

Was it the instinct of an ambitious man vying for the throne? Or was it faith in a friend?

His hands came together, and his earnest wish was conveyed in his prayer.

Humans seek gods.

Gods answer their hopes.