บท 117: The Twelve Labours - The Golden-Horned Deer and Cerberus!
The King of the Gods, Zeus, had always kept a close eye on Heracles, knowing of a great war that was looming.
In fact, Zeus had learned about Typhon, the ancestor of all demons, from the three goddesses of fate a long time ago, and he also knew that in the near future, he would lead the suppressed Titans to climb out of the abyss and declare war on the gods of Olympus!
Clotho, the Fate who glimpses the future, had informed Zeus that to win this battle, a mortal would need to be involved.
Thus, Zeus informed the gods of Heracles' existence, telling them that he would eventually achieve remarkable feats and become one of them.
However, he naturally did not disclose the impending war to everyone, which naturally fueled Hera's jealousy towards the child of his lover, especially as this child was destined for such high honors.
And so, from the moment Heracles was conceived, Hera harboured intense resentment towards him.
Zeus wanted Heracles to become the King of Mycenae and enjoy earthly prosperity, but Hera acted first by ensuring that her brother, Eurystheus, was born before Heracles, thereby stealing the throne that should have belonged to him.
When Heracles was just a baby, she sent two venomous snakes to quietly kill him in his cradle.
Later, when Heracles had a happy family and repeatedly completed her almost impossible trials, gaining the attention and praise of the gods, Hera got so angry that she cursed him in her fury, causing him to lose his sanity and kill his own wife and children.
He also later killed a friend and had to serve as a slave for three years.
However, although, the other gods were unaware of the war of gods, but the goddess of wisdom, Athena certainly could not be unaware of it.
After all, her eyes, which represented absolute wisdom, could see through everything in the world.
This was the reason why Athena initially did not allow Promise to meet Heracles.
Because at that time, Hera was not as doting on Promise as she would later become.
Her hatred for Heracles ran deep, and Zeus's constant focus on him only intensified the tension.
However, now Promise undoubtedly had the qualifications to take on such tasks.
As he continued to work on his paintings of the Olympian gods, it was clear that the depiction of Zeus, the King of the Gods, would be the most challenging.
Therefore...
---
....
"Hercules, your trial has arrived. And Promise, yours too," said Hermes, adjusting the feathered hat on his head, with a smile directed at the two of them.
Over the course of two days, Hercules had already bid farewell to Chiron and set out with Promise towards Mycenae, preparing to reclaim his kingdom.
In fact, he could have flown back, and with Pegasus's speed they would have been there in about two days at most, but for some reason, Pegasus was extremely resistant to Hercules and didn't want him to ride.
However, later Promise found out it was because Hercules was actually a descendant of Perseus, the very hero who had beheaded Medusa in ancient Greek mythology.
So, that afternoon, Hermes appeared before them, delivering a divine message from the gods.
Well..he now appeared before them with not a hint of discomfort.
It was as if the person who had been chased around and thoroughly embarrassed by the gods just a few days ago wasn't him at all.
Dressed in light green casual attire, he wore a refreshing smile as he addressed Promise and Hercules: "Hercules, the esteemed Queen Hera has tasked you with subduing the man-eating mares of Diomedes in Pherae."
"As for you, Promise," he continued, "Goddess Hera has assigned you to capture the golden-horned deer of Artemis and bring back Cerberus, the three-headed hound of the underworld."
Upon hearing this, Promise's expression suddenly turned quite strange.
And Hercules, after being stunned for a moment, seemed a bit agitated and said to Hermes, "Wait, shouldn't I be accompanying Promise to protect him?"
"And there's also golden-horned deer of Goddess Artemis, and the three-headed hellhound Cerberus of the underworld—these are sacred pets of the gods and terrifying monsters... Great Lord Hermes, I don't mean to question you, but is there some mistake here?"
"No mistake," However, hearing his words Hermes replied with a grin. "This is exactly the trial that Queen Hera has set for you both, and the great King of the Gods, Zeus, has already approved it."
As he said this, Hermes glanced at Hercules and couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, and Goddess Hera wanted me to pass on a message: 'Stay away from Promise. Just looking at you makes me sick!".'"
Hearing this, even Hercules was a little dumbfounded, while Promise just stood aside, seemingly lost in thought.
Capturing the golden-horned deer of the moon goddess Artemis and bringing back the three-headed dog of hell, Cerberus, from the underworld—these were indeed among the labours of Hercules in mythology.
And while these tasks were undoubtedly challenging for Hercules, for Promise...
"No problem. I will complete the trial that Goddess Hera has given me," Promise replied with a nod.
While Hercules began to protest, concerned about the danger of the trials, Promise simply smiled and said, "Besides, it's been a long time since I've seen the golden-horned deer."
"And Cerberus—I've promised to bring him lots of honey cakes next time we meet. He must have been waiting for me for a long time now, right?"
Huh?
Hearing this, Hercules opened his eyes wide and looked at the scene in front of him in a daze.
After all, Promise looked more like he was going for a casual visit rather than embarking on a trial.
"I've brought you some honey cakes," Hermes said as he handed a package of honey cakes to Promise and paused before continuing,
"These were actually prepared by Athena for you.
She also mentioned that the Argo should be completed in about three months, so you should prepare yourself during this time."
Athena knew about the honey cakes; after all, they had witnessed the entire scene in the underworld through that painting.
Hearing this, Promise paused, hesitating for a moment before he couldn't resist asking,
"Honorable Lord Hermes, may I ask about the current situation with Lady Hera and Athena?"
"Oh, so now I'm honourable?" Hermes teased with a smile. "Where was this respect when you were chasing me around with everyone else a few days ago?"
He continued, "Don't worry.
Thanks to my sacrifice, Queen Hera's anger has subsided quite a bit.
Plus, Athena has been busy helping with the construction of the Argo and preparing for the Golden Fleece mission, so Hera has been turning a blind eye to it."
"However, even in this situation, Athena is still dead set on not returning those golden apples, so..."
Hermes shrugged, his face lighting up with a mischievous grin, his eyes gleaming with the thrill of the gossip which instantly dissipated any guilt that Promise might have felt.
'It seemed that maybe they hadn't hit him hard enough a few days ago…'
Looking at this troublesome God in front of him, Promise couldn't help but think this.
Athena, of course, wouldn't return the golden apples.
After all, this was an opportunity she had finally seized, and she had become rich from the golden apple.
And if she really returned them, it goes without saying that Hera would never allow Athena to get her hands on the golden apples again.
"It looks like the journey for the Golden Fleece is coming soon. I need to pick up the pace," Promise said as he casually took out his little notebook and flipped through it.
At the sight of that little notebook, Hercules, who had been about to say something, immediately fell silent.
Even Hermes, who was standing carefree beside him, became much more obedient at this moment
The events of the hunt a few days ago had made the gods realize that Promise wasn't as harmless as he appeared… Although in the eyes of Hera, Demeter, Artemis and the others...everything the boy did was still as endearing as ever.
"Well then, Hercules, until we meet again," Putting away the little notebook, Promise said to Hercules with a smile.
Since Hera had already agreed to Promise's request, so at that moment, Hercules's fate had already been altered.
The price paid was Promise's participation in the Twelve Labours, which he had to complete... But that had been the boy's intention from the beginning.
Hera had agreed so readily at that time and looked helpless because, after all this time, she had come to understand Promise's obsession with heroism.
And, since she had always been annoyed by Hercules, she saw this as a perfect opportunity to share some of the glory originally meant for Hercules with Promise.
So, on Olympus, after retrieving the golden apples from Hermes, a grand feast was held, during which Hera finally met Zeus.
When she brought up the matter, she even joined forces with Demeter, Artemis, and Apollo to suggest that Zeus share this glory,
However, to everyone's surprise, Zeus agreed immediately, without even putting up a decent resistance.
Hercules was no fool.
Having seen firsthand with his own eyes how much the gods adored Promise, to the point where they even hunted down Lord Hermes for him,
Although they later enjoyed the hunt...
However, even so, he was quite concerned and wanted to say something.
But Promise had already opened the bag containing the honey cakes.
And as soon as he did, a purple butterfly of the underworld fluttered out and landed skillfully on the boy's shoulder.
This was the familiar of Hecate, the goddess of the crossroads.
In the next moment, a magic circle was activated, appearing beneath Promise's feet and before Hercules could still fully grasp the situation in front of him, the boy instantly disappeared from his view.
"Alright, don't worry too much," Hermes stepped forward and patted Hercules on the shoulder, saying, "Even though he's so frail that we could knock him over with a puff of air, the truth is, he's far safer than you are!"
"And besides, if you want to protect him or repay him, there will be plenty of opportunities. Athena is pushing to finish that ship, and the journey ahead of you all is going to be a long one."
After saying this, Hermes didn't bother with Hercules any longer and left.
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.
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