The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon

Chapter 63 – There Is No Law That Just Tells You To Die

Unlike how he stormed out of the temple, Apollo was not a foolish god to the core.
No matter how Artemis had a rough disposition, once she lost her temper, she saw nothing, and she had a strong tendency to look down on others (especially if they were men).
Even so, a god is a god.
If the Goddess of the Moon, who spent eternal years hunting, saw blood, he guessed that there must be an extraordinary secret hidden strength.
A hunter, after all, observes what the prey is and then sets out to hunt.
Moreover, knowing that the young believer, whom Poseidon and Ares boasted so much about, was the opponent, he acted even more cautiously.
He thought about asking Hermes, but not only Queen Hera, but even his father Zeus, were moved and showed affection by the poetry that the child had presented.
If he informed Hermes, troublesome things might arise.

‘First, information, I need information.’

First of all, he sought the temple in Delphi.
The Delphi Temple, which delivered numerous oracles and prophecies, was managed by Dionysus and his priests from the cold winter to early spring, and he took charge from the rest of spring to late autumn.
He heard that the guy named Dianes had injured his sister just a few days ago, so if he was someone with such extraordinary prowess, there must have been related oracles, big or small, about him.
However, in his memory, he had never delivered an oracle about a child named Dianes, so he intended to check if there was any related oracle among those of Dionysus.

“…What? Dionysus did?!”

“Yes! He left a few days ago, saying he needed to prepare for the banquet as soon as possible!”

However, the Delphi Temple, which he reached hastily before dawn, was empty.
As expected, the Delphi Temple, filled with wine bottles and grapevines, was being cleaned by his followers, who were startled by the sudden appearance of their god and bowed in worship.
Apollo could only clutch his head in frustration at the situation gone awry from the start.

“This is just…”

An unpredictable drunkard’s sudden actions had caused trouble again.
Even taking all his followers and temple staff, leaving the Delphi Temple empty.

“He would be such a great god if he just didn’t drink.”

What could be done? The God of Wine and Intoxication had carried out his divine duties.
Apollo shook his head in disapproval but had no choice but to leave the temple hastily.

“Tsk, things are going wrong right from the start.”

No matter how much he was the Sun God wrapped in the radiance of the sun.
It was impossible to trespass the sanctuary of Chiron, acknowledged by the oath of Olympus.
Moreover, Chiron was the teacher who taught archery and hunting to the siblings, and a child of Kronos like their father Zeus.
But that rude fellow, Dianes, had become his disciple.
As if he was favored by the Goddess of Fate.

“Maybe I should at least take a look at him.”

Soon, it would be dawn.
Maximizing the radiance of the Sun Chariot, he gradually ascended to the peak of the high sky and began to illuminate the land of Greece.

“Let’s see, there it is.”

The forest of Messenia, seen as a small patch below.
Whenever his carriage began to spur ahead, busy little heroes could be seen running.
However, among them, there was a child standing still, staring at the sun.

“Oh…! To think such a beautiful child existed?!”

Glossy black hair, jet-black eyes like onyx.
His body was brimming with vitality, and his face, looking up at the sun with confidence, was as beautiful as if looking at the sons of Aphrodite.

“You must be Dianes!”

He should have known when even his sister, Artemis, said he was handsome.
Look at those eyes filled with admiration, confidently gazing at the sun.

“Ah… how unfortunate!”

To think that such a little hero would be the enemy who not only opposed his sister but also inflicted scars on her.
Apollo could not help but lament the fate of this little hero, who could be described as another masterpiece born into this world.

“However, fortunately, today, death will not come to you. But the price for harming my sister, the Goddess of the Moon, the Pure Huntress, will surely be paid… The prophet who defeated Python, the master of Delphi, prophesies.”

Until then, enjoy your short life to the fullest.
Apollo told the young little hero standing on earth and then started driving the sun again.
After all, there was no one in this world who could avoid the sun.

What is this?
Why did he just leave?

Even as I headed towards the classroom after finishing breakfast, I couldn’t comprehend it at all.
The handsome man who ran across the sky with the sun on his back was definitely Apollo.
The Sun God, who was undoubtedly top-tier in Greek mythology in terms of vanity.

‘He definitely saw me…’

Given the characteristic of the Greek gods, who don’t see anything when they go berserk, I thought he’d charge in, disregarding the Forest of Chiron and everything else, because his sister got hurt.
For a moment, he glared at me and mumbled something, then drove his chariot higher and disappeared.

“Wow… It would’ve been easier if he just attacked me.”

Judging by his reaction, he definitely saw me and knew who I was.
As Hermes said, that crazy girl probably threw a fit somewhere and then complained to her brother.

“But he just left…”

I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing.
One thing is for sure: the sun god in the sky definitely saw me.
In other words, at any time, I might be in a dangerous situation where an orbital strike could come.

‘First of all, the fact that he just left after marking the place without shooting an arrow means that Apollo doesn’t intend to violate Chiron’s sanctuary. In other words, there’s still some time.’

But that was merely a hypothesis.
If that moon-gazing lunatic starts whining and clinging to her brother, a sunshine road roller might really fall on my head.
I had to solve Hermes’s riddle as soon as possible.

“Maybe I should at least pray to the gods and goddesses.”

I’ve already fed them quite a bit.
Still, it might prevent me from dying a sudden death under the sunlight.

“Goodness, I really need to regain my martial arts quickly.”

Always shrouded in the aura of the gods and sensing qi, a sudden sniper attack wouldn’t be able to hurt me.
However, if such sniping fell like a bombardment in an instant, I had no choice but to be pushed back.

‘As long as it falls to the ground somehow…’

“Hey, Dianes!”

“Wh-what?”

As I was lost in thought, suddenly, a booming voice, as if someone had boiled a train’s chimney, called out to me.

“Why are you so dazed? Are you sleepy because you ate too much?”

After having a hearty meal of barley porridge and salad prepared by Chariclo with Hercules, we were on our way to the first class.
Atalanta had set out with a determined expression, saying she would visit her hunting party before the morning run.
Neri, who tried to cling to me, was caught by Chariclo, exuding an irresistible force, and went to her class.
Naturally, only Hercules and I, whose class schedules overlapped, were on our way to a strange class called “Pottery Class.”

“It seems so. I had a weird dream last night, so my sleep was terrible.”

“A dream?”

“Well, yes.”

No matter how much, I couldn’t say that the sun floating in the sky was always aiming to shoot me down.
This trial was mine alone to bear.
Even for a brat with a tough life, whining to him would hurt my pride as someone who had lived longer and was mentally more mature.

Even after becoming a god from a human, I once commanded the Central Plains Murim World, which was several times larger than this Greek land, and even met with the Emperor.
If I couldn’t even handle the sun’s temper, those years would be in vain.

“Despite how I look, I was top-notch in strategy and tactics.”

Talking to myself about how I wanted to solve Hermes’s riddle as soon as possible and enjoy a peaceful academy life, Hercules and I entered the pottery classroom.
Honestly, I wanted to just find a library and rummage through myths.
But as a student, I felt obligated to attend the class, so I dragged my heavy feet there.

“But what exactly do we learn in pottery class?”

“Haha. You’ll know once you attend. You can look forward to it.”

“Look forward to it?”

For someone who seemed to have nothing to do with the arts to use the word ‘look forward to it’…
Does that mean this class is something special?
Without saying much more, Hercules went to his seat, plopped down, and gestured to me.

“There’s a lot to see here.”

“Right? All of these were made by our pottery teacher.”

“All of these?”

The pottery adorned with mythical stories and love tales, the storage jars called amphorae, were of such quality that even to my discerning eye, they were quite superior.
But did one person make all these items?

“Uuugh… so, so heavy…”

“Oh! The Teacher is here.”

Right in front of us, a large amphora floated gently.
I thought it might be some kind of magic, but upon closer inspection, a small girl was hugging an amphora as big as herself and moving it with great effort.

“Isn’t she cute? That’s our jar teacher, Teterir.”

“Jar Teacher?! At least call me Miss Teterir! And it’s not a jar; it’s pottery!”

The jar—no, the pottery teacher—who was getting mad from behind the amphora at Hercules’s title.
I couldn’t find any words to retort, despite their friendly banter.
It was because of the picture on the pottery that Teterir brought.

“Excuse me, Teacher?”

“Yes, newbie?”

“Wh-what story is that picture on the pottery?”

“Oh~ This one~”

The picture on the pottery was simple.
A small child with a tiny body was sitting on a large herd of cattle, playing the lyre, while a familiar, handsome man was enjoying the sound of the lyre.
Normally, I would have just passed it off as a common myth story.

But the Latin inscription engraved at the top of the picture caught my eye.

“Born alone, become a god alone?”

“Ooh! It’s a new release. Do you like it?”

Teterir carefully placed the pottery on the desk and, with a flourish, mimicked a fanfare with her mouth.

“Today’s new release—the latest in the series of the witty trickster who gains divinity, Hermes!”

“Haha…”

Wow… There’s no way to just die quietly, huh?
I couldn’t help but laugh wryly in admiration and absurdity at the answer to the mystery that appeared in such an unexpected place.