Chapter 9: The Story of Life – (4)

 

—

 

The story concluded, Zeus disappeared with a flash of lightning.

 

Only then did I call in the gods who had been waiting outside my office.

 

[Zeus has now left, so everyone may come in.]

 

Both Zeus and I were aware that many were curious about our conversation, but we didn’t care.

 

We used divine power to block the sound from escaping outside.

 

“Hades, perhaps even after the Great Flood ends, will our work increase…”

 

“Did Lord Zeus order anything else…?”

 

I calmly explained to their anxious faces.

 

Zeus swore on the River Styx that he would never again sweep the surface without consulting the Underworld.

 

And during the Great Flood, he would send the goddess of wisdom, Athena, and her attendants to assist the Underworld.

 

“Phew… it’s a relief amidst the misfortune.”

 

“I was worried about the workload, but if it’s the goddess Athena…”

 

The Underworld became lively again.

 

Sighs of relief erupted here and there, and the gods dispersed with slightly brighter faces.

 

Three days until the Great Flood.

 

—

 

### The Day of the Great Flood

 

Zeus, king of the gods, called Boreas, the god of the north wind with giant wings, in a solemn voice.

 

“Boreas, do not stir the wind from now on and remain in the cave of Aeolus for nine days. I will hear no objections.”

 

“…As you wish.”

 

Boreas entered the cave of Aeolus, the god who controls the winds, halting his duties.

 

This ensured that the rain clouds filling the sky would not disperse.

 

Next, Notus, the god of the south wind, stood before Zeus.

 

Symbolizing the summer south wind and rain, Notus was always drenched.

 

“Notus! Until I command you to stop, rain as much as you wish. Let the world be submerged.”

 

Receiving Zeus’s command, Notus, dripping water from his wet body and wings, touched the sky’s clouds.

 

Soon, with a fierce thunderclap, torrential rain began to pour down.

 

Swoosh—

 

Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, who had received Hera’s order in advance, fetched water from the Milky Way to add moisture to the clouds.

 

The rain clouds would dry only when Hera’s command was lifted.

 

“Hermes! Inform Poseidon that the time has come. Athena! Descend to the Underworld with the preselected attendants to assist Hades.”

 

Hermes, the messenger god holding the caduceus with two entwined snakes, flew swiftly to the sea.

 

He was a son of Zeus and also the god of thieves and travelers.

 

“For the next nine days, any god who aids the lives on the surface out of personal sentiment should be prepared for the consequences!”

 

Boom, crash!!

 

Zeus’s final shout, filled with his power, echoed through Olympus with the sound of thunder.

 

Hearing the shout, many gods feared and dared not act rashly.

 

When the king of the gods decided to punish humans, who could dare to stop him?

 

—

 

Poseidon, visited by Zeus’s messenger Hermes, raised a massive wave that swept over the earth.

 

The human villages on the coast were submerged to the bottom of the sea in an instant.

 

Next, he summoned all the river gods.

 

The command given by the great sea god to the river gods was simple.

 

“Open all the floodgates, and let the water flow as it wills.”

 

Among the river gods, some cherished humans, but they could not defy Poseidon’s command and opened the floodgates.

 

The lives near the rivers were sucked into the deep water in an instant.

 

When Poseidon’s trident struck the land, its immense power opened all waterways.

 

A terrifying deluge covered the entire world.

 

In this sudden disaster, human villages, temples, orchards, and fields were hardly recognizable.

 

Humans desperately climbed to the mountain peaks to survive the wrath of the gods.

 

“Zeus, Zeus! Why are you doing this!”

 

“I’m not ready to meet Hades yet! What did we do wrong?”

 

“I’ve offered so many sacrifices to Poseidon…”

 

“Help, I’m not ready to…”

 

Humans who avoided drowning momentarily found solace but soon had to scream in despair at the world turned into the sea.

 

Humans, weak as they are, die after only a few days without food and water.

 

The only ones smiling amidst the flood were the sea nymphs, the Nereids.

 

No human survived the nine-day Great Flood.

 

—

 

When there was no land left in the world, the Underworld was busier than ever.

 

An uncountable number of souls crossed the five rivers at the boundary of life and death, flooding into Hades’ citadel.

 

“Hades! The area for gathering souls can no longer…”

 

“Let’s see… It’s near Elysian, I’ll handle it immediately, so direct them to another place for now.”

 

“Charon’s boat sank, and souls are drowning in the Acheron River!”

 

“Send a messenger to the goddess Lethe to rescue the souls and assist her…”

 

I, Hades, in the office, felt like three bodies wouldn’t be enough.

 

One hand was reviewing reports from all over the Underworld on parchment.

 

The other hand was busy exercising power across the Underworld to judge and assign souls.

 

My eyes were busy surveying the entire Underworld,

 

And my mouth was parched from answering the messengers’ reports when the news I had been waiting for arrived.

 

“The goddess Athena has arrived with attendants from Olympus…”

 

“Send the attendants to the goddess Styx outside and bring Athena here immediately, quickly!”

 

Soon, Athena, in full armor and holding a spear, entered the office and paid her respects.

 

“Greetings to the lord of the Underworld, Uncle Hades…”

 

“Now that you’re here, sit down and start working quickly.”

 

I glanced at Athena and turned my gaze back to the towering stack of parchment.

 

Of course, it was only natural to move half of the paperwork piled up to the ceiling in front of Athena.

 

“Um… what is this…?”

 

“You don’t need the war god aspect for work, so take off that armor.”

 

True to the goddess of war and wisdom, Athena seemed to realize what was in store for her.

 

She smiled wryly, took off her armor, and sat down in front of me.

 

Outside the office, I could hear gods shouting, souls moving busily, and the sound of bustling activity.

 

Thankfully, with the goddess of wisdom joining the war on paperwork, we were sure to win.

 

After a while, Athena, buried under a pile of parchment with her face unseen, cautiously spoke.

 

“Uncle, if you lend me your name, I have a way to navigate this crisis.”

 

“If the goddess of wisdom says it, it won’t be a loss. Proceed.”

 

After Athena’s suspicious statement, I saw her doing something, but I ignored it due to the workload.

 

And after the time it took for Charon’s boat to break four or five more times…

 

“Hades! The war god Ares has arrived in front of the Acheron River!”

 

Meeting my gaze, Athena smiled wisely from between the parchment piles.

 

Soon, a handsome, muscular male god with a cheerful smile entered the office.

 

He was Ares, the war god, son of Zeus and Hera.

 

“Uncle Hades! Where is the war I need to join…”

 

“Good, if you’re the god of war, you must be good at commanding. From now on, lead the souls crossing the River Styx and guide them here.”

 

“Excuse me…? What do you mean? Athena said…”

 

Ares’ expression was priceless as he explained.

 

Apparently, Athena sent him a letter saying, [If you come to the Underworld now, you can join a massive war], which made him rush here.

 

She even vouched for her words with my name, so he trusted her and came despite his doubts.

 

But with a god’s presence being invaluable, I couldn’t afford to consider his situation.

 

“…Athena! You tricked me again!”

 

“I merely said there was a war with paperwork in the Underworld. Is there a problem?”

 

Ares, who had been lamenting, was suddenly dragged away by a minor god who appeared behind him.

 

In truth, he couldn’t resist because I was watching with sharp eyes.

 

—

 

Finally, the long nine-day Great Flood ended.

 

The gods of the Underworld could now rest a little, and just as everyone was about to drink nectar, another message came from Olympus.

 

“Prometheus’ son, Deucalion, survived the Great Flood and seeks to revive humanity, so Hades, please reincarnate the souls.”

 

So, Prometheus used his prophetic ability to inform his son about the Great Flood.

 

Thus, he built an ark and saved his life.

 

But… reincarnate souls to recreate humans now?

 

Focusing my eyes and ears on the surface, I heard Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha speaking.

 

“Hmm… Dear, Zeus’s oracle says… If we want to revive humanity, we should throw the bones of the great mother over our shoulders.”

 

“Gods! We cannot commit such a sin against our ancestors! Please retract the oracle…”

 

“Wait a moment. Could it be that the great mother means the earth and bones refer to stones?”

 

“Ah…! That could be it!”

 

Seeing them start to gather stones from the ground, I immediately shouted to the gods.

 

Quickly select the souls for reincarnation and send them to the surface.

 

“Damn it! The work isn’t over yet!”

 

“Hypnos! The goddess Lethe has collapsed, and you put her to sleep?”

 

“I didn’t put her to sleep; she collapsed from exhaustion!”

 

“Hurry and select the souls!”

 

The Underworld, which was returning to peace, turned chaotic again in an instant.

 

Meanwhile, on the surface, Deucalion and his wife threw stones to create human figures

 

.

 

“Hey…? The stones formed human shapes, but why aren’t they moving?”

 

“Hmm, let’s wait a bit. The gods must be busy.”

 

“Souls, move quickly! It’s time for reincarnation!”

 

“Are the sinners properly sorted?”

 

“We are sending them to the surface in sequence!”

 

The souls emerging from the Underworld were guided by the gods into the human forms.

 

Only then did Deucalion and Pyrrha sigh in relief and start throwing stones freely.

 

Plop. Plop. Plop. Plop.

 

The stones endlessly hit the ground and successfully became humans, but…

 

The gods of the Underworld were rather infuriated.

 

“Damn it! Couldn’t they throw a bit slower?”

 

“Why are they in such a rush to scatter stones?!”

 

The Underworld is busy as ever today.