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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 59
The Golden-horned hind of Ceryneia was considered a symbol of fortune.
Rumor had it that catching the deer would grant one a wish or bring unimaginable luck so many had attempted to capture it.
A legendary divine beast, so elusive that merely seeing it was said to be a blessing.
But that was all a carefully crafted illusion.
The golden-horned hind of Ceryneia wasn’t a mere animal, it was one of Artemis’s handmaidens.
Taygete, one of the seven Pleiades sisters, a beautiful nymph cherished and protected by the moon goddess Artemis.
It was Artemis who disguised her as a deer and spread the tale of the lucky hind.
According to myth, Artemis did this to protect Taygete from Zeus, who had set his sights on her after glimpsing her beauty.
And given that Zeus had already taken liberties with Artemis’s other handmaidens in the past, the goddess was desperate to hide Taygete.
As the goddess of the moon and of chastity Artemis’s handmaidens were virgin goddesses, bound by a sacred vow of purity.
To protect her, Artemis didn’t stop at transforming her into a hind. She even gave her antlers to make her appear male.
That’s why Taygete, though a female deer, bore antlers.
‘Even so, Zeus still managed to find her.’
Despite Artemis’s efforts, Zeus eventually discovered and took Taygete.
A disturbing testament to his persistence, if nothing else.
In any case, the deer Hercules was to capture was none other than Artemis’s handmaiden, Taygete.
If he wounded her, even by mistake, he would incur Artemis’s wrath.
In truth, this entire labor had been Hera’s trap.
Of course, even left to his own devices, Hercules would eventually succeed in capturing Taygete without harm.
‘It’s just that it would take a whole year.’
Taygete, a local mountain spirit, could run across rivers and lakes, was incredibly swift, and could even shoot fire.
Even Hercules needed a year to bring her down.
But I didn’t have the luxury of waiting a year.
I wasn’t planning to live out the rest of my days inside Greek mythology. I had to see Hercules through his Twelve Labors as quickly as possible.
‘Which means I have to meet Artemis.’
If I wanted to capture Taygete without delay, I needed to find her mistress the moon goddess Artemis.
Only she could shorten that year-long trial.
***
Meanwhile, Hercules was smearing the venom from the Hydra’s severed head onto his arrows, creating poisonous bolts.
Hydra venom was lethal even in trace amounts utterly incurable.
Only Jeanne’s presence allowed us to handle it safely.
According to myth, the only one who could detoxify Hydra’s poison was Oenone, a nymph.
There were even stories that not even the gods could resist it.
So potent was this toxin that Hercules would later use it to threaten none other than Poseidon, god of the sea.
And in the end, that same poisoned arrow would be the cause of Hercules’s death.
‘Not something I need to tell him.’
His death by the poisoned arrow was fate, already woven by the Fates.
It wasn’t my place to interfere.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, Hercules looked over as he carefully placed the arrows into his quiver.
“Do you not want some?”
“I’ll store it here.”
I opened the glass vial I had used to store essence and brought it gently to the Hydra’s fangs.
Hydra’s venom, beading at the tips of its fangs, fell with a soft plop, plop.
I watched the clear liquid collect in the glass vial, my eyes gleaming with anticipation.
‘This is a miracle.’
There would be no other chance to obtain the essence of Hydra’s venom, not its breath, not its ichor, but its purest form.
A substance said to be possessed only by Hercules himself… now mine as well.
I didn’t yet know what I would use it for but just having it was sure to prove useful someday.
If, for instance, a catastrophic gate-level threat appeared back in Korea that no one could handle, Hydra's venom might become the ultimate weapon.
If it could bring death even to Hercules, what otherworldly monstrosity could withstand it?
Granted, the amount I had would allow for just one, maybe two uses at most.
‘But even that is more than enough.’
Just one or two uses could bring about almost certain death for my enemy, not me.
I had acquired a fearsome trump card.
Carefully, I sealed the vial containing the venom and stored it in a standard slot of my inventory system.
Hoping, sincerely, that I’d never need to use it.
Now then—
“Are you leaving already?”
“The task has been given. I must move.”
Hercules was already preparing to depart for Mount Ceryneia, where the golden-horned hind resided.
The only problem was that Mount Ceryneia was quite far from Mycenae.
A three-day journey on foot.
And yet, Hercules’s preparations were unbelievably minimal like someone heading out for a stroll.
“It’s quite a distance. Are you sure you don’t need to bring more?”
“No need to worry. I’ll arrive before the day is over.”
“…?”
He’s going to travel three days’ worth of distance in one day?
Puzzled, I followed him outside and immediately saw why.
“A good morning to you, Warrior Seojun.”
“Good morning, Lord Iolaus.”
“Mm.”
Parked outside the General Store stood Iolaus’s chariot.
But the two horses yoked to it were unlike any ordinary steeds.
“Grrrk, hrrrk.”
Calling them horses was almost an insult. They were beasts, in size and presence.
‘Alcyon… and Acrios, perhaps.’
Rarely mentioned in old texts, they were divine steeds said to pull Hercules’s chariot.
“They are blessed by Lord Poseidon.”
Though widely known as the god of the sea, Poseidon was also the god of horses.
He was the creator of horses, and the deity responsible for taming and mastering them.
The horses Iolaus handled were sacred beasts blessed by Poseidon himself.
That was why he was known as the greatest charioteer in all of Greece.
“Climb aboard.”
“Ah, yes.”
At Iolaus’s invitation, I climbed into the chariot. He took the reins and gave a shout.
Whinnying!
RUMMMMMMBLE──!
The two black stallions reared up and surged forward with terrifying speed, thundering across the great road.
The scenery flew by in a blur.
True to his title as the greatest charioteer in Greece, Iolaus's chariot boasted a terrifying speed.
No wonder Hercules had claimed he’d arrive by day’s end; it hadn't been just bravado.
RUMMMMMBLE!
…Though the ride itself was absolutely awful.
***
Thanks to Iolaus’s chariot, we reached Ceryneia by that same evening.
What should have taken three days on foot was crushed into barely half a day.
Of course, there were consequences.
My backside, battered repeatedly against the rock-hard seat, was practically screaming in pain.
The fact that Hercules and Iolaus emerged completely unbothered amazed me.
Were their glutes muscles all the way through?
“Ugh, I’m gonna die from this pain…”
I had to rub my sore butt for quite a while before I could even think about getting off.
Anyway…
“Lord Hercules.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have any leads on where to find the golden-horned hind?”
Mount Ceryneia was enormous.
Finding a single deer in this vast wilderness was no small task.
Without a lead, it would be like trying to find a yeti in the Himalayas. I might never succeed.
“For now, we’ll just have to search the mountain thoroughly.”
So… he came here without a plan.
Hercules clearly intended to figure things out after starting the search.
I had a sinking feeling this could take months, maybe even half a year.
Naturally, I wasn’t willing to wait around that long.
“I’ll make a quick stop at Artemis’s temple.”
“The temple of Artemis?”
“She is the goddess of the hunt, after all. I’m going to pray for her help in locating the hind.”
“Let’s hope the goddess answers you.”
“I’ll do my best to make sure she does.”
In this world, ‘prayer’ wasn’t like the kind we knew in modern times.
Sometimes, the gods would literally respond to prayers manifesting as divine incarnations.
I had every intention of making Artemis respond to mine.
And I already had a plan to ensure that.
Late that evening…
I reached Artemis’s temple and knelt at the altar set before it.
Above me, the star-scattered night sky and the luminous moon watched silently over my prayer.
Under their gaze, I looked up at the statue of the goddess Artemis bow slung over her shoulder, a quiver of arrows on her back.
And I began to speak.
“I know the golden-horned hind of Ceryneia is no ordinary beast, but a divine creature set loose by your hand. Though it bears antlers, it is not male but female.”
FWOOOOSH—
Only the crackling torches flanking the altar responded.
“I also know she is Taygete, one of the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades.”
Silence, thick and unmoving, hung over the temple.
Yet I pressed on without pause.
“And I know that Zeus is aware of her true identity.”
No answer came.
For a moment, I wondered if I should rise and leave.
And then—
Suddenly, the world rippled as if a stone had been dropped in the still surface of reality.
The scenery changed.
The star-scattered night sky, once dusted with the Milky Way, gave way to a bright and cloudless expanse yet somehow, the moon and stars still lingered, clearly visible even in broad daylight.
The altar vanished, replaced by a vast field where deer grazed and played.
Chirp-chirp. Chirp-chirp.
Birdsong echoed through the air as flocks flitted across the sky.
One deer, grazing nearby, lifted its head and fixed its gaze on me as if beckoning me to follow.
Then it turned and walked away.
I followed it, and soon came upon a small stone outcrop.
Sitting atop the rock was a woman, gently gazing at a tiny bird perched on her hand.
Her hair shimmered with the deep green of summer woods, her eyes the clear blue of open skies.
A quiver hung over her back, a bow cradled in one hand, and woven into her single braid was the silver curve of the moon itself.
She was a breathtaking figure who seemed to embody all of nature in a single form.
Chirp.
The bird fluttered away, and the woman turned to look at me.
Her cool, blue eyes locked onto mine.
“What you said… is it true?”
“Yes, it is.”
She was one of the Twelve Olympians.
Goddess of the Moon, the Hunt, and Chastity.
She was Artemis.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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