The Hero Will Sever the Giant Lion's Head

In the legends of Ancient Greece, there is one great hero who cannot go unmentioned: Heracles!

He is the greatest hero in Ancient Greek mythology, a demigod. Upon his birth, he was initially named Alcides.

As the son of Zeus and Alcmene, he was born with immense strength. He also had a half-brother, Iphicles, and a sister, Laonome, born to Alcmene and Amphitryon.

However, due to his parentage, he was loathed by Zeus's wife, Hera—after all, he was the son of a mistress! Consequently, he was cursed by Hera, which eventually led Heracles to kill his own children in a fit of madness.

Because he accidentally drank Hera's milk at birth, he became incredibly strong. Later, Hera sent two venomous snakes to kill Heracles, but to her surprise, the infant easily subdued them...

After growing up, he completed twelve "impossible" tasks to atone for his sins, which became known as the Twelve Labors.

Along the way, he rescued the bound Prometheus, hid his identity to join Jason's band of heroes, and assisted Jason in obtaining the Golden Fleece.

Heracles lived a glorious life, but he was misunderstood by his wife, who coated his tunic in poison, causing him such unbearable agony that he burned himself to death.

After his death, he ascended to Mount Olympus, was deified by Zeus as the god of strength, and participated in the war between the Olympian Gods and the Gigantes, emerging victorious.

In the history of the Nasuverse, things are much the same, though the Gigantes were epic-level buffed, reaching the scale of the Third Divine War.

As for why these are being mentioned?

Because the purple-haired God of Amusement before Thaumas wants him to complete one of the "Twelve Labors," while ensuring that Heracles himself remains unaffected?!

How is this any different from asking him to kill the Tang Monk and Disciples? You gods sure are "kind"...

"So, Goddess of Wisdom, which one should I complete?" Thaumas was helpless; if it weren't necessary, he really wouldn't want to stir up trouble right now.

As long as he followed the script honestly and boarded that ship, he would have become a Heroic Spirit regardless...

But this goddess seemed unwilling to let him live such a life.

"Which one? Hmm... how about all of them?" Athena pondered for a moment before spitting out an answer.

"Then I think I'd better consider how to make my death as painless as possible." This was the second day Thaumas hated the God of Amusement!

"I'm just joking! You can't even take a joke.

What you need to do is cut off the head of a stinking lion before Heracles gets there! And you must ensure that Heracles is still able to complete his labor! Yep, that's it!"

Athena said slowly with her hands on her hips, as if she were talking about some trivial matter.

This is really troublesome!

"Also, you are not allowed to refuse! This is an oracle, you know!"

That's even more troublesome!

According to legend, the first task the king gave Heracles was: Heracles must skin the Nemean Lion for him.

This giant beast lived in the great forest between Nemea and Cleonae in the Peloponnese, in the region of Argolis. The lion was incredibly fierce, and no weapon of man could harm it.

Some say the lion was the son of the giant Typhon and the half-woman, half-serpent monster Echidna; others say it fell to earth from the moon.

Heracles set out to hunt the lion and eventually killed it. Using its own sharp claws to tear the hide, he finally managed to skin it.

Later, he fashioned a suit of armor from this strange lion skin and made a new helmet.

He packed up the lion skin and his weapons, draped the hide of the Nemean Lion over his shoulders, and set off on his return to Tiryns.

Knowing the script made things much easier; Thaumas already had a plan.

Although this legendary magical beast of the Age of Gods was powerful, it was brittle in its rigidity and not without its flaws.

However, how was he supposed to kill this lion before Heracles, who had already set off? The travel time alone would cause his plan to go bankrupt immediately.

Looking at the distressed Thaumas, Athena said understandingly: "Don't worry! Little Tau, I've already asked another god for help; he will assist you."

But immediately, she placed a finger to her lips, shook her head slightly, and curled her lips into a smile, saying somewhat mischievously:

"However, at Heracles' pace, he has about three days left. If you don't finish it, you'll probably be eaten by the little lion.

And if you run away or fail to meet the conditions, you'll likely be thrown into the Underworld by some unknown god!"

Thaumas felt a sense of foreboding, and that "unknown god" was clearly you, the God of Amusement! One day, you will become someone else's amusement!

"I feel the need to remind you, even if I can't hear it, I can sense the presence of 'malice.' Thau! Mas!" Athena suddenly darkened her face and said with a "smile."

She was indeed angry. Fortunately, Hera had given him this Golden Bracelet, which shielded him from the prying eyes of the gods, though it had its limitations.

"Oh, isn't this Apollo's lyre? Are you his son or one of his lovers?"

A young man wearing winged sandals and a short-sleeved tunic flew in from the distance.

He carried a leather bag, wore winged sandals, and a winged hat—this hat was half-invisibility helm and half-sun hat, very stylish—and he held a messenger's caduceus in his hand.

Given this image, he had to be the "Messenger of the Gods." If it were him, travel would certainly not be an issue.

After all, his true form was essentially an information-transmitting machine, similar to a "scout" or "sentry," making him best suited for espionage.

Oh, right, unlike orthodox history, in the Nasuverse, Hades had replaced the position of Hermes.

However, because Hestia voluntarily relinquished her claim to power, the number of Twelve Olympians remained unchanged until the later birth of Dionysus.

The difference lies in the fact that Hermes lacks voting rights in the Council of Gods, whereas Hestia never surrendered that privilege.

After staring intently at the lyre on Thaumas's back for quite a while, the treacherous young man said with zero interest:

"What is this! It's just a fake! What a waste of excitement; I thought I'd finally be able to get back at Apollo, tch!"

At this moment, Athena said with a seductive tone: "This is the child I told you about! He will definitely satisfy you!"

Hermes's eyes lit up, and he exchanged a knowing look with Athena. That's right, one must learn to share the good things!

So then, "Little follower of Hera, we are about to take off. I spent a 'hefty price' to borrow you from the arms of the jealous Queen of Heaven.

You absolutely cannot make me lose money! If one makes the God of Commerce lose money... hmm? That actually sounds like it might be fun, doesn't it?"

"Ahem, Hermes!" Athena was reminding someone to tone it down.

"Oh, oh, oh! If you make the God of Commerce lose money, I will throw you into the Underworld to fend for yourself!"

Wait, no? So the unknown deity Athena mentioned who would throw me into the Underworld is actually you!

Looking at Hermes's excitement and Athena's smile, he felt as if he had been sold out by Hera.

No, considering the personality of the Queen of Heaven, it must have been you, the God of Deception, who made the move! You dare to deceive the Queen of Heaven? Just how much do you want to find amusement?

Fine, you're so ruthless that you'll even find amusement at your own expense. He really had nothing to say to that.

The "private conversation" in the temple made him realize just how much Hera doted on him, but because of that, he truly felt that these God of Amusement types were genuinely formidable.

He didn't quite understand; perhaps this is the difference between gods and humans?

After all, human lifespans are so fleeting, always preferring to pursue a brilliant moment or a plain life, with only a few exceptions.

Yet the gods of Ancient Greece are practically immortal. Their long, drawn-out existence leaves them with nothing to fight over except for face, and because they are bored, they are keen on stirring up trouble...

Athena even cursed Medusa, creating the monster Gorgon and guiding countless heroes to crusade against them.

Although this had something to do with the Gorgon sisters being local indigenous deities, her desire to find amusement was certainly a factor.

"Ah? Hey, hey-- no, don't! I'm a bit afraid of heights--!" While he was lost in thought, Hermes grabbed him and took flight.

Seeing Thaumas in this state, Hermes laughed heartily and became even more spirited, focused entirely on how to tease this little thing.

"How happy I am!"