The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon

Chapter 110 – Jealousy Of Theasus

Theseus of Wisdom.
If Hercules was the great warrior symbolizing strength in the Forest of Heroes, Theseus was the grand general of strategy and wisdom in this forest.
A general of strategy commanding an army to rival the great hero Hercules, alongside Jason.
Even in the Forest of Heroes, he was always counted among the few most beautiful youths, and with his innate charisma, he led many warriors as the prince of Athens.
As the prince of Troy and the legitimate heir to the throne of Athens, he was always the center of his group and, along with Hercules, the main subject of gossip.
The only rival and equal to Hercules, the only man who could be considered his peer.
That was the hero Theseus, and he was willing to wear the mask of a gentle and wise hero for as long as it took to achieve his desires.

Even if they were merely fools with less than one-tenth of his intellect and strength, the demigods were certainly more useful than inferior human soldiers, and under his command, they could even confront that monstrous Hercules.
Furthermore, though slightly inferior to him, Jason was also a fairly clever strategist.
If he gradually gained control over them from now on, it would surely be of great help in reclaiming the throne of Athens later.

He harbored ambition.
An ambition that all those born human but with a trace of divine blood dreamed of.
To surpass the throne of Troy, ascend to the throne of Athens, and ultimately take a seat on Olympus under the blessing of the gods.
And to take a beautiful goddess as his companion.
He believed without a doubt that ambition suited him best, being the blood descendant of Zeus and the unrivaled master of wisdom.

From the moment he joined the Forest of Heroes, he knew.
This place was the ultimate stage gifted to him by Zeus.
Gathering capable soldiers under his command, choosing a beautiful and powerful woman as his backing to expand his influence.
As a member of the Golden Generation, he would gain valuable connections like Hercules.
Moreover, he could safely build his reputation by taking on commissions coming into the forest.
Isn’t it truly the best?
He was confident that he was indeed the chosen hero, the only hero to rival Hercules.

As time passed, the name Theseus, alongside Hercules, resounded throughout all of Greece.
Several kingdoms were already sending letters to his mother in Troy, promising their daughters and thrones.
The dim-witted but prideful demigods were captivated by his elegant appearance, smooth eloquence, and the merits he had accumulated, becoming loyal soldiers.
He stood proudly as a member of the Golden Generation alongside those with comparable intellect and talent, and his network solidified.
Goddesses with divine blood and royal lineage, possessing exquisite beauty, were eager for just a glance from him, and in skill, none in the forest dared to compare with him, except Hercules.
Everything was as he envisioned.

Every night, Theseus dreamed of the gates of Olympus opening for him, welcoming him in.
And in those dreams, the beautiful goddess he had long admired, wearing a white wedding dress, stood waiting for him.

The journey toward that dream had finally begun.

However, a pitch-black curtain began to cast over his dream.

Dianes.
An unknown minor hero from Passos.
When he saw the black-haired orphan who, apart from Hercules, was the only one to match Chiron, he was amazed and astonished.
Yet, he merely regarded it as another strong connection in his network.
He had no particular feelings about it.
But from a certain day, strange rumors began to circulate.

‘Hey, about Hercules and Dianes…’

‘That crazy guy Dianes supposedly did something to Hercules…’

‘Come on, even if it’s Dianes, against Hercules…’n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

‘I heard Hercules got a real blow from Dianes today.’

At some point, Theseus realized something disturbing.
The name that had always been spoken alongside Hercules’s was being replaced by Dianes’s.
And that wasn’t all.

‘Did you hear that sound?’

‘Sound… Oh, by Apollo’s grace, did that sound like just a noise to you after hearing that performance?’

‘Aah~ I thought he was so handsome from the first time I saw him…’

‘So strong, so cultured, and even beautiful…’

The conversations among the beautiful young women who had once surrounded him began to shift, and instead of his name, they whispered Dianes’s.

‘But I could endure it…’

His ambition was not merely to gain popularity in such a small forest.
His goal was not just those inferior half-blooded gods.
Hercules was an opponent no mere human could face, no matter how much power one possessed to match him.
No matter how much strength Dianes wielded, he was just an orphan from Passos. He could never compare to Theseus, the heir to two kingdoms and the descendant of Zeus.

Even when all preparations for his ambition were complete, a single piece of the puzzle he couldn’t secure appeared.
A being qualified to be his companion throughout his mortal life.
It was Atalanta.

‘Yes, rather than just some pretty faces, there’s no one more suitable than her to be the companion of Theseus.’

Though currently declining due to the gods’ curse, Arcadia was a wealthy kingdom known as an ideal place even in Greece.
And Atalanta was an important princess of such Arcadia, so much so that King Issus would even move the army to lift the curse.
If he were to take such an Atalanta as his companion and return to Arcadia, he would not only gain the strong soldiers of Troy and Athens but also the wealthy finances of Arcadia.
And that wasn’t all.
Her beauty, which did not fall short even when compared to the daughters of Aphrodite and the nymphs of the beautiful forest, and her strength, honed by learning martial arts from Dianes to the point where even Theseus found it hard to predict the outcome of a match, were comparable to the goddess Theseus envisioned as his ideal.
If there was no goddess in his heart, he might have considered continuing their relationship as companions even after ascending to the rank of a god.
But Atalanta, as the daughter of Artemis, had sworn to remain chaste and had always been cold to men, so he had dismissed the idea.
Yet now, she had opened her heart to a man.

‘I don’t like that the man is Dianes… but that’s not a big deal. She’s still a virgin huntress, ripe for the taking.’

And then Theseus saw it.
He witnessed Dianes subjecting her to brutal violence in the woods.
Though he wasn’t pleased with the idea of blemishing the woman he aimed for, Atalanta, who was deeply hurt by the one she had affection for, would be swayed by just a slight smile from him.

‘Women are meant to return to those who have the right to use and manipulate them.’

Rather than a barbaric orphan wielding strange magic and violence, as the heir to two kingdoms, he could utilize Atalanta much better.
Her formidable strength, her alluring body, her stunning beauty.

With that resolution, Theseus nevertheless made thorough preparations.

In the garden blessed by Demeter and Persephone, he bought the most beautiful flowers and the most expensive and beautiful ring from Hermes’s market.
Dressed in the most exquisite clothes woven by his mother in Troy, he set off for the forest where Atalanta always appeared in the mornings.

And she rejected him.

“What? No, I’m not interested.”

“Wh-what? Why?”

It was the first time since entering the Forest of Heroes that the mask of Theseus had cracked.
He—the descendant of Zeus, the brilliant strategist, the heir to two kingdoms, the beautiful youth who could rival the daughters of Aphrodite—had been rejected?
His brilliant mind could not comprehend it. He forgot his composure and raised his voice in disbelief.

Despite his logical arguments, Atalanta only furrowed her brows as if puzzled and answered simply.

“Of course, because I am already Dianes’s lover.”

“What? You’re rejecting me because of that rootless wandering orphan?”

Yes, Dianes.
It was Dianes again.
That black-haired wanderer who took away the fame and envious gazes that should have been rightfully his just by appearing!
His strength and skills were indeed useful, but wasn’t he just a rootless orphan?

“Don’t be ridiculous! You would reject me, the wise Theseus, a descendant of Zeus, for a rootless bastard—”

In his rage, Theseus’s anger erupted, and just as he was about to release his frustration…

-Thwack!

Atalanta’s fist struck him hard across the face, sending him flying.

“Kraaagh!”

As Theseus screamed from the pain ringing in his head and rolled on the ground, there was Atalanta looking down at him with a cold sneer.

“Ha… Like any other shady guy, you hang greed in your eyes. Did you think I’d accept your confession just because you dressed up nicely? That too while insulting my lover?”

“Ugh… Then answer me! How can you, after suffering so much at the hands of that orphan, still choose to give yourself to him? Rejecting me, Theseus?”

Atalanta silently stared at the shouting Theseus, then closed her mouth for a moment.
She let out a deep sigh and spoke.

“Ha~ As expected, only Dianes sees my true worth.”

Saying that, Atalanta glared at Theseus as if he were a bug and then turned around and disappeared into the forest.

“Wait! Speak! I do not understand! Accept me!”

The reality he had been trying so hard to ignore.
Theseus raged at Atalanta’s contemptuous eyes, which seemed to reveal the reality that the hero Theseus had been overshadowed by the name of Dianes.

And he thought.
He must defeat Dianes.
Otherwise, the name Theseus would be erased.

However, Dianes, the one he burned with hostility against, did not even consider him.
Those black eyes had surely seen through his jealousy and hatred, but Dianes hadn’t sought to eliminate him, mock him, or even acknowledge him.
He simply didn’t care.
And that indifference stung Theseus’s pride even more, driving him deeper into his rage.
Fueled by that anger, Theseus honed his strategy, preparing to take Dianes down.
He trained relentlessly, fought powerful monsters, and tested his strategies against Hercules in the morning combat drills.
Every day, he pushed himself harder, determined to erase Dianes from the Forest of Heroes.
Then one morning, while preparing for the training run, he saw the black hair of Dianes falling toward him, and his instincts told him that this was it.

Today was the day Theseus would tear down the façade of Dianes and reclaim the spotlight that was rightfully his.

However, it took only a few seconds for Theseus’s intuition and expectations to be shattered.

A fragment of a colossal myth reminiscent of Titanomachy.
A massive war between two figures he couldn’t believe or didn’t want to believe was created by the hero he admired and the hero he envied.

Seeing this, Theseus sensed it.
No, he hoped it would be so.

Right after such a massive battle, even if it were Hercules, a fellow bloodline of Zeus, it would be understandable, but this unknown Dianes character must have been significantly drained.
Now was his chance. With his army, strategy, and the skills he had honed through blood and sweat, Theseus could erase the stain that was Dianes.

“Dianes! If I win, cease your unjust violence against Atalanta and set her free!”

He hoped his intuition was certain.
Praying to all the gods of Olympus and to his idolized beautiful Athena, Theseus declared his challenge.