Chapter 109: Perseus (1)
However, even Gaia agreed with Hermes’s proposal.
Only something like that would make him suffer and truly learn the fear of the gods, she said. Moreover, the child born from it would be half-man, half-beast, and she wanted it to bring great torment to the people of Crete.
Poseidon knew Gaia could be ruthless, but this was vicious.
The divine genealogy was far too complicated, and especially with Helios’s daughters—who were mostly inactive and unknown to many gods—Pasiphaë was still Helios’s daughter, wasn’t she?
Above all, if any god knew, Gaia certainly would… that Pasiphaë was one of the witch-goddesses, just like Circe.
“Wow! For real? So should we call her Lady Pasiphaë? That explains why Acacallis is so beautiful.”
“Poseidon, what’s the problem with her being a witch-goddess? They prioritize receiving superior seed above all else. She’d probably be delighted to mate with a bull infused with your power.”
“Huh… I see. So she—Lady Pasiphaë—is Helios’s daughter. That explains why I’ve always felt drawn to her. It must be the shared solar aura. Then maybe next time I should…”
Poseidon shook his head at the way they all just talked past each other, focused only on their own points.
No matter how low the average Greek standard was, this was dizzying.
‘Sigh, never mind. From my position… there’s no downside for me anyway.’
After all, the plan’s originators were Hermes and Apollo—they’d take the blame. He was simply honoring Clotho’s request while delivering just punishment.
‘Whether it’s fate or not, following Hermes’s idea won’t cause me much harm.’
Poseidon didn’t overthink it. He had already left the whole affair to Gaia anyway.
“Then I hereby declare that everything shall proceed according to the opinions of Gaia, Hermes, and Apollo.”
At Poseidon’s proclamation, thunder rumbled across the sky in response.
“Let us do as Hermes suggests. I will curse Pasiphaë—to fall in love with the bull.”
The chattering gods fell silent at Poseidon’s declaration and listened intently. Even the churning sea grew calm, lending an ear to his words.
“This curse shall remain upon Pasiphaë and her children until Minos himself repents of his sins. However, Hermes, as god of messengers, you will take responsibility for seeking Helios’s understanding—Pasiphaë’s punishment may be excessive. Assure Helios that once she has borne the full weight of the curse, she will receive my protection both on land and sea.”
With Poseidon’s declaration, all agreements among the gods were sealed. Now only Minos himself remained to endure what was coming.
With that, Poseidon summoned his trident and shattered the half-built temple to Zeus with a massive wave.
Along with the altar where Minos had offered the bull.
“I cannot tolerate my brother’s temple being built higher than mine on my own land.”
Rumble.
Zeus in the heavens showed a flicker of discomfort but took no further action.
Utterly unaware of the gods’ agreement, Minos wore an expression of supreme arrogance, believing once again that the sacrifice had gone exactly as he wished, and boasted to his subjects.
“Behold! Was I not right? Lord Poseidon has accepted this bull!! I am truly the human chosen by the gods!!!”
***
Several months later.
Horrific screams echoed across Crete.
Pasiphaë had given birth to a child with a bull’s head—the Minotaur.
Witnessing his beloved wife Pasiphaë making love to the bull and whispering “I love you,” Minos was driven half-mad.
“UWAAAAAHHH!!!”
Unable to bear the pain and humiliation, Minos secretly summoned the master craftsman Daedalus and began planning a prison to confine the Minotaur.
Yet Pasiphaë—Minos’s wife, queen, and witch-goddess—gazed coldly at Minos while showering affection on the half-man, half-beast child she had borne, even giving him a name.
“My baby, your name shall be Asterios. You are filled with the essence of Lord Poseidon and your witch-goddess mother.”
Witch-goddesses typically valued bearing many children from superior seed or absorbing power for themselves. The Asterios Pasiphaë had borne was unequivocally a monster that could be classified as a fantastical beast.
As a witch-goddess, she felt joy at the birth of such an exceptional child, regardless of appearance.
Moreover, having known of Poseidon’s curse before giving birth to Asterios, she felt no qualms about mating with the bull.
Though she had mated with the bull, strictly speaking, it was no different from mating with Poseidon himself. At her earnest request, Poseidon had transformed Into a cow and bull to consummate the union.
For the queen of Crete, however, this was a tremendous humiliation and disgrace.
All the people of Crete believed she had lain with the bull intended as a sacrifice. It was only because the seed was superior that it was tolerable; otherwise, it would have been no different from coupling with a mere beast.
Thus, Minos faced Pasiphaë’s cold rejection and the finger-pointing of the entire nation. Even in this world of Greek myth, the fallout from Minos’s actions was not easily accepted.
Above all, the people of Crete knew full well that their island had nearly been destroyed.
Deep beneath the sea, Poseidon watched the entire situation and nodded.
‘In the end, it flowed similarly to the myth. Though I never imagined actually coupling with Pasiphaë, even in beast form…’
But for him, it was hard to refuse.
“I never expected even Helios to come begging. That guy dotes on his children terribly—from Phaethon onward.”
Of course, thanks to that, he had extracted plenty from Helios, and even his own wives hadn’t minded.
The one worry was how this Minotaur—no, Asterios—would differ from the original myth.
“Well… it’ll work out somehow?”
***
By human standards, around the time a newborn baby begins to toddle,
Unlike the punishment inflicted on Minos, Asterios grew up adored by Pasiphaë and her children, former queen Europa, and the people of Crete.
At birth he had clearly possessed a bull’s head, but as he grew, only the horns and eyes remained bovine while the rest gradually became more human-like.
Most people pitied Asterios yet revered him as bearing Poseidon’s blood.
Moreover, for one infused with divine blood, his innocent and naïve nature only added to his charm.
Only one person on Crete harbored a venomous hatred for Asterios.
That person was…
“Daedalus, you understand why I summoned you in secret. You must either craft a weapon to kill that monster… or build something to imprison it.”
“…King Minos, that child carries divine blood. Even an outsider like me can see it. Would it not be wiser to do nothing more?”
“Silence!!!”
Minos glared with bloodshot eyes at Daedalus’s cautionary words.
The sight was so chilling that even Daedalus—who had faced threats from rough mercenaries—flinched.
“…”
“You need only obey my commands and work. You, who are said to have inherited all of Hephaestus’s skill, should be able to bind a mere half-breed.”
“…”
Daedalus could say nothing more to the king. The look in Minos’s eyes made it clear: even if Daedalus refused, Minos would find some way to harm Asterios.
‘No choice. I’ll accept the commission and pretend to build a labyrinth while first informing Lady Pasiphaë and Lady Europa. Has King Minos truly gone so mad that even after his punishment he feels no fear of the gods?’
As Hephaestus’s disciple and a human said to rival the gods in craftsmanship, Daedalus knew the terror of the divine all too well.
He was grateful Poseidon showed little interest in humans. If it had been a goddess like Artemis, the mere thought was horrifying.
With Daedalus’s choice, only the Moirae knew what the future would hold.
***
“I wish the weather were always this nice.”
In the sea humans called the Aegean, a sea otter floated lazily under the warm sun.
So relaxed was it that all the marine creatures around drifted leisurely with the gentle waves.
At that moment,
A wooden chest gilded in gold floated toward the otter and the creatures.
“Huh? What’s a fancy chest like this doing drifting in the sea?”
The otter tilted its head curiously and asked the creatures nearby.
“Is there a shipwreck nearby? Or maybe a merchant vessel?”
—No, Lord Poseidon. We haven’t heard anything like that.
—That’s right. This area has been nothing but peaceful.
—The others said it’s peaceful because Lord Poseidon hasn’t caused any incidents.
“…I’m not Poseidon—I’m Neptune.”
The otter ignored the creatures’ words praising him for not causing trouble today.
He wasn’t Poseidon—he was Neptune!
Moreover, thinking about how he was hiding here after being caught secretly receiving gold from Zeus during the Minos affair… it really…
Of course, he had made a deal with Zeus. But! That hadn’t caused this whole mess.
No matter how he looked at it, he had been unfairly blamed. All his precious gold taken away…
‘Come to think of it again, wasn’t Nereus too harsh? Spilling every little detail about what happened on Olympus—really?’
Of course, the biggest problem was Zeus and his loose tongue.
Anyway, the more he thought about why he was in this situation, the more wronged he felt, so he decided to stop.
Opening the expensive-looking chest right in front of him would be far better for mental stability.
“Ahem… Well, since there’s nothing else to do, shall I open the chest?”
Poseidon—no, Neptune—boldly decided to open it.
No divine aura could be sensed, so it didn’t seem dangerous. It appeared only lightly enchanted—probably containing valuable jewelry or something.
—He says it’s not dangerous just because he’s a sea otter humanoid.
—Leave him be. Lord Poseidon sometimes does embarrassing things.
—Yeah. We just need to report it to Lady Eurynome, Lady Gaia, or Lady Amphitrite.
—Lady Tiamat too?
—…Her as well.
He could hear the spirits and sea creatures casually discussing reporting him, but Poseidon stubbornly plugged his ears and pretended not to hear.
I’m Neptune!
“You lot! Aren’t you curious about this? Since when did spirits become like this, huh?”
—He’s just shouting because he’s guilty.
—Exactly. He’s the most curious one himself.
Ugh…
Neptune ignored the spirits and creatures—who were even more annoying than his wives—and flung open the chest.
And inside was…
A woman with red hair, round black eyes, and a voluptuous figure, holding a newborn blond baby asleep in her arms.
“Hmm… a sacrifice?”
—As if that would ever happen!!!
***
The woman from the chest was Danaë, daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos.
Acrisius had failed to sire a son and had only a daughter. People whispered that his inability to produce a male heir—despite having only a daughter—was a curse from Apollo for his greed.
Indeed, Acrisius had slandered and exiled his twin brother Proetus after their father Abas, the previous king of Argos, died, seizing the entire kingdom for himself.
Later, the enraged Proetus fled to Lycia, married Princess Stheneboea, daughter of King Iobates, and sparked a war that cost Acrisius half his kingdom.
In any case, he was a man utterly devoted to his lust for power.
“There are suspicious rumors circulating among the people. Do any ministers know anything about this?”
“Your Majesty, this humble servant Ioseph regrets to inform you, but the rumors are indeed spreading outside.”
“What?! Then what have you all been doing without taking any action?!!”
“Your Majesty, we merely believed the matter could be easily resolved once Your Majesty received an oracle from Delphi and thus did not report it.”
“…True enough. What have I to fear when I have committed no sin?”
Following the advice of his trusted minister Ioseph, Acrisius sent a subordinate to Delphi for an oracle.
And the oracle he received was this:
—You will be killed by the son your daughter bears.
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