Chapter 180: Heracles (5)
“I see. So you saw the name Alcides on the betting board.”
“…Yeah.”
“He’s nine years old.”
“…Yeah.”
“You don’t know his identity, and he has no affiliation.”
“…Yeah.”
“Haa…”
Poseidon let out a deep sigh as he looked at Aresia, who had completely deflated like a punctured balloon.
What on earth did she want to eat so badly that she was acting like this?
“Fine. Lead the way. For that much information, I’ll buy you one.”
At Poseidon’s words—finally giving in—Aresia’s ears, which had been drooping along with her lion-like red mane, perked up and twitched.
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
“Really, really, really?”
“Yes, so get up and guide me already.”
“Really! It’s a super expensive place, you know?”
“Yes, it’s fine. Just lead the way.”
“Waaahhhhhhh!!!”
Aresia let out the loudest cheer she had made so far and shot off like an arrow.
Poseidon watched her and gave a small ‘pfft’ laugh. Thanks to this idiot, he never had a dull moment.
“Hey! Don’t go too fast! I don’t know the way!”
“Okay! Master, hurry up!!”
***
After devouring the long-dreamed-of cake at [Medea’s Lovey-Dovey Bakery], Aresia walked right beside her master with the contented expression of a well-fed lion.
The cake must have been that delicious—normally she would have reacted excitedly to the bloody atmosphere and energy of the coliseum, but right now she simply stuck close to Poseidon with a soft, blissful face.
“Good grief. If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve fed her cake earlier.”
Poseidon looked at her with an exasperated expression and gently patted her head.
He silently resolved: from now on, if she disobeyed, he’d just threaten her with cake.
“All right. Since we’re here, let’s go register for the coliseum tournament and check on Alcides while we’re at it.”
Twitch!
Aresia, who had been wearing a dreamy, relaxed expression, suddenly remembered one of the many things she hadn’t told Poseidon.
The fact that she had secretly registered them both for the tournament because she wanted to participate.
And by now, Poseidon was no longer someone who would miss such an awkward reaction from her.
In the short time they’d spent together, he had reached what he considered “master’s level” in Aresia Behavior Studies.
Her current reaction was crystal clear. Normally she would have been the first to cheer and jump at the chance.
“…Aresia. Did you secretly register us?”
Twitch twitch.
Aresia opened her eyes wide like a flounder but couldn’t meet Poseidon’s gaze. She just avoided his eyes, whistling while pretending to look at a nearby stall.
“You…”
As Poseidon’s voice dropped lower, Aresia’s eyes darted around frantically.
She was desperately searching for an escape route from this emergency.
“Ah! Master!! Did I mention I have a little sister who works as a slave here in the coliseum? So since we’re here, let’s go say hi! I really want to introduce my new master to Penthesilea. She’ll definitely be curious about you too!!!”
Poseidon let out a sigh that had now graduated into full-blown lamentation at Aresia’s painfully obvious attempt to change the subject.
How had this child failed to develop even the most basic social awareness…?
At this point, he was less angry and more worried about what to do with her.
Poseidon sighed and lightly tapped her on the head.
“Fine, fine. I surrender. I’ll let it slide this time. Lead the way. There won’t be a next time, Aresia. I’m curious about your sister too.”
“Okay! But next time if you buy me another [Medea’s Lovey-Dovey Cake], I won’t do it again!”
“…Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”
With Poseidon’s sigh, the two of them set off toward the coliseum registration area and to meet Aresia’s younger sister, Penthesilea.
Normally, punishing a slave for acting without permission wouldn’t have been strange at all—but Poseidon himself was a god who did whatever he pleased.
Compared to the antics of the other gods he had witnessed, Aresia’s behavior was barely at the level of playful mischief.
Thus, this strange master-slave relationship continued.
‘Hehe, this master is really great. He buys me food, doesn’t give me creepy orders, and even though he gets mad sometimes…’
Of course, Aresia couldn’t possibly understand the full context, but she wasn’t the type to overthink things anyway. She was simply beaming with joy at the thought of introducing her wonderful new master to her sister.
‘With a master like mine, maybe even Penthesilea will want to become his slave? Then, since Master has so much money… we might finally be able to live together.’
***
The Penthesilea that Poseidon met for the first time was similar to Aresia yet completely opposite.
What that meant was—
“I see. Please take good care of my sister. She never got along well with any of her previous masters, so this is the first time I’ve seen her genuinely like someone—especially a mage like you.”
Her face was cold and expressionless, showing almost no change.
Yet within her eyes, countless emotions rose and faded in an instant.
Perhaps, like her sister, she was honest and impulsive with her feelings?
“Hm. Nice to meet you. I’m Njord—the one who somehow ended up becoming Aresia’s master recently. Though I feel a bit scammed.”
Poseidon introduced himself and shook the hand Penthesilea offered.
Even though, fundamentally, the slaves in this coliseum were closer to hired employees, such a handshake shouldn’t have been possible.
Yet neither Poseidon nor Penthesilea seemed to find anything strange about it.
“Yes. From what my sister told me, you’re also participating in this tournament, Mage.”
“That’s right. Aresia went and registered us behind my back. Well… even if she hadn’t, I was already considering it since someone I want to test myself against is participating.”
“I’m sorry. My sister tends to act very impulsively… Because of that, she’s caused trouble many times despite my attempts to stop her. She often ignores advice and creates huge disturbances…”
Poseidon stopped Penthesilea as she bowed politely in apology.
Issues with a slave were the master’s responsibility—Penthesilea had no reason to apologize.
“Thank you. It seems meeting a master like Lord Njord has been a stroke of luck for my sister.”
BOOM!
“Whoa… Master, I just tapped the wall and it broke.”
“…Yeah. Getting scammed is my fault too, I suppose.”
“I’m… sorry.”
Before Penthesilea could even finish expressing her thanks, both of them were momentarily speechless at the sight of Aresia casually smashing through the wall of the hotel where she was staying. But anyway, that was how it was.
‘And he’s fundamentally different from everyone I’ve seen so far.’
As Penthesilea evaluated Poseidon, she found herself getting a rather favorable impression of him.
***
[Uwaaaaaah!!! She’s back!! The legend and myth of this coliseum—Aresia—has returned with her master!!!]
—Ooooooh, did she actually find herself a master?!
—What kind of sucker fell for her this time?!
—There are piles of guys who tried to have a taste of Aresia and ended up eunuchs.
—Kahahaha, thanks to all those sucker nobles, we get to enjoy this kind of show!
The thunderous cheers shook the entire coliseum building.
For the first time, Poseidon let out an exclamation of genuine admiration at Aresia’s fame, popularity, and sheer power within the coliseum.
To think they’d given her a direct main-tournament ticket—no preliminary rounds, just a guaranteed seed spot.
That level of star power and influence was far beyond what even the biggest names in this coliseum could normally achieve.
“Hmph, so? What do you think, Master? Now you see just how incredible this Aresia really is, right?”
Listening to her booming, triumphant voice as she started strutting around proudly, Poseidon felt an almost irresistible urge to smack her once for being so smug.
She was acting like she’d come home and was lording it over everyone…
‘Should I just give her one good smack?’
Poseidon briefly considered it while staring at the beastly human in front of him, but soon shook his head.
After all, thanks to her, he had advanced straight to the main bracket without lifting a finger—and more importantly, if he scolded her even here in her “hometown,” it would hurt her pride.
She had even been granted a first-round bye.
‘Yeah… just endure it. Anyway, once I see that kid—Alcides, was it?—that’ll be enough.’
Of course, that didn’t mean he was going to let her off completely.
With that thought, Poseidon closed his eyes and quietly began thinking about what would come next.
Once Aresia’s introduction was finished, her opponent stepped onto the opposite side.
[Who dares challenge this legend?! He is another giant of this coliseum—slayer of a merfolk pirate crew executive, murderer of twenty nobles, butcher of men, women, children, and the elderly alike, a man who built his infamy by slaughtering anyone who caught his eye!!!]
[The priest of Makaria, goddess of the ‘Blessed Death’—Abaddon!!!]
The opponent who ascended to the arena was someone whose notoriety had recently spread far and wide.
Having fled to the black market run by the merfolk pirate crew after committing all manner of atrocities on the outside world, this man was a follower of Makaria—the goddess of “Blessed Death,” a name virtually unknown among the surface races.
“Hmm. So that’s the human who castrated a noble with her teeth, stole that vicious woman’s belongings, and was the only one to survive and receive protection.”
Abaddon gazed at the red-haired woman bouncing energetically in front of him.
She looked stupid and naïve—almost begging to be offered as a sacrifice to his goddess right then and there—but he had already heard her legends to the point of exhaustion when he first arrived at the coliseum.
“Hmmmmm… If I kill a woman like that with my own hands and offer her to my goddess, what new power will she bestow upon me this time?”
Now, in Abaddon’s eyes, Aresia no longer looked like a frail maiden—she appeared luscious, smoother than ripe red pomegranate. He licked his lips, feeling a violent surge of impulse and excitement.
What predator wouldn’t get excited watching a plump, juicy rabbit hopping carelessly right in front of a starving lion?
[Now! Whose hand will the goddess of victory raise?! Countdown!!!]
1.
2.
3.
Tweet!
With the sharp blast of a whistle, the curtain that had hung between them was torn away.
“Then, farewell, legend.”
Though excited, Abaddon did not underestimate his opponent. No matter how barbaric the people here were, there had to be a reason she had maintained her name and reputation even after becoming a slave.
He activated the spell he had prepared in advance outside the curtain.
In an instant, the entire circular arena was swallowed in darkness, and from within it, blood-red hands began to reach out.
“Haha! This magic once tore off the left arm of Melkireth, the most famous disciple of that witch. No matter how legendary you are, you can’t escape the power of my goddess—[Jar of Tartarus].”
Abaddon was utterly convinced of his victory. There was no way a warrior like Aresia could overcome a spell that summoned a fragment of the goddess herself. And while her master looked somewhat like a mage…
That was all he was.
Abaddon didn’t believe for a second that some mere mage could block a spell that even the most grotesque and terrifying opponent he had ever faced—Melkireth—had failed to stop.
“Well… it’s a shame that mage spent so much money just to die. But what can you do? That’s how the world works.”
Before he could even finish speaking, the blood-red hands seized Aresia and began dragging her away. Seeing this, Abaddon finally let go of the last shred of tension he had been holding.
“Hmm… yeah. The level here is exactly what I expected. If only trash like this comes to this coliseum, there’s no reason to stay long. Once I get that belt, I’m leaving immediately.”
But Abaddon did not know.
He didn’t know why Aresia had allowed herself to be dragged away so meekly by the blood-red hands.
He didn’t know why he had even been permitted to cast magic in this place.
It was because of the mercy shown by a man who had unexpectedly encountered a priest of an old acquaintance.
“Filthy. And low-class. This isn’t even a fragment of her. How the hell has this guy been imitating one of her priests?”
If only he had heard the irritated voice of Poseidon—who had seen the pathetic display of power—he might not have died so confidently in his own victory.
“What?! How did you escape the hands of my goddess?!”
“Tsk. I have no desire to explain anything to trash like you. Just look up, brat.”
What—?!
In his shock at the spell failing, Abaddon reflexively followed the mage’s words and looked upward.
All he saw was clear sky.
“Damn it! You’re mocking m—”
But Abaddon’s words were never finished.
Before him now stood a monstrous figure in the shape of a lion, descending from the sky.
“Word—”
BOOM!
Those were the last words of Abaddon’s life. His head exploded like a crushed tomato under the lion’s fist.
The sheer force of the punch was so overwhelming that not even fragments of Abaddon’s body remained—only blood sprayed in all directions.
More than anything, the magical barrier separating the arena from the stands rippled and trembled dangerously, showing just how powerful that single lion-masked human punch had been.
……
A long, stunned silence fell over the coliseum after that shocking scene.
[Uwaaaaaah!!! She’s back!!! The legend of the coliseum has returned!!!]
Finally snapping out of it, the announcer’s shout triggered an earth-shaking roar of cheers that echoed far beyond the coliseum district—across the entire black market.
The legend had returned.
Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
_____________________________________________
TL Note:
This novel is fully completed.
You can either:
- Unlock this novel individually through its Collection "Poseidon's Chonicles" and access all remaining 87 Chapters for only $3
- Or join the Premium Tier ($7) for access to all 6 novels and ongoing updates
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
____________________________________________