The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon

Chapter 90 – Prelude To The Performance Of The Queen

The fact that I had encountered not just any god but one of the Twelve Olympians—Artemis, no less—caused Jason and Orpheus to be horrified.
Asclepius promised that he would personally handle my funeral, while Actaeon foamed at the mouth and fainted.
Hercules, of course, pressed me for details on how beautiful she was.

“No, goddess or whatever, I was saved from getting my head blown off. Isn’t that enough?” I retorted confidently.
However, their response was to distance themselves from me, saying they didn’t want to be hit by Artemis’s arrows.
Actaeon, a devotee of Artemis, had already rolled his eyes back and fainted.
In the midst of it, Hercules rushed in, asking me to tell him more about the goddess’s beauty.
In the end, Asclepius, not wanting me to rampage like a boar in heat, resorted to acupuncture, causing quite the commotion.

Anyway, roughly speaking, my life followed this flow.
Morning training, daily activities, and finally, a quiet evening to wrap things up.

After ending a mythic daily routine with renowned or soon-to-be renowned heroes and returning to my room to catch my breath.
The wide-open window revealed the bright full moon illuminating the forest.

“…Where should I go tonight?”

With a scolding from Hestosias, I packed gold into the gayageum case I had ordered, slung it over my back, and held the obsidian flute I always carried like a talisman, looking quietly at the night sky.

The poem containing the last advice left to me by the Longing Ghost Sound went like this.

“The full moon’s late frost, the spirit’s brilliant wide resonance, the continuous weeping stretches out, the stage’s curtain never falls…”

The moon must be full for its light to bloom.
The spirit must be full for its fragrance to spread widely.
When a tune, once connected, stretches out like branches.
The stage’s curtain never falls.

Never pluck the strings before the time is ripe.
Once the time comes to pluck the strings, never neglect to play them until death, was the meaning of the poem.

Even so, the twelve pieces of the Longing Ghost Sound were revered not just as master-disciple etiquette, but as a person and artist who lives with awe, knowing the hardships contained within the twelve pieces I was taught.
Even without the advice of Hermes and Hera, I faithfully followed his instructions and played the strings every day.

Therefore, on nights when the moon shone brightly, I would take my two friends and head to the forest or the beach. If it rained or it was too late at night, I would sit alone on the balcony and play the gayageum and the flute.

Noise complaints?

If anyone ever complained about my music, it would only be proof of my lack of skill.
I was currently practicing from song 1 to song 12 every day to get used to the gayageum again, and no one had expressed any dissatisfaction.
Rather, on days when I didn’t play or played outside, I would receive complaints asking why I wasn’t performing.
However, I couldn’t play the gayageum every day for those young heroes because a VVIP who loved my gayageum music was visiting almost every day lately.

-Flap!

“Have you come?”

When I turned my head with a smile at the endearing fluttering of wings tickling my ears.
A pair of small water birds chirped and landed on my shoulders.

-Whisper, whisper.
-Whisper, whisper.

“Under the oak tree where I always train? Got it. I’ll be there soon.”

I had originally heard that the language of birds, the bird speech, was a technique used by the Taoist immortals.
However, as I naturally awakened my divine power and was stimulated by the three gods, I found myself able to hear the whispers of all things, not just birds.

“If the Taoist priests of the Wudang Sect knew, they would be astounded.”

As I chuckled to myself, the two water birds tilted their heads curiously and chirped before flying away.

“…Were those two originally humans?”

A pair of water birds chirping in a rather elegant tone for birds.
Perhaps, being the messenger birds of the goddess, there was something special about them.

“But why water birds?”

A heavenly goddess using water birds as messengers. Although it was a bit puzzling, it wasn’t a major issue, so I set aside my questions and quietly leaped from the balcony.

The Ghostly Flying Step, which had almost become a habit of mine, was now empowered by my deepened energy and divine power, allowing me to move through the forest like a shadow.

As I roughly counted about 30 seconds in my mind, it wasn’t the poisonous crescent moon of Artemis that greeted me.
Instead, the bright full moon of Selene illuminated the clearing in the forest where a beautiful lady was waiting for me, beckoning me.

“I greet the Queen of the Gods.”

“Come here. I’m glad you came so willingly.”

The lady was lightly dressed in a nightdress resembling the twilight sky, with long brown hair elegantly draped under a silver veil.
Though all gods were young and beautiful, her regal and graceful presence was unmatched.

Queen Hera.

She was the VVIP for whom I played as a personal musician every night to warm up my hands.

As the host of the gathering, Hera couldn’t neglect her duties, so she served me the food and drinks of the gods and suggested we have a simple chat.

“But you seem to be in a good mood these days?”

“Hmm? Me?”

Honestly, when I first saw Hera, the murderous aura seeping from behind her beauty and elegance was quite dazzling.
It reminded me of Bi Hwa-yeon and Captain Hong Ryeon, who fought over me in the past.
And based on the small talk we had, as I roughly expected, because of Zeus’s infidelity,
I concluded that Hera never had a day free from malice.

‘Honestly, Ares isn’t exactly the most affectionate son. And Hephaestus outright avoids Olympus.’

Though her daughters and Iris were doing a good job of assisting her, the constant philandering of Zeus and his endless praise for Hercules were severely fraying her nerves.
However, lately, whenever she calls me to listen to music and chat, her deep-seated resentment and venom seem to have significantly lessened, and the fierce look on her beautiful face was gradually softening.

“Ah, you mean that? Well, seeing the young hot-blooded ones sweating during the day makes even this old goddess feel pleased.”

-…?!

My hand, which was busy tuning the strings, paused momentarily at the sound of the laughing goddess’s sweet voice.
What on earth is she looking at to say that?

“…You really beat him up nicely. That repulsive guy, whose name I don’t even want to mention, made me feel a bit relieved.”

“Ah…! You mean the training that happened during the day?”

There was only one person in this forest whom the goddess Hera didn’t even want to mention by name.
That name was Hercules, which meant the “Glory of Hera.”
From Hera’s perspective, it was like naming the illegitimate child born from her husband’s affair with her great-granddaughter “Honey Darling!”
Today, my intense martial arts training had appeased the goddess’s wrath.

‘Sigh…’

That was close.
I was inwardly shocked, thinking she might bring up the time with Atalanta.

“Every time I see it, your martial arts and fighting spirit are very impressive. Honestly, I, too, had to acknowledge the power and prowess of that bastard. I only hoped for the future. Yet, even a brute like him is no match for you, and it puts my mind at ease.”

“Though I may look young compared to you gods, I’ve been through more battlefields and fights than the barley in the bread those kids have eaten. It wouldn’t look good to be outdone by a mere strong child.”

Even as I said this, I had to admit that the military prowess of Jason and the strength and martial skills of Hercules had made me tense a few times.
If we talk about eras, it would be the mythological times when the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and the Eight Immortals of ancient Central Plains roamed the land and fought against demons.
The heroes born in an era thicker and more potent with spiritual and divine power than the two eras I lived through were exceptional from the start.

‘I realize now why the divine arts and artifacts from the mythical era are so complex and powerful.’

In the martial world, divine arts and artifacts were things that all warriors desperately wanted to obtain.
Because of their immense power, whenever divine arts or artifacts appeared, great wars were a common occurrence.
Even if one managed to obtain them, trying to master the divine arts could cause one’s vital energy to surge uncontrollably, leading to death, or one could be consumed by the power of the artifact, becoming a monster and being hunted down as a public enemy.
Whenever I saw this, I would wonder what kind of monster created these monstrosities.
Watching the talents and potentials of these budding heroes, I concluded that if there were martial arts capable of wielding such monstrous power, only divine arts and artifacts of such magnitude could make it possible.

‘Still, they have quite appetizing muscles, so I thought about teaching those ruffians some proper martial arts for their mental and physical training, having them learn Taoist exercises, and conducting the Palace Blood Points Technique…’

The problem was that the Palace Blood Points Technique, which supposedly stimulates the opponent’s acupoints to induce Taoist energy, would just look like a severe beating to an outsider, so Hera must have seen me thoroughly thrashing Hercules.

‘There’s no need to stir up unnecessary trouble.’

“Still, the punches of those young ones were quite sharp. I had a rather enjoyable time.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Saying so, I drank the nectar she poured, and at those words, Hera’s eyes sparkled as she looked at me.

“….”

I had heard one of Hera’s epithets was “bull’s eyes,” referring to her large, beautiful eyes. Despite the unflattering comparison, her eyes were clear, pure, and radiant, earning her praise as the goddess with the most beautiful eyes.
However, when such a beautiful-eyed goddess looked at me with a mysterious gaze…
I naturally swallowed dryly with a hint of anticipation.

“Um, I–”

“So, how do you think you would fare against a goddess? Surely it wouldn’t just be for fun, would it?”

“…Excuse me?”

With those words, Hera watched my reaction with a seductive smile.