Chapter 10 – Heracles

Its 8'o clock in the morning and as Zelretch had said the night before, all of the adventurers and deities had gathered for breakfast with Zelretch sitting next to Hermes and Gareth.

"Umm...Bell, did something happen last night?" Welf asked the white-haired boy who's smiling brightly

"E-eh?"

"You…I don't know…looks so happy today, just want to know what's up" the blacksmith chuckled

"Y-yeah, everything is fine…it's just that…I feel kinda relief"

"Relief?"

"Hehehe…"

Sitting 5 seats away from him, a small smile blossomed on Aiz's face which luckily gone unnoticed by the others…except for one smirking vampire.

Both youths had fallen asleep in the same bed (Bell's bed) and they were woken up by loud knocks on the room's door courtesy of Hestia. They managed to avert the disaster as luckily, Aiz just had to jumped to her room's balcony to escape.

"So…what's the plan for today?" Loki asked between bites of her toasted bread

"Same as yesterday, watching stories" Zelretch said

"Urgh…can't we just have a break today? The beach is magnificent and it would be a waste not to enjoy it" Loki muttered

"Hahaha, I understand goddess Loki. No need to worry, you'll have the time for that!"

After they're finished with their breakfast, a male servant leads them to a room that had been prepared just as Zelrtech had requested. It's a large room with around 15 very comfy-looking sofa and windows that allowed them to see the beauty of the mountains and the beach. A massive mirror had also been attached to the wall just like yesterday.

"Well, feel free to take whichever seats you want" the vampire said as he seated himself in the very front

"Bell! Let's sit together!" Hestia suddenly said, pulling the boy's hand

"Uh, ok-"

"No. Let's sit together Lady Hestia!" Mikoto said, taking one of Hestia's arm while Haruhime take the others. Mikoto turned her face around so she can see Bell and winked at him, causing Bell to blush. The two girls then drag the still protesting Hestia to the front.

"H-hey! Let me go! Goddess's order!" though the 2 girls completely ignored her order

Those who witnessed the sight can't help but sweat dropped at the goddess's antic.

"Urgh…Lady Hestia is so embarrassing…" Lily face-palmed

"Eh, it's the same for Loki as well!" Tiona cheerfully said, causing a tick mark too appeared on said goddess's forehead

Zelretch just laughed and told them to take their seat. Bell found himself once more seating between Ryuu and Aiz, much to the irritation of certain goddesses.

"So…what kind of a hero you gonna show us next?" Hermes asked from his sofa, flanked by Asfi and Lefiya

Zelretch chuckled

"One that you'll find very interesting, Lord Hermes. And everyone as well" and the scene started

A lone male stood in the edge of a cliff

The 'man' have a pale white skin, long wild white hair and beard that resembles a lion's mane, and a very muscular figure. His body is only lightly covered by a white tunic, showing his perfectly sculptured body to the world. This man, is without a doubt,

A god

His yellow colored eyes are looking at something in the distance, a castle

More precisely….a woman that currently sleeping on a bed

The woman hailed by the mortals as the tallest, most beautiful woman with wisdom by no one born of mortal parents. The woman that have the eyes and face as charming as the goddess of love, Aphrodite.

Alcmene

And this woman, is without a doubt, a queen

The god licked his lips and his body starts to glow until it completely encased his entire figure. After a minute, the imposing figure of a man was gone and replaced by a more youthful black haired young man in his thirties. He disappeared and suddenly appeared in the bedroom where the woman is sleeping.

Sensing the presence of another person in the room, the beautiful woman jolted out of the bed and faced the intruder. Her firm glare faltered when she saw who the person is

"…Amphitryon? Husband?" the black-haired woman asked

"Yes…yes it is me, my dear Alcmene" 'Amphitryon' said with a smile

"You came back! I thought you won't come be back for another 3 days or so!" she said as she hugged her 'husband'

"Of course! I came back to you as soon as I won that war" he said as he led her to the bed and positioned himself above her. He leaned for a kiss and -

"Any idea of the identity of that god?" Zelretch asked with a cheeky smile

"….Zeus" Freya and Loki said at the same time while Hermes and Hestia just face-palmed

"EH?! That's Lord Zeus!?" Bell said, shocked

"….yes, that's him without any doubt" Loki muttered

"Still a womanizer…why am I not surprised" Freya said

"Well….that personality…is not that far off with Zeus from our world" Hermes chuckled

"….did he really do that? Tricking another man's wife to sleep with him?" Ryuu commented, her face blanked. Bell can see that she REALLY doesn't approve of the god's action.

"Why not ask Hermes? He's practically Zeus's right hand man" Loki said, pointing her finger to the messenger god

"Welll….he always brags about how manly he is….." Hermes nervously said when various glares and judgmental looks were directed to him

"….uhh, for some reason…he kinda reminds me of my grandpa" Bell suddenly said

'If only you knew Bell…' Hermes thought

After doing the 'deed', Zeus left the bedroom, telling Alcmene that he have some important thing to do. Not long after that, the REAL Amphitryon walks in which caused some kind of confusion between the couple. After some deep-thinking, they concluded that the fake Amphitryon is Zeus. Knowing that they can't do or say anything against the King of Olympus, they decided to give it a rest and spend their night as a husband and wife.

Not long after that, Alcmene show signs of pregnancy. The royal physician concluded that the queen is carrying a twin, which is quite a rare occurrence that deserves a celebration. Months passed by and Alcmene is finally in labor. However, complications soon arrived.

"Is it over yet!?" Amphitryon frantically asked the nurse

"No…something is just not right…" the nurse replied

"I-its taking too long!" one of the maid said

Then, another scream of pain can be heard from Alcmene, causing Amphitryon to punch a hole in the wall next to him in frustration.

"M-my king…could it be?" one of his adviser reluctantly whispered

"Yes…it must be the goddess Hera…she's doing this on purpose" the king said through clenched teeth

"Hera!?" some of the audience asked

"W-why would she do that, though?" Lefiya asked to no one in particular

"Yeah, I know she's kinda crazy and petty…but I never think she would do something like that" Hestia muttered

"Errr…can you give us some kind of explanation here?" Welf questioned Zelretch who's only chuckling

"Well, the easiest explanation I can give you is that…goddess Hera is Zeus's wife. As a deity that reigned over family and marriage…you can guessed her reactions to Zeus' adulteries"

The deities with the exception of Freya face-palmed when they heard that

"I see….seems something never change" Hermes groaned, Hestia nods in agreement

"Umm, do they have the same relation in our world?" Bell asked, intrigued.

"…for some reason, Hera thinks they're in a relationship…Zeus will disagree with that though" Hermes lightly laughed

"So…goddess Hera unleashed her frustrations on Lord Zeus' lovers and children?" Ryuu thoughtfully asked Zelretch

"Correct. In this instance, goddess Hera forced Ilithyia, goddess of childbirth, to sit cross-legged…causing the twins to be trapped in Alcmene's womb"

"…isn't that kinda petty?" Tione frowned

"Yes, from what we have seen so far…Lord Zeus was the one that responsible by tricking Alcmene" Ryuu said

"Maybe because she can't do anything against Lord Zeus?" Tiona suggested which earned her some nods of agreement

"Still…that doesn't give her the right to unjustly punishing innocents, especially children" Ryuu sternly said.

"I can see Hera from our world doing the same thing though…" Hestia whispered

"Well…she's quite arrogant, so that's possible" Loki commented

"M-my King! I have a suggestion!" one of the Alcmene's servant, Galanthis, raised her hand. Amphitryon gestured for her to speak

"T-there's no doubt that goddess Hera is involved with the queen's difficult labor by commanding Lady Ilithyia of something….I-I suggest that we use trick to solve this"

"Trick?" Amphitryon curiously asked

"…yes, I'll pray to Lady Ilithyia that the children had already been safely delivered

"….I see" The king muttered before nodding

"Very well. I'm counting on you, Galanthis"

Galanthis nodded and ran towards the praying room dedicated to the gods. She kneeled before the altar and gave gratitude to Ilithyia for the twins' safe birth. Not even a minute after her prayer, a loud scream from Alcmene can be heard throughout the castle.

"Praise the gods! The queen had finally given birth!"

In Alcmene' arms are the 2 newly born babes, with one of them radiates a particular aura that can only be found among the gods.

"Iphicles and Alcides" Amphitryon proudly said the names of his sons with tears spilling from his eyes

"Aww, they're so cute!" Tiona and Tione simulation simultaneously said

"True…to think that goddess Hera would target them even though they're a mere babe" Gareth harrumphed, while Finn just chuckled

"Well, you know how vengeful some deities are…take lady Ishtar for example"

"So…one of those baby…is a half-god?" Welf asked, earning him a nod from Zelretch

"True son of Zeus…I really can't wait how his life would turns out" Hermes cheerfully said

Even though she had birthed her children safely, Alcmene still can't help but feeling worries of Hera's wrath. The Goddess of Marriage is renowned for her intolerance towards Zeus' many affairs and will always bring sufferings to his mortal lovers and bastard children.

Currently, she was left alone with her children in the royal bed chamber until she sensed another presence appearing out of nowhere.

"Be at ease, Alcmene. I will bring you no harm" a strong yet soothing voice of a woman can be heard

"…a goddess?" Alcmene made an effort to stand to pay her respect but a firm hand push her back to the bed

"There's no need for any of that"

The goddess is quite tall, towering above all women Alcmene have ever seen in her life. Her face shows beauty that only can be exuded by a goddess with long wavy silver colored hair. She worn a set of golden armor and in her right hand, a long spear made out of steel. The clacking noise of her steel boots resounded across the room.

"Lady Athena?" Alcmene gasped

"Ehhh? That's Athena?"

"You recognized her, goddess?" Bell asked

"Of course I know her, she's one of my closest friend back in Olympus!"

"And for your information, along with Artemis, both Hestia and Athena are called the Three Virginal Goddesses" Hermes cheekily said

"Ah…I see"

"You're worried" the goddess, Athena, stated plainly

"…yes"

"That's why I'm here"

"…eh?"

The goddess moved and stood right next to the crib that held the 2 babies and picked up the baby with soft black hair.

"Alcides isn't it?" to which Alcmene nodded

"His life would be in great danger if nothing is done…Hera will come for him sooner or later"

"Th-" Alcmene about to protest but got cut off by the goddess

"That's why I'll take him for few hours. I have a plan that will give him a chance of survival"

Alcmene frowned a little bit, but she really can't say anything. When a deity made up his/her mind, there's nothing you can do to stop them from acting on it. Moreover, Athena is known for being one of the more benevolent goddess and the protector of heroes. She will trust the words of the Goddess of Wisdom.

"…why are you doing this though?" Alcmene can't stop herself from asking

"Why won't I? Even though he's only half god, he's my brother" Athena said before disappearing along with baby Alcides

"Brother?" Loki asked

"Athena is Zeus's daughter!?" Hestia shouted

"Too complicated to explain, paid no mind about it" Zelretch dismissively replied

It's a garden full of greens, flowers and trees from various part of the world were gathered in one place. This is the private garden of Hera, the Queen of Olympus.

As expected of a Mother Goddess, her garden is full of live. Several peacocks are wandering around while Hera is sitting on a comfy-looking chair. The blonde haired goddess took her eyes off her book when she heard someone knocking on the door that separate the throne room of Olympus and her private garden.

"…come in, Athena" Hera said as the silver-haired goddess steps foot into the garden, her eyes already returning to her book.

"Lady Hera" Athena gave Hera a small bow

"It's not every day that you're purposely looking for me…what do you want?" the queen said, still not looking at Athena

"Straight to the point as always…very well, I came to you due to this"

"Hmm…"

Hera' eyes widened when she saw a baby, not even 5 days old, in Athena's arms.

"What had happened to the babe?" Hera said as she closed her book

"I found him alone in the middle of the mountain, probably abandoned by his parents right after he was born" Athena lied through her teeth

"You're the first person that came up in my mind…and he looks hungry" she continued, not giving any signs of lying to Hera

"Poor child! Come, bring him to me" Hera urged Athena to come closer.

Athena complied and stood right in front of Hera before handing Alcides to Hera. Hera rocked the baby in her arms while cooing at him, and slightly lowered the top part of her white gown. The baby quickly latched on Hera's right breast and suckled so hard that Hera screams in pain and pushed him away.

"Wh-what the!? What is this child!?"

Athena didn't respond at the question at all. Instead, she quickly took Alcides away from Hera and teleported away, ignoring Hera's scream which is full of fury.

"….isn't that kinda backfired? That just made Hera even angrier…" Freya pointed out

"But it was worth it though, the baby just consumed a divine essence which probably grant him even greater strength.." Hermes replied

"…what I don't understand is that…why Hera? If the Olympus in that world is almost exactly the same, someone like Demeter or Aphrodite would happily do it…" Hestia muttered

"Who knows…probably Lady Athena was hoping that Lady Hera would formed some kind of a bond with Alcides?" Riveria said

"Highly possible…which, of course…a failure" Asfi replied to Riveria's question

A month after that incident, both Amphitryon and Alcmene was in high alert for any forms of retributions from Hera. While, Alcides might not be his, Amphitryon had come to love Alcides like he's his own son and doesn't want any harms to come upon him. That's why he suggested some sort of solution.

"We should rename him" he said when he's alone with his wife

"Huh? Who?" Alcmene asked, confused

"Alcides"

"Umm…why? I think that's already a fitting name for him"

"He needs a new name…one that can hopefully mollify Lady Hera"

"Oohh…what do you have in mind?"

"…Heracles"

"'Glory of Hera'?"

"Yes…what do you think?"

"…yeah, I liked it…hopefully it can ease Lady Hera's anger"

"Nice! Starting from tomorrow, he's Heracles!" Amphitryon said with a grin

And from that on, Alcides is no more. In his place, is Heracles, the Pride/Glory of Hera.

"If we're talking about the same Hera, I don't think renaming the brat would do anything" Loki said, a glass of wine in her hand

"Yeah. Smart idea, but not gonna work on someone like Hera" Hermes agreed

"Wow…is Lady Hera really that difficult?" Bell asked, really curious about the goddess

"Ohh, you have no idea Bell…" Hestia said, shaking her head a little bit

Months after that, the twins were left alone in the royal bedchamber with guards stationed outside of the room. Out of nowhere, 2 giant snakes appeared at the very edge of the room and slithering towards the cot where the boys are.

"No!" is the most common reaction that can be heard from the audience

"To think she would go that far…" Hermes muttered, while his captain is staring at the mirror in horror

Ryuu is gritting her teeth in frustration, her hands balled into fists and she trembled a little bit. Bell wants to comfort her until he realized that he himself is not in the right mind to comfort her. Bell is a tadbit angry at Hera's action, and wished that he can do anything to save the boys from the giant snakes.

The snakes finally reached the cot and coiled themselves around it, their heads poised to strike at the boys with their mouths wide open, revealing 4 pairs of sharp fangs. Iphicles cried from fear and starts bawling while Heracles is just looking at the snakes curiously.

And the snakes lunged-

Only to be stopped by Heracles' pudgy hands that wrapped themselves around the head of the two snakes. The snakes writhed in pain when Heracles unconsciously tighten his grips and tossing them around as if they are toys while laughing happily. After several minutes of playing around with his new 'toys', Heracles accidently strangled them to death.

Several minutes later, one of the nurse enter the room and got the shock of her life. She quickly reports it to Amphitryon and Alcmene. Astonished, Amphitryon summoned for a seer, Tiresias, who's renown for her prophecy. The seer prophesied an unusual future for Heracles.

"My…what a strange future…"

"What do you see?" Amphitryon asked

"I can't really see much of it…but there's one thing for sure. The boy would vanquish numerous monsters throughout his life!"

"I…I see"

"See? Athena's plan worked!" Hermes exclaimed

"Already so strong even though he's a baby…he'll go far"

"Well, he's half-god right? It's highly possible that his potential would be as great as the King of Heroes" Mikoto chimed in

"I wonder…will he grow as strong as Zeus Familia's former captain…" Finn muttered

"Well, we'll just have to wait.."

Some years passed by and the twins grew up. As they're the sons of Amphitryon, the boys have many expectations to be fulfilled. They were educated in various things, such as; sports, martial arts, weapons, horse taming, chariot riding and music.

"No, no, no! It's not like that!" Linus, Heracles's music teacher, said while pulling on his hair in frustration

"…" Heracles' brows twitched in annoyance as he once again tries to play his lyre. For normal people, it's a very good play but not enough for Linus, the son of Apollo.

"No! Come on, 2 weeks and you haven't made even a single progress!?" Linus ranted

"Perhaps you just don't have any talent in music" the man sighed, shaking his head

And all Heracles can see is red

Standing up from his stool, the young man let out a terrifying aura fills with bloodlust and approached his teacher.

"W-what!? T-this is-"

Linus's not able to finish his words before Heracles hit his head with the lyre…hard.

Linus drops to the floor, blood keeps pouring out from his head as the young Heracles stood over him. The boy with wavy black hair just stared at the downed man with blank look.

"T-thi-is blo…odlust….n-no, i-it's H-Hera's…." and Linus died before he's able to finish his sentence. The blow had cracked his skull and heavily damaged his brain.

Suddenly, Heracles's body trembled and clutching his head in pain, then let out a loud scream. After a minute of screaming, he looks upon his handiwork and his expression turns into one that of horror.

"Heracles! What's going on!?" Amphitryon yelled as he opened the door with several guards standing behind him

"F-father.."

"L-Linus! What had happened, here!? Guards, bring the medics here!"

"W-what just happened?" Lefiya asked, slightly trembling after watching the scene

"I-it's almost like he suddenly gone berserk!" Welf said

"…just like Finn" Loki whispered

Finn who heard that has a small bitter smile on his smile

"That man…Linus, you heard him right?" Hermes asked no one in particular, though some nodded

"He said something about Hera…" Bete said

"Y-yeah, I heard him saying Hera as well!" Tiona said as well

"…a curse" Riveria suddenly jumped in

"Correct…its almost like a divine curse" Hestia said with a frown

"W-wait, does that mean Heracles gone berserk because of goddess Hera's curse?" Bell asked

"Yes…that's what it is" Freya replied

Bell gulped, slightly troubled by the grievance Hera holds over the young Heracles to the point where she caused him to gone berserk.

Even though he's a prince by birthright, punishment still needs to be handed out. With heavy heart, Amphitryon sentenced Heracles to live with the herdsmen in the mountains and he lived there for quite some time, then he met someone when he wanders into the forest.

A youthful man with grass-green colored hair clad in leather armor. For many people, he can passed as a normal human…if not due to his horse body.

Chiron, the great sage of the Centaur.

"Ah, Heracles. I had heard of you" Chiron said with a small smile

"…and what have you heard?" Heracles asked

"Many thing. Though the last topic is about how you killed Linus in one blow"

"I-I don't-" Chiron stopped him from talking by holding up his hand

"There's no need for any explanation, I know the truth"

"I see…"

Then they just keep staring at each other in silence

"Say…"

"…hmm?"

"Would you like to be my student?"

"…why?"

"You have the aura and potential of a hero, Heracles. It will be a waste to let that potential rot" Chiron replied with a small as he walks toward the young demi-god

"I have received various teachings from the gods. I learned about medicine and music from Lord Apollo, hunting and arts of archery from Lady Artemis. There are many things that I can teach you"

Heracles does not reply for few minutes before he finally nods his head.

"Then…I will be in your care"

And so begin, Heracles's tutelage under Chiron which will shapes the hero's future.

"That Chiron guy…what is he?" everyone turned their attention towards Riveria

"…sorry if I sounds judgmental, it's just that I never seen nor heard peoples like him" the royal elf explained

"Perhaps something similar to him can be found in the lower floors of the Dungeon?" Gareth said

Zelretch coughed a little bit, turning all attention back to him

"Chiron is…a centaur, half-man and half-horse. He's a divine spirit, the son of Cronus and the deity Philyra" the vampire explained

"A divine-spirit?! He's a god!?" Loki sputtered out

"Well, technically yes" Zelretch nodded

"…damn, this is so confusing" Welf muttered. Haruhime and Lily who heard him can't help but chuckled a little bit

After completing his study with Chiron, Heracles bid his mentor farewell and left to start his first step into the world. He had heard of the upcoming invasion of the Thebes by the Minyans's and head there as fast as he possibly can.

The King of Thebes, Creon, at first was reluctant to allow Heracles into his service. However, the tanned and toned young man is letting out such an oppressing presence and raw power, something that Creon can't refused as he needs every man possible to repel the Minyans's invasion.

Heracles led the Theban's army into battle against the Minyans, who's led by their king, Erginus, in the battle of Orchomenus. There, Heracles fought Erginus in one and one duel. Although Erginus is without a doubt a powerful warrior, he's no match to Heracles and was killed. The Minyans surrendered and forced to pay tributes to the Theban.

Heracles was hailed as a great hero, so much so that Creon latter offered him his eldest daughter, the beautiful Megara. Heracles and Megara fell in love with each other and they got married. Not long after that, Megara bear him 2 children, a daughter and a son.

"I…don't like where this is going…" Aiz muttered

Bell nodded in agreement. In various stories about hero, a tragedy will always struck when the hero is in a happy situation. The boy can't help but pray that nothing would happen to Heracles and his family.

"Yeah…this...this won't end well" Hermes conceded, a small frown on his face

"You look tired, love" Megara said with a soft tone as she caressed Heracles's muscle

They're currently sitting in their living room while their children currently playing outside

"…yes, I think I am" Heracles said with a sigh

"Father had been giving you a lot of work?"

"Indeed"

Megara chuckled, her long red hair swaying as she stood up.

"Rest easy then, I'll bring you a goblet of wine"

Heracles nodded….and then-

A wave of madness

His body went rigid

Bloodlust starts to leak out from his body

All he see are his enemies, surrounding him

And he grab the nearest enemy he could reach and strangled its neck

"H-Hera-cles…?"

Yet he did not hear it, all he can heard are the jeering and curses

He squeezed hard, making sure that his enemy is dead and threw it away

He starts rampaging, shattering the pillars and walls, fire from the torches spilling out from their containers and spread everywhere.

"P-papa!"

He did not hear them

He hit one of them hard enough to create an imprint into the wall, and lifting the other one into the air by the throat…and threw them into the raging flame.

Then his sights cleared….

The first thing he sees….his daughter fell into the fire

Heracles gasped and quickly rushed to save her, ignoring the flame that licking his skin…he's too late

He surveyed the destruction that he had caused…and the corpse of his family, all died by his hands

Trembling, the great hero fell to his knees…his body's trembling as he cradled the body of his dead daughter. Tears leaking out from his eyes, and the droplets touched her skin

And he starts crying, full of sorrow and regret for the family that he had lost

Notes:

Sorry for the late update, I'm just having a very rough time for the last 2 weeks which sapped all of my energy.

Heracles Adventures will be divided into 3 parts due to how long it is. At first, I want to have this chapter to reach 8000+ words but I just feel that it's better to end the chapter as it is. I can't really promise when I'll update the next chapter, probably next week if everything goes well. Anyway, I based Heracles's appearance on how he looks in Fate Strange Fake. The raw chapter shows his flashback when he first meet Jason and the murder of his family. For Zeus, you can look up Lostbelt!Zeus lol.

I apologize for any grammar/structural errors, hope you like the story!