Chapter 180

Dio walked calmly to it and clearly chose the other side of the fire and not his own to give me a false sense of security.

"I must congratulate you on your victory in your first fight against a cyclops, and it's not an easy feat to achieve at such a young age."

Hermes congratulated him with a smile on his face.

"I still don't know why he attacked me."

Dio recounted aloud something that bothered him.

The Cyclops clearly knew who he was, and perhaps for the same reason as the Furies.

"The Son of Evil."

"Well, that's the easiest part; of course, he was coerced by Persephone!"

Hermes recounted it as if it were logical.

'Of course'

'On my last journey, Melinoë gave me a clear warning about the Queen of this place.'

"I've already thought about the reason for all this, but could you explain to me why she wants to kill me?"

Dio asked him.

"Hades has always been faithful to her but has never given her a male child."

Hermes spoke and stopped shortly.

"And now, a son of another woman is born as a man."

"Correct."

It's the same crap that happened with Heracles and Hera.

"Persephone can be as charming as Aphrodite and as manipulative as Hera; be careful, little demigod."

Hermes warned with a serious expression.

"Since she didn't come directly to me and finish me off, is there something stopping her from doing that?"

Dio asked.

"Yes, she can't come directly after you because of your Father."

Hermes confirmed his suspicions.

At least he doesn't have to worry about a goddess coming after him, but that doesn't make the problem disappear.

Dio knew that the attacks would get more dangerous and happen more often as he got closer to the middle of the Underworld.

"Now that my warning has been given, it's time for you to know more about the blessing I bestowed upon you."

Hermes changed the subject in front of him with a cheerful expression on his face.

"You gave me a blessing!?"

Dio asked surprised.

"Why the shock?"

"Well, from my limited knowledge, you're one of the twelve Olympians. I don't understand why you would give me a blessing."

Dio remarked.

The twelve Olympian gods are the dominant power among the Greek gods. However, Poseidon and Hades also have their councils in their own realms with their own gods who are loyal only to them.

"That's true, but I'm also a psychopomp."

Hermes explained as if that would resolve his doubts.

Seeing his confusion, he continued smiling and explained, "One of my functions is to guide all souls from the mortal world to the Underworld."

Hermes reached for the leather pouch on his hip and opened it.

Then, a tiny ball of light floated out and spread in all directions from inside it.

Souls.

"Many forget this and think of me as just a messenger, but I am much more than that."

Seeing the souls, Dio began to think about the ones trapped in his sword and with him.

Dio pulled out his sword and laid it aside on his legs.

"Can you free the ones trapped here?"

Dio asked almost pleadingly.

"Freeing isn't the correct word since I could simply release all the souls, and they would just float in the same place. No, what I want is to release them into their afterlife, something only you can do."

"Of course I can..."

Dio smiled.

"But I won't."

Hermes finished.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't need to; you can do it yourself with the gift I've given you."

"You're saying I can guide the souls to the Underworld?"

"That sums up well what my blessing can do, but like your sister's blessing, it can become something daunting if you train it improperly. So don't waste this chance in arrogance or ignorance."

Hermes warned seriously.

"But these souls have nothing to do with the Greek pantheon; I don't even know what faith they have. It doesn't seem right to send them to the Underworld."

Dio raised another moral issue.

"Souls go where they must go; don't worry about that."

Hermes explained.

Hermes then fell silent while looking at the sword in his lap.

Dio understood this as a sign to begin.

He reached for the pommel of his sword and picked up a soul trapped inside it floating above the palm of his hand.

Then, a very strange sensation powers over a small ball of energy with a frightening amount of power.

Dio might have liked how he felt, but he didn't have time to think about it because he knew it belonged to a woman who died at his hands.

A woman who was turned down and made to fight and kill against her will.

"Who was she?"

Hermes asked.

Dio replied without taking my eyes off the soul.

"A kindergarten teacher, I didn't delve deeper than that."

"Why not?"

"To protect myself."

Dio answered honestly.

"Instead of doing that, why not try to overcome it?"

Then Dio let his mind sink into the memories of the soul, and it wasn't a good sensation to be hit with such a large amount of memories all at once.

But Dio didn't have time to view them individually, and it was better to deal with them quickly.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but once he opened his eyes, Hermes stood up and held his long scepter.

"Come with me."

Hermes requested.

Dio stood up and walked a few meters behind him while holding the soul of the woman until they stopped in front of the open field with no trees or people in sight.

"Let her go to her rightful place."

Hermes requested.

It was strange.

Hermes was more intuitive, unlike Melinoë's teaching.

He didn't give him any clear instructions on how to do it, but somehow guided him in a split second.

Dio knew how to do it but couldn't explain how it was done.

The soul trembled and floated away as if alive until it disappeared from his hand. This was just like the souls Hermes released from his pouch.

After doing this, a small part of his burden was lifted.

...

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