Chapter 45 - Pain

Joren was about to raise his hands, however, upon seeing that the woman had no weapons raised up, he stopped.

"Sorry to be rude but I'm first of the Furies, Megaera, daughter of Goddess of Night."

She continued with cautiousness.

"I see that you're got out from Tartarus, may I know your name?"

Joren froze up, realizing that this woman was one of the people he wants to find. Not that he expected to meet in this way. But seeing that Megaera seemed scared of him, thinking that he came out of Tartarus, Joren had an idea.

"Name's Gyges."

He introduced 'himself'

'Shit, I forgot how to pronounce the hatencore or something.'

"Gyges, one of the Hetanchoires..." Megaera's eyes widened when she heard the name. She didn't question his appearance, after all, no one would impersonate such a powerful being or they would be just asking for divine punishment, right?

"Yes"

Joren held his head up high. He had some ideas that certain monsters have the capability to shapeshift, like Ness, for example. He just had this thought and never gained any proof yet. However, in this new world that he was introduced to, every myth exists. How could shapeshifting be not?

"Gyges, you may not remember but I'm a cousin of yours. Gaia, your mother, and my mother are siblings under chaos."

She said as if it was for her own safety.

'He escaped from Tartarus? So that's why I feel like there's something going on within it. He must definitely know that Zeus betrayed him by locking him up there too.' Megaera thought.

"Is that right? I don't really remember much. Being locked up in that hellhole has jugged my memories."

Joren replied while actually thinking.

'Convenient! Also, now I'm half sure that my soul is in there. I should retreat for now.'

"Also, I must go now. I have somewhere to go."

'Is he going to climb Mount Olympus now?' Megaera internally panicked. Although she serves Hades, if Zeus was bothered becuase of the UnderWorld's negligence, he might do something towards them.

"Wait, Cousin Gyges, I think we have a lot to catch on. Why don't you stay here in Hades' Palace first? I'll go tell the news about your freedom to Hades himself."

She offered but Joren shook his head.

"No, I'm fine, I have something to do first."

'We didn't participate in the Titanomachy but I've seen the Hetanchoire's strength. They are so strong that Uranos have tried to put them back into Gaia's womb. Only Cronus or Zeus might be able to stop Gyges if he were to go on a rampage. But before he is stopped, there will surely be destruction first.'

"Please, I insist, Cousin."

Megaera said but Joren was determined as he turned his back to her.

"Wait," she walked up to him and followed, "Can I know where you will be going first?"

"It doesn't concern you, Cousin Megaera." Joren acted and intentionally went around the cave of Tartarus.

He wanted to say that she should stop following him but what if she took the risk and said no? Should he get angry and escalate the situation or should he just go along with it?

'I have no idea what's the personality of this Gyges is! But I'll just go along with the setting that the experience from Tartarus has changed me quite a bit. Yes, that'll do.'

"I have to know, Cousin Gyges. After all, we're... cousins."

Megaera awkwardly laughed to which Joren raised an eyebrow.

'Is this girl really a Goddess? But I guess I haven't heard about them being smarter than humans in the first place.'

Joren doesn't hear a lot about Greek Mythology so he couldn't be so sure. But one thing is for sure, this woman is Megaera, a literal Goddess, so he has to be careful.

'Speaking of Goddess, wow, she's so beautiful...'

Joren shook that thought away. Megaera is literally out of his league.

'Also, I'm doing this all for Scarlett, don't forget that Joren!'

"Even so, my private matters are private."

He replied after a moment of thought.

"Then... can I just follow you then?" Megaera asked, wanting to keep an eye on him while wanting to send a message to Hades and her sisters. However, she can't reveal the communication device they call... 'phone' in front of Gyges or it might incite some questioning from him.

Towards this question, Joren pondered.

'What should I say? Should I say no? Once again, she might become stubborn and still follow me. What should I do then? Unleash my flimsy wrath? I cannot let her know that I'm lying and for that, I cannot things go to a situation where my identity will be questioned.'

There was only one thing that Joren could think of.

Be domineering!

"If you want to follow me, you will have to listen to my every word."

Joren squinted his eyes as he stared into Megaera's.

'What? By following, I don't mean I want to be a follower.' she wanted to correct that but was actually intimidated by Joren as if that's natural.

"That's... fine by me."

This was unexpected even though Joren was the one who initiated this.

'Hm, my every word...' he looked at her body up and down before gulping.

Meanwhile, Megaera shivered, thinking that Gyges was assessing her as his new follower.

'No, wait, Joren! You will meet more beautiful Goddesses in the future! Are you going to drool over every single one of them!? No, two is enough... or three...'

Joren felt like he was becoming shittier and shittier every day but they were just thoughts. It would be different if he were to actually do them, he reminded himself.

'Should I run?' he then changed his line of thoughts to a more pressing matter. It's almost four hours since he left and it's good that he's returning now. The problem is that he couldn't run because of Megaera.

Why?

Well, she would see how slow he is. One he learned is that the strength being is actually tied to their physical strength. Sure, their abilities are still their main power but their physical strength is not lacking either.

'No, I could just run at a pace in which I will not show fatigue, right?'

Joren agreed to his idea and said to Megaera.

"I will be speeding up a little. I want to feel the wind a little more."

So he casually ran to which Megaera nodded and followed.

'Gyges... how did he escape Tartarus? I've been feeling guilty ever since I learned that he and his brothers were locked up there even though they helped Zeus overtake his father, Cronus during the decade-long Titanomachy.'

The Furies were once known for their thirst for vengeance. Once, they were on the surface world, seeking people who have committed homicide and other sins as heavy. They were naturally inclined to justice and balance. However, since it's the Gods of Gods that they were talking about, the three sisters could only swallow their grief and listen to Hades, the lord of the UnderWorld.

Thinking about this, Megaera had some introspection going on inside her head.

'Should I really warn Hades about his escape? Being in Tartarus for so long... even I can't get near it because of the immense pressure it brings to anyone. I can't imagine being inside of it. For someone who has gone through so much suffering, surely, he should be at least enjoy his freedom.'

She then glanced at Joren to his side who was trying to be seamless in his running while not trying to so he would sweat.

Joren was trying to achieve a high level of chillness.

'To be cool, how can I get so cool?' he thought to himself as he relaxes his body. However, at the same time he relaxed his body, he let go of skill of his.

[Bulletproof Will] was deactivated.

At that point, Joren stopped and felt hopelessness invading him. This made him like an edgy teenager who's always depressed and sad as he looked at the sky.

"The coldness, I could feel it."

Megaera's eyes shone upon hearing these words.

'He has suffered from so much heat that he's being mesmerized by this trifling cold. Is that why he wants to speed up a bit?'

As someone who loves balance, it was always a joyful thing when a wronged person had found their happiness again.

An urge to make this man, Gyges, happy sprouted within Megaera.

"..."

However, she didn't know what to do. For now, she could only think of not interfering with his 'freedom'

Joren's face cringed after hearing what he said.

'What's with that painful expression? After experiencing the relief of the outside, are you comparing it to the hell you once were, Gyges?'

She thought but didn't say it out loud, not wanting 'Gyges' to be further pulled into that line of thought.

Megaera then walked towards his front, making Joren internally panic.

"Gyges, truthfully, we sisters have been wanting to free you from your unjust captivity. However, we cannot go against our master's brother, the Cosmic Father of the Universe, Zeus." she then kneeled down, "I sincerely apologize for that!"

'What, what's happening?'