King of Underworld

Chapter 147 The Story of Asclepius – (1)

Asclepius, he was the son born to Apollo, the sun god, and Coronis, a princess of Thessaly.

However, while Coronis was pregnant with him, she had an affair with a mortal man.
When Apollo heard of it from a crow, he killed Coronis in his fury.

Of course, the white-feathered crow that delivered the news also turned black, scorched by Apollo’s gaze.

Apollo then retrieved the newborn Asclepius from Coronis’s corpse. Realizing his talent, he sent him to Thebes, thus setting the stage for Asclepius to study medicine under Chiron in the Underworld.

“Indeed, just as Apollo said, you have talent.”

“…?”

“Though you could never learn to wield a weapon, your medical abilities surpass anyone’s.”

And so, while setting aside swords and spears, he quickly exceeded Chiron in his knowledge of medicine.

Of course, the heroes who fought desperately in the Underworld became the subjects for his medical learning.

Crunch!

“Arrgh! Asclepius, you insane man!”

“Oh, was it not this way? Then, let’s try turning it the other way…”

Crunch!

Though he encountered many trials and errors, he steadily grew in skill.

“Now, when you go outside, cover your mouth like this. In dusty areas, humans’ chests can accumulate dust…”

“It’s a bit uncomfortable.”

“And if a child has a stomachache after eating, give them the herbal tea I provided…”

“Asclepius! His Majesty the King is urgently requesting your presence!”

“Has he mentioned that his foot is in pain again?”

“…How did you know that?”

“It’s an illness that can’t be completely cured and will recur. Take this remedy for it…”

While other heroes roamed, hunting monsters, Asclepius traveled around Greece, healing the sick.

“Pluto has bestowed upon the human world a plant as beneficial as mint… Hmmm.”

“Master! Just as you mentioned, I examined the corpse of a plague victim…”

“Did you properly seek the consent of their family?”

While other heroes honed their combat skills to achieve great deeds, he deepened his knowledge by researching medicine.

Thus, the current perception of Asclepius among people was…

“Master of medicine, Teacher Asclepius.”

“The greatest doctor in Greece, who supposedly can cure any disease?”

“Couldn’t he even bring the dead back to life? I saw him revive someone by pressing on their chest the other day…”

“The story about him reviving a man who drowned? That was impressive.”

“Maybe he has such abilities because he’s Apollo’s son.”

In the Underworld’s hero training ground, he was the only one to be recognized solely for his medical skills, serving as the healer on the Golden Fleece expedition.

All of Greece acknowledged his medical skills, which rivaled the music of Orpheus.

There were even many who genuinely believed he could bring the dead back to life.

From Hades’ perspective in his previous life in the 21st century, it was merely a case of performing CPR on someone who had stopped breathing in the water…

Medical knowledge in this era hadn’t advanced that far yet.

In the end, rumors spread widely that Asclepius could even revive the dead,
and in some rural areas, he was worshiped as a god of medicine.

“Are you really that Asclepius who can bring back the dead?”

“…Who are you?”

“I am Artemis. My brother, Apollo, is your father.”

Naturally, the rumor had reached the gods on Olympus as well.

* * *

Boom!

Asclepius stared blankly at the enormous boar corpse thrown in front of him from somewhere.

A massive boar, lying dead, bleeding from all over its body.

This was the very boar that had rampaged through Calydon.

“It was my sacred beast. It was hunted by human heroes, but I obscured their sight with mist and brought the body here.”

“But why, my goddess, would you bring it to me…?”

“I heard a rumor that you can even revive the dead. Resurrect my sacred beast.”

“The boar from Calydon…! Was it sent by you, my goddess?!”

In truth, Artemis had not intended to resurrect the sacred beast she sent to Calydon.

When a god is angered by humans… it is only natural to impose a suitable punishment.

Since Artemis did not deviate from this fundamental principle, she had intended to issue an oracle instructing proper rituals if the boar were defeated by the heroes’ efforts.

‘Even for heroes, how dare they slaughter my sacred beast upon sight? I’ll command this man to revive it and send it back.’

That was precisely it.

The boar, sent as divine punishment by Artemis, had been killed by the heroes in a single encounter.

This was the problem. Divine punishment shouldn’t end so simply…!

Had the divine punishment imposed by one of the twelve Olympian gods been overcome by the heroes’ ‘fierce struggle,’ that might be acceptable,

but with it ending like this, it would be an affront to the goddess’s pride and dignity, perhaps even inviting ridicule from lesser deities.

‘I’ll send it again, infused with the full powers of madness and the moon, so it won’t be so easily defeated.’

Naturally, Asclepius was bewildered to suddenly receive a command from the moon goddess to revive a dead sacred beast.

Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his hands trembled.

“Goddess Artemis! I do not have the power to bring the dead back to life.”

“Yet many say they’ve seen you revive breathless humans. Why lie?”

“If you are referring to rescuing a drowning person, there is a misunderstanding. I do not possess such abilities.”

“Don’t lie. Humans are not gods. If they cease breathing, they die.”

The gods excel in their domains, but they lack detailed knowledge in fields outside their own domains.

Indeed, they do not need to, as their omnipotent divine power resolves everything for them.

Artemis is not Apollo, who holds the divine authority over medicine.

Of course, had she seen for herself the people Asclepius allegedly revived, she might have realized he had not truly brought the dead back to life.

But Artemis, who was accustomed to witnessing miracles performed by demigods and gods, and who had recently seen the hero Heracles ascend to godhood, thought it possible for Asclepius to resurrect the dead.

If the greatest hero had become a god of strength, why shouldn’t the greatest healer be able to revive the dead?

“If you truly did not bring the dead back to life, swear it on the River Styx. Then I will believe you.”

“That’s…”

Asclepius could not respond.

In truth, even he was unsure of the precise mechanism by which he revived those who had ceased breathing.

He only knew that if he breathed life back into someone who had just stopped breathing
and restarted their heartbeat, there was a chance they might awaken.

He could not be certain if he had rescued someone from the grasp of Thanatos, or if he had pulled someone back from the threshold of the Underworld.

Asclepius, hesitant and wavering, was met with a slight smirk from Artemis.

“Heheh. I won’t hold it against you for lying to a goddess. That is, as long as you wholeheartedly treat my sacred beast.”

* * *

“But, my goddess! The dead fall under the jurisdiction of Pluto! How could someone like me dare infringe upon his realm?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t have considered that?”

Despite Asclepius’s desperate protest, Artemis’s smile didn’t waver.

How tiresome, this mortal was. When a god commands, one must obey.

“Lord Hades hasn’t punished you for reviving the dead.”

“That’s only because I didn’t actually revive the dead…”

“No. In my view, your medical skills have already surpassed my brother’s. You are more than capable of aiming for a divine role in medicine.”

“…?”

“My assumption is… because you, a mortal destined to become a god of medicine, saved someone through medicine,
you have not faced punishment.”

Frankly, Artemis didn’t care if this mortal was punished later.

The important thing was that he could bring back the dead.

Apollo’s son? Hmph. Whether Hades punished him or not for reviving the dead was not Artemis’s concern.

Hades might scold her a bit, but that would be a small price to pay.

Having never worked in the Underworld, Artemis sincerely thought this way.

“Hmmm…”

Asclepius’s gaze wavered at the goddess’s firm words.

But how was he supposed to revive such a severely wounded creature, which wasn’t merely breathless?

“Do your best to treat it. With your skills, you should be able to revive my sacred beast.”

“…Understood.”

Ultimately, unable to defy the goddess’s command, Asclepius began examining the boar.

As the goddess observed him closely, he had no choice but to put his utmost effort into the treatment.

He removed embedded spears, cleaned away the blood…

applied herbs to enhance healing and bandaged the wounds to close them up…

“This

should be done like this…”

Sss. Sss.

Asclepius’s ‘treatment’ continued for a while.

Although he never thought the dead boar would actually revive…

“Screeeech…”

‘…What is this? Why is it alive?’

How could this happen? The boar, which had certainly been dead, came back to life.

This feat was beyond comparison to reviving a breathless human.

The reason was as follows…

Heroes are those who have reached and surpassed the limits of humanity.

The music of Orpheus could calm a storm, the courage of Idas would not falter even before the sun god, and Atalanta’s archery skills were even admired by gods.

So, what about Asclepius?

He was universally acknowledged as a master of medicine in Greece, a doctor without equal, and he was already revered as a god of medicine in some rural villages.

Just as Orpheus’s music had once surpassed Apollo’s,

Asclepius’s medical skills had long since outpaced Apollo’s.

In the world of human medicine, his name held absolute authority, and his reputation for reviving the dead rivaled Orpheus, who calmed storms on the Golden Fleece expedition.

Furthermore, his father was Apollo, and the moon goddess of the twelve Olympians herself believed he could revive the dead.

In other words, this demigod had attained enough feats, abilities, fame, and faith to verge upon divinity.

This inevitably led to an elevation in his rank…

“Very well done. Next time, I’ll see you on Olympus.”

“…?!”

In the end, he truly achieved the feat of resurrecting a dead being.