King of Underworld-Chapter 146: The Hunt for the Calydonian Boar

The Hunt for the Calydonian Boar

While Heracles and Hebe's wedding was being celebrated on Olympus, humanity was preparing for a showdown with a sacred beast on Earth.

The trouble began when King Oeneus of Calydon neglected to hold a ritual for the moon goddess, Artemis. Angered, Artemis sent her sacred boar to ravage Calydon’s fields, ruining their harvest.

“Rrreeeeek—!”

“Argh! That monstrous beast is destroying my vineyard!”

“Which god have we angered this time? Did the king make a mistake somehow?”

“Gah... Our soldiers’ spears are useless! We have no way to fight back.”

This boar, a child of the wild sow Phaia—once slain by Theseus—had been transformed by Artemis into a divine creature. Its size rivaled that of a bull, and its tusks were as formidable as an elephant’s, leaving the people of Calydon helpless.

Since Artemis’s blessing protected it, common soldiers' spears veered off course, and arrows could not penetrate its hide.

In desperation, King Oeneus summoned heroes from across Greece, as in the days of the Argonauts, to slay the beast.

Heroes gathered from far and wide—Meleager, Atalanta, Nestor, Iolaus (Heracles’s nephew), Idas, and more.

“Why do I recognize so many faces? Nestor, you’re here too?”

“Meleager. It’s been a while since that journey with the dragon.”

“Jason! Aren’t you a king now? Shouldn’t you stay out of these things?”

“Nonsense! Defeating monsters is also a king’s duty! And it’s a good chance to see old friends! Hahaha!”

“What in the world are you talking about...?”

Indeed, many of Greece’s heroes, seasoned by their journey to the underworld or their quest for the Golden Fleece alongside Jason, knew each other well. Only Meleager’s uncles and a few new faces were strangers.

“Meleager, who’s that over there?”

“...My uncles.”

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“Never saw them in the training grounds or the Fleece expedition... huh.”

The heroes set out to where the boar was known to appear, lying in wait among the foliage until the monstrous creature charged into view.

Thud-thud-thud...

“Rrreeek!”

With a body as large as a bull’s and massive, razor-sharp tusks, the divine boar sent by Artemis thundered toward them. And yet...

“Why does it look so weak?”

“...Could this be the offspring, with its mother lurking nearby?”

“Let’s just kill it quickly.”

These heroes had trained in the underworld’s trials, survived the voyage of the Argo, fought monsters like the great serpent Python, the Sphinx, and the Chimera, and even battled dragons.

Veterans like these, with experience hard-won through countless trials, found the Calydonian boar... unimpressive.

The boar was smaller than the Sphinx, its charge slower than Python’s tail whip, and its tusks were nothing compared to a dragon’s fiery breath.

“Just kill it!”

“Die, you beast!”

Whoosh—Thwip—Thunk.

Arrows from Atalanta struck the boar’s left eye, and Meleager’s spear pierced its right.

The heroes closed in, breaking its legs and hacking at its body without mercy.

Covered in arrows and spears, the creature screamed in agony, spurting blood in all directions. But the hardened heroes showed no pity.

“Rrreeeek—!”

The sacred creature, the child of Phaia, the terror of Calydon... was hunted down and slaughtered as soon as it appeared.

After the anticlimactic hunt, the heroes gathered around the dead boar, unimpressed.

“This... is supposed to be a great feat? For something like this?”

“I thought they said our weapons couldn’t penetrate it.”

“I was expecting something with scales, like the dragon in Colchis.”

“They said it was the size of a house, but it’s just a slightly oversized animal.”

“Why did they summon all of us? A few would’ve been enough...”

While some heroes were frustrated with how weak the boar turned out to be, others—like Meleager’s uncles, who had not trained in the underworld or joined the Golden Fleece expedition—were dumbstruck by how quickly the beast was felled.

“Th-that monster was extraordinary, wasn’t it?”

“There’s a woman’s arrows sticking out of it... When did she even shoot?”

“Did I fall asleep under Hypnos’s touch? How did it die so fast?”

Lacking the experience to understand, these untested heroes simply gaped in shock at the carcass.

Clank.

“Gasp! How could anything pierce this hide...?”

“People always said heroes from Thebes were exceptional...”

Some of them poked at the boar’s corpse, trying in vain to pierce its now-unprotected hide with their spears.

When it came time to divide the spoils, the dead boar’s hide became the focus.

“Meleager! Give us a share of the hide!”

“Yes, we shot arrows too, so we deserve a portion.”

Though most heroes who’d contributed nothing to the hunt quickly declined any claim, Meleager’s greedy uncles insisted on receiving a share.

Surprisingly, Meleager and the other heroes showed little interest in the boar, leaving his uncles bewildered.

“Fine, take it, uncles. Or, just take the whole thing. I don’t care.”

“...?”

“Take it if you want. I don’t mind.”

Having lost interest in the boar, Meleager and his companions were already grumbling as they left the scene.

Some were even joking.

“Bah, it’s just a slightly mutated boar. Take it or leave it, whatever.”

“Anyone hungry for that thing?”

“Who’d eat that? I’ve got some venison from a hunt last week...”

“Well, let’s have a meal then. Jason, come join us!”

“Of course! Dining with friends is one of the greatest joys, even for a king!”

Watching the heroes leave, Meleager’s uncles felt their pride sting.

What was wrong with them? Did they not care about claiming spoils? And why did they act like this wasn’t even a proper monster?

As they left, Ancaeus jeered.

“Hmph. If you want that measly boar hide, go ahead.”

And Nestor muttered as if truly puzzled.

“To go to such lengths for that... Honestly, it’s rather pathetic. Does it even have value?”

Meanwhile, Meleager spoke casually with Atalanta.

“Well, Atalanta, it’s been a while since we last met, but one measly beast feels a bit anticlimactic. How about a hunt in the nearby mountains?”

“Not a bad idea. Lead the way.”

Having faced all manner of monsters, the seasoned heroes had no interest in the boar’s hide.

Meleager’s uncles, however, felt humiliated—like beggars receiving a handout.

The hide of this supposed beast... would boasting about it earn them ridicule instead?

“Fine! We don’t need that hide either!”

“Ha! It was nothing special after all! Meleager, we’re leaving!”

“...? Ah, alright, uncles.”

Meleager’s uncles left in a huff, leaving Meleager scratching his head in confusion.

“Huh... Guess I’ll skin this thing later... what a hassle.”

“I hit its eye, so I’ll help. Besides, we should celebrate afterward... But, why’s there so much fog...?”

Watching from above, the gods of Olympus were taken aback.

It was only natural that the boar would be defeated with so many heroes, but to see Artemis’s protected creature felled so easily was unexpected.

“Oh no... that... that!”

None were more shocked than Artemis herself, the goddess of the hunt and the moon.

She had sent the boar to teach a lesson, expecting to reluctantly forgive once it was defeated. But...

“I did care for it... to see it die so pathetically...!”

It was one thing to see her sacred creature defeated through heroic effort, but to witness it hunted down with such ease made her expression darken.

Without a word, she stormed out in frustration.

“Ha! Still, it was a sacred beast.”

“Humanity is impressive these days. Look at Heracles, a former mortal now a god of strength.”

“That girl Atalanta is quite the archer.”

Having witnessed this unexpected outcome, the gods turned their gaze to me.

“Hades, what on earth have you been doing to train these mortals in the underworld?”

“I heard Chiron was teaching them, but...”

“Did you perhaps lend them a touch of the underworld’s power?”

Holding a cup of nectar, I responded calmly.

“It’s nothing special. They’ve fought creatures like Python, the Sphinx, and the Chimera. Occasionally, I even have them spar with a dead Gigante or Cerberus.”

“Ah...”

“Sometimes Ares helps, and wise Chiron instructs them well.”

No wonder the heroes had reached such a level.