kscans

I was born five years ago.

Due to my unusual birth, even Lady Persephone was unaware of my existence. Only my father Hades and a few of his trusted subordinates knew about me. A few months ago, when my father was leaving Greece, he said,

“You are my insurance in case something happens to me.”

Perhaps an ordinary child would have been shocked by such words. But since I’m not of ordinary birth, I simply accepted it without much reaction. Still, I had questions.

“What do you mean by ‘in case’? What exactly are you planning to do, Lord Hades?”

If I was meant to be insurance, I should have a role to fulfill. Yet I hadn’t been told what that role was.

“…I didn’t tell you?”

“No, you didn’t.”

Father was quite absentminded at times. Apparently, in his mind, I had already understood and agreed to everything.The duties of a death god, how to use his powers, common knowledge…

While he had personally educated me behind Lady Persephone’s back, I don’t recall ever being told about his actual purpose.

“Hmm! Then let me explain properly.”

Looking slightly embarrassed, my father began to speak.

“To remind humans of their respect for death. That is my purpose.”

Once, childbirth was life-threatening. And even children born through such mortal risk rarely lived to see their tenth year. Death was that close to everyday life.

“But what about now? Yes, there are still those who lose their lives during childbirth, and children who die young…”

But it’s incomparable to how things once were. When people used to barely reach fifty, now living to a hundred isn’t particularly rare.

“Humans have consistently used their wisdom to push death further away. Ah, I don’t deny human wisdom itself. It should be praised, certainly. But disregarding death can never be permitted. It must not be allowed.”

That’s what my father said. But I wondered. Don’t humans still fear death now as they always have? In response to my question, Father slowly shook his head.

“No. That’s different. That’s merely an expression of their aversion to death, their desire to look away, not respect.”

Death is the final accounting of life. Something solemn. One must face it without averting one’s eyes. It is precisely because of this that life shines brightly, he said.

“Because they’ve pushed death away with their wisdom, evasion has become easy. ‘I won’t die yet. That’s still far in the future. It has nothing to do with me now.’ This avoidance, this refusal to confront death, is the reality of humans today.”

And so, Father was attempting to flood the world with death. However, his scheme wasn’t going well.

“About fifteen years ago, when I finally stepped onto the stage to fulfill my great cause, I was thwarted by a certain human.”

“…By a human?”

I was genuinely surprised. Certainly, there are strong humans. Some might even surpass gods. But Father is one of the highest gods of Olympus and the god of death, no less. I couldn’t imagine him being stopped by a mere human.

“Did you not use your death powers?”

“They didn’t work on him.”

So he fought without using his powers? Even then, I couldn’t believe someone could defeat Hades, the king of the underworld… but looking at Father’s face, I had to accept it as truth.

“…I fought him many times, but couldn’t defeat him even once.”

He spat these words with bitterness.

“Nevertheless, I uncovered his tricks. Now that I’ve arranged to seize Enma’s authority as well, he’s finished.”

“I see… but you still haven’t answered my question about what you meant by ‘in case.’”

“Ah, that’s right.”

As a death god, Father cannot die. Even if killed, he would eventually revive. To truly deal with Father, one would need to seal him, but even that…

“It’s that human I mentioned. He will likely kill me, but… I cannot say with certainty that I’ll be safe. He is strong. He possessed extraordinary strength from the first time we met, but now…”

Father sighed deeply and continued.

“In terms of pure violence, there is no one who can match him anymore. Even if all of Olympus were to face him, he would win.”

“…?”

“Stop that. Don’t put your hand on my forehead. I don’t have a fever.”

“Is this a joke then? I hate to say it, but perhaps you should study humor a bit more.”

“It’s not a joke! It’s the absolute truth!!”

After thoroughly scolding me, Father solemnly declared.

“…It was like peering into a bottomless abyss. A power immeasurable even to the eyes of a high god of mythology. Perhaps he could even accomplish the feat of killing a death god. Even if I bestowed death upon him through my powers, during his final moments, he might… at least, that’s what I believe he’s capable of.”

To be honest, I was half-skeptical. But in the end, Father never returned. He had died, in the true sense of the word.

Since his powers were transferred to me, and both Lord Zeus and Lady Persephone acknowledged this, it must be fact. I was taken to Japan by Father’s subordinates.

Having inherited Father’s will and powers, I would eventually have to confront Satou Hideo, the human who killed him, so I needed to find his weakness. I successfully made contact by attending the same school as a girl named Saionoji Rika, who is close to Satou Hideo, but…

“Like peering into a bottomless abyss.”

I understood the true meaning of Father’s words from the bottom of my heart. In appearance, he’s just an ordinary middle-aged man you might see anywhere.

But those who can see would understand immediately. Boundless and immeasurable. There’s no other way to describe it. Is he truly human?

“Here you go, Sarna-chan. The meat is ready.”

“Thank you very much.”

I accept the plate offered with a playful smile. He truly appears to be nothing more than a kind person, and yet…

(It’s not just his power…)

His perspective on death. Since Father had spoken so badly of him, I decided to ask him directly.

“I think death is like a twin brother or one’s other half.”

That view was the exact opposite of Father’s belief that death should be feared and revered. But was it without reason? Was he not taking it seriously? No, that wasn’t it either.

Even as one who inherited the powers of Hades the death god, I couldn’t disagree with his view. And I realized something.

“What do you think about death?”

When I posed this question, I became aware that I myself didn’t have a clear answer. My thoughts on death were merely echoes of my father’s. I had simply accepted them as truth. But when confronted with Satou Hideo’s sincere answer, my own beliefs suddenly felt shallow.

(That’s surely because they didn’t spring from within me.)

To be honest, my ill feelings toward Satou Hideo had diminished considerably. However, he’s still my father’s killer, and I’m not detached enough to abandon Father’s will completely. Tonight, many of Father’s comrades will sacrifice their lives for me, for our great cause… how can I remain so indecisive?

(What should I do…?)

I’m only five years old. Please don’t make me think about such difficult things.