Chapter 163
“Why such a scary face, bro?”
“You must be out of your mind. I don’t know what you thought about me that you’d do something crazy like this?”
“I don’t know who you are, but I do know that you are quite amazing. Someone who can manage to kill me even as you stand holding up Mundus?”
“If you know that then…”
“But if you kill me, you would have to hold up Mundus yourself forever, bro. Well, if you don’t mind killing all these innocent children…”
“A-Atlas, will we die? B-but we can become grown-ups if we eat the apple. W-W can go to Mundus when we grow up,” a little child standing by Atlas held on to his pants and asked.
Atlas looked down at the child lovingly and spoke, “Of course, you can become grown up. if you eat this apple.”
Atlas smiled after waving the red apple before the kid’s eyes.
“But there’s just one for me.”
“Huh?”
Looking at that sight, Hades let out a dry laugh.
Ah. So the reason why he plucked the red apple even when he could pluck the golden one was to continue keeping him stationed here. After all, if all the children grow up and leaves for Mundus. Hades would no longer need to hold it up.
‘I was a fool.’
He acted without a second thought. As if he was lured by something.
Hades laughed at himself.
Atlas took a big bite out of the apple in front of the children who cried out of devastation.
“Sorry, but I don’t have a choice. I can’t be holding that up forever.”
Atlas once again gave a mocking smirk.
***
Perhaps it was because these children were yet to be aware, but their despair didn’t last long.
The children once again diligently raked through the dry land and drew water to take care of the tree.
Since they had lived such a way since they died for their entire time here, it was as if they were doing something very natural and obvious.
Sinya had curled up and was trembling with some effort beside Hades who was still holding up Mundus.
The wound looked quite deep.
“Kid,”
“Haa… yes.”
“Here, inside my clothed pocket, there is a potion. Take out the white vial and drink it. it will heal your wound right away.”
“…I am fine.”
“Hurry, there is no time.”
Sinya flinched seeing Hades glaring sternly.
Soon, she feebly stood up and took out a light element potion from Hades’ inner pocket and drank it.
The wound on her stomach healed right away.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, yes…”
“Good. Then just sit there.”
“Er, you should just go now. There is no other way anyways.”
“Yes, there is.”
Hades’ sharp gaze landed on Atlas who lay down lazily on the ground.
With his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky, Atlas hummed every now and then.
Though only an hour had passed, Atlas’ body had grown quite a bit. Taking another bite of the apple in his hand, Atlas rose from where he lied and approached Hades, perhaps out of boredom.
“Bro, is it heavy?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“Don’t be such a crybaby bro, it’s only been an hour.”
“You’re dead meat when I grab a hold of the sword.”
“Heh… you mean that thing?”
Atlas pointed at the sword rolling around by Hades’ feet and snickered.
“You’re going to let go? But all these poor children will be crushed to death.”
“…”
“Heh heh… I could sense it the moment you said you would help us, bro. You can never let these children die. Just carry on and hold up that thing in my place. I will head out when I grow big enough.”
Looking at Hades gnashing his teeth in rage, Atlas laughed contently.
Staring at Atlas lying down in the distance once again humming, Hades spoke to Sinya seated beside him.
“Kid.”
“Yes.”
“Bring all the children to the right side of the tree right away. Plant the golden apple the moment you pluck it and come back to my side.”
“…Huh?”
“Don’t ask further questions, we are running out of time. I am not going to let anyone die. That includes that crazy punk.”
Glaring at Atlas lying down idly, Hades gave a smirk.
“He would have to pay the price of daring to trick me. Killing him on spot would be too forgiving of me.”
Looking at Hades’ terrible expression with shaking eyes for some reason, Sinya rose from her seat with her fists rolled up tight.
Though she didn’t know what Hades’ plan was, she was intending on doing as told for now.
Looking at Sinya moving the children around in the distance, Hades’ gaze landed on the tree standing tall.
‘I should have done this from the start.’
There was no wind element potion left and now the fruit on top cannot be plucked if not for Atlas.
But where was the need to go all the way to the top? He could just break the tree.
If he suspected Atlas at the beginning, he would have done this from the start, with his always level-headed decisions.
But he wound up in this state…
Hades had to admit cleanly that he had been a fool.
‘But still.’
It was a shame to have wasted time but realizing that Orcus’s gates are not as easy as it seemed was a profit in itself.
“Bro, what are you up to?”
Feeling suspicious of Sinya’s moving the children around, Atlas rose from where he lied and asked Hades.
He was already as tall as a full-grown man. His face also showed some trace of time.
Hades said with a laugh.
“You’re growing faster than I expected. It’s a good thing the passage of time here is different from the above. That damn apple tree should grow up in no time as well.”
“…What?”
Atlas looked nervous seeing Hades’ smirking face.
Checking that all the children have rand off far into the distance, Hades gave a light nod of his chin.
At that instant, fire blazed at the thick trunk of the tree. The strong fire started to burn the thick tree trunk at once.
Sinya stood by, finally realizing Hades’ plan.
The strong fire burnt off the thick truck at once and the tree that stood on the spot for a long long time started to tilt in a rather pathetic way.
Boom-!
With a huge sandstorm, the tree fell.
He got a glimpse of Sinya sprinting into the thick sandstorm, perhaps to pick the apple.
“W-what the?!”
Atlas’ eyes were shaking.
This was bad. He couldn’t let them plant the golden apple.
Realizing the situation he was in, Atlas was about to concentrate and move his body.
“Ahhhgh!”
Fire started to blaze on Atlas’s two hard — grown up’s —legs.
As the cruel, hot fire started to eat away at his skin, Atlas could not think of anything.
He merely rolled around on the ground in pain.
The more he struggled, the more the fire grew to swallow up Alas’ two legs.
He couldn’t even dare to raise his hands to turn off the fire, as that would burn his hand off as well.
“Agh! Ahh!”
It didn’t take much time for the fearful fire to burn flesh and melt bones.
Atlas looked down at his ‘legs’ in a daze. There was only half of him left now, his legs had become piles of ashes.
He couldn’t stop Sinya from planting the apple nor could he stop the children from eating the fruit with a body like this.
Looking at Atlas trembling in tears, Hades gave a smirk and spoke. “I can’t even tell if this really is heavy continuing to hold it up like this. Don’t know how many years it would take for that damn tree to grow, but well. I will gladly hold this up in your place.”
“…”
“As you’ve said, I can’t let those children be crushed to death.”
“You, you…”
“Once I send those children up safe and sound…”
Then there would be no more need for him to hold up Mundus.
Hades spoke with a mocking smile.
“…You are going to die alone.”
“Gahhhh!”
Atlas howled and struggled in his hideous form, only his upper body left intact.
After some time has passed, when even the little bit of will to live left in Atlas’s eyes had finally died off, Sinya came back looking like she managed to plant the apple safe and sound.
Sinya came running panting and halted in surprise at what became of Atlas.
He has become a grown-up as he wished for, but sadly his two legs were nowhere to be seen.
“How long does it look like it would take?” Hades asked despite Atlas with his hideous state before him, Sinya flinched out of her dazed state and answered.
“It grew at tall as me the moment I planted it. The apples should start to grow right after sunset.”
“Oh, that’s great news to hear. He would be dead by sunset.”
“B-bro…”
“What, do you still wish to live even in that state? I suppose your will must have been that strong to have held this up all your life.”
Despite Hades’ mocking words, Atlas did not reply. He crawled before Hades with his two arms instead of his legs.
“Is there some other thing you need to request of me? Don’t tell me you are about to say that you will hold this up again, are you?”
Looking up at Hades with his devilish grin, Atlas kept his trembling lips tightly shut.
Holding up Mundus forever once again, or perish. He had one of those two choices.
The truth was that even if he did intend to hold Mundus up… it wouldn’t be possible without Hades’ permission.
Heaving with his two arms, standing on his smashed legs, Atlas spoke through his pains, “P-please…”
“Your will to live. That’s one thing I like,” Hades muttered aloofly.
As Atlas stretched out his two arms slowly into the air, Hades lowered his waist to hand over Mundus.
With a thud, the heavy space collapsed down.
Mundus, so heavy when holding up, could not be touched or felt as if it was all a lie.
“Ah, I’ll be feeling that in the morning.”
Picking up the sword rolling on the ground, Hades gave a stretch with his stiffened body.
There were many children gathered behind Sinya even before he noticed.
Some had fear in their eyes, and some looked excited glancing at Hades and Atlas.
“After eating the apple, you all can grow up, right?” Hades asked and Sinya nodded.
“Right, that’s good. But I am busy. I do not have time to spare and stay with you all until sunset. I need to get going.”
“Y-yes…” Sinya said tearfully with her cheeks flushed and the hesitant children all gave their shy thankyous individually.
Hades patted a few of the children’s short-haired heads roughly and tied his sword to the holster and walked towards the portal opened for Mundus.
After taking a few steps in, he stopped and spoke.
“Grow up to be beautiful…”
Sinya was looking at his back dazed, then halted.
It seemed that the words were aimed at her.
“Grow up beautiful and make sure to, be born again safe and sound, Sinya.”
“Ah…”
Could it be…
That he knew?
There wasn’t enough time spent together for him to even remember.
-Ah… she is so adorable. My baby sister.
-Atheus, babies are fragile. You need to wash your hands clean before touching her.
-She is pretty, mother. Our Sinya.
The voice of the soul, left vaguely in her memory.
It has not changed at all.
“I will always be your brother once again.”