Death Knocks on Hell’s Door Chapter 44

Chapter 44 Encountering Danger

Previously, whenever Venus descended from the mountain, it was to visit his sanctuary in Cyprus. This time, Dionysus led him to a more distant place, a lush and verdant forest where he had grown up as a child.

“I lived here before coming to the divine mountain,” Dionysus said. “The nymphs of the forest raised me, and I used to play with the mountain spirits and talk to the animals.”

Because of these experiences, the God of Wine embodied wildness and freedom in his very essence.

Venus gazed at him with longing. “That sounds so cool.”

Dionysus smiled but said nothing. What he didn’t mention was that every time Hera’s assassins came after him, he had to hide, living like a rat in the gutters.

That wasn’t cool at all.

Cupid trailed behind them, flapping his wings. From time to time, he flew up to the trees to look at the bird nests, or darted down to the river to tease the fish swimming in the water.

“Uncle Dionysus,” Cupid asked curiously, pointing to a flower by the roadside, “what kind of flower is this?”

He had only ever seen a field of red and white roses in his father’s garden, but this flower was clearly not a rose, and he had never seen anything like it before.

“That’s a daffodil,” Dionysus replied.

“How did it come about?” Cupid asked. He knew that roses had arrived with the birth of his father, so he was curious about the origins of other flowers.

Dionysus smiled and began telling a story. “One of my playmates was a beautiful forest nymph named Echo. She fell in love with a young man named Narcissus. Narcissus had the most beautiful appearance in all of Greece……”

Venus’ professional curiosity kicked in. “Was he more beautiful than me?”

Dionysus paused and then laughed. “Of course not. But among humans, he was considered quite handsome.”

Venus leaned in, eager to hear more. “Go on.”

Dionysus continued, “He rejected Echo’s love. He believed that no one could surpass his own beauty.”

Cupid: “Then he should meet my father and see what real beauty looks like!”

Dionysus laughed again. “I’m afraid he’d never got the chance. He saw his own reflection in the river and was so stunned by the beauty he saw that he fell in love with himself. He tried to embrace his own reflection…… and drowned in the process. Echo, heartbroken, turned him into a daffodil.”

Venus: “……So the daffodil represents narcissism?”

Dionysus: “Well summed up.”

“Alright, story’s over,” Dionysus said with a smile. “Now, it’s time for us to head to the Dionysian Festival!”

The forest had already come alive with celebration. The god Pan played his reed pipe, while the satyrs guzzled fine wine. The nymphs played and laughed together, and the Maenads, draped in animal skins, danced wildly, raising torches high in the forest as they sang and rejoiced.

Then, Dionysus appeared, his head crowned with a wreath of ivy and grapevines, holding his staff, his handsome face unmatched by any mortal or god. For a brief moment, the revelry paused as everyone turned toward him. The forest fell silent, and then, as though on cue, every soul in sight knelt in reverence. They were all devoted followers of the God of Wine.

Who was the young man by His Highness’ side? Was he his new lover? He was the most beautiful man they had ever seen!

Venus, wearing a wreath of white roses and a flowing gown of fine silk, stood out starkly against the wild and carefree attire of the mountain folk.

Dionysus tilted his head back and took a long swig from his wine goblet. Then, with a casual tilt, he emptied the rest onto the ground, signaling that the celebration should continue.

The crowd cheered loudly and quickly formed a circle, dancing together in exuberance. Even Cupid was pulled into the ring, his tiny wings flapping as he joined in the revelry.

Dionysus reached out a hand to Venus. “Little Venus, it’s a pity we didn’t dance together when you came of age. May I have the honor now?”

Caught up in the infectious joy of the moment, Venus gladly placed her hand in his. “Of course.”

……

Neither of them remembered how many dances they had shared, nor how much wine they had consumed.

He was thoroughly intoxicated now, his cheeks flushed with a deep, rose-like glow. His golden hair had fallen loose, and his steps grew unsteady as he swayed, his body weakening, on the verge of collapsing.

Dionysus caught him just in time, gently cradling him in his arms.

“You’re drunk,” he said. “Let me take you somewhere to rest for a while.”

“Cupid—” Venus still hadn’t forgotten about his son.

“Don’t worry, with so many people around, he’ll be fine,” Dionysus murmured reassuringly.

Venus thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. Even if a bad person did come across Cupid, it was the bad person who would end up in trouble. Cupid’s arrows had an effect no one could escape.

Although the bow and arrows were just toys crafted by Hephaestus, anything made by the God of Fire was guaranteed to be a masterpiece. And, since it was made for his own child, it had been crafted with great care. While the arrows looked playful and cute, they were incredibly powerful artifacts. Cupid had even modified them, infusing them with his own power of love. The arrows, once meant for hunting, were now arrows of love, and no one, not even the gods or creatures of the world, could resist them.

“Alright,” Venus said, letting go of his concern for Cupid. Dionysus helped him away from the crowd, taking him so far that even the music faded into the background.

They sat beneath a large tree to rest, and Venus leaned his head against Dionysus’ shoulder, closing his eyes.

He was feeling the effects of the wine as well, and desire stirred within him, becoming a tide he could hardly control.

After giving birth to Cupid, he had spent a long time regaining his divine strength. During that period, the only god who had replenished his power was Hephaestus. He hadn’t been with any other gods. The rumors among the Olympian gods, claiming that he had slept with everyone on the divine mountain, were utterly ridiculous.

He had been savoring the same dish for too long. It was time to try something new.

“Dionysus,” Venus murmured, his eyes still heavy with intoxication. He spoke bluntly, as always. “Shall we……?”

Dionysus paused for a moment, then laughed softly. “No one could ever bring themselves to refuse Little Venus.”

Cupid was too cute for his own good. Surrounded by the mountain nymphs, he was poked and pinched for a long while before finally managing to break free. He quickly distanced himself from the revelry.

Where had his father and Uncle Dionysus gone?

Cupid searched for Venus but couldn’t find them. Instead, he found himself wandering further and further into the forest, away from the party.

Suddenly, he stopped, sensing danger approaching. Without a second thought, he flapped his wings and soared into the air.

An arrow struck the ground where he had just been standing. If he hadn’t moved in time, he would have been injured.

A strikingly handsome young man with golden hair, shining like the sun, lowered his bow and raised an eyebrow as he watched little Cupid fly out of the bushes. “I thought you were a game animal.”

It was Apollo, the God of Sun.

His twin sister, Artemis, loved to hunt in the mountains. Apollo, skilled with a bow and arrow as well, sometimes joined her in her hunts.

Cupid scowled, clearly angry. “Your arrow doesn’t have eyes?”

Apollo smirked, looking at the heart-shaped bow Cupid was holding. “My sister and I are the best archers on the divine mountain. No god dares to claim the top spot. What’s that you’re holding? A toy? Arrows are dangerous things, little one. You shouldn’t be playing with them.”

“Then let’s see what a toy can do.” He swiftly nocked a golden arrow and shot it at Apollo. In the same motion, he released a leaden arrow that struck a passing nymph, Daphne.

Apollo tried to dodge, already bracing for pain, but to his surprise, he was unharmed. “What is this? Turns out, it’s really is just a toy arrow……” He looked up, only to see the beautiful nymph Daphne standing before him.

Apollo: “……” Had he just encountered love?

Without wasting another moment, Apollo abandoned Cupid and rushed toward Daphne. However, Daphne was horrified by his sudden attention and quickly fled in panic.

Cupid snorted in disdain. “I’m not so easy to mess with.”

Later that evening, Venus and Cupid met by the Euphrates River.

Venus had spent the night with Dionysus, and Cupid had played his trick on Apollo. The father and son had both had quite a productive day.

Since it was the night of the Dionysian revelry, Dionysus needed to stay in the mortal world for the night. He invited Venus to stay with him, but he politely refused.

Worried about his son, he planned to return to the divine mountain with Cupid. After all, what reason was there to stay now that he had already had his fill of fun?

Venus was always quick to end things and just as swift to move on, without a second thought.

Dionysus was left between laughter and tears. He was used to rejecting others, but Venus was the first to ever reject him.

Dionysus didn’t press him. He understood the nature of the God of Pleasure. He must not entertain thoughts that weren’t meant to be.

Venus and Cupid walked along the river, but suddenly, a massive shadow loomed overhead.

They looked up to see a gigantic creature, so large it seemed to touch the heavens. Its lower body was a snake’s tail, while its upper body sprouted wings, and its hair was tangled with a hundred serpent heads.

Venus gasped, pulling Cupid close to shield him. “It’s Typhon!”

Typhon was a monster even Zeus feared. He was the father of many of the most terrifying creatures in Greek mythology. Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the gates of the underworld, was one of his offspring.

Venus couldn’t even defeat Cerberus, let alone this ancestor of monsters.

Typhon had a peculiar aesthetic, with a strong preference for strange-shaped monsters. Even Venus’ beauty could not soften its heart.

“Cupid, do you have a plan?” Venus knew his own capabilities and simply pinned his hopes on his son. “If you shoot him with a golden arrow and make him fall in love with me, maybe he’ll let us go.”

“No, Father!” Cupid panicked. “If he falls in love with you, he’ll chase us relentlessly! Do you want him to follow us all the way back to the divine mountain? If he catches us, would you want to have children with him?”

Venus: “……”

He wouldn’t want to. He was very picky.

“What about the lead arrow?” Venus panicked and fled with Cupid in his arms. Cupid only had these two types of arrows.

Cupid shouted in panic, “The lead arrow is for drawing hatred! It will kill us instantly!”

Typhon’s massive form loomed over them, each step powerful enough to crush them like ants. Venus knew he couldn’t outrun him. With a determined grunt, he transformed himself and Cupid into two fish before jumping into the river. He tied their tails together with a ribbon to keep them from separating in the water.

The image of the two fish entwined would later become the constellation Pisces.

As they transformed, his white rose wreath, woven for him by Adonis, slipped from his head and fell to the riverbank.

Although he cherished the crown, in that moment of peril, there was no time to return to the shore and retrieve it.

Typhon, seeing the two tiny gods turn into fish and dart into the water, sneered and bent down to scoop them up. But before he could reach them, the wreath by the river suddenly flashed with a brilliant blue light. The immense power of the God of Sea surged forth, severing dozens of Typhon’s snake heads in a single stroke, creating a gust of bloody wind and rain.

When Poseidon had woven the wreath for Venus, he had infused it with the power of the God of Sea. He could not always be by his side, but in case of danger, if Venus happened to be wearing the wreath, it would trigger Poseidon’s power, delivering a protective strike on his behalf.

It was a rare and strict condition. Perhaps it would never be triggered, but it was certainly not a needless precaution.

Venus hurried downstream with Cupid, not daring to look back.

Thus, he didn’t see Typhon, wounded and unwilling to accept defeat, retreating in anger. The ever-blooming white rose, having fulfilled its protective mission, withered instantly.

Author’s Note: 【Reference Material】

In Hyginus’ Astronomica, it is told that Venus and her son Cupid once traveled along the Euphrates River, where they encountered Typhon. The two gods leapt into the water and transformed into fish, giving rise to the constellation Pisces.

The representative color of Pisces is sea blue, and its ruling planet is Neptune, the counterpart to the Greek god Poseidon.

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