The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon

Chapter 7 – Nereis Nymph Neri’s Melancholy

The Passos Island’s Harbor.
The bustling dock, busy with the Seeding Festival, turned into a sea of tears in no time.

“Uwaaah!! Don’t go! You can’t go! You absolutely can’t go!”

“Neri… Please listen to me… Aagh! Don’t pull my hair, my hair!”

“I don’t care! I don’t care! I don’t care!! Dianes can’t go! You have to stay here and live with me!!”

A young nymph with shimmering silver hair, like the morning stream, continuously burst into tears while a young boy, trying to console her, screamed as his hair was pulled.
Even Chiron, the mentor of many heroes, and the highly respected high priest Efaros of Passos Island smiled bitterly, and those diligently carrying luggage passed by warmly.
The young nymph, almost wailing, grabbed and swung the boy’s head around.

“I’ll come back! I’ll be back soon!”

“Lie! The older sisters told me everything! They say human men promise to come back soon, but once they go out to sea, they never come back!”

“I swear I’ll come back! Ouch! My hair, my hair is being pulled out!”

“I don’t care! Don’t go! Live here with meee!!”

True to her name as a sea nymph, Neri was shedding tears so profusely that it was hard to believe she was crying from such a small body.

“Haha. They say heroes are charming. You’ve already captured the heart of a sea sister.”

“When Dianes came to our temple, Nesneria fell for him at first sight. Dianes didn’t show any displeasure and was especially generous to Nesneria. But I never imagined it would be to this extent…”

“Hey, elders! Don’t just watch. Help me out here!”

While the two old men were smiling warmly, seemingly seeing it as a childish love fight, I was having a really tough time.
When I was practicing martial arts, she found it fascinating and asked me to teach her as well. So, I taught her some basic techniques, like the Golden Palm and a few steps of footwork. But seeing how strong Neri was from practicing those moves, I realized it wasn’t just child’s play.

“A true hero not only embraces a woman but also takes responsibility for her. Since I haven’t seen my friend in a long time, I’ll go have a chat with him. Take care of it by then.”

“Then, let’s go to my study. I have a bottle of wine personally crafted by Dionysus. I saved it for a day like today.”

Surprisingly, it seemed that Grandpa Efaros and Chiron knew each other. With Grandpa’s suggestion, Chiron readily left, and I was left alone with Neri at the dock.

“Shit… Shit…”

“Hey… Neri?”

“I don’t know!”

Thud!

Out of breath, Neri, who had been panting, suddenly turned and kicked my shin with all her might before heading into the forest.
Well, my feet would probably hurt more anyway, being barefoot.

“…Sigh.“

“Hey, Dianes. What are you doing?”

“What do you mean, sir?”

The dockmaster, who had been silently watching, chuckled and smacked my back.

“Ouch!”

“A guy should chase after a lovely lady who runs off crying!”

“But Neri doesn’t listen to anything when she’s angry…”

“You talk too much! Aren’t you going to run for her immediately?!”

“Argh! I’m going!”

Chased by the dockmaster’s swinging poker, I screamed and ran after her.

Nereid nymphs.

Daughters of the great ocean god Oceanus and the sea goddess Thetis.
They were born from the waves that crash thousands of times and the purest deep-sea currents, gathering in the ocean palace to stir the waves of the Aegean Sea.

Their songs calm the waves, enchant swimming whales, and create storms that engulf islands.
Even among the Nereid nymphs, whose eternal life, great power, and immortal beauty were envied even by the gods above, Nesneria was special.
A new sister born after 200 years.
She was the youngest of her sisters, with shimmering silver hair like moonlit waves and ephemeral beauty like a dawn comet, making her the treasure of her sisters.

However, at the same time, to protect their very beautiful younger sister, they prevented Nesneria from ever leaving the palace of Thetis in the deep sea.
Ever since she was young, they feared that heroes or gods might kidnap her upon seeing her beauty.
The only time she was allowed to do so was on the night of the new moon, which was favored by the virgin goddess, Artemis.

Even so, it wasn’t a large city like Thebes or Athens, but a small island in the north, Passos, and it was limited to walks in the deserted forest.

The young Nesneria, like a young nymph, was full of curiosity about the world, and even with limited freedom, she roamed the island of Passos under Artemis’s moonlight, taking in the world.
Someday, when her arms and legs grew as her sisters’ did, and her beautiful hair cascaded down to her waist, she intended to use her overflowing inspiration to sing comforting songs to sailors and make the waves dance.

Then, one day, as usual, Nesneria came to the island of Passos with her sisters under the crescent moon, but this time, she ventured deeper into the forest alone than she ever had before.
The forest, always filled with the whispers of spirits and animals, was unusually quiet, and the forest, where even Artemis’s chariot, which always protected them, had vanished into the darkness, pulled out fear from deep within young Nesneria’s heart.
It seemed as if an evil spirit or monster would jump out of that darkness at any moment and grab her beauty.

For some unknown fear, she ran back the way she came without thinking.

No matter how loudly she called, her dependable sisters did not come, and neither the spirits of the forest nor the animals, who often played with her, showed up.

What could have happened?
Could it be that a monster so terrifying that even the spirits feared it appeared in this forest?

Her steps quickened with the fear that trailed endlessly, and soon, she arrived at the creek, where she often bathed with her sisters.

“S-Sisters? Where did you go?”

However, unlike always, her sisters, who bathed in the moonlight with her, were nowhere to be seen, and only the stream quietly flowed.
Could it be that her sisters had returned to the sea, leaving her behind?
A creeping dread slowly weighed down on her shoulders as she tentatively lifted her gaze.
They had said to pray towards the crescent moon if she ever got lost, but the sky she looked up to was pitch black.
The beautiful crescent moon’s chariot, the dawn’s first star, and even the guardian gods of constellations had all vanished, making the black sky feel as though it was pressing down on young Nesneria.

Not knowing what to do, she barely managed to support her trembling legs when suddenly, a rustling sound came from across the stream.

“Hiyak!”

Nesneria, trembling like a frightened rabbit, sat down on the spot.
The rustling bushes further provoked her fear even more, and as it slowly revealed itself, her terror reached its peak.

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

“What is it?!”

But contrary to her imagination, what appeared was neither a giant monster boar nor an evil creature, but a boy.
A boy with hair as black as night and deep black eyes like an onyx.
His androgynous face was as beautiful as that of her eldest sister, who especially adored Nesneria.

“…What? Are you lost?”

It was the first time Nesneria had seen a human boy.
Nesneria’s eyes widened at the words coming out of the mouth of a boy as beautiful as her sisters.
Since birth, she had been pampered as the youngest, cherished by everyone from the forest spirits to the fierce beasts, but for the first time ever, she received a cold, reproachful look.

“Uh… um…”

“Really, I don’t know which family you belong to, but sending a child alone into the forest on the night of the new moon? What were they thinking?”

Aren’t you a child, too?
The words rose up to her throat, but Nesneria barely held them back.
Since earlier, she had felt a strange aura prickling her skin, coming from the boy in front of her.

“Wh-who are you?”

“Me? Hmm…”

She had heard from her sisters.
They said that sometimes gods, when they see a beautiful girl like her, transform into humans or animals to try and take her away. Was it possible that a god had transformed to take her away?

“Are you… a god?”

“Eh? God? What is this nonsense? No, wait, even so, it’s not wrong to say that since I reached the peak and then became a child again…?”

The boy, frowning at the incomprehensible words, soon stared intently at her, trailing off as he slowly approached her.

“Uh. Uh uh?”

Tilting his head as if he found it amusing, the boy’s eyes sparkled as if he had realized something, and he looked directly at Nesneria.

“You’re not human? For a moment, I thought you were from the Southern Island Sect. Your pure qi is too much to compare with those dark guys.”

“Ah…”

Eyes more beautiful than the black ruby ring that her second sister received as a gift from a prince on the mainland.
Nesneria felt her heart drop with a thud at those beautiful eyes.
Interest and cunning, pride and admiration, memories and recollections.
The feelings of humans, which immortals who live eternally and those with ageless lives couldn’t possess, sparkled in his eyes like sunlight shimmering in the sea.

Fascinating.

They were more beautiful than any jewel she had received as a gift recently.

“A spirit or a fairy, maybe?”

“Y-Yes. I am Nereis nymph, Nesneria, from the Thetis Palace.”

“An elf?”

“A nymph.”

“Hmm… Ah, a nymph! I remember that bard talking about them. Nereis, so the sea? That’s why I felt a similar qi to the sea.”

The boy nodded, as if learning something new, and found it amusing.
Then, his face soon turned serious, and he bowed politely to introduce himself.

“I am Dianes, residing in the Temple of Zeus, the father of the great thunderbolt. Greetings to the nymph of the sea, sister of a thousand waves.”

It was as if she were looking at a prince from a kingdom with an elegant and disciplined posture.
As he bowed his head, his jet-black hair swayed like a veil, and Nesneria just stared blankly at the sight.

‘It looks so fluffy. His hair must feel nice to touch.’

“Eh?”

“Ah…?”

When Nesneria came to her senses, she was stroking that fluffy-looking hair.
Dianes looked up with a bewildered expression, as if asking what she was doing.
Nesneria, embarrassed, blushed like a red radish at those eyes.

Thus began the fate between the two.