Marvel: Breezing Through History as an Eternal

Chapter 23: Theseus and The Minotaur, 1240 BCE (1)

[1240 BCE, Crete]

We are now in a boat, heading towards the island of Crete. The skies are blue, the winds are strong, and the seas are friendly. Overall, a great day to travel.

We can see the edge of the island from our boat, the crews started to shout that we’re nearing the island, and not an hour later, we docked in the port of Crete.

I then took a long look at the island of Creete and its inhabitants. They are quite different from the mainland Greeks, their architecture is a bit different, clothing is different, statues are different, and their gods are probably different as well.

“Should we look for deviants now? Or rest first?” Gil asked beside me, along with the rest of my companions.

“It’s up to you.” I shrugged. “But I’d say we should look for lodging first.”

The rest just hummed, and we were about to walk to the town, but then another boat with a black sail docked, bringing a lot of young women(and men) to the island.

They all looked scared, but a man among them tried to calm them down.

“It’s going to be alright, I’ll slay the beast, and you will go home safely, trust me.” the young man said to the group.

It didn’t bring the group any comfort, but they were glad they could have someone to rely on.

“It’s… strange…” Gil murmured. “There’s a lot of women in that boat… women rarely travel in Greece.”

“You think that young man have this many wives?” Kingo questioned. “That’s a lot of responsibility.”

I snorted. “I doubt it, and besides, there are also men.”

Ikaris hummed. “Those women looked scared.”

“Slaves then?” Kingo asked again.

I shook my head this time. “No… they’re wearing nice dresses.”

“That boy was talking about a beast.” Ikaris pointed out. “You think it’s a deviant?”

“I don’t know… you want to ask?”

“Sure, what’s the harm of it?”

We then walked towards the group of men and women, and approached the young man who was leading the group.

“Hey boy!” Gil called the young man.

The young man turned towards us and looked confused. “Do you need anything, good sir?”

“Where are you from?” Gil asked.

“Oh, we’re from Athens sir.” the boy answered.

Gil hummed, “What’s your name?”

“Theseus, son of Aegeus.” he answered once again.

Gil just hummed again, he then looked at the women who’s following him. “Why all the women?”

Theseus grimaced as he heard that. “You don’t know?”

“We’re not from around here.” Ikaris continued.

“I can see that.” Theseus nodded as he observed our different ‘skin tone’. “Where are all of you from then?”

Gil just smiled. “We’re from Athens too… but… we haven’t visited the place for a long time…”

“Fellow Athenians?” Theseus perked as he heard that we’re from Athens as well. “Then surely, you must help me in this quest.” 

“What quest?” I questioned.

“To slay a beast,” said Theseus. “We Athenians offended the King of Crete years ago during the olympics, the king demanded sacrifices for the beast every four years from Athens since then.”

I sighed as I heard that, I know this story… “Let me guess, those men and women are virgins?”

“Yes… seven young men and seven maidens…”

“These Greeks and their obsession with virgins…” I murmured. “Theseus… right?”

“Yes, that is my name.” the boy nodded.

“What’s this beast you’re talking about?”

“The Minotaur people called it.” said the boy. “It lives inside the labyrinth built by the king.”

I hummed. “Then how do you plan to kill it?”

“With a sword…” murmured Theseus. “What else?”

Ikaris just shook his head. “You’re not going to kill that ‘minotaur’ using just a normal sword.”

“And you know how to kill it?” questioned Theseus.

Kingo snorted, trying to look like a senior. “Let’s just say we have experience, boy.”

“Truly?” said the boy with excitement. “Then I beg you, please, help us!”

Gil was about to answer, but then I said. “What’s in it for us?”

The boy, along with Gil, was surprised. “P-Pardon me?”

“What would we get if we help you?” I repeated.

“B-But… but you’re Athenians! You should help us!” exclaimed the boy.

“Don’t be stupid kid, after this trip, you’ll probably become king, Athens will fall if you have that sort of mindset.”

“W-What! H-How do you kno-”

“You literally said your father’s name, really stupid by the way.” I pointed out. “What if someone kidnaps you and demands ransom from your father?”

“I- ”

“Give the boy a break Pluto,” said Kingo lazily. “He’s just a kid.”

I just sighed. “So? What would we get if we help you?”

“I- I’ll give you all gold then!” exclaimed the boy.

“We don’t need gold, we’re already rich as it is.” I declined.

“Uh… a house in Athens?”

“We already have a house there too.” I declined again.

“Then we will all give you our maidenhood if we survive this.” one of the young women offered suddenly, while the others just nodded.

I raised my eyebrow. “You think that’s valuable to me?” I questioned. “You think I’m some sort of man-slut that will fuck every women he sees?”

The woman gulped. “N-No…”

“Then what do you want from us?” Theseus questioned hurriedly.

I thought a bit before saying. “Alright, I want to call the law of surprise.” Because why not?

“The law of Surprise?” he questioned.

I hummed. “If we meet again after this, you’ll give me your most recent and valuable possession.”

He looked hesitant, but nodded meekly. “O-Okay.”

“Then good.” I hummed. “If you break that favour, I WILL kill you.”

“A-Alright… I promise.”

I hummed. “Lead the way then.”

Theseus nodded meekly again and walked towards the labyrinth, looking nervous, same as the other Athenians, but they’re even more nervous as this was it, if they fail, they’ll die.

“Why did you do that?” Gil questioned me. “We could’ve just helped him…”

“For free?”  I asked back. “The boy’s stupid Gil. Brave, but stupid. He wants to take a deviant by himself using only a sword? That is some stupidity right there.”

“Then why’d you make him promise a favour? I mean, we will probably never see him again after this.”

“He’s the future king of Athens…” I sighed. “You think I would make a naive boy like him govern over Thena’s city?”

Gil hummed. “Good point… so you’re educating him?”

“No… not really.” I mumbled. “Just giving him a little push is all…”

After a couple of minutes of walking, we arrived at a palace, possibly the king’s palace, which confuses me.

“We need to go here first,” said Theseus. “I want to make a deal with the king.”

“Sure, go ahead.” I shrugged.

When we approached the entrance, two guards blocked the path, looking at us with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Who are you?” The guard spoke, trying to look threatening.

“We’re Athenians, we want to talk to the king.” Theseus simply said.

“Athenians?” The guards frowned. “The king doesn’t want to meet a slave like you.”

“I have a right.” Theseus insisted. “I am the son of King Aegeus, I have the right to meet with the king.”

The guards scoffed. “A slave king, no difference.”

Theseus was about to protest again, but then a feminime voice sounded from the top of the gate, where there is a platform.

“Let them in, guards.” said the female. “I will personally escort them to my father.”

The guards were surprised to see the woman on the platform. “But princess-”

“No buts.” the female insisted.

The guards just sighed. “Very well, princess Ariadne.”

The female then walked off from the platform, and she walked to the entrance. 

While we waited for the princess to come down, I asked Theseus. “Slave king?”

“Athens has been a tributary state of Crete…” Theseus murmured in dissatisfaction. “They often raid our towns for slaves…”

I just frowned at the answer, and the guards suddenly opened the gate, revealing a very pale young girl, her bare chest was visible, and she was wearing a yellow dress, with a lot of accessories.

The girl smiled as she saw the group, especially when she saw Theseus.

“Welcome to King Minos’s palace, travellers.”