Sleepless night.
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.
The next day, Jason rode Pegasus, quietly tailing the snake demon Lamia from the sky, and the eagle was there too.
Finally, the snake demon Lamia, who had run into the ancient forest, came to a small stream to rest.
Leaning by the stream, the thirsty Lamia stretched out her hands to cup the clear water from the stream and drink it, then upon seeing her reflection in the stream water, her expression soon became complicated, and she used her hand to fiercely slap the stream water before her.
When Jason quietly landed, he naturally heard Lamia, who was covering her face with both hands, crying softly.
Thus, Jason could not help but glance at the eagle that had landed nearby.
Only then did he step forward and softly speak, "If I am not mistaken, you should be Queen Lamia of the Kingdom of Libya... right?"
The sudden voice naturally startled Lamia.
Her whole body trembled lightly, and after her snake tail swayed, Lamia immediately turned her head to look at Jason.
When she clearly saw the golden-haired, green-eyed youth before her, who, even in the dim and deep ancient forest, was still favored by the light.
"It's you!"
Soon, Lamia recognized who Jason before her was and said in surprise, "You are that hero from last night, Heracles!"
"Ahem." Jason cleared his throat lightly, maintaining a straight face under the speechless gaze of Pegasus nearby that seemed to say "you again?", and replied flatly, "Heracles is my title; actually, my real name is Jason.
And, I am not a hero."
With that, Jason bowed to Lamia before him.
At this moment, the scene reflected in the clear stream water was of the divinely favored person Jason, dressed in white clothes, golden-haired and green-eyed, smiling as he faced Lamia before him, who had been cursed, transforming from a beautiful and gentle queen into a snake demon despised by all.
"...You are not afraid of me?"
Lamia's bewitching snake eyes gazed at this extraordinary hero, and thus naturally, she saw the holy Pegasus beside Jason.
So Lamia understood and said, "Yes, you naturally would not fear me, because you are a great hero guided here by the great gods of the heavens, right?"
In response, Jason smiled lightly and did not deny it.
"I did not expect that even like this, she still does not plan to let me go." Lamia said dejectedly, then laughed in a very miserable manner, saying, "No, it should be said that Queen Hera has finally chosen to forgive me?
Come then, hero named Heracles."
With that, Lamia propped herself up, her tail wriggling as she came before Jason, her bewitching snake eyes looking at him.
And at the same time, with a tone as if she could finally be freed, she raised her neck toward Jason and said, "Come, kill me!"
Seeing this, Jason blinked his eyes.
He soon understood that Lamia had misunderstood; she probably thought he was someone Hera had called to kill her... but given the name he had given, it would be hard for Lamia not to misunderstand.
"Queen Lamia, I think you have probably misunderstood." Jason replied softly, "I am not here following Queen Hera's guidance, so I will not kill you; on the contrary, I am here to help..."
Jason's words were not finished.
"No, it does not matter how."
Lamia directly interrupted Jason's words, laughing desolately as she said to Jason, "Kill me, Jason... if you are here to help me, then this would be the greatest salvation for me!"
Under Jason's slightly stunned gaze, Lamia continued, "I have had enough... enough of this kind of life!
Because I turned into this appearance, I personally killed my own children, and that scene is permanently engraved in my eyes.
It makes me unable to sleep, unable even to close my eyes."
"Now, as soon as I close them, the scene of me personally killing them appears before my eyes, tormenting me day and night; only by gouging out my eyes can it feel a little better."
"And every night, the curse devours my sanity, plunging me into endless pain; at that time, I can only go kill other people's children, listen to those mothers' pain over losing their children, to alleviate my own."
"So... kill me, no matter who sent you, whether it is truly Queen Hera or not Hera, kill me."
Lamia covered her face with both hands, crying as she said to Jason in a voice full of pain and despair, "Kill me... even if you are a hero sent by some compassionate god to help me, my only request to you is to kill me, let me gain release!"
Hearing this, Jason looked at Lamia before him, who was weeping in grief, but whose eyes could no longer shed tears, and Jason could not help but fall silent.
He gently clenched his fist, without looking toward the eagle.
After a long while, Jason slowly exhaled, looked at Lamia, and said, "Even if I say that I have the ability to remove the curse from you..."
"No need." As Jason expected, Lamia, who had completely lost the will to live, directly replied to him, "Because I no longer have the qualification to live in this world."
Hearing her desolate words, Jason slowly closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and nodded gently to Lamia, saying, "...I understand."
With those words, the eagle looked toward Jason.
But in the end, he showed no indication.
Hearing this, Lamia looked at Jason before her, a gentle smile appearing on her face as she said, "Thank you... kind hero."
"Before you die, is there anything or any wish you still want to do?" Jason continued to ask.
Lamia was silent for a while and said, "Things I want to do... although I know I absolutely cannot obtain their forgiveness, I want to go apologize to them, but this is probably impossible..."
"Is that so."
Jason nodded, interrupting Lamia's words, and turned to her, saying, "Then let's go; I will take you to apologize to them."
Hearing this, Lamia looked at Jason in slight daze.
She then saw Jason mount Pegasus, pat it, and extend a hand toward Lamia.
Lamia looked at the pure white Pegasus before her, at Jason who was extraordinarily handsome under the sunlight, then at her own snake tail below, and could not help but retreat two steps, her face full of shame.
"It's fine, come up." Jason said softly, "Brother Horse won't mind... don't look at me, I'll give you two cakes later!"
With those words, Pegasus immediately obediently crouched down toward Lamia.
"No, no... I can just follow on the ground; you all are so noble, while I, ah!"
Jason did not wait for Lamia to finish, reached out to grab her hand, pulled her over, and held her in a princess carry in his arms, right in front of the eagle.
Of course, Jason mainly feared that the snake demon Lamia would fall off the horse's back.
"Let's go."
With those words, as Lamia subconsciously looked up, staring blankly at Jason's handsome face, Pegasus flapped its wings and flew at extreme speed toward the place where Jason and the others had rested last night, where those migrating villagers were.
Approximately, after more than an hour, Pegasus, traveling at full speed, brought Jason to the destination.
"Lamia is here, Lamia is here!"
"Wait, it's not just Lamia, that's... that's Heracles, the hero who saved us last night, Heracles!"
The holy Pegasus descending from the high sky naturally instantly attracted the gazes of everyone present.
They looked with terrified eyes at Lamia, who had been set down by Jason.
At the same time, many villagers saved by Jason last night looked at him with adoring gazes.
"Hero, this is... you have subdued Lamia?"
After a commotion caused by the arrival of the two, an elderly man with white hair in the village came before Jason.
He pointed at Lamia in the distance, inquiring of Jason.
"Yes." Jason smiled and said to them, "I have already subdued her, so rest assured; she absolutely will not harm you anymore."
Hearing Jason's assurance, the people around could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Then hero, I wonder why you brought her here..."
"Today, when the sun sets, it will be the time she leaves the human world." Jason said faintly to the elder, "So I asked her what her final wish in life was, and her answer was that she hopes to apologize to you all."
"Apologize?" As the elder subconsciously froze.
"Apologize?... She wants to apologize to us? No... what qualification does she have? I do not accept; I absolutely will not accept!"
Soon, nearby, a mother who had lost her child showed an angry, pained expression toward Lamia.
Seeing this, Lamia's expression could not help but dim.
However, for such a situation, she obviously had some psychological preparation.
"We cannot be so unreasonable!" The elder scolded the woman, then looked at Lamia and said, "No matter what, she was once our... proud queen after all."
Finally, Lamia apologized to everyone present, using the greatest courtesy she could perform.
Then Jason took her again to the Kingdom of Libya.
Taking her to see the Kingdom of Libya one last time, her former home.
And under Jason's accompaniment, Lamia met her former sisters and parents, reunited with them, and bid farewell; then, at sunset, under the gaze of the people of the Kingdom of Libya.
Jason took her, riding Pegasus, and flew toward the twilight of the setting sun.
Finally, they returned to the ancient forest.
Then, under the glow of twilight, Jason asked Lamia, "Now, is there anything else you want to do?"
"No more." A smile hung on Lamia's face as she gazed at the golden-haired, green-eyed hero before her.
She said softly to Jason, "Thank you; now... I can finally go reunite with my children."
"Go reunite with your children..."
After saying this thoughtfully, Jason still did not draw his sword, but instead chanted an incantation and took out his caduceus.
"It seems this should be your final wish."
With that, Jason came to Lamia's side, gently tapped the caduceus on the ground, and soon a dark magic circle appeared on the ground.
From the magic circle, butterflies of the underworld flew out gracefully, one after another, circling around Jason and Lamia.
Finally, they engulfed them and teleported them to the underworld.
The eagle nearby watched this scene; he could only see them off.
"This is..."
Having come to the underworld for the first time, Lamia was naturally completely shocked.
"This is the underworld."
Jason said softly to Lamia, while stepping forward, "Your final wish is to see your deceased children, and I happen to have a little bit of connections in the underworld; I hope to be able to help you."
And so, under Lamia's dazed gaze as if she were watching a myth, Jason brought her quickly to the face of Cerberus, the guardian of the gates of hell.
"Why are you here again?"
Cerberus looked at Jason depressedly, then glanced at Lamia, the beautiful woman who had become a snake demon with a kind of bewitching beauty, sniffed, and said puzzledly, "And you even brought a living person... Jason, do you not know the rules of the underworld?"
"Of course I know, Lord Cerberus." Jason said smilingly, "But please make a little exception; I am bringing her to find someone; once they reunite, she will become a member of the underworld."
Hearing this, Cerberus could not help but pause.
Looking at Jason, then at Lamia, who was looking at him timidly.
He then simply lay down, all three heads closing their eyes together, and said, "Do as you like; go mess around yourself."
"Thank you, Lord Cerberus!" Jason said, stepping forward to pat Cerberus's head; at this moment, Cerberus not only did not resist, but his tail wagged happily...
"Let's go, Lamia."
Thus, Lamia, with her mouth agape, looked at Cerberus with closed eyes before her, then at Jason walking into the gates of hell, urging her on.
Lamia, whose mind was slightly short-circuiting, ultimately still followed obediently.
Soon, Lamia followed Jason to the ferryman god Charon.
"Why did you bring a living person?"
Charon looked at Lamia puzzledly, then suddenly hummed softly and said, "Wait, this aura of divine power is... Queen Hera's curse?"
After saying this softly, Charon looked at Jason.
After Jason raised his hands to show innocence, he said to Charon, "Grandpa Charon, this really has nothing to do with me... and rest assured, I am bringing her to find her child; once found, she will become a member of the underworld and will not break the rules!"
No no no, bringing her like this is already breaking the rules.
Charon thought this inwardly.
But in the end, he still said nothing, reached out to pat Jason's head, then rowed the small boat, ferrying Lamia and Jason across to the shore.
After landing, Jason led Lamia onward.
"Jason, where are we going?"
After walking some distance, looking at the scenery of the underworld along the way, Lamia finally could not hold back and asked Jason.
"To Big Brother Hades's palace, to ask him or Sister Persephone for help." Jason also casually replied to Lamia.