Possessor #2 Just Wants to Fangirl Chapter 161

“The Olympian gods aren’t Greece’s indigenous deities. They’re the faith of people who migrated around 3000 BC, but the people originally living in Greece had been believing in a separate goddess since long ago.”

‘Goddess!’

I focused on the story with intensity in my eyes. Perhaps excited by that interest, Go Daesik’s speech quickened.

“The level is different! The first records of Greek mythology are Homer’s <Iliad>, <Odyssey>, and Hesiod’s <Theogony>, right? That’s around 750 BC! In contrast, goddess statues discovered in Minos are from 7000 BC! The origins are completely—”

‘He’s starting to go off on tangents again.’

Someone else would patiently endure and listen out of courtesy, but I can cleanly apply the brakes.

“Go Daesik?”

After grabbing Go Daesik’s shoulders tightly and giving him one round of eye-level education, he stopped talking abruptly and trembled.

“If you talk nonsense, I’ll kick you off the team?”

“S-sorry.”

“Only talk about the goddess. That goddess, what’s her name?”

“I don’t know the name.”

“What?”

“W-well, she’s a deity that existed before writing was invented! But looking at statues, she holds snakes. Especially often holding one snake in each hand.”

“Snakes?”

My brow furrowed sharply without me realizing.

‘Did I get it wrong?’

I’m currently searching for the Tower Goddess who sides with humans. I don’t need a goddess who commands not just one but two snakes.

Then Go Daesik, who’d been glancing at my expression, hurriedly added as if explaining.

“Snakes weren’t evil beings in ancient times! They’re animals that shed their skin and are reborn, right? She was a goddess symbolizing birth, death, and reincarnation. A goddess of life!”

“Really?”

“And snakes are the animals closest to the earth, they enter underground, and live in water too. This goddess statue even sometimes has bird wings!”

“One-line summary.”

“This goddess was a goddess of life governing the earth, the underworld, and even the sky.”

The wrinkles on my brow smoothed out.

If it’s a goddess governing the entire earth and even hell, it’s worth attention for now.

“There must have been quite a few people who believed in this goddess. Not just in Greece, but similar snake goddesses exist in Africa and the Middle East too. She’s a goddess believed across the entire Mediterranean region during the Neolithic period!”

“Wait! So you’re saying the people who conquered Greece turned the existing goddess into a monster called Medusa and spread that mythology?”

This time the speaker was Seong Hayul.

She values common sense, so she must find it hard to believe.

“Why, can’t believe it?”

“No, I believe it? Just organizing.”

“You believe this?”

Seong Hayul crossed her arms and snorted.

“It’s right there in the mythology, isn’t it? Zeus wasn’t the chief god from the start—he’s a god who conquered existing gods and established Olympus.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

Greek mythology is relatively honest. Because it doesn’t claim Zeus created the world.

Zeus starts a war called the Titanomachy, subjugates the existing gods, and ascends to the throne.

“What I’m trying to say is, even if Medusa is that goddess, she’s one generation higher. She’s not a primordial deity, right?”

In Greek mythology, gods are divided into three generations total.

Generation 1 is the primordial deities.

Born from Chaos: Gaia (earth), Tartarus (abyss), Eros (love), Erebos (darkness), and Nyx (night).

Among these, the deity in charge of creation is Gaia.

‘If it’s the Tower Goddess, this side is the most likely candidate.’

Gaia divided herself alone to create Uranus (sky), Ouros (mountains), and Pontus (sea). After that, true to Greek mythology, she combined with her son Uranus and continuously bore children.

Those children are the 2nd generation gods, the Titans.

As if demonstrating the dangers of inbreeding, the 2nd generation had many deformities like being one-eyed or having 100 arms.

Looking at Medusa’s appearance alone, she belongs to this side. But here Go Daesik said something interesting.

“It’s possible Medusa’s lineage was changed. In some myths, Gaia bore the three Gorgon sisters alone.”

“Really? Then she inherited only the mother’s bloodline without a father?”

If those words are true, Medusa is an avatar born from the goddess of creation.

This is information Gyeon Junhwi doesn’t know. There are many puzzle pieces… but I still don’t know how to connect them yet.

But!

‘It’s okay! I don’t need to know!’

Remember, my goal is hands and feet!

Diligently collecting and carrying puzzle pieces is what I need to do. Fitting them together is Gyeon Junhwi’s role.

Checking the time, lunch break is coming soon.

“Quickly! Let’s make some kind of report within an hour!”

* * *

We pulled out all kinds of materials on the ground and concentrated on searching for treasure clues.

After hearing Go Daesik’s words, Seong Hayul, suddenly overflowing with motivation, vigorously opened her textbook.

“First I’ll read the textbook, so Go Daesik, speak up if there’s anything to add.”

“Got it.”

“Are there sections where Medusa appears besides the Perseus heroic tale?”

Perseus is a kind of Greek version of Grandfather Dangun. After killing Medusa, he establishes the Mycenaean Kingdom and becomes the ancestor of Mycenaean civilization. (+) ^[1] TLN: The similarity that the author mentioned here is that Dangun is credited with founding Gojoseon, Korea’s first kingdom. Similarly, Perseus, after slaying the Gorgon Medusa, founds the kingdom of Mycenae. And I already told you about Dangun, but if you want to know more: He’s a legendary figure in Korean mythology, known as the founder of the first Korean kingdom, Gojoseon. According to an ancient Korean historical text, Dangun was the son of Hwanin, the “Lord of Heaven,” and Hwangung, a heavenly prince who descended to earth.

The reason Perseus killed Medusa is simple. Because he fell into a trap. Someone demands he bring Medusa’s head as an engagement gift, and he accepts.

“…Thus he declared to everyone he would bring Medusa’s head.”

After reading the passage from the textbook, Seong Hayul looked at Go Daesik.

“What should be added here?”

“In old records, Medusa is only called ‘Gorgon.’ It means ‘fearful, terrible,’ you know? But about 100 years later, the names of the three Gorgon sisters appear.”

“So Medusa’s name was added in later generations?”

“Probably? And the sisters’ names mean ‘powerful,’ ‘wandering far,’ and ‘ruler’ respectively.”

“Meaning the goddess’s faith spread far and was powerful.”

When Go Daesik answers, Seong Hayul organizes. Thanks to that, I could concentrate on listening diligently.

But suddenly Go Daesik rested his chin with a serious face.

“It gets strange from here. In content added 100 years later, suddenly it says two of the Gorgon sisters are immortal but Medusa can be killed.”

“The powerful deity, the ruler, can suddenly be killed? What does that mean?”

“I don’t know either….”

Everyone was immersed in deep contemplation when something flashed and I clapped my hands while shouting.

“The Neolithic goddess statue! She holds snakes, one in each hand, two of them, right?”

“So?”

“What if that woman isn’t a deity? What if only those two snakes are divine beings?”

Medusa is a human woman who commands two immortal snakes.

I roughly fit it together, and Go Daesik reacted intensely.

“It’s possible! Medusa can also be interpreted as ‘leader’ or ‘queen’ or even ‘priestess’!”

“Then Perseus killed a queen or priestess who communicated with two snake deities. Let’s establish it as a hypothesis for now!”

Seong Hayul, who’d been typing excitedly, glared at me.

“Yeon Sora, you’re unexpectedly good at this stuff?”

“Forcing fits is my specialty! Hang it on your nose, it’s a nose ring; hang it on your neck, it’s a necklace!”

“It’s ‘hang it on your ear, it’s an earring,’ you know? Sigh, whatever. I’ll let it slide.”

Anyway.

I thought what could we do in just an hour, but our teamwork clicked surprisingly well and progress moved smoothly.

A system was clearly established where Go Daesik handles language knowledge, Seong Hayul handles organization and common sense, and I handle ideas outside common sense and forcing fits.

“Sigh, should I read the next part?”

Perseus lacks the ability to defeat Medusa, so he receives an oracle. As a result, he hears that if he finds nymphs called Hesperides, the Olympian gods will give him plenty of items.

The problem is, he doesn’t know where the Hesperides live. So the hero seeks out the three Graeae sisters.

The three Graeae sisters share one eyeball and one tooth among the three, and when this eyeball is attached, they can see everything in the world.

Perseus intervenes at the moment the three Graeae sisters exchange the eyeball and steals it. Then he threatens he’ll only return the eyeball if they tell him the location of the Hesperides garden.

“This is the first Lost Treasure, right?”

“That’s right!”

“But aren’t the Graeae Medusa’s sisters? According to the official lineage, both were born from the same sea monster deity parents, right?”

“It is strange that the same parents bore three sisters in succession.”

When the conversation reached this point, Go Daesik suddenly jumped up while shouting.

“Crazy!!!! The three Graeae sisters are exactly the same!!!!”

“What are you talking about?”

“In the first records, only two sisters’ names appear! Becoming three sisters happens 300 years later!”

Both Medusa and Medusa’s sisters. Sometimes there are two sisters, sometimes three.

It’s too much to call coincidence, but ambiguous to call a pattern.

I tilted my head, but Go Daesik grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously.

“Yeon Sora! It’s thanks to your idea! That framework is important! This is tremendous progress!”

Well, if it’s seen as having ability, that’s good.

“Let’s progress quickly. We only have 5 minutes.”

I need to submit a report to Junhwi and prove results.

The next passage of the myth tells what happened in the nymph’s garden. Additionally, the Tower’s 4th through 8th floors we’ll climb going forward use this garden as their stage.

After safely finding the nymph’s garden, Perseus receives tons of gifts from the Olympian gods here. Athena’s bronze shield, Zeus’s scythe, Hades’s invisibility helm, Hermes’s winged sandals, and even a bag to safely carry all items.

Perseus uses the items economically to kill Medusa.

He enters the cave in invisible state, and since he’s flying, there’s no footstep sound either. He’s even lucky that Medusa is asleep. The snakes on her head are awake, but he uses Athena’s shield as a mirror to find his way without turning to stone.

“At this level, didn’t he win through item power?”

“He was a hero receiving the gods’ love from the start. He appears as Zeus’s son, right?”

“And he himself decided from the start to push through with item power since it wouldn’t work with his own strength.”

For reference, we also receive those items when climbing the Tower.

Items provided by Olympian gods seem like they’d be incredibly expensive, but because so many items are released, the price isn’t that high either.

The most important item in this garden is the apple.

This is the second Lost Treasure.

“But do golden apples really exist?”

“It’s certain they’re not on the tree. But if it’s the Hesperides garden, they should exist, right?”

In mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs who guard the golden apples. These apples were given by Gaia to Hera as a wedding gift, so they could be seen as items with higher status than the Olympian gods. Items given directly by the god of creation.

But there are no apples in the garden inside the Tower.

“The dragon guarding the apples exists, right? Why are there no apples?”

“Who knows….”

“Aren’t the Hesperides connected to snakes?”

Seong Hayul tried somehow to connect it to snakes, but Go Daesik tilted his head.

“Nymphs aren’t connected to snakes. But it says they dwell in the place closest to darkness. More than that… it’s TMI, but there’s something a bit interesting.”

“What?”

“In Latin, ‘apple’ and ‘evil’ are similar. Malus and malum.”

Go Daesik continued with a grin.

“Doesn’t it resemble creation mythology?”

Not just me, but everyone is feeling it.

The apple distinguishing good and evil, the woman commanding snakes, the creator god….

These are keywords anyone would feel déjà vu about.

Another keyword gets added here.

‘The Olympian gods were 3rd generation deities….’

Similarly, the Tower of Babel in <On the Brink of Destruction> is a tower climbed by 3rd generation hunters.

I don’t know how it connects… but it’s an important puzzle piece.

• 1. TLN: The similarity that the author mentioned here is that Dangun is credited with founding Gojoseon, Korea’s first kingdom. Similarly, Perseus, after slaying the Gorgon Medusa, founds the kingdom of Mycenae. And I already told you about Dangun, but if you want to know more: He’s a legendary figure in Korean mythology, known as the founder of the first Korean kingdom, Gojoseon. According to an ancient Korean historical text, Dangun was the son of Hwanin, the “Lord of Heaven,” and Hwangung, a heavenly prince who descended to earth.