I've Possessed Persephone (9 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 4

“Do you understand, Charon?”

Hades pointed to the words scribbled on the ground.

Pink hair, green eyes, cute face, fair skin—most of the phrases described the appearance of the ‘Kore’ he was searching for.

Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld, glanced briefly at the words carved with a stone, then nodded. Holding his staff, he wrote his reply in an empty corner.

[So you’re asking me to inform you if someone named ‘Kore’ who looks like this arrives at the River Acheron?]

“Yes. She’s the one I’m looking for. Please be sure to let me know.”

[Of course. I’ll send my messenger bird to notify you.]

Charon clicked his bony jaw in acknowledgment.

“Good. I’ll trust you on that.”

Hades nodded, watching the dutiful ferryman, then turned to leave Acheron.

Just as he exhaled and prepared to move on—

“…….”

For some reason, his senses sharpened instantly.

His sharp gaze shot toward the distant walls of the Underworld.

His furrowed brow locked onto the empty air where blue-green foliage rustled gently.

‘It felt like something was just there.’

* * *

The instant Hades turned his head toward the wall,

Persephone quickly ducked behind a rock.

‘Wow, this is insane.’

She’d almost been caught.

After a deep breath, Persephone peeked out again.

Fortunately, the ferryman seemed to have asked something—Hades’ attention had shifted away from her.

When the King of the Underworld vanished into the shadows, Persephone crouched low and crept closer to the cliff’s edge.

“Hmp…!”

Gritting her teeth against the pain, she stretched out her arm.

Without hesitation, she began climbing down the enormous cliff, stepping carefully onto the ledges below.

How much time had passed?

‘It looks just like a massive wall.’

Persephone tilted her head back to gaze up at the cliff after reaching its base.

Words slipped softly from her lips.

“Is this what the outer shell of human houses looks like?”

She was staring at the towering walls of the Underworld.

During her life above, she’d seen quiet, vast golden horizons far more often than cities.

She’d rarely laid eyes on such an immense structure.

‘The color’s somewhat similar, but the scale is completely different.’

If she hadn’t been so desperate to escape the Underworld, she likely wouldn’t have dared climb down at all—

She could clearly feel Hades’ resolve: once someone entered, they would never be allowed to leave.

Quickly turning away from the wall, Persephone headed toward the River Acheron.

She wandered along the riverbank like a mouse searching for scraps.

‘So the ferry carries the dead from over there, and once they arrive on my side, they head straight to the courtroom?’

As Persephone stared at Charon’s ferry, her brow suddenly narrowed.

“It’s packed to bursting.”

Just as she’d thought.

She’d hoped maybe she could sneak aboard by claiming her status as Demeter’s daughter, but it seemed impossible now—ever since Hades left, the dead had flooded in.

Tsking in frustration, Persephone glanced sideways at the ferryman.

Charon, clad in black robes, was rowing steadily.

Beneath his deeply tilted hat, his jawbone glinted faintly, and the joints of his fingers—gripping the oar tightly—cracked like breaking corn stalks.

‘How does that skeletal frame even move a boat?’

She’d heard rumors about the denizens of the Underworld, but Charon truly resembled nothing more than a human skeleton given form.

Perhaps intimidated by his terrifying appearance, the dead sat quietly in his boat, sniffling but obedient.

“What’s this now?”

At that moment, words on the ground caught Persephone’s toe as she walked along the riverbank.

[Pink hair, green eyes, cute face, fair skin……]

The instant she read those words—

‘Could this possibly be describing me?’

Persephone turned pale.

She realized Hades was still searching for her and had described her appearance to the ferryman.

Clutching her head in panic, she scrambled frantically.

‘What do I do? I don’t have anything to cover my looks!’

Charon’s ferry was already nearing the shore, about to dock.

If she didn’t conceal her distinctive features before then, she’d surely be caught—either by the ferryman or the King of the Underworld.

Just then—

“…….”

Her eyes filled with the river’s pitch-black water, as if someone had poured in dark ink.

Right—if there was nothing to hide her body…

‘I’ll hide!’

In the river!

* * *

There was no time to think it through. When a woman made up her mind, she jumped.

Persephone threw herself into the River Acheron.

Splash—!

An impossible splash echoed through Acheron.

The river gathered not only the dead but also the tears living mourners shed for them—until now, it had been silent save for quiet sobs.

Now, amid such stillness, the sudden cheerful noise drew every gaze instinctively toward its source.

The surrounding dead even forgot their sorrow as they stared at the culprit—Persephone.

But her conscience had vanished long ago.

She didn’t care who watched. All that mattered was escape.

Instantly shameless, Persephone scrambled forward with vigorous strokes.

‘Hmm, the water’s not bad—nice and cool.’

Luckily, by the time she’d reached the lower stretch, the temperature had dropped to a pleasantly refreshing level.

Despite being a river of the Underworld, it didn’t feel unpleasant at all.

The coolness enveloping her from head to toe even eased her worries for a moment.

Regardless of escape, her diving form must have been quite decent—before she knew it, she’d already crossed at least halfway.

‘Great! At this rate, I’ll reach the opposite bank soon.’

A confident grin spread across Persephone’s lips. She clenched her fist tightly.

If she could cross Acheron like the dead did, she’d surely find a path leading back to the surface.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, her eyes drifted unconsciously toward the riverbank—

And there she saw Charon, jaw hanging open wide.

Blue ghostly flames flickered in his eye sockets and mouth, and instantly, he began rowing straight toward her.

“Huh—what?!”

Panicked, Persephone dived beneath the water like a mermaid, kicking her legs hard.

Unfortunately, the ferryman’s rowing speed was far quicker.

His boat raced toward her as if fitted with a waterwheel, arriving in no time.

Ripples shimmered in the blue luminescence. Azure glimmers danced like fish scales on the surface.

Charon blocked Persephone’s path with his ferry; its dark hull loomed right before her.

Up close, he looked even more terrifying.

Persephone surfaced and glared at Charon.

‘Wait, how is he rowing so fast with all those coins piled inside his boat?’

All the coins belonged to the dead—they’d offered them as fare. Even if each was as tiny as a grain of millet, together they should have weighed quite a bit.

“……♪ -♬”

Having failed to evade Charon, Persephone now pretended ignorance and whistled a tune.

At the same time, she tried to casually dive under his boat and swim past.

Of course, that didn’t work either—

Charon swiftly repositioned his vessel, cutting off her escape route again.

“……Hmph.”

Persephone, her wet hair tied to one side, shot him a sidelong glare.

Charon was now fully focused on her, clearly assessing whether she matched the person Hades sought.

Persephone’s normally gentle eyes gradually sharpened into narrow triangles.

Ah, she hadn’t wanted to go this far…

‘But I guess I have no choice.’

The moment Persephone steeled herself—

“Whoa!”

She suddenly roared and made as if to flip the ferry over.

“……!”

Startled by her sudden outburst, Charon jolted.

Just as he struggled to steady his rocking boat, Persephone dove beneath the surface as if she’d been waiting for this exact moment.

By the time Charon turned around in confusion—

Persephone already held a bundle of coins in her arms!

Charon shot upright from his seat.

But Persephone, determined to escape the Underworld, was no pushover either.

“Just try coming closer!”

She glanced back over her shoulder, hoisting the bundle above her head with a devilish expression.

“I’ll drop it!”

* * *

Persephone had assumed the coin bundles in Charon’s boat would be heavy.

Given how weighty they appeared, she’d thought Charon wouldn’t be able to steer the boat recklessly.

Yet contrary to her relaxed assumption, the ferryman’s oar spun like a waterwheel, catching up to her far too quickly!

That was precisely why Persephone, desperate to flee the Underworld, had resorted to such an extreme measure—taking the coins hostage.

‘Now that I think about it, they don’t feel very heavy at all. How did he move so fast?’

Persephone, fiddling with the entire pouch of coins, frowned with one eyebrow raised.

“Wait a second….”

Are these even real coins?