The next day, Herc sits outside his home, remembering Deianeira and the kids. Iolaus stops by just then, and Herc fills him in, angry that Zeus failed to stop Hera or even provide him with an explanation. Iolaus offers to help Herc get revenge, but Herc says it's something he has to do alone and Iolaus understands. Later, Herc is tearing up furniture, preparing to raze the home he and his family shared, when he's approached by a man named Lycus, who says he's traveled all the way from Ister, seeking his help. People are dying, Lycus says, to which Herc replies that people are dying there too and that he can't save everyone who crossses his path. So, Lycus heads to the nearby tavern and starts disparaging Hercules, but Iolaus overhears and heatedly defends him, explaining that Herc just lost his family. Lycus immediately feels bad for bringing his problems to Herc, but Iolaus says Lycus was right to seek Herc's help, as Herc would normally step in. Iolaus asks what the problem is, and Lycus explains that a She-Demon is terrorizing his village, turning the men into stone. The She-Demon then steals their souls and gives them to Hera's sister, Hecate, in the Underworld, all because the people of Ister refused to sacrifice their firstborn sons to Hera. Iolaus offers to rid the village of the She-Demon, and they set out for Ister. Meanwhile, Herc finishes his task, setting the furniture ablaze and with it, his home. He then travels to the house of his mother Alcmene, who's apparently already heard from Zeus about Deianeira and the kids. She tells him that there's time enough for anger later, but right now, he needs to grieve. That night, she explains that Hera's motives were "[Zeus's] lust" for another woman, and Herc sets out to get even with Hera the only way he knows how: destroy her seven temples.
The next day, Herc comes across some people making an offering to Hera, and destroys their shrine, before stomping off. He later approaches one of Hera's temples, confident that Hera is unable to stop him. Meanwhile, Iolaus and Lycus arrive in Ister, just in time to watch a young man named Orestes approach a beautiful young woman with flowers. Iolaus assumes the scene is one of innocous romance, but Lycus identifies the young woman as the She-Demon. They take off towards the couple, just as the She-Demon snakes out her tail and turns Orestes to stone, before disappearing. Back at Hera's temple, Herc approaches one of the guards, who mistakes him for one of Hera's followers and says there will be no offerings that day as the priests are inside, "showing a thief the truth and the light." Herc finds it funny, since he considers Hera the "daughter of darkness." The guards are offended by his blasphemy, and a brief fight ensues, during which Herc uses one of the guards to ram the temple doors open. Inside, he finds the thief in question, Aegina, tied up on an altar, about to be sacrificed. Herc fights some more guards, then frees Aegina. However, more guards show up, blocking the exit.
Fortuntely, Herc manages to fight his and Aegina's way of out of there, destroying the temple in the process. Afterwards, Aegina introduces herself, revealing that she's an escaped slave and that the guards had caught her stealing food. He says she's now a freed slave, and is about to ditch her to return to his vengeful mission, when Aegina asks him to escort her back to Ister, where she's from. Remembering that Hera has a temple east of Ister, Herc agrees. Ecstatic, Aegina offers to show him a shortcut. Meanwhile, back in Ister, Lycus shows Iolaus a field of statues, with people grieving over their loved ones turned to stone. Just past the field is the opening of a cave, marking the entrance to the She-Demon's lair. Iolaus stops to contemplate a plan of attack. In the meantime, Herc and Aegina are heading towards Ister, when Aegina trips and injures her ankle. That night, as Herc tends to her injury, Aegina insists that he forget about Hera and honor his family's memory. She says his wife and kids wouldn't want him to become something he's not, which reminds Herc of a talk he'd once had with Deianeira, who'd wanted him to continue helping people and not change for her and the kids. Herc decides that Aegina's right, and decides to give up his path of revenge and return to helping people. He even feels bad for turning away Lycus, and hopes it's not too late to help. Meanwhile, Iolaus prepares to enter the She-Demon's lair, hoping the darkness of the night will prevent her from seeing him until it's too late. Unfortunately, the She-Demon sneaks up on him, turning him into stone. The next day, Herc and Aegina reach Ister, only to find a cloaked man named Thoas telling them to turn back. He tells them about the situation with the She-Demon, and upon learning Herc's identity, reveals that his friend Iolaus is dead.
Realizing Iolaus had tried to help Lycus in his stead, Herc feels responsible for his friend's fate. He even tries to talk Aegina out of traveling with him further, but she stubbornly insists she's her own person who makes her own choices. They then run into Lycus, who gives Herc his condolences, saying Iolaus was a brave man. Lycus is ready to turn tail and leave Ister, but Herc insists that Iolaus will not have died in vain. He approaches the She-Demon's lair, while Aegina and Lycus wait outside, listening. The She-Demon tries to entice Herc, saying all she wants is to be loved, but Herc isn't buying it. She then tries to turn Herc into stone, but he evades her tail and eventually, causes her to turn herself into stone, freeing Iolaus, Orestes, and all the others who'd been victimized by her. Herc and Iolaus reunite, and Iolaus says he was only trying to help Herc, to which Herc replies that Iolaus did help him, by showing him what a friend really is. Later, Iolaus reveals that he was on the "other side," and that he saw Deianeira and the kids. He assures Herc that they're fine, saying that their only problem is that they miss Herc, but that they know he has so much good left to do. To that end, Herc decides to travel around in order to keep helping people, and with that, he and Iolaus say their goodbyes and part ways.