King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 48

Oedipus’s Tragedy – (3)

“Next, I will burn down the Temple of Hades! Follow me, all of you!”

The soldiers momentarily doubted their ears.

Burning down the Temple of Dionysus wasn’t enough; now he’s attacking the Temple of Hades?

Dionysus is one of the Twelve Olympians and the god of madness.

In the past, when King Pentheus of Thebes died horribly for offending Dionysus,
some pitied King Pentheus and harbored resentment towards the god of madness.

King Pentheus had merely arrested and imprisoned the followers who were disturbing the peace while drunk, but he paid the price by being stoned to death by his own maddened family.

In Thebes, the name of Dionysus is invoked with a mix of fear, awe, and resentment.

It’s only natural for a merciless god who kills a king for offending him and spreads the madness of wine.

“But Lord Hades…”

“I could understand the Temple of Dionysus, but…”

“…Should we run away?”

However, in Thebes, the name of Hades carries a slightly different meaning than that of Dionysus.

The god of the underworld, mercy, and wealth.

To the living, he grants the blessings of wealth and mint [ancient coins] to ward off the stench of decaying corpses, and there are even rumors of him descending to save a priest from being killed by a monster, making him a benevolent deity.

And the fear felt towards him was not the resentful dread associated with Dionysus.

It was a more primal fear, the fear of punishment after death.

The lord of the underworld, with authority and power so great he is called the Zeus of the Underworld.

“If we burn down the Temple of Hades… we’ll end up in Tartarus [the deepest abyss of the Underworld] after death…”

“How is this any different from destroying the Temple of Zeus…”

“Is King Oedipus not afraid of death?”

“What are you doing! Follow me quickly!”

King Oedipus pointed his treasured sword at the soldiers.

However, unlike before, the soldiers could not move.

No matter how merciful Hades may be… if he simply overlooked the desecration of his own temple, he wouldn’t be a god of mercy, but a fool.

The terrible punishments he could inflict flashed through everyone’s minds.

“Your Majesty! Please withdraw your command! That is like stirring up a hornet’s nest!”

“The Temple of Hades also houses the statues of other gods!”

Even the Temple of Hades contained statues of other gods besides him.

The god of death, Thanatos, the goddess of oblivion, Lethe, and even the goddesses of vengeance, whose names are too terrible to speak…

The soldiers pleaded with King Oedipus to withdraw his command.

But all that came back was the raving of a madman.

“Hmph! Even if Hades descends, he will be struck by my sword and flee to the underworld! Move now! If you do not obey, I will cut you all down!”

* * *

“…If you do not obey, I will cut you all down!”

The maddened King Oedipus tried to move the soldiers with force.

If he cut down the general and intimidated them with the power that killed the sacred beast, everyone would follow.

However…

“If we mess with the Temple of Hades, aren’t we going to die anyway?”

“No, we might suffer eternally even after death.”

“Damn it… if that’s the case, it’s better to…”

As frightening as the blade before their eyes was, it could not be more terrifying than the god of the underworld.

Eternal suffering in the underworld was a punishment worse than death.

The soldiers’ gazes towards Oedipus began to mix with discontent, resentment, and even murderous intent.

Even if he was a hero who had stepped into the realm of the extraordinary, wouldn’t it be possible to overcome him if everyone attacked at once?

As if noticing the insolent gazes, Oedipus also turned around with a bizarre smile.

“Oho… these guys… dare to disobey the king’s command?”

“We are more afraid of incurring the wrath of Lord Hades than dying by your hand!”

“We cannot obey the command! Stop this blasphemy right now!”

“Burning down the temple of mercy? Are you out of your mind!”

The soldiers’ spears, defying the king’s command, turned towards Oedipus.

However, the mad hero, empowered by Gaia [the primordial goddess of the Earth], merely sneered.

“Hehehe… hahaha! Yes, all of you die!”

“Let’s kill the mad king and offer him to Dionysus to beg for mercy!”

“Quick, inform the priests of the Temple of Hades!”

“We cannot eternally pay the price for our sins after death because of you!”

The citizens who had rushed over after hearing the news that the Temple of Dionysus had been burned down also swarmed in.

The rumor that the once wise king had been consumed by madness and was trying to burn down the Temple of Hades spread quickly.

“No, how could he do this when the god of mercy has bestowed so much grace upon the living…”

“Exactly! Look at those eyes! It’s as if he’s hearing the whispers of Dionysus…”

“Has the king gone mad with wine? Attacking a temple, what insane behavior!”

Soon, the front of the Temple of Dionysus was filled with the clamor of countless soldiers and citizens.

In the midst of that chaos, King Oedipus was wielding his sword wildly, carrying out a massacre.

“Uwahahaha! Die, die all of you!”

Thwack. Slash.

“Kuaaak!”

“His strength is immense!”

No matter how many soldiers there were, they were helpless.

Who could dare to stand against the power of a hero who had transcended humanity?

Blood splattered and red flowers bloomed on the earth.

The king, smiling grotesquely in the midst of blood and madness, was no longer the hero who had saved Thebes.

Meanwhile, the news that Oedipus was carrying out a massacre in Thebes was also conveyed to the Temple of Hades.

A soldier who was usually a devotee of Hades rushed over and reported everything.

“…Everyone must take shelter! The Temple of Dionysus has also been burned down!”

“Soldier, I appreciate your concern, but as priests, we cannot abandon the temple.”

“That the once wise king has gone mad, burning down temples and carrying out massacres… how could such a thing happen.”

“Just yesterday, he was a benevolent ruler caring for the residents suffering from the plague…”

The priests of Hades were taken aback by the sudden situation.

However, before they could grasp the exact situation, another soldier rushed in urgently.

“Flee quickly! The mad king is killing everyone who stands in his way and is rushing here!”

“Good heavens… Hades.”

“The god of mercy is surely watching over this place.”

The priests, biting their lips, gathered their hands and began to pray.

However, the screams of people gradually grew closer, and then a madman with an ominous aura appeared.

It was the slaughterer, Oedipus, covered in red blood from head to toe.

Having killed countless soldiers and citizens who stood in his way, he rushed here, panting for breath.

“Hoo… hoo… Olympus… gods… die…”

As the fallen hero slowly walked forward, everyone in the temple was gripped by fear.

No matter how much divine power the priests had received, they were basically non-combatants.

“He’s already here…!”

“God of mercy… help us.”

* * *

At this very moment, in the underworld.

I, the lord of the underworld and one of the three main gods, was working in my office.

What good is being a high-ranking god when there’s a mountain of work to do?

Just look at Charon, he’s one of the Protogenoi [primordial deities], the child of Nyx, the goddess of night, yet he doesn’t do the ferryman’s job.

Yes… the god Thanatos, who is rushing in from outside the door right now, is the same.

“Hades! I told you to tell me if humans were dying strangely, didn’t I?”

“Yes. You certainly did. Have the Gigantes [giants born of Gaia] attacked the human lands or something?”

Have those guys finally made their move?

Where was the attack? Athens? Delphi?

“Some crazy human is rampaging in Thebes, carrying out a massacre. The number of dead is already over several dozen.”

“A human, doing such a thing in a city?”

Just as I was wondering about the news of a human causing chaos instead of the Gigantes’ attack that I had been waiting for,
the goddess Lethe, with her long silver hair flowing, rushed in urgently.

“Hades! The king of Thebes is killing all the humans! But my interference isn’t working…?”

“Your power of oblivion isn’t working?”

The power was used moderately, without descending to the mortal realm or moving the main body.

But even that would make most humans lose their memories…

“There must be a god’s blessing or curse on him. Or perhaps he has a special lineage…”

“He was raging with madness, is it the power of Dionysus?”

“That’s unlikely. I’ll take a look at the mortal realm first.”

No matter how much Dionysus is the god of madness, he wouldn’t massacre so many humans.

Thebes has my temple and many followers of Dionysus.

I briefly shifted my consciousness to examine the mortal realm.

If I borrow the eyes and ears of a follower, I can examine the mortal realm even without the earnest prayer of a priest.

A madman wielding a sword and massacring people.

“God of mercy… help us.”

“King Oedipus has gone mad. Please…”

“Lord Hades… the streets are full of corpses and blood…”

The bodies of my devotees, desperately praying to me, trembled.

Some even thought of this as a punishment from the gods of Olympus.

And that madman is…

“Uwahahaha!! Die!!”

Eyes reddened, an expression that anyone could see was abnormal, and insane laughter.

Lastly… the divine power of the earth felt throughout his body.

Gaia cursed a human and drove him mad.

The reason he specifically caused this in Thebes must be because my temple and the Temple of Dionysus are there.

“Ordinary humans won’t be able to handle him. Thanatos, bring that human to the underworld, and call Lady Mnemosyne [goddess of memory].”

“You yourself? The lord of the underworld doesn’t need to step in. There are believers praying to me…”

“I know you’re just going to take a break while you’re out, like you did with Sisyphus.”

“No… ahem…”

I stopped the god Thanatos from trying to escape to the mortal realm again and closed my eyes.

The best body to descend into is still the body of the female priest who has once accepted me.

‘My priest, Penedeia.’

“Hup…! Yes, your servant. Penedeia receives your command.”

‘I’ll have to borrow your body for a while, like last time.’

“It is an honor…! Lord Hades!”

A pitiful soul captured by Gaia…

A quick death would be mercy for him.