King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 90

Tantalus’s Story – (2)

With Tantalus passed out on the floor, Zeus approached me.

With every step Zeus took, flames and lightning flashed, and thunder continued to rumble above.

“I’m sorry, brother. I never imagined Tantalus would do something like this.”

“…That madman should be thrown into Tartarus [the deepest abyss of the underworld, a place of punishment].”

“Since he killed his own child and made him into food, it would be perfect to make him suffer from eternal hunger.”

Should I call Limos, the goddess of hunger, for help?

No… that insane guy needs to suffer for a long time. There’s no need to waste Limos’s power.

There was once a crazy human who lived in the same era as Sisyphus, who imprisoned Thanatos [the personification of death].

That human, named Erysichthon, swung an axe at an oak tree cherished by Demeter [the goddess of agriculture].

Crack. Thud!

“Bl.. blood from the oak tree!”

“Erysichthon, please stop swinging the axe right now!”

“I will definitely take revenge on you… human.”

The oak tree bled from the cut and said it would take revenge, but he ignored it and cut down the tree.

Erysichthon incurred Demeter’s wrath and received a visit from a goddess sent by Demeter…

“Food! Bring more food! Sell everything and buy food!”

“Father… it’s already over 60 servings…”

“I’m… hungry! Hurry!”

The goddess, at Demeter’s request, plunged Erysichthon into terrible hunger,

Depleting all of his considerable wealth and eventually causing him to devour his own body to death.

That goddess is Limos, the personification of hunger.

Zeus looked at the pile of human flesh brought to Demeter and opened his mouth.

He was the king of the gods who had lived for a long time, but he could not hide his agitation at the behavior of this crazy human.

“Demeter, I must go to the Fates, the Moirae [the goddesses of destiny], and revive this poor man.”

“If we recreate his form, we can save him.”

“…Then we must return the soul that came to the underworld soon.”

Just then, the sound of fluttering wings was heard from the sky,

And three goddesses with snakes for hair, bleeding from their eyes, appeared.

With bronze wings and torches in their hands,

A manifestation sent by the Furies [goddesses of vengeance] was heading towards Tantalus.

“Ho… How. Could. You. Kill. Your. Own. Son?”

“You. Will. Suffer. For. All. Eternity.”

“Your. Sin. Will. Never. Be. Forgiven.”

The manifestation sent by the Furies is a hallucination that only those who have committed sins can see.

Tantalus will be tormented by that hallucination forever, until he dies.

Wait, if he’s tormented by hallucinations until he dies… he’ll be free from them after he dies.

Poseidon seemed to have thought that far ahead as well, and he looked at me.

“Hades, how about we imprison that detestable guy in Tartarus while he’s still alive?”

That’s a very good idea.

* * *

Tantalus woke up with a start, sweating profusely.

Wasn’t he dead for deceiving the gods? Surely his palace was destroyed by Zeus’s wrath…

Then is this the underworld?

Tantalus tried to move and get up, but his body, tightly bound by ropes, did not move.

He struggled to lift only his head, and what he saw was a landscape similar to a cave.

“Have you awakened, Tantalus?”

‘Lord Pluto? The underworld… is it?!’

A cold chill lingered around him, and following the voice he heard from somewhere… he saw Lord Pluto sitting on a black throne, looking at him with sharp eyes.

Around him were gods residing in the underworld, a black-winged male god and a turquoise-haired goddess.

The surroundings were pitch black, and the few bonfires that barely illuminated the area seemed to be losing their brightness.

The black darkness emanating from Lord Pluto sitting on the throne gave him the illusion that it was devouring the warm bonfires.

“Your. Sin. Will. Never. Be. Forgiven.”

“Kuh…”

And the hallucination he had been hearing since earlier permeated his mind.

The Furies, after all, it was impossible for a human to deceive the gods.

Tantalus, who was only groaning, heard Lord Pluto’s low voice.

If he stayed still, he would die… Lord Pluto’s divine power was also that of a god of mercy, so he had to somehow evoke his mercy…

“Now then… let’s discuss the price you must pay for killing your grandson and feeding him to his grandfather and relatives.”

“Is it so wrong for me to have deceived the gods?”

“Shut up! You bug-like bastard!”

Kugung!

At the roar of the black-winged god standing next to Lord Pluto,

Tantalus’s head slammed into the floor, hitting it hard.

However, the irresistible pressure disappeared as the master of the underworld sitting on the throne waved his hand.

“Hmm. Thanatos, calm down for a moment. Even a sinner has the right to defend himself… Go on, speak.”

Tantalus racked his brains as best he could.

The underworld was solely Lord Pluto’s domain, and even his father, Lord Zeus, could not interfere.

Therefore, if he could somehow persuade the god of the underworld sitting on the throne and receive mercy, there was hope…!

But there was a high possibility that lies would not work on a god.

He killed his own son and made him into food, but none of the gods ate it, did they?

Even the Furies were tormenting him…

“Do you have nothing to say?!”

“Ah… no! That is…”

Yes, sympathy! He had to buy the emotion of sympathy from the black-haired god.

The sin he committed was blasphemy, daring to steal the food of the gods and trying to deceive them by making human cuisine.

But the rumors he had heard about Lord Pluto were… that he was a benevolent god more merciful than any other.

Unlike the cruel and capricious Olympian gods, if he could persuade the relatively soft-hearted god of mercy…

“Is it such a great sin for a human to want to test the gods?! Lord Pluto!”

“……”

“I was born as a son of Zeus and have always had doubts as a demigod! The stories about the gods always contain only beautiful tales, and there were also stories of them tormenting mortals or making mistakes! I was merely expressing a small curiosity about what kind of beings the gods are, so please forgive me with mercy!”

“……”

“I believe I have already been punished for blasphemy by dying! Please have pity on me and allow me to face only a peaceful death! God of mercy…!”

Tantalus said this and glanced at the being sitting on the throne.

For some reason, the surrounding gods were also silent. Feeling increasingly uneasy at the sight.

A moment of silence passed, and Lord Pluto, who had been staring at him sharply, burst into laughter.

It wasn’t a hearty laugh, it was ridicule…!? Had he failed to persuade the god?

“Hahaha! You say you’re dead? No, you are still alive. Thanks to Lord Thanatos not taking your soul.”

“What?”

“And in the first place, the biggest sin you committed was not trying to deceive the gods, nor stealing ambrosia [the food of the gods] and nectar [the drink of the gods].”

“…?!”

“I was curious to hear what excuses you would make for killing your own son, but all you have to say is that?”

Tantalus then realized his mistake.

The mercy of Lord Pluto, which he was trying to exploit… extended even to his son.

“Th… that is…”

“If you had only stolen ambrosia and nectar, it would have ended with decades of labor in the underworld. If you had died for deceiving the gods without harming anyone else, I would have taken this into consideration and ended it with an appropriate punishment.”

“Ah…”

“But you never once mentioned killing your own son. To not have even a shred of guilt… Your judgment has been decided.”

Tantalus desperately tried to make excuses, but no sound came out.

Before Tantalus, who was struggling to say something, the lord of the underworld calmly pronounced his sentence.

“Murder is a sin. Killing your own son is a serious crime. Not only that, but you tried to deceive your relatives and feed them your son’s corpse, so it is an even more serious crime.”

“……!”

“You will not be able to atone for all these sins even after tens of thousands of years. Therefore, you will be sent to Tartarus…”

“……!!!”

“You will suffer from eternal hunger that you can never satisfy, and you will be periodically punished by Cerberus [the multi-headed dog guarding the underworld] tearing out your intestines.”

Tantalus struggled to shake off the hands of the dead that were grabbing him.

But there was no way he could shake off the power of the spirits escorting the sinner.

The madman who cooked his own son was given a just punishment.

* * *

I engraved the end of Tantalus being dragged away by the dead into my eyes.

Like the eagle that tore at Prometheus’s liver, Cerberus would also be able to periodically eat Tantalus’s intestines.

I can supply food to Cerberus, who is a divine beast but always drools with hunger.

Even if his intestines continue to be torn out by the gatekeeper of the underworld, Tantalus will not die and will regenerate. Thanatos will not take his soul, and I will keep him alive.

But why did the gods willingly attend the banquet held by Tantalus, who stole ambrosia and nectar? Perhaps they went there expecting him to be rude at the banquet and to gain a justification for severely punishing Tantalus, the son-in-law of Atlas…

Could it also be a kind of indirect warning? Since the justification is on our side, it proves to the Titan gods remaining in the mortal realm that the power of the world has definitely changed… Since he is also a son of Zeus, we can say that we suppressed our sadness and punished him.

…No. Let’s not have unnecessary thoughts.

I didn’t ask Zeus directly, and it might just be my speculation.

“I’ve… never seen a human like that before.”

“Don’t be too surprised, Mente. As a god, you’re bound to experience many different things over a long period of time.”

Mente stares blankly at the place where Tantalus left.

She seems to be quite shocked. Well, she was originally a Naiad [a water nymph] who lived leisurely in the river.

When she was my priestess, all humans must have revered her, and after becoming a goddess, she mainly focused on spreading mint or doing paperwork, so this sight must have been unfamiliar to her.

Moreover, she hasn’t been to many trials of the dead, so even more so.

Even so, Tantalus was really a crazy guy…

“To think there are humans like that… humans are really…”

The goddess of mint shakes her head, expressing her disgust.

Uh oh… if her thoughts flow in that direction, it’s not a good direction. Is Tantalus’s incident going to instill prejudice in her?

I opened my mouth towards her, who was drooping her head slightly sadly.

Lady Styx and Lady Lethe have also been to the mortal realm, so should I go out with Mente to change her mood?

“Mente, wouldn’t you like to go to Thebes after a long time?”

“…?!”

“…It’s the walk we couldn’t finish because of the Gigas’s [giants] attack last time.”

She raises her head again, her eyes sparkling.

No trace of gloom could be seen in her 부담스럽게 shining turquoise eyes.