King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 32

The King of the Underworld is Tired 32 (32/82)

Sisyphus… The Story of Thanatos – (3)

Ares, upon waking Thanatos and meeting his eyes, immediately rushed to the Underworld and…

Told Hades everything as it was.

“Uncle Hades! Right now, Thanatos is doing something…”

“…?”

Ares, who had been expecting a battle against a powerful monster that had defeated Thanatos, sulked like a child who had his toy taken away.

Having grasped the entire situation, the gods of the Underworld were outraged.

“What? So this whole situation is because of…”

“Who is this human named Sisyphus anyway?”

“Damn it! Thanatos was sleeping?!”

“Lord Ares, are you perhaps lying…?”

“I swear on the River Styx [a river in the Underworld by which gods swear oaths], everything Ares has said is true!!!”

Thus, some of the gods of the Underworld belatedly ambushed Thanatos as he was bringing Sisyphus to the Underworld.

To be precise, they were waiting at the entrance of the Underworld and tied him up with ropes.

“Ugh! Hypnos [god of sleep], why are you doing this! Styx [a river goddess], you too!”

“Do you even know how hard we had it while you were neglecting your work and sleeping!”

“I heard from Ares that you were even snoring!”

Thus, Thanatos was bound and dragged in like a criminal under the strict surveillance of the two gods.

Of course, Sisyphus was so dumbfounded by this unprecedented situation that he walked in on his own two feet.

“No… uh… ah…?”

The only one who welcomed Thanatos, who had neglected his work for a short time, was just one person:

“Ugh… I rested well for a short while… now I have to row again…”

The ferryman of the River Acheron [another river in the Underworld], Charon.

And so, Thanatos and Sisyphus were dragged before me, Hades.

Thanatos was bound with ropes all over his body due to the angry gods,

and Sisyphus was kneeling blankly, looking completely out of it.

“No, how can you do this just because I slept for a few days! I was only going to sleep for one day and wake up!”

Thanatos shouted confidently next to Sisyphus, who seemed to have lost his mind.

My head aches like Zeus [king of the gods] who swallowed Metis [Zeus’s first wife].

“Reaping souls was a little too… difficult for you, Thanatos…”

“That’s right, Hades, you understand my plight! I really only wanted to for a very short while…”

Then the other gods lined up next to me immediately burst out.

First, Hypnos, who had been forcibly putting to sleep the lives that had not yet reached death all over the world.

“What?! A very short while? How dare you say such a thing, Thanatos!”

Moros & Keres [gods of doom and violent death, respectively], who also suffered all over the world because their divine status partially overlapped with the god of death.

“Thanatos! How can you say that!”

“You disrupted the cycle of the world for several days and you say that!”

Morpheus [god of dreams], who appeared in the dreams of humans day and night, instilling the suggestion not to harm life for the time being.

“Lord Hades! Thanatos must have been in cahoots with Chronos [Titan god of time], the god of time! Otherwise, how could a short time be…!”

In addition, numerous gods and officials denounced Thanatos’ misdeeds.

Sisyphus, who had already been designated as a serious criminal by Zeus, was completely out of it.

“You… you wicked people are running your mouths off! You try doing my job!”

“What?! I’m busy giving sleep to living beings every day!”

“Do you know how hard it is for me to send out avatars every day to make people dream!”

“Do you think we’re not suffering!”

“You don’t think you’re the only one working in the Underworld, do you?!”

That’s right.

All the gods of the Underworld are always working their butts off.

Even Hades, the highest decision-maker, only has time to spare very occasionally.

The busiest are, of course, Thanatos and Charon, but

that doesn’t mean the other gods are leisurely playing around.

Just looking at Morpheus or Hypnos, they had to control their avatars like crazy every night.

In that situation, Thanatos abandoned his work for several days…

Several gods belonging to the Underworld had to handle dozens of times their usual workload.

* * *

I waved my hand to quiet everyone down and then opened my mouth.

Because I had to decide on the punishment for Thanatos, who had neglected his work by using Sisyphus.

“First… we need to decide on a punishment…”

“Tartarus!” [the deep abyss in the Underworld used as a dungeon for the wicked]
Hypnos shouted, veins popping out of his neck.

He is the god who gives sleep, but he himself hasn’t slept a wink for days.

“Sending him to Tartarus right away wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Well, the sin of trying to break the cycle is great. Hades will make a fair judgment…”

Keres & Moros, with dark shadows under their eyes, said.

They had been living in the mortal realm for days, hastily reaping souls.

“Since sending him to Tartarus would be too light of a punishment, how about a punishment where he keeps putting a stone falling from the mountain back up?”

“Morpheus! You’ve got a point!”

“As expected of the god of dreams, your imagination is very rich!”

“Tartarus! To Tartarus!”

Morpheus rolled his eyes and spouted crazy things.

Perhaps he harbored a strong resentment for not being able to rest unlike Thanatos.

“You crazy bastards! If you were in my position, you wouldn’t rest!”

“Rather than you, who takes the opportunity to sleep…”

“Thanatos! Don’t make excuses and accept the punishment!”

“Thanatos to Tartarus!”

As the Underworld seemed to be turning into a mess, I rubbed my head and quietly muttered.

Imbuing divine power into my voice so that all the gods could hear…

“So, assuming we send Thanatos to Tartarus, who will reap the souls from now on?”

Ah, it became quiet.

The gods are silent as if they hadn’t thought that far.

Everyone is looking at each other.

“Wouldn’t death be a deep sleep? Hypnos…”

“Keres, the destructive death you are in charge of is probably…”

“Hmm. We’ll have to think about that later…”

I knew it.

Everyone doesn’t want their workload to increase any further.

Now I can say what I think.

“Thanatos cannot be sent to Tartarus… Any divine being who is dissatisfied will be understood as agreeing to reap souls instead.”

“Ahem. Hmm. You’re lucky, Thanatos.”

“I can’t help it…”

“Hmph… A person who has committed a wrong is not properly punished, the goddess of justice, Dike [goddess of justice], will lament…”

“Humph…!”

“Instead, the god Thanatos must do additional hard labor for several days. In addition, he will not be able to receive sacrifices from humans for the time being…”

Considering Thanatos’ heavy workload, who is the busiest in the Underworld, and the face of the old god who has existed since the beginning of time…

I guess I should add these kinds of punishments.

Thanatos’ face contorts as he unties the ropes that bound his body and gets up.

He seems to have realized that he will no longer have a vacation.

“And since there are points that I haven’t paid much attention to you, I will periodically request support from Olympus [home of the Olympian gods]…”

“But Hades, what about that human?”

The goddess Styx, who had been quietly frowning, points to Sisyphus.

* * *

I looked at Sisyphus, the human that Zeus had tried to capture by dispatching Thanatos.

His forehead was covered in sweat and he looked half out of his mind.

“Let’s see, your sin is…”

“Heok..”

“Don’t be so afraid, there is a petition that defends you.”

I reached out and picked up the parchment scroll that Iris [goddess of the rainbow], the goddess of the rainbow, had handed me.

A petition that the river god Asopus had asked to be delivered to the Underworld some time ago.

I handed this scroll of parchment to Minos, one of the three judges of the Underworld next to me.

He slowly examines the contents and begins to read.

“Then I will read it. Raising to the lord of the Underworld after hearing the news that the human Sisyphus was captured…”

The contents of the document that the river god sent to me.

It contained the story of his daughter Aegina being harmed by Zeus and gratitude to Sisyphus.

Also, concerns that Sisyphus would be retaliated against by Zeus.

“…Therefore, I implore him for some leniency and mercy.”

As Minos finishes reading the petition, the faces of the gods nearby turn pale.

“Haa… Zeus again…?”

“This time, the river god was harmed…”

“Should we ask the goddess Mnemosyne [goddess of memory] to confirm it in case it’s a lie?”

I nodded,

and soon the goddess of memory read Sisyphus’ memories and conveyed them to me.

“Then I will make a judgment.”

Sisyphus looks up at me with a face showing a little hope.

“The crime of ambushing the god of death, Thanatos, and breaking the cycle of the world as a result is undoubtedly a serious crime.”

But…

“However, it was not your fault that Thanatos came to you earlier than your appointed lifespan.”

To be precise, it’s because of Zeus, who was angry when his rape was revealed and sent Thanatos.

Still, it’s not that Sisyphus is completely without fault.

From what I’ve learned, he’s planning to evoke sympathy by saying that his wife didn’t hold a funeral.

But Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, skimmed through this as well and informed me.

It is never easy for a human to deceive a god.

“The intention to evoke my sympathy by using the funeral is wrong… but his reputation among the people of Corinth in the mortal realm is good, and he is worthy of being called a wise ruler. And the really big sin is…”

“…Ahem!”

I glanced at the god who was shamelessly raising his head.

Thanatos, who had been resting comfortably in the mortal realm for several days, coughed and avoided my gaze when our eyes met.

“…In the first place, if the god Thanatos had no intention of using you, and you had been dragged to the Underworld, Minos here would have acquitted you.”

“Then… that means!”

Minos next to him smiles awkwardly and says, “Well… if it’s something related to Zeus… ahem…”

But I ignored it for now.

“Therefore, I will judge your sins again when you live out your natural lifespan in the mortal realm and come to the Underworld.”

“…..! Thank you..! Thank you! Lord Pluto!” [Roman name for Hades]

Sisyphus prostrates himself with a face that says he is alive and thanks me repeatedly.

Still, he will forget all the memories of the Underworld.

I nodded to Lethe [goddess of oblivion], the goddess of oblivion, and she approaches Sisyphus from behind.

The power of oblivion is manifested along with her.

Sisyphus will forget all the memories he experienced in the Underworld.

“Uh…? Uh…”

“Ah, by the way, at that time, I will also ask about the crime of imprisoning Thanatos, who had deliberately collapsed.”

I finished speaking as I watched Sisyphus’ eyes become cloudy and lose his memory.

It is true that Thanatos deliberately used Sisyphus, but he must be punished separately for tying him up in the basement of the palace.

If he comes to the Underworld after living out his natural lifespan…

He may be working with Phaeton [son of Helios who drove the sun chariot and crashed] on the outskirts of the Underworld for decades or hundreds of years.

“Morpheus, send a messenger to Olympus and ask Iris to be called to the Underworld.”

“Yes? Why the goddess of the rainbow, Iris…?”

What? There is a serious criminal, so send Thanatos?

“I’m going to protest to Zeus myself.”

What a load of crap.