Demeter’s Love (Chapter 5)
The dark night pressed down like a shroud as Mestra glared with venom in her eyes. Under the watchful eyes of the Spartoi and nymphs, she was locked near the temple, her prison a crude wooden cage that she now eyed with pure loathing.
“If I get dragged off to Poseidon like this, I won’t just be done… I stole his trident and tried to kill Demeter. He won’t leave me alone…”
She’d tried everything. Using the transformation ability Poseidon had gifted her, she slipped her hand through the bars the moment it touched the wood. No matter how hard she willed it, the cage shape refused to change. One tiny spark of Demeter’s authority, and the whole thing locked up tight. Tears welled in her eyes—not from pain, but a mix of frustration and raw fury.
“I haven’t pulled off even one thing yet! Grrrgh! Uuuuugh! You damn Perseus! If it weren’t for that bastard, I’d be staring at Demeter’s corpse right now! Even without that, I could’ve turned the whole world into a wasteland because of my rage! Eeee!”
Thud!
She kicked the cage with all her might, but the only thing that came back was a stinging wound. The nymphs guarding her were dryads too, and the instant she touched the bars, sharp thorns burst upward and pierced the soles of her feet.
“Kuuuuggh~!”
“Stupid girl. No one’s gonna feel sorry for you even if you’re hurt, so just shut up and behave.”
“I’ll kill you all! You cruel goddesses! Demeter! You turned my father into this! I won’t forgive Oreias or Limos either!”
“Heh… still full of yourself.”
“Even though Lady Demeter forgave you, you still went and did it, huh? You blame the gods to the very end?”
“We have nothing to say to you! Bring Demeter here!”
“Really? I’d love to rip that arrogant mouth right off your face, but Perseus told me not to, so I’m holding back. Tch…”
The nymphs shook their heads and left, unable to watch any longer. The only ones left in the cell were the Spartoi on watch. They didn’t last much longer either. When dawn broke and they left for a bit to relieve themselves, Mestra was still completely alone.
“Damn it… that dryad trapped in this cage! How long are you gonna stand there watching me?!”
She tried shifting forms again, but the cage’s shape changed right along with her, trapping her in place. She hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in days, and blood was all that flowed. Her head spun. If things kept going, she’d be punished by Poseidon without a doubt. Rolling around in frustration, a sudden dark premonition hit her like a wave.
Whoosh—!
“Already back?”
A cold wind danced across her back.
“Eh?”
She turned at the sound of wings cutting through the air, and the second she saw it, she wished she hadn’t. A long, grotesque face appeared right behind her—emaciated, sunken, and dripping black blood tears. It leaned in and exhaled hot breath directly onto the nape of her neck.
“Hiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”
She screamed like a little girl despite the terror, but the being didn’t flinch even an inch. Cloaked head to toe in black robes, only its skeletal face twitching as it fed her those tears was a sight too nightmarish to describe.
Mestra’s mind raced.
Is this a ghost? A monster? Hallucination? No… upon closer look, it was a goddess.
“Hoo…”
“Hiaaaak?!”
Black tears poured down her cheeks, but her eyes were completely hollow—empty sockets. Her fingers were so shriveled and bony they felt like dry wood. The goddess looked ready to collapse at any moment, yet she kept blowing that hot breath against Mestra’s neck. It was pure revulsion.
“Do you know who I am…”
“L-Lim, Limos…?”
“Exactly…”
She reached a skeletal hand through the bars and gently stroked Mestra’s cheek. It was colder than ice, like the hand of a living corpse. Mestra tried to pull away, but disgust flooded her veins.
“You’re afraid of me… even though I said I’d kill you…”
“Y-You’re… lying! If you’re the real Limos…! Ugh… uuuuugh…”
“Just words… your legs are shaking… I never thought I’d have to show my face to a girl like you… but you pierced my heart when you wounded that child…”
“P-Perseus…?”
“Yes… even on this day… you were the kind child who smiled and offered me a gift…”
When Perseus had descended to the Underworld to meet Hades, he’d given gifts to many gods. One of them was Limos. She wasn’t the type to be swayed by a single present, but the situation had been perfect, so she’d appeared.
“You pierced that child… you tried to kill Demeter… led the ones who mocked Hades… and even dared to mock me… you deserve to die just like Erysichthon…”
Gurgle… gurgle…
Mestra’s face drained of all color at the sudden stomach growl.
“Uwaa, aaah, aaaaaaah!!! Stop! Stop it, stop it, stop it!!! Don’t do it!!! Stoppppppp!!!!”
She knew exactly what that sound meant. If she thought about her father’s fate, it was pure terror.
“I’m very curious about how your end will be. I’d love to stay here until the very end and watch you fade away… but I am hunger itself. I can’t linger in this forest for long. It pains me to admit it.”
“Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!! No! Let me go!!! Just let me go!!!”
“Hahaha… hihi… huhi haha ha ha…”
Limos laughed joyfully and vanished into the night sky without even looking back. Mestra desperately wanted to believe it was all a nightmare, but her trembling hands and feet were too real.
“Aaaaa, aaaaa, uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!! Throw me out! Hurry! Hurry hurry hurry!!!!”
Her whole body shook like someone starved for days, and her stomach growled loud enough to echo. She knew this was the sign that she was about to be eaten alive. She had to escape immediately, but the cage kept shaking as if mocking her. She thought maybe she could rip it apart with sheer force, but even using every last bit of strength to slam her body against it, she couldn’t break free. Despair swallowed her whole.
“Uwaaah, aaaaaah, aaaaaaaaaaaah!!! Kuuuggh! Uuuuugh! Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”
No matter what she did, she couldn’t escape the cage. Her head spun from hunger, and just then, a new guest arrived. Even under the night sky, her golden hair shimmered so beautifully that Mestra spotted her identity in an instant while her stomach howled in agony.
“D-Demeter?!”
In the deep night when even the trees close their eyes, only her pitiful wails echo. Please, I beg you, can’t you be quiet? I’m worried that your cries will disturb the child who’s been sleeping so deeply.”
She approached the cage with the tone of someone who already knew exactly what Mestra would do. On top of that, her voice was even lower and sharper than usual, making it instantly unbearable.
“Y-You did it! You summoned Limos just like when you hurt our father!”
“You’ve figured it out. I hoped it would all end peacefully, but after you tormented Perseus, I had no choice but to punish you.”
“So you’re happy?!”
“Well… I wouldn’t have said that before…”
Demeter chuckled lightly.
“Watching you die is very enjoyable.”
“───?!”
That was something Perseus in this place would never say.
“You monster of a girl!”
“That’s exactly you.”
“What did you say?!”
“Think about it. You’re the monster who caused so many people to get dragged into trouble because of your revenge. You’re not a monster? You lured so many children into the Underworld. Even if you hadn’t incited them, they wouldn’t have done anything major… what a pity.”
“H-Hades wouldn’t have killed their families if Perseus hadn’t done it!”
“The exact same thing I just said. If you hadn’t incited them, you wouldn’t have come this far either.”
Demeter looked down at Mestra curled on the floor with a smile that mixed mercy and joy. It was identical to the one she gave her believers or others, but something deep inside her was fundamentally different.
“The foolish Erysichthon just got dragged out longer by Limos on purpose, but you didn’t get that privilege. I kept breathing on you until your reason snapped. There’s nothing left to eat in here, so you’ll end up eating yourself.”
“Y-You… plan to watch all the way…?”
“Of course. It’s part of a god’s job to watch this. I didn’t want Perseus to hear about it, so I wanted to finish it thoroughly within my domain.”
“You’re really into this… you goddess…”
“Huhu… does it show? I didn’t mean to let it show.”
“You idiot… you fell in love with a human, yet you know how many tragic ends they meet… and you still do this… you fool…”
“Hnn…?”
Demeter finally revealed her true nature in response to Mestra’s last sarcastic jab before her reason snapped. Whether it deserved to be called “true nature” was something Demeter herself didn’t know, but to others, it clearly looked that way.
“This is your last chance. If you beg desperately and apologize to Perseus, I would’ve personally spared you. But you still act like this. Fine. No matter what you say, I’ll do as I please. You turned that child’s efforts into nothing… so now I’ll turn your efforts into nothing too. I’ll personally carve those blunt teeth of yours into nail clippers, and you’ll suffer for the rest of your life.”
“U-uu, aaah, uuuugh…?!”
Blood dripped steadily from her lips.
That warning was the final thread. Reason snapped.
“Auuu, ap, aaaggh, uwaaaaauuuuugh!!!! Gurugahauuuuugh!!!! Ugahuauuuuugh!!!! Gha! Ghugh! Ghauugh!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!! Kkhah! Uuuughaaaaaaaah!!!!!!”
Mestra began biting her own flesh with animalistic sounds. Perhaps the pleasure of eating outweighed the pain. As the worst side of a woman, her body gradually melted away. Even the one drop of blood on the floor wasn’t worth it—she licked it all up. Even in death, not a single trace remained. The only proof she was gone was the lingering scream.
“Huhu… huhu…”
By the time her female form vanished completely, even the screams were gone.
Only Demeter’s soft, delighted laughter remained.