The Tragedy of Oedipus - (2)
The old woman’s voice echoed as if rising from the depths of the earth itself. “Oh dear… a mere mortal suffering because of Ares’s curse…”
Is this a god?! Oedipus thought, his blood running cold. Had a deity come to punish him?
“Who are you?!” he roared, his voice boiling up from the darkest pit of his soul. “Are you a god who has appeared to mock and punish me?!”
A brief silence followed. Then a gentle whisper reached his ears.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. I am not one of those Olympian gods who ruined your life. On the contrary, I stand against them.”
“Against them…?”
The voice came from a being so far above humanity that it felt distant, almost unreachable. Oedipus forced himself to calm down, breathing heavily, as the divine voice swept over him once more.
“Do you know that Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, received a curse of misfortune for slaying the dragon, a child of Ares?”
“A curse…? You mean one that has been passed down through the generations…?”
“You have done nothing wrong. Everything is the fault of the Olympian gods.”
Oedipus’s eyes began to turn a strange, bloodshot red. An eerie energy flowed from the earth, pouring madness into him and clouding his judgment.
“If not for them, you would never have killed your father or married your mother.”
“Hah… haaaa…”
As he writhed in unbearable self-loathing, the words struck him like a revelation. The throbbing pain in his head eased, and his thoughts grew simpler. Yes… that was right. If only those cursed gods had not existed… None of this was Oedipus’s fault. It was all because of the gods!
If that was true, then what he needed to do was—
“You have finally found the right path. I, Gaia, shall bestow my blessing upon you.”
The task was to tear down every last hateful temple of the Olympian gods in Thebes.
Upon returning to the palace, the first thing King Oedipus did was banish the prophet.
Since only Oedipus had heard the prophet’s words, he could exile the man now and have him killed later to keep the secret safe.
“For daring to speak lies before the king, I banish you. Leave Thebes at once!”
“…Understood.”
“Your Majesty, but the prophet Tiresias is—”
“I don’t want to hear it! Guards! Take this man away!”
The courtiers were stunned. This was a completely different attitude from when the king had ordered them to treat the prophet with the utmost respect. But it didn’t end there.
“Gather the troops. I will lead them myself.”
“Your Majesty, what is the purpose of the soldiers…?”
“The plague ravaging Thebes exists because of the temples of the God of Madness and the God of the Underworld. I intend to destroy the shrines built on the outskirts of the city!”
All the ministers were thrown into panic and desperately tried to dissuade him. No one had forgotten how King Pentheus had died after offending Dionysus. And now he wanted to meddle with the temple of Pluto, who ruled the Underworld? Had the wise king who saved Thebes from the Sphinx gone mad?
“Your Majesty, please calm yourself and reconsider! If you attack the temples, the gods’ wrath will fall upon Thebes!”
“Pluto may rule the Underworld, but he is also the God of Mercy. Please, make the right decision once more…”
“We do not know what the prophet told you, but—”
The courtiers pleaded with everything they had. Until yesterday, this had been a benevolent ruler who cared for his people suffering from the plague. If he attacked the temples as he claimed, Thebes itself might be destroyed. They begged him with all their might.
Yet for some reason, he was stubbornly unyielding. It was as if something had possessed him.
“Silence, all of you! The plague in Thebes is the fault of the gods! If we destroy their temples, the sickness will recede!”
At the king’s thunderous roar, the ministers fell silent. Despair clouded their faces, but there was nothing they could do.
Soon the troops summoned by royal command gathered at the palace. Oedipus drew his sword and shouted, his eyes bloodshot and his expression unnaturally excited. Anyone could see he was no longer in his right mind.
“We march on the temple of Dionysus at once! Let us destroy the shrines of the gods who spread this plague!”
The soldiers of Thebes were stunned by their king’s sudden transformation. Murmurs spread through their ranks.
“What is His Majesty saying?”
“Is the tragedy of King Pentheus happening again…?”
“He wants to fight the God Dionysus?!”
“Why would the plague be Dionysus’s fault…?”
Naturally, the general leading the troops stepped forward to plead with the king. Their eyes met.
“Your Majesty, do you truly intend to attack the temple? If you incur the gods’ wrath—”
“Shut your mouth! The Olympian gods may sit above the clouds, but I stand before you right now!”
“Guh—!”
Squelch—!
Oedipus’s blade sliced cleanly through the general’s neck. Crimson blood sprayed across the ground, and terror gripped everyone present. It wasn’t just that he had killed a man he once favored. With a casual swing, the king had split a human body in two.
“Does anyone else dare oppose my words?”
The strength he displayed was clearly beyond that of any mortal. Everyone realized that the once-wise king had changed.
The temple of Dionysus suddenly found itself facing unwelcome visitors. Armed soldiers surrounded the shrine with uneasy eyes.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Drag everyone inside the temple out and throw them in prison! Kill any who resist!”
King Oedipus stepped forward and threatened the priests. His soldiers, faces filled with discomfort, leveled their spears at the worshippers.
“Is this really the right thing to do…?”
“Shut up…! Do you want to die by His Majesty’s blade?”
“Ugh… we’re going to be cursed by the gods.”
The soldiers’ morale was rock bottom. No sane person could willingly commit the insane act of attacking a god’s temple.
“Bind the worshippers at once! I will kill anyone who hesitates!”
Though Dionysus himself was nowhere to be seen, the king’s blade was very close. At his fierce command, the gloomy-faced soldiers began rounding up the devotees.
That is, until a massive leopard appeared and sank its fangs into them.
Grrrrr!
“Aaaargh!”
“Divine punishment! It’s divine punishment!”
When a divine beast several times larger than an ordinary leopard began targeting human throats, King Oedipus stepped forward.
“Out of my way! This pathetic divine beast is nothing!”
As he advanced with feet far larger than any other man’s, the leopard seemed to recognize the true culprit threatening Dionysus’s followers and charged at him with savage fury.
Grrrr!
Haaah!
Clang—!
Oedipus’s sword flashed, deflecting the leopard’s claws. The battle between hero and divine beast was enough to steal the breath of ordinary men.
“Haaap!”
The sword that belonged to the hero-king who had saved Thebes tore through the air. The divine beast nimbly dodged, but—
“Heh heh… Got you, you bastard.”
Grrrrrr!
Oedipus discarded his sword and seized the leopard’s neck with his bare hands. It was something no ordinary human could do. Yet the power granted by Gaia had elevated his body to the level of a hero, and he strangled the divine beast to death.
Thud!
“C-crazy…!”
“His Majesty defeated a divine beast with his bare hands…?!”
“Did you all see that clearly?! Dionysus’s divine beast is nothing! Burn the temple down!”
Oedipus roared, veins bulging across his muscular arms. The terrified soldiers set the temple ablaze.
“Is this… really okay…?”
“I told you to be quiet…! Do you want to die by His Majesty’s hand right now?”
Behind the laughing King Oedipus as he watched the burning temple, the eyes of the leopard carcass he had tossed aside slowly began to glow.
“H-hey! Look!”
“It was definitely dead…?”
The fallen leopard slowly rose to its feet, glared at King Oedipus, and opened its mouth. From the blood-soaked maw of a beast came human speech.
“Are you the current king of Thebes?”
Was it the roar of a beast, or the whisper of madness? The low voice rumbling from the leopard filled the humans with terror.
“You dare reduce my temple to this state? You will never die an easy death…”
After Dionysus’s grudge-filled words left the divine beast, the leopard went still once more. Oedipus’s fate was now all but sealed, yet he felt no fear.
“Ptoo! So a so-called god can only send a mere animal!”
He spat on the dead divine beast and openly blasphemed. There was no trace left of the wise king who had cleverly defeated the Sphinx.
“Your precious divine beast is dead, so all you can do is threaten me with a curse?! Too bad! My entire life has already been a curse!”
Oedipus roared toward the sky. His reddened eyes and face created such a grotesque atmosphere that the soldiers instinctively stepped back.
The burned temple of Dionysus was a glaring sight, but the soldiers felt a small sense of relief that they would not have to commit any more acts of sacrilege for now. They quietly decided that once they returned, they would pray to Dionysus for forgiveness.
However… what reached their ears next was like a bolt from the blue.
“Next, we will burn down the temple of Hades! Everyone, follow me!”
What? Whose temple did he just say…?