The Tragedy of Oedipus - (3)
"Next, I'll burn down the temple of Hades! Everyone, follow me!"
The soldiers doubted their ears. Burning the temple of Dionysus wasn't enough? Now he wanted to attack the temple of Hades as well?
Dionysus was one of the Twelve Olympians and the god of madness. Years ago, when King Pentheus of Thebes had offended him and suffered a gruesome death, some pitied the king and nursed a grudge against the god of madness. After all, Pentheus had only imprisoned the drunken devotees who were disturbing the peace. In return, his own maddened family had stoned him to death. In Thebes, the name of Dionysus lingered in a murky space between fear, awe, and resentment. It was only natural. He was a merciless god who would kill a king for a mere slight and spread the frenzy of wine without hesitation.
"But Lord Pluto..."
"We could overlook the temple of Dionysus, but..."
"...Should we run?"
Yet in Thebes, the name of Hades carried a slightly different weight. The god of the underworld, of mercy and wealth. A benevolent deity who granted the living riches and the gift of mint to mask the stench of decay. Rumors even spoke of him descending to save a priest who had nearly been killed by a monster. The fear he inspired was not the resentful terror reserved for Dionysus, but something more primal: dread of the punishment that came after death. The Lord of the Underworld, so mighty he was called the Zeus of the subterranean realm.
"If we burn Pluto's temple... we'll be thrown into Tartarus after we die."
"How is this any different from destroying the temple of Zeus..."
"Is His Majesty not afraid of death?"
"What are you fools doing? Follow me at once!"
King Oedipus leveled his sword at the soldiers. But unlike before, they would not move. No matter how merciful Pluto was said to be, if he allowed his own temple to be violated without consequence, he would not be the god of mercy but the god of idiots. Every man there could already picture the horrific punishments he might inflict.
"Your Majesty! Please withdraw this order! This is like kicking a hornet's nest!"
"The temple of Pluto houses statues of many other gods as well!"
Indeed, Pluto's temple contained idols of other deities besides himself: the god of death Thanatos, the goddess of oblivion Lethe, and even the goddesses of vengeance whose names alone inspired terror. The soldiers begged King Oedipus to reconsider.
What they received in return was the madman's roar.
"Hmph! Even if Hades himself descends, he'll taste my blade and flee back to the underworld! Move now! Refuse my command and I'll cut every last one of you down!"
"...Refuse my command and I'll cut every last one of you down!"
The deranged King Oedipus tried to force the soldiers into obedience through sheer power. If he intimidated them with the same strength that had slain a general and a divine beast, surely they would follow. However...
"If we touch Pluto's temple, we'll die anyway, won't we?"
"No. We might suffer for eternity even after death."
"Damn it... If it's come to this, I'd rather..."
The blade before them was terrifying, but it could never be more frightening than the god of the underworld. Eternal torment in the afterlife was a worse fate than death itself. The soldiers' eyes toward Oedipus began to fill with discontent, resentment, and murderous intent. He may have stepped into the realm of heroes, but if they all charged him at once, perhaps they stood a chance.
Seeming to notice their rebellious gazes, Oedipus turned with a grotesque smile.
"Oh? These bastards... dare to disobey their king's command?"
"Dying by your hand is less terrifying than earning Lord Pluto's wrath!"
"We cannot obey! Cease this blasphemy at once!"
"Have you lost your mind? Burning the temple of the merciful god?!"
The soldiers' spears, now turned against their king, pointed at Oedipus. Yet the mad hero, empowered by Gaia, simply laughed.
"Heh heh... Hahahaha! Fine, then all of you can die too!"
"Kill this mad king and offer him to Dionysus! Beg for mercy!"
"Someone warn the priests at Pluto's temple!"
"Because of you, we'll pay for these sins even after death!"
Citizens who had rushed over after hearing that the temple of Dionysus had been burned joined the fray. The rumor that their once-wise king had fallen into madness and now sought to burn even Pluto's temple spread like wildfire.
"The merciful god has shown the living such great kindness..."
"Exactly! Look at his eyes! It's like he's listening to Dionysus's whispers..."
"Has the king gone mad from wine? Attacking the temples—what insanity is this!"
Soon the area before Dionysus's temple was filled with the chaotic cries of soldiers and citizens alike. In the heart of that pandemonium, King Oedipus swung his blade wildly, carving through a massacre.
"Uwahahaha! Die! All of you, die!"
Slash. Slice.
"Kyaaak!"
"His strength is monstrous!"
No matter how many soldiers there were, they stood no chance. Who could withstand a hero who had transcended humanity? Blood soaked the ground, and crimson flowers bloomed across the earth. The king, smiling grotesquely amid the gore and frenzy, was no longer the hero who had saved Thebes.
Meanwhile, news of the massacre Oedipus was committing in Thebes reached the temple of Hades. A soldier who had long been one of Hades's devotees came running and reported everything.
"...Everyone must take shelter! The temple of Dionysus has already been burned!"
"We thank you for your concern, soldier, but as priests we cannot abandon the temple."
"That the king who was once so wise has gone mad and is now burning temples and slaughtering people... How could this be?"
"Just yesterday he was a virtuous ruler caring for citizens suffering from the plague..."
The priests of Hades were thrown into confusion by the sudden crisis. Before they could fully process the situation, another soldier came sprinting toward them.
"Flee at once! The mad king is killing everyone who stands in his path and is heading straight here!"
"Dear gods... Hades, have mercy."
"The merciful god is surely watching over us."
Biting their lips, the priests clasped their hands and offered prayers one by one. Yet the screams of the dying drew steadily closer until a blood-soaked madman appeared. It was Oedipus, the slaughterer drenched in red from head to toe. Having carved his way through countless soldiers and citizens to reach this place, he stood panting.
"Heh... Haaah... Olympian... gods... die..."
As the fallen hero slowly advanced, terror gripped everyone inside the temple. Though the priests had received a fragment of divine power, they were fundamentally non-combatants.
"He's already here...!"
"Merciful god... please help us."
At this very moment, in the underworld. As the Lord of the Underworld and one of the three chief gods, I was buried in paperwork in my office. What was the point of high station when the workload never ended? Even Charon, son of Nyx—one of the Protogenoi and goddess of night—still worked as a ferryman. And yes, the same could be said for Thanatos, who was currently rushing through my door in a panic.
"Hades! Didn't you tell me to report immediately if humans began dying under strange circumstances?"
"I did. Have the Gigantes launched an attack on a human kingdom?"
Had they finally made their move? Where was the site of the assault? Athens? Delphi?
"Some lunatic is rampaging through Thebes committing a massacre. The death toll has already passed several dozen."
"A human is doing this? Inside a city?"
I was still wondering why it was a human causing chaos instead of the expected Gigantes attack when Lethe, her long silver hair swaying, came running in urgently.
"Hades! The king of Thebes is slaughtering everyone! But my interference isn't working at all...?"
"Your power of oblivion has no effect?"
I hadn't even descended in person or moved my true form. I'd simply used the power in moderation. That alone should have erased the memories of most humans...
"It must be a divine blessing or curse. Or perhaps a special bloodline..."
"Was he driven mad by Dionysus's power?"
"That doesn't seem likely. Let me observe the upper world first."
No matter how much of a madness god Dionysus was, he wouldn't drive a massacre of this scale. Thebes housed both my temple and many of his own followers.
I shifted my consciousness and looked through the eyes of a devotee. It was possible to observe the mortal realm this way without needing a priest's desperate prayer.
A madman swung his sword, butchering people left and right.
"Merciful god... please help us."
"King Oedipus has gone insane. Please..."
"Lord Pluto... the streets are nothing but corpses and blood..."
The bodies of my devotees trembled as they prayed with everything they had. Some even believed this was punishment sent down by the gods of Olympus. And that madman...
"Uwahahaha!! Die!!"
Eyes dyed blood-red. An expression that was clearly abnormal. Maniacal laughter that sounded completely unhinged. And finally... the unmistakable power of the earth flowing through his entire body.
Gaia had cursed a human and driven him mad. She had chosen Thebes specifically because both my temple and Dionysus's stood there.
"Ordinary humans won't be able to handle him. Thanatos, I'll bring that human down to the underworld myself, so call the goddess Mnemosyne."
"You're going personally? The Lord of the Underworld doesn't need to handle this himself. There are devotees praying to me, so..."
"I know you'll just slip away to the upper world and take another vacation like you did during the Sisyphus incident."
"N-no... Ahem..."
I cut off Thanatos before he could flee to the surface again and closed my eyes. The most suitable vessel for descent was, naturally, the female priest who had accepted me once before.
'My priest, Penedea.'
"Hup...! Yes, your servant Penedea receives your command."
'I'll need to borrow your body again for a short while.'
"It is an honor...! Lord Hades!"
A pitiful soul captured by Gaia... For him, a swift death would be the truest mercy.