King of Underworld

Chapter 49 The Tragedy of Oedipus – (End)

The familiar sensation and the shifting view.

The dark energy flowing all around me signaled that I had possessed a human body.

“Ah… could it be…!”

“Lord Hades…?”

The nearby priests quickly bowed their heads in my direction.

As I made my way through the crowd filling the temple, I finally saw the mad King of Thebes.

“Huuuh…”

King Oedipus, clearly under the influence of Gaia’s power.

He had once been hailed as a hero of wit and strategy, a wise king who defeated the Sphinx.

Now, he charged at me, seemingly unaware that a god had descended into a human body.

No, rather than not recognizing me… it felt like he had surrendered his mind to madness.

“Haaargh!”

*Boom!*

I casually extended my hand toward the charging Oedipus, releasing divine power.

Even though he had become a hero strong enough to be unbeatable among humans, he was still no match for a god possessing a human body.

*Crash!*

Struck by a wave of divine power, Oedipus tumbled across the ground and staggered as he tried to stand.

For a brief moment, his eyes flickered with confusion.

This wasn’t the kind of madness that came from a curse by Dionysus, the god of madness.

It was a madness that could be shaken off with enough intense impact.

*Boom!!!*

“Ugh!”

But to burn down a temple and massacre the people of Thebes?

Only someone already deeply unstable could do something like that.

King Oedipus stumbled back to his feet once again.

“Are you starting to come to your senses?”

“Huu… Hades… god…”

The madman looked at me directly.

“…You are in sorrow. I shall hear your plea.”

“Huu…”

The madness bestowed by Gaia was merely a spark thrown onto an already piled heap of wood.

As Oedipus looked at me again, a brief moment of sanity flickered in his eyes.

He alternated between looking at the dark divine power surrounding me and my pupils, then slowly brought his sword to his arm.

*Slash.*

“Arghhhh!”

“King Oedipus… cut off his own arm…”

“No?!”

“What is going on…!”

Kneeling on one knee, Oedipus gritted his teeth.

Having cut off his own arm to partially escape the influence of madness, he now looked at me directly.

Finally, the clear gaze of the King of Thebes, once known for his wisdom, appeared in his eyes.

“O merciful god, Pluto.”

However, along with that clarity, a torrent of emotions welled up.

Sorrow, anger, self-loathing, guilt, resentment, despair…

A full array of negative emotions.

What on earth happened to him before he was cursed by Gaia?

Yet, the sins he had committed were more than enough to warrant judgment in the underworld.

I focused my energy into my hand, moved the possessed body, and approached the kneeling king.

“You’re in no state to talk right now. We’ll speak again later.”

“I’m sorry… Mother.”

*Slash.*

*Thud. Roll.*

King Oedipus’s head rolled across the floor, having offered no resistance, as if he had already given up on everything.

For the criminal who burned Dionysus’s temple and slaughtered countless citizens in a fit of madness, his end was rather anticlimactic.

I glanced at the head rolling on the ground before turning to the humans.

The citizens of Thebes couldn’t meet my gaze, fearing they might incur divine punishment.

“Lord Pluto…”

“Have mercy…”

The priests in the temple closed their eyes and clasped their hands in prayer.

The ones who had recently become priests shed tears of reverent gratitude.

“…Not a single one of you has fled the temple. I shall remember your devotion.”

I left them with those final words and immediately shifted my consciousness back to the underworld.

* * *

When I returned to the underworld, I was greeted by the solemn faces of several gods.

It seemed they had all gathered after hearing about the situation in Thebes.

“Thanatos, summon King Oedipus immediately. Bring Judge Minos as well.”

“Understood.”

“Should I fetch the Water of Memory?”

“Goddess Mnemosyne, that won’t be necessary.”

Given the clarity in Oedipus’s eyes when I saw him in the mortal world, he would likely retain his memories even after crossing the River of Forgetfulness.

It was time to hear his side of the story.

A short while later, Thanatos roughly dragged in Oedipus’s soul.

The madness was no longer visible in his eyes, but a whirlwind of complex emotions remained.

“I will hear your story in full and consult with Minos, the judge of the underworld, to render a verdict.”

“…..”

“Speak freely, tell me everything. Even if you curse Zeus, it matters not to me.”

At my words, Oedipus slowly began to speak.

“I killed my father, had relations with my mother, and bore children with her.”

In a voice hoarse and trembling, he recounted his life.

The story of being raised as the prince of Corinth, of killing his father in a chariot, of Thebes and the Sphinx, of his mother and wife, Jocasta.

And… the truth spoken by the seer Tiresias.

Even the power bestowed upon him by the one who called themselves Gaia.

After telling this much, Oedipus fell silent again.

Had he not been influenced by Gaia, had he not burned down temples and killed people, his sins would have been greatly diminished.

“Gaia planted false thoughts in your mind.”

“At first, my mind was indeed filled with resentment toward the gods, but at some point, my own will also took hold.”

Did Oedipus surrender to the madness as well?

But why? It’s true that resisting madness isn’t easy, but…

“…Did you resent Apollo for the prophecy?”

“He merely informed me of a future that had already been determined.”

“Then were you angry with Ares for the curse placed upon the royal family of Thebes?”

“If someone killed my child, I might have placed such a curse as well.”

“Do you believe Gaia is to blame for your downfall?”

“She merely changed the direction of an already burning fire.”

Though he said this, it wasn’t as if he had no resentment toward the gods.

In fact, when he was consumed by madness, his hatred for Olympus manifested in the destruction of temples.

However… his other desire was so overwhelming that he had no room to resent the gods.

It was time to confirm whether my thoughts were correct.

“Then what is it that you desire?”

“I wish to be punished for the heinous crimes I’ve committed—killing my father, having relations with my mother, and massacring the citizens of Thebes in a fit of madness.”

Perhaps he truly wanted divine punishment.

Even though he had committed the horrendous sins of killing his father and having relations with his mother, the three goddesses of vengeance did not torment him.

Perhaps because there was no intent behind his actions, but did that only deepen Oedipus’s misery?

“You don’t claim that Gaia’s curse caused you to kill people.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Did he believe that the only way he could atone for his countless sins was to endure the most severe and relentless divine punishment?

The human mind is fragile and unstable compared to that of the gods.

When pushed to the extreme, a human might choose self-destruction.

Occasionally, those who overcome such trials are called heroes among heroes…

But unfortunately, Oedipus wasn’t one of them.

Human emotions are complex, and sometimes, even they don’t know what they truly want.

Especially a human driven mad by Gaia’s curse…

“…Please, punish me.”

* * *

“Deciding your punishment is not an easy task. It will be deferred for now.”

Was it really the madness that drove him insane, or was it that he begged the gods to punish him for surrendering to the madness?

Oedipus was escorted away under the strict watch of the soul guards.

I dismissed all the gods for a moment and summoned Minos, the impartial judge of the underworld.

Although his two brothers couldn’t attend due to their duties of judging other souls, Minos alone would suffice to provide counsel.

“Minos, do you have any thoughts?”

“The severity of his crime depends on how much Gaia’s curse influenced his mind.”

“And?”

“Other factors to consider include sacrilege, the prophecy of tragedy, his contributions to Thebes, and the wrongful killing of humans…”

Minos’s words were correct.

The key issue was the balance between Oedipus’s intent and the curse’s madness when he massacred humans and burned down the temple.

We had to be as fair as possible in our judgment.

“Gaia surely tempted him by claiming that everything was the gods’ fault.”

“However, according to Oedipus’s own words, he began to embrace the madness as his own and escalated his actions.”

“It wasn’t Dionysus’s whispers, but rather a sliver of will that remained even within the madness.”

“Which is why he expressed that his will was also involved.”

“If it weren’t for Gaia’s curse, wouldn’t he have merely plucked out his eyes as he swore to do if he discovered the parricide?”

“Gaia’s curse may have driven Oedipus, who was already mentally broken, to make a grave mistake…”

After a long discussion with Minos, considering the deceased humans, his reputation in the mortal world, the curse’s influence, and his attitude…

“Summon Oedipus again.”

It was time to render judgment.

* * *

I gazed

upon Oedipus as he was brought before me again.

I slowly opened my mouth to speak to the silent King of Thebes.

“Your sins are that you defiled your mother, killed your father, succumbed to madness, burned Dionysus’s temple in Thebes, and murdered innocent citizens.”

Perhaps Oedipus was the most tragic figure in the history of Thebes?

“Judging solely by the crimes you’ve committed, sending you to Tartarus for endless labor would be just.”

However, most of the crimes he committed were not his fault.

Even the massacre of Thebes’s citizens and the burning of the temple were tragic acts committed in a state of madness.

“Considering your fall into Gaia’s madness, the prophecy of your tragic fate, and the fact that you were revered as a wise king of Thebes until the truth was revealed…”

He was manipulated by the gods from beginning to end.

The curse of Ares brought misfortune upon the royal family of Thebes…

He was abandoned by his biological father due to the tragic prophecy and later defiled his biological mother.

After realizing the truth, he was used by Gaia and fell further into despair.

“I sentence you to 200 years of labor, piling stones on the outskirts of the underworld, with the blessing of oblivion to erase the memories of your life.”

A light punishment for a man who slaughtered dozens of humans, burned down temples, and even killed sacred beasts.

But I deemed it appropriate.

“You are barred from reincarnation, and after your labor sentence, you will serve as a guard at the fortress for eternity.”

“The blessing of oblivion… is it an act of mercy granted to me?”

“Consider it a small compensation for someone who has suffered at the hands of the gods from birth to death.”

I turned away from the speechless Oedipus and looked toward Goddess Lethe.

“Goddess Lethe, please proceed.”

The judgment was complete.

* * *

After Oedipus received the blessing of oblivion and was led to the labor site,

I found myself deep in thought.

“Hades, the Olympian god Dionysus has requested that Oedipus be severely punished.”

“….”

“Hades…?”

When I slowly raised my head, I saw the silver-haired goddess with a sad expression.

“I’m not sure if the judgment I rendered was the correct one.”

“You did your best, Hades. You gave a fitting punishment and mercy to a human who was tormented by fate…”

“I’m not so sure… I don’t know.”

Did I make the right judgment concerning Oedipus?

Was the punishment and mercy I gave him fair, or was there something unjust about it?

“We gods… are not omniscient and omnipotent as humans believe.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Even Zeus doesn’t know everything, and the Three Rulers are ultimately swayed by emotions.”

“Yes, naturally.”

“Athena isn’t always wise, and Hephaestus occasionally mishandles his hammer.”

Gods are not omniscient and omnipotent.

Athena sometimes forgets her wisdom in the heat of the moment,

And even Hephaestus occasionally creates a failed piece.

“But as the god of the underworld, I cannot afford to make mistakes.”

When humans die, they come to the underworld.

The victim and the perpetrator meet in the underworld.

The murderer and the innocent victim also come to the underworld.

Those who were manipulated into committing crimes, those who were killed by the gods, also arrive in the underworld.

Those who committed sacrilege, those who were deceived and did wrong, and those who were unjustly sacrificed and resent the gods all come to the underworld.

The underworld is the final destination for all mortals, where the burdens of their lives are judged.

That is why I must make the most impartial and cold-hearted judgments.

That is the duty bestowed upon the god of the underworld, who wields immense power.

“Why shouldn’t you? You’re not the primordial god, Chaos, so isn’t it natural?”

“But still…”

“I sometimes make mistakes when bestowing the blessing of oblivion upon humans, so what if something goes a little wrong?”

“My duty is to judge mortal beings…”

“You’re already doing a great job. Even Minos accepted the judgment and left satisfied.”

Minos, known for his fairness, is not someone who would be swayed into saying something he didn’t mean by my authority.

I know that very well, too.

“But still… I want to render an even more just verdict…”

*Squeeze.*

“Stop… stop talking. Just take a moment to forget everything and be at peace.”

The sudden embrace from Goddess Lethe activated her power of oblivion.

The warm feeling of her heart spread through my entire body.

I didn’t resist.