The King of the Underworld is Tired

Chapter 76: A Slightly Different Story of Thebes – (2)

"He's a spy consumed by madness! Kill him!"

"Arghhh! Hahh!"

Clang! Clink!

This place had suddenly turned into a battlefield with spears and swords flying everywhere.

A man, his eyes reddened, charged at the soldiers and used his full strength to cut one of them down.

Slash-!

Red blood splattered across the once peaceful room, and the furniture around was shattered.

Pilatos couldn’t fully grasp the situation.

The only thing he was sure of was that the man was acting abnormally, and the soldiers seemed used to situations like this.

"Arghhh!"

"Ugh. His strength!"

"Priest! That guy, he..."

Pilatos moved quickly to help the soldiers.

He slipped behind the madman, drew his sword from his waist, and lifted it high.

Following the practiced moves of his usual sword training, he fiercely swung at the crazed man's shoulder.

The well-honed, sharp blade gleamed coldly as it flashed through the air.

"Hmph!"

Slash-!

With a single swing backed by his strength, renowned even in Sparta, the crazed man’s muscular arm was severed, causing blood to spurt out.

Yet, the man, lost in madness, was undeterred and instead lunged at him.

Pilatos tried to pull back his sword and swing again, but the madman was already too close.

He was astonished by the unnatural strength of the crazed man.

"Urgh!"

He barely managed to block the attack with his sword, but that was all.

How could a one-armed man exert such force?

Would he meet Thanatos like this? He gritted his teeth...

"Hahh! Ah..."

Thud.

Suddenly, the madman stopped moving and collapsed limply.

A little distance away, a priest, who had extended his hand, opened his mouth.

"No one can withstand the power of Hypnos forever."

The priest of Hypnos, the god of sleep.

The madman was taken away by the soldiers, but Pilatos was still being watched with suspicion.

"Tsk. After being quiet for a while... Well, I suppose it was time."

The middle-aged priest handed him a mystical stone.

"Are you the last one? Place your hand on the stone. If you’re fine, nothing will happen."

"Hmm... Alright. I am of sound mind, after all..."

Flash-!

The white light, just like the others who had passed. Not the red glow that marked madness.

Pilatos sighed in relief, and the soldiers lowered their guard.

"From now on, I will guide them. You men can go about your business."

"Yes, priest."

"Then, we’ll take our leave."

Only three had passed this strange test.

The middle-aged priest led the three, sending the soldiers away, and they followed him.

What was the meaning of this strange test, and who was that madman?

Why did the gods impose such trials on those who sought to become heroes?

* * *

They arrived in a room deep within the temple.

The three, who had gone through strict security to get here, did not look well.

"Now, everyone, take a look at this parchment."

"What is this now?"

"It’s the third trial. Read through the parchment and swear by the River Styx to abide by everything written there."

"Wha-what?! The River Styx?!"

"Is this really necessary?"

An oath by the River Styx was an unbreakable rule.

But the restrictions written on the parchment were too numerous.

"Forbidden to disclose anything you see or hear from now on, either directly or indirectly through writing or illustration..."

"Once signed, you must follow instructions until you take your first steps as a hero? And also..."

"I-I can't do this! How can anyone agree to this?"

One of the three who had passed the trial waved his hands and expressed his refusal.

Another, upon reading the numerous prohibitions, also turned pale.

"So, two have refused. Then just swear not to reveal anything about the trials in Thebes and you may leave."

"...Understood. I swear by the River Styx not to disclose anything I’ve seen or heard during this 'trial' to anyone."

"I also..."

The two left the way they had come, but Pilatos did not give up.

He couldn’t abandon his dream of becoming a hero after coming all the way from Sparta.

"I swear by the River Styx to uphold the contents written on this parchment."

"Oh... So we have one hero after all. Though not yet, of course..."

"Since I've made the oath, can you now explain what all this has been about?"

The middle-aged priest nodded at his question.

"I can’t tell you everything... but that stone you saw earlier holds the power of the god Dionysus."

"The power of the god of madness...?"

"Of course, it doesn’t drive a sane person mad. It’s meant to make those already consumed by madness unable to endure it."

"That’s why you referred to him as a spy. What, from some other god or..."

"You must be aware of the serpent monsters that have appeared all across Greece? Think of them as spies sent by that side."

He knew about the serpent monsters, the Gigantes.

There was no way he could be unaware of those powerful beasts that destroyed temples and killed heroes or demigods throughout Greece.

But monsters driving humans mad and using them as spies?

It seemed clear that they were caught up in a complex conflict among the gods.

“Damn it... I shouldn’t get involved in the affairs of the gods... but there's no choice. Since it's come to this…”

“Heh heh. You've made up your mind, I see. After nearly a month, finally someone has come.”

The middle-aged priest opened the door on the inner side of the room.

Stone stairs leading downward appeared before them, and torches were hanging at regular intervals along both walls.

“Follow me this way.”

“It looks like some sort of ceremonial place.”

“You’ll find out if you follow me, haha.”

Step, step.

And so, what Pilatos saw when they reached somewhere underground…!

Rumble—

There was a space, or rather, a rift, where an unusual current was clearly swirling.

The entire space seemed to have shattered, leading somewhere else, and the rift emitted a black light, large enough for several people to pass through.

“What… What is this?! I've never seen anything like this before in my life…! Is this the power of an Olympian god?”

“It’s a gateway to the underworld. If you enter it, you’ll receive training to become a hero.”

“Th-the… underworld?!”

The underworld, also known as the netherworld.

That place, under Pluto's domain, was only accessible to the dead, wasn't it?

To train heroes in such a place... What was the reason for creating this under Pluto’s temple?

The hesitant Pilatos heard the priest’s advice.

“You've sworn an oath on the River Styx, with a vow of silence, so I will not force you.”

“Hmm!”

“If you’re destined to be a hero, you'll cross through this gateway; if not, you'll give up.”

Despite the challenge to his pride, Pilatos couldn’t easily bring himself to move forward.

How could the living cross over to the underworld?

“But if I eat the food of the underworld, I won't be able to return to the living world, will I?”

“Of course, the food you’ll eat is regularly brought here from the living world.”

“There must be plenty of food brought from the living world over there.”

Must he really train in the underworld to walk the path of a hero?

Wouldn't it be possible to find another way…

“…Did everyone else go through this process too?”

“Of course. Some gave up, and some are training inside.”

“Pluto himself raising heroes in his domain—what in the world…”

Seeing Pilatos aghast, the priest, still calm, spoke again.

“It means that the gods are showing interest. The choice is yours.”

“To the underworld... Hmm…”

There was no possibility that the priest had lied to him.

The followers of Pluto feared judgment in the underworld above all.

Pluto's followers believed in paying for their sins in the underworld in a fair manner, so they almost never committed crimes.

After much contemplation, Pilatos slowly stepped forward.

One step toward becoming a hero.

“…I will go to the underworld. I will definitely become a hero and defeat that Gigantes!”

“Oh ho. I wish you good fortune.”

As the strange crack in space gradually grew closer, he clenched his teeth and took a step forward.

* * *

Swoosh—

Pilatos, having passed through the rift, could not help but be astonished by the scenery of the underworld.

“This… is the underworld?!”

It felt different from what he had imagined.

He had stepped forward, ready for a dark and grim realm of death.

But what spread before him was a canyon made of stone, a vast plain, and there was even some light shining.

The ground was covered in green grass, almost like a meadow, and there were even trees.

It didn’t feel like the underworld at all, and, as if entranced, he spoke.

“Did I die and arrive at Elysium…?!”

“Of course not! Haha! The real Elysium can't even be compared to this place.”

Startled by a sudden voice from beside him, Pilatos turned his head to see a translucent centaur.

The deceased soul, no doubt, was looking down at Pilatos with a hearty laugh.

“Uh?! Y-you are?”

“I am Chiron. From now on, I will be your teacher, as a centaur.”

“The wise Chiron?!”

Chiron’s reputation remained even after his death.

Only now did Pilatos understand why heroes were trained in the underworld.

“But is this really the underworld? Why does it look so similar to the living world…”

“Well, several gods, including the goddess of spring, have used their power so that the living can adapt to the underworld. Just don’t cross the barrier you see over there.”

“Goddess Persephone… I see.”

Indeed, beyond the visible boundary, the landscape was entirely dark, filled with the scenery of the underworld.

He instinctively sensed that crossing that boundary would lead to his death.

The space allowed for aspiring heroes from the living world was only around this canyon.

But even this amount of space was enough.

Chiron, the wise teacher, was going to teach him personally—coming to Thebes was the right choice!

But... that thought was soon shattered.

Whoosh—Bang!

“Gah!”

A figure, covered in blood, crashed into a rock after being sent flying from afar.

The one who had just been thrown seemed to be an aspiring hero like himself.

Pilatos hastily turned his head, and what came into his view was…

“Arghhh!”

“I heard it’s weakened because it’s dead, but why is it still so strong?!”

“Use your head! Do you think we’re Apollo?!”

“Ugh! Just die already!”

Screeech!

“Use your strength! Aren’t you a demigod?!”

“I’ve been giving it my all since earlier… Gah!”

“Damn it! Protus is down!”

Crash—Boom!

A colossal, translucent serpent monster was striking down the aspiring heroes rushing at it, swinging its tail nonchalantly.

With just a flick of its tail, people went flying, shields were shattered—it was utter chaos.

Clang! Ting!

“Damn it! Shoot it in the eyes with arrows!”

“Just die already, damn it!”

Nevertheless, the heroes gritted their teeth and charged.

But their attacks didn’t seem to have any effect on the monster.

“Ah, that’s the Python, the royal serpent. Lord Hades lent it to train the heroes.”

“Wait, is that the same Python that Lord Apollo personally killed?”

“Is there another Python besides that one?”

When he heard he had to face a monster that even a god had to step in to kill, he was dumbfounded.

But Chiron simply responded with another question.

“Do we have to face such a monster?”

“…Didn’t you come to the underworld because you wanted to become a hero?”

“But…”

It was true he had stepped into the underworld filled with courage.

But… but…

“Ah, by the way, thanks to Pluto's grace, you don’t die easily in the underworld, so don’t worry.”

“…I can’t even die?”

He wanted to return to the living world.