Chapter 90
Zeus approached me as Tantalus lay unconscious on the ground.
With each of Zeus's steps, sparks and lightning flashed, and thunder continued to strike from the sky above.
"I'm sorry, brother. I never imagined Tantalus would do such a thing."
"...That insane human needs to be thrown into Tartarus."
"Since he killed his own child and made him into food, it would be fitting to make him suffer eternal hunger."
Should I call upon Limos, the goddess of hunger, for help?
No... that deranged man should suffer for a long time. There's no need to waste Limos's power on him.
In the past, there was another mad human who lived in the same era as Sisyphus, who had imprisoned Thanatos.
A man called Erysichthon swung his axe at an oak tree cherished by Demeter.
Crack! Thud!
"Bl-blood from the oak tree!"
"Lord Erysichthon, please stop chopping now!"
"I will surely take revenge on you... human."
The oak tree bled where it was cut and vowed revenge, but he paid no heed and cut it down.
Thus, Erysichthon incurred Demeter's wrath and was visited by a goddess sent by her...
"Food! Bring more food! Sell everything and buy food!"
"Father... we've already had over 60 servings..."
"I'm... I'm hungry! Hurry!"
The goddess sent at Demeter's request plunged Erysichthon into terrible hunger,
causing him to squander all his wealth, which had been considerable, and eventually eat his own body to death.
That goddess was Limos, the divine personification of hunger.
Zeus opened his mouth, looking at the pile of human flesh held by Demeter.
Despite being the king of gods who had lived for ages, he couldn't hide his disturbance at such insane human behavior.
"Demeter. We should go to the Moirai, the three goddesses of fate, to resurrect this poor soul."
"If we remake the form, we should be able to bring him back to life."
"...Then I'll have to quickly return the soul that came to the Underworld."
Just then, the sound of fluttering wings was heard from the sky,
and three goddesses with snake hair, blood flowing from their eyes, appeared.
With bronze wings and torches in hand,
it seems the avatars sent by the three goddesses of vengeance are heading towards Tantalus.
"You. Killed. Your. Son. As. A. Father?"
"You. Must. Suffer. For. Eternity."
"Your. Sin. Will. Never. Be. Lessened."
The avatars sent by the three goddesses of vengeance are illusions visible only to those who have sinned.
Tantalus will be tormented by these illusions forever until he dies.
Wait, if he's tormented by illusions until he dies... he'll be free from them after death, won't he?
Poseidon seemed to have thought of this too, as he looked at me.
"Hades, how about we imprison that insolent fool in Tartarus while he's still alive?"
That's an excellent idea.
***
Tantalus awoke with a cold sweat.
Wasn't he supposed to have died for deceiving the gods? Surely the palace was completely...
Then is this the Underworld?
Tantalus tried to move and get up, but his body, tightly bound with ropes, didn't budge.
With great effort, he lifted only his head to see a scene similar to a cave.
"You're awake, Tantalus."
'Lord Pluto? Is this... the Underworld?!'
A chilling cold swirled around, and following the voice he heard from somewhere... he saw Lord Pluto sitting on a black throne, looking at him with sharp eyes.
Around him were gods who seemed to reside in the Underworld, like a male god with black wings and a goddess with teal hair.
Everything was pitch black, and the few torches that somewhat illuminated the surroundings were losing their brightness.
He had a hallucination that the black darkness emanating from Lord Pluto on the throne was devouring the warm torchlight.
"Your. Sin. Will. Never. Be. Lessened."
"Urgh..."
And the auditory hallucination he'd been hearing seeped into his mind.
The goddesses of vengeance? Indeed, it was impossible for a human to deceive the gods.
Tantalus, who had only been groaning, heard Lord Pluto's low voice.
If he stays still like this, he'll die... Since Lord Pluto is also the god of mercy, he must somehow evoke his compassion...
"Now then... let's discuss your punishment for killing your grandson and serving him to your grandfather and relatives."
"Is deceiving the gods such a grave sin?"
"Silence! You worm!"
Boom!
At the roar of the black-winged god standing next to Lord Pluto,
Tantalus's head, which was about to speak, was slammed into the ground, hitting it hard.
However, when the lord of the Underworld sitting on the throne waved his hand, the irresistible pressure disappeared.
"Hmm. Thanatos. Please calm down for a moment. Even a criminal has the right to explain... Go ahead, move your mouth."
Tantalus racked his brain to the best of his ability.
The Underworld is entirely Lord Pluto's domain, even his father, Lord Zeus, cannot interfere.
Therefore, if he can somehow persuade the god of the Underworld sitting on the throne and receive mercy, there might be hope...!
But there's a high chance that lies won't work on a god.
Although he killed his son and made him into food, no god had eaten it, right?
Moreover, even the goddesses of vengeance are tormenting him...
"Have you nothing to say?!"
"N-no! It's just that..."
Yes, sympathy! He must evoke sympathy from that black-haired male god.
The sin I committed is blasphemy, daring to steal the food of the gods and trying to deceive them by making a dish out of a human.
But the rumors he had heard about Lord Pluto were... that he was a benevolent god, more merciful than any other.
Unlike the cruel and capricious Olympian gods, if he could persuade this somewhat soft-hearted god of mercy...
"Is it such a great sin for a human to want to test the gods?! Lord Pluto!"
"......"
"Born as Zeus's son, I have always had doubts as a demigod! The tales of the gods are not always filled with good deeds, there are also stories of them tormenting mortals or making mistakes! I merely expressed a small curiosity about what kind of beings the gods are, please forgive me mercifully!"
"......"
"I believe I have already been punished for blasphemy by death! Please take pity on me and allow me to meet a peaceful death! Oh merciful god...!"
After saying this much, Tantalus looked at the being sitting on the throne.
For some reason, the surrounding gods were also quiet. This made him increasingly anxious.
After a moment of silence, Lord Pluto, who had been looking at him sharply, burst into laughter.
Not a hearty laugh, but a sneer...!? Had he failed to persuade the god?
"Hahaha! You think you're dead? No, you're still alive. Thanks to Thanatos not collecting your soul."
"What?"
"And from the beginning, your greatest sin was neither trying to deceive the gods nor stealing ambrosia and nectar."
"...?!"
"I listened to your excuses out of curiosity after you killed your own son, and this is all you have to say?"
Tantalus finally realized his mistake.
He never thought that the mercy of Lord Pluto, which he tried to exploit, would extend to his son.
"Th-that is..."
"If you had only stolen ambrosia and nectar, it would have ended with decades of labor in the Underworld. If you had died for deceiving the gods without harming others, it would have ended with an appropriate punishment considering this."
"Ah..."
"But you never once mentioned killing your son. Not even a shred of guilt... Your judgment has been decided."
Tantalus tried to make excuses urgently, but no voice came out.
In front of Tantalus, who was struggling to say something, the lord of the Underworld calmly pronounced the judgment.
"Murder is a sin. Killing your own son is a grave sin. Not stopping there, but trying to feed your son's corpse to your relatives is an even graver sin."
"......!"
"You cannot atone for all these wrongs even after tens of thousands of years. Therefore, you will be sent to Tartarus and..."
"......!!!"
"I sentence you to suffer from eternal hunger that can never be satisfied, and periodically have your entrails eaten by Cerberus."
Tantalus struggled to shake off the hands of the dead souls grabbing him.
However, there was no way he could resist the power of the spirits transporting the criminal.
The madman who cooked his own son was about to receive his just punishment.
***
I etched the final moments of Tantalus being dragged away by the dead souls into my eyes.
Like the eagle that tore out Prometheus's liver, Cerberus too would now periodically eat Tantalus's entrails.
This will provide food for Cerberus, the divine beast who is always hungry and drooling.
Even if his entrails are constantly torn out by the gatekeeper of the Underworld, Tantalus will not die but regenerate. Not only will Thanatos not take his soul, but I will keep him alive.
But why did the gods willingly attend a feast held by Tantalus, who had stolen ambrosia and nectar? They might have gone expecting him to commit disrespect at the banquet, to gain a justification to severely punish Tantalus, the son-in-law of Atlas...
Is it also a kind of indirect warning? Since we have the justification, it proves to the Titan gods remaining in the mortal world that the power balance of the world has definitely changed... Since he's also Zeus's son, we can say we punished him while suppressing our sorrow.
...No. Let's not think unnecessary thoughts.
I didn't ask Zeus directly, so it might just be my unfounded speculation.
"Such a human... I've never seen before."
"Don't be too shocked, Menthe. As a god, you'll experience various things over a long life."
Menthe stares blankly at the place where Tantalus left.
She seems quite shocked, well, she was originally a Naiad living peacefully in a river.
When she was my priestess, all humans must have revered her, and after becoming a goddess, she mainly focused on spreading mint or doing paperwork, so such a scene must be unfamiliar to her.
Moreover, she didn't attend many trials of the dead.
Even so, Tantalus's case was truly that of a madman...
"To think such humans exist... Humans are really..."
The Goddess of Mint shakes her head, showing disgust.
Oh no... if her thoughts flow in that direction, it's not good, will Tantalus's case give her prejudice?
I opened my mouth towards her, who was hanging her head slightly depressed.
Since both Goddess Styx and Goddess Lethe have been to the mortal world, should I go out with Menthe for a change of mood?
"Menthe. Would you like to go to Thebes after a long time?"
"...?!"
"...It's the walk we couldn't finish last time due to the Gigas attack."
She raises her head again, her eyes twinkling.
There was no trace of depression in her brightly shining teal eyes.
"Re-reward! Finally, just the two of us like Styx and Lethe...!"
"...? How did you know about that?"
"Of course, the rumors have spread everywhere! These days in the Underworld, about who will become Lord Hades' official wife..."
I wish everyone would stop caring about my love life...