The King of the Underworld is Tired

Tantalus had fainted and was thrown to the ground, while Zeus approached me.

With every step Zeus took, flames and lightning flashed, and thunder continued to roll in the sky above.

"I'm sorry, brother. I never imagined that Tantalus would act like that."

"…That madman should be thrown into Tartarus."

"Since he killed his own child and turned them into food, eternal hunger would be the perfect punishment for him."

Should I call upon Limos, the goddess of hunger, for help?

No… That madman needs to suffer for a long time. There's no need to make Limos waste her power on him.

There was a madman who lived in the same era as Sisyphus, the one who had imprisoned Thanatos.

A man named Erysichthon swung his axe at an oak tree cherished by Demeter.

Crash. Thud!

"Th-the tree is bleeding!"

"Erysichthon, please stop chopping now!"

“I swear I will surely have my revenge on you… human.”

The oak tree bled from the wound and spoke of vengeance, but he ignored it and cut the tree down.

Thus, Erysichthon incurred Demeter's wrath and received a visit from a goddess sent by Demeter…

"Food! Bring me more food! Sell everything and buy more food!"

"Father… it's already more than sixty servings…"

"Hun… hungry! Quickly!"

The goddess, at Demeter’s request, inflicted Erysichthon with unbearable hunger,

making him squander all his wealth, and eventually, he devoured his own body until he died.

That very goddess is Limos, the embodiment of hunger.

Zeus, looking at the pile of human flesh brought by Demeter, spoke.

Though he was the king of gods who had lived for ages, he couldn't hide his shock at the madness of this human.

"Demeter. We must go to the Fates, the Moirai, and have them resurrect this poor soul."

"If we can reconstruct his form, we can bring him back."

"…Then we must soon return his soul from the underworld as well."

At that moment, the sound of wings flapping was heard from above.

Three goddesses with snake-haired heads, bleeding eyes, bronze wings, and torches in hand appeared.

A representation of the three goddesses of vengeance was heading towards Tantalus.

"You. Kill. Your. Own. Son. As. His. Father?"

"You. Will. Suffer. For. Eternity."

"Your. Sins. Will. Never. Be. Lightened."

The manifestations of the goddesses of vengeance were apparitions visible only to those who had sinned.

Tantalus would be tormented by that vision for all eternity until he died.

Wait, if he is tormented by the vision until he dies… wouldn't he be freed from them after death?

Poseidon must have reached the same conclusion, as he looked at me.

"Hades, what do you think of imprisoning that despicable one alive in Tartarus?"

That sounds like an excellent idea.

* * *

Tantalus woke up in a cold sweat, eyes snapping open.

Hadn't he died for his sin of deceiving the gods? The entire palace had been destroyed by the wrath of Zeus…

Could this place be the afterlife?

Tantalus tried to move his body to get up, but he was tightly bound with ropes and could not budge.

He barely lifted his head to see the surrounding landscape, resembling a cave.

"Awake now, Tantalus."

‘Pluto? The underworld…?!’

A chilling aura lingered around him, and as he followed the voice echoing from somewhere… he saw Pluto sitting on a black throne, staring at him with sharp eyes.

Other deities who seemed to reside in the underworld were also present—one with black wings and a female deity with teal hair.

Everywhere was pitch-black, and the few torches that lit the surroundings were dimming.

The darkness emanating from Pluto seemed to devour the warmth of the torches, creating an illusion before his eyes.

"Your. Sins. Will. Never. Be. Lightened."

"Ugh…"

And the hallucinations, which had been audible from earlier, seeped into his mind.

The goddesses of vengeance… as expected, deceiving the gods was impossible for a mere human.

Tantalus, groaning in pain, then heard Pluto's low voice.

If things continue like this, he would die… The god Pluto also holds the aspect of mercy, so he must somehow invoke that mercy…

"Now then… let's discuss the price for killing your son and offering him to your relatives."

"Is deceiving the gods such a grave sin?!"

"Silence! You wretched worm!"

Boom!

At the thunderous roar of the god with black wings standing beside Pluto,

Tantalus’ head was slammed into the ground, striking it heavily.

However, as the ruler of the underworld, seated on the throne, gestured, the oppressive force disappeared.

"Hm. Thanatos. Please calm yourself for a moment. The sinner has the right to an excuse at least… Speak, if you will."

Tantalus racked his brain with all his might.

The underworld is Pluto's domain alone, and even his father Zeus cannot interfere.

So if he could somehow persuade the god of the underworld sitting on the throne and receive mercy, there might be hope…!

But lies may not work on a god.

He had killed his son and made him into food, but none of the gods had eaten it.

Even the goddesses of vengeance were tormenting him…

"Do you have nothing to say?!"

"N-no! It's just that…"

Yes, compassion! I must appeal to the feeling of compassion from that black-haired god.

The sin I committed was blasphemy: daring to steal the food of the gods and attempting to deceive them by cooking a human.

But what he had heard about Pluto was… that he was the most merciful of all the gods.

Unlike the cruel and capricious Olympian gods, if he could persuade the gentle god of mercy…

“Is it truly such a great sin for a human to want to test a god?! O great god Pluto!”

“……”

“I was born the son of Zeus and lived as a demigod, always questioning! Not all stories about the gods are virtuous; there are tales of tormenting mortals and making mistakes! I expressed a small curiosity about the gods, so please forgive me mercifully!”

“……”

“I believe I have already been punished for the blasphemy with my death! Please have pity and let me die in peace! O merciful god…!”

Tantalus watched the expression of the figure on the throne after speaking.

For some reason, even the surrounding gods were silent. Anxiety began to creep in.

After a moment of silence, the god Pluto, who had been staring sharply at him, burst into laughter.

It wasn’t hearty laughter; it was a sneer…?! Had he failed to persuade the god?

“Hahaha! You think you’re dead? No, you’re still alive because the god Thanatos hasn’t taken your soul.”

“What?”

“And besides, the greatest sin you committed wasn’t trying to deceive the gods or stealing ambrosia and nectar.”

“…?!”

“Killing your own son, and then attempting such pitiful excuses. That’s your biggest mistake.”

Tantalus realized only then the mistake he had made.

He thought he could appeal to Pluto’s mercy… not realizing it extended to his son as well.

“T-that…”

“If you had only stolen ambrosia and nectar, you’d be sentenced to decades of labor here in the Underworld. If you’d died for deceiving the gods without harming others, the punishment might have been reasonable.”

“Ah…”

“But you never even mention killing your own son. You feel not a shred of guilt… The verdict has been decided.”

Tantalus tried to come up with an excuse, but no sound came out.

As Tantalus struggled to speak, the lord of the underworld calmly delivered his judgement.

“Murder is a sin. To kill one’s own son is a great sin. And to deceive your relatives into eating his remains is an even greater sin.”

“…!”

“No matter how many thousands of years pass, you won’t be able to atone for it. Therefore, you will be sent to Tartarus…”

“…!!!”

“And you will be tormented with unquenchable hunger for eternity, while periodically having your insides devoured by Cerberus.”

Tantalus struggled against the grasp of the spirits dragging him away.

But there was no way he could shake off the power of those spectral beings escorting the guilty.

The madman who had cooked his own son was to receive a fitting punishment.

* * *

I burned into my memory the final moments of Tantalus as he was dragged away by the spirits.

Just as the eagle devoured Prometheus’ liver, Cerberus too would periodically feast on Tantalus’s entrails.

The beast, always hungry and drooling, would finally have a steady source of food.

Even as Cerberus continues to tear at his entrails, Tantalus will not die but regenerate. Thanatos will not claim his soul, and I will make sure he stays alive.

But why did the gods willingly attend the banquet hosted by Tantalus, who had stolen ambrosia and nectar? Perhaps they expected him to commit such insolence, wanting to find a solid reason to punish the son-in-law of Atlas…

Maybe it was a kind of indirect warning? With all legitimacy on our side, it demonstrated that the dominance of the world had surely shifted, even to the Titan gods left in this realm… Since he is also Zeus’s son, it would appear we punished him while suppressing our own sorrow.

…No, I shouldn’t speculate further.

I didn’t ask Zeus directly, so it could just be my guess.

“I’ve never seen such a human…”

“Don’t let it trouble you too much, Mente. Living for such a long time as a god, you will inevitably see all sorts of things.”

Mente gazed blankly at where Tantalus had disappeared.

She seemed quite shocked. Well, she used to live freely in the river as a Naiad.

During her time as my priestess, humans revered her, and after she became a goddess, she mostly spread mint and focused on paperwork, so such a scene would indeed be unfamiliar to her.

Moreover, she hadn’t attended many trials of the dead.

Even so, Tantalus’s case was truly that of a madman…

“To think such humans exist… Humans really…”

The mint goddess shook her head, showing her disdain.

Ah… That line of thinking might not lead anywhere good. Perhaps Tantalus’s actions are giving her a negative impression.

Seeing her lower her head a bit gloomily, I spoke to her.

Lady Styx and Lady Lethe have also been to the mortal realm; maybe it would be good for Mente to go out for a change of pace too.

“Mente. Shall we go to Thebes after a long time?”

“…?!”

“Last time, we couldn’t finish our stroll because of the Gigantes’ attack.”

Her teal eyes sparkled brightly, the gloom disappearing instantly.

“Re… Reward! Finally, I get to go just the two of us like Lady Styx and Lady Lethe…!”

“…? How did you know that?”

“Of course, everyone already knows! There’s been a lot of talk in the Underworld lately about who might become Lord Hades's queen…”

I wish everyone would just leave my love life alone…