King of Underworld

Chapter 76

A Slightly Different Tale of Thebes — Part 2

"A spy driven mad by insanity! Kill him!" "Raaaagh! Haaa!"

Clang! Clang!

The room, once peaceful, had suddenly become a battlefield. The man, whose eyes had turned red, utilized his powerful muscles to strike down one of the soldiers.

Slash—

Blood splattered across the room, staining the once-serene space, as furniture shattered and chaos ensued.

Philatos was struggling to grasp the situation. The only thing he was sure of was that something was seriously wrong with the man, and that the soldiers seemed well-prepared for such an occurrence.

"Raaaagh!"

"Kuh, such strength!" "Priest! The man—"

Seeing the soldiers struggling, Philatos quickly moved to assist. Circling behind the madman, he unsheathed his sword and raised it high.

Using the techniques he had honed in Sparta, Philatos aimed a powerful strike at the madman's shoulder. The blade gleamed, reflecting a cold light as it descended.

"Hup!"

Splat—

Philatos' sword sliced through the man's shoulder, severing his arm in a spray of blood. But the man, maddened by some unknown force, did not fall. Instead, he charged at Philatos with relentless fury.

Philatos, taken aback by the man's unnatural strength, barely managed to block the next attack. How could someone with one arm severed still possess such power?

Just as he thought his end was near—

"Aaagh! Uh..."

Thud.

The madman suddenly halted, his body collapsing lifelessly to the ground. Philatos turned to see a priest with an outstretched hand.

"The power of Hypnos, the god of sleep, cannot be resisted forever."

So that was it—the priest was one of Hypnos’ followers. The madman was dragged away by the soldiers, but they still eyed Philatos with suspicion.

"Tch. It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these... But it’s about time for one to appear."

The middle-aged priest handed Philatos the mysterious stone.

"You’re the last one. Go ahead and touch the stone. If you’re normal, nothing will happen."

"Hmm... Alright. I’m perfectly sane, so..."

Shine—

Like the others who had passed the test, the stone emitted a soft white light. No red, indicating madness.

Philatos let out a small sigh of relief, as did the soldiers, who began to relax.

"From now on, I will guide these chosen ones. The rest of you can return to your duties."

"Yes, Priest."

"We’ll be on our way, then."

Only three had passed this bizarre test. The priest dismissed the soldiers and began to lead the three down a hallway.@@@@

"What was that strange test? And what was with that madman?" "That stone was infused with the power of Dionysus, the god of madness." "The power of the god of madness?" "It doesn’t drive sane people mad, but it reveals those who are already tainted by madness. Think of it as a test for spies." "So, there are spies from... another god?"

The priest nodded solemnly. "You’ve heard of the giant serpent monsters, the Gigantes, that have terrorized Greece? Think of it as a test to weed out their agents."

Philatos knew of the Gigantes. Those monstrous beings had ravaged temples and slaughtered heroes and demigods across Greece. But the idea of monsters using humans as agents was unsettling.

"Ah, best of luck."

Philatos steeled himself and stepped through the dark portal.

Whoosh—

Stepping through the portal, Philatos found himself in the Underworld, and he was astonished.

"So this is the Underworld?!"

It was nothing like he had imagined. Instead of the dark and ominous realm he had expected, he found himself in a vast canyon, with green fields and trees, and even a soft light illuminating the landscape.

Grass grew beneath his feet, and trees dotted the area. It looked almost like a place in the mortal world.

"Is this... the Elysian Fields?"

"Not quite! Haha! The real Elysium is far beyond this."

A voice suddenly called out beside him, and Philatos turned to see a semi-transparent centaur standing nearby, grinning at him.

"Who... who are you?" "I am Chiron. I’ll be your teacher from now on."

"Chiron?! The great teacher Chiron?!"

Chiron's reputation was legendary, even after his death. Philatos finally understood why heroes were being trained in the Underworld.

"Is this really the Underworld? Why does it look so similar to the mortal world?" "That’s because the goddess of spring, along with other gods, used their powers to make this place more bearable for the living. Just don’t go beyond that barrier over there."

Philatos noticed the barrier in the distance, beyond which the Underworld’s true form was visible—an endless expanse of darkness. He could instinctively feel that crossing that boundary would bring death.

The area allowed for hero training was limited to this canyon and its surroundings. But even that was enough. With Chiron as his teacher, Philatos was sure he had made the right choice by coming to Thebes.

That thought, however, was quickly shattered.

Boom—

"Aaagh!"

In the distance, a figure was sent flying, crashing into the rocks and leaving a trail of blood. The person appeared to be another aspiring hero, much like himself.

Philatos turned his head quickly, and what he saw left him speechless.

"Raaaagh!" "Damn, they said it was weakened after death, but it’s still too strong!" "Think, are we Apollo?!" "Aaagh! Just die already!"

The creature before him was massive and exuded an overwhelming, terrifying presence. A semi-transparent snake-like monster was effortlessly swatting away the aspiring heroes who were attacking it.

Even though the monster seemed to be toying with them, it was causing immense destruction, sending people flying and shattering shields with just a flick of its tail.

"Use your strength! Aren’t you a demigod?" "I’ve been giving it my all... Ugh!" "Damn it! Protus is down!"

Crash! Boom!

The massive snake, radiating an aura of invincibility, was thrashing about, and nothing the heroes did seemed to hurt it.

"That’s Python, the great serpent. Lord Hades borrowed it to train the heroes."

"Python... The very same Python that Apollo himself slew?!" "Is there another Python?"

The snake was so formidable that even a god like Apollo had to personally intervene to slay it. And now, they were expected to fight it?

"Do we really have to fight that thing?" "...Didn’t you come to the Underworld to become a hero?" "Yes, but..."

Philatos had been filled with courage when he first stepped into the Underworld. But now, facing the reality of what that entailed...

"Oh, and don’t worry. Thanks to Lord Hades, it’s very difficult to die here."

"...I can’t even die?"

Philatos wanted to go back to the mortal world.