He and It Chapter 139: The Serpent of Pharisee (5)

Chapter 139: The Serpent of Pharisee (5)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

Echidna lounged in the inner lair of his palace, his eyes unobstructed by the bronze monoliths, and observed the offerings that the heirs of Poseidon had brought for him.

He gently opened his lips and spat out a forked black tongue, as he savored the fear that flowed in the air, and the scent of tears. He heard the noble kings and grandchildren babbling words of entreaty to the Gods, praying for deliverance from the shadow of death and a sea of misery. Unfortunately, their honored gods turned a deaf ear, for Arima Palace, like the Abyss of Tartarus, ¹ was a place where the gods, who prided themselves on their greatness, could not set foot.

His venomous heart was full of blasphemous joy. Echidna hissed and spat. However, just then, he heard a voice very different from any human voice that he had ever heard in a thousand years.

“Beautiful,” the human said.

The youthful words were so clear they trembled, and the speaker let out a surprised sigh, as if he were breathing on a blooming flower.

“Truly, you are beautiful.” 

In an instant, the words passed through the heavy, bronze doors in front of the vast underground labyrinth, and leapt out over all the cries of despair and piercing screams.

It was a sentence with such simple words and short syllables, but it was like a small, sharp golden arrow as it pierced Echidna’s heart, and made the ancient demon’s breast twitch with pain and confusion.

He was speaking to me. There was no doubt that those words were directed at me.

Echidna’s black tongue froze in mid-air, and the next moment, his golden eyes frantically searched, intent on finding the owner of the words.

However the more thoroughly he searched, the more he only saw a heap of weeping cowards, weak from fear, in all their ugliness, rolled into a tangled heap on the ground.

He couldn’t find the one who said that.

Could it be a prank by Olympus? 

Those young, bratty new gods, who lived a life of abandon, and played in the world under the power of the God of Thunderbolts, ² were free to scorn any of the old gods, their ancestors. ³

Were they so bored with the long days, that they poked their golden white hands into his nest, determined to give him a hard time? 

In his heart, Echidna preferred this answer, and as that sinister fire brewed, he became irritated.

How dare they tease him in his own home in such a frivolous manner?

His forked black tongue was hideously twisted, while each black scale on his body exuded a poisonous mist. The mountainous throne underneath him shifted, and became thousands of roving serpents. They rolled out their snakes’ tongues and showed their fangs, as they hissed threateningly at the void above them, only to wither under the poison fog and reconstitute themselves into solid bronze statues.

The serpent demon was about to retaliate against the gods in the sky, when his servants humbly entered. They were Giants with the blood of the ancestors. All of them were born of Gaia, Mother of the Earth, and were inseparably bound to Echidna.

“Master,” the four-armed giants said in low respectful voices as they contended with the poisonous mist of his wrath. “In our folly we have come to you for your noble counsel. What shall we do with the human sacrifices?” 

Still indignant, the serpent demon glared hotly at his servants and hissed, “Tell them to take care of the bronze oxen! I’ll be glad to hear the humans fill the Arima Palace with their wailing. Now go and leave me alone!” 

Even though they were kin to the Titans, the giants still trembled in fear at his wrath. The servants didn’t dare say a word and didn’t dare ask questions. Their huge shadows flickered tremulously on the stone wall. In order to survive, they tiptoed as they hurriedly fled, dragging their heavy bodies behind them.

At the other end of the underground palace, Xie Ning struggled fiercely and managed to poke a hand out from under the pile of people, as he pushed hard against the ones piled on top of his body.

Compared to the tall ancient Greeks, he was really light and small. He had just been standing there and marveling, when the big brother behind him cried, screamed, then fell to the ground. Then it was like a chain of dominoes, as that pulled the rope around their waists, and brought down a whole series of people.

I’m going to be crushed into a pancake! Help, help!

Xie Ning was screaming mentally. Luckily there were still soldiers accompanying them. They rushed up, roughly grabbed the limp sacrifices, ordered them to quickly move on and thus saved Xie Ning in the process.

Xie Ning grimly got to his feet. His left arm, calf, and shoulder were all extremely painful.

When he fell, he was still holding his sketchbook, so when he fell awkwardly on the steps, a large piece of skin on his calf was rubbed off. His face was already covered in sweat as he hurriedly took out some herbs to stop the bleeding from his travel bag, and wrapped the injury with a cloth strip.

However, no matter how intense the pain was, it couldn’t outweigh the shock he’d just had.

What did I just see? 

I really didn’t hallucinate, did I? I didn’t lose my eyesight, right? 

It was a long moment. The beliefs he had insisted on lay shattered on the ground. Xie Ning couldn’t deceive himself or others any longer. He had always insisted that there was a scientific basis for his crossing, that there were no gods in this era, and that legends and beliefs were just psychological comfort for people so they could survive in the cruel world…

However, that real and unbelievable scene…that strange and beautiful being he would never forget having seen it…completely blocked any possibility of denial. Xie Ning limped down the stairs, his expression bewildered and lost.

So there really were gods and demons in the world.

He had previously despised the oracle that Princess Antheia had received. He’d believed that she discovered something from clues in his daily life which revealed his identity and that was why she banished him to Cilicia under the guise of an oracle. But now…

Xie Ning’s forehead was covered in sweat. He slowly wrapped his cloak around himself, but he couldn’t suppress the waves of cold shivers that rose up from the bottom of his heart.

…In that case, the gods were real, and so were the oracles. The answer the princess received was delivered to her by the Sun God, the God of Medicine, Art and Prophecy, Apollo himself.

Did the Sun God see me? He couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. What did he think of me? If he saw that I was a man from another world, would he be curious about me? Would he think I was a threat? 

Anyone who aroused the attention of the Gods would have an extremely troubled life, the kind of trouble couldn’t be judged as good or bad. It was precisely the kind of future that Xie Ning was most unwilling to accept.

When he thought about it now, many things he couldn’t figure out at the beginning finally had reasonable explanations.

Those heroes could walk as fast as a horse because they were demigods. Their shouts were as loud as thunder because they were demigods. They claimed to be the descendants of Poseidon and were able to defeat a country’s army, because they were demigods…

If that was the case, then the fruit he took back must not have been ordinary fruit. No wonder they cured the plague and made the old king look at him differently…So it wasn’t just a stroke of luck. He didn’t know which god owned the berries that he took so many of, but he hadn’t done it with any ill intention.

Wait. So, I really saved the people of Iolcus? Though I did steal the berries…but Antheia, you’re not the only one who’s been wronging people! I felt angry, but now I realize that it was useless to be angry. Shit, now I’m even more angry!

Xie Ning gasped for breath, and was barely able to control his thoughts as he tried to get his mind to calm down.

He’d already entered the underground palace and become a fish on the chopping block. He could only focus on the present moment, and find a way to get out of there…

His eyes moved restlessly, not only because of his worry over the Sun God’s oracle, but also because of Echidna, who lived in the underground palace.

Once upon a time, when he was taking a sculpture class, Ancient Greece was always a big topic, so Xie Ning took the time to read the “Divine Genealogy” during class ⁴   However, most of the names of people and places in it were complicated, so even though he read it, he didn’t study it in depth. Now, despite wracking his brain, he couldn’t think of what kind of god Echidna was, and why it was worthy of human sacrifices in such a big way.

The sacrifices weren’t just ordinary cattle and sheep, but princes and princesses from various countries. This kind of ceremony was much bigger than the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. He was afraid that even if there were ten more heroes like Theseus, and ten more balls of thread, they couldn’t help with the snake demon in the underground palace. ⁵

Xie Ning finally felt fear.

But, it had a human torso with a snake’s tail…

Despite the fear, a voice in his heart muttered persistently, and had Xie Ning in a dilemma. Actually, it was more like a celestial battle.

Yes, it was a beautiful, beautiful mythological creature. Just the structure of that human-snake fusion alone made Xie Ning unable to tear his eyes away. Together with that bejeweled brown skin, the gold tattoos, and the long tail that loomed in the darkness…Xie Ning’s mind was blown. He was lucky he hadn’t passed out.

I want to paint, he thought. However, the future is uncertain. I don’t know if I can survive…but I want to paint!

As he stumbled along, he mentally studied the image he had just glimpsed, gathering details and impressions.

Gradually, Cilicia’s soldiers disappeared. The further down they went, the dimmer the light became even though there were burning torches on both sides of the steps. It was like the firelight was being pulled into a black hole, as it poured forever into the bottomless underground.

At such a depth, even if there were no heavily armed soldiers as escort, everyone was still numbly, mechanically moving forward. They were all seized by a kind of dark horror, as if they had a kind of irrefutable destiny. Even if you knew that the road ahead was darkness, that every day of life was just waiting to die, you still had to live. You couldn’t ask for life and didn’t dare ask for an easy death.

Xie Ning was lucky. At least he had a spiritual pillar as support. The many princes and princesses couldn’t withstand so much pressure, and could only be carried by their accompanying servants. Of course, as a son of a God, he was supposed to be a man capable of supporting ten people, so he didn’t have any helpers and could only rely on himself.

Maybe in other people’s eyes, Xie Ning was alone and pitiful, but Xie Ning thought that he had enough troubles for one person and left no worries for others. Besides, he was glad that there were no other Iolcus people following him to their deaths.

They kept on traveling downward for at least an hour. The blood on Xie Ning’s leg gradually stopped dripping, but his arms started to lose their grip on the sketchbook. He figured at that moment no one would pay attention to his sketchbook, so he slung it over his shoulder the way he had before. He had some water and bread in his traveling bag. Those had been issued to everyone when they entered the underground palace, but right now he didn’t dare to eat anything. He just took out the sheepskin waterskin, ⁶ and used it to moisten his lips.

Xie Ning counted the people there. In the line of “offerings” there were 40 people from royal families, plus their slaves, for a total of three hundred and fifty-four people. Xie Ning being alone on the journey, was the most unusual one.

Except for some intermittent whimpering, no one spoke. Even words of prayer to the Gods paled before the darkness of the underground palace. They had been walking for about an hour when someone in the front suddenly stopped.

Through the dim light of the torches, they spotted a big gate.

It was a really big gate. Xie Ning tilted his head back until his neck hurt, and could barely see the apex of the bronze door.

According to his estimation, they were at least eight kilometers under the ground, but there was still plenty of air for the torches to burn, so it could only be said that, just like this magnificent gate, the tunnel was a product of myth, not science.

The gate roared as it opened.

Blazing fire gushed out from hooves and horns of bronze. The giant bull, covered with boiling hot flames, issued another dragon-like roar. On its back was a black saddle blanket and yoke, which it used to pull open the heavy gate. At the same time a number of giants stepped out, and their every step shook the ground underfoot.

…Giants.

Xie Ning was dumbfounded as he stared at them. Movies, television, animation and games of the modern generations had already designed all kinds of giants, but the shock of seeing them in person was something that could not be compared to seeing them on the screen or on paper.

Their features and appearance were similar to people, just in much larger proportions and the details were a lot more primitive. If Xie Ning were to describe them, he would say that the giants looked similar to the Yuanmou man. ⁷ They gave the impression that they weren’t fully evolved and that they were more animal than human.

Compared to Echidna’s purely mystical beauty, the giants’ primal and oppressive aura was astonishing. As he faced them, Xie Ning was creeped out. It was almost the same feeling as facing the Valley of Horrors.

One giant retrieved the whip that hung from his waist. It was made from a twisted pit viper, but as hard as steel. He swung the whip roughly and the whip whistled and cracked the ground, while the viper spewed out a lot of corrosive venom, which splashed like rain.

“You, come with me!” The giant shouted gruffly, his voice like the clash of mountains, echoed loudly through underground, “Whoever dares to waste time, whoever delays like a lame old goat, I’ll smash their heads against a rock!” 

The hearts of the people were gripped by terror. They held onto the ropes one by one and, shuddering with fear, they followed the giants without wasting a moment, as they ran behind them into a wide, smooth tunnel. After they passed the gate, the ground was paved with blackened copper, and was so hard that stepping on it hurt their feet. However, no one complained. All of their concentration was on running as hard as they could to catch up with the giants’ strides. If they started to lag, they would be immediately stepped on by those behind them.

Xie Ning was shorter than all the others, but he didn’t have to worry about that issue.

Why? Because he was also lighter than the others and was at the head of the group. The people behind him didn’t want him to get in the way, so those in front simply lifted him up, and let his feet dangle in the air as he was carried forward.

…Just take it as my retribution for you knocking me down, Xie Ning thought. I won’t thank you.

After a long stretch of running for their lives as they followed the giants, they turned left then right in the huge underground palace, and finally came to a…a place where people could be blinded.

Xie Ning had been concerned about the lack of sunlight and the dim torch light in the underground palace. Painting in such an environment would destroy his eyes. However, now he could put that worry aside.

There were hundreds of bronze bulls, like the one they saw before rumbling through the pasture spread out before them, as they chewed on hot ore for fodder. The light from their bodies illuminated the entire area, so that even the dust on the rocks was visible.

“This is the place,” the leading giant said. “Where you will tend and watch over your Master’s cattle as they graze! Remember, whoever dares to cheat and be lazy here, is a fool through and through, for we will tear that person and their companions in two and chew the bones for supper!” 

After he said that, he divided the sacrifices into groups according to the number of people that were fastened to each set of ropes and, without allowing them to rest, he urged them to hasten to the care of the horrible beasts with a stroke of his whip.

How could this possibly work? 

The horns of the fiery bulls were bronze and sharper than the best swords, while their tails were covered in scales, like the tail of a dragon. Setting aside all of that and their incredibly hard fangs, just the heat from the flames on their bodies was enough to roast a person alive.

In the deathly silence, one person gathered his courage with difficulty, and asked the giant in a tremulous voice, “How are we to take care of them?” 

The giant stared at him, then cried out fiercely, “Are you out of your mind? What kind of stupid question are you asking? Scrub their hides and horns and feed them good fodder, of course! This is the Master’s well-bred stock, and he eats two of these bronze oxen for a meal, mark you!” 

…It must be intentional, Xie Ning thought. The malice is just too great.

As it happened, someone, crazed with grief and anger, driven mad by the travails of the journey, could no longer contain his indignation and cried out, “For the sake of all the Gods, this is worse than the worst of punishments! Are you monsters not afraid of the thunderous wrath of the Gods?” 

The giants looked at each other, then all of them bellowed a terrible laughter like earthquakes, as they mocked the man’s naive delusion.

“Who do you think you are talking to? Do you think we fear the Gods, or are afraid of them? Let me tell you, our ancestors were sires of the Titans. Our blood and flesh came from Gaia, Mother of the Earth, and even if Zeus and all the Gods of Olympus came together, we wouldn’t feel intimidated, for we are older and stronger than the Gods of the Heavens!”  ⁸

With that, the giant reached out, grabbed the man by the torso, and flung him into the herd as if he were a mouse. The man screamed and fell on the impenetrable back of a bronze bull where he burned to death.

Watching that scene made Xie Ning feel like he had fallen into an ice cave. His back was already wet with cold sweat.

“Let’s get to work!” the giant guffawed. “I will kindly remind you, because of that Olympian God’s trick, the master’s mood is even worse than a sea-roiled storm. If he sees such stupidity, you will end up much worse than that fool!”