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[Translator – Seraph
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 63
When the ancient Greeks needed to atone or undergo purification, they would visit the Temple of Delphi.
After all, Apollo the god worshipped at Delphi was the deity of the sun, light, healing, and purification.
In Hercules’ case, he was afflicted with what was called ‘Hera’s madness’ and to be purified, he had to receive a divine oracle directly from Apollo.
Only Apollo, the god of light, possessed the means to cleanse Hera’s madness.
However, Pythia the priestess of Delphi refused to grant Hercules an oracle.
It was a clear statement that Apollo would not get involved in the affairs between Hera and Hercules.
As a god who valued order and balance, Apollo publicly maintained a stance of neutrality.
‘Though, the issue was that he tended to get emotional when it involved matters concerning him personally.’
In short, Apollo was the kind of god who would always shift into neutral unless something directly concerned him.
Naturally, hot-blooded Hercules wasn’t going to take that lying down, and the result was…
“There are many pilgrims today. Please wait outside.”
From the moment we arrived at the Temple of Delphi, we were treated coldly.
Even after waiting outside for more than two hours, we were not allowed inside.
Iolaus, perhaps bored of waiting, said he would stay behind with the chariot and went down the mountain.
“Hercules, what exactly did you do?”
“I threw a few household items and broke a column when they refused to give me an oracle.”
“...No wonder we’re being treated this way.”
It was only natural. If someone who had caused a scene returned asking for another oracle, the temple would hardly welcome him with open arms.
“I’m sorry. If only I had been more helpful, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Jeanne, I told you this isn’t your fault.”
Jeanne felt guilty for not being strong enough to purify Hercules’ madness.
Meanwhile, Vanessa sat quietly on the stone steps, knitting.
‘Still working with Nemean leather again, I see.’
Even though I told her there was no need, she’d gotten a piece of the Nemean Lion’s hide from Hercules.
It was an incredibly tough material and difficult to work with, but Vanessa calmly knitted with it every day. Her needles and scissors could even cut through that unyielding hide.
The process didn’t look easy, though.
“Lady Vanessa, the wind is cold. Please wait inside. I’ll come call you later.”
Morning on Mount Parnassus, where Delphi was located, was quite chilly.
There didn’t seem to be any need for Vanessa and Jeanne to wait in this cold with us, but…
“As long as I’m with you, I enjoy being anywhere.”
“...Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“……”
What exactly was she finding so enjoyable about being with me?
Either way, since she said it so firmly, I couldn’t bring myself to cancel the summoning.
“Then let’s wait together.”
I plopped down beside her on the temple steps and watched Vanessa knit.
“What are you making?”
“I’ll let you know once it’s finished.”
She smiled sweetly but didn’t reveal the answer.
I was curious, but didn’t press her.
She would tell me when the time was right.
She seemed happy as she knitted that was enough for me.
***
By midday, a long line of pilgrims had formed in front of the Temple of Delphi.
Seeing the crowd lined up along the stone steps, Jeanne widened her eyes in surprise.
“So many people…”
“It’s because Apollo is a god who can foresee the future.”
In ancient Greece, when faced with important matters, people would visit the Temple of Delphi to receive an oracle.
Even kings and rulers weren’t exceptions.
Apollo was the god who revealed what lay ahead.
In modern terms, it was something like getting a one-line fortune at a shrine.
Except these fortunes were accurate, which made Delphi the most popular pilgrimage site in all of Greece.
We had expected the crowd and visited early in the morning…
‘But it doesn’t look like they’re planning to let us in.’
Even though other pilgrims who had gone in were now starting to come out, Hercules was still being ignored.
It was too blatant to chalk up to his earlier outburst alone.
A silent message telling him to leave.
Apollo had no reason to go out of his way to help Hercules by getting involved with Hera.
He likely wanted to stick to his neutral stance.
Perhaps after Hercules completed his Twelve Labors, Apollo might consider purifying his madness but that wasn’t a guarantee.
The problem was that I didn’t have the time to wait that long.
And it seemed Hercules felt the same way.
“So they don’t intend to let me in.”
After sitting silently for three hours, Hercules stood up.
He began walking straight toward the temple.
“Stop right there!”
“Only those with permission may enter the temple!”
The temple guards rushed to block him but stopping Hercules was beyond their power.
Thwack—! Thwack—!
With just two punches, the temple guards were rendered helpless.
Step. Step.
Hercules walked calmly over the fallen warriors and entered the temple.
"He's really straightforward, huh."
"Well, he did wait three hours."
I nodded at Vanessa's remark.
For Hercules, three hours was practically saintly patience.
"Let’s go in, too."
We followed the path Hercules had carved open for us and entered the temple.
Inside, towering white marble columns stood proudly, symbolizing the authority of the gods.
Hercules marched confidently along the pristine corridor.
Priests of Apollo moved to block his path.
"Stop right there!"
"This is a sacred temple dedicated to Lord Apollo!"
Fwoosh!
From the priests burst a golden light divine magic that instantly transformed into glowing chains, wrapping around Hercules.
Clink, clink, clink—!
Dozens of golden chains bound Hercules from head to toe, as though divine judgment had descended from the heavens.
"Restrain Hercules!"
"Don't let him move!"
More priests, alerted by the commotion, gathered and poured their divine energy into the chains.
Soon, Hercules was so entangled that he could no longer be seen beneath the writhing mass.
Only once the chains had encased him in a cocoon of golden light did the priests finally halt their assault.
"Hercules."
From between the priests stepped an elderly High Priest.
He walked up to the immobilized Hercules and offered him a deal.
"Promise you will leave this place and never return, and we shall release you."
"……"
Hercules gave no response.
"You won't answer? Then we have no choice but to keep you imprisoned."
"……"
"You come here in the midst of your labors, and yet..."
—It was at that very moment.
Clink… clink clink clink—!
Suddenly, the chains around Hercules began to shake violently.
From the gaps between them, a dark red aura began to seep out ominous and threatening.
"W-what?!"
The High Priest stumbled back in alarm.
Clatter, clatter.
The crimson power continued to ooze forth, staining Apollo’s sacred golden chains blood-red.
"S-stop him—!"
The High Priest shouted, but the priests, busy trying to maintain the chains, could only stand frozen in place.
And then—
BOOOOOOM!
The bundle of chains exploded apart.
"W-what?!"
"Cough!"
The scattered chains disintegrated into shimmering golden dust.
Step. Step.
Freed from his restraints, Hercules continued forward as if nothing had happened.
The priests, their magic shattered, lay collapsed across the colonnade, groaning from internal injuries.
“S-stop, I say!”
The High Priest tried to block Hercules' path alone.
“!”
But when he met Hercules’ eyes burning with madness he flinched and instinctively stepped aside.
And so, without anyone left to hinder him, Hercules marched straight toward the heart of the temple.
To the inner sanctum, where the oracle Pythia resided.
***
In Greek mythology, a temple’s entrance was not just a physical gateway.
It marked the boundary between the world of mortals and the divine.
Beyond it lay the adyton the sacred inner chamber where only Pythia, the oracle, was permitted to enter.
[PR/N: In ancient Greek and Roman temples, an adyton was a restricted, often small, area within the cella (the main sanctuary) that housed the cult image of the deity.]
The adyton was quiet, yet filled with a subtle, mystical energy.
At its center stood a statue of Apollo, signifying this place as the holy ground where oracles were received.
"You are not permitted to enter this place."
The voice came from beyond the statue.
There, seated in a chair, was a young woman.
A beautiful figure with golden hair and eyes that shimmered like sunlight.
“...Hercules. And the foreign ones behind him.”
Her golden gaze settled on Hercules, then passed over us.
There was something undeniably divine about her presence.
She was none other than Pythia, the oracle who communed directly with Apollo and delivered his revelations.
“We've come for the oracle.”
“As I said there is no oracle for you.”
A red light of madness flickered in Hercules’ eyes as he stepped toward her.
Wooooom—
Pythia’s divine power formed a soft golden barrier that blocked his advance.
Hercules reached out and, as though tearing through fabric, ripped through the divine barrier with his bare hands.
Step. Step.
He stopped once he stood before Pythia.
His gaze, savage and wild like a beast, bore down upon her.
Yet despite Hercules’ threatening approach, Pythia’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.
She simply looked up at him, calm and serene.
“Killing me won’t change anything.”
Her voice carried only truth.
And Hercules sensing that truth was momentarily at a loss for words.
That’s when I stepped forward.
“Hercules, look at the chair she’s sitting on.”
I pointed to the tripod-shaped seat beneath Pythia.
“?”
Hercules' puzzled gaze turned to the chair Pythia was sitting on.
“That’s the Omphalos.”
“...!”
For the first time, Pythia’s calm expression wavered.
The Omphalos.
A sacred stone representing the center of the world and one of Apollo’s most treasured relics.
The place where Pythia sat… was quite literally the navel of the world.
“So that’s how it is.”
Realizing the meaning behind my words, a smirk curled at the corner of Hercules’ lips.
If Pythia refused to grant an oracle, then all he had to do was summon Apollo himself.
And the key to doing so was the Omphalos—the world’s center.
Hercules reached toward the sacred stone.
“Stop!”
Pythia leapt to her feet and tried to block him, but Hercules simply pushed her aside. She stumbled and fell helplessly to the floor.
His hand was just about to touch the Omphalos.
─Who gave you permission to lay a hand on the Omphalos?
A thunderous voice, filled with divine wrath, rang out across the sanctum.
Soft beams of light poured from the ceiling of the adyton.
From that light descended a man seemingly woven from golden radiance.
He wore a laurel wreath on his head and held a lyre in one hand—a figure of breathtaking beauty.
As he appeared, a cascade of golden sunlight washed over the chamber, bathing it in divine glow.
Jeanne immediately extended her holy power to shield Vanessa from the light.
“We greet you, Lord Apollo.”
Pythia, who had fallen earlier, was already kneeling before the descending figure.
The man's gaze turned toward Jeanne.
“Outsider—do not invoke foreign power in my sacred land.”
With a mere gesture of his hand, Jeanne’s divine power dispersed like mist.
“Hercules. Who said you could run wild in my domain?”
His golden eyes burned with fury as they turned to Hercules—the one who had dared shove aside his oracle.
Those eyes… blazed like the sun itself.
He was one of the Twelve Olympians.
He who sees the future.
The god of the sun Apollo.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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