Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods-Chapter 63: Apollo, the god of the sun (2)

The ancient Greeks would travel to the Delphi Temple when they needed to perform rituals of atonement and purification.

The deity honored at the Delphi Temple, Apollo, was the god of the sun and light, as well as of healing and purification.

In the case of Heracles, he was afflicted by Hera's madness, and to cleanse himself, he had to receive a prophecy directly from Apollo.

Only he, the god of light, knew how to purify Hera’s madness.

However, the priestess of Delphi, Pythia, did not deliver a prophecy to Heracles.

It was Apollo's firm stance that he would not get involved in the matter between Hera and Heracles.

Apollo, who values order and balance, publicly maintained a neutral position.

"That's the problem when it’s a personal matter; you become emotional."

In other words, if it wasn’t something directly related to him, Apollo would first adopt a neutral stance and observe.

Naturally, Heracles, whose temper was as fiery as a blazing inferno, couldn't simply accept this, and the result...

"As there are many pilgrims right now, I ask that you wait outside."

As soon as we arrived at the Delphi Temple, we were met with rude treatment.

Even after waiting for over two hours outside, they refused to let us in.

Iolaos, feeling bored, decided to go down the mountain to guard the chariot.

"Heracles, what on earth did you do?"

"I threw a few objects and destroyed some pillars after they refused to give me a prophecy."

"...You certainly deserve to be treated this way."

The one who had caused the uproar was now coming back to receive the prophecy, but of course, the temple wouldn’t treat him kindly.

"I’m sorry. If I had been more helpful, none of this would have happened."

"It’s not Jeanne's fault."

Jeanne apologized for not being able to purify the madness due to her lack of ability.

Meanwhile, Vaneza quietly knitted on the stone steps.

‘She’s still working on the Nemean Lion’s hide.’

I had told her I didn’t need to acquire it, but Vaneza had obtained the Nemean Lion’s hide from Heracles.

The hide was tough, so it must have been difficult to work with, but Vaneza had been knitting with it every day. Her needles and scissors could easily cut through the tough hide.

The process didn’t look smooth, though.

"Vaneza, the wind is cold. You should go inside. I’ll call for you in a little while."

The morning at the Delphi Temple, which was located on the mountain top, was pretty chilly.

There was no need for Vaneza and Jeanne to wait out in the cold like this, but...

"Anywhere with Eun-gong is fun."

"...Is that so?"

"Yes."

"......"

What was so enjoyable about being with me, I wondered.

Anyway, since she said it like that, I couldn’t exactly cancel the summoning.

"Well, let’s wait together then."

I plopped down on the stone steps of the temple and watched Vaneza’s knitting.

"What are you making?"

"I’ll let you know once it’s finished."

Vaneza smiled and refused to tell me.

I was curious, but I didn’t press her. She’d tell me when it was time.

Since Vaneza looked so happy while knitting, that was enough.

 As the day went on, more and more pilgrims lined up in front of the Delphi Temple.

Jeanne's eyes widened as she saw the large crowd of pilgrims lined up on the stone steps.

"There are so many people."

"It’s because Apollo is the god who foretells the future."

The ancient Greeks would visit the Delphi Temple to receive prophecies when they had important matters to attend to.

Even kings and rulers were no exception.

Apollo was the god who foretold the future.

In modern terms, it would be like receiving a fortune from a shrine, but the difference was that these prophecies were accurate, which is why so many pilgrims came from all over Greece.

That’s why we expected there to be a crowd, so we arrived early in the morning... but...

‘It seems like they have no intention of letting us in.’

Although pilgrims who had entered were coming out one by one, Heracles’ turn still hadn’t arrived.

It seemed too blatant to be just the aftereffects of the chaos he had caused earlier.

‘It’s a silent way of telling us to leave.’

Apollo had no reason to get involved in a matter between Hera and Heracles.

He must have wanted to maintain his neutral position.

Perhaps, after the Twelve Labors were completed, he might release the madness, but for now, I had no time to wait for that.

And it seemed like Heracles felt the same way.

"It seems they’re not going to let us in."

After silently sitting for three hours, Heracles stood up.

He began walking toward the temple.

"Stop!"

"Only those who have permission can enter the temple!"

The warriors of the Delphi Temple tried to block him, but they couldn’t stop Heracles from walking forward.

Wham—! Wham—!

With two powerful punches, the temple warriors were knocked out.

Step by step.

Heracles stepped over the fallen warriors and entered the temple.

"It’s refreshing."

"Well, he did wait for three hours."

I nodded at Vaneza’s words.

For Heracles, three hours was quite a long time to wait.

"Let’s go in too."

We followed the path that Heracles had opened and entered the temple.

Inside, numerous white marble columns towered, symbolizing the authority of the gods.

Heracles proudly walked through the white path.

Ahead of him stood priests who served Apollo.

"Stop!"

"This is the sacred temple of Apollo!"

Whoosh—!

A golden magical energy burst forth from the priests, forming holy chains that bound Heracles’ entire body.

Clang—!

The dozens of golden chains wrapped tightly around Heracles, like a divine punishment falling from the heavens.

"Trap Heracles!"

"Prevent him from moving!"

More priests arrived, emitting golden magical energy, and the chains grew even tighter.

Heracles was almost completely hidden by the chains now.

Only when the chains had completely bound Heracles in a cocoon-like shape did the priests stop.

"Heracles."

An old high priest stepped forward through the priests.

He presented a compromise to the bound Heracles.

"Leave this place and promise not to return, and we will release you."

"......"

Heracles didn’t respond.

"Not going to answer? Then we have no choice but to imprison you here."

"......"

"The reason you’ve come to the temple..."

─Right at that moment.

Crash—!

Suddenly, the chains around Heracles began to violently shake.

Dark red magical energy surged ominously between the shifting chains.

"What, what?!"

The high priest was shocked and stumbled back.

Rrrr—rrr.

The dark red magical energy continued to spill out, coloring Apollo’s holy chains in a bloody hue.

"Stop it!"

The high priest shouted, but the priests were too busy trying to maintain the chains to do anything else.

Then...

Boom—!

The chains exploded.

"What?!"

"Cough!"

The chains scattered in all directions, vanishing into golden remnants.

Step by step.

Freed from the chains, Heracles walked forward as if nothing had happened.

The priests, their magical energy shattered, collapsed all around the temple corridors.

"Stop!"

The high priest tried to block Heracles again, but...

"!"

When the high priest met Heracles' maddened gaze, he trembled and stepped aside.

And so, Heracles entered the heart of the temple, unimpeded.

Into the sanctum where the priestess, Pythia, resided.

In Greek mythology, the entrance to a temple was not merely an entryway.

It was the boundary between the world of the gods and the world of humans.

Beyond that, the sanctum was a holy place only accessible by the priestess Pythia, who communicated directly with Apollo.

The sanctum radiated a calm yet mysterious energy.

The statue of Apollo at the center signified that this was the sacred space where prophecies were delivered.

"This is a place that should not be entered."

A voice came from beyond the statue.

A young woman was sitting in a chair beyond the statue.

She was a beautiful woman with golden eyes and hair, like the sun itself.

"...Heracles, and you, strangers."

Her golden eyes gazed at Heracles and then at us behind him.

There was a mystical aura about her.

She was the priestess Pythia, who directly communicated with Apollo and delivered prophecies.

"I’ve come for a prophecy."

"As I told you, I cannot give you a prophecy."

Heracles’ eyes gleamed with a red madness as he stepped forward.

Whooo—!

A golden barrier formed around Pythia, blocking Heracles’ path.

Heracles tore through the barrier with his hands as if ripping through cloth and stepped inside.

Step by step.

Heracles stopped right in front of Pythia.

The eyes of a maddened beast looked down at Pythia.

But even with such a threatening gesture, Pythia’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

She simply stared at him with calm, serene eyes.

"Even if you kill me, nothing will change."

Pythia’s voice contained nothing but truth.

When Heracles was at a loss for words, I spoke.

"Heracles, look at the chair she’s sitting in."

I pointed to the tripod-shaped chair Pythia was sitting in.

"?"

Heracles' confused gaze turned to the chair.

"It’s the Omphalos."

"!"

In an instant, Pythia’s calm expression wavered.

Omphalos.

It was the stone that represented the center of the world and was Apollo’s sacred artifact.

Where Pythia sat was the center of the world.

"I see."

Heracles' lips curled into a grin as he understood the meaning of my words.

If Pythia refused to give a prophecy, he could summon Apollo himself.

The key was the center of the world, the Omphalos.

Heracles’ hand reached for the Omphalos.

"Stop!"

Pythia, suddenly standing, tried to stop him, but she was pushed aside by Heracles and fell to the ground.

Just as Heracles’ hand was about to touch the Omphalos...

─Who gave you permission to touch the Omphalos?

The voice of an enraged god echoed through the sanctum.

Light ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) began to pour down softly from the ceiling of the sanctum.

A golden figure descended from it.

A handsome man with a laurel crown on his head, holding a lyre in his hand.

With his appearance, a mysterious golden light bathed the sanctum.

Jeanne extended her holy energy to shield Vaneza from the sunlight.

"I greet Lord Apollo."

Pythia, who had fallen, was now kneeling before the man.

The man’s gaze shifted toward Jeanne.

"Stranger. Do not unleash your otherworldly energy in my sanctuary."

With a gesture, the divine energy Jeanne had summoned was dispersed and vanished.

"Heracles. Who gave you permission to run amok?"

The golden eyes, burning with fury, turned to Heracles, who had pushed Pythia aside.

Those eyes were like the sun itself.

He was none other than one of the Twelve Olympian Gods.

The one who reads the future.

The sun god, Apollo.