Chapter 36 Celebration and Selection
When Dicttis saw this hellish scene...
He was almost stunned.
Even at that moment, he forgot that he was supposed to be looking for Perseus.
Leaving aside the dead, those who survived were mostly in horrific condition... Some had one eye gouged out, some had their ears cut off while still alive, and most had severed legs, feet, and even arms, their flesh and blood exposed to the polluted air...
Even if you put all these children together, it would be difficult to form a complete, healthy body...
When the cellar door was opened.
They trembled instinctively... but had no strength left to resist, scream, or even cry.
They had been tormented beyond recognition by the perverse desires of the nobles; their bodies and even their minds were numb...
"Perseus...Perseus!"
"Are you there, Perseus...?"
Dick Tissot's eyes immediately welled up with tears, and he rushed forward.
They carefully examined each of the children, who were covered in wounds.
He both wanted to find him and didn't really want to find him...
The children wept silently, the iron chains on their hands, feet and necks weighing heavily on their small bodies.
And Dixtis quickly found all the children...
But the worst, most nightmarish news was—
He did not find his son among these surviving children.
Dick turned his head and looked at the wall of corpses that was even taller than him.
A look of despair flashed in his eyes as he glanced at the children trembling on the ground, like wounded young animals...
A tremendous heartache welled up in his heart...
at the same time.
The fear, confusion, and helplessness engulfed his heart like a flood...
His eyes dimmed; he could see no hope.
This is a more helpless and desperate scene than when facing the Lion of Narnia...
Because, at this moment, what is eating people is no longer a monster... but a human.
Living, breathing people...
He felt dizzy and wanted to vomit.
What should I do?
He collapsed to his knees in despair, tears streaming down his face, dripping into the blood beneath his knees...
He held his head and cried.
"Can anyone tell me... what should I do?"
"Arah...God...Messiah..."
"tell me..."
"What should I do...?"
"What should I do...?"
After an unknown amount of time, perhaps the nobleman secretly sent someone to report the matter to the king, several squads of soldiers led by golden warriors surrounded the place...
They captured Dicttis, whose eyes had already lost their luster...
His consciousness was already clouded... his thoughts were in disarray. He was dragged along by soldiers, muttering incomprehensible ravings:
"Messiah...Messiah...Messiah..."
This was the last glimmer of salvation in his consciousness.
He chanted the name of the Messiah...in supplication to the messenger of God to bring him final hope.
Just like in the beginning, when he was invited to embark on that heroic journey—
Once again, they embark on the path of redemption.
...
Ten days later.
Argos, beneath the bronze tower, a temple.
The annual festival to worship the Olympian gods will be held at the temple today.
This year, in addition to offering sacrifices and prayers to the gods as is customary,
King Argos also announced—
From among a group of one hundred children selected through rigorous processes, one child most closely resembling the divine will be chosen as the new temple priest and groomed to become the next high priest...
To become the future master of the Argos Temple.
This is an opportunity to transcend class barriers and reach the very top of Argos...
Visionary people all dream of their children passing the king's selection process, making it through the final evaluation, and becoming the successor to the high priest...
To increase their chances of passing the selection process, they would try every possible method to make their children have more...
This includes adoption, acquisition...
It's like a lottery ticket to the pinnacle of power, and the children are the chips and tickets to this gamble.
However, no one could have more children than the nobles.
Months ago, when news of the king reached the ears of these nobles, the booming business of child smuggling and trafficking was no accident...
They stockpiled large numbers of children and eliminated those who failed the screening process...
As for where the discarded children went? Nobody knows.
So much so that when the final selection was about to be held at the temple...
Those children who belonged to noble families and wore white priestly robes emblazoned with noble coats of arms made up eight or nine out of ten of them.
Among the one hundred candidates for the sacrificial ceremony.
Fewer than ten children from the working class inherited the family's rise and the hopes of their parents.
...
When the morning bell rings.
The melodious tunes drifted through the square in front of the temple.
A huge crowd gathered outside the temple; almost all the citizens, regardless of their social status, came together that day.
Inside the temple.
Nobles, warriors, and priests worshipped again and again at the beautiful gilded statue of the deity on the main throne—
Queen Hera.
On either side are statues of deities made of bronze and silver, respectively.
Hera's husband, Zeus, the king of the gods.
Hera's son, Ares, the god of war.
Some nobles were certainly aware of King Argos's resentment towards Zeus.
But when they saw that the statue of Zeus was made of the cheapest bronze, and that the statue was even smaller than that of Ares, the god of war, they couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable...
Some young priests, still unfamiliar with court rules and secrets, whispered among themselves, asking the older priests questions with suspicion:
Why is the goddess queen seated at the head of the sacrificial ceremony?
The old priest would then explain to the younger generation with a stern face:
"Because the Queen of Gods shares authority with the King of Gods, she holds the same status and is also the Queen of Gods..."
The young priests were still filled with doubt.
Since the God King and God Queen have the same status...
Why was the statue of Zeus built so small?
He's not even as good as his son?
However, upon seeing the warning looks in the old priests' eyes, the young priest obediently shut his mouth.
"Ode to Hera of the Golden Throne, daughter of Rhea..."
"The Immortal Queen, with unparalleled beauty..."
"Ares, of boundless strength, charioteer, clad in golden helmet..."
"The monarch who suppresses rebellions, the king of justice..."
"Among all the gods, you are the greatest and most supreme, the perfect ruler..."
"Son of Cronus, the Greatest and Supreme God..."
"..."
The sound of prayers accompanied the tolling of bells, melodious and lingering...
Inside the temple, on the high platform.
A beautiful young girl wailed in the flames as a sacrifice.
Along with gold, silver, fine wine, and cattle and sheep.
They transformed into mortals to offer gifts to the gods.
Praying for a prosperous new year.
May the gods bless Argos and grant it ever-increasing prosperity.
The ceremony lasted all day.
As evening approached, the setting sun dipped below the horizon, and night and stars obscured the sky.
...
King Argos rose from the elaborate and lengthy ritual of worship.
He looked at the crowd, then at the statue of Zeus beside him.
He snorted coldly and gave the order:
"Move Zeus inside..."
"Bring the children over."
Upon hearing this command, the drowsy nobles instantly awoke...
They knew that the real show was about to begin!
For the poor, it was a great blessing if their child could become a priest or a candidate for high priest.
That's tantamount to directly leaping across social classes to reach the very top of society...
This is especially true for the wealthy.
They don't even need the child to be their own; as long as the child belongs to them and is under their control, they only need to manipulate things a little...
They are absolutely destined to become the most prestigious family in Argos for decades to come!
With bewildered looks in the children's eyes, they were led by the priest into the temple.
Before him stood two towering, imposing statues; behind him, countless nobles with eyes like wolves and tigers...
The children couldn't help but feel a sense of fear at this scene.
Soon, however, the kind-faced high priest arrived at the center of the temple, carrying a pure magic crystal.
He sat cross-legged beneath the statue of Hera.
He gave the children a kind smile, with a long beard and white hair.
It doesn't look fierce at all; on the contrary, it has a friendly demeanor.
He waved to the children:
"Come to me, children."
"Don't be afraid, Hera, the Queen of Gods, will protect you..."
The children's innocent faces were full of confusion as the priests led them to the high priest.
The nobles, seated at the back of the temple, had already begun gambling, betting on which of these one hundred innocent and pure children was qualified to become the temple's heir...
"The thirteenth adopted son in the Clatter family."
The priest introduced the children's identities and the noble families they represented, according to the list.
A little boy with black hair and a few freckles was led before the high priest.
"Place your hand on it...child."
"Merciful Hera will provide the answer..."
The little boy with black hair flinched, a hint of fear in his eyes.
But after seeing the High Priest's kind and encouraging gaze...
He mustered his courage.
She placed her little hand on the translucent magic crystal ball.
Suddenly, a white light rose from the magic crystal sphere—
The high priest closed his eyes and pondered for a long time.
Seemingly having received some kind of message from the magic crystal sphere, he finally shook his head and said in disappointment:
"Poor child, it wasn't you..."
Upon seeing this, the boy's eyelashes fluttered, and he was led away, utterly bewildered...
Next, more than a dozen children took the stage, and they all did the same.
These children were selected through a rigorous process, and to ensure the selection process was successful, the nobles generally did not mistreat these children of good character; in fact, they often provided them with the best food and drink...
Therefore, most of them harbor a sense of belonging to their family...
And when they were not selected, most of them felt quite guilty...
When the unsuccessful children returned dejectedly to their noble patrons, they expected to receive the usual praise or comfort.
Maybe I'll pat their heads and say it's okay...
Even if you are not selected, we will consider you family...
However, the truth is...
Snap—
With a sharp crack, a nobleman slapped the rejected child across the face...
"Useless trash."
The child, with red eyes, looked up in disbelief at the nobleman's cold gaze, which was completely different from usual.
The nobleman then coldly ordered his guards to drag the child away...
And where did these children end up?
No one knows.
...