Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 659 666 Special Chapter Hell

Chapter 659, Special Episode 666: Hell
Hell, Hellfire, Underworld, Netherworld, Talos
They are like a Damocles' sword forever hanging over the heads of devout religious people, constantly reminding them to abide by the rules and regulations, to uphold their inner morality, not to bully the weak, and to obey the law.

But the sense of morality and order built on fear will eventually dissipate.

As time passed, and as one by one those who had truly witnessed this strange space passed away, reality became legend, legend became myth, and myth gradually transformed into various timeless works of art and literature.

Dante Alighieri, Mazzolini, Goethe, Plato, Michel Molgner, and countless other renowned writers, painters, and artists, in their works, used almost divine skill and grammar to reveal this strange and terrifying space to the world.

In their writings or on their canvases, this strange space is described as "flowing with a hot, boiling sea of blood, in which the souls of sinners are immersed, and in every corner of this space, one can hear their miserable howls, steamed up by the heat of the sea of blood."

Or, “Everywhere there are towering towers engulfed in flames, and within the city lies an endless cemetery, with open coffins spewing forth fire. Heretics and Epicureans, those who do not respect God and do not follow His teachings, are imprisoned in burning stone coffins and suffer torment.”

Or, “one by one, the sinners were pierced by scorching hot iron spikes, standing on the jagged cliffs, enduring the scorching sun, the fierce cold wind, and the gnawing and pecking of giant eagles.”

Such descriptions fill the minds of people through the works of writers, painters, and artists.

Gradually, hell once again became synonymous with fear.

Myths have been transformed into undeniable truths, and religion has become a means of tax evasion and wealth accumulation.

The high-ranking missionaries went to great lengths to depict the horrors of hell, intimidating their followers, controlling their minds, emptying their wallets, forcing them to obey strict rules and regulations, and demanding selfless dedication, while they themselves—

They became increasingly licentious and extravagant, and ultimately, when their bodies died and their rituals traversed the unknown darkness to reach the "hell" they had once proclaimed, they discovered—

There's nothing here, only—

It was just an endless wasteland.

When the sinners arrived in Hell, they found themselves fallen upon a vast, desolate wasteland whose colors were indistinguishable and indescribable by human vision and perception.

There were no ruins, no mountains or plains, no undulating terrain, no grasslands, no forests, no hellhounds guarding the gates, no devils wielding scissors, no seas of boiling blood, and no fiery high platforms—

Nothing at all.

The land they trod upon, the space they inhabited, seemed to be nothing but an eternal and boundless wasteland.

"Is this hell?"

Matsumoto Chizuo had just taken a short nap in his cell, and when he woke up, he found himself here.

This desolate world.

Chizuo Matsumoto, who also goes by the name Shoko Asahara, was born on March 2, 1955, into a poor family in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.

He was born partially blind and spent his life at a school for the blind in Kumamoto Prefecture from the age of six to twenty.

He later founded Aum Shinrikyo with his exceptional eloquence and shamelessness, and on March 20, 1995, he orchestrated the infamous Tokyo subway sarin gas attack, which resulted in 13 deaths and more than 5,510 injuries.

Following the Tokyo subway sarin attack, police immediately sealed off the Aum Shinrikyo headquarters at the foot of Mount Fuji and took action against the cult. On March 22, 2500 police officers and Self-Defense Force chemical defense troops surrounded the Aum Shinrikyo facilities in Kamikyu Isshiki Village. Using acetylene torches, they opened three large warehouses and discovered various chemicals and equipment, resembling a chemical factory. Among the chemicals were hydrogen peroxide solution, acetic anhydride, and sulfuric acid—three raw materials for manufacturing sarin—as well as four sealed metal cylinders much larger than gas cylinders, containing solvents to dilute sarin and other chemicals. The Japanese National Police Agency ordered a nationwide manhunt for Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara.

All of Aum Shinrikyo's headquarters and branches in Japan were secretly monitored. Besides the Aum Shinrikyo core members already detained under various pretexts, the core figures of the "Aum Empire," including "Emperor" Asahara and various "ministers," were under close police surveillance. Even with a Soviet military helicopter parked at the "Aum Empire" headquarters, Asahara had no chance of escape. The cult leader could only hide in the Kamikyu Isshiki village camp, awaiting police raids. After discovering Asahara's whereabouts, the police dispatched hundreds of helmeted, fully armed officers to Kamikyu Isshiki village on May 16th to arrest him. The police used welding torches to burn open the door of the Aum Shinrikyo headquarters and conducted a thorough search. When the searchers dismantled the thick planks of a secret room only one foot high between the second and third floors of the Sixth Aum Shinrikyo Hall, they discovered Asahara hiding inside. The "Holy Emperor" of Aum Shinrikyo, who was said to possess "boundless magical power" and "levitation abilities," surrendered meekly. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara on charges of murder and attempted murder. They also raided more than 130 of the cult's strongholds across the country, arresting more than 40 leaders and members.

This matter should have been a foregone conclusion; even the relatively ruthless Japanese government could not tolerate the existence of a cult that had caused such a large-scale terrorist incident. Japanese police immediately detained the arrested Aum Shinrikyo members and awaited the prosecution's preparation of materials for an appeal.

But soon, something strange happened—

In July 1996, 57 core members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, including Shoko Asahara, who were imprisoned in Tokyo Prison, disappeared at the same time, vanishing from their cells as if they had evaporated into thin air.

There were no signs of disturbance at the cell, and the prison's surveillance cameras did not capture any footage of Shoko Asahara entering or leaving. It was as if he had simply turned into a blind spot of the cell's surveillance cameras and then disappeared.

The disappearance of Shoko Asahara and his cult followers from their prison cells has become one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of 20th-century Japan.

The reasons for its disappearance are widely debated. Some say it's a conspiracy theory, that Aum Shinrikyo was merely a puppet put forward by the government, and that the sarin gas it released was only to help a certain American mythological laboratory better carry out human experiments. Others say that Shoko Asahara was the true son of God, and that his purpose in coming to earth was to capture the demons that escaped from hell. The thirteen victims who died in the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack were demons who escaped from hell.

"No sea of blood, no tower of fire"

"Compared to the mistakes I've made, this hell isn't so bad," Shoko Asahara thought casually.

“At least I can wander around leisurely. Hmm, it’s just a bit too desolate. It would be nice to run into someone and chat with them,” Shoko Asahara said. “No, maybe this place is paradise. No, no, no. With my ability to seek the Dao, I can turn this place into paradise!”

"Still... still no one." Shoko Asahara looked exhausted.

"I've already left. I've forgotten how long I've walked. I feel like my legs have gone numb."

"Nobody's here. Nobody's here. Still nobody's here. Is this my punishment?"

So thirsty. So tired.

"My hearing? I think I can't hear anything."

"I can't see, I can't see. Why? Why can't I see?"

"Who am I? Where am I? I can't feel my legs, I can't feel my hands, I can't feel my eyes, I can't feel my mouth. I'm disappearing!"

"Help! Help! I... I don't want to... I don't want to disappear!"

"belch"

Tyrell, who was playing chess with Dumbledore, let out a soft burp.

"What's wrong?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"You ate something bad," Tiera said nonchalantly.