Part 3

During Dexter’s initial experience of Hell, his journey did not stop at the fiery lake. He descended deeper into the darkness, encountering sights that would chill anyone’s soul. In the midst of his vision, Dexter came face to face with four British lords, clad in Medieval armor, leading a cursed army. These lords—who had once commanded power and influence on Earth—were trapped in an endless cycle of torment, attempting to break free from their own misery.

Dante’s Inferno reflects this very nature of futility, as souls condemned to Hell forever seek redemption or release but are met only with their own despair. In Canto V, Dante encounters the doomed lovers Paolo and Francesca, who are swept about in a violent storm, never to rest. “Love led us to one death; in the depths of Hell, Caina waits for him who took our lives.” Just like those lovers, these lords were caught in a whirlwind of destruction, leading their army in a futile march, attempting to rise above the forces that held them captive.

Dexter described the lords as figures of great stature—men who had once been rulers and generals, who now commanded an army of the accursed. Their eyes burned with hatred, not only for the demons that tormented them but also for each other. They quarreled constantly, each one claiming that his leadership could break them free from Hell. But despite their desperate plans, their army marched in endless circles, forever trying to escape the Hell that surrounded them, in a grotesque reflection of their worldly ambitions that had led them astray.

In Dante’s Inferno, those consumed by violence, both against others and against themselves, are confined to the seventh circle. They are submerged in boiling blood, tormented by fierce creatures who make sure they never escape. Dexter’s vision bore witness to a similar fate. As he watched the lords lead their army deeper into the pit, they were confronted by a beast out of the darkest myth—a Minotaur, the same creature that Dante faced in his journey.

Dante describes the Minotaur in Canto XII: “The infamy of Crete, conceived within the counterfeit cow… turned upon himself like one whom fury bites inside.” This beast, half-man and half-bull, is a representation of unrestrained rage and violence, embodying the savage nature of Hell’s tormentors. Dexter described the creature as towering over the army, its eyes filled with malice and hunger. It stood as an impassable guardian, blocking the way to any who thought they could escape.

The lords, in their arrogance, believed they could challenge the Minotaur. Armed with swords and shields that had once led them to victory in battle, they confronted the beast. But no earthly weapon could touch it. One by one, their attacks failed. The Minotaur tore through their ranks, ripping apart the soldiers of their cursed army, devouring souls with no mercy. In this monstrous scene, Dexter realized the truth—no matter how much earthly power or influence these men had held, in Hell, they were powerless. The Minotaur was not merely a creature of flesh; it was a manifestation of their own violent hearts.

As Dante writes, “…he gnaws them one by one, tearing them apart… that makes their pain more perfect.” In the depths of Hell, there is no reprieve from the torment, only a deeper, more refined pain. The lords, having commanded armies in life, now led only the accursed, their souls broken by their own hubris. They fought in vain, consumed by their pride, as the Minotaur crushed them again and again, ensuring they would never rise.

Dexter’s confrontation with the Minotaur and the cursed army resonates deeply with Dante’s depiction of Hell as a place where even the greatest of men are reduced to nothing. The Minotaur, like all of Hell’s beasts, was not just a physical tormentor—it symbolized the inner violence that had led these souls to their fate.

In my own vision, I remembered the words of Dante: “The nearer a thing comes to its perfection, the more keen will be its pleasure or its pain.” In this place, perfection had become perverted. The lords sought power and control, but instead, they were consumed by their own evil, trapped in an endless battle with no escape.

This part of Dexter’s journey is a stark warning. Hell is not just a place of external torment—it is the perfect reflection of the darkness within. Those who live by the sword, those who hunger for power at the expense of others, will find themselves surrounded by the very violence they inflicted.

“For all who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭52‬ ‭TLV‬‬

The descent continues, and the horrors of Hell deepen. But there is more to tell—more beasts, more torment, more souls caught in the endless snare of their sins.

Stay with me, as we explore these layers of suffering.

To be continued in Part 3.

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