In a solemn, tranquil courtyard, an elegant woman draped in sheer gauze and wearing a black hairpiece leaned against the corridor, lazily gazing at the daffodils blooming in the pond.
She slipped peeled pomegranate seeds from her palm between her lips, gently biting and sucking. The juice burst across her tongue, sweet and sour, with a faint trace of bitterness.
A complicated emotion surfaced in the goddess's emerald eyes as she let out a quiet sigh.
Once, it had been precisely these two things that had cast her into the lightless depths of the Underworld. Now, they had become the very things she clung to in remembrance. The irony was hard to miss.
Memories of playing and laughing with nymphs in forested valleys welled up, leaving her oddly uninterested in the vividly blooming daffodils before her.
Just as she yawned and considered resting her head on the table for a short nap, gray-black deathly energy surged and rolled. A massive shadow descended from above, swallowing the entire courtyard.
"Back already? How is that thing you're guarding for my father—"
She frowned slightly, her drowsiness gone. Speaking in a flat tone, she turned to look toward the wall behind her.
The moment she did, her tongue stiffened.
Hanging over the wall was a massive dragon's head, its scales pitch-black and cold, sulfurous fumes pouring from its nostrils. It loomed into the courtyard, baring a grin filled with cone-like, bone-white fangs as it fixed its gaze on her.
Beneath its claws, dozens of skeletons and specters assigned to guard the courtyard had already been casually smashed into fragments.
"Roar!"
The dragon suddenly lowered its head, letting out a hoarse growl. The goddess's face went pale as she retreated until her back hit the wall. With nowhere left to flee, she squeezed her eyes shut in terror.
Yet dozens of breaths passed, and the expected tearing pain never came.
When she cautiously cracked her eyes open, she froze. The lowered dragon head was smiling like a doting puppy, a bundle of fresh green olive branches clenched between its jaws.
...
Meanwhile, in the Elysian Fields.
Human Heroic Spirits were locked in chaotic battle with Titan Old Gods and Typhon's demonic beasts. As the fighting intensified, the human side inevitably began to feel the strain.
Fortunately, Hades seemed limited by Zeus's refusal to fully relinquish authority. The number and frequency of subordinates awakened through divine seals remained restrained.
On the other hand, nourished by the leylines of the Elysian Fields, most human Heroic Spirits had already reached the level of Divine Spirits. Coupled with the defection of the God of Death, the God of Sleep, and the ferryman of the underworld river, as well as the involvement of top-tier combatants like Heracles, Perseus, and Orion, they managed to hold their ground even against the Titan Old Gods and Typhon's monsters.
Before long, the three Underworld Judges who had struggled back to their feet quietly slipped into the human ranks, joining them in resisting the assault of these divine-seal puppets.
After all, aside from Rhadamanthus, whose act had already been exposed, neither Aeacus nor Minos was particularly clean.
One was Chiron's son-in-law and the father of the great heroes Telamon and Peleus. The other was Circe's brother-in-law and the ruler of the Minoan Kingdom on Crete, the cradle of Greek humanity.
As for the two most troublesome hundred-armed giants, Artemis and Hecate each kept one firmly occupied.
One goddess was an experienced hunter, adept at mobility and prolonged harassment. The other was a witch of ancient lineage, wielding arcane and elusive sorcery.
Despite their thick hides and monstrous resilience, the hundred-armed giants gained little advantage against these two. They were battered into disorientation, roaring in constant fury.
Watching this unfold, Hades' expression grew heavy, his brow tightly furrowed.
He had not expected that, even after using every method at his disposal, this group of rebellious gods would be so difficult to deal with.
Did he really have to further unseal the depths of Tartarus?
Just as the Lord of the Underworld hesitated, lifting his long sword, a spear-light snapped through the air from the side. It scattered into a sky full of icy stars, its killing intent locking onto his divine core and the vital Ether circuits around him.
Forced to abandon his motion, Hades withdrew and turned to defend. His blade traced a sweeping arc through the air, barely blocking the vicious surprise attack.
Amid a rapid series of clanging metal impacts, the cross spear slammed against the spine of the sword, forcing Hades to stagger back again and again.
The moment the Lord of the Underworld managed to steady himself, he stopped hesitating and chose to push that forbidden gateway of the gods open even further.
Even if the numbers grew beyond what he could precisely control, it was still better than remaining locked in this deadlock.
"Taboo of the Gods, Hell—"
"You're trying that again?!"
The Ancient Serpent, who had been watching Hades like a hawk, leaned back decisively. His spine arched into an exaggerated curve, stretched taut like a fully drawn bowstring, as the cross spear in his hands surged with overwhelming authority and tore through the air, instantly cutting off the Underworld King's casting.
Samael, ever skilled at psychological warfare, creating favorable conditions, and bullying from a position of advantage, deliberately waited until Hades' divine power had gathered halfway before striking. The timing was vicious, perfectly disrupting his opponent's rhythm.
Left with no choice, Hades was forced to abandon the further unsealing of [Taboo of the Gods]. He violently reined in his divine power and swung his sword forward in a desperate slash.
Boom!
Ether waves rolled violently. His divine core shuddered under the impact, aggravating his injuries. A mouthful of reversed blood burst from between his lips, his eyes blazing with suffocating fury.
If all other factors were ignored and this were a fair one-on-one, even if he couldn't guarantee victory against this bastard, he should at least have been able to fight evenly. He never should have ended up this miserable.
But this snake had no sense of honor at all. Again and again, he set traps, never allowing Hades to maintain peak condition, constantly forcing him into disadvantage.
In all his existence, Hades had never fought such a stifling battle. This snake was absolutely despicable.
Still, that last exchange had cost both sides. He'd been wounded again, but the other side had lost their weapon. All things considered, he hadn't lost out.
Now let's see what you'll use to stop me!
Hades kicked backward, sliding across the ground and carving deep furrows as he forcibly suppressed the surging blood in his chest. Gripping the sword hilt with both hands, he drove the blade into the earth and began chanting divine script at high speed, attempting once more to activate [Taboo of the Gods].
"Hades! Take this!"
At that very moment, a loud, straightforward shout rang out from the opposite side. Haunted by earlier setbacks, the Lord of the Underworld instinctively cut off his casting and looked up.
His gaze instantly met the center of a golden shield, locking eyes with the slowly opening stone-carved head of a Gorgon.
Whoosh!
At the same time, Samael emerged from behind the shield, drew his curved bow, and loosed an arrow. Its conical head was engraved with dense incantations, and the twin blades along its sides carried a faint, dark red sheen.
A sense of danger surged through Hades. He tried to draw his sword and slash, but an indescribable heaviness suddenly flooded his limbs. His bones and muscles felt like rusted, corroded bearings, refusing to respond.
When he reflexively looked down, he saw ash-gray traces spreading upward from his feet, creeping across his body. The numbness and stiffness stemmed from there.
Damn it. Petrification!
Hades barely had time to curse inwardly before a violent tearing pain shot through his right wrist. Unable to keep his grip, the Underworld Sword slipped from his hand, wailing as it plunged into the ground and shuddered in place.
"You—"
Bang!
The god clad in golden armor spread his radiant wings and fell like a comet from the sky. In an instant, he crashed down in front of Hades, slammed a hand against his chest, and drove him back with mountain-crushing force, brutally pinning him against a tree trunk.
"…Despicable!"
"Thanks for the compliment!"
Hades, seething as he condemned his opponent's character, nearly spat a mouthful of old blood when the other party responded with a cheerful, shameless grin.
Burning with humiliation and rage, the Lord of the Underworld tried to struggle up and fight again. But the wound in his wrist, pierced clean through by the bronze arrow, erupted with a scorching, flame-like burn, accompanied by needle-sharp agony.
Snap!
Samael pressed down on Hades' arm and smiled elegantly, offering a friendly reminder.
"Don't move. You're poisoned."
From what he knew, Hades' resistance to toxins wasn't particularly high. Back when Heracles completed the trial involving the hellhound, Hades had tried to intervene and ended up being struck by one of the demigod's Hydra-poisoned arrows. The pain had been unbearable, and he'd needed treatment from the god of medicine on Olympus to recover.
Compared to Little Nine's venom, Samael's poison had an even stronger corrosive and paralyzing effect on divine essence.
After all, he was the original sin serpent who had bitten God.
Hades looked at his right arm, swollen like a pig's hoof and mottled with purplish-black discoloration, then at his lower body, already spreading with petrified gray. His mouth twitched violently, and he wished nothing more than to tear that bastard apart with his bare hands.
The Lord of the Underworld snorted coldly, resentment heavy in his voice.
"Don't even think about getting the cipher key to [Taboo of the Gods] from me! Even if you defeat me, you'll never defeat Zeus!"
Samael had expected this. He paid no mind to Hades' stubborn resistance. Leaning close to the Underworld King's ear, he casually pointed toward a certain direction and whispered with a smiling menace.
"By the way… your wife is in my hands."
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.