A middle-aged man with red hair and a slightly muscular build rotated in his chair as he turned around.
"Here's the thing, no magic, no killing, and absolutely no genocide. And you'll be good to go. You get me right?"
He intertwined his fingers and placed his hand on the table assuming a gentlemanly expression as he looked at the boy before him.
The boy's appearance was very young, he looked as if he was in his late teens. His white hair was arranged in a rough bun shape and he had a beautiful face, borderlining between cute and handsome.
Slurrrrp
He sipped the juice from the straw producing a loud slurping noise in the silent room. The man's eyes twitched as he clasped his fists tightly.
'Take a deep breath, he's still higher ranked than me…shhh…haaaah'
"..."
The boy still didn't say anything and stared at the man with his red ruby-like eyes.
"What?"
The man raised his eyebrows.
"This is the most disappointing thing I have seen in my life…"
The boy finally opened his mouth. His voice was peaceful and calming. It was as if even if he told a lie you would be convinced it was the truth.
"Huh?"
"Huh? What do I mean, I wonder?" The boy was dumbfounded, "One of the rulers of hell, 'the great Hades' is here living like an old grandpa! What else could be disappointing?!
And you're running a school? What the fuck are you? A teacher?"
Hades took a deep breath and exhaled as he laid back in his chair.
"Look here, Luci. You just woke up okay? It's been two thousand years, and the world has changed. Peace is a good thing, you know?" He said with a silly smile on his face.
Suddenly his eyes shot open as he straightened forward.
"Where…did you learn to speak like that?"
How was the man who was in a coffin for two thousand years or so speaking in the modern language?
"I just copied memories of a dude I found outside…"
"Of course you did…" He groaned and face palmed himself covering his eyes with his hand in exasperation, "I told you to just observe, didn't I?"
The boy just shrugged his shoulders and continued to slurp his juice.
"And where's the poor soul that encountered you?"
"Oh, you don't need to worry, no one will find out."
"That's the exact reason why I'm worrying!"
"Relax, old man." Lucifer couldn't understand why Hades was worrying about some random human he didn't even know.
The Hades he knew was nothing like that. He was one of the seven kings of hell and he was worrying about a human? It sure was news to him.
And how come humans were this weak in this era? They were at least strong enough to defend themselves from the demons and other races during the era of destruction.
There was no trace of the magic and mana in the humans. The more surprising fact was that he couldn't find any other races such as vampires, werewolves, elves, and dragons.
'Well, it's none of my business…'
Lucifer shrugged inwardly. What humans did or what would happen to them wasn't really of his concern. His father was there to worry about them.
"So who's managing your territory in hell?"
Lucifer was curious. He threw all his responsibilities to Ageera, his butler.
The throne of hell only accepted Lucifer himself as the king so didn't have to worry about anything. And he didn't want to bother with managing hell.
"What manage? It's just a bunch of barbarians. They can do whatever they want, I don't care."
Hades said as he took out a packet of cigarettes from his pocket.
"The cycle of samsara is automated so we're just kings in the name only anyways."
He placed the cigarette in his mouth and pointed his index finger at the tip of it. A small red appeared on his fingers lighting the cigarette.
"Hmm, makes sense." Lucifer nods.
"So, what will you do then? Return to hell? Or maybe…heaven?"
"Neither."
There was no way he was going back to heaven and hell was just a boring place filled with the demons who were busy murdering each other.
"Maybe I should just go back to sleep…"
"You slept for two thousand years and you still want to sleep?"
Hades was speechless.
During the era of destruction, due to a certain event that Hades didn't want to recall, Lucifer was sealed.
It took almost all of the gods combined just to stop the innocent-looking boy in front of him.
And those gods still used to brag about how they defeated him. Hades just scoffed at their foolishness and minded his own business.
If Lucifer had resisted, forget sealing they would all have vanished without traces.
It had been two thousand years since then, or maybe slightly more. Time didn't matter for gods as they were immortal so their sense of time was completely fucked up.
"Hmm, what do you want me to do then?"
"Join my school. Maybe you'll enjoy it, you're just sixteen anyway."
"Oyy, I'm already more than two thousand years old, hmph."
"Two thousand years inside the coffin, kekeke!"
"Shut up! And I'm not joining any stupid school."
Lucifer threw his empty juice packet towards Hades which he caught easily. If one were to see them right now, no one would even think that these two idiots were the rulers of the underworld.
"Sigh…well, there's still time for the new session to start anyway. Maybe you'll change your mind till then."
Hades placed his finger on the table and tapped twice.
"Alex"
A red circle appeared on the ground, filled with various patterns and runes. All of a sudden a man appeared on the top of the circle.
He had grey hair and was wearing a spectacle. His attire was like that of a butler, a black suit with a white shirt and a bow tie.
Alex's eyes widened momentarily as he looked at Lucifer but he quickly regained his calm.
"It's good to see you, lord Lucifer."
He bowed slightly with his right hand on the chest and his left hand behind him.
"How are you doing Alex?"
"I'm good, your majesty, thank you for asking." He smiled subtly.
Lucifer nodded in response. Although he had spoken to Alex a few times in the past, they weren't that close. So he didn't elongate the conversation further.
"Alex, give him the key to the apartment near the school." Hades said and reached into his pocket. He took out a black card, placed it on the table, and flicked it towards Lucifer.
"This should have enough money for you. You should already know how to use it right?"
"Yeah."
He picks the card observing the patterns on it. Although he copied the memories of someone from the present era, it was still surprising for him how much humanity had progressed, even without any magic.
"Should I lead you to your apartment, Lord Lucifer?"
"Nah, I'll go by my-"
"YES YOU SHOULD!" Hades yelled, "I don't know what commotion he will cause if he goes alone! And make sure to put some common sense in him along the way!!"
"Just what do you think of me?" Lucifer was speechless. He couldn't believe that his friend had literally zero trust in him.
"A bipolar devil who will probably cause another war."
"Fair enough…"
He didn't have any argument against it, especially considering the things he had done in the past.
He hopped off the chair stretching his body.
Yawwnnnn
"Let's go, Alex…"
"Yes, Lord Lucifer."
Lucifer followed Alex leaving Hades's room.
Although he didn't show much, he was quite interested in this new era. There weren't any wars going on, and neither were people trying to murder each other. It was…peaceful. It was a breath of fresh air for him too.
'Let's try living like Hades said…if I'm bored enough maybe I'll just go to war with the old man, kekeke!'
***