Not long after Minos quietly brought Deimos into the Death Realm, he encountered its true master, Thanatos, the God of Death, on this barren land. For some unknown reason, Thanatos had not gone to the mortal world to harvest souls today, but had remained in his own domain. When Minos found him, he saw the God of Death holding his black sword, with his wings spread, standing in the Death Realm, seemingly doing something.
Beside him was another black-robed figure of similar height, and in front of him was the Death Realm's only prisoner, Sisyphus, who had defied the order of life and Death.
This audacious madman was currently pushing a massive stone sphere, laboriously walking up the mountain. However, just as he was about to reach the summit, the stone sphere would roll back down the mountain, forcing Sisyphus to descend again to retrieve his stone sphere, endlessly repeating this exhausting and meaningless activity.
Upon seeing Thanatos, the God of Death, Minos's heart skipped a beat.
Although the God of Death's direct power to cause Death could only affect mortals and not deities, the black sword in Thanatos's hand was not to be underestimated. As a first-generation deity, the child of Nyx, the Goddess of Night, Hypnos's power could directly affect Zeus, the King of Gods. Minos would not believe it if Thanatos did not possess similar abilities.
Damn it, why is he here?
Seeing Thanatos, Minos thought with some annoyance:
During this period of war between giants and gods, he should be busy harvesting the souls of the dead on the battlefield every day.
However, despite his thoughts, Thanatos had already noticed his arrival. The God of Death's wings slightly folded, and then, amidst scattered black feathers, he silently appeared beside Minos and asked him in a hoarse voice:
"Minos, what are you doing here?"
"Thanatos."
Knowing he couldn't avoid the God of Death, Minos gave up struggling. He displayed the unconscious Deimos in his hands and then lied to Thanatos:
"I am here by the order of Her Highness Hecate, the Underworld's representative, to imprison this little one in your Death Realm."
"Her Highness Hecate?"
Thanatos lowered his head to look at Deimos and asked skeptically:
"That Highness has always been unconcerned with matters in the mortal world. Why would she order you to imprison a living youth, or... are you lying?"
As Thanatos questioned, he approached Minos. The Death aura on him, materialized as black mist, made Minos, who was also a denizen of the dead, feel uncomfortable.
"I am not lying."
Minos fully utilized the skills he had honed during his time as King of Crete. He replied without changing his expression:
"Because this is Zeus's request."
"Zeus's request?"
Thanatos circled Minos twice, seemingly acknowledging his statement:
"Indeed, if it is his request, even if Lord Hades were still here, he would have to consider it carefully, and even give him some face. However, even if he is the King of Gods, repeatedly overstepping the order of life and Death will eventually affect him."
After speaking, he extended his hand to Minos and said:
"Come, give me this youth. I will take him to the center of the Death Realm."
Seeing that Thanatos seemed to have been deceived, Minos felt a slight sense of relief. He handed Deimos over to Thanatos and instructed him:
"Make sure to keep him well-guarded. Don't let anyone rescue him."
"I know. You can go with peace of mind."
Thanatos smiled as he took Deimos, holding him behind him with a wisp of black mist. At that very instant, the God of Death suddenly struck. The black sword in his hand, like a black lightning bolt, pierced deeply into Minos's heart, carrying a dense power of the God of Death, before Minos could even react.
"Ugh?!"
Minos was already no match for Thanatos, and this time, the God of Death shamelessly launched a sneak attack. Caught off guard, Minos's divine body was directly pierced by the God of Death's sword. Rolling Death aura transformed into black mist, surging into Minos's body, causing the vitality within his divine body to recede. His entire being visibly transformed into a gaunt, hunched skeleton with sunken eye sockets, looking like a ghoul that had crawled out of a graveyard.
Minos had no time to retaliate, nor did he dare to utter a single word of questioning to the God of Death. His soul swiftly abandoned his body, attempting to flee out of the Death Realm.
Although the gods of Greece did not have the concept of a soul completely dying, they could imprison souls. Thanatos, the God of Death before them, was the best at this; imprisoning souls was his inherent duty as the God of Death.
But just as Minos's soul flew out, the black-robed figure who had been standing silently behind Thanatos suddenly moved. With a speed that even Minos and Thanatos couldn't react to, he suddenly overtook Minos's soul and extended his hand, grabbing it tightly.
"Got you."
The black-robed figure lifted his robe, allowing Minos's soul to see his true appearance beneath.
"Ares?! Why..."
Minos didn't have time to utter his last words. Ares, without a word, directly crushed his soul. Tiny, visible currents of electricity burst forth from his palm. Under the bombardment of these currents, Minos's soul shattered into dust, ceasing to exist.
Thanatos watched Ares's actions, a fleeting, almost imperceptible hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. However, he quickly composed himself, approached Ares with Deimos, and inquired:
"God of War, how do you want to deal with Minos's body? The Underworld cannot be without a judge for a day."
"This, my teacher has already prepared."
Ares shouted aloud:
"Come here."
Accompanying his summons, another black-robed figure silently emerged from a corner of the Death Realm. He was also draped in a heavy robe, imbued with magic, preventing Thanatos from clearly seeing what lay beneath.
"From today onwards, you are the new Underworld judge, Minos."
Ares commanded the black-robed figure.
"Understood."
A red glow flashed beneath the black-robed figure's hood. Then, he approached Minos's withered corpse and extended a hand made entirely of metal. With this action, the divine authority for judgment that Minos possessed was absorbed by this arm. Subsequently, the black-robed figure's body twisted and transformed, becoming identical to Minos.
Seeing the silent Thanatos beside him, Ares explained to him:
"Don't worry, this new 'Minos' will definitely be much more objective and fair than the previous Minos."
"Understood."
The God of Death pondered for a moment, then finally replied. He then pointed to the ghoul-like corpse of Minos and asked:
"Is this body still useful? If not, I'll just burn it."
"Don't burn it, it's still useful," Ares chuckled. "This concerns your own life; don't touch it lightly."