As the corridor descended further, the temperature kept rising. Despite their modified bodies, sweat continued to drip from Su Ming, feeling as if it evaporated before even reaching the ground.
However, neither of them were ordinary people, and they could barely continue forward.
Finally, at the end of the corridor, an iron door appeared.
Yes, an iron door, looking just like the back doors of the most common restaurants in alleyways, with peeling paint and rust all over. Who knew where Hephaestus, the God of Forging, found such a piece of junk?
"Is this forging technique... reliable?" Barry wiped his sweat with his sleeve, his face flushed. "Why don't I take you to Pittsburgh or Detroit?"
Su Ming also felt a bit awkward seeing the broken door, but forging was just a hobby for the Fire God; after all, this door wasn't his storefront.
"Never mind, this is already the best blacksmith we can find on Earth. Unless you can somehow send me to New Genesis Star? The Life Equation could also solve our current problem. Are you familiar with Darkseid's brother?"
"Uh... I think it's better here, let's go in." Barry chuckled awkwardly, finding it hard to interact with those New Gods on New Genesis Star.
Su Ming just mentioned it, knowing the Life Equation is not the same as the Anti-Life Equation, and has some issues. Its current state would only turn people into monsters.
He touched the iron door, it wasn't too hot, and with a slight effort, it creaked open.
What unfolded before them was a fiery red world; everything was entirely red. Massive cauldrons, each as big as a basketball court, adorned the walls, with blazing lava cascading down into the furnaces below.
In the center of the site was a huge device of unknown purpose, emitting bright light, supplying metal and other auxiliary materials. Hundreds of people in thick insulative suits were bustling around it, transporting materials to different furnaces or taking forged items back to the warehouse.
Yes, although there were hundreds of people working back and forth in the immense area, only one person was doing the forging.
He looked like a half-beastman, standing three meters tall, incredibly ugly, and covered in a purplish-brown color with no hair at all. His hands were smeared with embers and ash, with molten lava swirling around them. He wielded an ordinary-looking hammer, striking something on the anvil.
The immense roaring echoes filled the volcano, each hammer strike crashing down with thunderous force.
Su Ming immediately recognized him as Hephaestus, the Fire God, son of Zeus and Wonder Woman's brother.
Despite his hideous appearance, his wife was Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Beauty, the most beautiful among all the gods. It's said that ordinary humans who saw her beauty would be so enchanted they'd forget to eat or drink until they starved, dying with her name on their lips, their souls still describing her beauty to the Death God after dying.
Such a way to die seemed quite suited for Zha Kang. Didn't he neither want to go to Heaven nor Hell? Just ask the Fire God, and let Zha Kang meet the Goddess of Beauty; his soul would then belong under the Greek Pantheon after death.
Although the Fire God looked fierce, he was actually one of the most humane and kind-hearted of the gods. He took in the men from Paradise Island who were supposed to be killed, letting them work here.
Paradise Island, hundreds of years ago, before Diana, had a very terrible custom of raiding men at sea.
Every three years, they would row their canoes across the ocean. Upon encountering human merchant ships, they would board, using either force or charm, engaging in wild gatherings with the crew and passengers for three days before killing all the men.
Afterward, they would return to Paradise Island, waiting for the children to be born. Girls would be raised into warriors, while boys were thrown into the sea to die.
Once the Fire God Hephaestus found one such child's body, his heart softened, and he went to Paradise Island, negotiating that no children be killed. Every three years, he would come to take all the boys to the volcano.
Though his temper was gentle and his speech was calm, he was genuinely a god, with divinity encompassing volcanoes, lava, thunder-fire, weaponry, and more fields, causing the Amazonians to immediately submit and hand over all the born boys to him.
Now, these workers in the volcano were all abandoned children from Paradise Island. They had some Amazonian traits like longevity and great strength, knowing it was the Fire God who saved them, so they willingly lived and worked in the volcano, forging and worshiping him.
However, with the society's advancement in recent times, they no longer could do such things. Besides, in recent years, with Diana becoming the Amazon Queen advocating for gender equality and secularizing Paradise Island, women were encouraged to find men by leaving the island, to seriously date and not just seek reproduction. Those who didn't want to find men and have children stayed on Paradise Island as caretakers.
In short, it's been nearly a hundred years since they last went out to raid men, so no new members have joined the Fire God's side for decades.
........
Su Ming knew the Fire God had sensed his presence; entering the volcano meant stepping into his Divine Domain, where any movement wouldn't escape his notice.
Yet, he didn't consider himself an outsider, heading down the stairs behind the door. These stairs, constructed on the inner walls of the volcano, were made of special metal resembling spiraling ribbons.
He walked straight to the Fire God's back, watching him hammer something without saying a word, while Barry focused solely on wiping sweat.
It wasn't until a few minutes later, seeing the shapeless mass of metal gradually form into a curved blade, that the Fire God handed the finished blade to a worker for quenching, then turned to nod at Su Ming.
"I thought it would be Diana coming to seek me, not expecting the strongest human warrior from another world."
"I wouldn't say strongest, since right now I need the help of the Olympian Gods."
Su Ming's heart was as calm as still water. Despite the unbearably hot surroundings, he knew dealing with gods required caution; even the gentlest lion was still a man-eater.
"I've made some preparations, come on, follow me." The Fire God casually tossed aside the hammer, creating a small pit on the ground, gesturing for Su Ming and Barry to follow him.
They walked to another direction within the volcano, where the Fire God pushed open a large door and led them inside.
"Oh? It's so cool here." Barry instantly felt invigorated, seeing the surroundings made entirely from metal—gleaming and reflecting, without a trace of heat.
"Oh, this is the residential area. I installed central air conditioning here." The Fire God answered without turning his head.
"Cough cough, air conditioning..." Barry was dumbfounded, nearly choking on his saliva.
The Fire God gave him an amused glance, with the rolling lava in his eyes looking as if it might erupt: "What, do you think we Old Gods are all relics of the past? Or do you doubt my craftsmanship, incapable of crafting something as trivial as an air conditioner?"
"No, I absolutely didn't think that, haha, why would I?" Barry displayed a smile, awkward yet still polite.
The Fire God wasn't upset, instead taking a turn, directly showing them the warehouse, showcasing the finished products he had crafted.
"This is the supercar I made, entirely forged from Divine Gold, indestructible, with a top speed of 1800 kilometers per hour."
"This is the private jet I crafted, also Divine Gold inlaid with gemstones, piloted automatically by Divine Power. Not only can it turn invisible, but it can also break through the atmosphere."
"This is the satellite I forged for the Divine System; one satellite can watch global television programs from Olympus. In a few days, the Celestial Father will come to inspect it."
One by one, the radiant, cutting-edge technological items appeared before them, not only visually pleasing but also functional. Finally, the Fire God even showed them a partly-assembled cosmic battleship, astonishing both individuals to their core.
Building a battleship by hand—perhaps only a god could achieve that.
No wonder he could marry the Goddess of Beauty; having wealth truly allows for anything. Bruce was thought to be opulent enough, but who would have thought that the real wealth lay with someone playing with collectibles inside a volcano?