『Hades…Hades…! You dare…!』

Boom! Boom! As Hades brutally swung his sword in the air, it seemed like the sky would split with every swing. Darkness fell like a downpour, its heat lashing at Perses. Yeon-woo stood and stared at the scene blankly. ‘There are…no imperfections.’

The slight imperfections he had seen within Hermes and Athena weren’t present in Hades. Was that the strength of a true higher god? The impact of every strike shook Tartarus, and he felt like his mind would be destroyed just from the sight. As always, if it weren’t for his Cold-blooded trait, he wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

Yeon-woo finally understood what being a god meant after seeing Hades. All laws and principles moved around him.

[A message has arrived from Hermes.]

[Message: It’s been a while seeing Uncle like that. Maybe 700 years?]

[A message has arrived from Hermes.]

[Message: I wasn’t the only one. Ares and Heracles were also enamored of his strength at the beginning. My sister Athena was his biggest fan.]

[A message has arrived from Athena.]

[Message: Will you shut up?]

Hades could surprise even the goddess of wisdom and war, and he was demonstrating his ability as the eldest of the gods of Olympus.

“'You dare'? Did you ask me if I dare?” Hades easily avoided Perses’ outstretched hand. “Perses, you’ve finally gone crazy. You grew bigger after consuming Kronos’ corpse. Have you grown bolder too? You think you’re Kronos, huh?” Hades gripped his sword more tightly.

Urrrng. Urrrng. The darkness that flowed through his arm turned his sword pitch black. “I must get rid of those delusions first.” Thwak! Hades brought his sword down. The blade drew a line from Perses’ right shoulder to his lower body, and the body of the Giant god burst into flames. His injuries began to leak, and, as black smoke rose into the air, his abnormally large body shrank like a deflating balloon.

『No…! No…!』 The Giant god writhed, trying to hold onto the smoke. Perses tried to heal his injuries with holy power, but Hades swung his sword again and deprived him of the opportunity. Each time the sword flashed, more smoke leaked out of the wounds, filling the air around them.

‘What is that?’ Yeon-woo looked at the black smoke. He knew it was the power that made the Titan abnormally larger and caused the strange occurrences in Tartarus. ‘But why is it so familiar?’ His face stiffened when the Despair and Grief of the Black King suddenly cried out. He tried to see what was happening.

Boom! Hades brought down his final blow and cut Perses’ head off. The massive head soared through the air—it was a frightening sight. The Giant god left behind a black object that looked like a bead.

“What a bastard. Did he get away during the fight?” Hades snorted and flicked his finger to destroy the black bead. He turned to Yeon-woo. Despite the distance between them, they made eye contact.

Hades appeared right in front of Yeon-woo in the blink of an eye. He looked even more imposing up close, and Yeon-woo stepped back in surprise. He tried to move his hand towards Vigrid, but his body had frozen. Although Hades didn’t release much of his aura, Yeon-woo felt like his soul was being crushed.

Yeon-woo had met Poseidon and many other gods, but Yeon-woo still managed to use his Cold-blooded trait to stay calm. However, that was impossible in front of Hades. The trait refused to activate, and he couldn’t control his body at all. Hades was the most supreme being he’d met so far.

‘I don’t like it.’ Yeon-woo frowned. Being in someone else’s power like this was unpleasant. He activated Time Difference and quickly awakened his cells through his Magic Circuit.

By the time Hades began speaking and time was flowing normally, Yeon-woo had managed to regain his composure. He could stand in front of Hades confidently.

[Hermes nods in satisfaction.]

[Athena looks at you with a warm gaze.]

[Agares giggles.]

[Hundun is silent.]

For a moment, Hades’ eyes glittered. “I see many faces I've missed. Are you a child cherished by my brother’s children? I also see Agares. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that Grand Demon Duke. And…” Hades’ words faded away as he looked Yeon-woo over. Yeon-woo felt like everything about him was being opened up and examined.

Then, Hades’ gaze stopped at his black manacle and fetter. The Despair and Grief of the Black King rang out in response. However, it was quite different from what he usually felt. They seemed to be shaking violently in anger.

“And his legacies?” A corner of Hades’ mouth curved up. It looked like he was smirking, but there was bitterness in his smile. “I thought you were only bringing me Persephone’s message, but you’re more interesting than I thought.” Hades chuckled. “And the human over there has quite an interesting toy.”

He glanced at Creutz, who was gasping for breath with the holy sword Zulfikar. Creutz’s eyes were shaking under his helm. Hades shouted to the members of Dis Pluto, who were prostrating on the ground, “We’re returning to the temple!”

* * *

[You have successfully completed the sudden quest (Persephone’s Long-Held Wish). Additional karma will be provided.]

[You have acquired 10,000 karma.]

[You have acquired an additional 15,000 karma.]

[You have been rewarded with the ‘Ring of Life (Persephone’s holy artifact)’, ‘Factors of Spring (Persephone’s Factors)’, and ‘Judgement Division (Persephone’s power)’.]

The goals of Persephone’s quest were to meet Hades and confirm whether he was still alive. Now that he finally met Hades, the news was delivered to Persephone, and the messages popped up.

A ring made of wildflowers and wrapped in light descended to Yeon-woo’s open palm. It was Persephone’s holy artifact, the Ring of Life. Yeon-woo confirmed the rewards.

[Ring of Life]

[Category: Ring]

[Rank: Holy artifact]

[Description: A gift from the goddess of spring, seedlings, and the Underworld to the person who found her husband. The vivid energy of life spins around it, and just by wearing it, your exhaustion will be relieved. Also, it adds buffs to the soul of the user.]

[*Soul Life

The strong vestiges of humans can turn the soul into various colors. These colors will be purified to cleanse the mind and remove unhelpful stimuli. It can lower accumulated exhaustion by 20% to 40%.]

[*Soul Growth

To mortals, who are fated to die, souls are a forbidden territory. This has the effect of stimulating the soul to help comprehend its meaning. The use of soul power and soul pressure are provided.]

As soon as Yeon-woo put on the Ring of Life, he could feel the pressure in his body that he hadn’t even previously noticed disappear. Tartarus was a prison designed to hold gods. Of course, it would be a challenging environment for mortals.

Creutz was moving relatively well thanks to the holy power of Zulfikar, but the Despair and Grief of the Black King didn’t help ease the pressure of Tartarus for Yeon-woo. In fact, he was subject to even more pressure because of his Draconic, Demonic, and Divine Factors.

The Ring of Life stimulated his soul and revitalized it, helping to relieve the pressure. In short, he had the permission to move in and out of Tartarus freely. Also, since it could be used on other floors, as well, it was a generous reward that didn’t lack in any aspect.

[Information on the Factors of Spring’ (Persephone’s Factors) and ‘Judgement Division’ (Persephone’s power) cannot be accessed. You must meet the qualifications or conditions in order to view the information.]

A message about the other two rewards popped up, along with a label that said they were currently sealed. Persephone had already warned him about this before he even entered the gate.

“The quest window says that you’ll receive three rewards, but you will most likely only be able to use the Ring of Life after you meet my husband.”

“Why is that?”

“The Ring of Life is a present for you that comes from my holy power, which means you’ll definitely be able to use it. However, the other two are different because of Tartarus’ difficult environment.” Persephone explained that Tartarus was cut off from the outside, and it was said to be the only area that the heavenly world on the ninety-eighth floor couldn’t access.

‘That’s probably why all of my powers other than Dragon Body Awakening have dissipated.’ Although his Channel was still connected to Athena, Agares, and Hundun, his powers were non-existent.

“What should I do to unlock the two rewards?”

“You’ll have to be acknowledged by Hades first. Tartarus is my husband’s holy territory.”

Yeon-woo had to choose between leaving Tartarus or getting Hades’ acknowledgement. At that moment, another message popped up again. Ding!

[A follow-up quest has been created.]

Yeon-woo checked the quest.

[Follow-Up Quest / Persephone’s Desperate Wish]

[Description: You have successfully found Hades, as Persephone requested. However, Hades isn’t in a good situation. The war with the Titans and Giants has been ongoing for a long time, and Tartarus has become a wasteland in many areas.

Help Hades and support him so he can return to his temple. When you are acknowledged by him, you will have the ability to view the details of the Factors (Factors of Spring) and the power (Judgement Division).]

[Conditions of success:

1. Hades’ acknowledgment

2. Hades’ return]

[Time Limit: - ]

[Rewards:

1. Qualification to use Factors (Factors of Spring)

2. Qualification to use power (Judgement Division)]

Yeon-woo clucked his tongue. ‘Nothing’s ever easy.’ Persephone had guessed that Hades had his hands tied and had hidden a follow-up quest. If he wanted her Factors and power, he had to help Hades. She had acted as though she would give him all the rewards after he found Hades, but it turned out there was a hidden twist. Yeon-woo laughed.

In fact, he did want Persephone’s Factors and power, but he wasn’t desperate. Although the Channels were temporarily cut, there were still many gods and demons who wanted to make provisional contracts with him and give him their powers. Many of those were equal to or ever superior to what Persephone offered.

However, Yeon-woo wasn’t angry. She was clearly quite worried about her husband to do this. Although players couldn’t be of much help to gods, she still wanted her husband to have all the help he could get. He understood her desperate wish better than anyone else, so he didn’t want to nitpick. ‘And I have to stay here anyway.’

He still hadn’t found the other two Cyclops brothers, so he might as well help Hades. Only then would he be able to unseal the pocket watch. ‘It won’t be easy.’ He clucked his tongue as he followed Hades and Dis Pluto, staring at the ruins around him.

Tartarus was a place of darkness void of life, it looked even more nightmarish now. There were traces of combat everywhere, and corpses of Giant gods lay scattered on the ground. Most of Hades’ garrisons seemed to be damaged to the point of being unsalvageable. In the distance, he could see Hades’ temple, but it was deserted, which seemed bizarre for one of the three greater gods of Olympus.

Was Hades reading Yeon-woo’s eyes? He chuckled and said, “You’re not asking anything even though you must be quite curious.”

The laugh sounded cynical. From the start, Yeon-woo could tell that Hades had a cold personality.