บท 40: Hades
The Seraphic System
Chapter: 40
Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing some content in advance. I'll keep posting regardless.
(Hades)
I entered the castle hesitantly. Feeling a bit nervous as I went to meet with a being far more powerful than me. Suddenly my plans of blackmail seemed a lot more stupid.
There were multiple corridors, but only one was lit up with torches that had a molten gold light emitting from them. Which I assumed was the path I was meant to take or I was in for an annoying time.
The castle was massive after all. With this many corridors, I may have to focus on not starving to death as I tried to find Hades. Perhaps that was a purposeful design.
The inside of the castle felt oddly warmer in its design which was a contrast to the cold fortress-like structure that was looming outside. Across the walls were many paintings on the walls that would probably cost a mortal fortune a piece.
Underneath me were plush carpets that were made with a material I couldn't identify with golden accents. A quick appraisal made my eyes widen at the material.
Fucking Dragon heartstring? I was walking on the heartstrings of dragons?! Like Tiamat? The crazy massive dragon who had played around with me back in the forest.
My eyes trailed to the pitch-black walls, using appraisal again out of curiosity I was even more surprised by the result.
Adamantine?
Adamantine was described as being unbreakable, untarnishable, lightweight and resilient. Didn't the original Perseus use an adamantine sword to decapitate the Gorgon Medusa?
He had his castle walls made out of this metal? I knew he was the God Of Riches too but that was insane.
I continued at a polite pace, neither walking too fast or too slow. I didn't want to be interpreted as needing Hades. Which would put me at a disadvantage.
Standing from a position of confidence was a good start. It would make what I had to say more valuable. There was no sign of life as I kept on following the lit-up torches, no servants or guards stationed anywhere.
Then again. I suppose having guards was a bit useless since if anything could actually harm Hades it would be a bit pointless for some much weaker guards to be stationed around him, but the lack of servants was suspicious.
The inside of his castle was extremely well-maintained and I doubted Hades went around in a maid costume cleaning everything. On that note, poor Grizella was going to have a harder workload when I started creating new buildings.
Finally, I came upon the entrance or what I believed to be the entrance. Instead of doors, there were large clouds of black smoke moving around in chaotic patterns.
The torches had led here, with the two torches beside the entrance being lit with blue fire instead of molten golden fire.
I took a single step towards it and the dark clouds opened up slowly, acting like real doors as the clouds seemed to solidify. The strange doors opened to a large throne room lit with the harsh light of the blue torches.
It seems like Zeus may have a contender for the title of drama queen.
I finally got my first look at Hades, lounging on a large silver throne that faintly glowed. Burning eyes were locked on me as I entered. His expression was one I could not decipher. Probably gained from being thousands of years old.
The moment our eyes met, his aura hit me with full force. It was similar to what I had felt with Dionysus, yet distinctly different.
Dionysus had felt like a monster of madness barely contained beneath the surface of a man. Yet, his aura had been restrained. Which was probably needed since he was surrounded by Demigod's.
But Hades felt more ancient, more primal, like the embodiment of something older and far more dangerous.
It was the same feeling I had before stepping into battle, the sensation of lurking danger. Waiting for the smallest mistake to claim me. My regeneration might make me much harder to kill, but I was far from invincible.
This was a God.
'Appraisal'
{Name: Hades}
{Title: One of the Big Three, Ruler of Underworld and darkness of night, God of the dead and riches}
{Race: God}
{Current Power level: 42,000}
{Power level: 60,600}
Holy shit, his mortal form alone was on par with Ares' divine form. Although it annoyed me to admit that Ares had so much power in his true form, I had to admit that I couldn't antagonise him too much.
If he decided to track me down in his divine form as I currently was I would be toasted. I was glad that Gods didn't go around in their divine form wrecking shit.
However, I had a sneaky suspicion there was more to entering their divine form. There were rules set by ancient oaths but since when had Greeks abided by their oaths?
I felt that there had to be some sort of drawback or limit on entering their divine form but I wasn't sure. I would have to ask Hestia or even Aphrodite about it after I completed this shitty quest.
Aphrodite hadn't seemed to mind speaking about her kind.
I bowed slightly as I approached Hades' silver throne. Respecting the gods wasn't something I was accustomed to, but I knew I was walking a fine line. I had just busted into his Domain unannounced after all.
A small meaningless gesture of deference meant nothing if it gained me any goodwill.
"Lord Hades."
He raised a dark eyebrow.
"Finally decided to show some respect? I fear it may be a bit late for that." His deep voice replied with amusement.
"I think you'll at least hear me out, I didn't come out here without anything of worth," I replied calmly.
"Oh? You claim to have something worth my attention. That's fortunate," Hades remarked with a hint of curiosity. "I was beginning to think I should have obliterated you the moment you carelessly stepped into my domain."
I decided to use the same strategy I'd used with the Ferryman, leveraging the information I possessed to my advantage and relying on the Godly lie detector to back me up.
After all, they didn't know that I knew of their ability or at least I didn't think they did.
"I do have one request," I began, choosing my words carefully. By framing it as a 'request,' I allowed Hades to feel in control. Which I hoped would play on his godly pride.
"Oh? Don't keep me waiting, little Angel," Hades said, gesturing for me to continue.
"I wish for you to hand over Sally Jackson—Percy Jackson's mother," I requested.
Hades' gaze burnt into me and he leaned forward on his throne.
"Now why would I do that?" He questioned.
My empathy was strained as I could feel little emotion from him at this moment, I felt no hostility though so I took it as a positive sign.
"I know who the real culprit is."
There was a shift. A pressure as I realised I had Hades full attention now.
"Do continue." Hades spoke.
"I also know who took your helm."
His gaze became downright cold. Hades didn't react to my words, simply listening with rapt attention. Which I appreciated, I didn't need him to reach the wrong conclusions.
It was time to use some of that intelligence.
"Let's begin with the facts, shall we? The two divine weapons were stolen on the winter solstice, the only day of the year when such a theft could be possible, two divine weapons of Big Three were stolen.
The simplest answer to who did it is that the thief is someone who both knew where to find the weapons and had the inside knowledge on how to steal them without being caught.
This, of course, has led you and your siblings to begin accusing one another. Which has led to all of you preparing for a war that'll shake your entire pantheon and far beyond."
Hades listened to me silently, his eyes still piercingly cold as he listened to my little monologue.
"Which was exactly what a certain god wanted. With only seven days to return the Bolt and the quest being handled by a Demigod who had only learnt about his existence not even a week ago." I told him.
Hades finally showed a reaction.
"You are saying that a god that isn't one of my two other brothers has a hand in this?" He questioned and I nodded.
"To be more specific, it was the God Of War. But that wasn't enough to fully frame poor Percy, so he decided to get clever—poor thing.
He gave Percy a transfigured backpack, which was the sheath of the Bolt, intending to use it as evidence against him. Which would make the case that the thunder dude upstairs is pushing towards your other brother undeniable." I said.
I still wasn't sure how temperamental or prideful he was. So far he had seemed oddly calm which had not aligned with the rumours of Greek gods. I had referred to Zeus in that way to get a read on him and how he would react.
If he reacted badly I would re-evaluate but something told me that he wouldn't mind.
Hades' lips twitched into a small smirk.
"This would inevitably lead to war, as my dear, fish-brained brother has been so fiercely defending his son. Naturally, that would make me suspect he was involved as well." Hades continued, getting the gist of what I was leading up towards.
"I also believed he's teamed up with a human group wielding sacred gears. I encountered them and was able to ascertain that they were working with the War God." I informed him.
The reason I wasn't saying his name was because it would get his attention. Saying the name Ares randomly wouldn't but saying his name with him in mind worked as a way to get his attention. It was something weird I had learnt.
"I see and how can you prove all of this? Do you have the Bolts sheath on you?" Hades questioned.
I nodded and pulled it out.
His eyes examined it closely and I half expected him to try to take it.
"Remind me of your intention of informing me about all this." Hades ordered after a moment of silence.
"I wish to retrieve Percy's mother," I replied.
"And why would I give her back for free?" Hades questioned amusedly.
"Well, I was assuming the information and the knowledge of who took your Helm would suffice as payment," I responded, narrowing my eyes.
He nodded.
"That's more than enough to spare you from death for entering my realm so boldly. But let's make a new deal: bring me my helm, and I'll give you the woman," Hades replied smoothly as if he hadn't just asked me to face a god and retrieve a divine weapon.
I stared at him, my annoyance growing.
Yeah, that's about what I expected.
"How about this," I countered. "You give me Sally Jackson and half your fortune, and then I'll go get your helm."
Silence hung in the air briefly as Hades looked genuinely perplexed at my retort as if my response was the last thing he'd expected.
"And why would I even consider such a ridiculous proposition?" he asked, more confused than offended. The expression he wore was funny compared to the ancient unknown passive look he had been giving me.
"That's basically what you just tried to do with me, isn't it? You took Sally as a hostage because you thought Percy was the thief. He turned out not to be the thief and now you're trying to leverage her.
Even though she's not yours to leverage. So if we are going to start leveraging things that aren't ours, I'll play ball." I said with crossed arms.
I had my hands on the pearl underneath my sleeve.
Antagonising a god as powerful as this wasn't my brightest idea, but it was calculated. I wasn't outright insulting him and I had gotten a good read on his personality as we spoke.
If he was going to kill me, he would give me a chance to speak before he did so. Which would lead me to the blackmail route. I could also tell he wasn't nearly as malicious as you would think the God Of The Dead would be.
He was silent for a moment, his massive presence feeling just that much heavier until I felt a large amount of amusement rise in him.
Hades laughed uproariously. His laughter echoed off the walls.
"You may be one of the funniest beings I've encountered." He said with a laugh. "Your words make sense. Very well, how about this? I will give you the boy's mother back for your valuable information and if you find yourself in a situation where you can retrieve my Helm. I shall reward you most graciously." Hades offered.
That was annoyingly tempting. I was being offered a reward from a God whose domain fell over wealth itself. Wasn't he also the richest God in the Greek pantheon? I could only imagine the magical items and treasures he had rotting away in his vault.
No.
While the reward was extremely tempting and would probably be amazing, I had to remember the price would be fighting a God. Not a minor God but one of the Olympian Gods.
That was a different level of power I wasn't ready to contend with yet.
Even if I felt that way…
I nodded, not wanting to set off his lie detector by agreeing with him.
He observed me for a while longer until he finally reacted, smiling knowingly at me.
"Let us go retrieve the boy's mother. shall we?" He said, standing up. His luxurious robes moving with him.
He didn't wait for me to reply, walking down the steps to his throne and continuing to walk past me through the doors exiting the throne room.
I followed behind him.
For the next ten minutes, I was led through a maze of hallways, occasionally coming across different rooms which served different purposes. We both walked in silence as Hades seemed to enjoy the sombre atmosphere of his castle.
I would imagine for a God Of The Dead he probably felt right at home down here, as for me, my angelic instincts were on edge. Which was understandable considering I was currently in the underworld.
I had felt this feeling when I was in the Familiar Forest. I simply didn't recognise it, because I hadn't felt anything else til I made my escape to the mortal world. Overworld? I'll just call it Earth.
Finally, Hades said something as we continued walking
"I must admit, I am curious." He said with an idle tone.
"About what?" I questioned carefully.
"Why is a mysterious masked angel helping out a Demigod? Doesn't your father keep you all locked away in heaven? Did he tell you to do this?"
Ah, so he was probing me.
I guess the fact that the Abrahamic God was still widely believed to be alive had probably helped him stay his hand in erasing me.
"My father... doesn't involve himself in every matter," I said, keeping my tone neutral. Saying the familial world was always strange for me.
"I was not sent here by him." I glanced at Hades, his expression unreadable. "A Divine War wouldn't just affect your pantheon but would reach far past your borders and leak into the other pantheons," I said, using facts to avoid his lie detector.
I didn't mention why I was helping Percy.
Hades nodded thoughtfully.
"That is true. I suppose the Great War is still a scar that runs deep among your kind. I can sense you are young. Perhaps a newer generation of Angel. I can't say I particularly want a War between my brothers. I have sensed there are more forces at play." Hades admitted.
His openness briefly surprised me.
"Exactly. A war between Gods isn't to be taken lightly." I finished.
Hades didn't respond and he didn't need to as we finally came upon our destination. Hades opened the doors, revealing a decently sized room that was lavishly designed.
The floor was polished black marble, reflecting the light from a large chandelier overhead. The walls were lined with dark tapestries showing scenes of battles and the underworld, framed in gold.
There on the bed was Sally Jackson, whose eyes widened upon our arrival. She quickly got up from the bed. She looked exactly as I remembered her; the only difference was her clothing.
She was dressed in a tunic that wouldn't look out of place back when Rome was alive.
Sally briefly looked unsure before she knelt with her head pressed against the floor.
-{Sally Jackson}-
She had been waiting for those doors to open for days. Sitting here within a bed chamber that she couldn't dream of affording and going over what she was going to say. How she would convince a mighty existence that her son wasn't a thief.
One second she had been worrying for her son in the woods and then she had suddenly found herself in Hades' throne room, the God looking down at her appraisingly.
He had only asked her a few questions which she had answered to the best of her ability. Meeting a God so suddenly had been startling but she had quickly made sure to put her head to the ground.
When dealing with the supernatural as a mere powerless human she knew to forsake all pride. From what she had been asked, she had discerned that someone had stolen his Divine weapon.
An act that made her mind freeze, stealing from such a God wasn't even a thought that had ever crossed her mind and from what he had asked her he seemed to believe her son of all people had committed such an act.
She had been too stunned to deny the accusation, managing only to respond obediently. Now, after days of agonising over it, she had barely slept, consumed by thoughts of how she would defend her son.
How was she meant to speak to a being who was multiple millennia old with power she couldn't fathom?
Even with that when the God Of The Dead himself opened her doors instead of the servants who had been delivering her food, her mind went blank and the practised words on the tip of her tongue caught.
He stood next to a masked stranger. She didn't know who he was but to be standing next to a God so casually made her instantly note him as someone she needed to be respectful to.
"Please, My Lord. I assure you my son has no hand in this. I-"
That was all she managed to stumble out, wincing at how bad it sounded.
She was cut off as Hades raised his hand.
"There's no need for that. Your name has been… cleared." He said, turning towards the masked man next to him.
Sally gained a look of bewilderment.
"What?"
-{Kai}-
"You will be coming with me, Percy misses you," I responded to the bewildered woman.
Her head snapped to me.
"Percy! Is he okay?" She worriedly questioned.
Sally covered her mouth with her hands a moment later as she realised her outburst. Just as she looked about to beg for forgiveness I interjected.
"Yes, he is fine. Better than fine. You don't need to worry about him and relax. I am his… friend." I assured her.
Hades raised an eyebrow at my comment.
Sally looked at me speechlessly. I turned towards Hades, giving him a nod.
"I think we're going to leave now," I told him.
"Don't forget about my offer, Angel. I can offer you more than you can imagine." Hades replied.
I nodded once more, not wanting to give myself away when I was so close to the finish line of this quest.
I moved over to Sally. Who seemingly didn't know how to react. I took her head and put the pearl inside of it. I then closed her hand around it. My back turned to Hades.
"I must ask, how do you intend to leave my Domain? If you wish I could transport you back to its entrance. For a small favour, of course." Hades offered.
I turned around. Taking Sally's closed fist in hand, Sally looked at me in confusion.
"You didn't think I came here without an escape plan did you?" I questioned.
I clenched Sally's fist softly but with enough force to destroy the pearl, destroying my own pearl which was in my other hand a moment later.
"See you around, Lord Hades," I said, as me and Sally were instantly transported a moment later in a flash of whitish-blue light.
Sally screamed in shock and wrapped around me like a koala as we were transported to the Santa Monica bay.
I patted Sally on the head uncomfortably. Having a grown woman attached to me was a new experience.
"There there, you can detach yourself from me now." I said awkwardly.
Sally quickly regained her bearings and scrambled off me.
"Oh, sorry," she said, apologising.
"Right... Percy's waiting for us. Just a few more hours and you can relax."
"Where is he?" Sally asked, with concern evident in her voice.
"About two hundred and sixty-one miles away," I replied. "But we'll need to fly to avoid being tracked before this quest is over."
"Wait, what? Fly? Risk? What's going on?" Sally asked, her confusion growing.
I took a breath, trying to figure out the best way to explain everything.
I took my mask off and she looked at me in shock.
"You're a teenager?!"
I did look extremely old for my age, which was probably an angel thing but to her I was just a teenager.
She gained a look of recognition.
"Wait, have we met before?" She asked.
I didn't answer.
I'm just going to let Percy tell Sally what he's been through.
"Percy will tell you about the risk. As for flying. It's the fastest way of travel."
My wings burst out of my back and she stood stunned. Her eyes stared at my wings in a daze.
"Beautiful."
"…"
I picked her up and slung her over my back. Which got me a squeak of confusion. As I lifted up off the ground she held on to me for dear life. I created a magical dome around us so she wouldn't be ripped apart by the air force.
Then with a boom, I shot forwards. My form was a blur in the air as I quickly flew through the air. I made sure to put an illusion around us to make us blend into the sky. So unless anyone was looking at us directly with a microscope they would only see a slight shift in the sky.
After a brief journey in which I had to land a few times to make sure I was going in the correct direction. We made it to the location we were meant to meet with Percy at.
What I found made me almost scowl in rage.
The whole place was destroyed, multiple buildings collapsed and wreckage sprawled over the once pristine streets. Firemen were running around, putting out multiple fires while police worked on taping the entire place off.
A large battle had taken place, but it seemed to have been quick considering a lot more damage should have been done with the presence of high-class beings.
"I was wondering when you would show up." A voice said.
I was met with a young man wielding a beautiful spear. It was obvious he was a part of it then since only people within the supernatural status walked around with big fuck-off spears.
"Here I thought I was going to have to give your friends some more punishment." He gestured to where a bunch of more people stood.
Percy was bound, his face battered and bruised While his clothing was ripped up from signs of an intense fight. He looked at me. Guilt written on his face. He averted his eyes from me a moment later.
Annabeth lay beside him, in even worse shape. Blood trickled from her nose and mouth, her face a mass of bruises. Her arms had deep cuts along them. She also had a look of guilt and sorrow on her face.
But worst of all was Medusa. She looked barely alive, her arm twisted at an unnatural angle, her face swollen and disfigured.
I felt an itchy rage build on my chest. Dropping Sally, I knocked her out just as she gasped at the sight of Percy, who's eyes widened at seeing her.
"Mom!"
She disappeared as I stuffed her in my inventory for the moment.
I glared at him.
"Hey, the name Is Cao Cao. Do me a favour and die would you?" He asked with a cocky smirk.
-END-
if you wish to read up to eleven chapters in advance among my stories and other things please visit pa/t reon * / Snipez818, I appreciate all the support!
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง