Hades's expression was grim as he swung the Hades Sword to strike down the incoming arrows. As Hades approached step by step, Athena finally felt the sense of pressure coming from an elder.
"Chant Death. Guide Death. Dance Death—servants of Athena, the messengers of Death from the Underworld!" Feeling unprecedented pressure, Athena hurriedly chanted her words of power. Nine black snakes appeared behind her, massive in size, with heads nearly ten meters long.
Hiss, hiss—!!
The black snakes hissed at Hades and then lunged at him with bared fangs and claws.
Swish—!!
The sound of air being sliced rang out as an arc of sword light flashed. Hades swung the Hades Sword, beheading the nine black snakes with clean strokes. After their heads were severed, they immediately turned into the dust of the earth.
"Alright, Athena, a good girl should go to sleep." Hades drew closer, the Cosmos he released toward Athena becoming increasingly terrifying.
Hearing Hades's words, Athena felt as if she were being treated like a child and became somewhat annoyed, saying:
"Do not underestimate me! Hades!!"
With that, Athena's hand transformed into a scythe of death with a black blade that absorbed all light. The aura it emitted was even more terrifying than the scythe of death she held in her young girl form; this was her Authority weapon.
Swish—!!
Clang—!!
Athena swung her scythe of death at Hades, but Hades swung his Hades Sword and forcefully sliced her Authority weapon into two pieces.
Finally, because Athena had lunged forward to attack, the distance between the two was very close.
"A-the-na..." Hades's voice whispered eerily in Athena's ear.
"..." This instantly caused the former Queen of Gods to break into a cold sweat, leaving her at Hades's mercy.
Like picking up a kitten, Hades grabbed Athena by the scruff of her neck with one hand, lifted her up, and snapped his fingers.
Snap—!!
Athena's [Primordial Night] dissipated, and the blue sky and warm sunlight reappeared before everyone. Then Hades reached out toward Athena's forehead, and the gorgon stone appeared in his hand as Athena reverted to her young girl form.
Shaking the gorgon stone in his hand, Hades said:
"I'll keep this for the time being. I'll return it to you when the time is right."
After saying that, Hades tossed the gorgon stone into his Alternate Dimension.
"Umu—!!" Athena puffed out her cheeks like an angry hamster, refusing to accept this.
"Wait! Allen!!"
Having finished, Hades prepared to leave while carrying Athena, but was immediately stopped by Erica.
"What is it, Erica?" Hades turned to look at Erica. At this moment, his appearance was even more striking than before, and his voice sounded like opium to women, as if they could fall into a sweet vortex in an instant.
Erica squeezed her legs together, her face blushing as she panted. "The magic associations of Italy wish to declare their loyalty to you. What is your response?"
"I know what the higher-ups of those magic associations are thinking; I don't need their loyalty. Tell them to live as they did before and not to harbor any crooked thoughts," Hades said coldly. What he needed were loyal warriors like the Specters, not Magus who would change with the wind, so it was best to leave them be... Lucretia's house.
"Umu." Athena continued to pout, tied to a chair by a rope made of Hades's Cosmos, glaring at him angrily.
Lucretia massaged her temples with a headache and said:
"Why did you come to my place..."
Ever since Lucretia learned of Hades's identity as Hades, King of the Underworld, she felt somewhat fortunate to have received his paintings. Feeling the residual Cosmos on the paintings helped her strength rise to another level.
But she hadn't expected them to return so soon, and with another powerful heretic god, Athena.
"It can't be helped, Miss Zola. You're the only witch I trust here. More importantly, you're the only Magus I know in Italy," Hades said, looking at Lucretia:
"However, I won't stay for free. Take this as compensation."
With that, Hades handed Lucretia a pitch-black badge engraved with Cerberus and a helmet.
"What is this?" Lucretia examined the pitch-black badge, voicing her confusion.
Hades explained, "It carries my aura and should be able to ward off most heretic gods."
"I am truly honored to receive a gift from the famous Hades," Lucretia said with a smile, playing with the badge in her hand.
Seeing this, a slight smile appeared on Athena's face as she said, "Hades, I didn't expect that you, who used to be so serious, would end up like this."
"It seems I need to find something to plug your mouth, Athena," Hades said, looking at her... "Nom! I didn't expect humans to have such delicious food."
"What a sin, not to offer this to the gods."
Athena was immersed in a sea of gourmet food, unable to pull herself out. Floating before her were ingredients brought by Hades from the world of toriko: pudding made from rainbow fruit, Sweet and Smooth Cola with a long straw, BB Popcorn, and various other delicacies, along with an automatic feeding spoon.
Looking at these familiar yet unseen wonderful delicacies, Erica, Kusanagi Godou, and Lucretia all found themselves drooling.
Seeing Athena immersed in the food, Hades also gave a knowing smile. Then, he sensed the aura of another heretic god outside. The aura contained the scent of a Greece god familiar to his own divinity, as well as the scent of a Persian god he had felt from Verethragna.
Moreover, the owner of that aura was clearly coming for Athena. While Athena was enjoying her food, Hades used his will to snip off a few strands of her hair.
Then, silently walking out the door, Hades sent a telepathic message to Erica:
"Erica, I'm going to deal with the other heretic god outside. To prevent Athena from running off, I'll tell you the incantation to tighten the lasso. Keep an eye on her for me."
"... (The incantation to tighten it)"
"Okay," Erica nodded heavily to Hades. She then fixed her gaze on Athena, who was now like a little squirrel waiting to be fed, anticipating the next bite from the automatic feeding spoon.
Hades used the aura of Death to mask Athena's divinity, while he himself took the hair with Athena's scent to a grassy field, waiting for the arrival of that heretic god.
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