CHAPTER 95: CHAPTER 95: NO, YOU STILL CAN’T LEAVE

Above the River of Oaths, an invisible gate opened and closed, spitting out four figures.

Styx, who was the least injured among them, quickly reacted, extending her hand to catch the group with undercurrents of the underworld’s waters.

Yet after they landed safely, she realized something was off.

"Where’s Eros?"

The four looked at one another, each a bit confused.

Hecate’s pale face showed a delayed realization.

"Oh no! He was too far away, I forgot about him!"

At the moment they were escaping, Hecate was about to drop out of her Great Goddess state. In her panic, she had completely forgotten that Eros was still behind Hades.

She had only focused on bringing the nearby ones back with her during the teleport.

"What do we do now?"

Hecate stood up anxiously, but she couldn’t use her divine power for the moment.

The high-frequency usage had overloaded her. She needed time to recover.

"It’s fine, don’t worry about him," Styx said calmly.

"Even I, his enemy, don’t hold grudges. His Highness Hades shouldn’t make a move against Eros either. Relax."

With Eros’s charm, he didn’t need to worry about his life in front of most goddesses.

At most, he only had to worry about his freedom and his future offspring’s safety.

"Let’s hurry and treat Demeter first."

Compared to Eros, who clearly needed no concern, it was Demeter, heavily wounded, who looked far more tragic.

And indeed, Eros really wasn’t all that worried.

When he realized that Hecate and the others had fled without him, he merely grumbled to himself without any panic.

Hades had surpassed Eros’s expectations. She had risen beyond the myth’s depiction of a mere stepping-stone.

Even the Great Goddess Hecate, whom Zeus himself respected, had been defeated by her.

But what did that have to do with Eros? He was just a spectator.

"Back off, you stupid mutt. Or do you want a beating?"

Facing Cerberus baring its teeth, Eros simply raised his fist.

Any dog that dared to bare its teeth at its master deserved a smack.

Cerberus, infuriated by the tiny human’s provocation, growled from all three heads.

"Enough. Settle down, Cerberus," Hades said calmly.

The ferocious beast instantly lay down obediently, whimpering in frustration.

As she walked toward Eros, Hades pulled her veil down again, revealing only her thin, red lips.

"My friend, were you trying to steal my queen just now?"

Earlier, while they were fighting, Eros had suddenly charged toward Persephone.

And hadn’t he claimed he was merely a bystander?

"Of course not. I just saw her lying unconscious here and wanted to check her condition."

It had all happened too fast. He hadn’t had time to properly examine Persephone.

A bit of a shame, really. Now that Hades was watching, he obviously couldn’t do it anymore.

"She’s fine. You don’t think I’d harm her, do you?"

Hades smiled faintly, reaching out to gently brush Persephone’s eyelids.

As if waking from a sweet dream, Persephone’s lashes fluttered. Her eyes, soft as spring water, opened slowly.

The figure standing before her reflected in those watery eyes, and she gasped.

"So handsome!"

More radiant than Apollo, more gentle than Hermes, with a body more perfect than Ares.

In her just-awakened mind, Persephone could only see Eros.

Was she still dreaming? Where had this beautiful man come from?

A soft chuckle from Hades snapped her back to reality, and she quickly turned her gaze aside.

"Looks like this child is quite fond of you."

Hades made a casual remark, surprising Eros.

"You don’t mind?"

He had just tried to flirt with the Queen of the Underworld in front of her, and she wasn’t bothered at all?

Fair enough. That was very Greek.

Knowing Eros had misunderstood, Hades made no effort to correct him.

In the eyes of others, her obsession with reclaiming Persephone as Queen of the Underworld was clearly driven by love and possession.

But who really knew the truth behind it all?

"Well then, I’ll be on my way."

Flirting with the queen right in front of the king—wasn’t that the same as flirting with Hera in front of Zeus?

Eros thought about it. Better to tackle them one at a time. No need to be so bold.

Hades snapped her fingers.

Cerberus rose and blocked Eros’s path, teeth bared once again.

"No. You still can’t leave."

"Do you remember what I said last time?"

A subtle smile played at Hades’s lips.

"The next time we meet, I’ll leave a mark on you. One that belongs to me."

Initially, she hadn’t cared enough about Eros to keep him.

But the familiar aura he had just emitted made her take notice.

"Now? You must be joking."

Come to think of it, that conversation really had happened.

But judging by Hades’s expression, was she seriously just talking about a simple mark?

Surely she wasn’t thinking of something like confinement, branding, or tattoos? That kind of thing wasn’t his style.

"Isn’t it a good thing? Little Persephone seems quite interested in you too. Why not stay as a guest for a while?"

Hades gave him no room to refuse.

Even Persephone blushed and lowered her head, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Wait—where’s my mother?"

Persephone suddenly remembered. Before she fell unconscious, she had seen her mother coming to rescue her.

But now, only Hades and this stunning man remained.

Though the man stirred something warm in her chest, her mother was still more important.

"She’s gone," Hades replied.

"Your mother couldn’t defeat me. She fled with help from others."

Unlike Eros, Hades didn’t waste time teasing naive girls and simply told the truth.

"So don’t waste time on false hope. Stay in the underworld peacefully."

Seeing the way Demeter had been utterly defeated had clearly lifted Hades’s spirits.

The only regret was not being able to keep her around longer to enjoy more of those delightful expressions.

Mother... lost?

Persephone’s mind struggled to process it. She had never imagined such a possibility.

She was the daughter of Demeter, the daughter of Zeus, raised in the palm of her mother’s hand.

The thought that her mother couldn’t even rescue her had never crossed her mind.

Now, she didn’t know how to react.

Should she panic? Or accept reality calmly?

In truth, her heart wasn’t all that shaken.

She was mostly just worried about her mother’s condition and injuries.

"Alright. Since there are no issues, let’s go somewhere else to rest."

"The Palace of the Underworld isn’t finished yet. Until then, we’ll stay in the Elysian Fields."

Hades made the decision for them both, without room for protest.

Looking at Cerberus, Eros didn’t seem very afraid.

At most, it was just a slightly oversized husky.

But Hades...

After weighing their power difference, Eros wisely chose to yield.

No need to fight over such a trivial matter.

Better to wait and see what she wanted.

Demeter wouldn’t give up easily, so he’d infiltrate the enemy from within and find Hades’s weakness.

With that thought, Eros flashed a radiant smile.

"Sure. Last time we met was so rushed, we didn’t get to talk properly."

"Oh? And just now you said you had compliments for me. I’d love to hear them," Hades said with a sly smile.

Persephone, seeing how familiar they seemed, felt a slight pang of jealousy.

Sigh. They must have known each other for a while. It couldn’t be helped.

She’d try to get to know this handsome man better later.

They walked past the forming structures of the palace and arrived at a fork.

To the right lay Tartarus, following the River of the Underworld downward until the Bronze Gates of the Abyss.

To the left was the Elysian Fields, and the Palace of the Underworld was being built between them.

The Greek underworld differed from many mythologies.

Most myths separated heaven and hell, one above, the other below.

But in Greece, after judgment, the righteous and demi-gods would be sent to the Elysian Fields, while the wicked continued on to hell.

Every soul passed through this fork, where paradise and torment diverged.

For now, the Elysian Fields were nothing more than a wide, open plain.

What set it apart was the tranquil River of the Underworld that flowed through it.

Instead of torturing souls, its waters nourished the land, restoring what had been worn away.

Blue flowers bloomed here, and pure spirits were born.

In this kingdom of the dead, such a sight was nothing short of miraculous.

Though it still fell short of the fabled beauty of the Garden of Elysium.

The spirits born of the underworld naturally served Hades, loyal to the ruler of the realm.

As Eros arrived at the Elysian Fields, he spotted several familiar faces.

"What is it? Who do you see?" Hades followed his gaze and saw some humanoid spirits frolicking in the distance.

Why did they seem familiar?

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. You’re from the Silver Age of mankind, so you might run into some people you once knew," Hades said with understanding.

"Silver Age humans were consumed by the earth. They had no desires and committed no sins."

"So they didn’t need to suffer the torment of the underworld and purgatory. They were allowed to live here in the Elysian Fields."

OG Author’s Note:

Persephone, she isn’t exactly a pure goddess.

In Homeric epics, she had relations with Apollo, Hermes, Ares, and even the forge god Hephaestus before being isolated by Demeter and other gods.

After all, being a minor goddess of fertility, or an alternate form of the earth mother, this kind of role always leads down such paths.