Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

After all, he's a fugitive now. Instead of leaving prison, he's staying there to loot and vandalize. It's a bit too arrogant of him.

Moreover, he can't wait to go out into the world and breathe some fresh air.

So now, he stands in this eternal snowfield.

The sacred grove of poplar trees is the boundary between the underworld and the mortal realm. The silvery-white trunks gleam faintly in the dim light of the underworld, their crowns are covered with snow that never melts, and the wind whistles through the branches with a sound that is almost a sigh.

The air here is completely different from the sweltering heat of Tartarus and the ashes of the Narcissus Plains—it carries a hint of the real chill of the surface world, and a faint but real breath of life seeping down from the surface.

Dongjiang did not slow his pace; he could already see the end of the sacred forest. A huge stone gate, covered by dark vines and snow, stood there, and the light shining through it was a cold, white light mixed with a touch of pale blue, a light that the underworld would never have.

That was the exit, and in front of the stone gate, a person stood there.

He was very tall, even taller than Dongjiang remembered. The dark armor covered his broad shoulders and thick chest, with deep red patterns inlaid along the edges, like congealed blood pulsating silently on the surface of the armor.

He held a black double-pronged spear in his hand, the shaft of which was half a head longer than an average person's height, with a skull-shaped decoration at the end, and ghostly green flames flickering in its eye sockets.

His face was covered by a tall, dark helmet that resembled a hybrid of a crown and a helmet. The front of the helmet had a wide, cold, vertical opening, revealing half of his face, which was expressionless and had sharp, chiseled lines.

His skin was different from Zagreus's; it had a grayish-white hue unique to the underworld, and his eyes were staring at Tsurugi through the opening, his pupils a very pale gray, as if shrouded in a layer of ever-present mist.

Hades.

Dongjiang stopped in the snow in the sacred grove of poplar trees, facing him from a distance of about thirty paces.

Snowflakes fell silently in the air between the two, landing on their dark armor and dark plating, then melting and disappearing.

The King of the Underworld stood there, gently tapping the end of his spear on the ground with a muffled thud, shaking off a few snowflakes that had accumulated on the spear. Then he spoke, his voice deep and resonant, like a mountain speaking.

"You've arrived."

Three words, without any unnecessary embellishment.

Tsugumi stood in the snow, looking at her father through the V-shaped gap in her mask. She could feel the scarlet core in her chest throbbing slowly, the power of vengeance flowing in her blood colliding silently with the majesty of Hades, the snow beneath her feet being silently compacted at the boundary between the two forces.

"Yes, we finally succeeded," Tsugumi replied, her voice carrying a metallic quality after being filtered through her helmet.

"You should learn to get used to it, but you don't have to, since I'm leaving this godforsaken place soon."

Hades remained expressionless. His body was like a stone statue eroded by wind and snow for thousands of years, with only the fingers gripping the spear tightening slightly.

"What I'm used to is you dying on the way, time and time again."

There was no sarcasm or concern in his voice, only a calm, factual statement.

"It seems I must strengthen my defense next time. The heroes of Paradise have been bored for too long. They will be your opponents next time."

1059 >>

Hades' gray eyes stared at Tsurugi for a moment. His gaze lingered for a split second on the dark blue armor with its fine patterns—when Tsurugi felt that gaze sweep over him, Hades revealed a look that seemed like an unexpected, almost imperceptible approval, yet also like an indescribable wariness and worry.

"That armor." Hades' voice remained low.

"Did you seize the power of the Erinyes? And then plunge into the river of sorrow, and turn the lamentations of mortals into this armor?"

"Do you think that will make you stronger?"

"It has made me stronger."

Hades was silent for a moment. The wind from the sacred poplar forest blew from behind him, stirring up the snow on the ground, swirling it in the clearing between them for a while, and then dissipating.

Then he slowly raised the spear—the weapon Gigalos that had pierced countless Titans and giants and symbolized the supreme authority of the underworld—and took a step forward.

His crimson cloak billowed behind him, turning to ashes and burning, causing the snow in the entire sacred grove of poplar trees to tremble and rise into the air. The silvery-white trunks shook violently, and the snow that had accumulated on the crowns for countless years collapsed with a roar, spreading into a white mist in the air.

"Hey, hey, hey, won't you say a few more words? Maybe we can get to know each other better?" Tsurugi narrowed her eyes.

"We are gods, and it is our destiny to kill each other. I thought I could avoid this," Hades said coldly.

"But now, let me take you home."

"You're the one who should go home, you old geezer!!!"

Hades' figure vanished abruptly into the snow mist, and the next second, he appeared before Tsurugi, his black spear slashing down with a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air.

Dongjiang dodged to the side, but the spear suddenly changed course mid-flight—Hades twisted his wrist, the spear swung horizontally like a heavy steel pillar sweeping across an army, heading straight for Dongjiang's waist. Highly recommend "Traveling Through Heavens, Can You Be Smarter Than Me?"!

Tsuruga did not retreat. He took a step forward and, just as the spear was about to strike his waist and abdomen, raised his left arm, using the armor on his forearm to block the blow.

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the sacred forest, reverberating through every tree trunk like the tolling of bells. The ground beneath Dongjiang's feet cracked open, and spiderweb-like fissures spread outwards for a full ten paces.

He felt a shallow dent on the armor of his left arm, and that dent was almost instantly filled by the crimson core in his chest. Kokutos's power of vengeance surged along the armor's patterns to the damaged area, gradually filling the dent.

Without saying a word, Tsurugi clenched his right fist, the claws of his armor rubbing together to create a string of dark red sparks, and then threw a punch straight at the center of Hades' breastplate.

That punch carried brute force without any fancy tricks—simple and unadorned, yet so fast that it was almost invisible. The fist even produced a sharp, explosive sound as it tore through the air, like the wailing of space itself being ripped apart.

Hades parried with his spear.

The moment fists and spears clashed, a visible shockwave erupted from the sacred forest, spreading outwards from the two figures, bending the branches of the poplar trees and sending the snow flying everywhere.

The King of the Underworld raised his head, and a truly serious light finally shone in his gray eyes.

"That's interesting, but why aren't you using the same tricks you used on Mojira?"

"If I could, I wouldn't want to use any fancy tricks at all," Tsugumi said without hesitation.

"Tricks are just a helpless act by the weak to challenge the strong."

"You mean you're stronger than me?" Hades narrowed his eyes.

"Heh, old man, if you've got the guts, drop your weapons and let's see who's better at fighting!" Tsurugi said, giving him the middle finger without any hesitation.

Hades' weapon was not forged by the Cyclops, so it is not a symbol commensurate with his authority—in fact, Hades' authority does not come from his weapon, but from his helmet.

The trident and lightning granted his brothers the ability to control the sea and lightning, respectively. The old man's helmet granted him authority over the underworld. So what weapon did he wield when fighting the Titans?

Did the helmet grant him abilities that were invisible to others? Or did it grant him power over everything underground?

So the double trident in his hand really was a weapon of unknown origin. Tsurugi initially thought it was nothing serious, but those few blows really hurt!

"As you wish." Hades released his grip expressionlessly, and the double-trident Gigalos instantly sank into the ground.

"You will understand why I wear this dark helmet."

Then, in the next second, he vanished without a trace.

Tsurugi instantly felt as if he had been struck by countless painful blows all over his body!

1059>>>>

With tremendous force and a tricky angle, most importantly—the power of vengeance of Kokutos within his armor was gradually dissipated!

"Go back to the River Styx, you resentful spirits!" Hades, in the name of the King of the Underworld, banished the resentment of these mortals back to their source.

"You're the one who should go back!" Tsuruga forcibly suppressed the fear emanating from the souls within her, intimidated and commanded by Hades, and forcefully elbowed the empty space in front of her!

Tsugumi felt as if he had briefly repelled the unseen Hades, but he knew he couldn't let this continue.

He couldn't find Hades's trail! The invisibility he gained with the Dark Helm wasn't just about hiding his body; it was as if he had detached himself from the world and entered another dimension.

Even if he finds him, he probably won't be able to touch him.

The next second, the ground of the entire sacred poplar forest began to tremble violently. The roots of the poplar trees were uprooted from the ground, and the trunks tilted towards the Dongjiang River, as if the earth itself was being overturned by the will of Hades.

Dongjiang took a step back, lowered his center of gravity, and clenched his fists. At that moment, the scarlet core on his chest burst forth with an unprecedentedly strong pulse, turning the dark patterns on the entire surface of his armor into a scarlet glow.

This can't go on—whether we die or not is secondary; the key is this armor. The DOOM armor, which we finally forged and can be used naturally in the ground world, can't be destroyed here!

Otherwise, he might not be able to get the power of vengeance from Mojila next time!

Facing the collapsing sea of ​​trees and the avalanche-like impact, he took a step forward, closed his eyes, and stopped looking, smelling, touching, listening, and tasting any information about the world.

He even shut down his sixth sense, plunging himself into absolute nothingness, like a celestial wheel dancing in the sky, thus severing all his senses.

But this state of blocking out all self-awareness allowed his peak seventh sense to shine like a brilliant star, and naturally, he mastered the eighth sense—Alaya consciousness!

In fact, he had already satisfied the basic needs of the eighth sense. Unlike the seventh sense, the eighth sense only requires the feeling of perceiving the two states of life and death.

The Eighth Sense doesn't actually provide a significant power boost. In the original Saint Seiya work, the Eighth Sense grants the Saints the ability to maintain full fighting power in the world of the dead, in the Underworld, and to break through the Wailing Wall.

Therefore, at this moment, what Tsugumi, who had unleashed her eighth sense, was using to perceive the unmistakably blatant presence of the ruler of the underworld.

Found it!!!

Tsurugi's senses instantly locked onto a distance ahead—he clenched his fist, activated his eighth sense to its limit, and gained the ability to break through the boundary between life and death!

He clenched his fist, the power of Cocurtos's vengeance gathering within it. Carrying the call of the vengeful spirit of the deceased, filled with resentment and hatred, Tsugumi, her anger ignited, swung her fist into the air.

"Die, you hiding old ghost!!!"

The ground beneath Tsurugi's feet exploded. He charged into the raging torrent of fallen trees and ghostly flames like a launched crimson cannonball, the wing-like structure of his armor fully unfurling behind him, the dark wingtips trailing two blazing crimson tails.

Without hesitation, he clenched his fist, unleashed a furious punch carrying the power to shatter everything and the flames of willpower, but—

"Sekishiki - Netherworld Wave"

Hades' cold voice came from in front of Tsugumi.

Tsurugi: ? ? ?

Then, in the next second, Tsugumi, who hadn't been prepared at all, was instantly hit. Her soul was separated from the armor in an instant and she was forcibly teleported back to the underworld.

Before being forced to return, he heard Hades' last words.

"It works quite well."

1060

780. Die and Return to the Underworld (Fourth Update, Please Vote!)

"The young and arrogant prince of the underworld was clearly unprepared. He forged an armor full of vengeful fury, but failed to refine it to perfection."

"He didn't even prepare a suitable weapon for himself!"

"What a foolish and reckless act it is for a soldier to go to the battlefield without carrying a weapon."

"So he paid a terrible price for it—he died at the hands of someone who challenged his father, and even his armor was taken away as a trophy."

The thrush slowly crawled out of the crimson Styx, and after reaching the shore, it vomited a large mouthful of crimson blood.

I just don't know how much of it is Styx water and how much is mine.

He lay prone on the dark gray riverbank, his hands clenched into the soft, damp mud, coughing for a long time before finally emptying his lungs of the cold, fishy Styx water. His head was still buzzing, as if a bronze bell had been striking his head for three days and three nights.

He squinted and looked up, his wet hair clinging to his skin. His red and green pupils darted around in the dim light, confirming his location.

Tartarus – Welcome back to your happy old home!