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

"……Hold."

He cursed, bracing himself on his knees as he stood up, his bones creaking in protest. The blow he had just received had ripped his soul away, sending it plummeting into the River Styx.

After all, he hadn't anticipated this at all!

So, where did Hades learn those Saint Seiya tricks from?!

As he pondered a multitude of matters, he walked back along the familiar path of Tartarus. When he passed the waters where Tartarus had just been resurrected, Tartarus was standing in waist-deep water and gave him a reassuring look upon seeing him.

"It seems the journey is not going well. I think I saw Hades go out."

Tsurugi ignored him, gave him the middle finger, and left, but Tantalus wasn't angry. Instead, he kindly reminded him...

“Mojira just came back in a rage, you’d better be careful.”

"Hmm, I should avoid her?!" Although Tsurugi said this, she was still a little uneasy.

After all, in his memories, he had been taught a lesson by the goddess of vengeance quite a bit.

He passed through the ruined abyssal temple—Megira wasn't there; only scratches from shards of whip blades and dried cursed blood remained on the ground. He hurried through, going upstream along a tributary of the Styx River, and after rounding that familiar bend, the view suddenly opened up.

We have arrived at Hades' Sanctuary.

Dongjiang stopped and looked up.

This is a magnificent complex of buildings constructed entirely of dark, massive stones. The highest main hall stands atop it, its spire piercing the eternally somber dome of the underworld, with layers of side halls and colonnades extending from either side. Each stone pillar is so thick that it would take several people to encircle it, and its surface is covered with bas-reliefs—scenes of imprisoned Titans, fallen giants, and countless spirits crossing the River Styx.

But even more spectacular than the building itself was the endless procession.

From the bottom of the ramp where Dongjiang stood, all the way to the wide square in front of the main hall, a dense procession of the dead souls stretched out. They moved forward slowly and silently in dozens of rows, each soul's face ashen and blank, their expressions empty, only showing a slight hint of fear or anticipation when they approached the judgment seat.

At the very front of the procession, three enormous stone seats were arranged in a row—

Aeacus is on the left, Rhadamanthus on the right, and Minos in the center.

These three judges read almost non-stop the entire life of each soul that came forward, and then made their judgments based on the results.

Tsugumi stood at the end of the line and glanced at the three from afar. After confirming that they wouldn't suddenly jump off their seats, put on their Hades Cloths, and give her a couple of shots, she looked away.

He walked up the passageway at the edge of the procession, all the way up, across the plaza of the front trial area, around the three huge stone chairs, and toward a long corridor on the side of the main hall.

Tall arched windows lined the long corridor, offering views of the eternally dark sky of the underworld and the faint glow of lava on the distant Narcissus Plain. Dongjiang's footsteps echoed on the dark stone slabs, their rhythm unhurried and deliberate as they reverberated through the empty corridor.

Then he smelled a strong, sweet scent—poppy flowers.

Dongjiang slowed her pace and followed the scent. A strange procession slowly approached from the front of the corridor—four tall, dark spirits carried a large, red, soft couch, their footsteps orderly and silent. The couch was covered with layers of bright red poppy petals, piled up like a burning cloud.

In the center of that petal, a person was lying comfortably.

He was very young, with a gentle and languid face. His dark curly hair was scattered on the pillow, his eyes were half-closed, and there was a faint trace of weariness at the corner of his mouth. He wore a loose, dark red robe with the collar hanging open.

1060 >>

He had been fast asleep for who knows how long, and when Tsurugi's gaze fell upon him, he naturally opened his eyes.

His eyes were a pale golden-brown, like amber mixed with a touch of honey, gleaming with a warm, soft light in the dim corridor. Upon seeing Tsurugi, he spoke in a drawn-out voice.

"Yo, Zagreus."

Swastika River stopped in his tracks, put his hands on his hips, and looked at the languid figure on the bed.

"Hypnos."

"You're back." The God of Sleep's voice carried a hint of sleepy laughter as he lazily raised his hand to gather his loose curls.

"—No, I should say you're back again. Let me count… how many times is this? This time you're back really late…"

"I almost managed to break through, if it weren't for that shameless old man."

"Yes, yes, yes." He rolled over, lying on his side facing Tsugumi, one hand propping up his head, a mischievous glint in his golden-brown eyes. "However, even though I slept quite soundly, I still heard some interesting things."

"What is it?"

"Megira." Hypnos's smile deepened noticeably as he uttered the name.

"She's looking everywhere for you. She's so angry!"

"I heard you managed to steal his power? Impressive, you've given Nemesis an excuse to take revenge on you."

"You didn't wait here just to say this, did you?"

"I'm just here to watch the fun," Hypnos replied casually, lying back down on the soft bed of poppy petals and closing his eyes.

"But it seems someone's come looking for you, some strange people, ha...at your father's..."

Hypnos hadn't finished speaking when he yawned and fell asleep again. Tsuruge watched the procession carrying the soft bed disappear around the corner of the corridor, shook her head, and continued walking forward.

He walked through the long corridor and around several side halls, finally hearing a familiar voice in a spacious courtyard to the side of the main sanctuary.

A low, snoring sound, accompanied by nasal breathing.

The sound echoed in the empty courtyard, like the resonant vibrations deep within the chest of a colossal creature as it slept. Tsurugi's lips curled into a slight smile, and she quickened her pace.

In the center of the courtyard was a circular area paved with dark stone slabs, where a huge, red figure was curled up. Its three enormous heads were intertwined and rested on its front paws, and its body rose and fell like a small mountain. With each breath, the surrounding stone slabs trembled slightly.

That was Cerberus.

Cerberus, the gatekeeper of the underworld, the awe-inspiring presence of Tartarus, and the terror of the dead. He possesses a colossal body comparable to a temple, his red fur as solidified as the night, each of his three heads larger than Tsurugi himself, his gleaming white fangs interlocking, powerful enough to crush the bones of giants when closed.

As Tsugumi approached, the head on the left moved first. Its enormous ear twitched, and then a dark red eye slowly opened, looking in Tsugumi's direction. The gaze was initially sharp with wariness—but quickly, that wariness melted into a wet, soft excitement.

"Huh—?"

The head on the left let out a low, gurgling sound, filled with doubt and surprise. Immediately afterward, the middle and largest head also woke up, opened its mouth and let out a huge yawn, big enough to fit an entire cow inside, but its eyes lit up quickly when it saw Tsurugi.

Cerberus lifted his entire body off the ground with a thud, like half a small mountain turning over. His enormous tail began to sway from side to side, sending dust flying everywhere.

"Woof woof woof—!"

All three heads barked excitedly at the same time. The one on the left came right up, its wet nose sniffing at Tsurugi's face, spraying him with its powerful breath.

The middle head had already lowered itself to the ground, resting its enormous chin on the stone slab in front of Tsugumi, gazing at him with an incongruously innocent look. The head on the right was trying to lick him with its tongue, which was as big as a wet rag and could easily smear Tsugumi's entire body with a flick of its tongue.

Tsurugi smiled, raised her hand to push the head on the left aside, and then patted the bridge of the nose of the head in the middle.

"Okay, okay, stop licking, it's filthy."

The middle head let out a soft, aggrieved whimper, but obediently retracted its tongue. The left head continued to burrow into his palm, rubbing against him desperately. It looked less like a hellish beast capable of crushing Titans and more like a large dog that had been neglected by its owner for several days.

Tsurugi stood between the three enormous heads, rubbing the fur behind the ear of the middle head. The fur was unexpectedly soft, slightly warm, and had a rough, thick texture. Cerberus narrowed its three eyes in satisfaction, letting out a low, gurgling growl, and swished its tail even more vigorously.

1060>>>>

"Why didn't you go with the old man to the Poplar Forest to ambush me?" Dongjiang asked while rubbing her face.

The middle head tilted slightly and emitted a muffled "woo".

"Alright, I know you don't want to hit me, good boy."

Tsurugi patted its nose, then turned and scratched the chin of the head on the left. The head on the left grinned so wide it revealed huge fangs, and its tongue, thicker than Tsurugi's arm, dangled out, dripping with glistening saliva.

"You're much better than that old man; you're much more humane," Tsurugi muttered, petting the dog.

The head on the right, not to be outdone, squeezed its head in, nuzzling Tsurugi's shoulder with its nose. Tsurugi took the opportunity to slap it on the forehead, the force just right—Cerberus was so happy that its tail swung like a windmill, creating a whooshing sound as it cut through the air.

"Alright, alright, I have to go."

After petting the dog for a while, Tsurugi patted its three heads and took a step back. A look of reluctance simultaneously appeared in all six eyes of Cerberus's three heads, and the middle head let out a low whimper.

"When I can bring things back from the ground, I'll bring you the honeydew you've always wanted."

All three heads stood up at the same time, and all six ears tilted forward in unison.

"Woof woof woof woof—!!!"

Cerberus jumped up excitedly, his massive body shaking the entire courtyard as he leaped. He circled the river three times in a flash, his tail knocking over the base of a nearby stone pillar, scattering dust and pebbles everywhere.

Tsurugi waved with a smile, walked around the three-headed hellhound that was too excited to contain itself, and headed towards the main hall. Cerberus squatted down behind him, its three heads watching him intently, a glistening trail of drool hanging from the mouth of the middle head, its tail still slapping the ground.

Dongjiang left the large dog, which looked ferocious and terrifying to others but was cute and affectionate to him, behind and continued climbing the steps.

The main hall of Hades Sanctuary is an extremely magnificent building. The dark stone steps are as wide as a plaza, and the pillars on both sides burn with ghostly blue flames. The flames dance silently in the windless air, illuminating the ancient reliefs on the stone walls that depict the beginning of the underworld.

The interior of the main hall was more spacious and busier than he had imagined.

The dome was so high that its top was almost invisible, with only a dark patch blending into the darkness above. Countless dark tables and bookshelves lined both sides of the hall, piled high with documents inscribed on parchment, stone slabs, and copper plates. The affairs of the underworld were complex and multifaceted, involving the recording of the dead, the filing of judgments, and arrangements for the afterlife—each requiring the personal review of Hades.

Regardless of whether Hades had more power than his two brothers, there was no doubt that he was the most dedicated and busiest of the three.

You're late.

Hades sat on the throne at the far end, a throne carved from dark stone, tall and wide, with skulls and snakes carved at the ends of the armrests. Hades sat upright on it, his gray eyes lowered, holding in his hands an open scroll of parchment, densely covered with ancient writing.

"I don't really want to come back and continue the challenge, but what's this about Hypnos saying someone came looking for me?"

Hades paused for a moment, then spoke in a strange, somewhat serious tone.

"Those who came to see you claimed to be your daughter and... your pet?"

"Zagreus, you must give me an explanation!"

Tsurugi: ?

Completely bewildered, Tsurugi returned to her room and saw a cat with gray hair that clucked and cooed, a cat that kept sucking on a cigarette or something else, and a crow that kept humming.

Hiss~~~~~

What the hell?! Why did Lao Ye send you all here?!

"Take this quack, the talking raven, and the ever-present true Cheshire cat with you; you'll need them."

Jesus' slightly mocking laughter drifted through the air.

"After all, grandparents and grandchildren have a special bond."