At Igeon's sinister laugh, Hades was genuinely bewildered.
He hadn't expected him to really come to the divine realm to find his friend, but he certainly couldn't have imagined such a situation would arise.
Thus, his murderous gaze turned to the hellhound that was with Igeon.
Then the divine entity Cerberus, the dog-headed man, whimpered and covered his face with his hands.
So Hades was dumbfounded.
I left him to guard the entrance, and he brings the enemy with his tail wagging?
It wasn't just that.
Did he really bring my wife?
'No, that can't be. It's a fake.'
She wasn't a god who could be kidnapped by some low-tier deity like that.
But at that expression, Igeon laughed viciously.
"Why? Do you think she's a fake?"
Hades flinched but soon gave a hollow laugh.
'Where is he getting this bluff from?'
Did he think I wouldn't recognize my own wife?
So he sneered.
"Fine. Go ahead, sell that thing. I doubt it's worth a rare item with 600% faith..."
But as soon as he finished, a familiar voice rang out.
"Darling!!"
"?!!"
At the sharp voice, Hades' face distorted.
He couldn't help it.
'Damn, it's really her!'
In truth, he couldn't see her face, but a woman was angrily perched on Igeon's shoulder.
Because of that, Hades broke out in a sweat.
From her tone and aura, it was definitely his wife. Clearly, the Snake God had pulled some trick.
So he glared at Igeon as if he couldn't believe it.
"So that measly brain of yours came up with kidnapping? You want to trade for my wife?"
Hades was flabbergasted but soon nodded as if he understood.
No matter what, a mere insignificant subordinate god couldn't compare to his consort goddess.
[Divine Entity: Persephone (High-ranking Celestial Goddess)]
[Affiliation: Olympus]
Persephone's divine rank and authority must never be taken away. After all, he had even killed Persephone to usurp her position through inheritance.
Thus, Hades raised an eyebrow.
"Snake God, I understand your intention. I'll return your friend, so my precious wife..."
"What's that bastard saying?"
"What?"
"Taek-su is Taek-su! Your wife is your wife! They're two different things, you idiot!!"
"???"
Hades' eyes went wide. For a moment, he couldn't understand Igeon's words.
"What did you just say?"
Igeon tapped his head with his finger as if asking if he didn't get it.
"Naturally, you have to hand over my friend. And your wife, I'll sell at a high price and use as my dowry! Got it?!"
"What the hell?!!"
"I fell into debt while making counterfeit money! Paying it off won't take just a penny or two! Hahaha!"
Hades was utterly flabbergasted.
"No, that's your own damn fault...!!!"
Just as he was about to shout, Hades swallowed his breath.
He realized that he was dealing with someone completely unreasonable.
And to have chosen his wife as a hostage was a wrong choice from the start.
That was because Persephone was a high-ranking god. She had an invincible authority to overcome this situation.
So Hades waited calmly.
'My wife is also looking for an opening.'
The moment she used that authority, she'd return.
Therefore, Hades stared intently at the goddess Igeon was holding.
But 1 second. 2 seconds. 10 seconds. 1 minute.
"……."
Nothing happened.
His wife was still caught on Igeon's shoulder like a sack of rice.
Eventually, Hades couldn't hold back and shouted.
"My consort! What are you doing! Use that skill, quickly!"
But Persephone did not answer.
At that silence, Hades raised an eyebrow.
'He's already tampered with my wife.'
I don't know what divine power it is, but given it's the Snake God, is it some binding skill? Like how he hid his aura earlier.
In the end, Hades shouted.
"Then I'll lend you power, so use the Escape Authority (Arrival of Spring)! With your power!"
But the silence continued.
Sensing something strange in that silence, Hades asked.
"...Hey, consort. You're not deliberately not using it, right?"
"Kyaah, Snake God, please kidnap me!"
"??!"
Persephone had no intention of going to Hades from the start.
In the end, Hades seemed completely flabbergasted.
"You bastard! What did you do to my consort!"
"This, that, stuff like that?"
"?!"
Hades' expression was a sight to behold.
But Igeon actually snorted.
Well, the truth was that all they'd done was meet and shake hands. Judging from her tone, she seemed to really hate Hades.
But who cares about such behind-the-scenes circumstances.
"Once I auction off your house dog and even the water snakes, it'll make quite a bit of money!! Hahaha!"
As if daring him to attack, Igeon used Persephone as a shield and charged, making Hades' eyes flash.
"That crazy low-level god!"
As he gestured, water began rising from the floor.
[The Five Rivers of the Underworld]
[River of Woe (Cocytus) (3-star)]
Water rapidly filled the palace.
Rumble!
"Look upon your sorrowful past and shed tears!!"
Oh dear, if you're offering to clean my eyes, thanks.
That was when Igeon was about to move his hand.
Flash!
"!"
A strange light shot up from Igeon's body.
Hades was startled by that light.
That light was a protective barrier.
And Hades, realizing who was responsible, looked at someone with a bewildered expression.
"Persephone!!"
Persephone pretended to faint, playing dead.
So Hades summoned another water.
[River of Fire (Phlegethon)]
"Burn even your soul and die!"
The water path instantly turned into flames.
At that sight, Igeon laughed as if it were ridiculous.
Fire?
Are you saying you want to go against my super regeneration?
But at that moment, another light shot up!
Bang!
"Persephone!!"
Persephone pretended to be unconscious, as if she didn't hear anything.
Gritting his teeth, Hades opened his eyes fiercely.
"Ferryman!"
With Hades' shout, a hooded man emerged from the floor.
[Divine Entity: Charon (Subordinate God)]
[Affiliation: The Lord of the Underworld (Hades)]
[The Ferryman of the Underworld who guides souls]
The gloomy-looking man turned into mist and disappeared instantly.
At the same time, green light shot out from beneath Igeon's feet.
[Master!]
[Bu-oh!]
They were subordinate gods who hadn't been able to come out due to the seal until now.
Among the battle gods, the frost giant Jotun (Lee Nami) and the plump Pishu (Piggy Bank). Two were summoned.
[Current limit of subordinates that can be summoned: two]
[Rank is low]
[Restrictions apply]
But two were enough. Lee Nami froze the ferryman who had turned into mist.
And Pishu sucked him in instantly.
"Ferryman!"
"I apologize..."
The ferryman disintegrated and vanished instantly. But there was a result.
Before the ferryman vanished, he had certainly carried out his mission.
"!"
[Master!]
Persephone, who was on Igeon's shoulder, disappeared. And the place she appeared was the very chair Hades was sitting on!
It was a prison in the form of a chair.
Persephone seemed unable to escape from the chair.
Hades laughed loudly.
"Now that my wife is back, I'll deal with you all without worry!"
He was about to destroy Igeon.
But just then.
"You. Are you sure you really got her back?"
"!"
Hades flinched at Igeon's mocking words.
And then, Hades' subordinate gods cried out in shock.
"Master! The mistress!"
"She's disappeared!"
Persephone had disappeared. Of course, she hadn't moved by herself.
In the first place, the moment she sat on the chair in the underworld, the binding authority activated.
But.
"The mistress's aura has completely vanished from the divine realm!"
"It's a kidnapping!"
"?!"
As if truly unable to sense his wife's aura, Hades trembled.
At this point, it was almost like the extinction of a god.
Driven out of his mind, Hades glared at Igeon.
"What have you done!"
Igeon gave a hollow laugh.
"What nonsense. You're the one who took her."
"What...!!!"
Igeon raised the corner of his mouth.
Of course, Igeon had an idea.
"B-Bu-oh...?!"
For some reason, Pishu suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
And suddenly, together with Lee Nami, he was reverse-summoned!
[Piggy Bank (Pishu) is greatly suffering from an object thrashing in his belly]
[His stomach feels like it's about to burst]
[He has fainted]
Of course, Pishu was a low-level subordinate god.
How a low-level god could secretly kidnap high-ranking Persephone was a mystery, but right now, it didn't matter.
"You're dead."
As Igeon's eyes flashed, a powerful demonic energy exploded.
Boom!!!
"!!!"
With red eyes, the demonic energy of the Snake-Lord constellation surged.
Hades reflexively felt terror at that power.
'This power...'
He's no mere low-level god.
The flustered Hades tried to use his authority immediately, but Igeon was faster.
Smack!!!
His fist embedded itself in Hades' face.
"Cough!"
Igeon's attack power was considerable.
And on top of that, the overwhelming physical ability characteristic of the War God!
The caught-off-guard Hades felt dizzy.
Even if he wasn't a low-level god, it was strange. A simple punch couldn't have such power.
"You bastard! What are you holding in your hand!"
"Ah. This? Something you all hate."
Smack!!!
The moment he finished speaking, Hades clutched his stomach.
"Cough...!"
Then, hit by an uppercut, Hades became delirious.
He didn't know what Igeon was using, but if he got hit more, it was dangerous.
'Damn. This power only benefits him, so I never wanted to use it.'
But in this situation, he had no choice.
Hades' eyes widened.
"The Lord of the Floor appeals to the divine realm."
At that muttering, Hades' subordinate gods in the annex were horrified.
"M-Master?! You cannot!"
"That's only beneficial to that Snake God...!"
"Expel the enemy threatening the floor!"
"Agh! Master!"
A strange light shot up from beneath Igeon's feet.
Igeon widened his eyes.
At the same time, Igeon disappeared instantly.
As he vanished in an instant, the subordinate gods looked at their master with dismay.
"To use the authority of the Floor Lord!"
"Shut up! I had no choice but to expel him!"
Hades, the lord of the 10th dimension floor, bled while glaring.
What he had just used was an authority of the divine realm that only the Floor Lord could wield.
Function.
Since it involved dealing with the thieving divine realm, not only did it consume an enormous amount of talents, but more importantly, a record is left in the god's deeds.
And a god grows stronger the more special records they engrave.
"This means you've declared him an enemy so dangerous that the Floor Lord requested expulsion!"
"A record like that would be beneficial for him..."
Hades groaned and said.
"If you're going to talk nonsense, just follow. That guy already has a pass. He can return, so we need to move."
"!"
"He's no ordinary guy. And if we go to Olympus, we'll have to ask for help from the other gods and the gods currently at the party."
Well, he had thought there was something up from the moment the guy came barging in to find his subordinate god.
'Seems like he has some strange tool to deal with gods.'
"But with just tools, against the gods of the eight major powers..."
But it was just then.
Crackle!
"...!!!"
The skin on the area hit by Igeon sloughed off as if corroding.
Because of that, Hades swallowed hard.
For the god of death felt the fear of death.
'Could it be that it wasn't the power of a tool...?'
Perhaps that's why.
"Hurry."
"Yes?"
He muttered involuntarily.
"We go to a place he can never follow!"
A place where all gods would comply when he gave orders!
A place no one could enter!
Terrified, he hurried toward Olympus.
* * *
And around that time.
"A great crisis! A declaration of war from Valhalla stating they will destroy Olympus has arrived!"
"The same from Kunlun!"
Olympus was in an uproar. It was because of the sudden declarations of war from the gods.
"No! Lord Hades is not that kind of person!"
"You are mistaken! Assassination? We would never do such a thing..."
Suddenly isolated, Olympus was in chaos.
"Where is Hades! The Great Celestial God is furious!"
"No, who the hell is that Entertainer!"
But there was one person.
Someone who seemed to know who that Entertainer was.
"Uh, Lord of the Blazing Sun. Why are you acting like this?"
"You've been looking pale for a while now. Why is that...?"
He was none other than the Star God of the Sagittarius constellation.
"Ah, no. It's nothing."
Ugh, it can't be, right?
It can't be, right?
It can't really be that guy, right??
* * *
But at that time.
[You have been expelled by the authority of the Floor Lord]
[This is the 18th dimension floor]
[The opponent has fled to Olympus]
[Currently, Olympus is under threat. It is at war]
[You cannot go without the permission of a named high-ranking god of Olympus]
[A record of threatening the 10th floor has been created]
[This record manifests as a divine skill]
At the voice he heard, Igeon laughed angrily.
Well, not that he hadn't expected it, but the situation turning out like this was a bit irritating.
'Taek-su wasn't on the 10th floor.'
Well, finding him won't be difficult. Since Persephone is with him.
But.
[Piggy Bank (Pishu) has fainted with his belly about to burst. Cannot be summoned currently.]
[Remaining time: 17 hours 38 minutes 21 seconds]
Am I supposed to wait 17 hours because he's gone crazy?
And if he fled to Olympus rather than some strange place like the underworld or torture realm, it's actually more advantageous.
Well, he probably fled there trusting in the gods of that place.
'If it's Olympus, that bastard should be there too, right?'
Well, maybe he's avoiding me. I lost contact after entering the divine realm, but who cares.
'If he doesn't come out, I'll just have to root him out.'
Igeon raised the corner of his mouth.
(To be continued...)