[94] The Fourth Crisis

Along the misty and chilly river of the underworld, the Styx, dark currents surged beneath the surface.

Beneath the inky depths, countless devils were in the process of resurrection.

Devils.

Manifestations of malevolence, born from ill intent.

This was the majestic curse woven from all the negative emotions of humanity over millennia.

In the deepest recesses of Hell within Greece's inner sea of the planet, this curse flowed into the Styx, forming this dark river.

Even Medea, who was intimately familiar with the shadows of the heavens, couldn't help but feel palpitations as she drifted upon this river of malevolence.

"So... dark, teacher..."

Hecate, upon hearing her disciple's words, opened her arms wide and gently embraced her, caressing her hair.

"Medea, are you afraid of the dark too?"

She had grown into an adult, yet her soul remained that of a tender young girl.

Hecate sighed inwardly, knowing she was the darkness devil herself, the one Medea should fear was her. Perhaps... it was because her ample maternal form could exude motherly affection?

Kratos, indeed, enjoyed manipulating people's hearts.

Kratos had to admit that the vast heart of the goddess of the dark moon, wrapped in thin black silk, was truly irresistible.

He had experimented with various ways to play with it... whether as a pillow or a bathtub, both worked wonderfully.

Above the cold Styx, a lone boat drifted slowly.

Mist lingered, and ripples danced.

Sensing human presence but lacking the intimidation of a ferryman, under the profound river, the burgeoning devils seemed to converge towards this boat.

As the revival point of Hell, this Styx river nurtured devils like endless grains of sand, with countless grotesque beings crawling ashore every day.

Though most were insignificant, their numbers were nauseating.

Soon enough, accompanied by a swaying motion, several moist tentacles began to climb the edge of the boat.

"Iä Cthulhu ftagn!"

The grotesque, toothy mouths on the tentacles emitted hoarse and incomprehensible murmurs, attempting to preach in the deep sea.

Tsk... trying to convert us? We're not interested in your salvation.

Kratos casually released controlled flames, roasting the tentacles into ironclad squids. He couldn't exert too much power, or else the entire boat would capsize and burn.

On the Styx, due to its peculiar rules, only this boat of Charon could float on the river's surface. Everything else would sink regardless of buoyancy.

"Let me handle this, Kratos..."

Hecate touched Medea and nudged her towards Kratos's direction, her form shrouded in fluctuating shadows, ready to reveal her true form as the devil of darkness.

"My devil aura is enough to intimidate these creatures."

Kratos, steadying the oar at the bow, pondered for a moment upon hearing this.

"No need, teacher... there's already one formidable devil here."

In the somewhat bewildered gazes of Hecate and Medea.

Kratos reached out, grabbed Ares' head, and poked her face.

"Hey? Light up."

"..."

"I said light up..." Kratos pinched the jaw of the black-haired woman, "Don't understand human language?"

"My name is Ares, not 'hey'! I am the god of war, not your flashlight, Kratos!"

Smack!

Kratos slapped her directly, knocking out Ares' front teeth. Under the infusion of magic, they swiftly regrew.

"If I say you're 'hey,' you are! Or should I treat you like an onahole?!"

Hecate's plump thighs trembled as if moved by the scene, and she cast an envious glance at Ares.

Medea, puzzled, tugged at her teacher's skirt.

"Teacher... what's an onahole?"

Hecate pursed her lips, her face reddening, as she rubbed her disciple's cheek.

"An onahole is... a divine consctruct... for adult. Children shouldn't worry about such things too much."

Medea nodded in confusion, feeling that if her teacher liked something so much, it must be good.

Insulted as such, Ares couldn't help but feel a surge of anger, no... she no longer had a heart.

She could only seethe with impotent rage.

Trembling, she closed her eyes, refusing to cooperate with Kratos. No matter how he insulted her, if he dared to throw her into the Styx, that would be her escape route!

However...

"Teacher, take Ares' body out."

As Kratos spoke.

Ares' head suddenly shook.

Biting her lip... she fell silent for a moment.

She couldn't bear such ultimate humiliation, which was more shameful than death.

Soon, a blazing divine power flowed forth, and from Ares' eyes, a bright and fierce beam burst out, piercing through the cold mist of the Styx.

The terrifying aura of the devil of war unfolded, causing ripples to spread. The countless grotesque beings lurking on the riverbed were all startled away by her presence.

Though reduced to just a head.

She who wielded the authority of war was still a high existence in Hell.

However... there was a monster here that defied classification.

"Not bad, not bad at all."

Kratos gently patted her cheek, wrapping Ares' hair around his hand, lifting it high as he headed towards the opposite shore.

Ares gritted her teeth, a strange blush appearing on her cheeks, a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

The blush was a warning sign.

Despite her unwillingness to admit it, being insulted like this... how could she feel a hint of excitement?

"Kratos..."

Ares muttered through clenched teeth, her voice hoarse with hatred, until Kratos slowly turned her around, silencing her immediately.

"Without my command."

Kratos met her fiery gaze head-on, adjusting his neck.

"Another word, and I'll turn you into a flashlight right now."

At least this beauty's face was still intact... and Athena, that bad woman... after the fall of the gods, were they all beautiful?

Well, devil teenage girls were a civilized bunch!

As he finished speaking...

Ares trembled, fiercely biting her lips, worried they might be pried open by Kratos.

Bold! Savage! Majestic!

Hecate envied Ares!

If it weren't for fear of capsizing the boat, she felt she might just pounce.

To treat the god of war as a flashlight?

Watching a god being used so lowly, various strange associations flooded Hecate's mind, causing her to inadvertently tremble her plump thighs, feeling particularly excited.

Struggling to suppress her malice, perhaps influenced by her devilic side, Hecate's mind involuntarily produced some radical thoughts.

No, it wasn't her being extreme, it was all because Kratos was just too charming, right?

The youth's attitude towards her was still too respectful, he couldn't even muster enough force when patting her head. Hecate felt she had been hinting for him to be a bit rougher.

Ah... she really wanted Kratos to treat her like a chair and earnestly plead with him later!

When the god of war becomes a flashlight shining bright.

Witch Medea looked around, feeling an inexplicable, strange stagnation in the atmosphere on the boat. Even Hecate, her teacher, emitted a familiar, dizzying scent.

In this subtle atmosphere...

The goddess hummed a lullaby, trying to suppress her desire to ascend.

Kratos did not never sleep.

When he felt too tired, Hecate would hold him in her arms, and the youth would close his eyes, resting for a moment in the gentle embrace of the dark moon.

He hadn't rested properly in the past six months.

Watching the black-haired youth's back, one could feel a sense of tranquility.

Rowing the broken and rotten boat, this swaying boat of the underworld slowly carried three people and a god's head towards the misty underworld shore.

...

The ferryman's boat slowly docked at the edge of the underworld riverbank.

Holding the hands of Medea and Hecate, the three stepped onto the soft sand of the underworld beach one after another.

Kratos came here to kill Hades and seize the authority of the lord of the underworld to control the passage to hell.

If he failed, they would all end here.

If successful, he would directly return to Sparta.

So, he no longer needed this swaying, rotten boat that could be overturned by a sneeze.

Kratos loosened the anchor, then pushed the boat away from the underworld river, returning it politely.

Borrow and return, no trouble borrowing again.

Just hope Charon, the ferryman, could hold his breath a little longer.

Carrying the Ares flashlight.

The youth and two witches slowly walked on the purplish-brown underworld beach, leaving behind a series of shallow footprints.

Among the footprints, a thick, blood-like color slowly seeped out.

This underworld beach was soaked in blood.

"The underworld has become like this..."

Approaching the high walls of the underworld.

Only when he saw it with his own eyes did Kratos realize how severe the so-called fall had become in the land of the dead.

He raised Ares and looked up.

A towering wall built of rotten flesh and shattered corpses stood in front of them.

Countless human skulls were embedded in the shiny, slippery, disgusting wall, emitting a mournful cry.

This wall, built of flesh, still undulated slowly, as if breathing like a person.

Kratos finally understood...

...This was not a wall.

It was the half-rotted head of a cyclops.

He raised Ares, looking up slowly.

A giant eyeball, dripping with bloody, sticky goo, stuck in the eye socket, rotten and low-hanging, overlooking the three from a hundred meters above the ground.

"..."

Contaminated, distorted, deformed, eerie.

Wherever he looked, malice abounded.

Looking at this scene of depravity.

Hecate's expression was close to mourning, even her surging desires seemed to recede into the background.

"Kratos... Hades, he-"

Kratos placed his hand on hers.

Hecate and Hades had been neighbors for thousands of years.

But looking at the situation... the lord of the underworld, who suppressed hell, was clearly the worst among the gods of Olympus.

The extremely pungent, nauseating smell of blood floated in the mist in front of the underworld.

At the same time, with the spreading unbearable stench of decay.

Like the smell of rotten flesh, piled up over time, gradually swelling and fermenting...

What a joke, it made she want to vomit.

Medea felt a tingling sensation in her throat and couldn't help but cough. Accustomed to feasting in hell, she found it difficult to endure such nauseating sensations.

The air quality in the underworld is truly worrying.

"Time to get to work, Ares. Use your fire to purify this mess."

Kratos shook Ares' head and lifted it high.

In the face of the black-haired woman, her lips tightly pursed, her face flushing.

A circle of bright flames suddenly erupted from all her face, instantly dispelling and incinerating all the discomforting smells and noises.

Much better.

Apart from a flashlight, it's quite effective as an air purifier too.

Thinking about this versatile piece of furniture named Ares... maybe it should be placed in the bathroom? Or perhaps, using it as the bathroom itself doesn't sound too bad?

"Shall we... enter from there?"

Medea gripped Kratos's hand, and gazed straight towards the entrance of the Underworld.

Droplets, tainted with flesh and blood, lined the mouth-like passage of the corridor, forming a queue of the deceased.

The ethereal souls, bearing expressions of bewilderment, emerged from the surging mist, steadily moving towards the gates of the Underworld.

This entrance, in reality, was the mouth of a Cyclops giant.

Its undulating, decaying esophagus continuously swallowed these souls, ferrying them into the depths of the Underworld.

As Kratos approached, the dead sensed his presence.

These translucent, gray-tinged souls slowly shifted their gaze, somewhat apprehensively, towards the blood and flesh of the youth and the witches.

Fortunately.

The residual consciousness of the dead reminded them to keep their distance.

Anyone who could come here was a hundred times more terrifying than devils.

Kratos glanced at the crowded souls, but didn't sense Leonidas or Myrrine among them.

In that case...

"Let's skip the line."

Kratos spread his arms, crimson threads spreading across his body, expanding into a towering figure.

With a hoarse voice emanating from his menacing visage, he continued, "Hold on tight. Medea, Teacher."

He released a magic that nullified resistance, significantly enhancing their own physique.

The two voluptuous witches sat on either side of Kratos, nestled in his embrace.

As Hecate touched his body, feeling his robust muscles, she couldn't help but start to fantasize...

If Kratos remained in this state...

Would he overexert himself on her?

"Ah... Ahnn..."

The thought alone was enough to make her... come.

The goddess's embarrassed and intoxicated panting lightly brushed against Kratos's neck, making he feel a little ticklish.

He lowered his crimson gaze.

"Can you focus on the matter at hand?"

"Is this form... really not acceptable?"

"Forbidden for a day."

"Guh! I-I've made a mistake, Master! Kratos!"

Hecate, with tearful eyes, shrank into a black-haired girl, attempting to act cute to pass through, while Medea, held in her left hand, curiously asked.

"What do you mean, for a day, Your Highness?"

"Teacher here wants to study and learn in this form of mine, which is too dangerous, so she's punished with a day without food."

"So... strict...! Please, don't treat the teacher like this, Your Highness! She'll starve!"

Kratos remained silent for a moment.

"...Fine, since it's Medea's request."

Medea cares for her!

With a strong sense of sin and excitement, Hecate hugged her disciple tightly, kneading Medea's face with her small hands.

Medea chuckled.

His Highness does value her opinion.

Being able to help her teacher, she felt joyful...

Hecate, in her black-haired girl form, rode on Kratos's neck, holding onto the back of his head.

Medea, on the other hand, leaned gently against his chest, finding solace in His Highness's embrace.

Kratos squatted slightly.

"Fly!" Hecate giggled as she bounced up and down.

The next moment, a surge of magical energy suddenly began to push and erupt...

Boom!

A violent tremor spread out in front of the gates of the underworld, and the pitch-black rock layers on the ground cracked like a spider web in an instant.

With this immense force, Kratos's blood-red body shot up like an arrow, landing directly on the head of the Cyclops giant.

Standing atop the highest point of the Underworld.

Kratos's eyes erupted with bloodlust as he looked ahead, surveying the entire realm of the Underworld.

The crimson blood moon hung high above the Underworld's dome, its faint glow resembling eerie vertical pupils.

The entire Underworld seemed to be composed of the broken hulls of Hades, surrounding a towering mountain.

The rotting, bloated bodies of giants formed the fleshy walls around the edge of the Underworld.

Below the peak, various rugged cliffs, twisted structures, and mechanical constructions piled up into the intricately labyrinthine paths of the Underworld.

The rotten flesh of titans, along with the corpses of the dead serving as laborers, were constantly shoveled into the smoldering furnace at the bottom of the mountain, serving as fuel.

Skeletons, undead, and corpses, dragging their battered bodies, operated various components within the Underworld, maintaining its orderly operation.

The grand, solemn palace of the Lord of the Dead sat in the center of the entire Underworld, atop a mountain peak thousands of meters high.

Looking at this magnificent Underworld peak.

Medea's mouth fell open in astonishment.

"...This is the Underworld?" 

She had expected a desolate land shrouded in mist and gloom.

This completely... overturned her expectations.

Hecate, on the other hand, wasn't surprised. She had helped repair many of the mechanisms here in the Underworld.

"After all..." Kratos lowered his eyelids, "It's the domain of the extraterrestrial machine gods."

The Olympian gods who descended from the heavens were essentially spaceships.

And they were fundamentally different from the original gods who were born from within the planet.

One side emphasized machinery, the other mystery.

One side emphasized energy, the other magic.

Thus, civilization and ignorance, future and antiquity, technology and magic...

Both elements combined to form this cutting-edge yet retrograde Greek divine realm.

"Over sixty years ago, devils weren't rampant as they are today, and the perimeter of the Underworld wasn't as dangerous."

"If a hero wanted to meet Hades in the Underworld, they had to undergo numerous tests."

Hecate raised her tender hand, pointing to the towering mountain peaks in the distance, reminiscing about the bygone days.

"They had to start climbing from the foot of the mountain, unraveling countless mechanisms and puzzles along the way, fighting against the fierce devils... to prove their wisdom and strength."

"If they managed to climb to the summit of the Underworld peak and complete this feat, only Heracles has achieved this so far."

Hecate, riding on Kratos's neck, rubbed his imposing horn, excitedly swaying her fair feet.

"Today... I might see the second one, Kratos!"

She waved her wrist in excitement, giggling.

After transforming into this girl form, Hecate's personality became lively and playful like a child.

"Go! Go! Let's charge, Kratos!"

Good fellow, treating him like a horse to ride?

Oh well... if he rides goddesses every day, letting a goddess ride him shouldn't be a problem.

When Hecate rode on him, she complained that her waist wasn't strong enough.

So, usually, Kratos was the one leading the charge.

Looking at the twisted and complex climbing path, filled with countless mechanisms and puzzles.

Kratos let out a sigh of relief, a bloodthirsty smile on his face.

"Solve puzzles? Who the hell solves puzzles?"

"Huh?"

"Get ready!"

With a witch in his arms and a goddess on his head.

Tear...

The blood wings behind him suddenly spread out. Kratos jumped violently, his robust blood-red body streaking like a meteor with a crimson tail, slamming fiercely at the foot of the Underworld mountain.

Boom!

Within the shattered crater, Kratos's body slowly stood up, twisting his neck and emitting a crisp crack.

Countless busy souls in the Underworld turned their slightly shocked gazes away, their hollow, blood-dripping eye sockets staring directly at this unfamiliar visitor.

"An intruder?"

"A... a face we haven't seen before..."

"A devil... a devil dares to come to the Underworld?"

"Could it be that Lord Hades's situation has deteriorated to this extent..."

"Prepare for battle..."

"Let's be straightforward... I want to see Hades."

Facing the surging guards and corpses of the Underworld, Kratos uttered a hoarse voice...

"I don't want to resort to violence. Your defenses are like a pile of waste paper to me."

No one responded to him.

Not even... angry curses.

The indifferent souls would only faithfully obey, guarding their duties in the Underworld.

Seeing the ferocious face before them, anyone could understand that this fierce appearance could only belong to an enemy.

The blood moon in the sky slowly opened a vertical pupil, casting a bizarre gaze... it was Thanatos, the god of death who served as the defense terminal of the Underworld, monitoring the entire realm of the Underworld.

Under His command.

The Underworld's ship, covered in strange flesh, enveloping the entire mountain peak, slowly began to operate.

Energy was replenished, force was applied, countless circles and halos appeared in front of the defensive line of the entire Underworld peak, hundreds of fierce light cannons brewed fiercely and then erupted, piercing through Kratos's entire body.

Hecate lifted Medea in her small hand, her figure suddenly melting into Kratos's shadow. In such a situation, they would only hinder Kratos if they lay on him.

"So... you're going straight for it? That's your style, Kratos."

"Well then, do you need Teacher's help? My energy is abundant now, so it's no problem for me to help you dodge or teleport."

The soft voice of the moon goddess echoed in Kratos's ears.

To this, Kratos just shook his head.

"Take care of Medea."

"Alright, alright, I'm just your witch's little coat... Remember to conserve your strength."

Heh... Kratos, you're even more idiot than me. How reckless to act like this, against Hades's Underworld ship.

Ares, hanging on his waist, didn't dare to speak for fear of being treated as an onahole. Instead, he sneered inwardly, a mocking smile on his face.

In this chaotic situation, Kratos absolutely didn't have the time to care about whether she lived or died! As long as she could be killed in the impact, she could revive in the River Styx, and she had even begun to plan to kill her own divine power...

Facing the entire defensive line of the Underworld ship and the full-force attacks coming their way.

Kratos sighed and slowly took a step back.

"Aatrox, magical propulsion, 1000%..."

"I feel... you're about to break free, Kratos."

The man who had broken the limiters.

With surging majestic anger, with his entire body filled with magical energy, armed with Aatrox... he then unleashed a punch with all his might.

This was a posture that penetrated the earth, transferred power to the abdomen, and ultimately poured into the arms...

Serious Punch!

Hum.

In an instant.

Silence fell over the world.

After this deathly silence like a vacuum.

There was... the deafening roar of trembling eardrums...

Boom!

As if a speeding train crashed into a mountain, a meteor fell into the ocean!

An explosion, a surge, an unparalleled violent force, rushed forward, dispersing all the light cannons that came at Kratos, and then relentlessly struck the defensive circle on the entire Underworld peak!

Countless halo formations were shattered in an instant, countless mechanical structures were blasted away by a single blow! The originally sturdy mountain layers of the peak were now like waves of seawater being subjected to force, concentric ripples spreading on the solid surface, rapidly spreading, diffusing, and expanding...

The army of corpses rushing in was completely blown away, and countless buildings on the mountain peak of the Underworld were torn apart by great force, then collapsed layer by layer, collapsing and disintegrating, without any delay in momentum...

About three minute later.

The sky was filled with dissipating dust, finally slowly dissipating.

Ares's head trembled violently, slowly growing a mouth, as if about to make some kind of sound in shock, but also as if something was blocking his throat, only able to tear out a broken, shattered voice like a scream.

"You... you... you you you you...!"

"Did I let you speak?"

With a casual remark, Ares suddenly closed his mouth. But his pupils were still filled with shock, as if they were about to overflow.

Doesn't this mean that Kratos didn't even use a tenth of his power in their battle?!!

No, are you even human?!!!

Dragging the slightly stunned Medea, Hecate crawled out of the shadow and climbed onto Kratos's head, then rode on his neck.

Looking at the scene before her, the black-haired girl shook her head with a tut.

"Tsk... Kratos, I told you to conserve your strength."

As a goddess, Hecate compressed Kratos's magical power every day. She knew best how much power he exerted... half a year of slaughtering hell, accumulating supreme power in his body.

"I do it like this..." Kratos hoarsely replied, "To avoid more trouble later."

He checked his reserves, and just now, this blow used up about twenty percent of his magical energy, with quite impressive results.

Kratos slowly raised his gaze, his robust devilic body supporting his two witches, slowly walking forward.

All the surrounding Underworld corpses voluntarily and tremblingly made way for him, daring not to block his path.

Because...

...In front of them, there was a giant hole with a diameter of about a hundred meters, piercing through the entire mountain.

The blood moon in the Underworld sky trembled violently, as if about to fall to the ground.

The souls of the Underworld... stared blankly.

...Looking at their home, pierced through a hole.

The entire... Underworld ship.

Was pierced by Kratos... with one punch.

"So, I really don't want to resort to violence."

His hoarse words echoed slowly from his blood-red body.

"I prefer a peaceful life... I'm the quiet type even when I fight."

A punch pierced the Underworld.

Now, no one would question the weight of Kratos's words.

Facing the blood moon hanging high in the sky.

Facing the gazes of all the souls in the Underworld.

The blood wings slowly tore apart, and Kratos, carrying his two witches, floated slowly forward, with no one daring to stand in his way.

On top of the peak of the Underworld mountain, there stood a grand and solemn palace, with its huge doors wide open, and the dark shadows inside were like a deep black hole.

Hecate jumped off Kratos's body, feeling the decayed aura of the old friend inside. The tender little face of the black-haired girl couldn't help but let out a faint sigh.

"Let's go... Kratos, Hades has been waiting for you for a long time."

With his index finger entwined with the hands of the two witches, Kratos stepped forward, his body pulsating with surging energy as he slowly entered the palace of the Lord of the Underworld.

Inside the majestic hall, there was no excess decoration to be found. Only the flickering blue flames on the pillars danced slowly, casting their glow upon the twisted figure seated upon the throne.

At the sight of this Lord of the Underworld, Kratos' gaze froze in an instant.

Haggard and decrepit.

This was Kratos' initial impression of Hades.

The figure, resembling a withered old man with silver hair, sat upon the dim throne, seemingly melded into it.

In Hades' arms rested his wife, Persephone, their bodies intertwining as if tree branches and vines, twisted and entwined, becoming one.

The branches of the tree were his arms.

The leaves of the tree were his mouth.

Hundreds of withered and emaciated arms coiled around his body like branches extending from Hades, intertwining and coiling together like roots, covered with countless sharp, elongated teeth.

His massive and bloated figure sat upon the throne in the shadows, occupying most of the space in the palace with his sprawling form.

Only he and his wife remained, twisted and entwined together, their heads maintaining the last semblance of humanoid features.

Facing their long-awaited guest.

Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, incomparably fatigued, slowly opened his eyes.

"Welcome, Kratos..."

The hoarse and raspy voice reverberated from all sides of the half palace.

As Hades spoke.

Countless mouths all over his body also began to speak, following suit.

However, unexpectedly...

One of those mouths suddenly began to laugh maniacally, issuing forth a sharp and piercing tirade.

"Die! Die! You damn trash! Ugly humans! Die!"

Kratos' expression faltered and stagnated for a moment.

Hecate, on the other hand, looked upon this old friend with almost silent mourning.

"Hades..."

Ares clenched his lips tightly.

In order to suppress Hell, Hades' sanity had almost been completely corroded... bearing the malice and evil, he was among the most powerful of the Olympian gods, so he could only strive to keep himself submerged in slumber.

His wife, Persephone, in order to maintain his sanity, merged with him.

But even in slumber, he could no longer suppress the malice within him...

...He was on the verge of completely descending into madness.

The haggard and withered old man trembled as he closed his eyes.

"Please... kill me."

Thick, blood-like fluid flowed from Hades' eye sockets, as if he were weeping.

He spoke, his voice trembling with entreaty.

He was begging for death.

But...

Countless mouths all over his body erupted into a cacophony of angry curses.

"Kratos, die! Hecate, die! Olympus, die! Zeus, die!"

"Humans die, souls die, Underworld die, world die, universe die!"

As Kratos and his companions stood almost frozen in place.

Splurt...

Hades raised one hand and abruptly pierced his own chest, then violently withdrew it, spraying a rain of blood everywhere.

His withered and emaciated arm slowly extended.

And in that slow movement, it reached Kratos' front.

Within the depths of darkness like a black hole, a crystallization of devil energy floated slowly in Hades' hand.

That was his... machine terminal.

At this moment...

Even suicide was beyond his reach.

The devil's survival instinct had overwhelmed his thoughts, digging out his own terminal, was already his limit.

"What are you doing?! Hades! What are you doing?! Hades!"

Countless layers of voices reverberated from all sides.

Within the palace, countless twisted arms thrust forth, attempting to reclaim the machine terminal from Hades' hand.

"Get lost!"

The Lord of the Underworld roared furiously.

In an instant.

All the arms that came rushing forth seemed to lose their strength, drooping softly to the ground as if bereft of power.

"Kratos... please, hurry..."

Struggling to maintain his last shred of sanity.

Hades uttered a plea, almost pleadingly.

"I can't... hold on anymore..."

"You were able to come here, which means... you have the right..."

"Hecate has told you everything, hasn't she..."

"This is... your duty..."

"Please, kill me..."

If Kratos used the vanguard of the wandering star, he utterly can destroyed their machine terminal.

If all twelve terminals of the Olympian gods were completely destroyed, Chaos would fall into slumber.

Ares clenched his lips tightly, silent.

Hecate stroked Kratos' hand, looking up at her disciple's silent face, nodding firmly towards him.

"Hades! You worthless creature! Garbage! Abomination! Monstrosity!"

Hundreds of arms around them, countless mouths, erupted into furious curses, trembling violently, struggling to rise and reclaim their machine core.

"Kratos! What are you hesitating for?!"

"Do you still want to save humanity? Save your father! If you don't kill me! You won't be able to save them!"

Hades let out one final roar.

He was on the brink of collapse.

Splurt...

One of his arms suddenly surged forth, reaching for the machine terminal.

Snap.

Hecate's form suddenly rose, releasing a surge of energy that abruptly severed the arm.

"Kratos... don't hesitate..."

The palace of the Lord of the Underworld trembled suddenly.

It was Hades' body, rooted in the entire mountain, a huge devil body, trembling violently, trying to reclaim his machine terminal.

Columns collapsed.

Peaks quaked.

In the Lord of the Underworld's eyes, almost a release.

Kratos, his demonic form towering, slowly approached Hades' machine terminal.

But...

Amongst all, their gazes almost frozen.

Kratos continued forward, walking towards Hades.

"Kratos, what are you doing?!"

Hecate tried to pull her disciple back, but was stopped by Medea, who grabbed her arm.

Ares' head on Kratos' back swayed violently, this behavior in her eyes was tantamount to suicide.

"Kratos... Kratos?! What are you doing?! Kratos?!"

Countless monstrous arms, powerful enough to pierce a small mountain, completely out of Hades' control, struck directly at Kratos.

Kratos moved forward expressionlessly, step by step.

Any of the monstrous things that touched his body would be crushed into a burst of flesh and blood in an instant.

And so...

In Hades' dazed expression.

Kratos slowly approached, reaching out and piercing Hades' chest.

Splurt...

What he took from the Lord of the Underworld's body with his fierce palm was not the machine terminal.

It was... the Hell Devil's heart

"What... what do you want, Kratos!?"

Ares shook violently, at this moment, even she, the most violent and crazy of them all, couldn't understand this lunatic's intentions!

"I want to devour... the Hell Devil's heart."

"Fool! Idiot! Stop it! You're going to death! Even the machine god's terminal wouldn't dare to swallow the devil's heart of other gods' domains! You'll fall into a devil! The overwhelming malice of humanity will brainwash your will completely! Make you become like us monsters! You won't be you anymore, not human anymore! Kratos!!!"

Ares... was right.

The shadows around Hecate flowed like a tide, and she was about to release a powerful teleportation magic to stop Kratos' sudden madness.

But... Medea suddenly grabbed her teacher's hand.

"Medea... you?!"

"I believe in His Highness."

The purple-haired witch, with a solemn expression, looked at her teacher and nodded vigorously.

"You may not understand him, but please... believe in His Highness too."

Looking at her disciple Medea, with her extremely serious expression.

Hecate released her energy which slowly dissipated.

The goddess clenched her fist, covering her heart, feeling suddenly defeated, experiencing a sense of emptiness and loss.

Defeated.

...defeated.

Under the tense gazes of everyone.

Kratos raised his hand, put the devil's heart into his mouth, chewed it slowly, and swallowed it into his belly.

The machine god's terminal was suddenly pressed into Hades's chest by Kratos, hanging onto the respectable life of the lord of the underworld.

"Did you decrypt the permissions of the underworld's terminal... Aatrox?"

"A little... should be enough."

The grotesque flesh continued to spread on his body.

Feeling the power surging from his body, as if it could tear apart hell.

Kratos raised his hand, and the ferocious blood-colored demonic sword instantly appeared in his palm. He fiercely slashed upwards, violently tearing the dome of the palace.

Chi...

What was torn apart at that moment was also a rift connecting hell and the mortal world.

"Transmit..."

"Kratos, are you sure about this? That's..."

"Transmit!"

"Ahhhh! Fuck! I'm done dealing with you, you little lunatic!"

The surging blood-colored light erupted from his body and rushed into the sky.

That was Aatrox, exerting all his strength, attempting to communicate with the ark on the moon.

Through the permission of the Hell Devil, the rift torn apart.

The blood-colored waterfall surged directly from the deepest part of hell, piercing straight towards the moon outside the sky.

However... what Aatrox wanted to transmit was not his own consciousness.

But It was...

...Kratos's consciousness

...

A dense crimson hue enveloped the surroundings.

The black-haired youth slowly opened his eyes.

In the space filled with illusionary and undulating strange light.

Before Kratos stood a tall figure, a woman with white hair devoid of expression, with white and blue skin adorned with orange patterns encircling her body.

"Who... are you?"

The exquisite white-haired woman blinked her crimson eyes, emitting a question devoid of any emotion.

"Terminal: Aatrox?"

"...No, you are... human?"

"Why is your consciousness... able to be uploaded to the ark of the stars? A feeble human like you, your consciousness should have been instantly obliterated."

Kratos stared at the white-haired woman, slowly lowering his eyelids, and looked at his own palm.

Flexing his fingers.

There was no sense of obstruction.

He won the bet...

His consciousness would not suffer any loss during transmission.

Because he had been transmitted flawlessly many times before.

This was the confidence that the simulator gave Kratos.

This is... the ark of the stars on the moon? That Aatrox mentioned?

"Sefar..."

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Kratos looked at the white-haired woman in front of him and spoke word by word.

"You don't need to know who I am... I'm here to negotiate."

"You..." Sefar tilted her head, "How do you know my terminal name? Aatrox?"

"I..." Kratos smiled, "Know everything."

After a moment of silence.

Splurt...

Sefar raised her palm and suddenly released a sharp spike, piercing Kratos's body.

"Cough..."

A sensation of pain, as if tearing nerves, surged violently through Kratos's brain, causing him to fall to the ground, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

The style of the vanguard of the wandering star...

Indeed, she was more arrogant than him.

Sefar withdrew her hand in confusion... she didn't receive any data.

"Why...?"

The white-haired woman frowned.

"Why... you're clearly a human, why I can't obtain any data from you."

"Because I am much superior to you, little fool."

Looking at the subtitles of the simulator in front of him, Kratos propped himself up with his hands and smiled mysteriously.

"This is not something you can know."

He gasped for breath and slowly opened his hands.

"Since that's the case, why not listen to my conditions?"

"You say."

Unable to read human data.

This was... the first time.

It must be said that Sefar, indeed, had some interest in the mysterious data in front of her.

In Sefar's somewhat dazed and sluggish expression.

The black-haired youth smiled word by word.

"I will lead your civilization to conquer the sea of stars."

"As an exchange..."

"...Grant me all your available permissions."

"What are you joking about?"

As Kratos's voice fell.

Sefar only emitted a mocking and emotionless sneer.

"A mere human... wants to dominate our civilization? I can't see any qualification for you."

"The qualification is right here."

Kratos pointed to his own mind and smiled brilliantly.

"Sefar, I have granted you access to a tiny bit of my knowledge. Now you can come and take a look and judge whether I am qualified or not."

Splurt...

Accompanied by the impact and the intense pain as if tearing nerves.

The sharp spirit crystal once again pierced Kratos's body, causing him to fall to the ground in agony.

This time...

Sefar, fell into complete stagnation.

She saw...

She saw a figure sitting among the sparkling stars.

In His eyes, galaxies spun, in His hands, stars were born and died.

With His casual command, countless fleets were dispatched, His casual decree could completely evaporate a planet.

He was transcendent, merciless, indifferent, efficient, He looked upon all living beings, yet remained high above.

He held countless secrets, countless technologies, ruling over countless and glorious empires.

Engineered evolution, the flesh is weak, mind over matter, aetherophasic engine, He held countless powers that stirred the hearts of many...

He sat upon a towering golden throne, His face blurred, adorned with thousands of eerie eyes... countless unknowable entities, gazes projected from beyond the universe.

As if caught in a whirlpool of magic, sinking deeper.

Sefar was caught in complete stasis.

"Hoo... hoo..."

The black-haired youth slowly climbed up from the ground, a mysterious smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Sefar, stunned for a long time, her eyes flickered with countless jumping bits and floating lights.

"You... who exactly are you?"

Sefar turned her gaze over, for the first time with a solemn expression, and spoke word by word.

"This level of existence like a singularity cannot be imprisoned on this weak planet."

Kratos smiled a little.

"You can call me, Fourth Crisis."

"Fourth... Crisis?"

"You have tried it before, haven't you... if I don't allow it, you can't take away my data and memories."

Kratos opened his arms and smiled.

"So, making a deal with me is your only choice. With the responsibility of devouring civilization to strengthen yourself, it's your duty. You must be absolutely rational, right?"

Sefar remained silent for a long time.

She closed her eyes, and her body was covered in dazzling and bright light, and a magic cube appeared behind her, running madly as if calculating something.

Finally...

She opened her crimson eyes.

And reached a conclusion, Sefar, slowly knelt to the ground, stretched out her hand towards the black-haired youth in front of her, and offered her loyalty.

"Vanguard of the Umbral Star, Velber 02, Sefar, will liberate all permissions of the ark of the star for you... my respected master."

Smiling.

Kratos raised his hand and lifted the white-haired woman's chin.

From this moment on, he gained Sefar's loyalty.

...

Nearby, in a space filled with illusion.

As if vaguely sensing a familiar atmosphere.

A voluptuous figure, dressed in a daring yet shy manner, shrouded in thin white gauze all over her body, her charming and delicate face seemed to be shrouded in a demonic charm, sitting on a lotus platform that kept extinguishing petals, slowly opened her amber eyes.

"...My Lord?"