Chapter 17) Hades

Helheim

Hela observed with frustration as her lone warrior was being overwhelmed, unable to defend himself adequately. It was a vexing sight, for she had dedicated her time to personal training and experimentation, unable to spare a moment to instruct her warrior. Furthermore, the issue of personal training posed a problem as she couldn't meet and train him directly. Her avatar was too fragile for such purposes, and strengthening it would require an exorbitant amount of divinity, which she couldn't afford to spend on training alone.

This predicament had led to the current situation: her sole mortal warrior perishing, leaving her once again cut off from Midgard without any means of contact. Not to mention the hindrance this presented to the influx of new souls, stalling her research on souls and the acquisition of new knowledge of magic.

"I must find a solution to this, lest all my warriors perish and I find myself waiting for an unknown span of time. Revenge will remain elusive even after several thousand years," Hela muttered, her frustration evident.

As Hela watched Augustus's soul ascend and make contact with the river of the dead, signaling his imminent arrival in Helheim, a new deity of death emerged, attempting to seize the soul for themselves.

Hela swiftly employed her powers, intervening to protect her claim. "Does this insolent fool dare to steal a soul under my dominion? Death shall not be a mercy for such impudence."

However, the enemy deity persisted in their attempt, momentarily parting ways to engage Hela's divinity in communication.

"Hela, I request that you surrender this soul to me, and in return, I shall grant you ten other mortal souls," the deity called Hades bargained.

"Hades, I never expected a failure like you to meddle in my affairs," Hela retorted.

"Do not be so cruel. I simply desire this soul, for it is the first time I have encountered a mortal soul capable of harnessing the power of death. With such a soul, my minions would grow even stronger, thus I must claim it for myself."

Hades tightened his grip on the soul, determined to transport it to his realm of the dead. Despite Hela's valiant efforts, she couldn't match Hades, who wielded control over his domain. In a bid to loosen his grip, she resorted to taunting him further.

"So this is the god of death you are? Your realm lacks sufficient souls, and so you resort to thievery like a pitiful mortal."

"Hela, I am far too ancient to succumb to such petty provocations from a young Goddess of Death like yourself. Cease resisting and hand over that soul," Hades replied with unwavering resolve.

"Well, unlike me, you are a failure who was devoured by his father and required his brother's aid to escape. Not to mention, as a supposed god of death, you possess no true power."

"Oh, Hela, my father is a Titan, equal to the gods themselves. In comparison, you are trapped in the realm of the dead, devoid of any authority over it. A great commander who fell to his army and was betrayed by his father, a god robbed of his power. What kind of goddess of death are you, lacking dominion over the realm of death? Half-educated and a mere imitator, I fail to comprehend how you awakened your divinity over death in the first place."

While Hades continued his tirade, Hela intensified her connection with the soul, hastening its journey to Helheim. Within Helheim, Hades held no power. Admittedly, Hades was no fool, tightening his grip even further, dragging the soul closer to his own heart.

"Oh, Hela, you are still too young to challenge me for dominion over death. However, out of respect for your father, I shall save face and send a hundred mortal souls your way."

Augustus's soul nearly vanished, until suddenly the realm of Helheim fortified Hela's power, enabling her to draw the soul toward herself.

"NO! How did you manage to wield the power of the realm of the dead? It took me millennia to acquire mastery over its power," Hades roared in frustration, realizing his defeat.

Despite Hades's rage, there was naught he could do. Among the gods of death, it was common knowledge that infiltrating another god's realm of death was impossible. Not only would resistance prove futile, but one risked becoming a servant of that realm.

"Fret not, Hela. None of your minions in the mortal world will enjoy a prolonged existence. Though I may not comprehend how you bestowed a mortal soul with power over death, I shall uncover the secret sooner or later," Hades seethed.

"Go and seek solace from your wife, lamenting your loss, and spare me your grandiose words, you offended failure. That is what you are," Hela retorted.

Hades didn't utter another word; he simply vanished. Hela could no longer sense his divinity, indicating his return to his realm.

Deep in the Underworld.

The place where all five rivers connect to the huge dark palace of the owner of this place. Inside the palace, the God of the dead Hades was sitting on his throne and he looked annoyed.

"Little girl, I felt that her connection to her world was extremely weak and she couldn't control the world of the dead to help herself. But she still managed to take this interesting soul. Extremely unfortunate."

Under the throne stood skeletons dressed in black cloaks and wearing special helmets on their heads. They are servants of death who travel the world and take the souls of mortals who believe in the gods. He also uses them to sneak into the territories of other gods from other pantheons.

"Send the Cerberus to the world of the living, I want them to scour the world in search of any mortals who are associated with Hela. Let them kill them as soon as they gain power over death and come to me."

Suddenly, an extremely beautiful harvest goddess, the wife of Hades, Persephone, came into the hall. She looked around at all the assembled servants and Hades gave the signal to be left alone.

"You shouldn't have attacked Hela so openly, maybe she's not Odin's favorite anymore, but he definitely won't tolerate such interference from foreign gods on his territory. Zeus will also not be happy that you acted like that behind his back."

"I don't care about Zeus, even though he is the god of heaven, but he is not much stronger than me, especially in the underworld, not to mention Odin, who has enough problems of his own and he can't do anything to us."

"Maybe so, but you're breaking another divine contract. Other pantheons may interfere in this matter."

"Decrepit old men who do nothing but sit in their palaces and drown in the faith of mortals. They don't mean anything, especially now that the time of opportunity has come. I can not only become the ruler of the underworld but also the ruler of death itself in the entire universe. "

Persephone just sighed wearily and hugged her husband. "You're risking too much, isn't it good to be a simple god in this world? Our world of the dead. "

Hades gently hugged his wife and replied. "No, you know as well as I do that the gods are also mortal, and only when I become the rightful ruler of death, I will be able to help you rise too and be my eternal queen."

While Hades and Persephone were talking, Hela looked at the received soul and began to think about what she could do with it.