******3rd POV*****

HEAVENS; THRONE ROOM

Like a wide hall, the throne room spread out majestically, resting its high ceiling on pillars that were made of water that seemed to never stop flowing.
The floor looked like it was made purely from cosmic dust that changed colors beautifully.

Its ceiling had the most breathtaking murals covering every inch of its surface, depicting the Supreme god holding a sharp spear pointed at the Great Dark god who was on her knees.

His throne chair stood proudly at the center of the room, with smaller throne chairs lined up at either side of it.

Suddenly, eight golden lights flashed in front of eight chairs, and the once-empty room now hosted eight deities dressed in golden robes that were almost glowing.

They remained on their feet till a brighter golden light beamed in front of the Supreme god's high chair. When it died out, the mighty deity feared by all other deities could be seen standing there in all his glory.

"SUPREME RULER!" They chorused bowing to him.

"Fellow deities. Please, sit." He offered before lowering himself on the comfortable chair.

When all the deities present had settled, the court was ignited by one of the cabinet servants as he materialized at the center of the deities.

He bowed at the high chair, then unrolled the scroll in his hands.

"Report from the mortal realm." He announced confidently. "Blossom has indeed confirmed that there is a new goddess now living amongst the four deities tasked with finding her by our Supreme ruler." He paused and gave a little bow at the Supreme god, then continued reading the report.

"In the same city as the new deity, there have been numerous sightings of the underworld creatures due to the distress call that was sent out weeks ago. Twenty soldiers have been dispatched to deal with these creatures of the dark without disturbing the matrix of the humans." He rolled the scroll and it vanished.

"That is the new report from the mortal realm my Supreme ruler."

A second scroll appeared in his hands, and without wasting time, he unrolled it to read out the next report.

"From the underworld; under your command, the remaining two generals are maintaining peace within the underworld with the help of Aurora, goddess of war. However, there are still some legions that have been rebelling openly now that Hades is yet to be found.

"The two generals are requesting more help to quell the arising wars within the underworld realm as the rampaging demons are disrupting the mortal souls passing through which will eventually lead to an imbalance.

"Also, it has been confirmed that the Yin tree has been releasing a lot of miasma which needs to be taken care of before it leaks into the mortal and heaven realm.
As of now, no deity has volunteered to take this task. The-"

"That's enough." The Supreme god roared.

The servant obeyed with a low bow, before disappearing out of sight, leaving the deities to have their private discussions.

"Any news on Hades?" Asked the Supreme god. His eyes feasted upon his fellow beings who only looked clueless.
He knew, deep down, that only that rogue deity could absorb the miasma as he had slowly evolved from Yang to Yin.

"And that new deity? Why hasn't she been presented to me yet?"

Aurora rose from her chair and turned to face the grand throne. "Supreme ruler," she bowed slightly and yet delicately.
She had been bestowed the title goddess of war due to her prowess in fighting. It was still surprising how such a fragile-looking frame had been given such a role. This only proved that a book should never be judged just by its cover.

"Hades must be in the mortal realm. I have searched every inch of the underworld and there is not a single trace of him there. I'm seeking permission to descend into the mortal realm and find him. I am very aware of his destructive nature, which is why I would love the four deities present with the mortals to aid me in my quest."

The room fell into a deep silence. Only gazes were exchanged.

Her request was more sensible than one more deity sacrificing themselves for the sake of hell. It would be better if the entire underworld could be destroyed. But damn that Yin tree that protected the realm.

Both trees were planted by the first two deities from their blood. And soon, the Yin and Yang forces had nourished them to grow stronger and indestructible.

"Permission granted."

--------------------------------

******HADES*****

Tia held on to my neck as we took a walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the warm afternoon sun. More like I was walking, and she was enjoying the pleasure of being carried around.
Due to my height, it was impossible to hold her hand, leaving me with the option of carrying her on my side side a bag of groceries.

"Look over there, Uncle!" She suddenly beamed pointing her tiny finger to the other side of the road.

"I'm not your uncle," I mumbled following her finger.

"Mommy says you are." Tia objected.

Sigh. It was pointless arguing with this little devil. She was yet to see me wearing my crown of thorns and being my normal Hades version, the terrifying one.

On the lawn of one of the houses on that side, a monster was busy devouring a human. These troublemakers had expanded and evolved in hell due to the strong miasma the tree was emitting. So much that I couldn't keep up with which species was more vile than the other.

"Is that a bad creature Daddy told me about?" Tia asked. She sounded so calm for her age.
But then again, she wasn't a feeble human who got scared of almost every little thing.

"Yes, Tia. One of the bad ones."

It had torn the human's stomach open and was feeding on his intestines like a midday snack. Truly, a horrible sight. And one that didn't concern me.

I was about to go on with our stroll when a child's scream slashed through the air.

My head whipped back to the lawn.
On the porch, stood a little girl around Tia's age. "Daddy!" She screamed rushing towards the monster armed with a bat twice her strength and a lot of courage.

She got closer to the monster and flung the bat but tripped and fell to the side.

"Uncle, that's Jane. She's one of my classmates." Tia recognized.

I studied her face and saw the concern that had veiled it.

"You want us to save her?"

"Yes Uncle, please. I'll give you all my Oreos when we get back home."

I had the urge to laugh, but I didn't want to upset Tia so I gave in to her request with the payment being...a box of Oreo.

Not like I would have allowed that monster to hurt a little girl. I was wicked, but not heartless. Kids were innocent for a while before they transitioned into teenagers.

We appeared right when it was about to pounce on Jane and I quickly slapped it away. I could feel there was another soul inside the house, but the neighboring houses were empty. At least no one would see me punishing this mid-level demon.

It was a cat demon, with yellow eyes, sharp claws, threatening teeth, and a dangerous tail.

"Let me have her." From its voice, it was a female cat demon. She rose on her feet, exposing to us her fur-covered human-like body.
Her face was bloody red from her little feeding time, and her claws still had chunks of flesh.

"Do you want to take care of your friend?" I asked Tia. She nodded instantly and I set her on the ground. Like a responsible little demon, she gathered a sobbing Jane away from us and directed her to the porch.

"Why are you here?"

"None of your business whoever you are." She retorted flashing her claws at me.

I chuckled and slowly tied my hair in a bun to not stain it.

"I'll give you one chance, go back to hell, or die right here."

The demon snorted. "Who do you think you are, ordering me?"

Having sealed three-quarters of my power, I would need to engage in close combat, so I summoned one of my weapons, a spear that was embedded with the most expensive gemstones known and unknown to humankind. My weapon master went out with this one.
Other than giving it a pleasing appearance, they were indeed useful due to their power-emitting trait.

Her eyes narrowed on the weapon, and she took a step back. "You can't be him. He has been gone for decades."

I grinned. "I've no idea who you're talking about. And I'm done talking little rascal." I stated and swung the spear over my head, slashing the air with purple energy.

The blow knocked her further backward, but it also blew off the wooden fence around the lawn, scattering it on the road.

The demon smirked while examining the cut that had formed across her torso.

"Not bad for a wannabe King of hell."
With that, she pounced at me with her demon speed.
I barely managed to dodge her claws which scratched the small of my back slightly.

For a middle-level demon, she was damn strong. But I knew, there was no way I would lose. Especially not before two kids watching me.

The demon attacked again. This time, I grazed her back and black blood stained my spear.
She cried in agony as she dropped on a cat pose. With her panting, I knew she was running out of energy quite fast.

"Hell or die?"

"I'm never going back there!" She screamed and pounced.
I went all out on her, dashing to the side before flashing around and plunging the head of my spear into her spine. It penetrated through her flesh and bones till it made its way out from her chest.

Without any remorse, I tossed her body towards the road, not caring if she was indeed dead.

But fuck that rascal, she had managed to wound me.

It was only possible due to the low Yin energy circulating in my body after sealing my powers.



****This is probably how Hades and Mel look. No wonder he calls her a troll. 🥲🥲****