Asahi stood on the balcony of the floating castle with Sandalphon. The two watched as a throne with golden runes entered the city of Lucifaad. The throne was being hauled by a group of skeletons in long robes. The one sitting on the throne was none other than Hades. He emanated a dark, piercing aura, unlike any undead.
“Fucking Ainz ripoff.”
The God of Hell was quite the devil hater from what he remembered. He had allied with a few gods and formed an alliance of sorts to defeat Issei’s group. Hades believed he could contend with the ExE world’s invasion when in reality, his alliance couldn’t overcome Issei’s group despite a boatload of preparations.
This Hades didn’t do any justice to the original mythology version. Only Hades was remotely close to a nice god in Greek Mythology. A fascinating character, to say the least.
“Ainz ripoff?” Sandalphon asked.
“Nothing, Sandalphon… Do you have a nickname? Fuck that, I’ll give you one. Phon? Sounds bad… Alph? That’s like a boy's name. Sand? Sandy? Sandra! Sandra is what I’ll call you from now on.”
“Sandra…” Sandalphon muttered and nodded. “What does it mean?”
“Let’s see. Sandra is derived from Alexandra, which means a man’s protector. In this case, mine. Isn’t that a nice coincidence?”
“Teacher’s protector…” Sandalphon’s blue eyes glowed with great resolve. “I’ll live up to that name.”
It was the duty she chose. For the sake of being the best protector, she had to become a great disciple first. For that, she needed Asahi’s best attention. Each spar with Asahi opened her eyes to new techniques. She had only used the sword for slashing and decapitating Heaven’s enemies. But, with Asahi’s guidance, she had wielded the sword in an entirely different way.
Oblivious to her frantic obsession, Asahi rubbed her head as he conversed with Ddraig in his head.
“Shall I manifest to give the skeleton a spook?” Ddraig asked in an upbeat voice.
‘Which form will you take?’
“My true, original form. The dragon who made gods tremble with her presence alone!”
‘Forget it.’
He wasn’t letting a gigantic dragon anywhere near his floating castle until he added special barriers on each wall
“Why?!” Ddraig asked. “Klyscha, stop! Not my tail.”
(My love, I’ll teach this rude dragon some manners. You can have fun with the undead.)
‘Don’t kill her…’
(Haha, how could I kill this extremely cute lizard?)
“Klyscha!!! I’ll murder you one day. Just you waaaaaaa—”
That was the last he heard of Ddraig. Asahi took Sandalphon’s hand. “Let’s go, Sandra.”
The yet-to-be-named floating castle was made for him and his family meeting, not political ones. The castle in the city was for work.
“Teacher, no, Lord… It’ll diminish your prestige if you were to greet them this way… Father used to do it all the time with other gods.”
Asahi turned to Sandalphon and tenderly held her shoulders. “Any particular reason for calling me lord?”
The sudden change caught him off guard.
“Because… I’m your servant. Every angel is created to serve the Leader of Heaven. I strive to be your sword and shield, a reliable hand in every task… It’s what I have chosen for myself.”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful, but.” Asahi cupped her face and leaned forward. “I want us to be more than that.”
Sandalphon’s mind wandered to the last talk she had with Gabriel about love. Frankly, she still couldn’t understand anything about love.
“Like… lovers? Husband and wife?”
“Smart girl.” Asahi nodded and pecked her forehead. “Let’s talk later. Hades is fuming down there. Look he is coming.”
The God of Hell was floating before him as he spoke. The hollowed eye sockets of Hades glowed as he looked at Sandalphon by Asahi’s side.
“You colluded with Heaven to eliminate the previous rulers of the Underworld?” asking the question, God of Hell exerted an ominous aura.
Sandalphon hallucinated being on the battlefield and falling to the swords of her foes. Spreading her wings, Sandalphon summoned her sword and valiantly stepped forward.
“Lord Hades, Lord Asahi didn’t need our assistance in killing the corrupted leaders of this realm. You—”
Asahi placed a hand on the angel’s shoulder. “Sandra, let me handle this.”
Asahi released his own aura in response, easing the pressure on Sandalphon.
The glowing light in Hades’s eyesockets flickered. The aura he felt from Asahi made him sick. It was unlike anything he had ever encountered. It was like the divine aura of gods, yet there was a hint of dragon aura as well as the pure aura of angels.
‘What kind of abomination did that wretched god make this time?’
He shook off that thought. Even the Biblical God didn’t give him this feeling. This chilling sensation pervaded every corner of his home.
Death.
Asahi took Sandalphon’s sword and pointed at Hades. “Pressuring my woman in my territory. Do I take that as a declaration of war, Hades?”
“War?” Hades’s skeletal jaw clacked. “Kuahahaha, you are more hot-headed than the Lucifer kid. Just brush this aside as a test of your demeanor.”
“On what grounds are you testing me?” Asahi asked in an overbearing manner. “What even is the purpose of this meeting?”
A grim reaper appeared behind Hades. The Ultimate-Class Grim Reaper Pluto pulled out his scythe from thin air, confident in his strength that surpassed the Devil Kings of the old. His nefarious scythe was wrapped in bones and writhing tentacles. It carried a special type of curse that shaved the lifespan of whoever it attacked.
“Lord Hades, may I have the honor of teaching him a less—”
“Then come. I’m quite impatient in these matters.”
Pluto heard Asahi’s voice behind him. The grim reaper dispersed into black specks and reemerged on Asahi’s right. The scythe was swung. Asahi filled the air with his mental strength and condensed a shield that stopped the scythe’s advance.
Asahi wrapped the grim reaper in the clutches of his telekinesis and yanked the scythe out of his hands. He didn’t mind the deathly glare coming from Pluto and turned toward Hades.
Asahi smirked. “Dead or alive, you decide.”
Glorious_Milfhunte