121 Termination and Behind the Scenes

Intervening in the normal cycle of reincarnation? Not just anyone could pull that off.

At that thought, Kurama turned his head and met the deep, piercing gaze that Hades cast simultaneously toward him.

“Zeus?”

Both of them spoke the name in unison.

Hypnos, overhearing this, frowned in confusion.

“We’ve been keeping things low-key lately, haven’t we? We haven’t deviated from the ‘script’ anywhere. What else could that guy Zeus be dissatisfied with?”

It had to be understood that for an ascending deity to directly interfere with the cycle of reincarnation required an enormous expenditure of their cosmic energy, and beyond that… it was a direct affront to the realm of the underworld gods responsible for life and death.

Unless there was some mortal enmity demanding life-or-death vengeance, ordinary gods would never stoop to such extremes. Even when Hades once ‘collaborated’ with Zeus in a staged act to seize Persephone, the goddess of spring, leading to a bitter feud with her mother—Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility—though Demeter hated the god of the underworld to the point of wishing to devour him, she never retaliated by meddling in the cycle of reincarnation.

Because she fully understood that if she did, regardless of who was in the right, it would become an unending war of annihilation between her and Hades.

Moreover, if it were Demeter who ultimately fell, not even her close circle of high-ranking gods would stand up for her—not a single one.

Because it was she who had first broken the ‘rules.’

Thus, the sudden and unexpected seizure of two souls by some unknown force was the very thing that stripped Hypnos of his usual grace and composure, leaving him visibly agitated and furious.

This was plainly someone attempting to violate and trample upon the dignity of the underworld gods. Even if the offender was King Zeus himself, they must prepare to face the wrath of the gods of the underworld!

Because… this matter concerned divine responsibility, and Zeus had overstepped all bounds.

“Your Majesty.”

Hypnos spoke flatly, his golden eyes tinged faintly red with a blazing anger.

“If it is truly Zeus’s doing, then he must not be allowed to escape so easily.”

Rarely did this golden-haired deity express such uncontrollable fury. His voice was low and icy, laced with murderous intent.

“Olympus has grown too complacent. It seems our ‘God King’ should be reminded of the very reasons he first ascended the throne—why he remains so wary and guarded against us underworld gods.”

Kneeling on one knee before Hades, Hypnos bowed his head low.

“Your Majesty, I earnestly beg you to order Olympus to be leveled, and have Zeus pay the price for the humiliation he has brought upon us underworld gods!”

Hypnos’s tone was sharp and resolute. For a moment, Kurama almost felt that if not for consideration of Hades’s status as lord of the underworld, the god of sleep might have already charged Olympus alone—or rather, with his death-reaping half—launching a solo assault on Mount Olympus!

Yet, in the face of Hypnos’s impassioned plea, Hades quietly regarded him for several seconds before slowly shaking his head.

“Now is not the time to wage war on Olympus.”

The dark-haired lord of the underworld spoke softly. As Hypnos lifted his head, eager to argue further, Hades gently pressed his hand down, silencing him before the words could escape.

“Hypnos, my heart burns with as much anger and hatred toward Zeus’s interference in the cycle of reincarnation as you feel. If war were only to vent these flames, I would undoubtedly support your action.”

“But Hypnos, what would be the outcome of such a war? Whether victory or defeat?”

“Zeus is the ‘God King’ ordained by the world’s rules. He can be overthrown, imprisoned, even… fall by our hands.”

“Yet, even so, what would we gain from such a war?”

“Until the moment Zeus falls completely, he remains the ‘God King.’”

“Hypnos, do you understand? This is what Zeus values most.”

“If we cannot wrest the title of ‘God King’ from his grasp, then even if he falls, it will not compensate for all he has done to our underworld.”

Watching Hypnos’s eyes flicker repeatedly with every word, the dark-haired lord’s own gaze gradually returned to its usual calm and stillness. A subtle smile curved his lips as his voice dropped to a whisper—soft yet brimming with chilling killing intent:

“So, if we are to strike, we must do so with a blow that forever deprives him of the one thing he treasures above all else.”

***

Hypnos left the Pure Land with a triumphant air and went straight to the Twin God Sanctum to find Dandarus.

Kurama watched the god of sleep’s departure, now brimming with fighting spirit and determination, vanish beyond the rift. He turned to glance at Hades with a half-smile.

“Didn’t expect Your Majesty to be quite the persuader, huh?”

Hades raised an eyebrow in return.

“That’s not persuasion; it’s strategic guidance.”

Kurama quietly snorted with amusement.

Hades’s approach made sense. After all, both he and Kurama were at a critical stage of gathering the remaining stone tablets. At this point, who cared about Zeus or not? It was better to focus on resolving the immediate problem first.

The five tablets previously collected had fully powered Mokona.

The little fellow was now not only ready to perform another space-time jump at any moment, but the energy stored had also doubled. Yuuko, who had several communications with Kurama and the others since then, marveled at this and strongly insisted that next time they found tablets, Mokona shouldn’t absorb the energy first, but rather transmit it to her for research.

Over these couple of weeks, Yuuko and the Count had made some progress studying the tablets—mostly in ancient script and magical runes—but this knowledge was of little direct help to Kurama and Hades.

Instead, on the underworld side, by deciphering information inscribed on the remaining tablets about the “favored ones”—whether innate talents or cultivation methods—Hades had forcibly elevated his own strength beyond several thresholds. Each time Yuuko saw him on the communication screen, she couldn’t help but marvel at his power’s advancement, before shooting a glare of resentment toward him and Kurama.

“The ‘Gifts of the World’ are just ridiculously overpowered! What kind of luck do those two even have?!”

Then she remembered that the one who had given Kurama his own “Gift of the World” was the Count beside her, and poor Count lived daily under the witch’s vague yet relentless curse attacks. If not for his engrossment in studying the tablets left by the Creator God, he probably would have fled by ark long ago.

Of course, the tablets that Hades had fully analyzed were sold at a good price to the witch. Notably, the fox spirit finally regained all his lost demonic power from Yuuko. When the last bit of demonic energy crystallized and merged back into him, Kurama thought he heard a crisp sound, as if some kind of binding had been broken.

When asked, Yuuko only smiled mysteriously without explanation. Hades gave a similarly puzzled look. The fox spirit had spent days pondering what differences regaining his full demonic power might bring, his head throbbing with thought, yet to no conclusion.

Judging from Yuuko’s behavior, it likely wasn’t a negative effect. So after a few days of puzzlement, Kurama set the matter aside and refocused on searching for the remaining tablets.

The tablet in the Nordic region, just as Hades had predicted, was obtained relatively easily due to the slumber of the Norse gods.

During this process, Kurama also received an unexpected gift. In the grand, magnificent hall where they extracted the tablet, the miniature heroic spirit seat he wore suddenly radiated brilliant light. Just as Kurama feared this anomaly might awaken the Norse gods and bring unforeseen trouble for himself and Hades, a massive white orb of energy burst forth from the dome above the hall and collided directly into Kurama’s chest, merging into the miniature heroic spirit seat…

Afterward, Kurama clearly felt his bond with Diarmuid strengthened significantly, even catching occasional faint responses from the lancer.

This result both startled and delighted Kurama. Later, in discussions with Yuuko, they estimated this was likely due to the miniature heroic spirit seat receiving a massive influx of seemingly kindred energy, shortening the time Diarmuid needed to remain dormant. In just a few months, maybe even weeks, Kurama should be able to see his servant again—in a state no longer prone to sudden slumber.

The fox spirit was very pleased, as Diarmuid’s true strength was formidable, even among the many gods and powerful beings in this world.

It was a pity… perhaps the fox would leave this world before Diarmuid awoke.

While flying alongside Hades toward the sea god’s temple, Kurama’s thoughts drifted.

Hades clearly noticed his companion’s distraction but said nothing. Instead, the lord of the underworld subtly shifted closer to Kurama. When the fox spirit came back to himself, he realized he was being silently protected—flown beside by Hades in a manner so discreet yet utterly secure that any danger would be detected and countered immediately, ensuring no harm came to him.

The fox squinted and smiled broadly.

“I’ve noticed before, Hades, you’re surprisingly considerate.”

The journey was long. To avoid Zeus detecting their whereabouts prematurely, they refrained from using space jumps, instead taking the most traditional route to each tablet’s location. Thus, only the two of them traveled together—Kurama didn’t want to risk dragging Mokona along on such a grueling quest, so he left the little one behind in the Pure Land with two snow-rabbit shikigami.

During the dull travel time, Kurama and Hades quickly became familiar with each other and their conversations grew more uninhibited and free.

Through this, Kurama, who had never held any reverence or awe for this lord, discovered that Hades’s personality was vastly different from the rumors widely spread outside—indeed, almost the complete opposite.

Though he appeared cold, aloof, and noble to the point of disdain, speaking little and showing little initiative in communication, once you found the right topics and ways to talk, Hades was actually a very good conversational partner.

He always silently but aptly caught and responded to Kurama’s topics—not always answering every question, but engaging enough so Kurama never felt like he was performing a one-man show.

Kurama had sensed this faintly when Hades first took him deep into the Pure Land to find the unformed “Gift of the World.” Spending time together searching for the tablets only confirmed it—his interactions with Hades were surprisingly pleasant, beyond expectations.

If it weren’t for evidence, Kurama would have thought they were old friends, spending years together to accumulate such mutual understanding and perfect rapport.

The underworld king, accustomed to such teasing, cast Kurama a silent glance that held some unspoken meaning. The fox raised an eyebrow, about to ask more…

“We’ve arrived.”

At that moment, the familiar cold male voice sounded nearby, and before Kurama could react, someone unexpectedly wrapped their arms around his waist…