The God of Underworld-Chapter 38: Sickles and Mirror

On the other side.

Adanus smirked, rolling his shoulders as he stared down Demeter.

"You should’ve stayed out of this, goddess," he taunted. "Fertility? Harvest? You think that means anything in war? You’re nothing compared to your brothers. Nothing but a feeble caretaker."

Demeter did not react.

Her eyes remained calm, her expression stoic as she tightened her grip on her twin sickles.

The blades, each shaped like a crescent moon, shimmered under the dim sky, exuding a strange, paradoxical energy.

One blade radiated nourishment, warmth, and growth, capable of granting life to the most lifeless soil.

The other blade pulsed with decay, famine, and ruin, capable of draining life itself.

Her aura flared, but unlike the oppressive and suffocating darkness of Hades, the raw destructive force of Zeus or the crushing depth of Poseidon, hers was... different.

It was not a storm, nor an earthquake.

It was the slow, unstoppable force of nature. The cycle of life itself.

Adanus’ smirk faltered slightly.

Demeter finally spoke, her voice as cool as the autumn wind. "You talk too much."

Then—she moved.

Adanus barely had time to react.

Demeter closed the distance in an instant, her sickles slashing in a deadly arc. He barely dodged, the tip of one blade grazing his armor...

And where it touched, his divine metal rusted.

Adanus’ eyes widened. "What—?!"

But Demeter did not stop.

She twisted, her movements fluid as a dancer, her sickles slicing through the air with frightening precision.

Golden vines erupted from the ground, seeking Adanus like living snakes.

Adanus gritted his teeth, leaping back as he swung his warhammer down, shattering the vines to dust. The ground cracked beneath the force of his blow.

But the moment he destroyed them, more vines sprouted in their place, each stronger, thicker, deadlier than the other.

"Tch!"

He jumped back again, narrowly avoiding another slash from her sickles. He felt the pull of her draining blade, a cold sensation creeping up his arm even though it hadn’t touched him directly.

"Your weapons..." Adanus growled, landing on his feet. "They can steal life...?"

Demeter tilted her head slightly. "Not just that, they can give life as well."

She swung her left sickle, and the battlefield bloomed.

A sea of golden flowers erupted around them, radiating divine energy. Adanus’ boots sank into the soft ground as the earth pulsed with life, regenerating Demeter’s strength.

Adanus scowled. "Enough!"

He slammed his foot into the ground, and the earth shuddered violently. Massive spikes of rock jutted out from below, destroying the flowers in an instant.

But Demeter was already moving.

A single leap, and she appeared above him.

Adanus’ instincts screamed at him, but he was a second too slow.

Her sickle sliced across his chest.

For the first time in their fight, Adanus let out a pained grunt.

Golden energy burst from the wound, draining his divine essence. His muscles felt heavier, slower.

She had taken something from him.

Adanus staggered back, glaring at the wound. It was already closing, but the effect remained. He could feel his energy slipping.

Demeter landed gracefully, her expression still unreadable.

"I expected more from someone who stood beside Atlas," she murmured. "I guess Hades’ training really did make me so much stronger."

Adanus growled. "Don’t get arrogant! I am a Titan! I will not lose to a mere godling!"

He roared, unleashing a shockwave that shattered the battlefield. Rivers of molten rock erupted from the ground, incinerating everything in sight.

The very air trembled from the force of his divine power.

Demeter remained unmoved.

She raised a single hand, and in instant, the volcanic fury halted.

The molten earth cooled. The raging flames flickered and died. The battlefield that Adanus had scorched... regrew.

Greenery sprouted from the ashes.

Adanus’ breathing became ragged. "You—"

Demeter vanished.

And reappeared right in front of him.

Adanus barely had time to react before her sickles flashed again.

One slashed across his arm—draining him further.

The other cut into his side—sending a burst of life energy outward, feeding the battlefield, making it grow even stronger.

Adanus roared in frustration, swinging his warhammer wildly.

He missed.

Demeter was already behind him.

And then, she stabbed her sickle into his back.

Adanus stiffened. His mouth opened in a silent gasp.

He could feel it.

His divine power... it was leaving him.

His once unbreakable body trembled. His strength, fading. His power, vanishing.

Demeter whispered into his ear. "All things wither, Adanus. Even Titans."

She pulled the sickle out, and Adanus collapsed to his knees.

His body felt like stone, heavy and unmovable. He struggled to lift his arms, but they would not respond.

The once-mighty Titan, the warrior who had fought under Cronus for eons, now kneeled before a goddess he had mocked.

He looked up at her, struggling to form words.

Demeter simply watched silently.

Then, she turned away.

Adanus’ head slumped forward, his vision fading.

The last thing he saw was golden flowers blooming around him—life springing from his defeat.

And then, darkness.

****

On the other side of the battlefield.

Lelantos smirked as he vanished from sight. Hera raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms, curious about this ability similar to her brother’s.

The moment his form faded into nothingness, his voice echoed through the battlefield like a whisper in the wind.

"What will you do, goddess? You can’t fight what you can’t see."

Hera remained still, her piercing eyes staring forward with an unyielding composure. Her divine mirrored orbiting around her.

Lelantos moved swiftly, faster than thought. His dagger materialized for mere instants as he struck at her from behind.

’Got you!’ He grinned in triumph.

But before the blade could connect...

Clang!

Hera’s floating mirror spun into position, effortlessly blocking the attack.

Lelantos clicked his tongue and vanished again.

Then, he attacked from the left.

Clang!

Her mirror blocked the strike.

Then from above...

Clang!

From below...

Clang!

Lelantos gritted his teeth. No matter where he struck, her divine mirror intercepted him. It’s almost seem like she’s completely invincible.

’The hell is up with that mirror!?’

Hera remained completely still. Her arms still crossed. Her gaze still fixed forward, unbothered.

"How long do you plan to hide, Lelantos?" she asked, her voice carrying the weight of a queen.

Lelantos sneered from the shadows. "Hide? I’m not hiding. I’m hunting."

His laughter echoed all around her.

"So what if I can’t hit you? It’s not like you can hit me either. As long as I remain completely invisible, I can always attack you whenever, wherever I want. Like this!"

He attacked again. Much faster than before.

Clang!

But just like the other times, the mirror completely blocked every attacks.

"That damm mirror!"

Lelantos intensofied his attacks. But no matter how much force he used...

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Every attack was blocked, the mirror remaining completely unscathed.

Hera almost let out a yawn. Only her OCD of being a regal queen and a refined lady prevented her from doing so.

Lelantos’ smirk faltered slightly as he retreated to take a breather. No matter how much he attacks, he couldn’t hit her.

For now, he should recover and wait until she lowers her guard and strike.

But at that moment, Hera tilted her head slightly.

And her eyes locked onto him.

Or rather, right into his eyes.

The moment their gazes met, Lelantos’ entire body stiffened, a chill went down his spine as something impossible had occurred.

It is something so absurd he had never once consider it. And so when it happened, he was completely terrified.

She could see him.

Even in his absolute invisibility, she saw him.

Hera smiled, a small, faint, and emotionless smile.

Lelantos’ heart pounded.

He instantly retreated, vanishing even deeper into the void.

He was breathing heavily.

The invisibility he was so proud of was actually seen through.

"No," he shook his head, "That’s not possible. It’s just a fluke. I’m sure."

But then...

A cold whisper brushed against his ear.

"A fluke, huh?"

His breath caught.

And without any second thoughts, he vanished, not his invisibility, but he disappeared due to his speed. He ran away quite fast.

However, before he can safely retreat, shadows erupted from the ground, latching onto his limbs.

"What—?!"

The shadows warped, turning into dark chains that wrapped around him, coiling around his arms and legs, pulling him down.

His eyes widened in pure shock. "How—?! Since when do you have authority over darkness?!"

Hera stepped forward, her eyes calm.

"Even if no one acknowledges it," she said smoothly, "I do consider myself the Queen of the Underworld. And as the Goddess of Marriage, I can borrow the authority of my king, which is Hades. After all, husband and wife shares everything together."

She and Hades weren’t married yet, they weren’t even in relationship. But she consider him her husband, and that is more than enough for her authority to take effect.

As the Goddess of Marriage, she can borrow whatever her husband has. Be it his authority or power.

Of course, this domain of hers is limited only to one person. Her domain over marriage would not allow her to trample over the beauty of marriage by being unfaithful.

So for the rest of her life, she is bound to Hades.

Lelantos struggled against the chains, but they were infused with the very essence of the underworld itself.

And just then, Hera’s mirror turned, facing him directly

The smooth, polished surface shimmered.

"Let me tell you," Hera started, "My mirror doesn’t block attacks. It seals whatever I want inside it, and I can released whatever is sealed inside back to the outside world."

As she said that, the mirror glowed, and before Lelantos shocked and terrified look, released every single one of his sealed attacks.

All at once.

A storm of divine energy erupted from the mirror, unleashing the full force of every dagger strike, every invisible slash, every sneak attack he had thrown.

Lelantos screamed.

The very attacks he had once aimed at her now struck him instead.

His own power—turned against him. His body divine body was being torn and ripped to shreds, and yet, the attack showed no sign of stopping.

Lelantos was sure that his attacks wasn’t this many.

"Oh, I forgot to mention. I can reseal those attacks, and released it back. Basically, as long as I have divine power left, this attack would rain on you for eternity."

Just like that, Lelantos suffered pain and torment like nothing he had ever experienced before.

And when the divine storm finally faded...

Lelantos was now nothing more than a pile of grounded divine meat.

His once-proud invisibility...

Rendered useless.

His once-unmatched stealth...

Crushed.

His life...

Gone.

Hera walked past him, not even sparing his grounded corpse another glance.

She had no need for words.

Her actions had spoken loud enough.