"Who is he?"
In the Underworld, Heracles looked at the gray feathers scattered in the air.
The sneak attack by Hypnos was within his expectations, but without Andeâs help,
he realized that even knowing the opponentâs intentions, he could hardly resist.
After all, in the original trajectory, even without personally wielding the dominion of "Dreams," Hypnos, who was among the three thousand daimones of dreams, was still able to plot against Zeus with Heraâs assistance, so the Great Hero would naturally be no exception.
But since the opponent had already left, he still needed to know the origin of this deity.
"If nothing unexpected happens, this is an entity from within Hell,"
Ande slowly spoke, offering his opinion.
"Donât pay too much attention to him. He wouldnât dare stay long in the Mortal Realm â did you notice the mark he took?"
"You mean the Divine Kingâs lightning-looking mark?"
"Yes."
Nodding slightly, the puppet smiled.
"Itâs not something with the âpower of a strike by Zeus.â How could the power of the Great Divine Power rely on just a mark to be supported?"
"There arenât many materials in this world that could achieve such a feat, and that definitely wasnât something the Divine King could create at will."
"In fact, itâs a mark, a trigger, which is why Zeus was relieved to let Cerberus wait in ambush."
"Because even if Cerberus could not actively trigger this mark, once the aura locked by the mark appeared within range, it could still passively cause the Divine Kingâs response, allowing him to descend with power."
"But now..."
Not entirely certain, but according to the prayers of a bard follower known to Ande who traveled the continent, something major seemed to have occurred on Mount Olympus.
So under such circumstances, if Cerberus doesnât actively trigger the mark to cause a reaction from the Sovereign of Order, it wouldnât cause any change.
"I understand. Without knowing when the Divine King would focus here again, as long as he carries the mark, he must leave the present world and return to the Abyss as soon as possible..."
Realizing this, Heracles temporarily put the matter aside.
He glanced at the slumbering three-headed dog, ultimately doing nothing.
Although Cerberus objectively blocked his path, there was no enmity between them.
Even if he thought it might want to seize the relic of Typhonâs offspring from him, that was still just a âpossibility.â
Without the Divine Kingâs mark, Cerberus no longer posed such a strong threat.
Friend or foe, the Great Hero decided to let the future decide that.
"So carefree? Donât you want its power?"
In a good mood, Ande asked casually.
"At least for power obtained in such a way, Iâm truly not interested."
Shaking his head slightly, Heracles looked beyond the gates of the Underworld.
To his surprise, the Black Knight and the ferryman of the Styx, who were said to guard here day and night for Hades, were absent.
Only a long river surged endlessly, resembling the agonized cries of beings.
"Donât worry about why theyâre not here, just move on."
"In fact, you have another enemy to face."
"An enemy?"
"Yes, an enemy."
Nodding slowly, Ande mentioned the name.
"Ancient Evil: The Thousand-Faced Soul Eater." (see 3·168)
"To successfully cross the River of Oblivion, itâs one of the hurdles you cannot avoid."
...
The Thousand-Faced Soul Eater, an ancient evil born during the Typhon disaster.
It was formed by the fusion of countless billion souls and sustained by the power descended from the Mother of Flesh, even polluting a few tributaries of the River of Oblivion.
However, not long after that great disaster, deities from the Spirit Realm personally intervened, using the Ever Recurring Well of Reincarnationâs power to eliminate the pollution.
Yet they could dispel the pollution of the ancient evil, but could not capture the ancient evil itself.
Unlike the Omen of Death Star, which has a fixed entity and deliberately courts destruction, the Thousand-Faced Soul Eater composed of countless souls ascending together has no main body.
Or rather, its strongest soul body constitutes the main body, but this main body is not indispensable.
Every moment, countless evil spirits continue to fight, roar, devour each other, and spread pollution within its body.
The pursuit of external souls is its instinct, and chaotic thought is its nature.
Even if shattered multiple times by the Spirit Realm, it always finds a way to survive and then gradually regain great strength.
And whenever it regains strength, it will once again spontaneously attack the place where souls gather the most and strongest â the River of Oblivion.
And calculating the time since it was last vanquished, its power is about to reach a peak again...
Buzzâ
"Damnâwhat is this thing!"
Nine-Ring Sorcery·Otherworld Transmission!
Spatial fluctuations, a faint silver light flashed, transforming into a small portal.
Stepping through, bathed in Nether Moonlight, Jordanâs face turned ugly.
Behind him, the silver-white portal trembled slightly, with some chaotic shrieks reaching deep into the soul emanating from within.
Since that day, when âheâ completed the long-prepared plan, capturing the Goddess of Youth and her Divine Artifact, âJordanâ came directly to the Underworld.
Here, he once interacted with the Dark Elves and even extracted Dragon Blood for research to explore the mysteries of Life.