Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest-Chapter 357: Specter Slaughter

Left alone with their failure in capturing Adam and the echo of Eris’ offer, the Furies exchanged a glance heavy in meaning.

They didn’t... in fact, no one in Olympus believed the goddess of strife and discord’s words—and for good reason. Examples of her mischief didn’t lack, with the most notable being her golden apple inscribed with ’to the fairest.’

Just because Thetis and Peleus hadn’t invited her to their marriage, she had pitted Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite against each other for its ownership. They sought Zeus to judge who was the fairest, but he... cowardly appointed someone in his place—a mortal prince—Paris of Troy.

Presented with benefits more incredible than the last, he had picked Aphrodite and her offer for the most beautiful woman in the world—Helene of Sparta.

The rest is history, with the Trojan War, Odysseus’s journey and Achilles’ tragic death. Thinking about it, wasn’t Eris the culprit since her apple started it all?

Megaera frowned at the question. As chaotic as Eris was, she never had plans. Instead, she was more like a wave destabilising a calm ocean while its inhabitants reacted. So, was Zeus responsible because of his cowardice? After all, he was the king of gods, yet let Aphrodite kidnap mortals...

Her eyes narrowed. He didn’t let her. He knew about it! It was just a game of politics between gods until each began to cheat more than his adversary. And he watched it all silently. What was his goal?

She didn’t know and shook her head. It didn’t concern her; only Eris’ trustworthiness mattered right now.

"What now?" She raised her palms toward her sisters.

Alecto massaged her brows. "Do you really need to ask? This old stuck-up Aeacus won’t forgive our failure. I’d rather follow that chaotic witch than be locked in Tartarus for a second."

Tisiphone shrugged. "She’s right, though. We’ve given our all for Olympus and Hades but are still outcasts. Perhaps the grass is truly greener on the other side?"

Megaera sighed again. She felt the same but still tried to find opposition. However, it seemed the three of them were at their wits’ end. "I guess it’s settled then. But we’re not blindly following her."

Alecto gripped her belt with a smirk. "We can just leave anytime if she continues to be a cryptic bitch."

With a shared nod, they flew towards the underworld’s exit, forgetting about Aeacus, Hades, and Adam.

***

Meanwhile, the sharp whistle of blades shredding air reverberated inside an inclined cave. In its middle, the Phlegeton rushed downward, illuminating Adam and Garduck’s twisted expressions as they cleaved through swarms of evil spirits.

"Shit! What are those creatures? Didn’t Achilles say the soul stone would protect us from them?" Garduck roared, slashing his impossibly sharp blade in a horizontal arc.

Five ghosts’ heads rolled down to the ground, their ethereal bodies dissolving. Yet even more took their places to claw at him with twisted cheeks smeared by bloody tears.

"He said it would in the fields of mourning, not before the gates of Tartarus!" Adam roared back, his hammer crashing on a specter’s head.

Lightning boomed, creating a second impact that blasted those nearby. But it only allowed him to take three steps forward before another wave collapsed on him.

"Why did we even fetch them, then? Damn this realm!"

A wry smile curved Adam’s lips as Garduck struck with twice the ferocity. "They still protect us from their curses. Focus on what’s in front. We’ll talk later!"

As soon as he had escaped the Furies, he had landed in this ghost-infested place. They were still better than the goddesses but were strangely immune to his energy. He didn’t know if it was because of the Phlegeton’s influence or if the torments they had endured increased their resilience. It didn’t matter, though.

With each specter they slaughtered, a notification rang in his ears and experience points poured into his bar.

Slowly, they moved deeper and deeper underground, each of their steps accompanied by a specter’s agonising screech and ten more roaring in wrath.

Blades and hammers clanged in a symphony of death, sometimes drawing elegant upward arcs that eviscerated their enemies. Other times, unbound savagery fueled their forceful smashes. Well, wasn’t it another kind of elegance? One that was particularly favored by demons.

And finally, after sweat drenched their armors and they stumbled on their exhausted feet, he smashed the last specter’s head.

"I thought we’d never see the end of it." He wiped his head, sliding against the cave wall to recover from his hoarse breath and boiling blood.

Summoning his magic cube, he retrieved two water jugs and threw one to Garduck, who was sprawled on the ground in a smelly pool twenty steps back.

His general’s green hair, looking like overgrown vines soaked in oil, whipped his face as he downed the water as if he hadn’t drunk for days. Then he wiped his lips with a satisfied grin. "How many thousands did we kill just to reach Tartarus?"

He raised his head, his eyes narrowing on a gate. Instead of wood or metal, it was made of ethereal materials waving in disgusting colors. No, not colors—emotions. The ancient symbols seemed carved from pure resentment, regret, and suffering.

The depictions were even worse. Titans chained, humans strapped to spiked wheels, torn apart by horrible devices, or...

Garduck snapped his gaze to the ceiling, unable to continue watching this perversion of judgment and almost puking .

Meanwhile, Adam glanced at his kill notification to answer the question.

[You have defeated 6500 tier 7 level 79 Specter of Tartarus. You have gained 190.500.000 experience points.]

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Nothing worth mentioning—less than ten thousand."

Garduck rolled his eyes. "Nothing is worth mentioning to you nowadays. What’s next? You obliterate an army and call them insects?"

"No? What’s next is evident, my dear general. I kill a god and call it not worth mentioning, of course!" With a chuckle, he summoned his interface and distributed his stat points.

Name: Adam

Race: Elder Dragon Overlord

Affinity: Infernal Chaos and salt water

Talent: SS grade (Upgradable): I’m a gamer!

Job: Aberration Crafter

Class: Chaos Druid

LVL: 76->88

Exp: 2.000.000/6.500.000