Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest-Chapter 367: Hades’ Fury, Zeus’s Wrath

Chapter 367: Hades’ Fury, Zeus’s Wrath

Lightning strikes boomed beside Hades, the blue and golden arcs condensing into a muscular, white-bearded man. His immaculate chiton fluttered over his golden pauldrons, sandals, and bracers as a storm brewed in his blue eyes.

"Brother." Hades paused, acknowledging him with a nod. "The mortal can’t escape, and your presence sealed his fate."

Zeus clenched his jaw, his voice icy. "Eris cut off his string of fate years ago, making our pantheon the only one without the means to peer into his future. Now, I can’t even feel his presence. He has to die today. You hear me, Hades? Today!"

Hades grimaced. Indeed, now that Adam had stolen his cap, they had to kill him before he left his domain, or they wouldn’t have any way to trace him—and he wanted his artifact back in the first place.

"He’s approaching my castle. Follow me!" His face dripping ink, he melted into the shadows again and bolted toward Elysium.

Behind him, Zeus turned into a streak of golden lightning and cleaved the sky.

***

Unaware that Hades had recovered and that Zeus had descended in person, Adam snuck into the Elysian palace.

Like the Asphodel fields’ cities, no guards stopped him. Rather, they were useless with the sea of ancient heroes he had seen on his way.

One in particular drew his attention. For one, he was far from a hero—a reckless man at best and a legendary fool to him. Still, he was the only one who soared through the sky like an eagle.

Just seeing those wings made him lick his lips, and... let’s just say they were stored in his magic cube now. What? He could craft new ones and had nothing to do in this place, anyway.

"A least, you won’t fly too close to the sun again, Icarus." He chuckled, emerging in a broad garden.

At first, he wanted to find relics to summon Ajax the Great, a legendary warrior second only to Achilles. Diomedes would have been a formidable addition, too. Even if less powerful than Ajax, he was courageous and irreverent enough to raise his blade against Aphrodite and Ares. There were many more, like the Minotaur slayer Theseus, the beheader of Medusa, Perseus, or Odysseus, the star of Greek mythology and a terrifying tactician.

But he had given up on them all to come to this garden because an unusual commotion drew his attention. And now, his eyes pierced through the fumes rising from a darkened slop.

BOOM

A blinding flash of blue lightning crashed on a straight double-edged blade, and violent gales tore the ground out, creating an unnatural cavity in the verdant setting. Though not intricate, his breath hastened, and his heart almost exploded. He remembered it! It was featured in so many games.

"What is Ama no murakumo doing here?!" He yelped, his eyes wide.

The blade had a more popular name: Kusanagi, the blade found inside Yamata No Orochi’s tail after Susanoo No Mikoto killed the eight-headed serpent.

Wait... Susanoo never returned to the godly realm after. Instead, he lived in Izumo until he retired to the underworld. Did his sister, Amaterasu, plant the blade here?1 More importantly, could he... summon the Japanese god of storms, then?

It sounded surreal, but his fingers twitched, and his feet blurred uncontrollably to the blade. Surely, Susanoo would join him since Izanagi was one of his faction’s oldest members.

Eyes blazing, he crossed the gales with a grunt, gripped the cold hilt, and raised the blade. The ancient edges reflected his grin for a second before another lightning strike boomed.

He flashed to the side, believing it would strike the blade as it had. However, dread’s icy fingers wrapped around his heart, and his instincts roared in dread.

The lighting wasn’t blue but gold!

Eyes wide, breath caught in his throat, he threw himself on the ground—a split second before the bolt tore his head.

But the alarm only blared louder.

Shadows coiled on the ground into a mocking smirk before they coalesced into sharp spikes that launched upwards like the closing mouth of a beast.

Adam twisted his body mid-air, the golden lightning scorching the air where he had been. The shadow spikes grazed his side, tearing his armor like paper and drawing a thin line of blood. He gritted his teeth through the pain, propelling himself out of danger with a burst of plasma.

Landing in a roll down the slope, he cursed under his breath. ’They see me?!’

Unwilling to find out, he scrambled inside the castle as lightning crackled and shadows followed behind him.

’Shit, shit, shit! Zeus! Hades can use energy! I shouldn’t have admired the blade and left instantly!’ He berated himself, his mind roiling in chaos and his heart sinking like a broken ship.

And this time, he didn’t even consider fighting back, not when he survived only because of his instincts—Zeus was just too fast, a split second from blowing his head like a watermelon.

He rushed down a corridor, trying to open a portal, but the moment he rounded a corner, his mind reeled in alarm. He leapt back, his pupils constricted.

WHOOSH

Shadow spears erupted from the ground, sealing the path ahead. Behind, lightning already engulfed the corridor in a golden light.

And Hades’ voice echoed. "He’s right before the spears, brother. You can’t miss him."

Another hail of spears erupted. He contorted his limbs at natural angles with inhuman agility. But Zeus was already on him. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

"BASTARDS!"

Dark plasma boosted by his rage exploded like a volcanic eruption around him in a flimsy last-second protection. Yet, the crackling lightning pierced it like mere water, blinding his eyes.

Death. His desire to optimise his preparations had killed him. Or was it because he got away from the Furies unscathed, killed the chained Cronus easily, or stole Hades’ cap while he couldn’t use his authority?

Probably a mix of everything. A single misstep was all it took for him to die. He knew he had messed up but couldn’t accept it! His very soul refused. But he was out of options. The lightning was already searing his skin.

That’s when the unexpected happened. A shrill sound, a chaotic window, a notification.

[Using Kusanagi as a medium, Izanami forcefully summons Susanoo No Mikoto.]

If you want to learn more about Susanoo, you can google OR play Okami. It’s old now but it was good when it released during my youth.^^