NOVEL NEXT Hades
Pov Dia,
Some months after the party, I was quietly trying to reach a new stage of evolution for my powers when I was interrupted by Testarossa.
Testarossa: "I’m sorry to disturb you, Dia-sama, but we’ve just discovered a rather strange phenomenon on the far western side of the territory."
I remembered feeling something unusual earlier and asked her to check it out.
Dia: "What did you find?"
Testarossa: "The area is filled with a very dangerous miasma. If we stay too long near it, we feel our power being drained."
Dia: "Any other information?"
Testarossa: "Yes, the miasma is continuously spreading. According to our analysis, in a few weeks it should reach the gates of Pandemonium."
This was very concerning, so I had no choice but to head toward the source of the miasma.
Of course, Rimuru appeared to accompany me before I even asked her to come.
Not knowing if the miasma was acting like poison, I didn’t ask Ultima to join us.
Upon arrival, we saw the desert terrain engulfed by a purple-colored miasma.
Rimuru stepped forward to analyse the miasma.
Rimuru: "According to Ciel's analyse, what we’re facing is a miasma of death."
Ciel was the name we had given to the Great Sage because it was necessary to give it a proper name.
Dia: "So, you’re saying this is the work of a god of death?"
After Rimuru nodded in agreement, we took a sample of the miasma in a container and headed to the abode of Hades, as he was the closest death god to our location.
When we arrived in front of Hades’ palace, we could feel a stifling aura, reminding us that we were about to meet one of the ten strongest beings.
??: "Welcome to my humble home, Dia Gremory."
The person who greeted us had a skeletal face, and I could immediately tell it was Hades.
Dia: "Hello, Hades. I hope I’m not disturbing you."
Hades: "No, actually you’re helping me. Dealing with the dead over and over again becomes tiresome after a while."
Dia: "I can imagine."
Hades: "Also, I’ve been expecting you for a long time. I heard you’ve been visiting the different pantheons to talk about your faction."
Dia: "Yes, I met with your brothers, hoping they would pass the information on to you."
Hades: "It seems I’m not as important to them as I’d hoped. By the way, the power you displayed against my brother Zeus was quite impressive."
Dia: "Yes, I’ve been refining that technique specifically for situations involving people like your brother. I hope you don’t mind."
Hades: "Not at all, my brother got what he deserved, although I wish it had happened sooner. But I assume you didn’t come to my home just for a conversation, did you?"
Dia: "Indeed, I found miasmas like these in my territory. Thanks to Rimuru, I know it's the work of a god of death. I hope you can shed some light and give me clues about who did it."
Hades: "Come in. It will be easier to analyze this jar inside."
I followed him, but remained on guard for any possible attack. Even though the Greek god of death is Thanatos, I know that Hades also has power over souls, which could define him as a god of death as well.
I handed him the jar, and he analyzed its contents.
Hades: "I can already tell it’s not the power of Hela or Yama."
So, the culprit isn’t from the Norse pantheon or the Hindu pantheon.
It took a few minutes before Hades came to a conclusion.
Hades: "Either a new god of death has been born, which seems unlikely because the others would have been aware, or the culprit is from space."
This reminded me of that alien woman who had the Boost Gears.
Dia: "Do you know of any beings who live beyond our planet?"
Hades: "The universe is vast, and we are in an isolated place, so we have little knowledge about them. But I think that if you give me some time, I could find the culprit behind these miasmas."
Dia: "Don't waste time, because I don’t want the inhabitants of Pandemonium to become victims of these miasmas."
Hades: "Don't worry. If I can’t find the culprit, I’ll look for a way to make the miasmas disappear."
After that, we parted ways.
