96 Chapter 95
Dio had to say that it wasn't easy to come up with a solution for these three.
He spent days thinking about it until an idea came to me during his training.
Dio didn't have time to test it, and there's a high chance of failure.
He will throw all three of them into the River Styx if that happens. This will kill them and increase their resurrection time.
Dio raised his hand with one finger extended. At the tip of his index finger, a small grayish glow appears.
He crouched down and started drawing large letters from the ancient West African alphabet of the Ghana region on the ground around their bodies.
The ectoplasm stains the ground like neon ink, and with each letter added around the three, the ectoplasm becomes brighter.
Finally, after a few minutes, Dio managed to write all the letters around the tree.
Dio raised his entire hand, which was enveloped in ectoplasm. He picked a random direction and pointed towards it.
The gray ectoplasm shoots through the air faster than lightning until he can no longer see it.
A few seconds later, the energy travels back to him, and a nearly grayish energy ball with three white dots inside it stops in front of him while floating.
Dio picked up the ball and threw it on the ground, and it shattered like glass.
The three white dots transform into three spirits in front of him, two men and one woman.
Dio forcibly removed them from their path, but he didn't sever the connection they had with the underworld; that's why they hadn't awakened yet.
"Well, let's see if it works."
Dio said this while standing between the Erinyes and the souls.
Dio raised his arms, and two lines of ectoplasm extending from his hands were divided in the air while touching the heads of all three.
Dio closed his eyes and began chanting a long curse he had learned while studying Zatanna's books.
With each word, the circle written on the ground shines brighter until it blocks the view of the three Erinyes.
Dio doesn't usually use curses because they need to be prepared in a certain way, which can't be done during a fight.
Of course, there are powerful curses that can be used without such rituals, but they come at a much higher cost.
There are spellcasters who usually don't have the courage to use them except as a last resort.
For example, there are curses that can be placed on the enemy using their soul—many use them when they are close to death.
The pain is very unpleasant but bearable.
It made Dio understand why most witches use animal sacrifices to avoid this.
Dio might want to get some hamsters for this purpose, but he will probably end up attached to them and end up raising them.
Finally, the lights disappear.
Then everything returned to normal, except for his hands, which were dripping blood on the ground.
Dio didn't care about that and focused his attention on the Erinyes to see if everything went well.
If it didn't work, Dio needed to act quickly when they showed signs that it did work.
In this way, the three Erinyes rise at once. They didn't attack him; instead, they stood there staring at something in the sky.
All is well so far.
After a few seconds like that, the ghosts behind him started to move, and they did the same while walking in the same rhythm step by step.
Success.
The curse Dio used comes from voodoo witchcraft; the translation for its complicated name would be the Mirror Curse.
It is a name that explains everything because it links two people and forces one of them to do everything the other does, like a mirror.
Normally, ghosts cannot be cursed, but ectoplasm has a unique way of making the impossible possible for beings like them.
These souls have to walk to the center of the underworld since they are in a kind of trance.
The Erinyes were also affected by this effect, turning them into the way they are now.
They will continue walking like this until the judgment of the three judges.
That plan wouldn't work very well anywhere else, but Dio is leaving the underworld, where time moves much faster than on Earth, or so he hoped.
While Melinoë said that no one cares about time in the underworld, this means that there are real souls from ancient Greece who are still waiting in line.
The Erinyes will stay this way for a very, very long time if no one comes to help them.
Dio sat on a rock and watched the six of them slowly walk across the plain toward the gate.
...
Dio enjoyed a bit of peace in the underworld for a few minutes before walking calmly toward the gate.
Dio looked on the ground along the way for gems or gold. He was lucky enough to find two emeralds that weren't very big.
He watched the Erinyes even as they walked calmly because he wanted to make sure the curse was working perfectly.
Finally, Dio reached the beginning of a road so crowded with lined-up souls that he couldn't see the ground they were walking on.
They are all walking in the same direction, toward the huge mountain with a gate carved in its center.
The gate is open, and now closer, Dio can clearly see the large black mass he first saw from a distance.
An insanely large dog.
A dog that is comfortably lying on the ground and even lying down can be compared to the size of a truck.
Its fur is as black as night, its body is lean and strong, and its three heads are terrifying.
The three heads resemble the Greek breed Molossus of Epirus, except for their eyes, which are red and shiny.
On each head's neck, there is a crude iron collar with a chain just a few inches long hanging.
Cerberus, the guardian of the gates of hell.
He doesn't seem very active, but with three heads, each looking in a different direction, it made him believe otherwise.
The original plan for this first adventure was to get here because there are certain safety measures that must be taken to make sure he stays alive after going through the gates.
After living in the underworld for some time, it is certain that preparation is very necessary.
So, Dio drew his sword. The key to the portal became available for use many days ago.
"Άνοιξε, διατάζω!"
(Open, I command!)
With a movement of his arm, a rift in space appeared in front of him, and a portal opened.
Dio breathed in the underworld's air again to feel this familiar but unwelcoming place. He knew he would be back soon.
Dio did this a few more times until he was satisfied, then he crossed the portal.
...
The portal left him in the same place where he had entered the first time, at the back of the Tower, where there was only grass and open space.
It was already night, and the sky of this small planet continued without a star in sight due to the clouds.
Dio looked around, and everything seemed normal since the Tower was not in flames or destroyed, which is always a good sign, as he is in the DC universe.
Dio went to the entrance and then to the elevator.
The elevator took him to the floor with the common room, which is where almost everyone stays.
Dio looked at the screen above the elevator as it went up. It showed the date and time.
"Two weeks!"
Dio said it aloud.
Dio was expecting to spend only one week in the underworld, but time there left him confused.
Dio was very lucky; it could have been years.
Dio has to talk to Vanessa immediately, then catch up on what the Titans are doing.
When the door opened, he realized that the place was empty.
Dio hurried to the upper level of the floor, where the rooms were, and when he got to the front of his door, he noticed a note that clearly had Raven's writing on it.
"We went on a mission without you."
Dio tore the note from the door and felt the spell she had placed on it; no one had entered his room.
Dio entered it and went directly to his phone on top of his bed.
Before finding out where his friends are, Dio has to endure a long scolding from Vanessa.
...
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