Goddess of the Netherworld I

[Azrael's POV]

*Cough!*

I spat a mouthful of blood and staggered on my flight in the Netherworld. I was forced to retreat after Ares was defeated... Gabriel is a powerful Seraph just like Azazel is a powerful Cadre... no matter how strong I am, I can't face all of those opponents at the same time.

Not only that but the Sun Goddess joined in as well after Ares fled; I managed to kill one of them, Creuserey Asmodeous, but that would mark the end of my assault, I also had the chance to kill Gabriel several times... but I choose not to; she is my little sister in the end, I'm not allowed to touch angels. The operation should be over and I'm now heading to Hades' Castle… it is not my problem if they were successful in the underworld or not, I merely achieved my part.

The more I closed up upon the Ruler of Death's castle, the more ominous aura I felt in the surroundings, the nearby souls were screaming in glee, as if rejoicing for some reason.

!!!

Flapping my wings I flew faster only to come in front of something that left me baffled and out of words.

I landed in the castle and there he was; Hades... there was a silver-haired man transformed into an abomination, a super devil. I know who he is.

He was piercing through Hades' chest with a relentless crimson flame.

"Hahaha!~"

"B-Bastard!"

Hades cursed at him, trying to free himself but it was in vain... I know he had been using an avatar in the Underworld, his current predicament could only mean one thing, his avatar was destroyed and he received a backlash.

"Rizevim..." I said his name with poison, taking out my scythe and getting ready to fight. It was then that another body crashed heavily by my side, once again rendering me out of words.

*BAANGG!*

Her body was severely injured and a big hole protruded through her chest.

"Is that all you got? for a goddess you're quite weak..."

A man landed beside her and I went into the offensive.

*WHOOSHH!!*

I flickered like a phantom in front of him, we crashed against one another, but I was unable to even move him a centimetre!

*CLAANGG!!*

"I have wanted to fight you, Azrael, a pity that I was killed back then~".

"Crom Cruanch!"

*BOOMMMMMMM!!!*

I pressed forth with all of my aura regardless of how fatigued I was, managing to take Persephone's body with me. However, by the time I took her, life had already drifted away from her eyes and the godly aura of a divine goddess began scattering.

"A-Azrael..."

"Persephone..."

While I watched the life drift away from one of the few people I could call 'friends', another dragon, this time a humongous one, landed beside Crom Cruanch.

*BOOOMMMMM!!!*

Shocks marred the underworld as the divinity belonging to the God of this domain began to scatter, Hades was dying, just like Persephone.

In front of me, there are two dragons and a super devil... Lucifer's son, the current me can't defeat those three.

To make things worse another person appeared, another god that I knew too well... I knew that bastard was going to play games.

"L-Loki!" Hades seemed surprised, it wasn't a surprise to me.

He was there together with his gigantic wolf, Fenrir and someone else... I recognise her and her death aura, the ruler of Hellheim, Hela.

"You can only blame yourself for being too powerful, Hades… do you really believe I'd forever be underneath you Greek trash? All of you do nothing but seek death constantly… how ironic, as the ruler of the Netherworld your day still came... the time for you to dwell in your own river has come"

"Come to me, Azrael!" Hades yelled at me, but the situation is complicated... I left Persephone's body bereft of life and it began to turn into falling black leaves of spring.

"…" Standing up with my scythe ready I evaluated my options... everything here is self-explanatory. Loki worked together with Rizevim, told him about our plan and made him ready to invade the netherworld... his objective could only be one. As for the trade, if Hela is here... then they want to transition Hades' authority over death... joining both the Netherworld and Hellheim as one under her rule.

'I can't allow that to happen...' gripping my scythe I considered my options, which weren't many... I'm by myself here... and they're a powerful lineup of entities.

"Rizevim Livan Lucifer… y-you want Samael... to face the Golden Dragon, are you foolish enough to think that my brother's blood will do anything to him?" I grit my teeth, among my brothers, perhaps the only one that could face me was Samael... his blood is the vane of Dragons.

"Hehe~ whether it will work or not, we won't know until we try. I have already obtained Samael, my dear Seraph of Death; how lucky I am that all of us are in here, otherwise... I wouldn't dare stand in front of you like this~" He smirked evilly and I heard some of Hades' bones being crushed; he threw Hades to the ground like a piece of trash and my eyebrows contorted.

"What is this that you feel, Azrael, wrath?~ a machine like you who does nothing but kill and plunder lives? created by the biblical god to be nothing more than his weapon, such as you… is actually feeling Sadness?" Rizevim kept staring at me, half mockingly, half disconcerted.

"…"

Why am I feeling like this…? Thousands of years ago when I was exiled, I found myself in the Netherworld… the place with the greatest concentration of death aura… greater than Hellheim, greater than the underworld… Here I found Persephone and Hades; both divines also exiled from Olympus.

Perhaps for me… Hades was the closest I could find to a brother; even more than Amenadiel and Michael… I saw Persephone as my sister. While my father rejected my nature, the one that he himself created... here I was accepted.

Although I couldn't understand what love was… at least I felt that I belonged here.

And now, everything is gone.

*RUMBLE!!*

My death aura was released recklessly, coating my scythe in a black corrosive aura. If I am to perish here... at the very least I will avenge them.

Seeing me walking forward, Rizevim smirked.

"I may have dared to kill a weakened Hades, but… I'm in no position of facing you, Azrael~ Crom Cruanch... I leave her to you"

Like the most wicked of cowards; Rizevim had the audacity to call for his underling to face me.

"You!-"

*CLAANGG!!!*

The humanoid dragon got in the middle of us, stopping me from plundering Rizevim's life.

"It is said you're the strongest of Seraphs; a machine that knows nothing but slaughter, the shadow of the Biblical God.… allow me to test the mettle of your death scythe~"

With my sight placed on Hades, I kept fighting Crom Cruanch into a hopeless endeavour, I could retreat... teleport myself from here but... where would I go? this is the place I consider my home... if I allow others to plunder it, where will I be?!

"Hela…" I heard Loki speak to his daughter.

"Yes, father…"

"Take Hades' authority; with the Netherworld on our side, I'll be quicker to plunder that bastard Odin's life~"

They were about to do what I already imagined, but I wasn't about to allow them to do whatever they wanted; the second Dragon was about to join in to suppress me, he's Apophis, another dastardly opponent... I may not be able to defeat them all together, but if I want to flicker away, they can't stop me either!

*WHOOOSHH!!*

Like a gale of death, I disappeared in a black fog, stunning Crom Cruanch.

*CLAAANGG!!*

Sparks and godly aura manifested in the place where Hela's head was. Still, I managed to slice her neck just a little before flickering towards Hades.

*COUGH!!!*

"Hela!"

My next strike was aimed at Rizevim, but just like I did, he retreated, giving me free rein to take Hades and fly away.

"COME BACK HERE!" Crom Cruanch's almost demonic voice was everything I heard before forming a portal to leave the Netherworld with Hades in my arms.

*CRACK!!*

I had to grit my teeth when my portal got obliterated by both Hela and Loki, I saw the former regard me with endless poison as her countenance continued to pale, she received a wound from my scythe, if she wasn't a goddess, she'd be dead already... black lines began to form on her skin as she battled for her life. I was also fighting for mine, trying to flee from Crom Cruanch and Apophis.

I saw Hades lift his skeletal hand and look at me.

"Azrael, for me… you were never more than a pawn".

"…"

My eyebrows twitched... I know that, I know I have been more than just a pawn, a machine that is sent to kill but... at least here I have somewhere to return to.

*BOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!*

With a swift flip of my wings, I evaded one of Crom Cruanch's beam-like breaths. It destroyed a great area of the Netherworld, erasing thousands of pitiful souls.

Without saying any other words, Hades remained silent for a few moments... just looking at me before a blue flame formed in his skeletal hand and he pressed it into the middle of my chest.

!!!

*THUMP!*

I felt my heart palpitating loudly as Hades' body began to dissolve like grey ashes, but his divinity didn't scatter, his authority entered my body and I felt it begin fusing with my aura of death, transforming me into a goddess.

Even then, as my power increases... why am I crying?

He departed just like that, not saying anything to me... not leaving a mission or a will, nothing... complete freedom.

"NOO!! KILL HER QUICKLY!" I heard Loki's shouts behind me as I fled through the Netherworld, evading Crom Cruanch's devastating breaths.

I swung my scythe coated in darkness and a blue flame began to flicker in it, creating an overwhelming aura that pressed into the surroundings. I felt the Netherworld begin to attach itself to me, becoming my property.

Now I can't flee...

*BOOOOOMMMM!!*

My scythe clashed against Crom Cruanch again, but this time... it was different... none of us retreated as I felt a surging power envelop me, making me stronger and stronger.

"Let's have some fun, newborn Goddess~"