Blood Subordinate

Hades observed Noah for a few moments before answering, "I will help you return to your world."

Noah nodded.

Hades expected Noah to be shocked or at least show some reaction. Even Hepius was astonished. However, Noah's gaze remained unmoving.

Noah spoke, "I'll politely decline. You will 'help' me return and not give me a way to return. It doesn't seem like you have a reliable method to return. I'd rather leave the dungeon and search outside than take risks here."

"That approach is guaranteed to fail. You won't find a way to do interdimensional travel with a blind hunt like that. You don't even know the tier requirements and other basic needs for it." Hades fixed his monocle.

Noah's story was regrettable. But Hades was here for negotiations, not charity. He wasn't going to give in to Noah's demand.

Noah pointed at Hepius, "I have some who does know. If you don't want to increase the payment, you can have the next batch of players who enter the dungeon clear the hidden objectives."

Noah didn't know if Hepius knew or not. However, Hepius was certain to have at least some leads.

"Brat," A bellowing pressure burst from Hades. "Are you speaking those words after knowing that if an Asura rank dungeon is cleared, its hidden objectives will disappear? If you don't consent to my request, I will have to kill you today."

Noah scoffed.

"Kill me then, no need for threats. If you think the next batch of players who enter have higher chances of clearing the hidden objectives than me, you can kill me. Oh, my bad, do you even know when the next batch of players will come, or if they will ever come?"

Noah and Hades smiled at each other.

The silence lingered for a few moments.

Hades clicked his tongue, "What do you want?"

"Reveal the hidden objectives and give me powerful skills. The information about returning would be included too."

Hades played with his monocle. He stared into the night sky while thinking of Noah's terms.

"Rejected. I can't give you any skill before you clear the dungeon or reveal the hidden objectives. The best I can do is give a hint."

"Give me an item, then."

"I can't do that either. But other than giving you skills or items, I can fulfill your wish as long as it isn't too unreasonable."

"Strengthen my 'Undeath' skill."

Hades snapped his gaze back at Noah. The God of Death realized that Noah had planned to request this all along. The previous conversations were to lead Hades into this trap.

A sigh escaped Hades' lips and he snapped his fingers.

[ Lifting the limits of skill 'Undeath' ]

[ Hidden objective is being partially revealed ]

[ Stage-2 Hidden Objective Hint: Helping Odysseus' goal might prove useful ]

"Think of this as a freebie for not letting Cerberus die to Heracles."

The Training Chamber flew out of Noah's robe. The dark egg nourishing Heracles and Cerberus souls floated above the God of Death's palm.

[ Time Remaining Until the birth of New Soul: 2 months → 2 minutes ]

A heavenly voice echoed through the world.

[ The contract between Pantheon God Of Death, Hades, and Noah has been established. ]

[ God Of Death, Hades, is leaving. ]

Darkness engulfed Hades in a cocoon and exploded. The time started to flow again, noises returned, and the damage done by Hades' descension was repaired on its own.

If not for the timer on egg and hint, Noah would've thought Hades never appeared and it was all a hallucination.

At the same time, a notification appeared.

[ Evolution of your first blood subordinate has completed ]

{Priest Noah…! Are you okay? Why was the astral connection suddenly severed?} Saintess shouted worriedly.

"I had something to check and disabled the connection."

{...Nothing else happened?}

Noah shook his head.

Despite Noah acting no different from before, Cecilia felt her hair stand on end. She could feel that he had somehow changed.

"Wake up."

Noah slapped Achilles.

The young hero's appearance had gone through tremendous changes after his evolution.

[ Achilles (Frost Fire Vampire) ]

"Uhhh" Achilles stared at the surroundings through half-opened eyes. His brain soon registered Noah's face and Achilles recalled the nightmare he had gone through.

Achilles' body trembled and he jumped back.

"What do you wa—?! What happened to me!?" He noticed his point of vision was lower than normal. His rugged and muscular limbs became slender and pale, yet Achilles felt stronger.

Achilles ran to the pond next to them. His pupils shook when he saw his appearance.

Noah described Achilles' appearance, "You have pale-white hair and blue pupils. Your skin is deathly pale and from your appearance, you look around 13-year-old. Above all, you are no longer a human."

Achilles' voice quivered, "Why… why don't I have a reflection?"

The myths about the Vampires seemed true. In the pond, Noah and Achilles didn't have a reflection.

As the shock settled, Achilles regained his composure and glared at Noah. "What have you done to me? I won't listen to yo…!"

"Be quiet," Noah commanded.

Achilles' lips were sealed tight and he found himself unable to utter even a cry.

"Bow," Noah spoke.

Achilles bowed.

"Jump left."

Achilles followed Noah's instructions perfectly. His body listened to the commands without resistance. Although Achilles wanted to refuse, his consciousness was trying to follow Noah.

Achilles gritted his teeth and glared at Noah.

"What are you trying to do?"

Noah finally stopped. He said, "You'll be working under me from now on."

"There is no way that will happen! I will never work for someone who has killed innocents! I'd rather die!" Achilles' anger exploded and he attempted to kill himself by biting his tongue.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Noah's cold voice rang.

Noah used Menzen, forcing Achilles to recall the scenes of deaths. Achilles knew they were hallucinations, however, fear wasn't something that could be erased so easily.

"I never said you were allowed to choose."

Achilles gripped the soil tightly. His nails cracked and bled.

"You can go." Noah suddenly spoke confusing words. He added, "You should say goodbye to your subordinates before we leave."

"How? You killed…" Achilles didn't complete his words. A ray of hope shone in Achilles' heart. Maybe. Just maybe.

Achilles bolted towards the city. His new strength allowed him to cover the distance in a few minutes. He stood atop the third border wall and stared below.

"How is this possible?"

Thousands of soldiers lying on the ground were groaning, unable to move their limbs. They weren't dead, only unconscious.

Achilles walked through the city.

A lot of soldiers were crushed under wreckage or hit by misfires, however, none of them had any injuries. They had no wounds on their bodies. As if someone had healed them.

A hollow chuckle escaped Achilles' lips when he realized the truth.

"I did more damage to my city than a convict."

Noah had killed many soldiers. However, he saved more.

Having fought Noah, Achilles was aware that Noah could kill these soldiers easily. Yet, not only were the soldiers alive but also unscathed.

Did Noah heal them?

Why did Noah go to such lengths?

"Was he just trying to leave without harming anyone? If we hadn't tried to kill him first, would he have left without doing anything?"

Achilles couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of life. He shouted at Noah for killing innocents. But what did Achilles do when Noah was trying to escape while avoiding as many deaths as possible? Achilles destroyed half of the city and killed innocents in its aftermath.

"Haah, what am I supposed to do?"

Achilles stared at his limbs. His appearance has changed and hundreds saw him being defeated at Noah's hands. Everyone was probably thinking Achilles was dead.

Achilles didn't need to be 'Achilles' anymore. He didn't need to go into wars and kill soldiers who were being forced into the battle by the owners of thrones driven by a lust for power.

"Would he also ask me to kill innocents? If I follow him, can I stop being a murderer?"

Achilles was an orphan caused by a war between two nations. In those desperate days, he ran from one place to another in search of a place he could call home.

However, a vagrant like him was uninvited in every place.

Achilles had no choice but to become a mercenary to sustain himself. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Achilles nearly lost his life in his first battle and awakened 'Invulnerable'.

His fame continued to grow after that.

Achilles was undefeatable in battles. Before he realized, he became arrogant.

It wasn't until Achilles met his master that he came to understand his own errors. Under his master's tutelage, Achilles learned 'Child of Stars' and 'Sagittarius Arrow'.

"Who is there?" A soldier suddenly found Achilles while he was reminiscing.

Achilles jumped away and hid without realizing. Subconsciously, Achilles was happy that he had received the chance to escape the burden of being 'Achilles' – the strongest warrior.

"Some symbol of peace I was," Achilles muttered.

After leaving his master, Achilles wanted to be a symbol of peace. He wanted his mere presence to discourage the nations from waging wars.

If Achilles could be the strongest warrior, no one would try to start wars as the winner was obvious from the beginning.

Achilles just wanted no child to go through what he did. He wanted to erase wars.

Yet, Achilles did the opposite. He became a symbol of terror.

The enemy nations banded together, fearing Achilles might. Everything spiraled down into greater misery and destruction.

By the time Achilles realized what he had done, he was too late.

"What am I supposed to do?" Achilles repeated the question.

Finally, he had the chance to do what he wanted. Escape the name 'Achilles'.

But what should he do? He had long lost his dream.

"I should stop being so pessimistic." Achilles shook his head. He stared in the direction of the forest.

Working with Noah.

"Would I know if I work with…."

Achilles trailed off and burst into laughter.

"I almost forgot that I don't have a say in the matter."

While Achilles was staring into the night sky a thought popped into his head.

"Now that I look back, didn't the soldiers say that Noah used the secret passage to leave the castle? Was someone helping him?"

Achilles spoke to himself.

"Could it be Odysseus? No, that can't be. It was Odysseus who told me that Noah had escaped and hurried me to return. So, if Odysseus didn't help Noah, who did?"