Chapter 29 – Iblis

Rumors of Incien demons taking up arms and conquering the realms of the underworld have reached the ears of Iblis.

As a demon, he knows this is what they always wanted: to gain more power and rule the world. But he worries that this act from the Incien demons might provoke the angels and breach their contact with them.

He teleports to the realm of the demons, the Abyss. Countless demons of different races have gathered here. Huge crowds gather in a clearing, uproar and heated debate are being held; one side wants to join the demon prince Kali and making the underworld of Incien theirs.

The other side wants to sit this one out and ask the other demons to lie low. The angels from Incien's Paradise should deal with them. Joining their Incien brethren might provoke angels from other realms to make war.

Iblis joins the mob and shouts, "Brothers! We all want to see the angels of Paradise suffer from what they did to us. But we must not forget, once we breach the contract, total annihilation will follow for everything in existence! Angels, demons, spirits, the living, and all sentient life will be wiped out!"

Iblis points to the large scroll on the horizon. The scroll is so large that it took three mountain ranges to hold its weight.

"The seals on the Declaration of War haven't been broken. Bathala gave us his word he will allow the fate of this world to be decided by the victor once the seals are broken. Any skirmish between realms, regardless of who started, is considered a breach of contract will cause total annihilation" Iblis shouted and reminds the other to reconsider their actions.

A demon with 4 heads of snake speaks up, "Oh yeah? Then let them come! Kali already took the underworld of Incien. I heard he only took the souls there and left Mara alive in her palace. A workaround the rules that Bathala set. I say we storm other realms as well!"

The demons quarreled and throw their piece on this matter. Iblis shakes his head and grabs a white feather from his pocket. He remembered the time he and Iophiel created Makisen in the realm of Mebuyan. How the three of them spent their days reminiscing the old days when they were still in Paradise. Everything is perfect, but all changed for Iblis when he dabbled in the arts of creating spells and potions with dark magic. The other angels caught wind of this and were exiled. The demons welcomed him with open arms and turned him into one of them. He was never truly evil, but his curiosity for knowledge and dealing in the forbidden arts made him dangerous.

He clenched his fist and blamed the angel's draconian way of thinking. If only they open their minds to other things, they might progress to new heights.

His thinking was disrupted when a huge light emerged from the dark smokes of the brimstone realm. All the demons shrike and hide from its light, but not Iblis. He was never afraid of the light, he missed it. The light flies across the sky and took a deep dive and landed right in the middle of the crowd of demons.

A beautiful man with swan-like wings basks in his shining light. His golden flock of hair dances in the heat of the realm with his purple eyes, striking fear to most demons of the Abyss. He looks at the demon with 4 snakes as ahead. He strokes the snakes with a gentle touch and says, "So, I heard your cries all the way up from my home. You wanted to support Kali in her efforts to secure Incien is that right, Echidna?"

The 4 snakes wiggle with every stroke. "Yes! This is for us too, Lucifer!"

Lucifer grabs the 4 snakes and incinerates them with his touch. The flame burns the demon until nothing is left. "Your cry for war bores me, Echidna."

He looks at the other demons with such contempt and calmness in his eyes. No words can describe how fearful the other demons are.

"I know Bathala far longer than any of you. He is a fair ruler and will uphold the end of his bargain. No tricks. No loophole. But the moment you cross that line, he will enact swift action."

He waves his hand, signaling the demons to scatter. They hurried out, fearing they are next to meet his end. Except for one, Iblis.

"Hey there, Lucy, how's it going? Still looking sexy as always." His compliments didn't give any reaction from Lucifer, but he sat down across Iblis and gave him a stern look.

"You're still playing with the angels as the other demons do? Playing with contracts and making Nephilim or should I say guardians of the Chronicler?"

"It's a win-win! Their souls are straight sent here if they die. And if they don't, the more sinners they kill are sent here."

Lucifer leans and points to the huge porcelain arch with a portal in it. "Kali's domain is full of frenzied demons. I don't know what push that one to do this, but it's I heard they got a piece of something powerful. So ancient that can even nullify the power of Bathala."

Iblis rotates his head with confusion and replies. "I heard something like this too. When Orochimaru died, King Yama tortured his soul until he spilled the beans. He claimed he got powers from mummified legs that an old man gave him."

"Aye, I heard that from the noisy yokai there. And now Kali got one too." Lucifer strokes his chin. "Imagine. If Kali can attack other realms, fend off the angels and Bathala's intervention . . . Maybe, just maybe, we can win this war."

"So we just let him run wild then? See if it works. And what if he fails?" Iblis asked excitedly. Lucifer snaps his fingers and the portal to the arch disappears. He then snaps it back and in place.

He smiled back at Iblis and replied "It's their death and wash our hands with their failure. I see this as a win-win."

Iblis smiled, but that's just for show. Deep inside, he is trembling with fear. If this object can negate Bathala's power, then any creature, maybe it is a demon, angel or human can leave this world in ruin.

Later that day, Iblis teleports out of the Abyss and into the realm of Mebuyan. But in the middle of his teleporting, he was blocked. He felt a force field surrounding the realm of Mebuyan. He touches the field and felt like huge roots. He thought of Magwayen just doing her job and prevents any creature from entering. Then realized he is still in his demon form and if that's the case, Mebuyan might be under attack from the demons of Incien.

He transformed into a rabbit and see if that can fool the roots of Magwayen. No good as the vines remain shut. He turns into an ant and the roots stay shut. He tried again and turned himself into a small worm. So small that it is smaller than an ant. That way, even if the roots are closely shut, he can squeeze his way in.

A few more crawl later, and he finally emerged to the ground of Mebuyan's realm. There he transforms himself into a butterfly and flies toward Mebuyan's location, but before he can fly, a spirit of a Diwata caught him with a protective dome. She yelled for reinforcement as she screams she caught a demon.

Swarms of spirits flock the area with their sword out. The diwata signals them that once she dispels the dome, they are free to stab the demon. Iblis transforms himself back to his normal self and asks for Mebuyan. He tries to reason, but the spirits won't listen. The Diwata lifts the spell and the swords come in rushing towards his head. He slips by turning back into the worm and lands on the ground. He buries himself deeper into the ground and escapes his death by digging his way into the ground.

"You cannot hide demon! Your foul smell will always lead us to you!" one of the spirits yells as powerful magic is hurled to the ground to unearth Iblis. Water sprouts, fireballs, and most elemental magic are thrown to dig him up.

But no matter how fast Iblis crawls or digs, the assault from the spirit is too much. One spell manages to blast him off the ground. He rolls from the impact and returns to his normal form. He is on his knees begging for them to stop, but none are listening. They rush him and tried to take a swipe of his head, but they halted immediately as a huge shadow cast behind Iblis.

Iblis was picked from the ground by a huge hand. It was Mebuyan.

"OH! Mebuyan! I was just looking for you! Thank you for saving me from your people!" Iblis tries to calm the tension but nobody is laughing. Mebuyan kept staring at him. He looks around and sees the spirits' weapons are pointed at him as he dangles at the mercy of Mebuyan. He looks around and sees Mebuyan's kris on her other hand.

"Iblis, you got one chance to explain your presence here." Mebuyan's kris is drawn nearer to his belly.

"Mebuya, I came here to warn you about Incien demons. But based on your reaction, you already met them." He looks around and sees the landscape of her realm is torn apart from a battle just took place. "I swear I am not in leagues with them. Plus, you always knew my side. I was never part of the demons, to begin with. I just hate how the angels kept their knowledge rotting in their library."

"You are still a demon after breaking the rules of Paradise. Your thirst for vengeance and justice against the librarians of Paradise is well known between us three. Now, tell me one thing that proves you are not in leagues with the Incien demons."

"Kali got an artifact like what Orochimaru had. Lucy is excited to see Kali conquer other realms and see if this will fend off the angels and Bathala's power from breach of contract. So far I know that Kali raised his armies and manage to capture Mara's domain, the underworld of Incien."

Mebuyan looked at him with angry eyes. She placed Iblis on the ground and asked the spirits to leave them. "My realm was attacked by Incien demons, led by Kali's general. Hel, Masiken, and this new guardian from Incien, Sura helped us push them back. I just sent the three of them away to Mara's domain and help her reestablish order after her realm was taken over by Kali."

Since both of their stories are linked, Mebuyan mood returns to her old self, but her anger is still present. She taps the ground with her kris. Roots appeared above ground and formed into a small tree. Magwayen links her consciousness with the tree and looked at Mebuyan

"How can I beest of s'rvice mine own mistress?" the old tree's branches make loud cracks as she bows before them.

"Iblis, how did you manage to get past her roots? I did instruct her to not let any animal, insect, demons, or any living creature enter my domain." Mebuyan asked the demon. Iblis made a motion with his fingers signaling he turned into a creature smaller than an ant and replied "A worm, smaller than an ant"

Mebuyan looked at Magwayen with a scornful look. Ashamed of her mistake, she tried to make an excuse, but Mebuyan will not hear it. "Worms are still a living creature. Make sure nothing gets past you, understand Magwayen?"

"A thousand apology mine own mistress. This shall not hath happened again" Magwayen replied and the world of Mebuyan shakes as her roots tighten beneath the ground.

Mebuyan's demeanor changed as Iblis found her face to loosen up a bit. "Come Iblis, I must discuss something with you."

They reached the pool where Mebuyan. Iblis expected kids playing there but he found warriors with the bodies of those that match the best athletes. They surround the pool as if they are guarding Mebuyan against any enemies.

"You kids, I presumed?" Iblis asked and Mebuyan replied with a nod. The warriors' eyes followed Iblis with their hands on their weapons at all times. Iblis feels uncomfortable as he thinks one bad joke can cost his head.

"Iblis, I do apologize for our actions, but as you can see, we already had a fill with the Incien demons and I am not taking any chances."

"No, it is fine Mebuyan. This is your realm after all. I did reach you too late, but I am relieved to see you well." Iblis paused for a bit and give a huge sigh. "How did Incien demons did that? Their land was secured by their lineage of kings and queens and their people have multiple arms and horns and to top that off, they can wield enormous power that can rival the best Diwata. Begs the question, how did they lose?"

"I've sent Hel's bird atop and gave me the news. Incien isn't lost, but one of their cities was sacked by an army of demons. A city of porcelain and beauty lost most of their citizen, but it seems the demons were not there for the souls of the people rather what's in that city."

"HOLD ON! Did you say attack?! Demons cannot attack any living creatures! Some brave ones suck the soul out of the people that summoned them or if the one who summoned them made a deal but demons never in groups and attack a city! That's against Bathala's contract."

"Exactly Iblis. Whatever they found in that city, it didn't alert the angels of Paradise."

"What's worse the seals on the Declaration of War haven't been broken, nor did the heavens come to us at Abyss. Something is amiss here. Did they find an item that blocks the power of Bathala?"

They paused for a bit and reconsider the worst-case scenario. Either want to say it, but they know it's impossible to occur.

"The only magic that can negate Bathala is his own." Mebuyan tightens her lips as she said those words. She felt like betraying the very fabric of her being by just saying that.

"Or if he is dead. But if he is, how are we still standing here?" Iblis grabs his neck. Realizing that what he said is considered heresy, but both Iblis and Mebuyan are right. Something is wrong and they need to find out what is happening.

Mebuyan cuts the silence by saying that after the attack; she used the pool and talked with other rulers of the underworld. Yama the other underworld ruler of Antrian, Anubis the ever stalwart ruler of Land of Origin's dead, and Mara responded. Both Yama and Anubis weren't aware of this and are preparing for a potential invasion by the Incien demons. As for Mara, she was thankful to Mebuyan for sending Hel, Masiken, and Sura to her domain and is now planning to secure her land. As for the others, they are not answering her call.

Iblis suggested trying to visit the realms that aren't answering. "Antrian and Land of Origin and Incien are all accounted for. What about Ruk's-Bel?"

"Ugh, the Lady of the Dim is too lazy to answer me here, why would I bother to go there"

Iblis sensing that there is tension between her and this other ruler, immediately asks about the other region "Freeman's Land should be good right?"

"Yeah, but Mictecacihuatl and Mictlantecuhtli are a pain in my ear. Their seamless shouting tears my ear a new hole. I'll just send a bird to these two regions."

"Really? Even in the middle of an emergency? Come on Mebuyan."

"I am not comfortable seeing them face to face." She pauses and remembers two regions that also didn't answer "Ginn Hus underworld, being managed by a Valkyrie didn't answer the call and Tymar's ever-lovely ruler of Elysium, Persephone. I wanted to visit Hel's relatives at Ginn Hus but the cold is too much for me. That does it, to Elysium it is!"

Iblis claps for joy and asks if he can come. He reasons that she might need his charms if ever demons do get to them. He will be an excellent negotiator. Mebuyan pretended not to hear that and proceed to cast her magic. Then the two dive into the pool. The pool of water seems infinite as no matter how deep they dive, they can't reach the bottom. The water started to sparkle with gold lights and swirled around them as if they are dancing. Then the surrounding water turned purple. Mebuyan and Iblis continue to swim downwards and until a shining bright light glimmers at the other end. There, the end of the pool is another surface of a pool.

Mebuyan and Iblis emerged from the water and found themselves in another poo,l but one is surrounded by beautiful orchids and shrubs. Iblis gets out of the pool and surveys the area. His eyes are met with the beautiful interior of a palace with brown and blue as their color. In this vast palace, Iblis' attention is caught by a huge collection of a vase of black and copper colors. These vases are telling the story of a man and woman's love. How both fight off their challenges and manages to work together even. Despite the heavens and earth don't allow their union, they stand strong and solidify their love even in death.

"Wow, this place is gorgeous! Why isn't your realm like this Mebuyan? No offense."

"Jewels and palace meant nothing to one that has all of the riches of the world. I like mine to be naturally entwined with the silence of the world and nature.

"And I told you for the third time, those souls are not mine! You better flap your wings back to your domain and keep these frozen in your giant lake of ice!" a voice from the center of the palace echoes.

"Ugh, that horrible noise must be from our Lady of Elysium, Persephone. See, this is why I prefer my place but it seems her domain is untouched." Mebuyan says as peered by the window. The spirits below the palace are having a good time by the green fields. Spirits of dead kids playing by olive trees and lovers rolling around the wheat field give this world a place suited for relaxation. She hates to admit it, but this place looks better than hers, plus the jewel in the sky gives this domain a sunny afternoon glow.

"The domain of this world looks fine to me. No demons have invaded this realm yet." Iblis comments as he acknowledges the world's absence of war or battle.

Then a man from behind Mebuyan and Iblis crept silently and replied "Of course, if they attacked this realm, not only they will face my wife's wrath by mine as well."

Both Mebuyan and Iblis were caught off guard and were surprised by his entrance. The man has sullen brown eyes, his curly hair is clean and well-kept, and his pale complexion brings out a good fashion sense from his black chiton and navy blue chlamys. He smiles at the two as he placed his bident in his left hand and extends for a handshake.

Iblis grabs his hands and eagerly shakes it "Lord Hades! What a surprise!" Iblis cannot contain his smile. He is in a presence of one of his idols. Iblis have been in the Abyss for what is like an eternity. He met all kinds of fallen angels, demons, and different rulers of the Abyss but one ruler that he hadn't had the pleasure of meeting, Hades.

His reign as the Tamer of Tartarus is legendary among the demons of Abyss. Before Hades was its ruler, Tartarus was known for its breakouts of souls. This place houses the worst souls of Tymar and among them are the powerful creatures that Tymar has ever seen the Titans. Titans are fearsome creatures that can move landscapes with a wave of their hands. These gigantic creatures literally move mountains. Demons of Abyss once band together when a group of Titans manages to escape Tartarus and decided to make the Abyss their kingdom.

But all changed when Hades took charge. His clever yet simple solution caught the attention of Iblis. Hades first reformed Tartarus and closed it off from the rest of Abyss by building huge walls to surround his domain. There he molded Tartarus into a complicated maze that only Hades knows the way out of. No soul since was able to leave and are left wander forever in this maze. And to top it off, he created a huge hallway as the entrance and exit to Tartarus.

Next, he brings his dog Cerberus to guard the halls to Tartarus and ensures no one leaves or enters Tartarus without Hades' approval. Hades connected his hallway to the realm of Elysium, his wife's domain, and the underworld of Tymar. They will enact as a safety net to make sure that even if there is a soul that manages to escape Tartarus under their nose, they will need to deal with his wife. And as a last touch of security, Hades asked his friend, Nyx, to keep every soul in Tartarus asleep and ensuring another extra layer of protection.

A maze, powerful being to put all of its captors into an eternal sleep, a dog to guard its entrance and exit, and finally connecting to Elysium to act as another prison - this is what made Tartarus the most secured region of Abyss. And since then, Tartarus was closed off Tartarus.

All the demons heard that Hades is a wise ruler. He is known to resolve issues between the Tymarian royal families, consistently make the right choices if the soul is to go to Elysium or Tartarus, and is known to create new magic tomes to help the Tymarian to control and explore their magic in a safe manner.

Iblis never met Hades but he read his tomes and since then he was a huge fan. One of the magic he learned was the illusion he put on the guardians and Jasmine.

Mebuyan bowed to Hades and Hades bowed in return.

"Lord Hades, left Cerberus to guard your home?" Mebuyan jokingly asked.

"My friend will take care of Tartarus' entrance while I'm here. And I believe Magwayen is too?" Hades asked in return and the two shared a laugh as they find it funny as both of them leave their posts and left someone to look after them.

"What brings Mebuyan and a demon here to Elysium? This is quite a surprise as you barely left your domain and with a friend?" Hades asked as he finds the ever awe stare from of Iblis unsettling.

Mebuyan nudges the head of Iblis and snaps him back to reality. "We are here to warn Persephone about the invasion of Incien demons. I was recently attacked and I want all underworld rulers to be safe and prepared. I have warned the others via the pool but your wife wasn't answering. And you Hades? Come to give your wife a visit?"

A loud shout disrupts them. Persephone voice starts to overload their ears. Hades points his bident forward and leads them to her voice. "That is the reason why I came here. Her shouting reached Tartarus and with all of that shouting I can't concentrate writing my tome."

Iblis pops in front of him, holding a copy of Hades' tome while he floats in the air. "Big fan Hades! I love your work especially this one, Illusion for Dummies!"

Hades smiles and snaps his finger to summon his quill. He signs Iblis' tome and gave him a copy of another tome. "Try this one Iblis. One of my latest works, Spells of Binding." Iblis hugs his new tome and spins for joy. Mebuyan caught Iblis in her hands and slammed him to the ground.

"Iblis, behave yourself." She said calmly. Iblis didn't say a word and just gives a thumb up.

They arrived in a garden full of lush green and beautiful roses. Fountains and sculptures give the garden its charm. In the middle of this picturesque garden, Persephone is pointing angrily at a Valkyrie and shouts she takes the two souls back to her domain.

The Valkyrie stands tall and remains unyielding; she calmly replied that the two souls she is carrying are not from her domain and this is from Tymar. She explains that the souls were found under a lake. The souls are Pali the Brave and Thelgo the Wise. The Valkyrie doesn't know how two Tymarian souls manage to get out of Tartarus or Elysium but she insists Persephone take them as this is not her or her domain's property.

Persephone rubs her temple and gave the Valkyrie another shout. "Look! I and Hades are on this game as long as you but we know damn well that with my husband's work on Tartarus and my security here, no souls manage to get out since we are stated here. Stop shrinking on your responsibility and get out of my realm!"

"That is true Persephone. I cannot deny that the work you two made is far from impressive and well known within the realm of other underworld rulers and even the people of Paradise and Abyss but I mustn't shrink on my responsibilities and so do you. Take these souls back."

The two won't back down and looks like will continue their debate. Before their shouting can continue, Mebuyan enters the garden and stands between the two. "So is this the reason why the both of you won't answer my call?"

"Mebuyan, leave us be. I sense your presence the moment you enter here with that foul demon. I am quite busy here and you may ask my husband to back me up here." Persephone tries to shoo her away.

"Lady Mebuyan, I do apologize if I am unable to answer your call but I am quite in a predicament here. Can you wait for a bit?" The Valkyrie gives her a nod before returning to Persephone.

"No. You two need to hear this. . ." but before Mebuyan finishes her sentence, Persephone rudely interrupts her and gives a Valkyrie another batch of verbal insults.

Hades covers his eyes with his palm. Disappointed with his wife's childish behavior, he walks beside her to calm her down.

As this is happening Mebuyan asked all of them to open their black books to get to the bottom of this. But Persephone replied "Really is this the game you're going to ask me? I don't need the book to tell me their lives. As the ruler Tymarian's underworld, I take my job seriously and memorized the content of my black book." She looks at the bag and looked at the two swirling souls in it. She gives a summary of the lives of Pali the Brave and Thelgo the Wise, both rulers of Phronesia and were dead for a long time. Persephone summons her black book and turns to the pages of the two souls. The page's last entry says that the souls were forever to reside on Tartarus, proving Persephone's point that these two souls are not hers.

The Valkyrie nods but provides a counter agreement. The book never lies nor made mistakes and when she asked the book regarding these two souls, it points to Pali the Brave and Thelgo the Wise. This also proves the two souls in her position are indeed Tymarian and not from Ginn Hus.

"Sorry to barge into this but wouldn't it be faster than we just enter Tartarus to confirm if their souls are there in the first place or see if their bodies in Phronesia were used a necromancer?" Iblis says as he readies his hands to open a portal.

"I agree with this demon" Hades smiled and asked his wife to wait for him. "Just stay put and let me investigate their bodies on Phronesia. The necromancer theory does sound feasible as they will need their bodies to summon their soul back to the living." Hades taps his bident and opens the portal for them.

"Ugh, just hurry it up and I want this to be over. This Valkyrie already disturbed my rest." Persephone turns around and sits by the tree. She picks up a paintbrush and began painting the vase and began humming to calm her nerves.

Valkyrie and Mebuyan found themselves sitting just across Persephone and waited for the two citizens of the Abyss to return.

The Valkyrie looks up to the giant Mebuyan and greets her with a warm smile "Lady Mebuyan, it's so good to see you again. How goes our king's granddaughter? Is she doing well?"

Mebuyan smiles back "Hel is doing better. She mastered Odin's power to call on the birds of the sky to her side. The more she spends her time developing her power the more she becomes the ruler of your region's underworld"

Valkyrie's swan-like wings rustle in delight. "It's good to hear Hel. Oh! I do remember you were speaking of something a while ago. Can you tell us that?"

Mebuyan readies her voice so the agitated Persephone can hear her. "Incien demons led by Kali are invading underworld region. Mara's domain was first to fall. I was attacked but I was able to fend it off. Others are warned but the two of you are not answering. This is why I got here in the first place."

The news of this invasion sent Valkyrie's wings to shudder in excitement. She smiles and tightens her grip on her sword by her waist. "War eh? We Valkyrie are eager to let them in just so we can decimate them."

Such was the reaction from a war-ready ruler of the underworld but Persephone took it seriously. Her anger shifts into desperation. She turns around and looked at Mebuyan "But that's against Bathala's orders. What led Kali to be so bold? And where are the angels of Paradise?!"

"I fight alongside with my subordinates but no help from Paradise came. The demon with me, Iblis, says that other demons from Abyss say that Kali obtained an item"

Persephone drops her brush and turns to Mebuyan. "An item? Like what? A sword that can kill angels?"

"An artifact that Kali believes can negate the power of Bathala. Iblis says that even Lucifer doesn't believe it but so far Mara and my domain are invaded without any intervention from the angels."

The Valkyrie flaps her wings in the joy of seeing another war for them. "Did Hel fought valiantly against the Incien demons?" The Valkyrie asked and Mebuyan nods in response. "Oh, what joy! Odin will hear about this transgression from Kali and the growth of Hel."

Persephone bit her lips. Mebuyan can see curiosity and dread fills her head from the way her face reacts. Throughout her life, Mebuyan came to known the different rulers of every domain and she came to known Persephone as a bratty princess but she is always taken her job seriously. Mebuyan can get it if she wants to deny taking the two souls; once word this spread will hurt her pride and put a blemish on her and Hades' reputation but her being scared like this? Never.

The air vibrates and a portal appeals before them. Iblis shakes his head and asked Hades to allow them to enter Tartarus. But no matter how hard Iblis tried, Hades shuts him down and reaffirms that even he cannot disturb Nyx. Nyx will make anything that enters Tartarus into a deep sleep and the only time Hades can enter Tartarus is if Nyx decided to stretch her legs. He even tried it once to take a stroll in Tartarus and before he knows it, he immediately fell asleep near the gate of Tartarus. Not even him, the ruler of Tartarus, can stop Nyx's magic.

"And how was it?" The Valkyrie asked.

"The coffins of Pali the Brave and Thelgo the Wise remain undisturbed yet a swarm of bugs covers their coffins," Iblis says as he regains his footing on the gardens of Elysium.

"Worms and bugs will eat any decomposing things they found. Cracks in the coffin and decomposing woods allowed the bugs to get it and eat their insides and their bones." Hades replied while closing the portal behind him. "But I digress; as long as a necromancer got a piece of their bones, their souls can be summoned with the proper spell and preparation for it."

Persephone places her hands on Hades' shoulder. "It's fine, dear. I believe the souls are mine." Hades places his hand on hers too. "Yes, I believe some necromancer is messing with their souls."

Persephone reaches her hand to Valkyrie and accepts the souls. "Thank you for being patient with me and I know when I am made a mistake." The two hugged it out and forgive each other for their fight earlier.

Iblis walks back to Mebuyan and leans in her ear to softly whisper "Something is amiss all right."

Hades and Persephone lead their guests back to the pool and give them goodbye before leaving. Valkyrie is the first to go and waves her hand before jumping into the pool. Iblis and Mebuyan were next and before they left Mebuyan looked at Persephone and says "If anything comes up, please tell me. We don't know when the true danger lurks."

"We will be ready if the Incien demons arrived," Persephone replied.

"And don't you worry, I will sure to interrogate the two souls back in the hallways of Tartarus before tossing it back to their eternal sleep," Hades says as he poked the bad with his bident.

Mebuyan and Iblis waved goodbye and returned to their realm.

As soon as the pool closes, Hades looked at the two souls in the bag. "The demon isn't a fool. He knows something is up with those scarabs at their coffins."

"Did I overact? I'm sure Valkyrie bought it but with Mebuyan's eyes and cold resting face, it's hard to deduce it." Persephone stretches her face and wipes away her fake tears. He holds Hades' hands and gave it a firm squeeze. "Dear, I am worried. Mebuyan told me about the Incien demons got a piece. It's like the one we found with Nyx."

"Crap . . . that explains how these two manage to leave our realm in the first place. Necromancy is one thing. It will still reflect in the black book if they are to be resurrected but no, these souls are still registered as dead" Hades returns the bag in his pouch and placed his bident by the wall. He grabs his wife's hand and looked her in the eye. "We got to hide this as much as possible. It's the only way we can keep Nyx safe."

Persephone leads Hades to the room full of vases telling the story of their love and how they manage to do it all. "We were doing fine. Against mother, your brothers and even the world . . . we did it all in the name of love. But how much more can we take for Nyx?"

"Our love was possible because of her. Nyx's memory manipulation was strong enough to convince our family to let us be. It is just right we help her back." Hades grabs Persephone by the waist and they both admonish the beautiful vase that they painted together.

"Your right. The least we can do is to keep her body safe and let her enjoy the life above." Persephone grabs Hades' garb and pulls out a scroll. "I see you kept her Ritual of Power contract safe."

"It's just right we protect after we grant her that body." Hades smiled while pushing the contract back to his clothing.

"And what about the Incien demons?"

"Kali is wont dare to wake the Titans least he wants his army to be decimated by the earth they stand in."

"And what if Mebuyan and Iblis suspect us?"

"Let them speculate. All they see is my simple-mindedness and you being childish. They have no proof or way knowing the truth down here." Hades kisses his wife and shares a passionate moment to let their true feelings reveal who they are. Persephone glows so bright that she cannot contain her feelings for Hades. Her back emanates with such brightness until grows and grows in size. A burst of light came to and from it, angelic wings appeared on her back. The light was so bright that the shadow underneath Hades cast a horn forming above his head.