Although many Titans were in high spirits and felt frustrated when the battle was abruptly halted, their self-control was exceptional. None of them acted out by attacking others to vent their frustration. After exchanging glances, they followed the direction pointed out by a lich, heading deeper into the underworld. They had come to this realm to witness the ruler of the underworld, Hades, refining the foreign epic entity he had captured.
"You're quite bold!" As the group of Titans moved ahead, Muria lingered near the lich who had guided them and scrutinized him.
"Your Highness jests!" The lich, who stood atop a trembling undead beast disguised as a statue, chuckled awkwardly. Although powerful, the lich lacked the unfathomable aura of deeper mysteries. In fact, he was the first being since Muria's arrival at the Palace of Hades whose strength Muria could gauge clearly.
"What position do you hold in the Undead Council?" Muria suddenly asked.
"Thanks to Hades' favor, I currently serve as the chairman of the Undead Council," the lich responded humbly.
"Not bad," Muria nodded before asking, "Does the council still have its tradition of wiping out kingdoms every century?"
"Your Highness, given your current standing, I'm sure no major event on the continent escapes your attention. Have you heard of any kingdoms being destroyed by us in the past few centuries?"
"Good. You're doing well." Muria nodded and continued toward the throne hall of the Underworld.
"What a pity," a sigh reached Muria's ears. He turned slightly to see Heloiess eyeing the undead beast under the lich with some regret.
"There's nothing to regret. It's just a Behemoth turned undead," Muria responded with a smile. He had long recognized the origin of the lich's mount.
"This Behemoth had the strength of a legendary peak creature when it was alive. If it were still alive, it wouldn't be crouched here like this," Heloiess lamented.
"True," Muria chuckled. Behemoths were one of the few legendary creatures capable of battling Titans on equal footing.
"I'm just disappointed that I've never had the chance to fight a living Behemoth. All I see now is a dead one."
"You could still fight it."
"It's just a mindless undead. There's no point."
As they conversed, Muria and Heloiess stepped into the grandest hall of the Underworld. Upon entering, Muria immediately noticed a massive black egg entangled in dark chains.
The egg was inscribed with death runes, sealing the creature within. Muffled roars occasionally echoed from inside, and the egg would tremble slightly, as if the being inside was ready to break free at any moment.
"Is this the epic entity Hades captured?" Muria gazed up at the colossal black egg, awe evident in his eyes. Just looking at it filled him with a suffocating sense of dread.
Though sealed, the egg emanated an oppressive aura, reminding Muria of the evil god he had once seen as a child in the Sky City of the Mechanic Emperor. Back then, the god was also in a state of captivity, but the difference in Muria's strength between then and now was vast. Despite this, the feeling was the same, showing just how formidable the entity Hades had captured was.
The fact that Hades had subdued such a powerful being spoke volumes about his own strength.
"How do you feel?" a familiar voice reached the Titans. They turned to see Hades seated on his black and gold throne, watching them.
"Hades!" Upon seeing him, all the Titans respectfully lowered their heads and paid their respects. Beyond his undeniable connection to the Titans, Hades had shown them immense kindness. He had gone so far as to expend his divine power to create worthy opponents for them to fight. Muria hadn't even experienced such lavish treatment back in Titan territory, yet here, Hades, with no blood relation to them, had offered it.
"Are you satisfied with my hospitality?" Hades asked warmly, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor when dealing with the gods of the Pantheon.
"Thank you..." The Titans quickly responded. After a brief exchange, Hades got straight to the point.
"No more small talk. I'm about to begin refining this evil god. Stand back and watch. Don't interfere."
With that, Hades remained seated, but the boundless power of laws surged from his divine realm and enveloped the sealed demon lord.
The demon inside the black egg began to thrash and roar in defiance, unwilling to accept its impending doom. However, brilliant seven-colored light descended from beyond the divine realm, enveloping the black egg. The demon's roars instantly quieted.
Mountains, rivers, skies, stars... Muria gazed into the seven-colored light, seeing a reflection of the world itself. These were the laws of the world, descending to assist Hades in refining the foreign entity. As a god, Hades had become part of the world's essence. Refining this evil god would strengthen the world's core, and the world was eager to help.
Hades remained unmoved, as this was expected. All the Titans, Muria included, immersed themselves in the clash of foreign and native laws, each gaining new insights. Muria felt himself growing stronger, the barriers to reaching the legendary peak steadily crumbling. His path forward was becoming clearer.
As he continued to absorb these revelations, Muria found that he could now see inside the black egg. A giant demonic ape, shackled by chains of death, was thrashing about inside. Bolts of seven-colored lightning rained down upon it, erasing the laws governing its existence.
The demon lord's struggles were in vain. Each moment, its power was devoured by the world's laws, leaving it unable to resist. Strands of hair and fragments of bone, cleansed by the lightning, drifted out of the egg. These remnants, fully assimilated, fell to the ground and, to Muria's astonishment, transformed into powerful undead under Hades' control.
One after another, these undead emerged, their weakest members possessing soul-intent level strength. Each carried a unique aura, having been born from the demon lord's remains. After their creation, they instinctively left the throne hall to guard other parts of the palace.
Muria watched intently as Hades crafted his own divine army from the body of a foreign epic.
Suddenly, a sharp aura cut through the air, snapping the Titans out of their reverie. Muria looked up to see Hades, now standing, with a sword in hand.
Hades raised the sword and swung it down. A black slash split the egg in two. Muria instinctively stepped back, but nothing happened. The demon lord had been completely erased by the laws, leaving behind only two masses of primal chaos, radiating a strange energy.
Hades cut his wrist, allowing his divine blood, a mix of life and death energy, to drip onto the two masses of chaos. Under the influence of his blood, the chaos shifted and took humanoid form. As divine power surged, two towering figures emerged, clad in black-purple armor. Once fully formed, the two knelt before Hades.
"Greetings, Lord!"
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