Alistair studied it.
He didn't quite get it.
He studied it again.
He was utterly shocked.
"No way!"
"With this setup, how did the Underworld lose to the Sanctuary time and again?"
"Does Hades even know how to play?"
Alistair couldn't help but complain again.
"Your Majesty!"
"Lord Hades was once one of the three great divine kings, alongside Poseidon and Zeus."
"But..."
"The Holy War has rules—gods can only participate in their mortal forms."
"Moreover."
"The Sanctuary also had the covert aid of the Olympian gods."
"This is what led to the repeated defeats in the Holy War."
At that moment, a noble, elegant voice reached Alistair's ears.
He turned to see two tall women.
One with dark purple hair, the other with jet-black hair.
Their attire matched their hair colors—long, flowing dresses that reached their ankles, paired with high heels of different shades.
The difference was.
The woman with dark purple hair on the left exuded elegance and nobility, her eyes always tinged with sorrow.
The woman with jet-black hair on the right was more alluring, her eyes seeming to see through everything.
The witch who brings hope and despair, Pandora.
The Goddess of Fate, Ker.
Alistair studied Pandora and Ker, saying with interest, "Now that I think about it, I was wondering earlier. I found the divine sparks and Surplices of every Underworld god, but not yours. As expected, you two didn't die."
"More precisely."
Ker spoke in an elegant, alluring tone, "Your Majesty, we didn't survive. We were on the verge of death. With Lord Hades' passing and the Underworld's collapse, everything tied to the Underworld was destined to perish."
"Heh heh heh~~~"
"How ironic. The Underworld, which governs death, faced death itself."
A self-mocking smile played on Ker's lips.
Pandora continued, "But, Your Majesty, your arrival as the new Lord of the Underworld, as the God of Darkness surpassing Lord Hades, made you the new anchor of the Underworld. We stabilized and survived thanks to you."
"Hmm..."
Alistair pondered for a moment before saying, "All the Underworld gods' lives are essentially tied to the Underworld itself."
"It seems."
"Hades didn't trust you at all!"
"There is no true trust among gods."
Pandora shook her head. As the witch of hope and despair, she knew this well.
Gods.
Trust?
That was nearly impossible.
Alistair smiled faintly, saying, "Good. I don't trust you either."
Snap!
With a snap of his fingers, two parchment scrolls floated before the women. He said directly, "These are subordinate god contracts. Sign them, and you can continue to live."
"..."
Pandora and Ker exchanged a glance, showing no hesitation.
The two goddesses took the contracts before them and signed their names.
As the contracts were established, Alistair could sense that both goddesses had become his subordinates.
He could feel absolute control over them.
With a single thought, he could even reduce them to kindling, burning them to ignite his divine flame and condense his divine spark.
Of course.
Alistair felt there was no need for that. No matter how you looked at it, they were still goddesses.
In his current bare-bones situation, two goddesses were quite valuable.
At the very least, they were pleasing to the eye!
"Let's continue where we left off."
"The Holy War."
"Even with the restrictions on gods, the Underworld has 108 Specters, the God of Sleep, the God of Death, the God of the River Acheron, the Goddess of Fate, you, the witch, and 3,000 Dream Gods."
"If Hades had even a shred of sense."
"There's no way he could lose the Holy War!"
"Not to mention."
"After the Holy War rules were set, no matter what underhanded tactics were used."
"Are you saying."
"The Olympians didn't have to follow any rules?"
Alistair leaned back, and a pitch-black divine throne appeared. He sat upon it, genuinely puzzled.
"And!"
Looking at Ker, he said curiously, "From what I know, Ker, you're a plural goddess, aren't you?"
"So, Hades' power was immense!"
"Not to mention counterattacking Olympus."
"With this power, he couldn't win a Holy War?"
Alistair continued, "Even if he couldn't win, at the very least, couldn't he defend the Underworld? To let someone storm in, pluck the 108 Mukurosses from the Mukurosso tree?"
Alistair's barrage of questions left Pandora and Ker silent.
Well!
Perhaps...
Maybe—
It did seem...
Kind of embarrassing!
The Underworld's strength.
The Sanctuary's strength.
Compare them, and you'd see winning was expected, losing was odd, and letting someone storm the Underworld to steal the Mukurosses—let alone getting killed in the Underworld by having Hades himself taken out—was absurd!
It was like absurdity opened the door for absurdity, absurd to the max!
"Good thing."
Alistair toyed with the Demon Star bracelet, saying, "Now that the Demon Stars are mine, a new Mukurosso tree will be nurtured. Otherwise, my future Specters would have an inherent flaw, and that would be a real headache."
"Your Majesty..."
Ker opened her mouth, unsure what to say.
Alistair raised a hand to stop her, saying, "No need to dwell on this. By the way, what's with the barrier around the temple? I can sense a god sleeping there. The Queen of the Underworld? Persephone didn't leave the Underworld?"
Pandora explained softly, "More precisely, the moment Persephone was forcibly taken to the Underworld by Hades, she sealed herself, and Hades sealed her here."
"Hm?"
Alistair raised an eyebrow.
***
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