Faced with Hypnos's immediate refusal, Meruem felt a bit surprised.
"The souls imprisoned in Cocytus are those of sinners who showed great disrespect to the gods. This has been Lord Hades's practice through the ages, the rule of every Holy War. I cannot hand them over to you." Seeing Meruem's puzzlement, Hypnos actually explained. "You may ask for something else."
"Then there's nothing to discuss. Please leave." Meruem flatly refused without turning around, even making a shooing gesture.
Seeing his attitude, not only Hypnos but even Thanatos was on the verge of attacking several times. Meruem's eyes narrowed, and the aggressive Cosmo radiating from him made them think twice.
What astonishing Cosmo—the mortal's power rivaled their own.
Now the Twin Gods had no choice but to take him seriously. Good thing he lacked a godhead; otherwise, Lord Hades would have had to come personally. For such a powerhouse to appear in the mortal world was terrifying.
Thanatos then turned to Saori, who sat silently without a word. "Athena, is this your will as well?"
"His will is my thinking." Saori replied calmly, her tone firm and unquestionable.
"So you intend to break the rules of the Holy War." Hypnos gave Saori a deep look. "Do you truly believe this one man can shatter the pact made by the gods? You cannot bear the consequences…"
He turned to confer quietly with Thanatos, then finally said to Meruem, grudgingly, "Fine. I accept your terms. But you must hand over Lord Hades's seal first."
"Sorry, I'm the one setting terms here. You have no room to bargain." Meruem spread his hands, smirking at the furious Twin Gods.
"Damnable mortal, you're playing with fire! Threatening gods—is deicide not a grievous sin?" Thanatos could no longer hold back his temper.
"Sorry, last time someone named Poseidon said the same thing to me. Then he got sealed in a jar." Meruem shrugged indifferently. Threatening gods? Grievous sin? He wouldn't care even if all the heavenly gods came at once.
Weakness was the true sin. Only the strongest fist spoke with authority.
"You—" Humiliation burned in the Twin Gods for the first time. Never in countless years had they burned with such desire to kill a human.
Yet with Hades's soul in his hands, they had no choice but to obey this mortal.
"Hahahaha… Mortal, you're good. But you won't stay arrogant forever. Truth be told, Hypnos and I never took the previous Holy Wars seriously. This one will be your end. When the time comes, I'll tear your soul to shreds." In the end, the Twin Gods handed over the souls of the Gold Saints from the last Holy War, who had been cast into Cocytus, in exchange.
As they left, Thanatos shot Meruem and Saori a glare of laughing rage, full of menace.
"My lord, you really handed those sinners' souls over just like that?" Back in the Underworld, the Dream God brothers grumbled unwillingly. Not just the Twin Gods—they felt the same.
Each of them wielded power rivaling ordinary Second-tier Gods, respected wherever they went. To be threatened by a mere mortal today was an indelible stain of shame.
"Lord Hades's soul has not fully awakened, and that woman Athena has restored her divine power—plus that damned human… Those souls don't matter. They're just souls without bodies; without Lord Hades's power, no one can grant them new ones. Not even Athena."
"We'll settle today's score with the Sanctuary in time."
"My lords, rest easy. Those Gold Saints are all flash with no substance—far weaker than before. This Holy War may not even need our high-rank warriors. A few Earth-rank Specters to assist, and we five can finish them."
"You all performed well today. Those Specters must think the Sanctuary is empty now. Once Hades's soul awakens, they'll launch a full assault. We'll give them a surprise then." Meruem looked approvingly at the Gold Saints before him.
Per his plan, every Gold Saint had feigned weakness against their Specter foes. More than that—they had seriously held back, toying with them without the enemy realizing.
Otherwise, someone like Shura's opponent would have been done in one move.
"My lord, rest assured—the Specters who came today were only Silver Saint level. We didn't even need to act." Even the usually refined Mu spoke harshly for once; clearly, that dead pervert had disgusted him.
"Be careful with the high-rank Specters. Some match your strength." Meruem warned. This show of weakness was meant to lure the Underworld into overconfidence for the Holy War. But if his Gold Saints grew complacent too, that would be trouble. "Take those retainers—even Aldebaran never saw his foe's face before getting knocked out."
"Yes!" The Gold Saints sobered, shedding their earlier disdain, and replied in unison. Aldebaran's frontal might was no joke; in a straight fight, even Mu's Crystal Wall might not fully stop his iron fists. And his punch speed ranked top three among Gold Saints.
"Three years… We have three years. I added something to Hades's seal; he won't fully awaken for at least that long. Use this time to grow stronger—all of you. Reach the Eighth Sense at minimum, or peak Seventh. Our enemies aren't just Hades…"
With that, Meruem produced the souls Thanatos had traded: past Gold Saints from the last Holy War, cast into Cocytus. "With your predecessors to guide you, I know you'll advance swiftly. Then we'll surprise those arrogant fools."
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