Chapter 142: The Bullet Train to Hell, Thank You for Riding With Us
"Not this damn barrier again!"
Zeus's face twisted in pure frustration as he ground his teeth. How many times had it been now? This absolute bastard just loved using the exact same trick.
*Whoosh—!*
Shirazawa's attack arrived without a single hint of a warning. He ambushed him out of nowhere, moving at a ridiculous speed, appearing right by Zeus's flank in a fraction of a second.
*Bam!* A right whip-kick.
*Bam!* A left front-kick.
Deflect, absorb, deliver—
*Thud! Thud!*
Two heavy, muffled impacts echoed out. Zeus's cheek swelled up instantly, and the armor that was already on the verge of collapsing shattered completely, his chest caving inward. Coughing up a mouthful of stale blood, he went flying backward. Seizing the opening while the guy was airborne, Shirazawa swiftly tracked his trajectory and added a nasty right hook to the mix.
"You have zero martial ethics!" Zeus cried out in pain. "Bullying a six-thousand-year-old man like me!"
Feeling the vital energy sloshing around violently inside his chest cavity, Zeus was practically bursting with sheer humiliation. He was a grand Divine King, yet he was getting utterly clowned by a little brat who had barely stepped into the realm of gods. He was losing face completely. Feeling utterly insulted, his blue divine energy surged forward in an angry swell, tightly condensing into a long spear.
"Lightning!"
*Crackle! Snap!*
The blue electrical currents locked together into a lightning spear, which he threw directly toward Shirazawa's heart. Shirazawa let out a cold snort, Zangetsu drawing a graceful curve through the air as he precisely sliced into the incoming project. This was a divine artifact belonging to Zeus himself, not some basic system magic, so he didn't dare drop his guard.
*Clang, clang, clang!*
The lightning spear struck Zangetsu's steel over and over with a crisp, metallic ringing, vibrating continuously as if it had run straight into its natural worst enemy. Zeus's pupils shrank slightly; he hadn't anticipated his divine artifact performing so terribly against the opponent.
*Zip!*
Catching the golden opportunity, Shirazawa batted away the remaining remnants of the lightning spear and flashed right into Zeus's personal space. The blade flashed with a starlight glow, cleaving down ruthlessly.
Zeus roared in panic, "Aegis!"
In a flash, an exquisitely crafted, ornate round shield materialized out of thin air, anchoring itself right in front of him.
*Clang!*
A violent metal clash exploded across the field, the edge of the blade scraping against the surface of the shield to throw off a dazzling cascade of sparks. The two weapons locked together in mid-air, caught in a tense stalemate.
Zeus's face filled with smug satisfaction. "The Aegis is a High-Tier Divine Artifact! It isn't something a basic weapon can easily break."
"Heh, cute," Shirazawa sneered. "Very soon, that weapon is going to be mine."
As he spoke, Shirazawa stole a quick glance over toward the cat-eared maid. A deep crimson, six-pointed star magic circle was currently tracing itself right beneath Menka's feet. Six blood-red gemstones sat perfectly at each point of the magic circle, glowing with a brilliant, mesmerizing light that seemed capable of pulling a person's soul right out of their body. What on earth was she trying to summon?
*Hum— hum, hum—*
Strange, eerie ripples began to distort the air. Right after, a massive spatial portal leading straight to the Underworld ground open! It was a grand Hell Gate, completely covered in intricate demon sculptures—a magnificent and terrifying sight.
"Hello, hello, hello! This is the Underworld Patrol Envoy, please respond if you copy!" Menka barked, shouting toward the two tiny demon statues attached to the door handle. The very next second, the sculptures slowly opened a pair of crimson eyes.
"Hell Designation: D001, Chief Arbiter, responding to your call." A chilling, demonic whisper carried the icy weight of slaughter straight from the depths of the Underworld.
A wide grin spread across Menka's face. "D001? Talk about a lucky break~"
Without wasting another moment, she immediately barked out her orders. "Coordinates: Universe Gamma, Dark Death Star inside the Milky Way Galaxy. Sector X: 875632, Y: 4532, Z: 2333. Target is a bird-man from the Pantheon, code name: Zeus. Requesting complete erasure of his true soul!"
"...Order received. Naraku is beginning to manifest!"
"...Channel construction complete!"
"...Dimensional Particle Conversion Device activated successfully!"
"...Energy reservoir at 10%, 20%, 50%..."
"Warning: High-tier entity detected approaching this coordinate. Activating the Abyssal Shield... successful!"
"Should we construct an escape route to bypass the incoming threat?"
Menka couldn't help but feel incredibly impressed. As expected of an Arbiter from the 001 branch—their efficiency was through the roof, and they had even helped sort out a clean exit strategy well in advance. Absolutely spectacular.
"Construct it!"
"Detecting a complete dimensional transportation array in the immediate vicinity. Merging channels..."
"This train runs express to Hell. Passengers, please prepare to board immediately."
The moment the voice faded, the tracking array Shirazawa and Shiro had set up beforehand was suddenly overwritten by an unknown, creeping power. The dark, hazy silhouette of a black train slowly materialized right over the coordinates of the magic circle, looking entirely surreal as it pointed toward an unknown destination.
At the exact same time, the Hell Gate let out a loud creak as it ground open.
"Energy reservoir full. Executing capture!"
While everyone was left standing frozen in shock, a colossal, ink-black claw reached straight out from the depths of the Hell Gate. The limb was absolutely dripping with terrifying ghostly energy as it reached directly for Zeus.
"No~!"
Zeus shrieked in absolute terror, forcing Shirazawa's Zangetsu back as his twelve sacred wings batted the air in a frenzy, turning tail to run for his absolute life. "How on earth can an Underworld Soul Summon happen at a coordinate like this?!"
His face was completely pale, entirely consumed by dread as he threw every ounce of his strength into his escape. "I am the Divine King Zeus! I possess an eternal lifespan! The Underworld has zero authority to strip away my true soul!!!"
Unfortunately for him, the massive claw reaching out from the gate couldn't care less about his titles. Once it locked onto a target, it would chase them from the highest heavens to the deepest springs of the underworld until the kill was secured. The giant claw cut through the endless void, entirely ignoring distance, planes, and time itself to firmly grab Zeus by his wings.
Like a person hoisting a defenseless little chicken, it dragged him straight back toward the maw of the Hell Gate.
"Father God, save me!!"
Zeus's piercing, miserable screams echoed across the desolate landscape, but the only response he received was an angry, roaring boom from above.
"You lot have a lot of nerve!"
Just outside the perimeter of the Dark Death Star, Zeus's father, Cronus, had finally arrived. The thirty-six holy wings on his back unleashed a crushing wave of divine pressure, his sheer presence causing the surrounding space to tremble violently.
But before he could even make a move, a massive cloud of black mist erupted from the surface of the Dark Death Star, instantly raising a deep red Abyssal Shield. Cronus hesitated. He had never seen such a terrifying density of pure abyssal energy before; it felt as if it belonged to the deepest layers of the Underworld, instantly commanding respect and caution.
During that split-second hesitation, Zeus's figure was thoroughly swallowed up by the Hell Gate. The massive doors slowly clicked shut, returning the area to a dead silence.
"Move, now! The shield isn't going to hold for long!" Menka let out a sharp cry, instantly launching herself toward the black train below.
Shirazawa snapped out of his daze, flashing right behind Shiro to sweep her securely into his arms before trailing closely after the maid.
Sariel, who had managed to survive the ordeal, let out a quiet sigh of relief. *I actually made it out alive... Thank the Goddess of Luck.*
"You think you can just leave?!" Cronus bellowed, completely losing his temper as he realized what had happened. "Give me back my son!!"
Tearing through the upper atmosphere, his massive frame broke into the Dark Death Star's airspace. A holy, giant palm reached down from the heavens, completely blanketing the sky. The makeshift shield was mostly for show; it only managed to hold out for three or four seconds before being effortlessly crushed by the sacred palm.
But that tiny window of time was more than enough for the trio to pull off a clean getaway. Shirazawa, Shiro, and Menka had already settled safely into the black train.
The next second, amidst Cronus's helpless, furious roars, the train vanished into thin air, hurtling along the tracks toward its final stop: Hell.
"Sariel, what on earth happened here?!" Cronus roared, splitting the sky open as he landed on the scorched ground.
Sariel offered a deeply bitter explanation. "Lord Zeus took a liking to that outsider goddess, and then..."
After listening to her explanation, Cronus was so angry he could barely catch his breath. "A woman again?!" He barked, completely furious. "Does he not have enough lovers already?!"
He was thoroughly losing his mind. Over the years, because of Zeus's incredibly loose lifestyle, he had consistently been dragged into cleaning up his messes. The grand, pristine Pantheon had zero tolerance for a parasite like that. In order to let Zeus lay low and avoid the heat, he had intentionally exiled him to guard a remote rock like Earth in the corner of the Milky Way.
Who would have thought it would actually end up getting the guy killed? A punishment from the Pantheon would have topped out at a few thousand years of confinement, but getting dragged down into the depths of Hell meant there was an absolute zero percent chance of survival.
"My son is completely finished!"
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