Along the way, I found more monsters. Not the ones in the egg sacs but hideous creatures that could only be described as the stuff of nightmares. All of them were of monstrous proportions, grotesquely built, with unnatural limbs or features exposed along their bodies. They looked like an abominable version of the mythological Chimaera's. Of course, given that I was a minor God and had trained under Nyx, they were no match for me. All of them died under my [Gluttony] skill.

I had just finished fighting a large snakelike monster with the head of a berserking elephant. I decided to see how far I could go without using my [Gluttony]. With my heightened physicality, I was surprisingly strong and fast enough to be on par with a monster in a 1v1. I toyed with the monster for several minutes as it began to roar in frustration. It kept spitting out liquids that would melt the ground as it tried to whip me with its tail. I sighed in boredom. Have I really gotten too strong? I don't feel like I'm gaining any experience even after killing these monsters. I shake my head while activating [Gluttony]. I've had enough fun and it's time to end this. The monster cowers at the sight of skill and tries to run. It's too slow and the monster's very essence is disintegrated and consumed.

After killing the monster, I looked behind it and saw the endless depths of Tartarus once more. Ah. I smiled at the familiar, rocky landscape. Following my instincts, I started making my way to Kampe. I could sense a strong presence faintly beyond the darkness. No other monster had given off such an aura and it was safe to assume that it was Kampe.

Kampe. From my previous life, I remember Kampe was a mythological creature that acted as the jailor for the elder cyclops and hundred-handed ones. I vaguely remembered that she had been killed by Zeus in order to free the monsters she guarded.

As I continued down the precarious slope of a strangely red mountain, I arrived at what could only be described as a ruined jail. Broken pillars and rusted gates (don't even ask me how these were in Tartarus) littered the ground. Blood stained the ruins and groans and cries of pain could be heard. Along with the distinct crack of a whip and a booming voice telling them to 'shut up'.

After entering her prison, I noticed that the barren land was now covered in pockets of raging hellfire. Inside these pockets were figures of giants and other monsters writhing in pain as they tried to shrink from her anger. Amongst the flames I could make out a large figure roaming at the edge of these pockets. The sparks burst around them and a crack of unnatural lightning fell down, illuminating her figure.

She was ginormous. Thousands of snakes amassed at her feet spiting up poisonous liquids and fire. Around her neck dozens of heads of beasts roared. Some were lions heads roaring and others were spitting foam from the tusks of boars. She looked to be a woman with a voluptuous figure, but it was hard to see amongst the abominations bursting from her. Her whole body was covered in hard scales and the claws of her hands were curved like a sickle. A scorpion's tail rose and coiled around her and wings, pitch black and veiny roused gales with each flap. A fiery hundred-headed whip crackled and laughed as it occasionally found itself feasting on the back of a poor cyclop or briares.

She snickered and laughed amongst the cacophony of beasts surrounding her. Truly this was a monster of monsters.

I summoned my courage and called out in a loud voice. My [Zen] skill was rather useful forcing out any fears or mental breakdowns as a result of coming across such a monster.

"Domo. I have set across Tartarus in search of you. Lady Nyx advised me to come to you before my conquest of the Underworld. Would you be as kind as to grant me an audience with your divine self?"

I knelt in a show of reverence and bowed my head. She looked at me with a faint smile on her face. Slowly, she ambled her way towards me, her heaving breasts swaying dangerously in the gales created by her wings. The ground groaned as she walked.

"Ara ara. What are you doing so far from home little boy?"

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She licked her lips and sneered. As she got closer, I got a better look at her face. Ignoring the abnormalities of her body, she was really quite beautiful. She had a sadistic smile but I could still feel a mature aura emanating from her. Even though her face hid any signs of her long age, her eyes exposed the longevity of her existence. She narrowed her eyes while I scrutinized her and began to release an even more terrifying aura filled with her killing intent.

It took the very limits of [Zen] to keep myself from running away and I forced myself look up at her. Her eyebrows widened as she realized I wasn't pissing my pants.

"Ara, how interesting. To stand strong against my killing intent, you certainly aren't the average monster! Come! Tell me your name little brother."

"Reiko Nakamara-desu."

"So what are you doing so far in my territory? Surely you didn't come here to kill me. Kukukuk."

Her lips curl into a toothy smile.

"I came for you, Kampe-sama."

"Me?"

"Yes. Lady Nyx advised me to search for you."

"Hmm. You said you wanted to conquer the Underworld? How are you planning on doing there?"

"I plan on overthrowing Hades and consuming his soul. With the creation of a power vacuum as a result of the loss in leadership, I will fill the vacancy as the strongest candidate for lord over the Underworld."

"Ara?" She looked surprised. I'm guessing she didn't expect me to think things so far ahead nor say things like "consuming Hades" with such confidence. She then took a sniff.

"I can smell your divinity, but it is very new. It couldn't be…"

She began to ponder and then burst into a laugh.

"That crazy goddess really did it! Oh well, what's done is done. Surely she knew of the consequences! You must be one special monster for her to go that far for you. Very well! I'm guessing you came here to recruit me into your rebellion huh?"

"Hah. I did."

"Well then, tell me what do I have to gain from this?"

"You can leave your jail and travel the world. After the Underworld, I plan to venture out into the surface. I only have one goal in my mind and after conquering Hell I plan on fighting even stronger opponents on the outside. I'm sure that a millennia spent guarding the same monsters has gotten rather boring."

She remains silent.

"All I ask is that you help me with the Underworld. After I throw down Hades, I should be strong enough to fight on my own. You'll be free to do what you want."

She looks up at the Tartarus skyline thoughtfully and mutters.

"Last time I saw the sky was many thousand years ago when Zeus slew me to free the cyclops and hundred-handed ones. It would be nice to see it once more."

I smiled and slowly get up. I reach out my hand and say with a grin.

"May I have the honor of welcoming you?"

"Humu. First we need to do something about the cyclops and briars. I doubt Tartarus will let me leave while I disappear from my jail. One of the stipulations of my very existence is to either guard them or perish."

My smile disappears and I ask.

"If they are no longer alive, then you won't need to jail over them."

I turn to the monsters that went silent after their brief respite from Kampe's torture. I ask Pandora's Box.

'Hey system can Gluttony devour divine monsters like elder Cyclopes?'

'Host can devour anything but Greater Gods with his current gluttony skill rank'

Kampe looks at me curiously.

"What do you mean? These creatures are the spawn of Gaea. They use the Earth itself to perfectly regenerate and maintain immortality as long as they are in contact with the ground. The most I can do is prevent them from respawning for several decades."

"Don't worry. I have a little trick…"

She tilts her head as I flash her a dazzling grin.

"Now watch Kampe-sama as I free you of your burden."

I activate [Gluttony] and a vortex appears. I walk up to the first cyclop. He's 50 m tall but barely able to move. His body's covered in wounds and he's breathing heavily. Long scraggly hair covers his face and he struggles in an attempt to speak.

The vortex begins to pull at the cyclops. Like a black hole, it begins stretching and stretching until it's the size of the monster. It moves forward and the cyclops disappears with a sigh. In an instant, the cyclops is gone and a trail of particles drifts down from where the 50 meter tall monster once stood.

Kampe's eyes widen and her jaw drops. Over the many years she's watched over them, she has attempted to kill them countless times. Nothing worked and they would always reappear and regenerate. To make sure they died, she uses her senses to search for their souls but finds nothing. Once again, she looks over at the man standing with an evil grin on his face.

Emotions threaten to overtake her face as she is finally freed of her burden for the first time in several thousand years.

"Well? What do you say Kampe-sama? Wanna join me in turning the world upside down?"

"One more condition."

"What is it?"

"No more sama. I want you to call me Kampe onee-san."

"..."

She smiles widely and puffs up her chest proudly. Yare yare. I silently pray to myself that I won't regret picking her up.