SCC Chapter 26 Fall of Olympus(2)

"The Underworld Palace... Can you give us its location?" The president's question earned Reed's full attention. He didn't want to pressure the man considering all the good that he had done, but he really needed to know. With the president acting as the mouthpiece for his burning questions, he could hang back.

"Its north of here. That location is something that hasn't been bound by the oath since every mortal already knows the location."

The President thanked the man while Reed released a sigh of relief. He could feel Livia's burning gaze from the side, which was threatening to bore holes through him, but he ignored it for the time being.

"I hope that when you are battling the others, you show mercy to the mortals. And I won't be going anywhere. I will be staying here protecting the coast."

"Lord Poseidon, who are these strangely dressed people? Are they Gods?" asked a boy whose curiosity had gotten the best of him.

"No. They are just mortal men. The same as you and I..."

"This child is innocent... The same as those people you will encounter. Some have taken up arms to fight for their religions and beliefs, while others have gained access to foreign weaponry, with the intent of overthrowing those that have been oppressing them..."

"...all I ask is for you to afford them the same mercy as your citizens."

Reed felt a burning on his face while listening to the man's heartfelt plea.

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(You supplied weapons to mortals? Wow! I didn't think the prim and proper Reed would go to such lengths for revenge!) transmitted Livia once they were up in the sky, aboard the ship, towards the Underworld Palace.

Reed chose to keep quiet. He hadn't thought much about his actions, mostly delegating such things to Latniss and the others, not spending any brain power upon that particular problem. But now that it had been pointed out by Poseidon, he had started seeing it as a mistake. And he was certain that when the President, Nikolai and Cecilia laid their eyes upon the rampaging mortals, they would be capable of tracing everything back to him with just a glance. They were the people he hadn't wanted to disappoint the most.

Before he could sink further down that hole though, the temperature rose, attracting his attention towards a place in the distance, where lava was freely gathered in pools, with a massive hole as the center, where the lava was cascading down into the depths.

"I sense lightning attribute spiritual energy in high concentrations. It's dissipating, but it's there." uttered Lily.

"Zeus must have battled here. If I am not mistaken, he and Hades battled for Lily. We will need to go down there to see whether more could be gleaned." spoke Reed before leaping off the ship. This time, he didn't wait for anyone to give the go ahead, or take the lead.

Before he plunged down though, others joined him above the massive hole, through which they could see crimson down below, probably the result of magma pooling.

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"I don't see any of your fellow sect mates." casually commented Reed as the two floated down in close proximity to each other. There were also others who had chosen to go down with them, mostly the generals associated with the Federal army and the President himself. This was just in case Hades was hiding below. Traces of the battle had been masked with the lava, but it must have been intense, meaning that Hades was no pushover.

"The elder vehemently refused to join this crusade. Plus anyone else would have been too weak."

'They must be adopting a wait and see attitude, like the others.' inwardly surmised Reed.

"Then, let me change the question. Why are you here?"

Through his scans with divine sense, making sure not to overlook any nook and cranny hidden behind the waterfall of lava, Reed detected something, pausing his descent. While floating towards its location, while simultaneously scanning with his divine sense, he stopped in place. He had finally managed to thoroughly scan it, feeling the cracks within, and also the unfamiliar energy surrounding it. Since it had looked and felt like steel, he had thought that maybe, it could be one of Lily's belongings. But the unfamiliar aura that was about to be snuffed out by the lava removed that suspicion.

A sigh escaped his lips, one he didn't know whether of relief, or something else.

"They decided to touch my one reverse scale. Of course I have to be here!" There was something sinister within her tone, though, what earned his gaze towards her, were her words.

But she was gazing back at him with an unreadable expression, causing him to wonder why that was?

"I shouldn't imagine impossible things." he mumbled after coming to a realization he couldn't believe.

After that Interlude, they both sped up their descent downwards. Finally, they reached the pool below, which had accumulated enough liquid molten earth to submerge multiple levels below.

"Looks like we will have to get rid of all this." spoke Livia as her eyes roamed those that had arrived before the two of them.

Reed had entertained the slim possibility that Lily had perished here. That was why he wanted to atleast find something of her.

"Stokes!" called out the President.

Then a man, decked out in the Federation's military attire, with a designation of a general, acted, releasing an inky darkness that devoured everything within the vicinity, leaving behind the people, giving Reed the impression of standing within the empty void. Even the heat was devoured in its entirety, bringing a chill.

After the darkness cleared, all the lava had vanished, even way above, on the mouth of the hole. Only a single clump of darkness remained, with everyone certain that it wasn't the man's, as the aura was different.

It was about three levels down on the ground, clearly the end of the abyssal hole. When everyone reached the ground, they surrounded the clump, Reed and Livia included.

"President! I couldn't dispel the darkness surrounding whatever this is. It was as if it was on a level higher than mine. I have never encountered such a bizarre situation." commented Stokes, the general.

"You couldn't disperse it because the man had reached the very peak of the Nascent Soul stage." explained the President while releasing a wisp of his eerie crimson games, erasing the darkness to expose a corpse.

It was of a man with a middle aged appearance, with various wounds upon his body, with the most serious one being a hole through his naval, through which the ground below could be seen. Clearly, someone had made an attack that had pierced through him. And judging by the charred sides of the wound, Reed was certain that it must have been Zeus.

"If I am not mistaken, this man must be the elusive Hades." commented Livia.

Reed nodded along. No one had ever managed to get a glimpse of the man's true face in those rare occasions he had managed to make an appearance within the Federation.

Reed's gaze and divine sense scanned the rest of the place, finding nothing of worth. That led to the conclusion that Lily had most probably fallen into Zeus' hands.

"We are going to have to pay a visit to Olympus. Let's make haste." spoke the President, upon which the sound of whistling in the air was heard as everyone turned into blurs, flying out of the abyssal hole. Atleast Hades' corpse had been a clue.

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FCY 437, 2nd Month, Day 20, 1:13AM

The fleet flew over untamed terrain. Dense jungles interspersed with small towns and villages. Farms were also visible, while wooden fences surrounding all these, keeping whatever was within the surrounding woods at bay. Reed could sense multiple demons hiding within the untamed wilderness, probably being kept alive by the so-called gods in order to keep the humans in fear. Temples were also visible. Within the villages, with each housing statues of the three great gods and one lesser Deity, which was most probably related to certain competitions among them for believers.

Through the jungles, right at the foot of the tall mountain before them, an upside down bowl shaped shield laid infront of the invaders, enclosing the entire mountain peak within itself. It was a translucent blue, with multiple runes swimming across its surface.

Below, quite the crowd had gathered. And they were in the middle of pelting the shield with attacks from familiar projectile weapons, clearly an older model of array guns. But not even a dent or ripple was being made in the shield, while those within it had the leisure to unleash their wrath upon the crowd as they saw fit, annihilating many in the process. But Reed could feel the powerful determination of the mortals. They weren't going to easily be forced into a retreat.

Reed felt his face burning with shame upon looking down at those futile attacks. He hadn't really paid attention to what Latniss and the others had been doing!

With a powerful leap, he flew down, towards the mortals below, though he could sense that they had just stepped upon the path of cultivation.