Okay, I want to start things off right off the bat with a major warning that themes in this story are going to get very, very, VERY dark. I'm talking somethings will be heavily implied that some people will not approve of. I really don't want to say what I know is going to happen, but I will try to word it as delicately as possible.

There will be themes of sexual violation.

I won't directly show what will happen, but it will be implied or hinted to. I really hope you can forgive me.

Anyway, I'm going to leave the poll up for a while, see how many people want things to change or stay the same. Maybe in a few weeks, maybe at American Thanksgiving or the start of December, I will post the results of the poll and decide what will happen. However, I will say that the vote is looking in favor of the way things currently are.

Moving on.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Capcom owns Devil May Cr. Rick Riordan owns Percy Jackson and the Olympians.


Devil May Cry: Slayer's Return

Chapter 4: Building Pressure Part 2

River Styx Shoreline, Underworld

The Greek myth of Cerberus had been grossly over-exaggerated from what Excelsus could tell. The pup seemed to only rely on its natural abilities and the fact that it was more of a spirit, an animal at that. In the Demon World, Cerberi were intelligent and crafty beasts, their three heads able to think three different ways, allowing the creature to multi-task. It was a shame that Nergigante disposed of the creature, but then again since he did not actually use his power and merely his own strength, the Demon King could assume that the mutt would return sooner or later. At the moment, however, the only thing standing between him and the Greek God he wished to address, is the gateway the beast was previously guarding.

"Narkarkos," addressed Excelsus, the aforementioned devil bowed before his lord and master, "Would be so kind as to knock?"

"Alright," replied the Demon representing sloth in a tired tone. Heading towards the front of the group, Narkarkos's body started glowing hundreds of different colors, creating a sort of rainbow. Soon, his body began to grow in size.

Excelsus, Nerscylla, and the other demons craned their heads back slightly to watch as their comrade grew even larger than Nergigante and Asmodeus, during his brief time in the Human World. Soon, the array of colors began to fade and reveal Narkarkos in his true form. Almost three times the size of Nergigante and with several dozen feet on Asmodeus, Narkarkos easily outsized them and, even more so, outweighed them. His true form was a massive cephalopod-like monster. With glowing yellow eyes and massive, sharp beak, blue skin with spots of turquoise bioluminescence. Across its entire body were the bones of every single one of the demon's victims. Two long tentacles wriggled around, tipped with skulls and covered with dozens of bones, giving him the appearance of having three heads. Bones covered his entire body, while a small flap was held up out of his face, flashing hundreds of different colors.

Narkarkos then let out a ground-shaking bellow one would assume to hear from a creature not too different from the Kraken. His tentacles flailed around, the souls of dead clearly panicking. Suddenly, the rainbow flashes on the bone flap above his head suddenly turned dark red while Narkarkos' eyes also turned red; a deep ruby to be precise. Suddenly, energy began crackling around the demon's tentacles, a dark red electrical discharge that flowed towards his beak. More demonic energy began to collect as Narkarkos bowed his entire body suddenly, using his tentacles as balance.

Red particles began to form in the air and congregate towards the demon's mouth.

"Master?" asked Nerscylla, turning to Excelsus.

"Just watch, Nerscylla," assured Excelsus without a trace of doubt in his words, "Narkarkos is many things, the embodiment of sloth capital among them. But I can say without a shred of doubt that when he does put effort into work..."

Excelsus purposefully trailed off to gesture to his servant. The demoness representing lust looked back at the grotesque monster, his entire body now crackling with power. Having collected enough energy, Narkarkos lifted his head, an orb of dark red energy was in his maw. What followed was close to cataclysmic as a massive flash erupted from the orb and a colossal beam surged forward. The ray was a mixture of crimson and black energy, approximately the size of the drill used to carve the Euro Tunnel underneath the English Channel.

The attack ripped through the ground, tearing up the stone and obliterated the gateway. Any soul caught in the beam was instantly destroyed. Slowly, Narkarkos began turning, swinging in the beam to the right, destroying the rest of the gate. The devils, minus Excelsus stared in shock and awe at the raw power that their ally had. After a few more seconds, the beam began to die down and reveal the aftermath.

Nothing.

There wasn't anything left of the gateway into the Underworld. Only the whine of some alarms filled the cavern before dying out.

"It is well worth it," smirked Excelsus as Narkarkos returned to his previous form.

"I've done my part," stated the devil, letting out a yawn, "Now you do yours."

Excelsus snorted as he turned to his followers, "You heard the devil," stated the Demon King, "Let us show this world what hell truly is."

The devils all smirked at the notion of letting loose for once. That's when they heard a war cry and noticed several ghouls charging right towards them, dressed like modern-day police riot officers. Before any of the devils could move, Nergigante flew right over them, a thunderous roar bellowing out of his lungs as he remained in his true form. The devil of wrath crushed the closest ghouls before spinning around, slicing through several others with his claws or bashing them to pieces with his spiked tail. The devils all charged, Nerscylla among them, however, Excelsus suddenly stopped her by grabbing her shoulder.

"Except for you, my dear," stated the Demon King.

"What?!" exclaimed the lust demon, "But why?"

"Because I have a special target for you," clarified the son of Mundus, his tone turning darker, "One that will give us an edge."

Nerscylla's eyes widened slightly before a sadistic smile crept across her face, "Is my target who I believe it is?"

"Indeed," nodded Excelsus as he released the demoness from his hold, "Now come. While the others are distracting Hades's forces, we shall have that talk with his godliness, and see if we cannot convince him to cooperate."


Hades' Palace, Underworld

Further into the Greek Underworld was a massive palace, made almost entirely of obsidian. Massive outwalls rose up around the fortress, glittering black while a two-story bronze gate was currently shut. Inside the walls was a massive courtyard, filled with plants that would not be found anywhere else in the world. A few statues decorated the garden, as did precious jewels that replaced the lack of flowers. At the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees.

Through the garden was the main palace, a dark building with even darker windows but had no roof, which made sense since it would never rain here. Hundreds of skeletons were garbed in military gear, ranging from Greek armor to American Marines.

It was inside the palace of Hades was the aforementioned god seated in his throne. His current attire consisted of black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. However, his eyes were closed in deep concentration.

One of the doors to his throne room opened, revealing Persephone, wearing similar clothing to her husband. She had a concerned look on her face when her eyes fell upon Hades. Ever since the Invasion of Camp Half-Blood, he has been strangely quiet, well, more so than usual. Quietly, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter approached her relative/husband.

"Hades, there is something bothering you, isn't there?" she inquired gently, resting her hand on top of his. The ruler of the Underworld opened her eyes and turned to her, a somewhat despondent look on his face. The son of Kronos let out a tired sigh before standing from his throne.

"Just recalling all that has happened so far," explained the deity as he stepped away and headed towards one of the windows.

"No, this goes beyond that, doesn't it?" countered Persephone as she folded her arms underneath her bust and followed him.

"You know me very well, my love," chuckled the god but without any humor, "Yes, I'm thinking about our place in the world in relation to these demons."

Persephone knew what he was talking about, having heard how these beasts took them completely by surprise, how Hades and his brothers were nearly outmatched by three of these beasts and were rescued by Nero. It was truly an experience none of the Olympians had experienced in quite a long time, and it greatly outlined how their pride blinded them so much.

'Nero,' thought Persephone, recalling her interaction with the son of Hestia.

Even though she barely spoke to him, she could tell that despite all of his rudeness and disregard for respect, there was a good heart in the boy. One that could surpass some of the greatest heroes, but there was more to it, in the form of the prophecy that was bestowed upon them at the beginning of the invasion.

Hades stepped throw a set of french doors onto a balcony that overlooked the Underworld. Before his palace was the Fields of Punishment, the place where all souls who are unfit for the alternative went. The land glowed and smoked in the distance, a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas. Even from his palace, Hades could hear and see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches strip naked, or listen to opera music.

It's essentially hell so there are a variety of punishments and different people can consider different things the worst kind of punishment.

Not far from that was Elysium which looked like a gated community and appeared to be the only happy place in the Underworld. Beyond the security gate was neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Roman villas and medieval castles and Victorian mansions. Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colors. One could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking.

In the center of the valley was a glittering blue lake, with a few small islands similar to a vacation resort in the Bahamas. These were the Isles of the Blest, for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium.

But to Hades, none of that mattered as his focus was elsewhere.

"Then there is something else," spoke up Hades, gaining his wife's attention.

"What might that be?" she asked, stepping beside him holding his right hand with both of hers.

"It is the demon that led the invasion," answered the first son of Kronos, "the one Nero called 'Excelsus'. Something about that one strikes me differently than the others that invaded the camp, and it goes beyond the fact that he can hold a conversation."

Persephone let out a small giggle at the attempt of humor. The ruler of the Underworld smiled for a moment before it vanished and he looked out across his kingdom, "That creature, whatever it is, knew who we were and planned out his attack brilliantly."

"You mean to say he has been watching us?" inquired his wife.

"More than that, this goes beyond a simple attack, by which I refer to how it felt when he spoke," elaborated Hades gesturing with his hands before turning to Persephone.

"You're saying that there is more to this Excelsus?"

"I'm saying that this just doesn't feel like a random attack, even with the prophecy. It feels like what happened in the camp, was personal," stated Hades.

Persephone furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. How was this attack personal? They had never encountered demons until now, to their knowledge. So, was Hades suggesting that they may have wronged this demon in the past without even realizing it?

Before she could ask what made him believe that, a massive explosion shook their home and blinding flash erupted from the entrance. Hades instinctively grabbed his wife to protect her before turning to the source. His eyes widened in shock when he was the massive red beam rip through the gateway and swing around, destroying everything. Alarms were blaring wildly as the beam subsided.

"What was that?!" cried out Persephone as she looked at her husband in shock and confusion. Instead of answering, Hades narrowed his eyes and raised his right hand. Shadows began collecting into a mass just in front of him before widening out to form a screen. The screen then displayed a view of the area near the entrance, however, what the ruler of the Underworld saw made his heart stop for a split second.

Several warriors were storming into the Underworld, each wearing different armor and carried different weapons. However, it was upon sensing a terrible power did he realize just who exactly they were.

"Demons," breathed Hades as he watched a demon wearing silver streamlined armor. Large shoulder pads rested on the creature's shoulders and appeared to be releasing some crimson energy while the demon itself held a katana. The demon was easily cleaving his way through his forces with blinding speed that only Hermes could boast of. The other demons were crushing anything that stood in their paths: hellhounds, ghouls, harpies, it didn't matter, they were no match.

This was not good.

"What?" gasped Persephone from what she heard her husband say.

"Demons have invaded my domain," seethed the eldest son of Kronos, clearly angered, however, he was not about to let his pride blind him, "Persephone, you must get to safety."

"What?"

"You must leave and get to safety," repeated Hades as he turned to his wife and took hold of her arms, "We know nothing of these creatures and I will not take the risk of possibly losing you."

"I will not leave you," she defied, even as two ghouls wearings Police Riotgear entered the throne room, carrying grenade launchers.

"And I cannot stand the thought of losing you! You must go!" stated the ruler of the Underworld harder. It was then an impact of some kind landed just outside the gates of his palace grabbed the attention of both Olympians. Shrouded in the dust, a dark violet glow pieced through. A blast of wind-dispersed the dust instantly to reveal Excelsus, standing at fifteen feet tall, his aura oppressive and terrifying.

Hades' eyes widened when he saw the King of the Demonworld standing before them. He then immediately turned to Persephone and cupped her cheeks to look her in the eyes, "Please, you must go wife."

Persephone could see in his eyes the urgency in them, and then it dawned on her: he was not certain he could defeat Excelsus. The lack of knowledge and understanding of demonic kind was coming back to bite them. Hard.

Slowly, the daughter of Demeter and Zeus nodded in acceptance.

"If you die, I will never forgive you," vowed Persephone.

Hades let out a sigh of relief as he motioned for the two ghouls to escort Persephone out and to safety. Once she was through the door, the ruler of the Underworld turned to his invader.

"Hades," called out Excelsus calmly, but his voice echoed like thunder throughout the area, "I would have words with you."

"Very well," called out Hades as his entire body turned to shadows and melted away. Shadows then began to collect in front of Excelsus and reveal the son of Kronos in full armor. Standing roughly ten feet tall, Hades' armor was a pitch-black while cape made of shadows rested from his shoulders. Upon his head was the Helm of Darkness, "What is it you have to say?"


Back inside the palace...

Persephone hurriedly followed the ghouls towards the exit furthest from Excelsus. She had been at the invasion of the camp, but she had seen the aftermath. Despite being married to the King of the Underworld, seeing that place completely razed left afraid. If these beasts could break through the protections placed on the camp, there was no telling what they could do to a god or goddess.

While it might have been easier to teleport away from the battle, that form of magic is blocked within the walls of her husband's palace. So she must leave the grounds of her home to get to safety. They had never thought that this would be a problem, but they never thought anything would be bold enough to assault the Underworld.

"Our pride truly has blinded us," muttered Persephone to herself as she and the ghouls rounded a corner.

"Yes, it has," agreed a smooth voice. The three froze and looked around for the owner of the voice. However, they found no one.

"Who's there?" demanded Persephone.

Instead of answering, a spray of what appeared to be spider silk came down and latched onto the chest of one of the ghouls. The guard was yanked right into the air towards a figure which leaped down from the shadows. The ghoul was then sliced apart by whoever it was that landed on the ground in front of both Persephone and the second ghoul.

"Nice to meet you," greeted the stranger standing up in front of them, "I'm Nerscylla, and I'm a friend. Are you a friend?"

The other ghoul tried taking aim at the girl when suddenly, Nerscylla's six spidery legs shot out and pierced the walls. She then launched herself at the guard dodging a grenade that was fired at her. Spinning around in the air, she flipped over the ghoul and grabbed its head. She then ripped the head clean off while the body fell to the ground.

"I bet he was cute when he was alive," commented Nerscylla as she held the head in front of her. Persephone stared at her in shock.

"Y-you're one of the demons!" realized the goddess.

"Guilty as charged," giggled the demoness as she tossed the severed head aside and directed her focus onto Persephone, "Wanna play a game?"

Persephone tried turning to run but a string of webbing latched onto her back and yanked her right towards Nerscylla. Using her spidery legs and webbing, the demoness restrained Persephone but not in the typical spider fashion. Rather, the silk was formed into a type of rope.

The goddess's arms were bound behind her back, while more ropes went around her entire body. A sort of harness was formed across her chest, primarily around Persephone's breasts. A rope with a sort of bulge attached to it was forced into her mouth.

"Playing hard to get, are we?" purred Nerscylla as she used her spider legs to hold Persephone in front of her, the goddess screaming into the gag as she thrashed around, "and with fire."

Nerscylla chuckled almost sadistically as she reached out and gently let her fingertips graze across Persephone's skin, the goddess freezing up when contact was made.

"Don't bother trying to escape, sweetheart," stated Nerscylla as she brought the Olympian to eye level, her violet eyes meeting Persephone's sky-blue, "When you're tangled in my web, no one gets out unless I want them to, so you better get comfortable."

Nerscylla's fingers waltz their way up Persephone's sides, the goddess screaming into the gag, but could not get words out.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you," promised Nerscylla as she traced her fingertips around the goddess's breasts, "Excelsus told me I had to while he proves a point to Hades."

"But while he's doing that," the demon of lust's tone changed into a sinister one as she rested her hand on Persephone's cheek, the goddess's eyes clamped tightly shut, "He never said, I couldn't play with you for a while."

Grabbing Persephone's cheek, she forced her to look to the right while a portal opened up behind Nerscylla. The demoness leaned over and stuck her tongue out. She then licked the side of the goddess's face, starting from her collar bone and up her neck, across her cheek and to her ear. Persephone let out a choked sob as Nerscylla arrived at her ear. She gently tongued her ear before slowly walked back to the portal.

"Would you like to play a game?" asked Nerscylla as she approached the portal, "It's okay if you don't know any games. I know lots of games we can play."

Nerscylla's eyes started shining a bright purple as she made contact with the portal and carried Persephone closer. Soon, both goddess and demon passed through the portal and disappeared. Once through, the portal snapped shut, leaving only the mangled bodies of the ghouls behind.


Outside...

Standing before each other were Excelsus, the King of the Demonworld, and Hades, King of the Underworld. The two staring at each other silently, daring the other to make a move. It was then, the ruler vanished from the sight of Excelsus, however, the demonic king merely snorted.

"I can still see you, son of Kronos," stated Excelsus, almost mockingly as he remained where he was, "More than that, I can sense your unease."

Excelsus then took a step forward towards the palace, "You realize that because of your sibling's arrogance, even your own arrogance, you are at a disadvantage."

"Even with the Helm of Darkness, you realize that victory is not guaranteed," continued Excelsus as he looked around, Hades remaining completely silent, "An intriguing invention, the Helm is. Created by the Cyclopses, specifically Brontes, the Cyclopes your sibling, Zeus, convinced to forge for them. The Master Bolt, the Trident, and the Helm, each now a symbol of power, or rather, your symbol of power."

"An intriguing concept: a symbol to represent your might, but what are symbols without power to back up their meaning?"

Excelsus suddenly stopped and turned completely away from Hades's palace, "Empty threats."

The Demon King suddenly lashed out his left hand, a blast of dark wind shooting out in one direction. The blast collided with an invisible object, a pained yell echoing through the Underworld. Excelsus let up on his attack to reveal Hades struck down, his armor smoking as he picked himself.

"How were you-"

"Able to strike you even though you are wearing your helm? To understand is to have power and I understand how the Helm of Darkness functions," explained the demon, "The Helm of Darkness grants you the ability to not be touched by any object. In other words, nothing can touch your corporeal form. Which is why I did not attack you physically, but rather, your spiritual body."

Hades's eyes widened in shock. How did this creature know so much about them? However, his surprise wasn't over yet as Excelsus continued speaking.

"While the power of invisibility and to instill complete fear into all others is useful," complimented Excelsus, "What happens when a creature understands how your helm functions? You are at a disadvantage."

"Do not underestimate me, demon!" snapped Hades harshly, "Though you can see through the helm, that does not grant you victory!"

"Of course not," agreed with the son of Mundus before holding out his right hand, in his palm, a collection of violet energy formed before taking the shape of a spiked hammer with a long handle, "Beating you into submission, however."

The demon spun the hammer around before taking it into both hands, "That might."

With that, Excelsus charged while Hades summoned a sword and shield to defend himself. The Demonic King raised his hammer and brought it down savagely, sparks erupting between the weapon and the Olympians shield. The eldest son of Kronos tried counter-attacking with his sword, but Excelsus blocked his swing with the shaft of his hammer.

With a yell, the demon hooked one spike into the sword and spun around taking Hades with him. He hurled the Greek god towards his palace where the deity slammed into the wall. The king winced in pain as the wall to his home cracked behind him. He fell to the ground but managed to remain standing.

Excelsus kept a neutral stare at him when he suddenly felt the pelting of bullets against his side. Looking to his left, he saw several dozen ghouls firing at him with automatic rifles. The demon king barely flinched even when they used grenades and rocket launchers on him. Rolling his eyes, he raised his hammer and slammed the weapon down into the ground. A massive blast of wind erupted from the point of impact while the stone fractured towards the ghouls. The ground collapsed underneath the ghouls, swallowing them up.

Turning back towards Hades, Excelsus saw he was getting back to his feet. The demon frowned behind his mask and spun around for a second before hurling his hammer right towards the deity. Hades had no time to react before the weapon slammed right into his chest and smashed him through the walls of his palace. The first son of Kronos tumbled into his wife's garden, crashing through several diamonds and sculptures.

Hades groaned as he got back to his feet just in time to see Excelsus come flying through the hole. In his hands was a large spear with a jagged blade on one side. Hades jumped to the side to avoid being impaled by the demon but was taken off guard when Excelsus lashed out with his right hand. The back of his hand struck the side the deity's face, sending him flying towards his palace and through the front doors.

Hades grunted as his back skidded across the marble floor. He sat up to see Excelsus enter his home.

"You are not a warrior, Hades," stated Excelsus as he spun the spear in his right hand, "Yet you try to fight me."

"This is my domain!" roared Hades as his form erupted with shadows, "Here I am all-powerful! HERE, I CANNOT BE DEFEATED!"

Hades's entire form then turned in pitch-black shadows, creating a storm of darkness around Excelsus as the demon reached the center of the front entrance. All-around the Demon King, a vortex of darkness swirled, closing in on the demon. A massive whirlwind of darkness rose towards the ceiling. The storm could easily be seen from all parts of the Underworld, but Excelsus was not fazed at all and only looked at the dark storm calmly.

"As an immortal, Hades, your life is infinite," stated Excelsus cryptically, momentarily confusing the god, "As such, you will experience everything at some point in your life."

Suddenly, violet energy began collecting around the son of Mundus, traveling into the spear in his right hand. The purple glow from Excelsus soon started to grow brighter and brighter. From the outside of the storm, one could see a faint purple glow starting to pierce through the mass of shadows.

"And at the moment, son of Kronos," Excelsus flipped the spear around so that he held the weapon in a reverse grip, "You shall feel the sting of defeat."

The demon then plunged the spear directly into the ground. From the tip of the spear, a massive blast of demonic power erupted. Hades let out a scream of pain as the energy burned his body. Everything around Excelsus was blown apart and from the outside, it appeared that Hades's entire palace exploded while a dark purple explosion of demonic power swept through the entire area. Any ghouls, harpies, or hellhounds that were close by were destroyed instantly while the demons that attacked with Excelsus were completely unharmed.

Slowly, the wave of energy faded and revealed Hades's entire palace and Persephone's garden in ruins. The entire structure had been blown apart as if a bomb had gone off inside the entire building. Rubble crumbled around, though the only thing that survived was Hades's throneroom, but only just barely.

The demons that attacked all converged on the one great palace.

At the center of it was Excelsus, completely unscathed. The demon king was casually brushing his armor off, removing the dust. In front of him, lying face down on the ground was Hades. The Greek God's armor was completely ruined and the Helm of Darkness lay just in front of the deity.

"Such a disappointment," stated Excelsus in disdain as he dismissed his spear.

"Master," called out Valfalk as he approached the Demon King. The son of Mundus turned to see Valfalk and the others arriving, Nergigante returning to his human form and landed before his master to kneel. The others following suit.

"What news do you bring?" he asked his servant.

"The pagan's forces are in disarray," reported Valfalk before his gaze fell upon Hades, "You did not kill him."

"Of course not," scoffed Excelsus as he shrunk down to his human form, "that was never my plan."

"Then why did we come here, master?" asked Nergigante, from his tone, he was more than a little annoyed that they were deceived by their master.

"Calm yourself, Nergigante, the gods shall meet their demise," promised Excelsus as he rested his hand on the shoulder of the demon of wrath, "but not before we make our intentions clear."

"Master?" asked Valfalk, confused.

"I'll explain in a moment," sighed their master as he approached Hades and stooped down to pick up the Helm of Darkness, "Bring the pagan, he will be of use for what I plan to do next."


Later...

"Wake up, pagan," ordered a gruff voice as Hades regained consciousness. His head throbbed with pain and his entire body ached all over. Slowly, the deity regained his sight, however, whoever gave the order didn't like being kept waiting because Hades was kicked in his side. The god grunted in pain as he fell onto his right.

"Leave him, Nergigante," chastised a familiar voice, causing Hades to open his eyes in shock. Upon doing so, he immediately noticed he was in his throne room, or whatever was left of his throne room. Everything around him was reduced to rubble and debris. Getting to his knees, he saw the invader sitting in his throne.

"You... you dare to sit in my-gah!" started Hades angrily getting to his feet and tried approaching his foe, only to be struck across the back and forced to his knees again by Nergigante.

"I'd choose your next words carefully, pagan," stated the silver demon that stood on Excelsus's right while another wearing green spiked armor stood on his left.

"Do not judge him so harshly, Valfalk," stated Excelsus as he sat in Hades's throne and held his helm in his left hand, "Anger is the natural response for those who have as humans say, 'screwed over.'"

"But it is true," he continued, his attention fixed right on Hades who was groaning in pain while he got back to his feet, "Your choice of words, Hades, are in complete control of the outcome of our meeting."

"What do you want, demon?" spat Hades as he nursed his side. He immediately took notice that he was no longer in his armor, but in a very cheap black suit with a white collared shirt.

"Your assistance, Hades," answered Excelsus.

"What?" frowned the deity.

"You see, it has come to my attention that, the Greek Gods are completely unaware of demonic kind and the gravity of the situation, and I wish to rectify that," explained the demon king, "And in order to make this situation as clear as possible, I am going to reveal some specific information."

"You want me to do the god of Hermes and tell them all individually?" seethed Hades. It was here that Excelsus started chuckling darkly, putting Hades completely on edge.

"No," picked up the demon after his little chortle, "I want you, to tell each of the Olympians to gather at the council room upon Mount Olympus so that I may tell them in person."

"Impossible," countered the king of the Underworld, "I do not have the authority to call for a meeting and it is impossible for beings to entire Olympus unless one of our descendants."

"While it is true that calling for a meeting is beyond your right, that is not to say that you cannot ask for one god to meet with you at Olympus to discuss certain matters," clarified Excelsus, "And I can indeed entire Olympus, because Olympus does not rest outside this plane of existence."

Hades's eyes widened slightly.

"Come now, don't tell me that you've forgotten that after your father's defeat, you and your brothers divided the world into your own domains," scoffed Excelsus, "As a demon, I can reach any part of the world, regardless of magical barriers. However, there is one constraint I am placing on you."

"What do you mean?" asked the deity.

"You must merely tell them you wish to speak with that god and goddess individually, do not tell them that others will be coming," explained the demon king.

"What if they refuse?" asked Hades.

"Just tell them that 'Excelsus ordered me to,'" stated Excelsus, his tone then turned darker, "And to ensure that you comply with these orders, your Helm of Darkness shall be collateral."

He then held out his right hand, a violet glow lighting up behind Hades, the deity turned around and what he saw caused him to gasp in horror, "Along with one other thing."

Above Hades was a window that revealed Persephone and Nerscylla, except the goddess's clothing, was torn, revealing her breasts and womanhood. Ropes bound her arms back while a gag was stuffed into her mouth. Her legs were bound together, forcing her to kneel on whatever floor she was on. Nerscylla was crouched behind, her right hand was gripping Persephone's right breast fonding it while the other was between her legs, rubbing her entrance. Hades could see tears rolling down his wife's cheeks while Nerscylla grinned sadistically as she continued to play with her new toy. Even licking the side of her face, while the wife of Hades sobbed.

"To ensure you completely follow my orders, I had your wife taken," explained Excelsus in a neutral tone as the window disappeared, "her wellbeing is entirely dependant on your cooperation."

"H-How do I know you simply won't kill her the second I complete your orders," Hades's voice trembled and for a few moments, Excelsus said nothing before he rose from his borrowed throne and approached Hades.

"I will be blunt, Son of Kronos: I fully intend to kill her, along with you, your siblings, their children, your children, and all gods that inhabit this world," explained Excelsus as he reduced his size and stood before the greek god. He then reached out and began straightening out the suit Hades wore, "However, I do not wish to kill her now, for now, is not the right time. It is also the reason why I did not kill you."

"While a demon's word is often worthless, usually backstabbing the victim the first chance it gets. I will ensure that your wife is returned to you, for one sole reason," finished Excelsus while also finishing adjusting the suit Hades' wore, "No king should die without his queen."

"I would suggest you make haste," finished Excelsus retreating back to the throne to take the Helm while a portal opened to their left, startling Hades as the demons and Excelsus began to leave, "While Nerscylla is forbidden from taking the life of your beloved, that is not to say that she cannot be broken."

Hades just watched in horror as Excelsus paused before the portal and glanced back at the deity.

"One more thing, Hades," said the demon king, the deity trembling in fury and despair, "When you and all the Gods are at Olympus, be sure to bring up the topic of fate. I'm sure Zeus and the others would enjoy discussing that."

"Now go," ordered Excelsus as he stepped towards the portal, "and know that the wellbeing of your wife is all that is one the line."

With that, Excelsus stepped through the portal which snapped shut behind him, leaving Hades alone. The king of the Underworld was left silent as he stared at the spot where this demon completely had him at his mercy. The deity ran his hand through his hair as he approached semi-intact balcony to look out across the Underworld. Everything was in ruin. The fields, Elysium, all of it was in ruins. His kingdom had been leveled in an afternoon, or at least this part of it, the part that mattered the most.

Hades could only fall to his knees and grit his teeth in fury. He wanted so much to destroy those demons, the ones that bested him in his domain, took his wife, and were now forcing him to do their bidding, but what could he do?

What could he do?


Carribean Sea, Off the Coast of the Americas

"Hey, Lady?!" shouted Nero from the front of the rented boat, "How much longer?"

"Well if you look in front of us, you'll notice an island directly in front of us," replied the older hunter sarcastically. Nero looked back and in the distance, there was an island coming up.

"I'm not blind," countered Nero, "Just wanna know how long until we physically get there."

"We should arrive in little over thirty minutes," informed Saeko as she approached Nero. The youngest hunter nodded to her. Their journey had been pretty quiet, thankfully. They were taking a big risk of sailing through an ocean to get to an island. Especially when the Greek God of the ocean was after you.

"Remind me again, how come Raiden didn't just teleport us directly to the island?" asked Nero, glancing at the purple-haired girl.

"Transporting such a distance would require a generous amount of energy," she explained, "If Lord Raiden had transported us to the island, the result could reveal the home of the Lowells, putting them in danger of being discovered by the Olympians. Also, because of Via de Marli's magical properties, it is extremely difficult to transport multiple people to its grounds."

"Right," replied Nero as he folded his arms while Saeko joined him at the front of the boat, "Just gotta be patient and hope for the best."

After all, it wasn't like the fate of the world was at stake?

To Be Continued...