Chapter 111: Hear This Bell Toll, for It Marks the End of Your Fortune!
Some believed Hades' self-harm was an act of mercy—that he felt the duel was unfair and wounded himself to level the playing field.
"Who would believe such nonsense? Ares, you're not buying that, are you?"
Loki shot a scornful look.
"O-of course not! Why would I believe that?"
The War God Ares' response lacked conviction, revealing he was slightly swayed by the whispers from the audience.
If not for this explanation, he couldn't fathom Lord Hades' actions.
"I've heard a different tale," a voice suddenly interjected. "They say Lord Hades' blood is called the 'Blood of Immortality.' If a divine weapon is infused with it, the weapon ascends to greater power."
Ares was stunned.
"Hermes?! When did you get here?"
Wait—that wasn't the point right now.
"I've been here the whole time. Honestly, you didn't even notice me? How hurtful."
Hurtful, my ass! Spit it out! Ares had never heard of this before.
Desperate for answers but unwilling to admit ignorance, Ares clenched his jaw.
"Surely you've heard of this too, Ares?" Hermes smiled.
"Ah? O-of course!"
He hadn't!
Ares wanted to punch that smug face, but he'd already lied—now he couldn't ask. He refused to seem dumber than Hermes.
Suddenly, a change on the arena made Ares' pupils shrink.
"Lord Hades' divine weapon—it's melting!"
As he said, the blood-soaked weapon appeared to dissolve.
"That's not melting. Look closer," Hermes corrected.
"I-I know! I was just describing it! It's… transforming?!"
Indeed, Lord Hades' weapon was changing—the twin-pronged spear fused into one, reshaping into a true spear.
The entire divine weapon took on a ferocious appearance, as if it had been imbued with life, becoming a living entity.
Moreover, Lord Hades, who had inflicted such injuries upon himself, now radiated an even more terrifying aura.
In this state where even Ares would submit, one couldn't imagine anyone—be it human or god—capable of defeating Lord Hades.
Thus, humans stood no chance of victory.
"Heh, it seems this round is a guaranteed win."
"Sigh~"
"Hermes, why the sigh?"
"It's nothing."
Hermes smiled faintly, his gentle, narrowed eyes filled with intense disdain for his elder brother.
A guaranteed win?
Lord Hades had revealed his trump card and gone all out from the very beginning, which meant his opponent was powerful enough to warrant such measures.
This indicated the duel was perilous in the extreme.
Thus, Hermes felt a weight in his heart.
Perhaps that was why he hadn't been summoned in the Akashic Records but was instead summoned directly on the spot—to avoid being caught in the crossfire?
But speaking of the summoning, why was there divine blood as well?
It was as if this being had been forcibly dragged from the battlefield of the gods.
And why did the blood feel so familiar? Which pantheon did it belong to?
Which one?
Suddenly, Hermes' eyes widened, and he stepped forward to the railing.
"It's actually the blood of those beings—!"
"What? What do you mean 'those beings'? Do you know whose blood that is?"
Ares pressed, then immediately realized his mistake—his question implied he didn't know.
Hermes, however, seemed too shocked to hear him.
"Oh, so you've noticed it too."
Loki, standing nearby, also had an eerie glint in his eyes.
So, whose blood was it, exactly?
Damn it, why couldn't anyone just speak plainly?
But this wasn't the time for Ares to press further—the battle on the arena was about to begin, and he couldn't afford to miss it.
"From the abyssal depths of the dark valley—from the obscurity of Death, I come forth. I am the Old Man of the Mountain—Hassan-i-Sabbah."
The human assassin finally introduced himself.
Originally gripping his sword with both hands, blade downward, he now raised it, turning the blade upward—a symbolic gesture reminiscent of a knight's pre-battle ritual.
Then, as the flat of the blade, which had been facing Hades, rotated ninety degrees to point its edge toward him, the assassin's aura intensified, flaring up like raging flames.
In fact, it seemed as though actual blue-green flames had formed—a deathly blaze capable of reducing all things to ashes.
This flickering aura distorted the light, creating a mirage-like vision behind him: a horrifying mountain of countless skulls.
"Human, let me witness your god-slaying power!"
Hades tightened his grip on his spear, pouring all his strength into it.
Neither he nor his opponent needed a prolonged battle—nor a second strike.
They would decide the outcome with a single blow!
"Can you hear it—the tolling of the bell?"
As the assassin spoke, the flames of his aura converged onto his sword, as if solidifying.
But the tolling of a bell? What bell?
Suddenly, Hades' pupils contracted slightly.
He heard it.
Correction, this wasn't a physical sound heard through the ears. It was more like a wave directly affecting the brain, creating the illusion of a bell tolling.
And in that instant, even Hades felt the illusion that he was walking toward Death.
As the God of the Underworld, the very one who governs the power of Death, for him to experience such a sensation was itself a warning.
This bell toll also seemed like some eerie curse!
"Hearing this bell toll marks the end of your divine fortune!"