Hearing Hecate's words, Hades pondered for a long time, then said with a bitter smile:
"This Queen of the Underworld... of course I don't want her. How could a goddess from Olympus truly like me? Not to mention, this goddess was 'forcibly taken' by me to be the Queen of the Underworld. Hecate, I believe you know that I actually already have a lover."
No, I really didn't know.
Hecate complained in her heart. She had been busy with the Mechanical God Creation Project recently, so she had no time to care about her old boss's private life.
But on the surface, she still calmly nodded slightly, indicating that she did know about this matter, and knew it in great detail.
"If Minthe knew about this, with her temper, she would definitely be defiant towards the goddess who became the Queen of the Underworld. However, she is ultimately just Cocytus, the god of the Weeping River, and she herself is just a water nymph. How could she compare to the Queen of the Underworld who came down from Olympus? I'm afraid the Queen of the Underworld will do bad things to her."
Seeing Hecate nod slightly, Hades continued to pour out his inner worries:
"But I also know that my two brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, have always been wary of me. They always think that I want to seize the position of God-King that they desire. I don't want to fight with them. If three God-King level main gods keep fighting each other, this world might return to Chaos, the beginning of star creation. What future would there be then? However, I cannot let Zeus arbitrarily interfere in the Underworld. With his personality, he will definitely open back doors for many people in the future. He is already arrogant enough in heaven and on earth. At the very least, I must uphold the order of life and Death."
"So, regarding this matter, you actually want to refuse it, but you are afraid that refusing will lead to conflict and War between you and Zeus and Poseidon, right?"
Hecate asked.
Hades nodded slightly.
"Then, I have a plan that will allow you to stay away from the vortex of conflict, and also prevent the order of life and Death from being controlled by the Queen of the Underworld and Zeus."
Hecate raised a finger and said with a smile:
"You first go to the deepest part of the River of Fire, Phlegethon, and find a stone there that will not be melted by the River of Fire. I will make a small tool for you."
Hades followed her instructions. He went to the River of Fire in the Underworld, enveloped his entire body with the divine power of Death, and then dived into this river full of fire and lava. As the Lord of the Underworld, Hades would naturally not be harmed by the rivers of the Underworld. He circled around in the River of Fire for a long time and successfully found the stone Hecate spoke of, then handed it over to Hecate.
However, after Hecate received the stone, she told Hades that he could go back and wait. Seeing Hecate's mysterious and confident appearance, the Lord of the Underworld was also somewhat intimidated. He did not continue to disturb Hecate and returned directly to his black palace.
The next day, a Lamphades managed by Hecate came to the black palace of Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, and handed a heart-protecting mirror to Hades, saying to him:
"Great Hades, from now on, every time you leave the Underworld to patrol on the ground, wear this heart-protecting mirror until someone shoots an arrow at you."
"Shoot an arrow?" Hades took the heart-protecting mirror, which was engraved with magical runes, from the Lamphades. He thought for a moment, then seemed to understand and nodded slightly:
"I understand. Please thank Hecate for me."
...
While Hades was busy guarding against his brothers like Zeus causing trouble, on Olympus, Zeus and the other main gods were also constantly busy with their plan to ambush Hades.
After several days of prayer and rituals in her temple, Aphrodite finally used the resonance of her divine status as the goddess of love and beauty to cross the long river of time, go back to the time when this planet was born, and obtain a one-time divine artifact from Eros, who possessed the divine status of the primordial god of love.
Holding this small bow and arrow, which was like a toy and decorated with pink hearts, Aphrodite called her son, little Eros, over.
Little Eros looked like a somewhat chubby little boy with a pair of wings on his back. In the original mythology, he was the child born from the illicit affair between Ares and Aphrodite. However, now, Ares consciously stayed away from Aphrodite, this dissolute goddess, but perhaps due to the push of The Fates in the unseen, this little god was born after all.
The problem now was that even Aphrodite didn't know who the father of this little god was. He might have the noble divine blood of Zeus, or the sea god's blood of Poseidon, and it was not impossible for him to be the child of other miscellaneous deities like the wind god, rain god, or river god.
However, as a main god, it was not troublesome for Aphrodite to be a single mother, so she didn't bother to think about who little Eros's biological father was. She was quite fond of her cute and slightly mischievous son and had always wanted to find a good divine position for him on Olympus.
This time, ambushing Hades was a good opportunity.
So, holding the bow and arrow of the primordial god of love, Eros, Aphrodite softly said to her son, little Eros:
"Eros, Mama has a gift for you."
"What? Really?" Eros had the body of a child and the mind of a child. Hearing this, he immediately ran over happily, hugged Aphrodite's neck, and kissed her on the cheek: "Mama is the best! What's the gift?"
"I heard you learned archery from Apollo," Aphrodite said softly. "So Mama is going to give you a bow and arrow, it's here."
With that, she handed the one-time divine artifact she had obtained from the primordial god of love to Eros.
Eros happily took the small bow and arrow. He found that it fit his size perfectly, and immediately became inseparable from it.
"This bow and arrow has very powerful might. If you shoot anyone with it, even a main god will have to submit to its power."
Aphrodite then pulled little Eros closer and said to him somewhat seriously:
"And currently, there is only one arrow in heaven and on earth. Don't use it carelessly."
"Oh." Eros nodded upon hearing this, then said with a hint of disinterest: "But Mama, what's the use of a bow and arrow that can only shoot once?"
"Of course it's useful. Since it's a bow and arrow that can only shoot once, then naturally, this one shot must be used on the most valuable target."
Aphrodite smiled and extended her hand to Eros, while secretly notifying the other main gods involved in the plan. Then she said to her son:
"Come on, Eros, Mama will take you to find that most valuable target, and let all the gods in heaven and on earth see your power."