True Angel (DxD/ Overlord): Chapter 56

With the Realm of Hades, the god whom the realm is named after sat upon his throne with worry as his allies sat with him on their own thrones. At least those who can sit.

Tartarus, the primordial god of the abyss, who took on the form of a sphere or darkness with countless eyes, stared at Hades as if he were staring at an idiot.

“I told you to be careful. I told you to slow down and consider all options before heading out. Now, look at you. Zeus and Poseidon are dead, and you were forced to retreat to gather your strength again.”

“....How long until they reform?”

The beautiful young woman sitting to the side, with long black hair and blue eyes, gave Hades a grim look.

“They will not. Hades. They are gone. Permanently.”

Hades nearly toppled over in shock at those words from the Goddess of the Night.

“Impossible! No god can be killed permanently, even with that damned Longinus that the anomaly created all those centuries ago. At least, not anymore after what happened with-anyways. That is a taboo that not even that brat is foolish enough to commit!”

Erebus, the God of Darkness, simply followed up his sister’s words, clearing up what she meant.

“Normally, you would be right. It is impossible for a pure energy being like a god to die. Especially ancient gods who have a true form, which is nothing more than the conceptual domains of a god manifested in physical form. It is the reason why Tartarus still holds onto the essence of the Titans within the Abyss, making sure that they don’t reform. And even for ancient gods like us, we refrain from truly killing a god despite our ability to do so.”

Hades did not say anything as all of this was information he already knew. In fact, he felt annoyed that the Primordial god was taking this opertunity to repeat things that he already knew, mainly because Erebus was a god who always loved to talk.

Then, he felt a chill within his core as Erebus gave him a wry look.

“Yet....that damned Angel, he committed the taboo.”

“He, somehow, erased the very essence, the very concept known as ‘Zeus’ and ‘Poseidon’ from the tapestry of reality.”

“Again, that is impossible. If he really did that, there would be chaos everywhere as the humans would lose their minds, trying to understand who the two Olympians were who suddenly went missing from all their myths, carvings, artifacts, and everything else pertaining to our Pantheon. A change that would revirbrate not just in our pantheon, but across all other pantheons, who will not stay silent as a result of the taboo being broken.”

Hades was not joking when he spoke those words. In fact, he was underselling the disaster that would arise from such an act.

To eliminate the very concept of a god is to remove them from the very timeline, erasing their existence and actions from across history.

In this case, since Zeus and Poseidon were erased from existence, it would mean that the very concept of ‘The King of Gods’ and the ‘God of the Seas’ would disappear from human myths.

In such a case, who would be the infamous man-whore of Olympus? Who would be the father of Heracles? Perseus? Who would be the one who cast out the Titans? Who would be the one who freed his siblings from Kronos’s stomach?

And who would be the one who caused the birth of Medusa? Who would be the ruler of Atlantis?

So many myths and legends related to the two would suddenly be empty, devoid of their names, descriptions, and their very existence.

And it would not just be the humans who would suffer such a fate. Even the Gods would feel the effects.

They would know that someone who was supposed to be there is no longer in existence. But they would not be able to remember who the missing god was. They would remember their deeds, but their names, faces, and everything else would be removed from their divine memory.

Not to mention the disasters that would arise with the true death of a god, let alone two chief gods of a pantheon like theirs.

This is why Hades is sure that Aetherion did not erase Zeus and Poseidon from existence, like Erebus is claiming. Simply because he can still remember the names and faces of his brothers.

Erabus did not elaborate further and remained silent while Nyx started to stare worriedly at her allies.

“We need to do something. I have no doubt that damned brat Arael will try something in retaliation for this attack. He was always that petty, even back then. And given how powerful he has proven himself to be, we will need a whole Pantheon to even have a chance of beating him. And not only that, we need to tell the other pantheons that the taboo has been broken by the Angels.”

“True. You will need the full power of Olympus, combined with the Titans and the Hecatoncheires, and anyone else you can get your hands on to give me a satisfying fight.”

Nyx nodded at those words.

“Yeah. Tartarus, you should release-“

The Goddess of the Night suddenly felt a chill go down her spine as her brain finally comprehended a truth.

That voice did not belong to any of her allies. And based on the way her companion stared with wide eyes behind her, she knew that she was right.

For the first time in her entire life, the Primordial Goddess felt fear as she turned to look behind her.

And regretted it immediately.

Golden orbs stared back at her with amusement. Yet, her power allowed her to see the madness hidden behind those emotions. Madness that was probably on par, or even beyond, Dionysus.

His twelve wings spread behind him like a cape, their golden radiance pushing back her Night and her brother’s Darkness.

His gleaming armor showed that he was not here for entertainment. And the incomprehensible Lance in his hand, twisting and reforming every moment, as if it were a part of the infinity itself, given physical form.

The gathered gods reacted immediately as they released their full power and divinity, casting aside their physical forms and taking on their true forms near instantly.

Yet, it was already too late.

Power erupted from everywhere all at once, originating from the boundless energies of the Heavenly System, suppressing them back to their physical forms.

Aetherion chuckled at their expressions.

“Did you really think you got away from me because you were clever? Hades?”

The angel walked forward calmly, making the god of the dead grit his teeth.

“Don’t underestimate me-“

Before he could make a move. Before he could call on his power, his divinity, his domains, before he could do literally anything, Hades felt all his powers disappear as an ornate lance pierced through his body, draining him of his divinity and power, rendering him helpless, as his allies could only watch on without being able to help due to the suppression of the Heavenly System.

The angle gave a wry, tired smile.

“On the contrary, Hades, I have been taking you and your brothers very seriously. In fact, I have never even dared to underestimate you and your pantheon, just like I do not underestimate Odin and his kin or the Hindu pantheon.”

“It is because I take you all so seriously that I decided to eliminate your brothers entirely.”

The God of the Dead did not have the time to comprehend the angel’s words as Aetherion placed his other hand on the god’s head.

Instantly, holy energy erupted as Aetherion activated his true form, boosting the power of his spells.

“[Control Amnesia]”

The spell took hold over the very essence of the god, something that should not have been possible normally, since even a Tier-10 spell like that should only have a partial effect on a god as powerful as Hades.

Unfortunately for the god, since the power of the spells is boosted by the angel’s true form, it was able to surpass all defences and affect him fully.

Slowly, deliberately, the angel modified and molded the essence of Hades, erasing and rewriting memories and powers, while the god’s allies could only watch in horror.

Once the Angel was done, the Hades of old was no more.

The new Hades fell to a knee in front of Aetherion with absolute loyalty literally built into his very soul, his very essence.

A broken smile appeared on the god’s face, one that was mirrored by Aetherion.

“I never underestimated you or your allies, Hades. In fact, I was afraid of you. All of you. That is why I chose a reemptive strike.”

“I struck a deal with those who would see reason. I enslaved those who would not. And now, I have removed some of the main obstacles in my path.”

At his silent command, Hades moved and mobilized his power, shackling the divinity of the other gods, who started to scream in anger and horror.

Unfortunately, the last thing they would remember would be the insane golden orbs.

“I am sorry. I truly am. But I must do this for the sake of the mortal races. Because I am afraid, you all will take out your anger and impotence on the people of Earth. I cannot afford that.”

The madness was now blatantly visible in his expressions and eyes.

“I cannot let this world become like my own. I won’t allow it! I won’t allow this beautiful planet of blue, green, and brown to turn into a dead world of ash and steel!”

“And if I have to dirty my hands to achieve that effect with the ichor of gods and devils alike? So be it.”

That night, in the depths of the Greek underworld, screams and cries of anger, despair, fear, and pleas would ring out for a long time.

Then, two days later, news would spread across the supernatural pantheons that shook them to their core.

Zeus, the king of the gods, had killed Poseidon in an ambush, but was in turn killed by the sea god’s retaliation.

Their essence was supposedly eradicated without interfering with the world’s memory, a paradoxical event.

Now, Hades became the ruler of Olympus uncontested and unceremoniously announced that he would be working with the Heavens and form a true alliance with them, just like the Hindus had done.