Cliche Chapter 412-413: Manifestation

Asahi stood on the balcony of the floating castle with Sandalphon. The two watched as a throne with golden runes entered the city of Lucifaad. The throne was being hauled by a group of skeletons in long robes. The one sitting on the throne was none other than Hades. He emanated a dark, piercing aura, unlike any undead.

“Fucking Ainz ripoff.”

The God of Hell was quite the devil hater from what he remembered. He had allied with a few gods and formed an alliance of sorts to defeat Issei’s group. Hades believed he could contend with the ExE world’s invasion when in reality, his alliance couldn’t overcome Issei’s group despite a boatload of preparations.

This Hades didn’t do any justice to the original mythology version. Only Hades was remotely close to a nice god in Greek Mythology. A fascinating character, to say the least.

“Ainz ripoff?” Sandalphon asked.

“Nothing, Sandalphon… Do you have a nickname? Fuck that, I’ll give you one. Phon? Sounds bad… Alph? That’s like a boy's name. Sand? Sandy? Sandra! Sandra is what I’ll call you from now on.”

“Sandra…” Sandalphon muttered and nodded. “What does it mean?”

“Let’s see. Sandra is derived from Alexandra, which means a man’s protector. In this case, mine. Isn’t that a nice coincidence?”

“Teacher’s protector…” Sandalphon’s blue eyes glowed with great resolve. “I’ll live up to that name.”

It was the duty she chose. For the sake of being the best protector, she had to become a great disciple first. For that, she needed Asahi’s best attention. Each spar with Asahi opened her eyes to new techniques. She had only used the sword for slashing and decapitating Heaven’s enemies. But, with Asahi’s guidance, she had wielded the sword in an entirely different way.

Oblivious to her frantic obsession, Asahi rubbed her head as he conversed with Ddraig in his head.

“Shall I manifest to give the skeleton a spook?” Ddraig asked in an upbeat voice.

‘Which form will you take?’

“My true, original form. The dragon who made gods tremble with her presence alone!”

‘Forget it.’

He wasn’t letting a gigantic dragon anywhere near his floating castle until he added special barriers on each wall

“Why?!” Ddraig asked. “Klyscha, stop! Not my tail.”

(My love, I’ll teach this rude dragon some manners. You can have fun with the undead.)

‘Don’t kill her…’

(Haha, how could I kill this extremely cute lizard?)

“Klyscha!!! I’ll murder you one day. Just you waaaaaaa—”

That was the last he heard of Ddraig. Asahi took Sandalphon’s hand. “Let’s go, Sandra.”

The yet-to-be-named floating castle was made for him and his family meeting, not political ones. The castle in the city was for work.

“Teacher, no, Lord… It’ll diminish your prestige if you were to greet them this way… Father used to do it all the time with other gods.”

Asahi turned to Sandalphon and tenderly held her shoulders. “Any particular reason for calling me lord?”

The sudden change caught him off guard.

“Because… I’m your servant. Every angel is created to serve the Leader of Heaven. I strive to be your sword and shield, a reliable hand in every task… It’s what I have chosen for myself.”

“Oh, that sounds wonderful, but.” Asahi cupped her face and leaned forward. “I want us to be more than that.”

Sandalphon’s mind wandered to the last talk she had with Gabriel about love. Frankly, she still couldn’t understand anything about love.

“Like… lovers? Husband and wife?”

“Smart girl.” Asahi nodded and pecked her forehead. “Let’s talk later. Hades is fuming down there. Look he is coming.”

The God of Hell was floating before him as he spoke. The hollowed eye sockets of Hades glowed as he looked at Sandalphon by Asahi’s side.

“You colluded with Heaven to eliminate the previous rulers of the Underworld?” asking the question, God of Hell exerted an ominous aura.

Sandalphon hallucinated being on the battlefield and falling to the swords of her foes. Spreading her wings, Sandalphon summoned her sword and valiantly stepped forward.

“Lord Hades, Lord Asahi didn’t need our assistance in killing the corrupted leaders of this realm. You—”

Asahi placed a hand on the angel’s shoulder. “Sandra, let me handle this.”

Asahi released his own aura in response, easing the pressure on Sandalphon.

The glowing light in Hades’s eyesockets flickered. The aura he felt from Asahi made him sick. It was unlike anything he had ever encountered. It was like the divine aura of gods, yet there was a hint of dragon aura as well as the pure aura of angels.

‘What kind of abomination did that wretched god make this time?’

He shook off that thought. Even the Biblical God didn’t give him this feeling. This chilling sensation pervaded every corner of his home.

Death.

Asahi took Sandalphon’s sword and pointed at Hades. “Pressuring my woman in my territory. Do I take that as a declaration of war, Hades?”

“War?” Hades’s skeletal jaw clacked. “Kuahahaha, you are more hot-headed than the Lucifer kid. Just brush this aside as a test of your demeanor.”

“On what grounds are you testing me?” Asahi asked in an overbearing manner. “What even is the purpose of this meeting?”

A grim reaper appeared behind Hades. The Ultimate-Class Grim Reaper Pluto pulled out his scythe from thin air, confident in his strength that surpassed the Devil Kings of the old. His nefarious scythe was wrapped in bones and writhing tentacles. It carried a special type of curse that shaved the lifespan of whoever it attacked.

“Lord Hades, may I have the honor of teaching him a less—”

“Then come. I’m quite impatient in these matters.”

Pluto heard Asahi’s voice behind him. The grim reaper dispersed into black specks and reemerged on Asahi’s right. The scythe was swung. Asahi filled the air with his mental strength and condensed a shield that stopped the scythe’s advance.

Asahi wrapped the grim reaper in the clutches of his telekinesis and yanked the scythe out of his hands. He didn’t mind the deathly glare coming from Pluto and turned towards Hades.

Asahi smirked. “Dead or alive, you decide.”

Hades’s skeleton face failed to show the fury boiling underneath. He raised his hand. The sleeve of his robe slid down, revealing a bony hand. “Let’s take a step back. Pluto stepped out of his bounds, and you struck. We both made a mistake.”

Hades saw no reason to butt heads with someone whose aura alone could cause him discomfort.

“Very well. Before that, there is one last thing.” Asahi turned back to Pluto. “Since you wanted to teach me a lesson, it’s only fair that I return the favor.”

Asahi placed a hand on Pluto’s chest and channeled his Life element. Grim Reapers, the beings native to the Realm of Dead, had a lifespan regardless of their half-god lineage. Pluto shivered but was unable to move any inch. Asahi’s glowing mana penetrated Pluto’s robe.

Pluto shrieked. His agonizing howl echoed in the empty castle, reaching into the devils hiding in the comfort of their homes. The Life element violated the very essence of his being, death.

“This is—” Hades’s eyes widened. “Stop this at once!”

Hades’s divine aura burst forth with his rage. Even then, Asahi continued sucking the life energy out of Pluto.

Hades was given the choice to save his loyal servant and make an enemy out of Asahi or let his servant die. The God of Hell immediately made his choice and summoned a bone staff with a skull mounted on its top. A white skull with three blue eyes and two horns. His divine aura was multiplied several folds. The castle shook under his rage. As he gathered his divine aura to attack, Sandalphon lunged at him with her sword.

“Do not disturb Lord Asahi!!!”

“White bird,” Hades cursed. “You are—”

Hades paused as the scaled crimson gauntlet around Asahi’s left hand caught his eyes. The gauntlet leaked a strong, distinct aura.

“Kuhahaha!” A burst of roaring laughter came from the Boosted Gear. “I can’t stop myself—Klyscha, let me go! I want to fight!”

“Ddraig, calm down, or I’m gonna spank your butt with Klyscha.” Asahi pulled back and slipped the scythe back into Pluto’s hand. “Kid, always thinks about the consequences of your words, got it?” he casually advised a hundred years old grim reaper.

The grim reaper bowed his head as he floated in silence as though he was still in shock.

“...Ddraig?” Hades muttered. “How are you still alive?”

“I curse you to die first, you undead bastard,” Ddraig replied. “Do you have the guts to fight me later?”

Hades scratched his chin without any flesh. “Your flesh is indeed dead, but your body is clinging to a special armor.”

Amidst his thoughts on the fascinating matter of Ddraig, the thought of his subordinate slipped out of his mind.

‘So Biblical God made a special weapon out fueled by Ddraig's soul, which this kid used to overcome the oddities among the devils.’

He suddenly had an epiphany about increasing his forces. A new plan that involved the sacrifice of other dragons.

“You think I’m a mere specter?” Ddraig growled.

The Boosted Gear emitted a red aura. A blinding light shot out of the emerald jewel. What happened next shocked Hades out of his mind.

The Strongest Heavenly Dragon Ddraig in flesh and blood looked down on Hades with gleaming emerald eyes. The aura Ddraig exuded was comparable to her peak condition.

Sandalphon gazed at the dragon in shock.

(M-My love, I tried.)

“Ddraig,” Asahi said, voice low. “Go back.”

“Hold on, Devil King,” Hades tried to stop Asahi as he examined Ddraig’s phantasmal body. “What are you, Ddraig?”

The dragon glanced at Asahi with a soft look in her eyes. “Asahi, just one fight. I want to test the limits of this body.”

Asahi’s brows twitched. Ddraig’s battle maniac nature was a real pain in the ass sometimes. “Not now. I’ll let you fight an even stronger person later.”

He had made up his mind to throw Ddraig at Great Red.

Ddraig’s eyes glowed. Without any protest, the dragon returned to Boosted Gear state before disappearing altogether.

Hades scratched his chin, again. Not many people could claim to be stronger than him. It gave him all the more reason to be curious and nervous.

‘He isn’t someone I can take on alone.’

Hades chuckled amiably. “I apologize on Pluto’s behalf. I was originally here to greet my new neighbor. To see what kind of man doused the conceited flames of the devil kings. And I found a young man with limitless potential.”

The same god that threatened Asahi moments ago was flattering him.

‘One cautious undead he is.’

(Self-preservation grows stronger with time… or they become dull.)

Ddraig snorted. “Dragons don’t need self-preservation. We need fights. Lots of them that can boil our blood.”

(Asahi will give you something else. He will fill you up from inside out.)

“What, Asahi? What can fill me up?”

‘You’ll see it in the future.’

Shutting down Ddraig, he pulled Sandalphon with telekinesis and checked on her. Seeing the concerned look on his face, Sandalphon lifted her hand and stroked his hair.

“...”