Chapter 49

“Welcome back home, Franni” A voice said behind. “I must compliment you on your efforts.

It's Hade. He was standing behind Franni.

“Thank you Father. Should I suck his powers now?”Franni asked, pointing her finger at Oliver.

“Not yet, you'll need my blessing,” Hade replied.

He closed the little distance between him and his daughter and placed a hand on her head. “Yo, Hade, el gobernante del inframundo, bendijo a mi hija con la capacidad de consumir alma y poder.” Hade chanted in the ancient language.

His eyes turned dark, green light filled his hand, and a great whirlwind wind started blowing across the whole area. “You will be able to consume life, give life, and be immortal. Podrás consumir alma, dar vida y ser invicto ... No importa las circunstancias, triunfarás …”

As soon as he had concluded his spell, the green light entered Franni's body. A few seconds later, everything became calm, and Franni felt alive.

Hade felt his body growing weak, and he staggered back a little.

“Franni,” Hade called, “I just made you the strongest being in this realm. Now absorb his power and rebuild the underworld.”

“You want me to start absorbing power from every being, isn't it?” Hade nodded his head in agreement. “Then I shall begin now, and rebuild the underworld just as you want.”

Hade furrowed his eyebrows, followed by a scared look that replaced the triumphal look on his face. He had just realized the mistake he had made.

He had bestowed too much power on Franni, and she wouldn't stop until she consumed power from every supernatural being on earth.

“Let's start with you,” Franni said. Before Hade could blink, he felt his soul leaving his body.

Within the twinkle of an eye, a green light emerged from Hades's body and entered Franni's mouth.

Hade gasped, and his body became pale before turning into ashes. “That's awesome,” Franni said and faced Oliver.

“Mistress,” he said while kneeling.

“You shall be the commander of my army,” Franni said. “Even the six pillars of the underworld shall obey your command.”

“Thank you, mistress,” Oliver said. “I'll serve you till eternity.”

“What's your next motive, mistress”,he asked.

Hearing this, the look on Franni's face became hard, and one could easily guess that she was planning to embark on a dangerous quest.
“Have you ever heard of The hand of Gods?”She asked him.
“No my lady,I haven't”,he answered.
“It is a gauntlet formed by Zeus himself. The gauntlet is so powerful it can even kill the gods of Olympus once all its gems are found. It has five gems. The soul,time, reality, death and mind gems. Once I find it all, I'll conquer all the gods and I'll rule the world. No one will stop me”
“There are many people with the same dream as mine. The Alphas of Darkness,the children of the dark lord, The Night Alphas. I can't let them stop me so we'll need to eliminate them. I'll lure them to their doom. I will go to them and tell them that Hades wants to see them. When they're in the underworld,I'll be able to kill them because I control the underworld now and they'll not be able to escape. The children of the dark lord shall be eliminated by you. Find them and kill them. I shall leave now”
Franni disappeared leaving Oliver alone in the Underworld.
*************
“We have a proposal for you”Ramiel begins “You're looking for Dracula's daughter and we know where she is. All we need in return is your strength. Lend us your strength when we need it and we shall hand over Dracula's daughter”.
Bermundo Tyler was about to reply to Ramiel when someone entered. She's clad in an all black cloth.
Bermundo Tyler stood abruptly. He grabbed his silver sword and pointed it at her neck. “Who are you and why are you here?. Talk before I slit your throat”
Franni didn't answer him, instead she handed him a scroll. Bermundo Tyler reluctantly collected the scroll but he didn't remove the blade from her throat.
Bermundo Tyler went through the scroll and he gave Franni a suspicious look before he handed the scroll to Ramiel.
“Are you really sure of what is written here?.Did Hades send you himself?”Ramiel asked Franni.
“Yes,he did”,The latter replied.
“Very well,we shall follow you but if this turns out to be a trap,I'll make sure I have your head and that of Hades”.
“Follow me,”Franni said.
They are walking deep within the dense forest of shadows, hidden from mortal eyes. As the sun sets and the moon casts an eerie glow, a narrow path materializes amidst the darkness. This path, known only to those seeking passage, winds through a labyrinth of twisted trees and mist-shrouded groves. The air is thick with an otherworldly stillness, hinting at the presence of supernatural forces.
Passing through the final thicket of trees, the path opens up to reveal an expansive cave mouth. Carved with intricate symbols of Hades and guarded by ghostly sentinels. This entrance is the gateway between the realms of the living and the dead.
Franni muttered some words and opened the veil of the Underworld. The gateway creaks open, revealing a descent into the depths. A steep, winding staircase, worn from the footsteps of countless souls, leads downwards into an inky void. Each step taken lowers them deeper into Hades' realm, the temperature dropping and the air growing more oppressive with every stride.
At the bottom of the staircase, a river of Styx, black as a starless night, awaits. A lone, spectral ferryman, Charon, stands by a vessel, urging travelers to pay the toll with a coin of silver. Those who refuse are left stranded, forever trapped between realms.
Boarding Charon's ferry, the journey across the Styx commences. The water whispers tales of forgotten souls, each ripple a reminder of the eternal restlessness. The ferry sails through a hazy darkness that obscures distant figures, the shadows of the deceased forever wandering.
Finally, the vessel docks at the shore of the underworld. A foreboding landscape of ashen plains stretches as far as the eye can see, dotted with somber structures and flickering flames. Welcome to the domain of Hades, where the presence of death itself looms ever-present and the souls of the departed await judgment or eternal peace. The underworld,a realm of darkness and ethereal beauty.
They came down from Charon's boat.
“I'll leave now,follow this lone path and it shall lead you to Hades”. Franni declares. Before The Alphas of Darkness or Bermundo Tyler could reply,Franni disappeared.
“I am having a bad feeling about this”Kraniel spoke out for the first time since they started the journey to the underworld.
Suddenly,the ground began to shake and an army of minotaur marching towards them. They realized that they had fallen into Franni's trap.
“I'll make sure I have their heads”,Ramiel said angrily.
He activated his powers and he noticed that the others were doing the same.
“Let's get them”.