BXBX NOVEL Chapter 63 - Oath By The God Of The Dead
"Hm? For Allecto?"
Hades assumed and was not very shocked about it. From his age, he met more people that\'s done a lot more for what their hearts tell them to.
"Yes, I\'ve seen her in posters one time and my heart just kept pumping." Joren made a story up, remembering that their figures were being merchandized back at the UnderWorldLand as if they\'re D*sney characters.
"I see…" for Hades, it was very uninteresting. Not that he was looking for a conflict but he had seen more interesting things like a musician taking back his wife\'s soul or the God-hero that defeated captured the Cerberus as part of his labor.
However, ironically, because of the boredom that lasts for a long time, this was enough to keep him company and entertain.
"So, if I don\'t do anything about it, what am I going to do in this world?"
"You speak as if you\'re forced to stay here." Hades perceptively replied, poking Joren\'s small loopholes in his logic.
"No, what I mean is, what am I going to do in my life in general if I\'m not going to follow what I feel?"
Joren smiled as he easily turned the fixed his own hole. He didn\'t further explain what he meant. Hades thought that Joren just said a saying from Earth that he was used to.
"You could\'ve gotten back to your life on Earth. Allecto is not going anywhere in the next few decades that must\'ve been enough for your lifespan."
Hades was saying that Joren could\'ve enjoyed his life more on the surface before trying to meet with Allecto.
"No, what I feel is what I do."
That wasn\'t a lie.
"How about you, Lord Hades?" Joren then turned the question towards Hades since the latter was no longer responding, "Why did you give me, a lesser undead, the privilege to become your guest? To punish Goddess Megaera for me, even though I lack the understanding around here, I think that\'s too much, no?"
"Yes, it is." Hades nodded rather calmly, "But it\'s not about who she hurt, it\'s because of why she would hurt another. Slowly, I\'m trying to remove what I think has become some sort of mental illness among the Furies. For example, I, the God of the Dead, should I be dead?"
"No," Joren simply replied.
"I am the God of the Dead, I\'m supposed to be the God and not be controlled by the dead. That should apply to them as well. They shouldn\'t be controlled by Anger, Jealousy, or Revenge, they should be the ones who control them. However, they are not really Goddesses but the Furies and that\'s the problem." Hades explained.
"I see, then I\'m going to have problems when I finally take Allecto\'s hand."
"Are you backing away after hearing their problems?"
"Of course not. Although I\'ve fallen in love with Allecto when I first saw her image, I can confidently say I\'m willing to learn her flaws."
Since they were being pulled by ghouls who tirelessly run, it would take them some more time to reach there.
"Do you want to know what my second Trial will be?"
Hades then asked Joren and for some reason, the latter felt something wrong about how Hades questioned him.
"Yes, Lord Hades, I would like to."
Hades looked around first, thinking of an impossible task for a lesser undead. Of course, he had already thought of some things before.
"Your second Trial will be to draw the whole map of Hades. Since there\'s a lot of changes here, the map of Hades should be already updated. I need a detailed one."
Hades said. That task is possible but there\'s a criterion that Jore must fulfill. Even if Joren has immaculately drawn the map after some years, Hades can just say that it was not detailed enough. It fits his image as a God to be a perfectionist, no one can say that he was intentionally making Joren fail as it would have a negative effect on the said image.
"Oh…" Joren processed Hades\' words and nodded. The instructions are simple enough. The execution is where he will find it difficult, "Then, Lord Hades, can I have the relief knowing that after my trials, the Lord wouldn\'t go against his words?"
\'So, he\'s not completely naive?\'
Hades thought and didn\'t know how to feel about it. He didn\'t want to talk to an idiot but he also want to play using Joren\'s naivety.
"That\'s fine by me." he agreed, "However, I\'m giving you a very rare opportunity so it should be fair to give you some risk as well."
"Let me hear it, Lord Hades." Joren accepted.
"If you fail two of the five Trials, then you\'ll have to agree with a term of mine."
Hades thought that it would be good to make Joren his jester. This kid entertains him. However, Hades didn\'t say that\'s the term since it may give Joren the hint of what his intentions are in the first place.
"I agree to that."
Joren easily agreed without thinking much about it, making Hades think that he was really stupid. However, the truth was, Joren was already prepared from the very beginning. The worst that could happen is him being thrown into Tartarus and he\'s also prepared for that.
"You may not know this but oaths are powerful. It will take the soul of the name that you\'ve placed down. Of course, I will be putting my name on this oath. For you… I wouldn\'t be accepting it if you\'re going to put your half-soul. It should be someone important."
"Then I will be putting my mother\'s name Marlene Vierei into this."
Meanwhile, on the surface world, Joren\'s mother who was out grocery shopping sneezed out loud.
"Someone must be talking about me."
She had no idea that her son have already placed her soul as a bet.
"But what if I place someone else\'s name on the line?"
Joren curiously asked.
"If it\'s someone powerful, swearing by their name with deceptive intentions will make that someone punish you if you do fail. At the same time, whether you kept your promise or not, the oath will not take effect. Swearing must hold weight for it to be an oath."
Hearing Hades\' explanation, Joren remembered that he once swore upon Gaia\'s name. Isn\'t this a formula for disaster?
\'Well, I haven\'t failed my oath with Megaera, right? I didn\'t harm anyone before I met her again. So, I should be out of it by now.\'
"Then, I swear by my name, Hades, God of the Dead and Lord of the Underworld that once Joren Vierei succeeded four of the five trials I will give to him, I shall give him my permission to take Allecto\'s hand for marriage."
Hades swore before Joren followed, thinking that this is a big thing even though nothing magical is happening.
"As for me, I swear by my mother\'s name, Marlene Vierei that if I failed two of the five trials Hades, God of the Dead and Lord of the Underworld, have given then I will accept one of his terms."
"Good" Hades was getting excited and eventually, they\'ve reached UnderWorldLand.
Joren and Hades climbed down from the chariot before they enter the place to be extra cautious. But even then, the two of them were wearing cloaks that are specially made to hide their identities.
Looking around, Hades actively pointed out.
"Let\'s try everything."
And so, they did.
Joren found that Hades has become more proactive ever since they took oaths. The two endlessly talked about all random things in the UnderWorldLand while playing games and eating street foods.
Joren thought that it would be funny for someone to bump into Hades and pick a fight. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how one looks at it, he found that the beings here are more polite than the humans on the surface and wouldn\'t cause scenes.
Maybe, it\'s because the laws are governed by literal Gods and Goddesses. If the Furies exists and upholds the laws, Joren would doubt that there would be a lot of humans who find trouble with others.
"I feel more like home here than when I was on the surface."
Joren said, now that he felt comfortable talking to Hades after playing some games. Although he has yet to hear the God of the Dead laugh or any signs of excitement, the fact that Hades is active in participating means that there\'s a chance. If Joren tries hard to please Hades, that would be going against the intention of the Trial of Blood, an eerie name for a lighthearted trial.
"Why is that?"
Hades asked as he swallowed the whole ice cream and its cone in one gulping before taking another one in the basket that Joren holds as they walk around to sightsee.
"How do I explain this? I don\'t fit in there. People are always scared of me just because of my face. At the same time, I don\'t think that my face is that scary compared to some people, no offense to them."
Hades slightly squinted his eyes as he have thought about this when he first met Joren. He hates to admit it but seeing Joren act, making him feel something irrational. However, it was suppressed as it cannot slightly affect a God like him. He may notice, yes, but affect, no.. But for others, that feeling might be prominent.