After walking for a few minutes through the huge castle of Hades, Meduz had finally reached the meeting room. She stopped in front of the door and looked up, she stared at the door for a while before she got up the courage to go in.
'I hope he's serious about not punishing me.' Meduz swallowed her saliva as she opened the door.
The door creaked loudly and she slowly walked into the room.
"You took a long time." After entering and the door closed just behind her, Meduz could hear Hades' voice. She felt her heart freeze as she heard that piercing voice reach her ear.
'It's quite different from when he speaks in my mind, I can't get used to it.' Meduz thought as she took a few steps forward.
In the middle of the room was a table made of stone that had been carved there along with the castle.
The entire castle had been carved into a large mountain of black rock, making the atmosphere eerie and melancholy.
"I'm sorry, I had one unforeseen."
"No problem. Have a seat." Hades was sitting in a chair also made of rock as he propped his elbows on the table and stared at Meduz.
As she was frightened, Meduz obeyed Hades and quickly sat down. She then continued in silence while being stared at by Hades. Since she was short, she had to stand on the chair.
"So, first I want to talk about the battle."
"I'm sorry about that, I didn't know he was so strong, and..." In despair, Meduz put both his hands on the table and leaned his body forward as he tried to justify what had happened.
But Hades just raised his hand, signaling her to be silent.
Meduz shut up and started to sweat.
"It's not your fault. That boy got a blessing too strong all of a sudden. My sister is smart."
"Did he receive it? Maybe that's why he got so fast and strong."
"Yes. He was incomparable to what I saw earlier in the fight against one of the armors."
"..."
"So I say it wasn't your fault. It was a miscalculation for not thinking about that possibility, so it's my fault."
"No, it wasn't your fault, it was my fault! I was too weak and ended up losing..." Meduz lowered her head, bit her lips, and then raised her head again.
"Then punish me if you must, I will accept that!" She said with conviction.
Hades looked at her for a while in silence and then gave a small smile.
"You don't have to act like that. You know I like you and I wouldn't punish you for a mistake I made."
"..."
"But now let's get to the other subject I wanted to discuss."
"Is it about the subordinate of the goddess who killed me?"
"Yes, it involves him too."
"..."
"I would like to know if you would like to return to that world again to try to get revenge, would you like to stay here in the castle or would you like to pay a visit to another world."
"..."
"You choose. I will take your choice into consideration."
"May I think about that for a moment? As much as I want to get revenge, I don't know if I'm ready to battle with that boy again..." Meduz felt quite frustrated that was saying something like that.
"You can go to another world, evolve your skills and then come back for revenge, what do you think? I'm just making a suggestion."
"That would be interesting, but which world would I go to?"
"I was thinking of sending you to the world of Zeus."
"Zeus, that Zeus?"
"Exactly. His world is insanely difficult to live in, so it will be a difficult experience for you. But still, I think you would evolve a lot if you lived there for a while."
"Are the monsters there as strong as the ones here?"
"They are even stronger."
"... That would be complicated, but I think it would be fun." Meduz felt a flame rise in her heart.
'If I go there and evolve, I'll be able to go back and rip that kid's head off with ease.'
"Okay, I'll think about it for a while to make up my mind."
"Take all the time you need. You can leave now."
"Thank you very much, sir." Meduz bowed her head and thanked Hades before jumping out of the chair and leaving the room.
####
It was night when Noah was called into the living room by Emma.
In the living room, Emma, Lucio, Lari, and Lisandra were waiting for him looking anxious.
'Looks like the time has come. Everything is ready now, isn't it?'
[ Yes, everything is ready. But first, you need to wait for your girlfriend to arrive. ]
'You're right.'
Noah came into the room and the first thing he talked about was Ciaphia.
"I promised Ciaphia that I would show her my magic, so first I will wait for her to arrive. It better shows everyone at once." Noah smiled.
Next, Lari and Lisandra looked disheartened.
Emma and Lucio agreed to wait for Ciaphia, and after less than 20 minutes, Ciaphia knocked on the door and was greeted by Emma.
"Excuse me."
"Make yourself at home."
She entered with a smile on her face and was welcomed by everyone.
"You have finally arrived, I almost showed everyone my magic before you arrived."
"You had promised me you would show it to me, you wouldn't break that promise."
"You're right..."
"Okay, now stop flirting and show it right away." Emma reached over and pulled Ciaphia away from Noah. She then pulled away as well.
Lisandra had become excited again, unlike Lari who had become a little irritated by Ciaphia's arrival.
And ignoring all that, Noah concentrated only on talking to Isadora.
'You can do that now.'
[ Right. ]
Then he closed his eyes.
'Teleport me somewhere nearby, maybe to my bedroom.'
[ Sure, I'll do that. ]
After that, Noah's body began to glow.
Emma who was closest to Noah moved away quickly in fear of that glow. And like everyone else, she couldn't keep her eyes fully open.
"NOAH?!" Unable to approach or see, Emma shouted.
"What was that?" Lisandra exclaimed in surprise as she scratched her eyes.
"I don't know." Lari also seemed to be feeling pain in her eyes.
"That glare was really strong, I think I'm going blind." Ciaphia kept her eyes closed for a while until Emma exclaimed something in surprise.
"He's gone."
"Yes, he's completely gone." Lucio in disbelief walked to the place where Noah was before and began to stomp on the ground.
"But where did he go?" Emma said as she curiously bent down and looked at the floor where Noah was before. The floor was undamaged and there was nothing strange there.
"I don't know, but probably he is somewhere nearby," Lucio answered Emma as he looked around.
And after doing so, he noticed Noah coming towards the living room.
"I told you I could teleport." He shrugged, but contrary to what he was letting on, he was very happy.
Mostly because of the looks of admiration everyone there was giving him.
Except for his mother, who looked more worried than surprised.
'Maybe getting the news that her son could disappear at any moment didn't please her very much.'
####
After that commotion inside Noah's house subsided, Noah went outside along with Ciaphia.
"It's amazing that you can use that kind of magic."
"Yes. But something is bothering me."
"What is it?"
"Even though I showed the magic to my mother, she didn't seem very happy."
"I also noticed that she was acting strange. Maybe she's just worried?"
"About what?"
"I don't know. That magic is a rare thing, maybe she's worried about someone trying to take advantage of you."
"Do you think I would let something like that happen?"
"I'm sure you wouldn't."
"Hahaha, that's right."
"... But maybe she's also worried about the side effects of magic. It's powerful magic, it has to have some cost, right?"
"Yes, the cost is quite high. That is why I can use this magic only once a day."
"Maybe she's worried about that."
"I'll talk to her later."
"..."
While talking, the two continued walking through the almost empty village.
By the time Noah realized it, he had already led Ciaphia to her house.
"So, good night, see you tomorrow."
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
After they said goodbye, Ciaphia went into the house and locked the door. When she entered Noah could hear Taciane yelling at Ciaphia for some reason.
But he just ignored this and then went back home.
As he walked through the village that was dark and silent, Noah sighed and looked up.
'I hope I don't meet that girl again, I'm afraid that I couldn't win if I fight with her again.' Noah was looking up at the stars and he see a shooting star crossing the sky.
Then he made a request.
'I hope that everything continues to be okay so that my family can live safely.'
After making his wish, he went back to his house with a satisfied smile.
When he entered, everyone was still in the living room. They all looked at Noah when he entered but soon went back to talking to each other, ignoring him.
Noah decided to stay out of the conversation and went to his room.