“Do you even know what you’re babbling about?”

“Is there a fool who doesn’t understand his own words?”

Triton’s voice was cynical as he retorted to Hades’ words.

No matter how strong Triton’s divine power might be, he was nothing more than a youngster compared to the years Hades had lived. Poseidon was Hades’ brother, and Triton was that brother’s son, so traditionally speaking, he occupied the position of a nephew yet showed considerable impudence.

Hades’ eyes deepened as he stared at Triton.

When he considered that such behavior disrespected the underworld, cold anger rose once again from the depths of his soul.

“So you also know he is my successor. And that he is not someone you can interrogate as you please.”

“I’m well aware that he’s not yet an official successor.”

“…Even so, he is the only successor I have acknowledged. The succession procedure is unnecessary.”

At Hades’ words, Triton silently laughed. For a god of any “domain” to pass their domain to someone else, they had to follow the succession procedure.

Vengeance, justice, sea, lightning, underworld… These powerful “domains” couldn’t be designated to just anyone. One had to personally acquire the qualifications and power worthy of being called the master of a “domain” to become an official successor.

Only then could one make the special power possessed by each domain their own. Triton was also someone who had officially inherited the power of the domain that ruled the sea through such a process.

There was no way the underworld could ignore this procedure.

However, Zagreus had not yet acquired any qualifications. When they had clashed at the last banquet, his potential power was certainly tremendous, but Triton felt that confusion about where to root himself was suppressing his power.

He neither saw himself as part of the underworld nor as an entity outside it; he was simply “confusion” itself.

‘That’s why he couldn’t properly use the power he possessed back then.’

At least, the Zagreus that Triton had encountered “that day” was so inadequate that he could hardly be considered the official successor of the underworld.

For this not-even-official successor, the king of the underworld was showing strong hostility toward Triton.

He had heard that the king of the underworld held special affection for Persephone’s bloodline, but witnessing it firsthand was a novel experience.

…If it were me, could I do the same? Could I embrace a child who isn’t mine, simply because it’s Livia’s child?

The unnecessary thought briefly crossed his mind, but he quickly erased it. It was an unnecessary assumption. If Livia were to bear a child, it would certainly be his own. He didn’t want to further spoil his mood with such unpleasant assumptions.

What he needed to focus on now was recovering his lost wife—that alone.

“My wife has disappeared. The energy of the underworld remained where my wife vanished, and ‘he’ has approached my wife several times in the past. If you were me… could you not suspect him? If Persephone disappeared and the energy of lightning remained where she vanished…”

“How dare you run your mouth so carelessly!”

“…If even a mere assumption makes you this angry, shouldn’t you understand my feelings for coming all the way to the underworld to find my wife?”

Hades’ wide-open black pupils trembled momentarily. Cold anger stretched toward Triton, but perhaps because his words were quite persuasive, the energy wasn’t as sharp as before.

Hades seemed to be conflicted by Triton’s words for a moment.

But the deliberation wasn’t long, and soon, appearing to have made a decision, he strengthened his stance again.

“Stop disrupting the order of the underworld and leave. I will look for your wife separately.”

“…I don’t have much time, you see. Call Zagreus. That will solve everything.”

‘This arrogant b*stard dares…’

Hades glared at Triton, grinding his teeth. Holding the trident, the symbol of the sea, in one hand and not even hiding his hostility, he was demanding Zagreus.

To anyone watching, he looked ready for battle at any moment. Triton’s behavior, showing no respect for hierarchy, was incredibly brazen.

Though he was trying to maintain a polite smile on that brilliantly beautiful face, it was obvious that underneath, he was suppressing boiling violence and aggression. If Zagreus were to be called, it was easy to guess what Triton would do.

“Are you telling me to hand over my successor while emitting such an aura?”

“Haha! Truly, you don’t understand reason.”

Triton suddenly laughed irritably, running his hand through his hair with a nervous gesture.

“Try having your wife, who might die soon, disappear before your eyes. See if you lose your mind or not!”

Triton’s voice grew rough, seemingly having finally reached the limits of his patience. The air surrounding him vibrated, and chain-shaped frost began to form densely around him.

The temperature enveloping the two gods rapidly cooled, and the wind, unable to withstand the aura of the gods angered for their own reasons, swept through the space fiercely, causing a gale.

At that moment, without anyone going first, Triton and Hades simultaneously directed aggressive auras toward each other.

BOOM!

A thunderous sound echoed through the vast space, shaking the vicinity.

“You’re someone who won’t listen to words…”

“Good. I never intended to resolve this with words from the beginning.”

“They say Poseidon’s eldest son is a shark, and indeed, you seem to think only of biting.”

Hades, unable to restrain himself any longer, drew out his scythe of death.

If the gods of the sea and the underworld were to clash, it would turn not only the earth but the entire world upside down. However, neither Triton, whose eyes had rolled back after Livia’s disappearance, nor Hades, with his fiery temperament that never shied away from a fight, cared about that.

After all, this was the underworld, where Hades’ power was at its strongest.

Although Triton was a rising god, Hades thought he was no match for him in the underworld rather than under the sea. Of course, some damage would be done to the underworld, but to endure such insult would be an even greater mockery of the underworld!

“Today, here, I’ll correct your manners.”

A massive scythe, tens of meters long, gleamed in his hand. The sharp blade appeared keen and fierce enough to split the sky, and deadly poison dripped from the black flames flowing through Hades’ hand.

“I have no manners to correct. I was born this way.”

Just as Triton sneered and raised his trident in response.

“Stop right now!”

Brown-black eagle feathers scattered chaotically through the air.

Just before the two powers—white and black—could collide, a man with giant eagle wings jumped in front of the king of the underworld, blocking Triton.

“Were you looking for me, d*mn god of the sea?”

Zagreus, his golden eyes flashing, grabbed Triton by the collar and snarled at him seemingly ready to devour him. His hostile aura opposing Triton while protecting his father was just as fierce as Triton’s.

“Zag! Go back! Who gave you permission to come out…!”

Hades tried to hide him, but it was already too late. Triton also grabbed Zagreus’ wrist that was holding his collar and whispered coldly:

“So you’ve appeared, you rat… Did you steal my Livia?”

At Triton’s words, Zagreus’ face immediately twisted and asked back:

“Steal? What do you mean? Explain properly.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Livia has disappeared, and traces of the underworld were left in her place. No one but you would do such a thing.”

Triton spoke with certainty, but the expression of Zagreus who was listening merely twisted strangely. He looked like he had heard something odd.

He seemed at a loss for words for a moment as he glared at Triton, but soon he lunged at Triton with an even angrier face than Triton’s and said:

“You… you lost Livia. After acting like you would protect her so well, you lost your woman? Ha…! Serves you right! Unable to protect a single human woman…! You incompetent sea creature!”

“How dare a filthy bird creature run its mouth so freely?”

Triton’s blue power poured fiercely toward Zagreus. Zagreus immediately spread his wings to protect himself and simultaneously expanded a power like black smoke to counter Triton.

For a brief moment, they seemed evenly matched, but soon Triton’s power began to pressure Zagreus.

As he was being pushed back even in the underworld, his home territory, a look of terrible frustration appeared on Zagreus’ face.

After watching this scene for a while, seeing Zagreus being completely overwhelmed, Hades stepped between them to mediate the fight.

“Enough! You heard him, didn’t you? Zagreus knows nothing about the abduction you mentioned. Since you say the scent of the underworld remained, we will help search for your wife. So stop here.”

“Don’t lie, if it wasn’t you, who else could have taken Livia!”

“I swear by the Styx, I had no involvement whatsoever in Livia’s disappearance. How could I, who hasn’t taken a single step outside the underworld all this time, steal anyone?”

For gods, an oath on the Styx was absolute.

Therefore, Zagreus had nothing to do with Livia’s disappearance.

Confusion spread across Triton’s face. He wanted to think that Zagreus was making excuses, but with the oath on the Styx, it was difficult to deny it further.

Then who on earth took Livia, and where?

***

In the end, Triton had to leave the castle of the underworld without achieving anything, unable to get any answers from Hades and Zagreus.

He had been certain it was Zagreus’ doing, but being told it wasn’t only added to his confusion. Doubting an oath on the Styx would be foolish. Yet his instinct still whispered that Livia was here.

What should he believe? The overwhelming confusion made Triton nauseous.

He almost wished Zagreus had been the culprit. Then he could have immediately tracked Livia’s whereabouts…

But he wasn’t…

That made Triton even more frustrated.

‘…Livia, where on earth did you go?’

Anxiety began to gnaw at his heart. Even without being stabbed by the golden dagger, his heart felt like it was rotting and crumbling because of Livia’s disappearance.

‘Whether you’re here or not, this place hurts me.’

Triton clutched his aching chest seemingly tearing it out and glared at the empty space. Hades and Zagreus claimed they didn’t know, but he was certain Livia was here.

That cunning and clever woman had definitely snuck in here without the knowledge of the underworld’s master.

‘Then I must change my approach.’

If he needed to be somewhat cruel to bring the well-hidden Livia back before him…

“…I will gladly do so.”

Everything is for you, Livia.

Water spells scattered through Triton’s teeth as he muttered.

***

“…Huk!”

Livia, who had been crouching in a dark cave, suddenly clutched her throat and staggered, collapsing to the floor.