Charon thought being forced to collaborate was already the worst possible news. However, something even more terrible awaited. His experiences over the next few days in the Underworld would be a nightmare unlike anything since his birth.
The sighing, groaning old man watched Thea sit on his small boat with eyes closed, meditating. He wanted to club her into the river but knew that was unrealistic—unless he didn't want to live. Rules had to be followed.
Just as he sighed and lamented this was his unluckiest day ever, a certain mysterious sensation enveloped him.
"What is this?" Though the old man's strength was weak, he was still a son of the primordial goddess. In terms of seniority, he was an uncle to Hades and Zeus. While his power was pathetic, he still had some insight. This suddenly appearing force seemed like some kind of rule that had restricted him.
Before he could figure out the anomaly, Thea pulled an enormous stone tablet from the void and handed it to him.
Why give me this? Charon took the tablet and examined it. It clearly stated: ferry the gods (Thea) across the river. He was unfamiliar with this additionally appearing name—unsurprisingly, it was this detestable woman he wanted to club into the river.
He focused and continued reading. One party pays, the other provides a service—very clear. Only when he read the fine print in the final line did he think he understood her sinister intentions.
"If I don't ferry you across, I have to compensate you ten thousand times the loss?" The old man pointed at the small text, his tone stiff.
"You must have your eye on my fortune, right? Some pantheon's goddess of wealth?" Charon sensed the strong wealth aura emanating from the agreement. Though he'd never met a New God, he could judge divine power characteristics. The conclusion was obvious—she wanted his money! His hard-earned savings from tens of thousands of years as a ferryman!
He just didn't know what method she'd used to create this penalty clause that could be enforced without his consent. Such domineering means were too forceful. But he had no plans to renege anyway—he'd just ferry them across.
Ten thousand times compensation? Ridiculous. What Thea had just paid was an astronomical figure—the crossing fee included two divine kings, over a dozen deities, hundreds of demigods, and over a hundred thousand mortals.
This number times ten thousand? Charon figured he couldn't pay it back working another few tens of thousands of years. Crossing the river? He'd do it!
He thought Thea's methods were mysterious and unfathomable. Actually, this was another new application of the Source. The transaction parties remained unchanged, the transaction items unchanged, but she could add annotations while the other party was unaware!
Originally, she couldn't add them directly—after all, she was one party to the transaction. But Thea could leverage her talent, using the willpower from the Scales of Order. This mysterious force could invoke the Source. She forged a third party outside the transaction, proposed modifications, and her main body directly agreed—thus creating the final text in Charon's hands.
He assumed Thea coveted his small fortune—truly insulting her vision. This document was merely a constraint...
The Styx was empty above. Beneath the water, spirits who'd lost all intelligence occasionally wandered. The small boat led, the giant ship followed, slowly advancing toward the opposite shore.
Mortals closed their eyes to meditate. The gods made their own preparations. The Styx water affected them all to some degree. Apollo was most irritable among them—this environment completely opposed his domain. He wanted to immediately unleash his power and purify the entire river.
The group leisurely reached the opposite shore. The journey was extremely smooth. Though falling in wouldn't kill the gods, it would be troublesome. If the numerous mortals fell in, they'd basically die.
The army began disembarking. Hera was discussing the invasion plan with Poseidon. Charon watched Thea somewhat horrified—she sat calmly on the boat with no intention of disembarking whatsoever.
Charon felt an ominous premonition. He pointed at the shore, meaning: you should get off.
Thea raised one finger and gently wagged it. "Your comprehension is concerning. You still need to keep ferrying me. Our transaction isn't complete."
Huh? The ferryman looked baffled. Aren't you here to crusade against Hades? Aren't you on their side? Do I still need to take you back?
No wonder he was surprised. Charon simply couldn't understand Thea's purpose—he was still using conventional thinking to measure everything.
"I heard the Styx is one of the five rivers of the Underworld. Is that right?" Thea asked a question unrelated to the current situation.
The old man stared at her, his molars grinding audibly. His voice was somewhat muffled as he nodded. "Yes... what exactly are you trying to say?"
"The River of Pain Acheron, the River of Lamentation Cocytus, the River of Flaming Fire Phlegethon, the River of Forgetfulness Lethe, the River of Hatred Styx—is that right? These five rivers are also part of the Styx, aren't they?"
Charon desperately wanted to say they didn't count, but this was publicly acknowledged fact—he couldn't lie. The weaselly old face now showed a trace of fear.
Even deities feel fear! Thea's understanding of fear was unmatched in the world. She grasped his psychology extremely clearly. She seized the momentary gap in his mental defenses.
Her voice automatically carried a trace of temptation. "I heard the River of Lamentation Cocytus flows past the Underworld King's treasury. I'm not wrong, am I?"
"You... you want to go to the Underworld King's place...?" Charon was shocked by Thea's audacity. So you're not after this old man's treasure but the Underworld King's?
In an instant, he thought of many things. Should he violate the transaction agreement and sacrifice his life's savings to send this woman away, or should he ferry her to rob the Underworld King's treasury? Better a dead friend than a dead me—this thought appeared quite abruptly in Charon's mind. In the past, he'd have carefully considered it. Now he didn't think twice before deciding to sacrifice the Underworld King's treasury to preserve himself.
Originally greedy by nature and obsessed with money, he even began thinking: shouldn't I also grab a little something? After all, the gods would take the blame. Once this thought formed, it immediately escaped rational control. Thinking of Hades' mountains of treasure, Charon's heart itched like weeds growing—greed spiraled out of control.
All this was naturally Thea's divine power at work, plus this old codger wasn't a good person to begin with. A son of the primordial goddess reduced to this pathetic state, collecting money even from mortals crossing the river—Thea felt zero psychological burden about scamming him.
Charon didn't know an even bigger scapegoat awaited him. He anxiously watched the gods deliberate.
He almost wanted to personally lead the way himself. Hurry up and fight, so I can go grab Hades' treasury!
Thea wouldn't let wealth cloud her eyes—she remained very calm. She called Diana over. The two used the old man's small boat as cover. This boat had an internal subspace. They each left behind an avatar to follow the army while their real bodies hid in the small boat. Taking advantage of the gods' heated discussion, they leisurely sailed toward the distant Styx tributary.