To avoid detection by the gods, their true bodies remained hidden on the small boat using divine concealment, while Thea left both the holy sword and the quilt with her clone. With superior numbers and the First Born already wounded, his pride prevented him from fighting wholeheartedly for Hades. Both sides held back, creating a fierce-looking battle that was actually quite restrained.
The sinister Hermes noticed Thea's weakened state. His eyes gleamed as he moved to launch a sneak attack. But after only two steps, a golden lightning bolt cut him off. Barry, wearing his red friction-resistant suit, grinned at him.
What the hell! Hermes cursed internally. What was he seeing? This unconventional speed!
"So it's you!" Hermes spoke words Barry couldn't understand. In that moment, he forgot about Thea and Hades—he only knew that this person before him was responsible for nearly killing him and forcing him to grovel before the King of the Dead. Or perhaps, if he obtained this speedster's power, he could reclaim his title as God of Speed?
Barry, unaware he'd just inadvertently taunted his opponent, remembered Thea's instructions: just keep this bird-man occupied. He had no intention of fighting Hermes head-on. Instead, he took off running on his long legs.
Hermes drew a gleaming thin sword from his staff and chased furiously. Hades shouted at him twice, but he didn't hear.
Supergirl naturally wouldn't let her new friend get chased down. Her speed could match theirs, so the three of them played chase around the battlefield—pursuing, fleeing, circling—creating quite a spectacle.
The remaining gods each found opponents. Demeter, goddess of agriculture, faced her daughter Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. There was no warmth between mother and daughter—only clashing blades that fit the battlefield's main theme.
The Three Judges of the Underworld confronted Ares the war god, Hephaestus the smith god, Dionysus the wine god, and Eris the goddess of discord.
Though three demigods fought four true gods, the judges were all peak demigods. Rhadamanthys was especially fierce in combat, driving the four weaker gods into retreat. If Ares hadn't recently recovered some of his former prowess, the four of them together couldn't have withstood his assault.
The battle reached a stalemate, revealing the Underworld's strength. Hera had played nearly every card in her hand just to achieve a draw with Hades. If they'd remained holed up on Mount Olympus without Apollo or Hercules, waiting for Hades to attack, her only option would have been to flee.
Overall, the King of the Dead still held the advantage. This was the Underworld—its recovery rate exceeded that of the invading gods. The longer this dragged on, the greater the Underworld's advantage. Apollo was the clearest example: too far from his domain, he'd gone from suppressing the gods of death and sleep to merely fighting them to a standstill.
Surveying the battlefield and carefully weighing his gains and losses, Poseidon pondered at length before reaching a decision. He didn't fear the loosely allied gods, but he feared the unified and powerful Underworld. This was a heaven-sent opportunity. With a wave of his hand, he commanded his brutish giant sons to join the battle, helping his allies!
He himself gripped his trident—not the Atlantean knockoff, but his original divine artifact—and wielded the power of floods with overwhelming force. He would join Hera and Hercules to defeat Hades.
Though just a manifestation, the Sea King's majesty couldn't be ignored. Hades had already struggled against two opponents; now with another powerhouse joining in, he couldn't hold on.
After a powerful strike forced back the three gods, he surveyed the battlefield. The Amazons and the Sea King's army were fiercely assaulting the undead legions, but this battlefield didn't concern him much.
His focus was on the divine battle. The Sea King's three giant sons used their formidable magic resistance to hold off Hypnos, creating an opportunity for Apollo to duel Thanatos one-on-one.
The Sea King's general, the cyclops Polyphemus, roared furiously and wielded a stone pillar to engage Rhadamanthys. The four weaker gods facing two judges suddenly found the situation more manageable.
With this fresh force joining the fray, the Underworld began showing signs of strain against the gods.
Hades had no choice but to play his trump card. He pulled out a silver-gray horn and blew the song that no living being should hear.
Dozens of powerful auras awakened from their slumber. Some were Zeus's offspring, others ancient Greek demigod heroes. They'd long since died, but their consciousness remained strong. Even Hades couldn't conscript them by force. They'd made a pact: fight once for the King of the Dead, and Hades would grant them freedom.
Now these ancient human heroes honored their agreement, rising from eternal sleep to join this unprecedented battle.
The invulnerable Achilles. Theseus, slayer of the Minotaur. Odysseus, who conquered Troy with a wooden horse. Perseus, who defeated Medusa. Numerous human champions returned to the battlefield. Once they'd fought as divine offspring for their people and honor—today they raised their blades again, but only for themselves.
Summoning the sleeping heroes wasn't enough for Hades. He invoked his authority as Lord of the Underworld, calling upon all divine beings dwelling there to join the battle.
Even a wrecked ship has some nails left, let alone the Underworld that had stood for countless ages. Many ancient deities had chosen to settle here. Normally Hades left them alone, but now with disaster looming over the Underworld, he came personally to ask—surely they'd show him some respect?
Hades's presence proved effective. Alecto, one of the three Furies, reluctantly joined the battle. The Hecatoncheires, hundred-handed giants born of Gaia and the second god-king Uranus, also answered the summons.
Some showed him respect, but others naturally didn't! A few big shots even Hades didn't dare rebuke—he could only grit his teeth and endure.
When he prepared to pull out a little black book to remember those who refused, he noticed one particularly conspicuous name among the rejections.
Charon, the miserly god, had also refused his summons. Who was this guy? Wasn't he just the lonely old boatman on the River Styx?
While fending off attacks from Poseidon and Hera, Hades pondered this.
Seriously? Had his authority declined to this extent? Even a greedy miser now dared disregard the mighty King of the Dead?
The usually ice-cold Hades rarely experienced an emotion called anger—but now it flared!
Hera daring to bring the gods directly to his doorstep, the Sea King daring to join the assault—these fell within his tolerance. Honestly, they weren't worth getting angry about. It was normal. They were all beings of the same rank.
But what was Charon? He dared look down on Hades, King of the Dead!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The battlefield was chaotic with divine power, severely obstructing vision. Hades was too busy fending off enemy attacks to search for exactly where Charon had run off to.
But to make an example of someone, he decided to use Charon. He immediately roared, "Charon, you bastard! I, Hades, swear by my name as King of the Dead—once I finish today's battle, I will personally cut off your head!"