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As she spoke, she lifted the goblet even higher, her eyes gleaming with dark satisfaction. The hooded figures began to chant again, their voices rising in a crescendo that filled the room, adding to the pressure building around us.
Hades’ expression darkened, a cold, deadly calm settling over him as he raised a hand, his fingers crackling with violet energy.
“Enough,” he said, his voice cutting through the chanting like a blade. And then, with a single motion, he unleashed a strike ofviolet lightning that shot across the room, faster than any of us could react.
The bolt of lightning struck the goblet with a blinding flash, sending it flying from Mais’ hands. The goblet shattered in midair, the dark liquid it held vaporizing into nothingness as the power of Hades’ attack obliterated the vessel. The chamber was filled with a deafening crackle of energy, the strike reverberating through the air like the roar of a thunderstorm.
Mais let out a scream of rage and shock, stumbling back as the goblet’s remains clattered to the floor in a shower of purple sparks. The chanting ceased instantly, the hooded figures retreating even further into the shadows, cowed by the sheer force of Hades’ power.
“No!” Mais shrieked, her voice filled with desperation as she stared at the shattered remains of the goblet, the ritual now in ruins. “You fool! You’ve destroyed everything!”
Hades strode forward, his eyes blazing with cold fury as he approached her. “No, Mais,” he said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. “You destroyed everything the moment you betrayed me.”
Liora snarled beside him, her eyes locked on Mais with a murderous intent.
Mais backed away, her defiance crumbling in the face of Hades’ unrelenting wrath. But as she moved, she caught sight of me still on the altar, my blood seeping from the wound she had inflicted. A twisted smile crossed her lips as she made one final, desperate attempt to salvage the ritual.
“You may have destroyed the goblet, but the blood has already been spilled!” she cried, her eyes wild as she pointed at me. “The sacrifice is still in play! All it takes is one final?—”
But before she could finish, Hades was upon her, his hand closing around her throat with a speed that defied belief. “You will not touch her,” he snarled, his voice filled with a dark promise that sent a shiver down my spine.
Mais struggled in his grip, her eyes wide with fear as she realized the true depth of his anger. “Please… I only wanted to help you ascend…” she gasped, choking as Hades’ grip tightened.
“You have done enough,” Hades hissed, his face inches from hers, his fury palpable. “Now, you will pay for your treachery.”
With a savage motion, he hurled Mais across the room. She crashed into the wall with a bone-cracking thud, her body crumpling to the floor in a heap, but she was far from done. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
“You think you can just throw me aside?” she spat, staggering to her feet.
“You’ve already lost, Mais,” he said, his voice filled with finality.
Mais lunged at him with a scream, her hands curled into claws, aiming for his throat. But Hades was quicker, his hand shooting out to grip her by the neck. He lifted her off the floor with ease, her feet kicking uselessly as she choked and gasped for air.
“Pathetic,” he hissed, his eyes blazing with a deadly fire. “You were never more than a nuisance. And now, you’re nothing.”
With a surge of dark energy, Hades slammed her against the wall, the impact shaking the chamber. Her eyes widened interror as she realized she had no escape. Hades’ grip tightened, the pressure crushing her windpipe, cutting off her desperate attempts to breathe.
“No… please…” she croaked, her voice barely a whisper, her strength fading.
Hades’ face was a mask of cold fury as he leaned in close, his voice a deadly whisper. “You will never threaten her again.”
With a final, brutal squeeze, he crushed her throat, the snap of her neck reverberating through the room. Mais’ body went limp in his grasp, her eyes wide and lifeless. He tossed her aside like a broken doll, her body hitting the floor with a sickening thud.
But he wasn’t done. It didn’t end with her.
In a flash, he unleashed his power, his eyes blazing with violet fire as dark tendrils of shadow surged from his body, sweeping through the chamber like a wrathful storm. The cultists barely had time to react before the darkness engulfed them. The tendrils coiled around their bodies, tightening with a bone-crushing force, and in an instant, they were lifted off their feet, their screams silenced as the shadows squeezed the life out of them. One by one, their bodies went limp, their forms crumpling to the floor.
The chamber fell into a heavy silence. Hades stood tall, his chest heaving with the intensity of his anger. He was every inch the Dark King—ruthless, powerful, and utterly unforgiving.
But then he turned toward me, and his face softened.
“Aria,” he breathed, his voice filled with relief and regret, his eyes searching mine as if to reassure himself that I was still there, still safe. He crossed the distance between us in an instant,his hands trembling as they cradled my face with a tenderness that belied the violence he had just unleashed.
“I’m so sorry,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “I should have been here. I should have protected you.”
Tears welled in my eyes as I looked up at him, the terror of the last few moments slowly melting away in the warmth of his touch. “You’re here now,” I whispered, trembling with emotion. “That’s all that matters.”
With a tenderness that made my heart ache, Hades carefully untied the ropes that bound me, his fingers brushing against the raw skin of my wrists. The moment I was free, he pulled me into his arms, holding me close as if he never wanted to let me go.
