Unphased by the massive army of skeletal creatures coming towards him, Merlin smiled menacingly before blades shot from every part of the structure. The skeletal creatures shattered from the sudden force brought upon them from each and every direction. This sudden explosion of power was beyond what Merlin was supposed to be capable of.

As the blades surrounding him retracted several hundred blades shot from each and every direction around me. The only place that didn’t have blades shooting from it was where Merlin was standing. Thus, without giving the blades any chance of piercing me, I launched forward towards Merlin. In less than a second, I had my blade to his neck and was so close that it was uncomfortable.

“What? Not going to kill me?” Merlin asked with a psychotic smile that made it look like he had won.

“...”

“Don’t think I haven’t figured it out. After you tried to kill me before and suddenly disappeared I realized that some other powers must be at work. You can’t kill me for some reason and I plan on using that to my advantage.” Merlin stated. I couldn’t help but feel pissed off that he had figured that out but knew it wouldn’t matter.

“How do you have this much power?” I asked threateningly. His smile got wider and dare I say it, creepier.

“The power that Freya has passed to me can only be used from points of contact with unrefined earth. Now, tell me where we are and think about that. As long as I’m underground then I have unlimited reach.” Merlin said as if he was unstoppable.

“Hades has already escaped. Your plan to resurrect Freya with the ancient summoning ritual has failed.” I said to emphasize that he was in fact the one who had lost. His face clenched up and seemed a bit contorted at my mentioning that. He had finally realized that he had lost this one.

“Ha ha ha ha- hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…” he looked like he had lost his mind as his laughter echoed through the entirety of Hades. “You thought that was why I was here? I never even knew of such a ritual. Though, now that I do I might as well learn it. This day just keeps getting better. I originally only came here to learn how to kill you.”

I just realized what I had done. I was the one who set him on this path. He didn’t discover it by mere chance or because he already knew about it. I was the one to tell him about it. It’s just like Tim had said, it was all my fault.

“I won’t let you!” I yelled.

“Could you not yell in my face? It's quite rude and outright annoying. Now as for your claim that Hades has escaped. Well, you’re wrong.” Merlin said as I heard what sounded like meat being slammed down on a cutting board. Turning to look at where the sound came from, I saw Hades lying in a pool of blood on the floor in front of his stone desk. Both of his legs had been cut clean off.

“What… Hades!” I yelled as I ran towards the bleeding mess of a Greek god.

“I didn’t want to cut his legs off but it seemed to be the best way to stop him from running off.”Merlin said nonchalantly.

You bastard!” I yelled at Merlin as I picked up Hades in my arms.

“Get... out... of here. I’ll deal with him.” Hades said weakly between breaths.

“No, I can’t let you die. I can’t let anyone else die because of me.” I said. As I finished saying this he gripped my arm with all of his strength.

“Take the ring somewhere safe. Never allow Merlin to find it. I am the last of those who know the ritual other than Kronos. There is no reason I should live if it means risking that information.” Hades said as clearly as he could through gritted teeth.

“Okay…” I replied. With that, he let go of my arm and I focused on the world of stars. Just as more blades appeared to impale me I disappeared.

“Huh, guess it’s just you and me now? Why don’t you tell me all about this ritual, uncle?” Merlin said with a wicked smile as he approached Hades.

“Like hell!” Hades spat as he pushed himself up against the side of his desk.

“If you don’t then I’ll have no choice but go after Persephone.” Merlin said with a cruel tone.

“You’ll never be able to find her. Especially not after this.” Hades said before snapping both of his fingers in unison. The sound echoed through the entirety of Hades and magma burst forth from every nook and cranny. Merlin stood unphased by this.

“So you intend to kill yourself? That’s interesting but I doubt this will kill me. What do you even hope to accomplish?” Merlin asked.

“I heard what you said before to the Time Lord. when the stone is heated to such an extent it is a form of refinement. You can’t control the fires of hell so you’re going to die here with me!” Hades said with a smug face. Merlin’s face lit up in realization and fury. Without giving it a second thought, Merlin forced several blades out of the floor below him and used it as a shield and as a way to send him to the surface.

Bursting into a subsection of the cavern he had visited before, Merlin let out a heavy sigh. He now had a new goal. Micheal can wait, for now, he had to learn all he could about this ritual. If Micheal happened to show up then he could just stop him as he did before. Plus, there was a chance that he could use Micheal to get the information he now desired. With this new revelation, Merlin began laughing not as an insane man but as a man who had found hope.