Persephone's capacity was a mere stream.
Alistair's was a cosmic sea, a universe.
Thus.
His divine power grew fast, but igniting his divine spark?
That'd take ages.
Unsolvable!
As the god of darkness, the Underworld was his subordinate world, with Hades as its god.
Hades' growth.
The Underworld's growth.
World energy from the Dark Multiverse.
All this!
Boosted Alistair.
In other words.
He had an auto-farming experience zone, constantly grinding.
A stable Hell would be a second auto-farming zone.
But the biggest issue?
The first zone had Persephone, Pandora, and Ker managing it.
The second? No one was suitable!
Persephone could be Hades.
But!
Pandora and Ker couldn't.
It was a matter of rank. Some positions weren't just claimable.
Alistair's dependents faced this issue.
No one was fit to helm Hell's core.
"Suitable candidates…"
Persephone pondered, shaking her head. "This is tough. Divine power and strength are secondary. The core issue is rank."
"No sufficient rank, no sitting in that seat."
Hades!!!
Persephone, once the Underworld's queen, took the role with Alistair's aid—natural.
But now, in Elysium?
No one!
No one was truly fit for the role.
"So!"
Alistair threw up his hands. "That's the problem. Hell's integration is a major boost, but no one can manage it. Theoretically, I'll have to be Hell's lord temporarily until a suitable candidate appears."
"Luckily, Ker can help."
"Najenda's capable too."
Alistair scratched his head—truly, no one was available!
Unsolvable!
His current roster: three subordinate gods—Persephone, Ker, Pandora.
Dependents…
Esdeath, Najenda, Akame, Kurome, Leone, Mine, Chelsea, Sheele.
Kanae Kocho, Shinobu Kocho, Kanao Tsuyuri, Nezuko Kamado, Mitsuri Kanroji, Aoi Kanzaki.
Fourteen dependents total.
But none had the rank.
Dependents!
Dependents!
Their best paths were as Specters or Demon Teigu users. Beyond that? Unsuitable.
"Alright."
"Dust."
"Don't rush."
Persephone soothed gently. "True Hell is just starting. We've only conquered two worlds, and the gains are already impressive in under four months!"
"That's true."
"But."
"Persephone, you know."
"It's fine if it's not there, but when a treasure's in front of you and no one can wield it."
"That's the worst."
Alistair smacked his lips, helpless.
No choice.
Hell, born from the Demon Slayer world, was essentially tied to a Japanese-inspired mythos, with Great Yama as its pinnacle.
Of course.
This Hell was similar to others, a mix of influences.
Great Yama as core, with subordinate Yama kings, black-and-white ghost envoys, ox-head and horse-face guards, ferrymen…
In short.
A chaotic system. Finding suitable managers?
A joke—where would he find so many fitting candidates?
The Underworld was similar, in a state of neglect, but Persephone managed it as Hades.
"People!"
"So frustrating!"
Alistair sighed helplessly.
Underworld.
Hell.
Fully staffed and running, they'd be like an experience zone with a tenfold, even hundredfold, boost.
"No matter what."
"This time."
"We gained six suitable dependents. Too bad you won't accept men."
Persephone teased with a smile.
"No way!"
Alistair rolled his eyes. "I'm the god of darkness—possessive. Elysium's my divine realm. Let male dependents live here?"
"Isn't this a crystal palace?"
"If you put it that way, I can't argue."
Persephone's question drew a classic playboy retort.
"Heh heh heh~~~"
Persephone chuckled, and Alistair mused, "Besides Kanae, Shinobu, Kanao, Nezuko, Mitsuri, Aoi—they need roles. Specters or Demon Teigu users?"
Mentioning his dependents, Alistair pondered their paths.
After all!
His 108 Specters had only one.
His 48 Demon Teigu users had eight.
Numbers needed boosting.
***
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