"It worked."
Ares clenched his fists and couldn't help but whisper as he watched Hecate, sitting on the throne, flash a charming smile at Persephone.
Goddess of the Dark Moon Hecate is a unique existence, both in heaven and on earth, possessing the title of "Great Goddess." She is also an entity in the world that does not belong to the regular goddess sequence of Olympus, yet still commands the awe of the King of Gods. With her presiding over the Underworld, Hades doesn't have to worry about Zeus disrupting the order of life and death, nor does he have to worry about the remaining Underworld forces being unable to contend with Queen of the Underworld Persephone.
For these reasons, Hecate finally persuaded Hades. Hades temporarily entrusted his power as King of the Underworld to her, and he himself left the Underworld with his lover Minthe to temporarily avoid the limelight on earth.
Unfortunately, Hades was also cautious. He always remembered his most important duty: guarding the bronze prison deep within Tartarus, where the second-generation TitanSin Gods were imprisoned. Before leaving, although he handed over his bident and Helm of Invisibility to Hecate for safekeeping, he still kept the key that could open the bronze prison close to him.
Otherwise, Ares and Hecate would probably have already opened the bronze prison, released those sinful Titans, then ascended Olympus, seized the divine thrones, and restored peace to the world.
Although it was a bit regrettable that this couldn't be done, Hecate gaining regency over the Underworld meant that the master and disciple had already gained an immense advantage.
Within the Underworld, there is no shortage of hidden places where things can be stirred up, nor is there a lack of those who harbor resentment towards the gods of Olympus.
Of course, Hecate was also influenced by Ares. The one sitting in the throne room of the Underworld Palace wielding authority was merely a clone she created with magic. Her true body remained in her Tree Palace or magic workshop, attending to her own affairs.
Anyway, the current divine system of the Underworld is gradually improving, and the King of the Underworld no longer needs to personally attend to every matter. One of Hecate's conditions for taking over authority was that she wouldn't waste too much time and energy on the King of the Underworld's affairs. Hades also made it clear that she only needed to oversee the Twin Gods, the Three Judges, the Ferryman of the Underworld, and others, supervising their work.
Ares is also currently in the magic workshop, watching the live broadcast from the Underworld Palace through Hecate's true body. He saw Hecate's clone commanding the Underworld Nymphs to take Persephone to the special separate palace prepared for her. Inside, besides a tranquil garden and spectral maids responsible for her daily life, there was also a special surprise, personally prepared by Ares and Hecate, which they believed Persephone would be very pleased with, to the point of forgetting all else.
After meeting Hecate, the current regent of the Underworld, Persephone, with a mix of anticipation and trepidation, made her way to the separate palace prepared for her in the Underworld.
To show respect, Hecate, the current regent of the Underworld, personally led a large group of Lamphades, guiding the way and escorting Persephone to her future home.
They crossed a long bridge and, near Elysium, saw a palace slightly smaller than Hades' black palace but still of considerable scale. The palace was filled with narcissus flowers, symbolizing Hades, exuding a fragrant scent. Countless spectral maids moved about, who would be responsible for serving Queen of the Underworld Persephone in the future. From Persephone's room, one could also see the beautiful scenery of Elysium through the windows.
These arrangements were all very ingenious, but they weren't what delighted Persephone the most. What surprised her the most was that as she entered her room, a blonde beauty in a black and white ultra-short maid dress came before her, bowed, and addressed her as "Master."
And this blonde beauty had a face that was very familiar and enchanting to her; she looked exactly like the Goddess of Wisdom on Olympus.
"Hecate," Persephone covered her mouth in surprise and asked,
"What is this?"
"This is a surprise prepared for you by Ares on behalf of Olympus, so that you can dispel your little loneliness in this cold Underworld," Hecate replied. "He heard about your 'hobbies' and personally asked the god of fire to create such a gift for you. Her body is equipped with an intelligence that is completely obedient to you, capable of meeting any needs of a qualified maid. Of course, if you don't mind, you can also use her for other things. Do you like her?"
"I like her, of course I like her." Persephone walked over, took the doll's hand, and then reached out to gently caress her cheek. The doll was made of some unknown material, but it felt exactly like human skin. Persephone was somewhat enchanted.
Seeing the Queen of the Underworld's expression, Hecate smiled slightly, instructed the surrounding Underworld Nymphs to "take good care of the Queen of the Underworld," and then turned and left.
Meanwhile, her true body complained to Ares:
"To come up with such a disgusting idea, it's truly worthy of you, Ares."
"Indeed." Ares proudly put his hands on his hips and said, "Anyway, I don't know how Athena plans to scheme against me, so I'll try my best to disgust her within my capabilities."
Gods have the ability to sense their idols in their earthly temples. Since this doll used Athena's likeness, it can also be considered one of Athena's statues. This means that the Goddess of Wisdom can feel what Persephone does to this doll, albeit through a layer of separation.
Although this won't cause Athena to violate her vow of virginity, it will certainly disgust her. Previously, a brazen individual who desecrated Artemis's statue was shot dead by her. But now, Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld. If she lays her hands on Athena's statue, Athena can only grit her teeth and endure it; she cannot directly eliminate Persephone.
Thinking of Athena's current predicament in her temple, Ares let out a strange chuckle, but he did not slack off. Instead, he turned his attention to another important matter.
Atlantis, this kingdom, ever since Sea King Poseidon broke with Zeus and returned to the sea, vowing never to ascend Olympus again, has, like the Sea King, cut off all contact with the outside world.
However, through the connection between the lower-level Atlantean believers and the four mechanical angels, Ares and Hecate still managed to glean some information about Atlantis's current situation.
Sea King Poseidon, after taking a divine lightning strike, as expected, vented all his wrath on his own people.
Traditional art, traditional art.
His oracles became increasingly harsh. First, he demanded that the royal family offer princesses, then that queens be offered to his Golden Palace for his pleasure. Moreover, none of these women returned safely to Atlantis after entering the Golden Palace. Now, he even demands that all noblewomen from the middle class must be offered to him to beg for his forgiveness.
Ares estimated that if this continued, Atlantis, this powder keg, would explode, and then, just like its original fate, it would rebel, and then be submerged into the depths of the sea by the irresistible divine power of the main god, becoming a legend in history.
Under these circumstances, the next step of Ares's mechanical god-making plan should proceed.