When the duo arrived in the dungeon, they found a single man already waiting for them.
He was clad in an entirely black suit, with wavy black hair and dark circles underneath his red eyes.
The man looked to be absolutely exhausted, yet with one look Abaddon was immediately able to determine the truth of the situation.
‘He’s not even really here.’
He had no breath of life, and no mana. Even if what he was seeing was a ghost, Abaddon should have been able to detect some sort of aura from him.
The man finally seemed to realize he had visitors and stood up to meet them.
Malenia stood between her master and the approaching stranger with a single hand on her whip. “Stay where you are.”
The man was unfazed by her threats and continued to move closer, earning him a lash from her bladed whip.𝑜𝚟𝔩xt.𝒞𝐌
Unsurprisingly, the whip passed through the man like he was made of mist and carved a large gash onto the rocky ground floor.
“What the hell…?”
The apparition continued his advance forward and walked right through Malenia like she wasn’t even there.
“G-G-G-Ghost!” Malenia looked like she was on the verge of fainting, but a correction made by her master was enough for her to regain her calm.
“He is not a ghost…”
The apparition stopped directly in front of Abaddon’s face and the two men analyzed each other carefully.
“He is a god… Aren’t you?”
“A god?!” Malenia asked in shock.
The man nodded and continued not to say anything while he analyzed the hybrid in front of him.
“This is the first time I’m actually able to see what one of you look like. I wonder why that is.”
“Master? You can see his face?”
“You can’t?” Abaddon asked in surprise.
Malenia simply shook her head no and they silently stared at the man before them waiting for an explanation.
The man held up his hand and a swirling black miasma began to leak out.
Abaddon was able to recognize the power at a glance because he had the exact same ability.
“The death element…”
The man nodded and put his hand down before he finally spoke. “I was truly curious about what kind of being would have the land of the gods so abuzz. I was not expecting it to be one who had already sent so many to my realm.”
The mismatched eyes of Abaddon flashed with a glint of recognition. “That would make you…”
“Unimportant.” The man said as he shook his head.
Malenia remained quiet throughout this entire ordeal but she was unbelievably curious about how it was possible that her master seemed to know this man.
“Then are you planning on trying to kill me too? I will have to disappoint you.”
The god scoffed in the face of the dragon’s accusations. “What need have I for a world made entirely of the dead? My domain already spans across multiple realms and realities and I am in need of nothing greater.”
“So then your purpose..?”
“Must I have some grand scheme? You are a rather popular topic and yet no one seems to know anything about your origins. It is only natural that I would seek to understand such an enigma.”
Inwardly, Abaddon was a bit surprised.
Whatever he was before… it was apparently so ancient that even the gods did not know anything about it.
His mind was nearly ready to burst from all of his building questions.
“Enough. I’ve come for the secret trial.”
The god of death did not seem too surprised by this fact and briefly glanced at the woman in the corner. “And her?”
“I go where my master goes.” Malenia said firmly.
The death god shrugged, not really caring one way or the other. “Very well. Be sure to show me why the price on your head is so high, hm?”
The man snapped his fingers and in the next moment, the three of them disappeared from their stony surroundings and reappeared in a land filled with nothing but skeletons and ash.
Before Abaddon was a legion of undead consisting of the most famed and fearsome warriors in history.
Behind the legion was the god they had met a few moments before but he was now wearing stygian black armor with a flaming helmet.
Sitting leisurely on a throne made of bones his earlier impression as a tired and quiet man was now thoroughly dispelled.
“The trial is simple. Make your way here and impress me then you shall pass.”
“Hoh?” A charming grin formed on Abaddon’s handsome face. “Is it truly something so simple?”
“It would seem that way, wouldn’t it?”
Abaddon smiled even wider as he handed his cloak to Malenia and his body began to change.
In a moment he stood tall as a four armed abomination with blood red hair and extra horns along with a horrifying third eye.
Four golden weapons appeared simultaneously in each of his large clawed hands.
A kanabo, a sword, a spear, and a halberd.
“I will show you destruction unlike any you have ever seen.”
With blinding speed, Abaddon took a single step and unleashed utter hell on the long dead warriors.
‘Depart haineux.’
The last time Abaddon attempted to use this technique, there were a few issues that prevented him from displaying it’s full potential.
For one, he was already running on fumes and using a power his body was not evolved enough to handle.
Not only that but the attack he was using was also incomplete. The hammer he was using at the time lacked the proper power of a weapon technique to augment and focus his strength.
As of a few days ago, those two problems were ones that no longer existed.
Boom!
Boom!
BANG!
‘Piercing Sun Spear Art.’
With a single thrust of Abaddon’s spear, a wall of destructive purple flames erupted that reduced a horde of bony soldiers to ash.
‘Fell Moon Sword Art’
A swing of his shining blade sent the heads of several skeletons flying up into the sky, Their bodies falling harmlessly to the ground a moment after.
‘Demon’s Absolution Halberd Art.’
His golden halberd unleashed a devastating slash that cleaved hundreds of undead into two.
‘Black Meteor Kanabo Art.’
Finally, his enormous mace pulverized the undead warriors and left their bones reduced to a very fine powder.
With the sound of the last enemy clattering onto the ground, Abaddon put away his weapons and reverted back to his usual state.
In only two minutes, he had completely decimated an undead legion of over 10,000.
His frightening demonstration would have gone down as a legend had there been any other witnesses present to see such a spectacle.
The god was still seated, unmoving and watching him from behind that horrifying black helm. “Are you satisfied?”
For a moment, the god was silent before he suddenly pointed to his companion. “She looks to be.”
Malenia was still right where Abaddon had left her, only now she was sniffing her master’s cloak and her fingers were working overtime in her panties. “Master is so strong~ He’s so handsome! Master is the bestttt!!”
Evidently, the death god was correct as Malenia shuddered a moment later and a clear stream began to run down her legs.
With the loss of her strength, Malenia finally couldn’t remain upright any longer and she collapsed onto the ground.
“…”
“…”
“…I’m sorry.” Abaddon could do nothing but cover his face in annoyance and embarrassment.
His daughter made him that cloak for crying out loud!
The death god stared hard at the embarrassed looking dragon and had a profound realization. “You are not aroused by her?”
“Certainly not.”
“Do you not like women?”
“I’ll kill you.”
The god was utterly floored.
He had seen a great many powerful men in his life and they all had a lethal weakness for beautiful women.
His brothers in particular were some of the worst he’d ever seen and their perversions had only grown throughout the eons.
But this man in front of him… he had the strength of a war god matched with an unyielding mind that could not be swayed by a woman who was obsessively attempting to seduce him.
The god wondered just what kind of future would come about when this mortal ascended.
He was without a doubt the most handsome man he’d ever seen. Even Eros or Apollo could not come close to his level.
What effect would a man like that have on the goddesses?
The god had no doubts that this man would thoroughly capture the hearts of women from every pantheon with only a single glance.
Goddesses are known to be especially greedy when it comes to beautiful men so how would this young dragon handle himself?
Will he be able to maintain his firm heart and will when he is besieged by the most beautiful women in all of creation? Or will he fall into depravity just like so many before him?
The man did not know the answer, but he made a silent vow to never allow this man to lay eyes on his wife.
“So? Have I passed your trial?” Abaddon asked impatiently.
Truthfully, he had.
There was nothing else that the death god really needed to see after that attack earlier.
It was frighteningly impressive for a mortal to be able to do something like that, the army he’d summoned were intended to be a bit of a challenge after all.
Yet somehow Abaddon blew them all away without so much as breaking a sweat or messing up his hair.
This alone was more than enough to pass, and yet the death god could still feel the allure that was the deeply laid secrets within Abaddon’s body.
He knew that there was still more for him to learn, it just had to be brought to the surface.
And he knew exactly how to do it.
“Do not make me laugh.” The god arose from his seat and began marching towards Abaddon with purposeful steps.
“Do you think I would be impressed with your cheap display? My nephew was capable of something similar as soon as he was born.”
Abaddon ground his teeth in anger. “What more do you require, god? Do not waste my time!”
“I do not intend to.” The death god held out his hand and a black bident appeared in a burst of black flames.
“You want to pass my trial? Show me tenacity in the face of death!”