Chương 60: Dionysus's Nightmare
Logan, "You want me to Behold you Faust, let me get a few more eyes so I can see you better." I took a deep breath, and in my mind; I went to the red wall and started pulling The Red into the shape I imagined.
16-foot round body floating in the air, pink skin with tinges of purple. 1 large eyeball in the middle with a mouth full of sharp teeth that nearly split the ball like body in half. 7 tentacle like appendages coming off the body and at each of their ends, another eye all in different colors. (All these monsters with Tentacles, I'm going to be hated by the girls.)
Faust stares at my new form in disgust, "What is that monstrosity?"
Logan, "This my doomed little friend is just what I told you, a Beholder."
Faust pointed his palm at me and started building up his magic to blast me away but with just a little concentration on my part it faded away. Faust, "My... My magic, it's not responding! Wha What have you done? The magic won't respond to me!!!" He takes a ponderous step towards me. "I will smash you with just this armor then."
One of the small eyes at my side flashes and looks at the Annihilator moving towards me, and it's slowed down to a quarter of its movement speed from before.
Behind Faust the magic bindings that had wrapped around Diana disappeared. She stood up and saw a giant eyeball monster floating in the air and asked Hades, "What in the name of the gods is that?"
Hades, "That would be your companion. Somehow, he has changed into that form and removed all magic from the area. The enchantments in my bident and sword are also inactive."
Diana, "Our strength is not magical and if that armor has no more magic then it should just be normal metal." After saying that she charged the Annihilator armor from behind and clotheslined the left leg out from under Faust. She smiled in triumph as she felt the metal disfigure under her blow. Faust fell to his back with a cry of fear.
Hades seeing the effect of Diana's blow, opened his mouth and breathed out the fires of Tartarus onto the armors right shoulder and watched as it melted like slag under the heat of a forge. He then charged to the right arm of the annihilator and yelled, "Grab his other hand and pull my child."
Diana grabbed the arm and started to pull along with Hades, and they were rewarded with the Annihilator being split down the middle leaving Faust to hover in his spirit form with nothing but a look of abject terror on his face.
As soon as that was done, I fell to the floor exhausted in mind and body, once again Morph saved my dignity by covering me in a semi presentable outfit. Panting I looked at Diana and asked, "You, ok?"
Diana, "I am, how about you?"
Logan, "Hungry and tired. But we live and that armor is destroyed. You get some quest complete notification from the gods or something? Surely the quest doesn't include teaching the management here to be happy with his place in the circle of existence. It was rather vague from what you told me."
Diana chuckled, "No, Hades is back on the throne with Faust gone now. The quest should be done."
Hades, "Well Faust is not gone, but I'm sure he wishes he was." Hades reached out and took hold of Faust's spirit. "He will wish that for millennia; I'll make sure of that my child."
Diana, "Stop calling me that Hades. All this pity me, show you have put on has done nothing but raise my contempt for what you tried to do and for who you are. Show your loving side by taking us before Persephone? You have a noble godly side to you I'm sure, or she would not have loved you in the end. But all you have done throughout history is take what you want and force everything to deal with you on your terms. I will not deal with you any more than I must."
"Hippolyta never spoke to you of your father, did she?" Hades asked.
"I have no father, my mother molded me from clay and Zeus brought me to life. So, if I did have a father, I would think it would be him, Hera forgive me!"
Hades had a sad look on his face, "Your mother and I carved you together child. She and I were together for a time, why else would there be a gate to my realm on her island? Then, all men were banished from its shores, so we were forced to give up on our relationship. I did not know you had been brought to life until I met you in battle years ago. That surprise was the true reason I was pushed back that day. Releasing all my power in battle would have destroyed the statue Faust's magic had made you. Your sister and her friends were powerful, but never could that have moved me if seeing you hadn't done so already."
Diana was silent as she absorbed this possible newfound revelation.
Logan, "You ok Diana? You know he likes to play fast and loose with the truth, right? Take it with a grain of salt and ask someone who's word you don't doubt." I turn to look at Hades, "Sorry Lord Hades, but you bend truth to gain advantage all the time. You can't deny that."
Diana, "It doesn't matter, I know what I need to know. I know who raised me, and I know what I was raised to do." After saying that she walked out of the ruins that the library had become, and I followed.
Diana took to the air, and I went falcon as we headed in the direction of the gate to home. "I really thought it would have been harder to move around as an invader here to be honest."
Diana, "I was thinking the same, but then I remembered the little demon we caught talking about all the demon's leaving here to go to the Asphodel meadows. I doubt it would be so easy with all of them here. Let's hope we don't have another fight waiting for us at the gate. Speaking of fighting, what was that last form you used? How did all the magic disappear?"
Logan, "That was a being called a Beholder. Its main eye shoots a cone of anti-magic, and all the other eyes have different abilities like slowing a target or a beam of fire or ice.
Diana, "Such a monstrous thing, you must tell me where those come from, so I can stay far away from there."
Logan, "No worries, they mostly stay deep underground and guard caves that have interest to them. They are rare as clay statues coming to life."
When we got to the gate there were no demons around, so Diana went and pounded on the door in a specific rhythm. After about 20 minutes there was a return rhythm signaled from the other side. Diana took on a happy smile and moments later the door creaked open. Waiting for us was a legion of Amazonian warriors with shields up and spears lowered all standing behind the figures of Hippolyta and Wonder woman herself.
Diana jumped forward in joy and hugged her sister shouting, "Ororo, what are you doing here? I couldn't believe it when I heard your response come from the other side of the gate. I thought mother had finally figured out our codes."
Ororo, "Diana, I am so glad you are safe dear sister. You have made mother and I so very proud." She then turned to me and said, "Young Logan... I cannot thank you enough for accompanying my sister on this suicidal mission. I am in your debt and so too is all of Themyscira."
Logan, "Not to downplay the danger, but Diana conducted herself as I would expect of a true Amazonian Princess, so the victory was never in doubt. A somewhat humbled Hades is back in control of Tartarus." I looked directly into the eyes of Hippolyta. "He had much to say..." During my brief pause I saw Hippolyta's face go pale and her eyes widen at my words. "In thanks for the help provided to him. So, we can only hope he will cause less trouble for the world, for a time anyway." After speaking I nodded in affirmative to Hippolyta and then stopped interfering in their family story.
Logan, "What of you Wonder Woman? Your sister explained to me the details of your exile, have the gods become forgiving all the sudden?"
Ororo, "I went to Olympus to discuss this... Quest placed on my sister by my master and while I was there it was stated by Persephone that if I was kept from my homeland, then the grapes so many Olympians rely on for their wine couldn't be assured a safe and warm spring. Dionysus I'm told fainted when he heard the news and when he awoke, he took his axe to the door of many gods that pushed for my exile. To placate him, my exile was decreed served in full and I can now come and go as I please."
Logan, "Thats great, a family shouldn't be separated over such trivial things."
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