It could be confirmed that after being imprisoned in the underworld for thousands of years, enduring both loneliness and the decline of their divine power, Hera and Tyr's resentment towards Hades had reached an immeasurable level.
If John could rescue Hera and Tyr, he might be able to use their hands to eliminate Hades!
Thinking of this, John suddenly smiled.
"What am I thinking? Even if I rescue Hera and Tyr, they might not be willing to face Hades again. Besides, with their divine power weakened, it's uncertain if they could even be a match for Hades."
In any case, completing the main quest to kill Hades was almost impossible.
John didn't have the strength or the courage for it.
If a deity were to fall because of John, he had no doubt that by tomorrow, his existence would be erased.
So, the only optional quest left was to kill the dragon of the underworld.
Although John had never heard of such a dragon in Greek mythology, he was certain that this dragon couldn't be as troublesome as Hades.
"What are the quest rewards?"
[Based on performance, different levels of quest rewards will be given. The highest reward could be [divine] quality equipment or items.]
"Then there's no choice. I have to complete the quest, or this trip will be for nothing."
John pinched the bridge of his nose, finally sorting out the situation.
Now, the first thing he needed to do became clear: he had to find where Hera and Tyr were imprisoned.
Suppressing the cold, John stood up and walked onto the bridge of the underworld.
In a trance, he seemed to hear a sound.
The sound came from the pitch-black River of the Underworld, as if calling out to John. He even had an urge to jump in.
But soon, John regained his senses and took a few steps back, trying to stay as far away from the water as possible.
Who knew what terrifying things were in that river?
If he fell in, John feared he wouldn't even have the chance to use a teleportation scroll to forcibly leave the dungeon; he would be instantly erased.
The tricky part was that there wasn't a single living creature in the underworld, leaving John with no opportunity to offer a sacrifice and perform summoning magic.
Had he known this, John would have prepared plenty of monster corpses as offerings beforehand, but it was too late for regrets now.
Crossing the underworld bridge, John continued deeper, his body surface even forming a layer of frost.
His face turned pale, and his body trembled uncontrollably, clearly reaching his limit.
Just then, Seraphina's voice suddenly sounded in John's ear.
"As a living person, you are not accepted by the underworld. If you go further, your physical body will die completely, leaving only your soul. At that point, you will never be able to leave the underworld."
"Then... what should I do?"
"Separate your soul from your body and store your body in a safe place. Enter the underworld in a soul state."
"Wouldn't that mean I'm dead?"
"If I'm suggesting this, I won't harm you. Don't worry, I can help you."
Hearing this, John suddenly laughed.
"Fortunately, pain keeps me awake. But in this dark place, how will I know when 12 hours have passed?"
"Don't worry about that, I'll remind you. Stop talking. The crucial part is next. You must stay awake and not lose consciousness."
With that, Seraphina touched John's forehead. In an instant, John felt as if countless ants were gnawing at his body.
Each bite felt like it was directly biting into his soul, causing unbearable agony!
"How... how long will this last?"
"Thirty seconds."
Seraphina's response was brief, clearly focused on separating John's soul.
But those thirty seconds felt longer than a lifetime to John.
Each second brought soul-crushing pain, pushing him to the brink of unconsciousness.
Fortunately, it finally ended.
The pain abruptly ceased and vanished instantly.
When John came to his senses, he noticed his physical body had collapsed on the ground, its face pallid.
"It... it worked..."
Seraphina, clearly exhausted from the effort, sounded fatigued.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. You should be more concerned about yourself.
Without your body, many things in the underworld will pose a threat to you.
Be very careful not to lose yourself here. Otherwise, even if I came back to life, I wouldn't be able to save you.
This is Hades' domain, and only he has control over everything here."
"I understand. But where should I go? I know nothing about this place."
"I have some memories of it. I'll guide you."
"Thank you."
Without further ado, John followed Seraphina's guidance and headed upstream along the river of the underworld.
It was said that Hades' palace was there, and only there might he find the cages holding Tyr and Hera.
"So, Seraphina, how much do you know about Hades?"
"..."
"Seraphina? Have you fallen asleep?"
"No, I was just thinking about how to describe Hades to you. In the end, Zeus' description is the most fitting.
An absolutely lawful, immensely powerful demon. No one would want to become Hades' enemy, including Zeus himself."