The coastal dimension seemed to exist in a state of eternal twilight, where the sky was a permanent tapestry of sparkling stars. Though it lacked direct sunlight, life flourished in its own rhythm—sea birds cried out as they circled above, seagrass swayed in the gentle currents, and the rhythmic lapping of waves against the shore provided a serene soundtrack.
It was a picture of peace, yet the most breathtaking sight was the three naked figures intertwined on the beach. Ethan, handsome and refined, lay between two goddesses who shared the same stunning face. Ophis was on top of him, while Riveal was beneath, a contrast of black and white hair that eclipsed the beauty of the scenery itself.
Ethan had lost track of how long he had been dual-cultivating with Ophis and Riveal. Ever since Riveal broke through to the Super Dragon God level and finalized her mature human form, their days had been a blurred cycle of pleasure and power.
Riveal would take her fill, then Ophis would take her turn, then back to Riveal. As Dragon Gods, their capacity to absorb and process Ethan's life essence was staggering. Their stamina was endless; every time Ethan switched partners, the "little garden" he had just filled to the brim would already be empty, the essence completely integrated into their divine being.
Ethan wasn't being drained—his constitution was too high for that—but his mind and body were beginning to grow numb from the sheer repetition of ecstasy. To keep his interest piqued, Ophis and Riveal tried everything. Every pair of stockings and every erotic prop in Ethan's storage space had been shredded or used up. Every position, every orifice, and every taboo desire had been explored until the battle between the three strongest beings finally reached a natural conclusion.
The primary reason for stopping wasn't a lack of desire, but a plateau in efficiency. They had hit a temporary limit where further cultivation yielded diminishing returns.
The rewards, however, were immense. Riveal had surged forward to the Middle-Stage Super Dragon God rank. Ethan, as the "main engine" of the process, saw the greatest leap; he had broken through his bottleneck to match Riveal at the Middle-Stage Super Dragon God level. Ophis lagged slightly behind, resting at the very peak of the Dragon God rank. Her failure to break through was likely due to the portion of her power still held by Cao Cao—a debt that Ethan intended to collect soon.
After a brief rest to stabilize their explosive new power, the trio dressed in fresh clothes and prepared for the Underworld. Before leaving, Ethan tidied the beach, disposing of torn fabric and broken toys. However, he couldn't do much about the various fluids that had soaked deep into the sand. Given the divine potency of their combined essences, that stretch of beach would likely become the most fertile and magical spot in the world.
"I can't believe it's been nearly three months," Ethan remarked as they exited the dimension. He chose to transition through the Human Realm first to check the timeline.
Reconnecting with his clones, memories flooded back. No major disasters had occurred, but time had certainly slipped away. They had left during the spring school trip; now, summer vacation was almost over.
"Time really is cheap for immortals," Ethan muttered. With Ophis's help, they locked onto the coordinates for the Underworld. His second reason for the detour was to keep the coastal dimension's location a secret; he didn't want a direct portal from Hades's doorstep to his private sanctuary.
"Ready?"
"Yes," the two goddesses replied in unison.
A massive magic circle glowed beneath them. With Ophis and Riveal hugging his arms on either side, the three of them vanished into the void.
In the Underworld, within the gloomy depths of Hades's palace, a magic circle suddenly flared to life.
"Useless! Three months and you haven't found a single lead!" Hades was in the middle of berating his Reapers when he froze. The Reapers, who had been groveling on the floor, scrambled to their feet and drew their weapons.
No one was bold enough to warp directly into the Throne Room of the God of the Dead.
"Yo. Is this a welcoming ceremony? You shouldn't have gone to the trouble," Ethan joked. He stood there, flanked by his two beauties, completely ignoring the wall of scythes pointed at him.
"Red Dragon Emperor," Hades hissed. His gaze shifted past Ethan to the two women. "Ophis?"
He recognized Ophis despite her mature growth, but the white-haired Riveal was a mystery. Because his own power was insufficient to see through her, he assumed she was merely a clone or an avatar of Ophis.
Hades was already in a foul mood. He had lost contact with an elite squad and a priceless tracking artifact months ago. Seeing Ethan and Ophis together, he put the pieces together.
"What are you doing here?" Hades demanded, his voice a low rattle.
Ethan ignored the Reapers and stepped toward the throne. The guards instinctively backed away, sensing a pressure that made their skin crawl. Hades was furious, but he felt it too—an aura more oppressive than anything he'd felt from the old Ophis.
Ethan stopped just a yard from the throne. Since Hades was seated, Ethan was now looking down at him.
"Nothing major. I just found something that belongs to you and thought I'd return it," Ethan said with a smirk. He didn't mention the Dragon Eater; if Hades was bold enough to lend it to Cao Cao, he wouldn't admit to it anyway.
Clatter.
A mangled, radar-like silver disc hit the floor. Hades glanced at it—the tracking device he'd given his squad. He kept his face like stone. To admit the device was his was to admit he was hunting a Dragon God.
"I've never seen that junk before. You're mistaken," Hades lied.
"Oh? Really?" Ethan laughed. "Then I suppose you don't recognize the people who were carrying it either?"
Hades's eyes narrowed. He chose silence. He was a cautious god; he had survived the Great War and the Eternal Battlefields by being the last one to jump into a fight. He felt the shift in Ethan's power and didn't want to trigger a conflict in his own palace until he knew exactly what he was up against.
"Red Dragon Emperor, what did you do to them?!" a hulking Reaper captain barked, unable to contain his rage.
"Enough. Stand down," Hades snapped. From the moment he denied the device, those Reapers were officially dead to him.
Hades stood up from his throne, tired of being looked down upon. "Is that all? If you came here to harass a God with a piece of scrap metal, you'll be disappointed."
"Disappointed? Not at all," Ethan waved a hand. He had expected the denial. He just wanted to see Hades squirm.
"Then explain why you've broken into my palace," Hades said, his voice dripping with cold malice.
"Ethan, stop wasting breath on this fossil. Let's just beat him," Riveal interrupted. She had zero patience for divine posturing. Ophis didn't move, but her eyes were fixed on Hades, wondering why he had tried to capture her.
"Insolent brat!" a Reaper yelled at Riveal.
The next instant, the Reaper was launched backward, smashing into the stone wall with a sickening thud. He coughed up a spray of black blood.
"Still alive? Tougher than he looks," Riveal muttered. She had used barely ten percent of her mana—a raw physical shockwave without even casting a spell. At the Super Dragon God level, she was on a different plane of existence.
Hades went pale. He hadn't even seen her move. If Ethan was a threat, this white-haired woman was a nightmare.
Ethan and the goddesses moved. They weren't trying to kill him yet—killing a Chief God in his own realm while sticking to "God-level" output limits to avoid attracting the attention of the Eternal Battlefield was tricky.
The trio had discussed the global political landscape during their months of "training." They knew that the strongest gods—Indra (Sakra), the Jade Emperor, and others—were away fighting inter-dimensional invaders at the world's edge. This was why figures like Sirzechs, Odin, and Hades stayed behind—they were the "home guard." If a fight got too loud or reached "Super" levels, the heavy hitters would return from the front lines to "invite" the troublemakers to join the war effort.
But "God-level" was plenty to turn Hades into a punching bag.
The Reapers were swatted aside like flies. Hades tried to fight back, drawing on his secret artifacts and Underworld authority, but he was utterly suppressed. No matter how many death curses or necrotic blasts he threw, the three of them shrugged them off.
Finally, battered and desperate, Hades realized he couldn't win a direct confrontation. He cast a low-level spell—Summon Skeleton. It was such a basic, instinctual spell that it didn't require a chant, making it impossible to intercept.
Ethan and the girls watched as a tide of weak bones flooded the room. They weren't a threat, but then they noticed something strange.
Hades was gone.
Searching the room, Ethan realized the "dignified" God of the Dead had stripped off his royal robes and dived into the middle of the skeleton horde, using his own necromantic energy to camouflage himself among the thousands of mindless, clattering bones to make a cowardly escape.